Chapter 179
Fang Zichen: "......"
Hearing this, Fang Zichen was left utterly speechless.
He had been running for over twenty minutes. His face was not flushed, and he was not gasping for air. He was completely fine, thank you very much.
Physician Xu was roused from bed once more. He did not take Xiao Feng's pulse, merely giving him a swift visual examination. He saw that Xiao Feng's lips were pale, his complexion had a greyish-blue pallor, and his face was swollen. Physician Xu's eyebrows drew together in a deep furrow.
"This child......"
Fang Zichen's heart gave a heavy thud. "Physician, please save him."
"What is his relationship to you?" Physician Xu asked.
"Ah?" Fang Zichen didn't understand why he was asking this, but still answered truthfully, "No relationship. We're just from the same village."
"Where are his parents?" Physician Xu asked. Only after Fang Zichen placed Xiao Feng on the bed did Physician Xu cut open the clothing on Xiao Feng's chest. The area around his wound was blanched white from soaking in rain, and parts of it had already been eaten by ants, resembling rotten flesh. "His condition is critical. His breathing is shallow, and his exhalations are too heavy. He will not hold on for much longer. We must sustain his vital energy."
Fang Zichen urged, "Then do it quickly! Sustain it now!"
Physician Xu looked at him coolly. "Do you know what we use to sustain it?"
Fang Zichen felt his fist itching.
Is now really the time to ask this?
If I already knew the answer, why would I have come here to the medical hall?
Seeing Fang Zichen seemed impatient, Physician Xu continued, "Our medical hall mostly uses ginseng to sustain vital energy. However, this ginseng is not cheap. If it were ordinary medicine, this old man wouldn't be stingy and would give it to him directly. But this ginseng... this old man cannot make the decision. Also, I must make this clear to you beforehand. This ginseng is not some miraculous medicine that brings the dead back to life. It can only sustain vital energy, allowing this child to hold on a bit longer and recover some energy. I cannot guarantee anything else. Do you understand?"
The old soldier tugged at Fang Zichen's sleeve and whispered, "The young owner behind this Jishi Medical Hall is from the Yan family. Physician Xu is just someone he hired from outside."
The Yan family was honest and kind. When poor commoners came for consultation and medicine, they often gave discounts, reducing the price by one or two copper coins. But this ginseng... it could cost at least a hundred taels, possibly even a thousand.
Who among ordinary families could afford it?
It was a remedy mostly consumed by wealthy families.
This child had no relation to Fang Zichen, and his clothing showed he was from a poor family. On top of that, there were large and small bruises on his chest, some faded, others still dark in color. It seemed he was not only unloved at home but also frequently beaten. Physician Xu naturally had to make things clear.
"Use it on him." Fang Zichen knew this was like a gamble. Winning meant Xiao Feng could return with him. Losing meant Xiao Feng would remain here forever, while he himself would be left bankrupt and empty-handed—losing both the person and the money. Fang Zichen hardly hesitated at all, seizing that faint thread of hope. "Saving his life is the priority!"
Physician Xu, seeing him speak so heroically, stretched out his hand. "The silver?"
Fang Zichen choked, his face growing even redder. "...I don't have it now. Hey, old man, why are you looking at me like that? I left in a hurry and didn't bring any. Are you afraid I won't give it to you? The Jia and Zhang families just compensated me six hundred taels last time. I have plenty of money now."
Physician Xu had testified in court that day and knew about this matter. He immediately said, "The shop received a three-hundred-year-old ginseng from out of town last month, valued at exactly six hundred taels. I'll use that for this child!"
Fang Zichen: "......"
Fang Zichen was shocked. These words felt like carving flesh from his bones and drinking his blood. He opened his mouth, but Physician Xu spoke first, "The older the ginseng, the better the effect."
Fang Zichen's heart was dripping blood, aching in waves. Almost grinding his teeth, he thought of that lingzhi mushroom, and his heart softened. "Then use it, use it."
The old soldier immediately regarded him with deep respect.
My 'father' is truly kind-hearted and generous man!
Six hundred taels, such a large sum of silver, spent without even batting an eye.
Physician Xu cut a slice of ginseng and placed it in Xiao Feng's mouth, then cut a bit more for the medicine boy to go boil.
The wound was somewhat infected. Physician Xu performed simple treatment, using a thin knife that had been sterilized by fire to cut away the rotten flesh. Xiao Feng showed no reaction, as if he couldn't feel the pain, completely unconscious.
The old soldier and Fang Zichen went to the outer room to rest. Seeing Fang Zichen was only wearing two thin layers of clothing, both wet, the old soldier immediately went to the backyard and got a brazier from the medicine boy.
"Father, take off your clothes and roast them by the fire first! Otherwise, you'll catch a cold."
Fang Zichen glanced at him. "You're really addicted to calling me 'father,' aren't you? Not saying I'm taking advantage of you anymore?"
The old soldier scratched his head and chuckled, taking the clothes Fang Zichen handed over and helping him roast them over the fire.
A few months ago, a dangerous prisoner escaped, stole a horse, and ran rampant through the streets. The old soldier led a team to apprehend him. Unfortunately, the prisoner was highly trained; he delivered a powerful kick directly to the old soldier's face, sending him flying back several meters. Humiliated in front of the public, the old soldier felt he had lost all face. He watched as the galloping horse injured many commoners, and the officers who tried to block the prisoner's path were beaten back with his club, unable to get close.
The West Street was congested, which was the only reason they had managed to keep up. If the prisoner reached the open roads beyond West Street, two legs could never outrun four; capturing him would become nearly impossible.
Seeing the prisoner was about to break free of West Street, the old soldier, in a moment of desperation, shouted, "Whoever can capture that man, I will respectfully call him 'father'!"
Having an official from the yamen call you 'father' would be a tremendous honor.
Yet no one stepped forward.
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