NOVEL WEB Chapter 12: Becoming a Physician
Special Thanks to these patrons for their support!
S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Celeste S.] [Azurixa] [Robert K.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[Jungle] [Talia R.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Camille] [Linds] [Klancain] [Esther D.]
Ever since she lost her nightlife, Gu Jiao got up earlier than a chicken every day.
Before the sky got bright, she walked outside with a bucket and went to the ancient well at the entrance of the village to draw water.
The villagers also got up early. By this time, several aunties and little wives were drawing water beside the well. When they saw Gu Jiao coming, everyone was surprised.
The story of Gu Jiao making a fuss about the oxcart ride had spread all over the village, and everyone knew that she pulled Gu Dashun off the oxcart. In the end, she was a fool, even her own cousin would be harmed by her once her illness acted up.
It was just...
How come she came here to fetch water so early?
This little fool never did any work and everyday, she would sleep until the sun was three poles high[1].
Ignoring everyone’s gazes, Gu Jiao walked over to the ancient well, lowered the bucket, drew water, and then carried it back home with a shoulder pole.
It wasn’t until she was far away that the crowd suddenly came back to their senses.
Were they dazzled? Just now, the little fool didn't look like a fool at all. In addition, she even looked nice when she drew water and also when she walked away.
After Gu Jiao fetched some water, she steamed a box of pork buns.
Yesterday, she bought a strip of cured meat and soaked it in water before going to bed, so that the extra saltiness was soaked out, but the flavor of the cured meat was preserved just right.
The aroma of the pork stuffed buns wafted out that the dog next door barked greedily.
Gu Jiao grabbed two pork buns and went up the mountain.
Although she had harvested almost all the wood ears in the mountain, there were still a lot of wild mushrooms.
In fact, the villagers could also see these ingredients when they went to the mountain to cut firewood, but most people didn’t dare to pick them for two reasons. One was that they were unable to distinguish between poisonous and edible mushrooms, the other was that they didn’t know they could also remove the poison of fresh wood ears.
After collecting wild mushrooms, Gu Jiao went straight to the market.
The east of the town was a relatively rich and prosperous area. The best medical halls and restaurants, as well as the yamen[2] and the academy were all located there. In contrast, the west of the town was much more complex. Here, there were markets, artisan workshops, gambling houses, low-grade brothels... Basically, it was a mix of everything else.
When Gu Jiao arrived at the market, she randomly found a vacant stall.
The aunt next to her still remembered her. She smilingly spoke to her, "There you are. Do you still have the kind of mushrooms you had last time? My eldest grandson likes to eat it. Can I have some more?”
The aunt was selling sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were much cheaper compared to the mushrooms on the mountain, but Gu Jiao didn’t care. She handed her the back basket and let her take it by herself.
The aunt grabbed some and put in two large, red sweet potatoes in exchange.
After a while, the aunt on the other side also leaned over and said with a smile, "I... Can I also trade radishes for some? I also want to make some stew for my family."
"Sure." Gu Jiao nodded her head casually and motioned to the aunt with her eyes to grab some on her own.
The aunt then traded two big radishes for two handfuls of mushrooms from Gu Jiao.
After that, several vendors also came and traded their own goods for Gu Jiao's mushrooms.
Diagonally across this scene were two men sitting in a tea shack, where they could have a panoramic view of everything.
"Shopkeeper Wang, is that the girl you’re talking about?" The person who asked the question was a splendidly-dressed man in his early thirties, with firm facial features and a tall figure.
The middle-aged man in his forties next to him replied, "Answering Second Owner, it's indeed her."
Second Owner looked at Gu Jiao and frowned, "Isn’t she stupid to exchange such expensive mountain goods for such cheap commodities? Some people even put rotten goods in her basket but she didn’t say anything at all. Really stupid!"
"This..." Shopkeeper Wang didn’t know what to say. The way he saw it, it wasn’t that she was stupid, she just didn't care.
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Second Owner asked.
"I was there when she rescued the patient. I saw her stitch up such a deep and long cut with my own eyes. I can’t be mistaken." Shopkeeper Wang answered with gesticulation.
What Shopkeeper Wang didn't say was that he actually met her twice. The first time was in this market, that was why he knew she would come here to do business.
"How old is she?” Second Owner frowned. No matter what, he was unable to believe that she was the physician who had brought the almost dead man back to life.
She looked too young and too poor, and also had a birthmark like that on her face.
But Shopkeeper Wang wouldn’t lie to him either.
The incident last time had a great impact. Not only it offended Physician Zhang, but also made the main medical hall in the capital very dissatisfied. His position as the second owner was in jeopardy, thus he urgently needed a capable physician to salvage the situation.
Second Owner said, "Ask her who she’s learning from. I’m willing to pay a large sum of money to hire her master to sit in our medical hall and treat patients."
This girl's medical skills wouldn’t just come out of thin air. It would be more reliable to ask her master than to hire her.
Shopkeeper Wang thought this method was feasible, so he quickly turned around to go and inquire. However, as soon as he took a step, he saw a young man collapse in front of a chicken stall, scaring away all the chickens in the cage.
"Aiya! My chickens! My chickens!" The chicken vendor hurriedly went to catch the chickens.
The scene was chaotic.
Shopkeeper Wang and Second Owner's gazes fell on the young man and they were stunned.
The young man was suffering from chest tightness, cyanosis, and shortness of breath, which was almost identical to the symptoms of the critical patients in their medical hall, except that the condition of this young man was more intense and urgent. At least, those patients were still able to return home in the end, but this young man was about to suffocate to death.
This was a hopeless case. Even if the physician from their medical hall came, nothing could be done anymore!
At the critical moment, a small thin figure came out of the crowd. She crouched down on one knee in front of the young man, tore his clothes and stabbed him in the chest with the thing in her hand!
Everybody gasped!
Were they witnessing a murder?
The next second, Gu Jiao pulled out the core of the puncture needle and then a small stream of air leaked out.
The crowd saw that the chest of the young man, who was about to suffocate to death, had deflated down and his breathing instantly returned to normal.
Shopkeeper Wang was dumbfounded and asked, "Do... Do you still want to ask for her master?"
"Ask what fart ah!" If they had such a physician in their medical hall, there wouldn’t have been a dead person that day.
Second Owner decisively pushed Shopkeeper Wang out of his way, stood up and walked towards Gu Jiao himself.
"Excuse me, do you want to be a physician in our medical hall?"
Hearing Second Owner’s question, Gu Jiao’s eyes followed the young man.
The young man had a rib fracture which caused lung laceration that eventually led to pneumothorax. Although the excess air was already drawn out, he still needed a follow-up treatment. Unfortunately, he walked away alone after he recovered his normal breathing.
Gu Jiao withdrew her gaze and turned to the Second Owner to ask, "Which medical hall are you from?"
Second Owner said with a smile, "In Qingquan Town, the only one worthy to be called a medical hall is our Rejuvenation Hall!"
"Oh." Gu Jiao stroked her chin.
Second Owner thought that the other party would not easily agree. Just as he prepared himself for her pretentious act, he heard Gu Jiao say, "You’ve come just at the right time. I was actually on my way to find you. I can work in the Rejuvenation Hall, but I’ll say this in advance, I will treat patients only once a month."
"Once a month?" Second Owner froze. Wait. Did she just agree? What about being pretentious? She wouldn’t even raise her value? No, wait! Once a month?! She said she would treat patients only once a month?!
"I'm busy." Gu Jiao said earnestly.
Busy... Selling vegetables?
Second Owner looked at her basket and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help twitching.
To be honest, he was not satisfied with only once a month. But in doing business, he should make gradual and orderly progress. First he would let her enter the door of his Rejuvenation Hall and then slowly negotiate with her again after they became more familiar with each other.
Second Owner said, "Very well... Once a month it is!"
Gu Jiao fixed her gaze at him as if what she would say next was the most important point, "In addition, I have one condition."
…...
After classes were over, Feng Lin went to the medical hall without stopping to rest.
After the last incident, the business of the medical hall had subsided a little. The staff were slouching in the lobby, sorting out the medicinal materials.
"May I ask if Physician Zhang is here?" Feng Lin asked one of the staff.
The staff said, "Physician Zhang has returned to the capital."
"When will he come again?" Feng Lin asked politely.
"I don't know." The staff replied.
"Could you ask for me? My friend's leg has been injured for six months and only Physician Zhang can cure him." Feng Lin persevered.
The staff looked at him impatiently and said, "To be honest with you, Physician Zhang won't be coming here anymore. If you really want to seek him for treatment, you can go to the Rejuvenation Hall in the capital and look for him there, but his home visit fee can be expensive."
"How much?" Feng Lin asked.
"Ten taels[3]."
"What? Ten taels!?"
Feng Lin was stunned. Even if he and Xiao Liulang put all their money together, they could not afford such an amount.
1. ↑ — Idiom for very late in the morning. 2. ↑ — Government office in feudal China 3. ↑ — Taels here is used as a currency unit for silver. But it can also be used for gold.
Click me if you want to read advance GSPW chapters! Schedule update is 5x a week (Monday to Friday).
You can read up to 10 advance chapter parts/whole in our patreon so you should go check it out. ^^
OR if you can't support us in money, you can always support us emotionally -just hope into our discord server. Hehehe~
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, please also have a look at our other translations!
Everyone But Me Is Reborn
Her father is a coward and senselessly filial. Her mother is weak and gullible. Her elder brother is a wastrel.
When she married into the Wangfu, she suffered and was coldly treated. And by the time she was in labour, she was fated to die with the unborn child in her belly.
This was supposed to be Ning Nuan's life.
However this time, everyone but her is reborn.
Ning Nuan is at a loss. She felt that her dad has suddenly become the pillar of the family, her mother’s temper became fierce, and even her elder brother, who would only walk the dogs and play with birds all day, has begun picking up books and reading them carefully.
There is also that juvenile that shows up at the wall of her courtyard everyday, calling her “Ah Nuan, Ah Nuan” with an honest face.