Chapter 104: The First Patient
Ning Xiyue was stunned by the name of the new skill. Was it what she thought it was?
“System, tell me — is the ‘Hyperthymesia – Eidetic Memory’ skill literal? Is it the hyperthymesia I know?”
Hyperthymesia was an extremely rare medical phenomenon known as the happiest illness in the world. Those with it possessed an extraordinarily strong memory and eidetic recall. The downside, however, was the lack of selective forgetting — they remembered everything, from the tiniest details of childhood onward. Their minds replayed their past like a constant movie, leading to mental overload and, often, psychological breakdowns.
To Ning Xiyue, people with hyperthymesia were like humans with awakened superpowers — more powerful than machines.
In her previous life, she had watched a TV program about someone with hyperthymesia. That person said that reading a book once was like photographing every page in their mind.
Now the system told her she had signed in and received the “Eidetic Memory” skill — had it perhaps extracted only the best part of hyperthymesia for her?
[Yes, Host,” the system replied. “As long as you read a book carefully once, you will remember all its contents permanently. This skill is permanent — once used, it will completely fuse with your soul and become part of you. No one can take it away — not even me.]
Ning Xiyue was overjoyed. “That powerful? Hahaha! System, please give me a dozen more sign-in tasks like this!”
Impatiently, she shouted, “Use the skill!”
[Ding — Skill successfully activated.]
As soon as the system spoke, Ning Xiyue felt a wave of clarity sweep through her mind — like clouds parting to reveal the moon. She felt as though she had ascended to a higher level of consciousness.
She quickly opened the door and entered the clinic, setting her bag down before eagerly pulling out a high school politics textbook to test the skill.
Opening the book, she focused intently on the words before her. Every word her eyes scanned was imprinted into her memory.
After finishing a page, she closed the book. A moment later, she recalled the contents — and sure enough, with just a thought, every word resurfaced in her mind, perfectly intact.
“How is it? Impressive, right?” the little turtle asked smugly, lounging in midair with one leg crossed over the other.
“Impressive.”
She truly found it amazing. With eidetic memory, she could drastically reduce the time spent reading. Once the knowledge was stored in her brain, she could devote far more time to practical application.
Ning Xiyue was extremely satisfied with this skill — so much so that she completely ignored the 1,000 points and the 100 yuan exchange option.
At this moment, she also had time to inspect the roughly 70-square-meter clinic, which was divided into three rooms.
The largest room on the right was the core of the clinic — the main consultation and dispensing hall. There were two medicine cabinets: the one on the left held a small amount of Western medicine, mostly common tablets like analgin and cold medicine, each bottle containing only a few pills, leaving the cabinet nearly empty.
The right cabinet, however, was packed — but with all kinds of dried herbs, stored rather haphazardly. They had been roughly sun-dried, their preparation crude, resulting in some loss of potency — but they were still usable.
A consultation desk sat in the room as well. Other than that, there wasn’t much else in the main hall.
The two rooms on the left served different purposes. The front-left room functioned as both a simple ward and a rudimentary operating room, equipped with a stove for decocting medicine, small medicine pots, and a treatment table where patients could lie down.
The remaining back-left room was a resting place for barefoot doctors and health workers. It was small, containing only a bunk bed and a table.
If not for the lack of a kitchen — and the fact that she had already built a small kitchen back at the educated youth courtyard — she would have moved in here.
After surveying the clinic, Ning Xiyue returned to the consultation room and organized the medicine cabinets, neatly categorizing the contents and even labeling them with notes.
She then pulled out several ledgers, herb registration books, and the handover materials left by the previous barefoot doctor to review them and familiarize herself with the clinic’s operations.
With the help of her eidetic memory, the difference was remarkable. She quickly finished reading through the thick ledgers and materials, and even sorted out the medicine pricing and the clinic’s administrative procedures in no time.
Just as she sat down and took a sip of water, loud shouting erupted outside the clinic door.
“Doctor Ning! Please save my Gou Dan!”
“Gou Dan, don’t cry, we’re at the clinic now — Doctor Ning! Doctor Ning!”
A desperate voice screamed from outside.
Moments later, a group of people rushed in carrying a crying child, shouting as they came.
Ning Xiyue immediately stepped outside. Her sharp eyes caught sight of the boy’s leg, blood gushing from it. The handkerchief pressed against the wound was completely soaked.
“Bring him into the first room on the left!”
She spun around, quickly grabbing gauze and medical tools from the cabinet. She then pulled some fast-acting hemostatic and disinfectant powder and ointment from her spatial storage, placing them on a tray as she ran over.
Little Gou Dan whimpered in pain, his lips pale from blood loss.
Aunt Huaihua, Uncle Anguo’s wife, looked anxiously at Ning Xiyue. “Doctor Ning, please, you must save my Gou Dan!”
“Don’t interrupt Xiyue’s treatment,” Uncle Anguo said, pulling Aunt Huaihua aside to give Ning Xiyue space. He also explained the cause of the wound: “Xiyue, Gou Dan fell and cut his leg on a hoe. It’s a deep gash.”
“Aunt Huaihua, don’t worry. Anyone at the door — either come in or move aside. Don’t block the light.”
Ning Xiyue spoke without lifting her head, her hands moving quickly to treat the wound and stop the bleeding.
Zhao Anguo immediately directed the people at the door to clear the way.
The wound was long and deep — about four or five centimeters — and in the deepest part, the bone was visible. Blood flowed freely.
Thankfully, she had her own medicine. With it, she didn’t need to worry about stopping the bleeding — or even about stitching the wound.
As she worked, she gently comforted the crying little patient:
“Gou Dan, don’t be afraid. It’ll be better soon… Look, the bleeding has stopped, hasn’t it? Once I put some medicine on, it won’t hurt anymore.”
The boy’s crying gradually subsided. Tears clung to his eyelashes as he trembled slightly, glancing down at the wound on his leg, sniffling from time to time.
He no longer saw any blood. His leg felt cool and wasn’t very painful. The gentle voice of the doctor-sister in front of him calmed him further. He curiously watched Ning Xiyue clean the wound, apply medicine, and bandage it.
When she finished, Ning Xiyue smiled gently at him and patted his soft, fluffy head.
“All done. It doesn’t hurt anymore now, does it? Sister was right, huh?”
“Mhm… Thank you, Sister,” the little boy whispered shyly.
The well-mannered child then pulled a few roasted beans from his pocket and held them out to her.
“Sister, this is for you. Thank you for saving me.”
Ning Xiyue held out her hand to receive them.
“Then I’ll accept them. Thank you for the gift, Gou Dan. But remember — be more careful when you play, alright?”
“Mhm!” Gou Dan nodded seriously.
“Doctor Ning, truly, thank you so much today. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what we would’ve done!” Aunt Huaihua said, crying again as she spoke.
Gou Dan was only four years old — the late-born, only child of Aunt Huaihua and Uncle Anguo. She had given birth to him at thirty-nine. He was the family’s precious treasure. If anything had happened to him, Aunt Huaihua might not have wanted to go on living.
“It’s alright, Auntie. Gou Dan is fine now. Just make sure to come by every day for dressing changes. Watch his diet — avoid spicy food — and you can give him boiled eggs to help his body recover.”
“Thank you, Xiyue.” Zhao Anguo bowed deeply in gratitude. Thankfully, he had agreed to the captain’s proposal last night. Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine how dangerous it would’ve been if Gou Dan had to be taken to town and they’d lost precious time.
Ning Xiyue shifted slightly to avoid the full bow.
“It’s nothing — just my duty.”
[Ding — Sign-in mission triggered: Saving a Life is More Meritorious Than Building a Seven-Story Pagoda. Current progress: 1/5. Completing the sign-in will grant the host massive points and generous rewards.]
