Chapter 526 - 528: Treating a Severely Injured Boy
Wang Tuhu fully believed in Doctor Zhuhua at this point. He picked up Kankan and followed Bai Ruozhu to the inn. Familiar faces, worried about the situation, also tagged along. Their destination turned out to be the largest inn in town.
"Mr. Wang, what exactly happened to your son, Kankan?" A woman at the side couldn’t help but ask.
Wang Tuhu’s eyes turned red again. He sniffled and said, "I was chopping bones and Kankan shot a stone at my table with his slingshot. He ran over to pick up the stone and I just couldn’t stop my hand in time..."
The woman beside him shuddered at his words. "That’s dangerous. However, thankfully you met Doctor Zhuhua. Kankan will certainly be fine."
Bai Ruozhu, using the excuse that the crowd would interfere with her treatment, asked Wang Tuhu to carry his child upstairs alone. When the innkeeper saw the blood on the child and Wang Tuhu’s body, he hesitated, but Bai Ruozhu handed him a silver and told him: "Saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. We will be done soon."
The inn rarely received tips, even when it did, it was ten to twenty coins, seldom fifty. Bai Ruozhu gave a whole silver at once, forming a broad smile on the innkeeper’s face. He quickly bowed and said, "If you need anything, just say so."
"Boil a pot of hot water for me and leave it in my room later. Remember, it’s pure water, not tea. I need it to clean the child’s wounds," Bai Ruozhu said.
Hearing this trifling request, the innkeeper hastily promised: "Yes, yes, I will have someone take care of it right away."
"Make sure it’s clean," Bai Ruozhu reminded him again.
"Yes, yes."
Wang Tuhu’s eyes turned red again. The Divine Doctor not only treated his son for free but also paid a silver to the innkeeper. He was determined to pay back the Divine Doctor!
But he had hurried over with his child leaving his stall unattended without carrying any money on him.
Bai Ruozhu led Wang Tuhu and Kankan to the guest room. She wasn’t bothered about blood on the child and placed him directly on the bed, which made Wang Tuhu feel even more embarrassed. He said gratefully, "Thank you, Divine Doctor, I will surely repay your kindness."
Bai Ruozhu turned her head and gave him a warm smile, revealing her shiny white teeth. Despite her ebony skin as a middle-aged woman, her teeth were dazzlingly white.
"No need. Offering free medical treatment is just fulfilling my master’s wishes. There’s no need to remember any favor," Bai Ruozhu waved her hand as if to dismiss the topic.
Wang Tuhu merely hummed in acknowledgement and then quieted down. Upon closer observation, he had already fallen asleep, as had Kankan on the bed.
Bai Ruozhu drugged the two to sleep, quickly took out the catgut sutures and needles, and began to stitch Kankan’s wounds. By the time she finished, the attendant outside called to say that the boiled water was ready.
Bai Ruozhu pretended to be busy and said, "You can leave it at the door."
After applying Yunnan Baiyao, she found a fine cotton cloth to bandage Kankan’s wounds. Then she waved her sleeve, and Wang Tuhu woke up immediately.
"Big brother, snap out of your daze and quickly bring the water inside," Bai Ruozhu’s voice rang out.
Wang Tuhu jolted, he seemed to have zoned out for a moment?
He quickly opened the door and fetched the water, only to find Kankan’s wounds were already bandaged. He looked at Bai Ruozhu in confusion and asked, "Doctor, the wound is already dressed. Do we still need to clean it?"
Bai Ruozhu wiped the blood off Kankan’s arm with a handkerchief and explained, "Although the wound is dressed, the rest of the body should not be dirty, or the wound might fester."
Wang Tuhu nodded hastily and asked, "Then it’s done? Can my son’s hand..." But he dared not ask further.
"The hand has been saved, but you must avoid getting the wound wet. You also need to ensure that the child does not move his hand carelessly. If he does, the wound may not heal properly. Furthermore, only I am allowed to remove the bandage. If you do it yourself, it could cause uncontrollable bleeding," Bai Ruozhu emphasized.
Wang Tuhu nodded vigorously, "I understood. I won’t touch it, and I won’t let the child touch it either."
"Come back to the inn to find me in three days, and I’ll change the dressing. After another two or three days, it should heal. However, the wound is severe. Even after it heals, he must be careful. Although the hand can move freely, the injury might have affected his Qi channels, thus his strength may not be the same. You can slowly recover after half a year once the wound heals," Bai Ruozhu paused before continuing, "Alright, you should take your child home to rest now. You cannot set up your stall anymore. The child has lost too much blood and needs to rest." She then handed a packet of medicine to Wang Tuhu, "Give this to your child to drink when you get home. It’s a blood supplement."
Wang Tuhu knelt down before Bai Ruozhu yet again, kowtowed three times, and said, "Divine Doctor, I, Wang Tuhu, will never forget your tremendous kindness for the rest of my life!"
Bai Ruozhu waved her hand nonchalantly, "I am going back to my clinic. You should hurry home with your child."
Without waiting for Wang Tuhu’s reply, Bai Ruozhu left. After all, there was nothing valuable in her room; all her precious items were in her space.
As Bai Ruozhu went downstairs, Wang Tuhu left with his child. The people waiting outside the inn saw that Kankan was asleep, his hand no longer bleeding and neatly bandaged with white cotton, they sighed in relief.
"So how’s Kankan’s hand?" The woman from before approached to ask.
With a smile on his face, Wang Tuhu said, "The Divine Doctor says his hand is saved and we just need to recover."
"Of course, he’s suffered such serious injuries. You should take him straight home," the woman advised.
Wang Tuhu bowed to Bai Ruozhu and thanked her again, "Thank you, Divine Doctor. I’ll take him home now."
Bai Ruozhu suddenly sterned her face and said angrily, "I told you not to call me the Divine Doctor or Female Divine Doctor. Just call me Doctor Zhuhua!"
The crowd didn’t expect Doctor Zhuhua to suddenly get angry. They all jumped in surprise. However, they understood that all talented people had some quirks, perhaps her master forbid her from claiming the title of Divine Doctor. So, the crowd hurriedly echoed, "Yes, yes, Doctor Zhuhua."
Bai Ruozhu did it on purpose. If she hadn’t insisted, how could she have achieved her effect?
Her initial plan was to conduct a consultation in the market and then announce her name. This way, upon hearing the news, Jiang Yichun would surely come to her. But thinking about whom or what Jiang Yichun might be avoiding, she had to alter her plan.
So she disguised herself as a middle-aged woman with a dark, sallow face, giving herself a false name "Zhuhua" and even claimed that she was the disciple of a fairy. With this information, even if Jiang Yichun couldn’t confirm if it was her, he would come to take a peek, wouldn’t he?
She touched the hairpin on her head, which was his gift to her.
Wasn’t Zhuhua the same as Bamboo Flower? The blossoming of bamboo, wasn’t it something that they delicately whispered about in the quiet of the night?