Back to the Countryside

Chapter 34: 看诊

treating/examining the illness

When it was time for dinner, Qi Yue brought out a small cup of medicinal food as usual, he placed it in front of He Ling. Since the day he was married, Qi Yue had cooked it for him every day, and he would make it in different ways, the taste was so good that He Ling would not get tired of eating it at all.

        "Xiang Gong, I'm not feeling unwell now, so later I don't need to eat this medicinal meal, right?" Although he didn't know what was added to it, it must be not cheap, so isn't it too much of a waste to eat it every day?

        "Although you are not unwell on the surface but inside your body, you need a lot of nourishment.I am the doctor, I know best whether you are well or not, you must be good and obedient!" He was born prematurely, overworked since childhood, and malnourished, his body had many problems, if Qi Yue didn't take care of them all, how could he eat him without fear!

        He Ling could only nod and obediently continued to eat. After he had just eaten a couple of bites, he seemed to remember something, put down his spoon and said, "xiang gong, your medical skills, is it very good?"

        Qi Yue's hands pause as he clips the vegetables, he looks up at him without moving his head, "What?"

        "I ......" He Ling opened his mouth, say one word but he paused again, he picked up his spoon, took another bite of the medicinal food before hesitantly saying. "Can I 'request' you for something?"

Seeing him say this, Qi Yue smiled, he put a piece of tofu in his bowl, "Ah Ling could just ask wei fu ( this husband) to do everything for you, why do you need to use the word 'request'!"

        He Ling smiled shyly and ate the tofu he chucked over to him, "I want xiang gong to help me heal someone!"

        "Oh?" That person would definitely not be He Zhen, but the other people he knew did not seem to be sick, either.

"Who is it?"

        "It's the father of the ger who sold me the chicken today!" He hadn't thought about it before, until just now, although Qi Yue always said that he was not skilled in medicine, but only slightly skilled in medical theory, but He Ling knew that his medical skills were much better than doctor Li, since every time the other man consulted him, he got well very quickly and his body was also more relaxed than before!

        "A Ling is so taken with someone he just met today?" He knew very well how introverted his fu lang was, he had only bought a few chickens, and he had become friends with him?

        He Ling shook his head, with a look of nostalgia and sadness, "He has lived with his father since he was a child,they also depend on each other to live*(相依为命) , the feelings between them must be deep, day after day, watching his father lying in bed gradually weakening, how desperate that feeling is, I know better than anyone."

相依为命: It generally refers to relying on each other, and no one can do without anyone, mutually dependent for life (idiom); to rely upon one another for survival 

        When he heard this, Qi Yue already understood, he reached out to take the hand that rested on the table in his own, comfort him silently. 

He Ling looked up, exposing his smiling face toward him, but his eyes were red, he smiled with tears in his eyes and slowly said, "Every day, I sit at my father's bedside, watching his breath grow fainter and fainter, but I can do nothing, whenever this time, I'll think, if there is such a person who could help me save my father's life, how good would it be ......"

The moment his tears rolled down from his eyes, Qi Yue embraced him into his arms, surrounding him with his own warmth.

        He Ling was held tightly by him so he felt unusually warm, he buried his face in his chest and curled his lips, "But I also understand that father has been looking forward to the day when he leaves, he misses mother too much, so even if he goes, I am happy for him too!"

At this point, he lifted his face and looked into Qi Yue's eyes that seemed to be laden with lakes, "Nowadays, I understand that feeling even better."

 Looking at his eyes that staring at him unblinkingly, which look even more seductive from crying, Qi Yue lowered his head and kissed him gently.

 He Ling's eyes curled in laughter, he also gave him a kiss on the chin, then said, "But Hua Ge er is different, in his father's heart, he is the most important person, so I want you to treat him, whether he is cured or not, I am relieved!"

 "Good!" Qi Yue stroked his hair, "We'll go tomorrow!"

"Hn!" He Ling let his face leaned back against his chest, his heart settling a lot.

        Qi Yue kissed the top of his hair, his eyes gentle, A Ling wanted to keep him alive, even if he had one foot in the door of ghosts, he would still pull him back to human's world. 

Xu father's health has been deteriorating day by day for the past two years,also his cough has been ceaseless in recent days, and he has lost his shape.

        Yesterday, Xu Hua sold his chickens and got twenty-four pieces of money, which, together with some he had saved earlier, it was enough to buy his father a few sets of medicines, If his health doesn't improve, he will have to find some more money in order to buy medicine.

        "Father, it's time to drink the medicine!" Xu Hua put the bowl of medicine in his hand on the old wooden table beside the bed, reached out his hand to help his father up, put a pillow behind him to let him lean against the bed, sat himself down on the edge of the bed, and picked up the bowl of medicine again.

        Xu's father coughed lightly then looked at his wasted away ger with pain, "Xiao hua, father's health won't last much longer, so why waste money on these medicines? Buy yourself something nice to eat!"

        "Father, don't talk nonsense, you'll definitely get better!" Xu Hua held a spoonful of medicine and blew it cold, bringing it to his mouth, "Just take the medicine properly, don't worry about anything else!"

        Xu father opened his mouth and drank the medicine, he couldn't help but sigh, "You're already seventeen, but because of me, this drag, you still haven't settled on someone!"

Although Xu Hua was pure handsome and he looked a bit like a boy, there was no shortage of families who came to his door to propose marriage, but he had to take his father to get married, who would want to raise another person for nothing, or a medicine jar, in the end, it all ended in disagreement, and over time, no one came to his door anymore!

        Hearing him say such things again, Xu Hua frowned, "Father, how can you be a drag, if you keep saying that, I'll get angry!"

        "Fine, fine, don't say no ...... cough cough cough ......," Xu father spoke in a rush and started coughing again covering his chest.

        Xu Hua hurriedly put down the medicine bowl in his hand then stood up to pat his back.

        "Is Hua Ge er at home?"

        Xu's father had just suffered a little, 

Xu Hua arranged his father's pillow to make him more comfortable, after that he turned around and went out of the house. "Yes!"

        The low hedge could not hide the people outside so he could saw He Ling, the ger who had bought his chickens yesterday, beside him stood an attractive and elegant man with a smile on his face, outstanding manner, standing together with the gorgeous He Ling, they were really a perfect match! 

        He was surprised to learn that this was He Ling's husband, who was the envy of the village, and why had they come to see him? Could there be something wrong with the chickens?

"Come in quickly!" Xu Hua stepped forward to pulled open the fence gate, inviting them in, "Ling ge er, is there something wrong with the chickens?"

        "No, they're all fine!"

        "Then this is ......" Xu Hua looked at them in confusion.

He Ling opened his mouth, not knowing how to explain to him, they had only met once yesterday, so it was too strange for him to come to the door rashly like this and ask to treat and give a medical consultation for his father, in the end he brought his attention toward Qi Yue.

        When he received the look from his family's fu lang, Qi Yue hooked his lips, he nodded once,then said, "This humble one is Qi Yue."

        Xu Hua stupefied for a second, then hurriedly nodded to him as well, "My name is Xu Hua!"

After exchanging names, it was time to get down to business. Qi Yue lifted the medicine box in his hand and said, "I am a doctor. After A Ling returned home yesterday, he has been worried about Hua Xiao Ge er's sick father, therefore today he asked me to come here to treat (medically)and check for this respected father's pulse!"

Xu Hua was dumbfounded for a moment, these two persons had come specially from the other side of the village to treat his father's illness?

Seeing that he didn't say anything, He Ling, fearing that he might have some misunderstanding, stumbled over his words and explained, "That, I, I didn't mean anything else, just, just ......"

        His voice made Xu Hua come back to his senses, seeing that his face was red and he didn't know how to explain, his heart warmed a little as he said, "I know, you don't need to be panick over it!"

He knew that He Ling, had no intention of looking down on him, he just wanted to help him sincerely under the circumstances of his own capabilities extend as far as he could*.

[力所能及* : lì suǒ néng jí

as far as one's capabilities extend (idiom); to the best of one's ability 

within one's powers]

He Ling was relieved, he just wasn't good at dealing with people, it was good that he hadn't misunderstood.

        Xu Hua took the two men into the house and went over to the bed to explain in a low voice to his father.

        Qi Yue looked around the house, it was small, the furniture was very shabby, and the windows were closed tightly because of the sick people living there.

        "Thank you for thinking of me, Ling xiao ge er!" After listening to his ger's explanation, Father Xu smiled weakly at He Ling and then looked at Qi Yue and said."Sorry for the trouble, Doctor Qi!"

Qi Yue bowed slightly and said, "You're too modest!"

Xu Hua brought a stool and placed it next to the bed, Qi Yue sat on it, placed the medicine box in his hand at his feet and reached out to put his hand on Xu's father's wrist.

        The room was unusually quiet, no one said anything, not to mention Xu Hua, even He Ling felt very nervous inside.

        It was only after a long time that Qi Yue slowly withdrew his hand, his expression had not changed much, making it impossible to see what was going on.

        "Doctor Qi, how is my father?"

When he had finished, Xu Hua hurriedly asked, "The medicine prescribed by Dr. Li had been for his lung problems, but he hadn't recovered much.

        Qi Yue smiled faintly and said, "It's not a serious illness, the doctors in town should be able to diagnose it!"

        Xu Hua breathed a long sigh of relief, it was good that it wasn't a major illness, if not because he didn't have the money, he would have taken his father to the town a long time ago, so it wouldn't be delayed until today!

        "Father Xu had been injured by a heavy object, there was blood in his chest that hadn't gone away so he often felt pain in his chest. His lungs had problems which is why he often coughs, he also has minor illnesses elsewhere in his body.All these together make him feel very uncomfortable!" To put it plainly, there were no major problems, but many minor ones from many years of work.

        "Is there a cure?" Xu Hua asked.

"Naturally there is!" Qi Yue opened the medicine box and took out three porcelain bottles from it, "One bottle to dispel blood stasis, one bottle to clear the lungs, and one bottle to nourish, one capsule a day, no interruptions, when you have finished, remember to seek me out, this medicine needs to be taken for one month!"

        Xu Hua held the bottle of medicine in his hand, not knowing what to say, he had only seen him yesterday, but he was thinking of him, he had brought his husband here early in the morning to see his father, and he was giving him medicine like this!

        He Ling looked at that strong and unyielding person,his eyes were red, he understood what he was thinking. He went forward, gently held his hand that holding the medicine bottle and said softly, "You don't have to think too much, when I see you, I feel like I see myself, my father is no longer here, I hope Uncle Xu can accompany you well, it's a kind of fulfillment of my dream!"

        Only after hearing his words did Xu Hua remember that He Ling was once also dependent on his father who was very ill, that's why he felt the same way about himself, in fact he was luckier than him, his father was still with him. He gazed into He Ling's eyes and said, "Thank you!"

        He Ling hooked his lips and smiled, he felt that he had made another friend.

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Tl : Some parts was really touching and sad