Chapter 71: When Did That Happen?
When they returned to the clinic, Doctor Jin immediately called the two of them to the back and asked if they had been given a hard time at the Xie residence.
“No, Master. Master Xie and Madam Xie didn’t make things difficult for us. They even gave me two hundred taels of silver as a token of appreciation. I tried to refuse but couldn’t, so I accepted it. Master, you’re not angry, are you?” Wen Jun lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong.
Doctor Jin looked at him and burst out laughing, clapping him on the shoulder. “Patients from wealthy families always give reward money for medical treatment, let alone when you saved their treasured child. Two hundred taels isn’t that much. Since they gave it, just keep it.”
He then added, “Now, tell me exactly how you saved the Xie family’s young master. When I later visited the Xie residence, I heard Madam Xie describe the scene—it really gave me a fright. Not to hide it from you, but throughout history, there have been many cases of children dying from choking on foreign objects. Not just children—even adults can die like that. So how did you manage to get the child to expel the object?”
“Well…” Wen Jun hesitated. How was he supposed to explain the Heimlich maneuver to his master?
Doctor Jin, seeing his hesitation, thought this must be a secret technique passed down in Wen Jun’s family and felt a bit awkward—after all, as a master, he couldn’t covet someone else’s family legacy.
“It’s alright. If it’s inconvenient to share, don’t worry. I’m just curious, that’s all,” Doctor Jin quickly added to smooth things over.
Wen Jun immediately shook his head. “It’s not that, Master. I was just thinking about how to explain it properly. This method was something I stumbled upon by chance. The reason people die when they choke is because the foreign object blocks the airway, cutting off breathing and causing them to suffocate. So what we need to do is get the object out.”
“But in that situation, trying to remove it directly can make the obstruction worse. That’s when we have to take emergency measures…”
“Airway? Emergency? What’s emergency?” Doctor Jin perked up with interest and listened attentively, asking questions whenever he didn’t understand.
Wen Jun thought for a moment and pointed at his own throat. “The airway is the path we breathe through. See, we breathe in and out from here.”
Doctor Jin’s eyes lit up like he’d discovered a new world. He nodded. “Ah, I see—airway! That’s a good term. And emergency?”
That was even easier to explain. Wen Jun smiled and asked, “When saving someone, is it urgent or not?”
“Urgent, of course!” Doctor Jin blurted out, then laughed heartily. “Haha! I get it now. Alright, go on.”
At this moment, Doctor Jin was like a knowledge-hungry student, afraid to miss a single word Wen Jun said.
Wen Yao saw the two of them like that and quietly slipped out of the back courtyard to the front of the clinic.
Hong Hai was sorting some things behind the counter. Wen Yao wandered over and helped him tidy the herbs and jars on the shelf, then asked, “Brother Hai, do you know of any reliable land agencies?”
Hong Hai paused in his task and asked, “You’re buying something?”
“Land,” Wen Yao replied. “Something happened in the family before, and my grandparents had to sell our land. Now that we’ve saved up some money, we want to buy it back before spring so the elders can have a happy New Year.”
“Land, huh… let me think.” Hong Hai frowned in thought for a while before saying, “There’s a land agency in the south of town. Their manager is acquainted with our manager. You can go there and mention you’re from Jishi Hall—they won’t try to cheat you.”
Wen Yao thanked him and planned to discuss the specific arrangements that evening with Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun.
Doctor Jin and Wen Jun stayed in the courtyard talking for quite some time. It wasn’t until a patient arrived at the front that Doctor Jin had to stop and return to work.
What surprised Wen Yao was that from that day on, Doctor Jin began to teach Wen Jun with even more care and seriousness. Even for something like a common cold, he would go into meticulous detail about symptoms, pulse patterns, and treatment methods.
Wen Yao stayed to cook a meal for them at the clinic before Ah Wang was called to take her back to Gutong Village by carriage.
As soon as the cart was heard pulling up outside, Da Tou bolted out of the house like a firecracker. Granny Luo, Wen Di, and Wen Ying followed and saw Wen Yao stepping down from the cart, holding Da Tou’s hand and thanking Ah Wang.
Ah Wang greeted Granny Luo and then drove the cart back toward town.
Granny Luo grabbed Wen Yao by the arm and dragged her inside, slamming the gate shut behind them with a bang. “What happened? Why did they call you over? Where’s your brother?”
Wen Yao, holding Da Tou’s hand, quickly explained, “It’s nothing, Grandma. My brother is still at the clinic. It really wasn’t anything serious. It’s just that he and I saved a child earlier, and the child’s family came to thank us. Since we both helped, Doctor Jin had Ah Wang bring me over.”
Granny Luo gasped. “Saved someone? What do you mean? When did this happen? Was it dangerous?”
Even Da Tou looked up at her, worried.
Wen Yao took the chance to pinch his nose and said, “Nothing dangerous. The kid just fell on the road, and we helped him out. Alright, Grandma, don’t worry. My brother will be home tonight. I just came back early in case the house was too busy.”
Since she put it that way, Granny Luo didn’t press further. Instead, she led her into the kitchen, saying that everything that needed doing was already taken care of.
Wen Yao looked at the finished braised meats, tasted them, and found the flavor and doneness just right. She immediately clung to Granny Luo’s arm and showered her with exaggerated praise.
Seeing they were all safe, and the braised meats were ready, Granny Luo took Wen Di and Wen Ying back to the old house.
Only after the old lady left did Wen Yao finally breathe a sigh of relief. She muttered to herself that it was all for the surprise, not to deliberately keep secrets.
But that act didn’t escape Da Tou’s notice. He tugged on her hand and looked at her with his little brows furrowed, clearly thinking: You’re not telling the truth, are you?
Wen Yao couldn’t help but smile at this little meat bun. She crouched down and said with a grin, “Okay, okay. It’s mostly like what I told Grandma, but it really wasn’t dangerous. The family really did just come to say thank you—and they gave us a gift too.”
Da Tou tilted his head, curious. A gift?
Wen Yao led him back into the room, pulled out four large silver ingots worth fifty taels each from her sleeve, and lined them up on the table. Da Tou’s eyes went wide in shock.
Wen Yao gently helped him close his hanging jaw and said, “We’ve got plans for this money. When Dad and Big Brother come back tonight, the four of us are going to sit down and talk it through properly.”
How much land to buy, what kind to buy—it all needed discussion. And if there was money left over, Wen Yao still wanted to fix up their current house. It really was just too run-down!
