Chapter 45:
When they got close to Luo Zhi’er, Luo Zhi’er let An Ge’er go first……
That white-bearded old man was surnamed Du.
He was about eighty years old, with silver hair as white as snow.
He looked thin and clear, spirited, with bright and piercing eyes. He heard that today was a special house call; he never came before……he had retired!
“Doctor Du……”
Before she could finish speaking, that old woman hurriedly squeezed forward and pushed her away. “You’re so stupid, get out of the way, let me speak!”
She gave Doctor Du a fawning smile and said,
“Hehe, Doctor Du, my family’s An Ge’er, they said we dressed him too thickly, that’s not true……it’s because he always gets colds……”
Doctor Du raised his eyelids impatiently and glanced at her. “Who are you? Are you usually the one taking close care of this child?”
“No, I’m his mother-in-law, this is my eldest grandson!”
“Then let his mother speak!”
“Asking me is the same…”
That old woman muttered discontentedly!
Doctor Du frowned. “The same? Can you replace his real mother?”
“……Then let me ask you, how many times a day does your eldest grandson poop? Is it dry or loose? How often does he pee?”
“Is the pee dark or light? How many times a day does he drink water? How many meals does he eat? What does he eat per meal? How many naps during the day? How many times does he wake at night?”
“Ah… um… this, doctor, why are you asking these? I’m here for my eldest grandson’s consultation, why ask these irrelevant things? This, how would I know?”
That old woman was stumped by the questions……An Ge’er slept with his mother at night…during the day his mother took care of him, she only occasionally gave instructions, how would she know the details?
“You don’t know? If you don’t know, why are you squeezing forward to speak? I must understand these basic situations for the consultation.”
“This……”
“This what, I’m very busy, hurry and let his mother explain clearly, step back!!!”
“Hurry up, there are people behind!”
“Exactly, you, move aside quickly! Stop dawdling!”
People behind shouted!
That old woman was scolded by the doctor and felt extremely embarrassed, her face flushed red.
At home she was the mistress, how could she inexplicably get scolded for no reason? She could only stand awkwardly to the side……
An Ge’er’s mother then came forward, holding the child, and said,
“Doctor Du, please trouble you to check my family’s An Ge’er’s eyes, and he always has fevers during the day……”
“His body has many red rashes, all scratched open, he doesn’t sleep well at night and keeps crying……also, his bottom is all chafed, can you prescribe some powder medicine?”
That old woman suddenly jumped up again, her shrill voice making people in the apothecary turn their heads frequently. “What powder medicine, us rural people all use mud ash from the mountain!”
The powder medicine they mentioned was equivalent to modern prickly heat powder, to keep the bottom dry.
Here some rural people use mud ash, saying it’s an ancestral secret recipe that can be used; this mud ash comes from different places, its effectiveness remains to be verified!
“You prodigal woman, you have plenty of silver, right?”
“When I get home, I’ll have An Ge’er’s father divorce you, you jinx!!!”
Luo Zhi’er also got angry listening to this; this old woman was really comparable to Li Sanmao’s mother!
Li Sanmao’s mother currently had three daughters-in-law, while she only had An Ge’er’s mother as one, she had her targeted.
“Shut up!”
Doctor Du couldn’t take it anymore. “Waiter, come over and take this loudmouthed woman out, let her wait outside……”
“Yes!”
The waiter from earlier quickly called over a medicine boy, who came and escorted the reluctant old woman out……
As the old woman left, she was still cursing. “You have money, pay for the consultation yourself, this old woman has no silver for you to mooch!”
She got glares, jeers, and mockery from the patients……“What kind of person is this?”
“Running into this kind of mother-in-law, truly eight lifetimes of bad luck, not knowing her own weight……the child is sick, it’s not some other matter that can’t be discussed! Just curse away?”
Only then did Doctor Du’s ears clear up. He carefully examined An Ge’er’s eyes……tongue coating……and opened his clothes to look……
An Ge’er’s mother felt a pang of heartache, tears welling in her eyes.
Her mother-in-law wouldn’t pay silver, what to do about buying medicine for An Ge’er later?
Doctor Du looked at An Ge’er’s complexion and asked, “Madam, how old is this little treasure?”
“Six months.”
“Did he drink milk this morning?”
“I have no milk……he drinks rice water……”
“You still need to keep up with milk, otherwise his resistance will be poor; after all, he’s still small…”
“Also, is your living environment quite damp?”
“That’s the case!”
“Mm, he has a lot of eczema on his body, I’ll prescribe some moisturizing ointment for you, apply it!”
“Good!”
……
Luo Zhi’er was also concerned about An Ge’er’s eyes and stood behind listening……
“Also, the chafing on this child’s bottom is already inflamed, powder medicine won’t work, it needs specific ointment to apply; usually keep it clean and dry, temporarily don’t use diapers to cover him……remember not to listen to your mother-in-law and get mud ash from the mountain, it’s not clean and will cause more trouble with infection……”
“His eyes are also related to the damp environment, plus his weak resistance, he has severe conjunctivitis; look, his eyes keep tearing, there’s foreign matter in his eyes, it’s hard to heal on its own!”
“I don’t know if he has come into contact with contaminated objects……like hands rubbing eyes, or dirty towels and such infection sources……”
An Ge’er’s mother thought about it; she herself hadn’t done that, usually paying attention to hygiene!
Suddenly she remembered, last time her mother-in-law used hands that had scooped manure to pick eye gunk for An Ge’er!
Afterward the eye gunk increased, and while cursing her as lazy and harmful, she used hemp cloth from the table to wash his face and eyes……
She told her mother-in-law to wash hands before holding An Ge’er, but her mother-in-law got very angry and said children raised in rural areas aren’t that delicate!
“Yes, last time mother-in-law used her finger to pick eye gunk for him, I don’t know if that had an effect?”
“Best not to!”
“An Ge’er’s mother, this conjunctivitis is quite serious; he’s still young, requires high-quality medicine that won’t harm the body, needs a top-grade medicinal herb to treat and reduce inflammation.”
“This medicine is very expensive, ordinary drugs won’t work well for An Ge’er’s symptoms!”
“Doctor Du, about how much silver is needed?”
“Just this one medicinal herb costs eight taels of silver; An Ge’er’s illness is complex, combined together, today you’ll need at least ten taels!”
Doctor Du kindly reminded her; he could tell that old woman was the steward, An Ge’er’s mother probably couldn’t come up with silver!
“What? Doctor Du, can’t it be cheaper?” An Ge’er’s mother said with a sob.
“I can’t decide on this medicine; seeing you’ve waited so long and An Ge’er’s condition is serious, I’ll give you the prescription for free; if you think the medicine is too expensive, go to another apothecary to fill it!”
“Then trouble Doctor Du!”
This old Doctor Du sighed, lowered his head and wrote the prescription!
“Remember, if you don’t properly use the medicine I prescribed for An Ge’er, his eyes may risk blindness in the future!”
“What?”
“This is not an empty threat!”
Luo Zhi’er saw An Ge’er’s mother stand up in a daze; it was her turn now, but without time to greet, she hugged the child and went out to find her mother-in-law……
