Chapter 58: Visiting the Doctor

Su Sanlang smiled warmly at Madam Zhao and touched Su Chong’s hair.

Su Sanlang’s gentleness calmed the uneasiness in the family.

Madam Zhao replied with a smile, “Okay.”

The past that had frightened her was a distant memory. She had Su Sanlang and her four children now.

There was hope for the future now. Madam Zhao smiled and suppressed the uneasiness in her heart. Instead, she imagined what kind of New Year goods they would buy later.

They arrived at Goathorn Town with their beautiful imagination.

Su Sanlang paid the entrance fee and brought his family into the city.

Sun Fu was the one who told him about the Miscellaneous Medicine Hall. Su Sanlang had already asked for the address, so this time, they went straight to the Miscellaneous Medicine Hall.

When it was their turn, the doctor asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Su Sanlang pulled Su Chong and Su Hua in front of him and said, “Doctor, I want you to take a look at my two sons. One of them hit his head when he was a few months old, and the other is mentally impaired after a high fever. I want to ask if they can be treated?”

“Chong, Hua, quickly sit down and extend your hands. Let the doctor take your pulse.”

Su Sanlang felt a little excited. He asked Su Chong and Su Hua to sit down and looked at the doctor hopefully.

The doctor was already used to this and did not say anything. He first took Su Chong and Su Hua’s pulse and then looked at the two of them. After examining them carefully, he said, “Your two sons have injured their meridians in their brains. To put it bluntly, their brains are already damaged, so they can’t be treated. If they were brought over when they were first injured, they would basically be fine after taking a few sets of medicine. After all these years, they can’t be treated anymore.”

……

Su Sanlang looked pained. He choked and asked indignantly, “Is there no other way?”

The doctor sighed and said, “There are ways, but humans can’t do them. Both of your sons have varying degrees of brain damage. Unless someone can open their heads and clean up the damage, they can’t be treated. But no one in the world can do that today.”

Su Chong and Su Hua’s intelligence stopped developing at a young age. That was because their meridians were damaged. If they could be repaired, it was possible for them to become normal, but they could not.

No one in this world could perform the Art of Rebirth.

Su Sanlang’s eyes turned red. He felt terrible, but he collected his emotions and stood up to thank the doctor. “Thank you, doctor. Please take another look at my wife.”

Su Chong and Su Hua were not sad at all, but they looked worried when they saw that their parents seemed to be very sad.

Madam Zhao said with red eyes, “Father, there’s no need. I’m fine.”

Her two sons could not be cured. Madam Zhao’s heart was in pain. What made her heart feel like it was being cut by a knife was when the doctor said that if they were treated in time back then, they would be able to recover. If only, if only…

Su Sanlang pulled Madam Zhao and said, “Darling, don’t say that. Let the doctor take a look at you.”

Su Chong and Su Hua were already a foregone conclusion. He could not change the past, but from now on, he could not do anything that he would regret.

In the end, Madam Zhao sat down.

After the doctor took her pulse, he said slowly, “Her body is a little weak. It’s because she lost her vitality after giving birth. Her foundation is empty, so it’s fine as long as she takes time to recuperate. It’s just that she won’t be able to give birth in the future.”

The doctor looked at Su Xiaolu on Madam Zhao’s back and said nothing.

Su Sanlang said, “Please give me some medicinal herbs to nourish her body.”

Madam Zhao’s body was just as Old Man Wu had said. He didn’t care if she couldn’t get pregnant. He had never thought of letting Madam Zhao get pregnant again. It was fine as long as there were no other serious problems.

“Alright, take the prescription and grab some medicine. You can buy some tonics to replenish your energy and use them to make soup occasionally.”

The doctor picked up a pen and paper and wrote the prescription. He looked at Su Sanlang several times.

Su Sanlang took the prescription and went to get the herbs. Then, the family left the Miscellaneous Medicine Hall.

At this moment, a disciple beside the doctor came over and asked, “Master, this family is really strange. They didn’t save the two sons back then, so what’s the use of coming now?”

The doctor sighed and said, “How can outsiders understand the suffering of others? Don’t spout nonsense.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

The disciple realized that he was wrong. He apologized and left.

…

After spending a tael of silver on the medicine, Su Sanlang brought Madam Zhao and the children to buy two bolts of cloth and two catties of salt.

He went to the farm equipment store and bought two hoes, a pair of tongs, a kitchen knife, and scissors. He also bought a sickle and some grain seeds.

Finally, they bought some meat. Seeing that someone was selling live chickens and ducks, Madam Zhao was a little tempted and said, “Sanlang, let’s buy a few of them back and raise them. If they lay eggs, we can raise them.”

Su Sanlang nodded. “Sure.”

They bought two chickens and two ducks, each a male and a female.

Finally, Su Sanlang went to buy a packet of candy. He smiled and said, “For Chong, Hua, and Sanmei.”

Madam Zhao nodded. “Okay.”

It was late afternoon when the family returned to the house.

When Madam Zhao placed the chickens and ducks in the coop, she exclaimed, “Sanlang, come and take a look.”

Su Sanlang was shocked. He thought something was wrong. He ran to look and found six chickens and three ducks inside.

Su Sanmei exclaimed, “Father, Mother, it’s Grandpa Wu’s chickens and ducks.”

Su Sanmei knew every chicken and duck that she fed every day.

They had lived in Old Wu’s house for more than a month and eaten many of them.

Su Sanlang and Madam Zhao looked at each other and ran out of the house.

He knocked on the door of Old Wu’s house. No one answered. The door was locked. Clearly, no one was there.

Su Sanlang and Madam Zhao returned home and found a lot of grains and meat in the kitchen.

Madam Zhao said in tears, “Doctor Wu has given all of this to us. What should we do? Where did he go?”

Su Sanlang also felt a little sad. “I don’t know,” he said.

“Father, there’s a letter here.”

Su Sanmei noticed a piece of paper under the bowl on the stove and immediately pointed it out.

Su Sanlang immediately went to take a look. After taking a look, he frowned and said, “Doctor Wu said that he went on a long trip and is giving these things to us.”

The drawing on the paper showed two homes. One person moved things into the other. Then, below, a person walked away with a sack on his back.

No matter how he looked at it, Old Wu was giving the things to their family.

“If Doctor Wu has given all these to us, will he still come back?”

When Madam Zhao heard this, she was a little worried. She continued to ask, “Doctor Wu didn’t say where he went?”

Su Sanlang shook his head. “He didn’t draw it. Maybe he went back to his hometown.”

Old Wu was not from Southern Mountain Village. No one knew where he came from. Old Wu was very reclusive. Everyone only knew that he was a doctor.

He had left abruptly. Perhaps he had gone back to his hometown or somewhere else. No one knew the truth.