The patients had dissipated quite a bit, which not only gave the doctors some relief, but also allowed Principal Clerk Ding, who managed the pharmacy next door, and others to relax even more.
Mr. Zhuang could finally make time to come by for a visit.
Manbao’s treatment speed had increased significantly, attending to about twenty patients, half of whom were there for follow-ups, so it took just half a day.
After seeing to the patients, Manbao leisurely administered acupuncture to the Gao Clan, the old woman, and others.
Once she had finished with their acupuncture, there were no more patients in front of Manbao’s medical tent, so she took Zhou Lijun to visit the neighbors.
Doctor Ji was treating someone’s leg, and Manbao glanced over and said, "The bone was set incorrectly?"
Doctor Ji responded, "It’s been broken for over half a year."
The patient had hesitated for several days before deciding to seek treatment, having little hope himself. Seeing Doctor Ji frown, he knew the prognosis was grim.
Unable to help herself, Manbao reached out and touched his leg, causing the patient’s face to flush red.
Nonetheless, Manbao paid it no mind and carefully felt along the bone, inch by inch, suggesting, "To fix it properly, it’ll need to be re-broken, right?"
Doctor Ji replied, "Hmm, after half a year, it’s tough to break it again."
Manbao said, "It’s just one bone; it would be a shame not to fix it properly."
Doctor Ji replied, "I think so too, but I’m not very skilled in this. Imperial Physician Fan is, and he has someone who’s very experienced in handling broken bones. It’s said that with one swing of his stick, if you want the bone cracked, he’ll make sure it won’t be broken outright."
"Would Imperial Physician Fan be willing to help?"
After thinking a moment, Doctor Ji said, "If you ask him directly, of course he’ll help, but there’s the issue of the fee..."
Manbao looked at the patient.
The patient hurriedly lowered his trouser leg and exclaimed, "I, I won’t get it treated, I won’t get it treated."
Manbao hadn’t yet treated such a case and was quite eager to try, so she tried to reassure him, "Don’t be afraid. If need be, I’ll ask Imperial Physician Fan. Perhaps for my sake, he might charge less. Otherwise, I can help you pay for it."
The patient shook his head like a rattle and struggled to free himself from Manbao’s grasp to leave.
Doctor Ji watched him for a moment, then stopped Manbao and said, "Let it go. Since you’re not planning on re-breaking and resetting that bone, I’ll prescribe some medicine to strengthen the bone instead."
The patient didn’t expect this lucky break and thanked them profusely. After receiving the prescription, he hobbled away.
As the cold wind blew, Manbao hugged her hands for warmth and asked, "Why won’t he get it treated, even when I said I’d pay for it?"
"People aren’t stupid. Why would you help him for no reason? Set aside the cost of the treatment; if he has to go through the ordeal again, he’d be bedridden for at least three months. Don’t forget, he’s a refugee. Can he afford to lie down for that long?"
Manbao was taken aback and fell silent.
"Moreover, can you be certain that re-breaking and resetting the bone will definitely work?" Doctor Ji continued, "As doctors, no matter the illness or the time, we say it’s treatable, not that it’s guaranteed to be cured. Without a sure promise, of course, he wouldn’t take the risk."
Doctor Ji looked at Manbao and added, "Remember this, Manbao. No matter what patient you encounter, even if they’ve only scratched their skin, you can’t say for sure that you can cure them. You’re a doctor, not a deity."
Manbao bowed her head in acknowledgment.
Satisfied with her response, Doctor Ji glanced outside and said, "There might be more people coming for follow-up treatments this afternoon. Come on, while we have the time, I’ll show you around, introduce you to some more doctors."
Manbao perked up at the idea, "Okay, great!"
Doctor Ji led Manbao around, passing from one medical tent to another, and all knew that Doctor Ji was mentoring a young successor. While they didn’t have an official master-apprentice title, they shared such a bond in practice.
It was also known that it was her who had stopped the bleeding of the Ji Family’s young master and, supposedly, even the formula that ultimately saved him had come from her.
Because of this, despite being young and a girl with her own medical tent, even though the other doctors harbored suspicions, none voiced their doubts.
They had all seen her performance over the past three days; despite an overwhelming number of patients, she managed to prescribe medications on her own. Firstly, she didn’t mistreat any cases, preventing patients from coming back with complaints.
Secondly, they had seen her medical records and found her work indeed impressive. Although she lacked the overall refinement compared to them, the treatments she administered for some illnesses were exceedingly well-handled.
Even they couldn’t claim to do better.
All the doctors now recognized Manbao, and she too had heard about these doctors from Zhou Lijun, but this was the first time they formally introduced themselves to each other.
Doctor Ji took her from tent to tent, occasionally when they stumbled upon a patient being treated, they would engage in a consultation on the case.
But a patient who came for dizziness due to catching a cold was frightened by the sight of one, two, three, four doctors circling him, fearing he had contracted some fatal disease.
Their discussion, however, suggested otherwise.
A few doctors, out of sheer boredom, debated over three or four different prescriptions for a common cold patient and after a somewhat fierce argument, the owner of the tent – Doctor Xu – picked a prescription from the four for the patient and said, "Go and get the medicine. If there is not enough of what’s on the prescription, come back to me, and I’ll write you another one."
Finally, the last patient was seen off, and instead of returning to their own tents, the doctors just huddled together, or squatted in front of Doctor Xu’s tent to soak in the sun.
Manbao found a good spot to squat when Doctor Ji, unable to find a comfortable spot himself, kicked her and said, "What are you squatting for at your young age? Stand up."
Manbao reluctantly gave up her spot to him.
Looking up at the azure sky, the group lamented, "Really, people should know to stagger their visits instead of all coming at once. When it’s busy, we don’t even have time to use the toilet, and once it’s all done, we’re bored to the brink of mold. Why can’t they space out their appointments?"
"This is a free clinic, after all, it’s not like they’re paying to see a doctor. They can’t pick their times. Be content with what you have. There’s another half day of this tomorrow, and after that, it’s over. These three days have really worn me out; I’ll need to rest for three whole days after I get back."
"I need a few days off too. When was the last time I was this tired... during the flood disaster?"
That remark brought silence to the group as they remembered that this was also a consequence of Yizhou’s flood disaster, and they sighed deeply.
Doctor Ji let out a heavy sigh, "Looking at those people, who would have thought that three years ago their families were happy and their lives prosperous and peaceful?"
"Isn’t this a good thing? I heard that the houses County Magistrate Tang is building are almost finished."
"It’s not that fast. They’re just houses made of stone mixed with mud and straw bricks. With so many refugees recruited to work there, a group can finish a house in three to five days."
"I’ve heard County Magistrate Tang plans to build ten villages, each with about a hundred people, all built around those barren lands to avoid occupying arable land. The chosen sites aren’t great and will be hard to clear."
"It’s still better than being homeless..."
As they were talking, a commotion arose from afar. The doctors turned to look and saw five or six people carrying a plank and rushing over, shouting, "Doctor, save me, doctor, save me—"
Doctor Ji sprang up from the ground and exclaimed, "Work calls—"
Due to the abrupt rise, he felt dizzy for a moment and was about to fall, but Manbao reached out and steadied him.