Jinyi Spring

Chapter 61 The Man Who Worships His Aunt

After the meal, everyone dispersed.

Judge Fang stopped Feng Chuchen and told her that he wanted to invite her to practice medicine at Dechuntang.

Feng Chuchen was very grateful. This was the first official who dared to invite a woman to serve as a doctor in his clinic. He could be considered a reformer and a doctor with a compassionate heart.

She said, "Thank you, Lord Fang. I would like to open a clinic to treat more women and infants."

She briefly explained her thoughts.

Judge Fang's eyes brightened upon hearing this, and he smiled, "This kind of clinic is a blessing for breastfeeding mothers and new mothers. You have a good idea; you are indeed worthy of being a descendant of Doctor Feng. If you have any difficulties, come to me, and I will certainly help you if I can."

Feng Chuchen thanked them and hurriedly hired a mule cart with Banxia to go to the Jingzhao Prefecture to complete the medical contract. They also brought the household registration, the medical certificate, and ten taels of silver for the handling fee.

The procedures went very smoothly; it must have been because Lord Hu spoke with the clerk in charge.

By the time we returned to Beianfang, it was already dark, and a crescent moon hung obliquely in the sky.

At the entrance of the alley, Feng Buji was anxiously waiting with Da Tou by the hand.

Seeing her older sister, she ran over and asked, "Sis, how are you?"

He knew his sister was fine, but he was still worried.

Banxia spoke first, "The young lady came in second place. Haha, she's Doctor Feng now."

Feng Buji's eyes widened in disbelief. "My sister got second place in the exam? My sister is just that amazing!"

His little face was beaming with smugness.

Feng Chuchen chuckled, "The medical clinic contract has been processed, and the name is Tongji Women and Children's Medical Clinic. In the future, we will open another clinic for adults called Tongji Yisheng Medical Clinic, and the main clinic will be called Tongji Hall."

Feng Chuchen took out the contract and showed it to Feng Buji.

Because Feng Buji was not a doctor, the contract listed only Feng Chuchen. Later, they asked Uncle Yao, Village Head Zhao, and Feng Changfu to act as intermediaries to draft the share distribution before submitting it to the government for registration.

Feng Chuchen pulled Feng Buji to the side of the first house, pointed to the area near the upper part of the east wall and said, "Let's open a door here as the main entrance to the clinic, and patients can enter from here. We won't go into the alley, so as to reduce the impact on the neighbors."

“A small room was added between the east and west wing rooms and the back room, one as a toilet room and the other as a water boiler room and a stove for external use.”

The group walked to the back of the house.

Behind it was a wasteland, with wildflowers mixed in with weeds, a few ancient trees, and some shrubs.

Some people even planted rows of vegetables, scallions, and garlic along the back wall of their houses and enclosed them with fences.

On the other side of the wasteland was a small river, its water gurgling and shimmering silver in the moonlight.

It's very quiet here at night, but unusually noisy during the day. It's mainly filled with women washing clothes, children playing, and people herding chickens, ducks, and geese here.

Feng Chuchen pointed to the back wall of the main building of the clinic and said, "In addition to the main hall, seal up the windows of the east and west rooms and the east and west side rooms. Open small windows in the back wall. Use the two rooms on the east side as delivery rooms and the two rooms on the west side as waiting rooms for delivery, which are also consultation rooms."

"The windows are set high and small so that they can't be seen from outside and won't affect the residents in front. A screen separates the main hall from the rest; one half is the midwife's room, and the other half is used to store equipment, bedding, and other items..."

There are not enough houses. It would be great if we could build a few small huts behind our own walls.

However, Beijing has strict urban planning regulations, prohibiting residents from building houses on public land without permission.

Upon entering the clinic, Feng Chuchen made arrangements for the other rooms.

The north room of the west wing has a single door and serves as Feng Chuchen's consultation room. The main hall and south room are a suite, designated as Room A1, which is a superior ward.

The three rooms in the east wing each have a separate door and are designated as rooms B1, B2, and B3. These are general wards, with two patients staying in each room.

The clinic can only be this large at present, accommodating a maximum of seven pregnant women at the same time.

The rear section has two rooms with doors opening outwards; one is a pharmacy, and the other two are suites, also used for dispensing medicine. The remaining room is the gatehouse.

Feng Chuchen explained in great detail, and the prototype of the clinic appeared in Feng Buji's little head.

His eyes lit up when he heard this, and he even jumped up and down with joy, clenching his little fists.

After dinner, Feng Chuchen drew a set of surgical instruments she might need on a piece of paper. It included various needle holders, scalpels, curved needles, forceps, scissors, tweezers, etc., and she marked the dimensions.

There are a total of eighteen items.

He also drew a delivery bed and several special stools.

First, prepare the delivery bed, stool, episiotomy scissors and forceps, needle holder, curved needle, and forceps. These are essential surgical instruments for horizontal delivery and episiotomy.

Iron rusts easily, so we made it out of copper. Copper isn't as hard as iron, but it's still fine for cutting and sewing meat.

The next day, after seeing Feng Buji off, Feng Chuchen took Aunt Wang to the carpenter's shop first, and then to the blacksmith's shop.

Carpentry work was easy, and the carpenter readily agreed.

Find a top-notch blacksmith.

He looked at the blueprints with a suspicious expression. "These things are really strange. The scissors don't look like scissors, the needles don't look like needles, and the pliers don't look like pliers. I've never made or even seen anything like this before. It's difficult to make and will take a lot of time. In some places, I'll need to find a metalworker to help me."

Metalworker was a fitter in his previous life.

"It's good that they can do it," Feng Chuchen said, giving a thumbs up to the ancient craftsmen.

She pointed to several pieces of equipment, "Let's do these first, the others can be done later."

The blacksmith said, "One hundred taels of silver in total."

Aunt Wang's eyes bulged like barrels as she roared, "A dozen or so small copper items for eighty taels of silver? That's robbery!"

The blacksmith said, "Take it if you think it's too expensive. This is such a difficult thing to make, there isn't even a mold, and not many craftsmen can make it."

It is indeed a bit expensive, but Feng Chuchen has to do it no matter how expensive it is.

Feng Chuchen smiled and said, "A little more expensive is fine, as long as it's done meticulously. If it's done well, I'll have it made again."

The two then went to the brokerage to buy people.

Feng Chuchen wanted to buy a man and an old woman. The man would guard the gate, drive the cart, and do rough work, while the old woman would wash the bedding and clean the clinic.

They ended up encountering a family of three: a couple with their ten-year-old son.

The couple were around thirty years old and looked honest and simple. The woman, in particular, was taller and stronger than her husband, and clearly a skilled worker.

When the couple heard that they wanted to buy them, they both knelt down.

The man said, "Miss, please buy the younger son as well. We haven't done anything wrong; we were sold because of our relatives. The younger son can drive a carriage, and the wife is an excellent cook."

"My younger son knows a few words and has been serving as the young master's servant for a year..."

Upon hearing this, the boy also knelt down, pleading, "Please, miss, buy me."

The boy was ten years old, very clever and endearing, and Feng Chuchen took a liking to him immediately.

She couldn't bear to see the family of three separated, so she didn't suggest buying it together earlier, waiting for them to beg for her help.

She asked, "What mistake did your relative make?"

The man said, “My eldest brother’s daughter-in-law betrayed her master for money. The master beat that wicked woman to death and sold my uncle’s family to the salt field. Several relatives were also sold to the brokerage firm.”

The woman burst into tears, “That damned bastard has been blinded by greed; he not only harmed her, but also this whole family.”

Feng Chuchen said, "Then let's buy them all together. You've seen the consequences of betraying your master, so you'd better watch yourselves."

Wu San kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "I dare not."

They wept with joy. They had thought the family of three would go their separate ways, but they never expected to be together again.

They took them home, gave them a bath, and gave Wu San's family a piece of coarse cloth to make clothes for them.

They temporarily stayed in the back room of the clinic, watching the clinic being renovated and the furniture being made. The boy's full name was Wu Youmo, and he became Feng Buji's servant, staying in the back room of the residence. Feng Chuchen paid for him to study at the private school with Feng Buji, and Mr. and Mrs. Wu were so happy that they came to kowtow to Feng Chuchen again.

Aunt Wu also gave Feng Chuchen a surprise; her cooking skills were excellent. Using the same ingredients, her dishes always tasted better than others'.

Feng Chuchen then decided that from now on, Aunt Wu would be responsible for cooking and laundry, and someone else would be hired to do the rough work at the clinic.

Feng Chuchen's grandmother in her previous life was from Sichuan and was particularly good at making pickled vegetables. Many dishes in her family were stir-fried with pickled vegetables, which gave them a unique flavor.

Feng Chuchen drew a design of a kimchi jar from his previous life, and will give it to the Yao family to make in a few days.

The next day, Wu San went to the market and bought a mule and a cart to take home, so that his family also became car owners.

The mule was kept behind the screen door on the other side of the house.

On the ninth day of the fifth lunar month, Wu San drove a cart, and Feng Chuchen took Aunt Wang, Banxia, ​​and Datou back to the countryside.

She was going to Jiupoling to pay respects at the graves and tell her aunt about some good news.

Before she even reached Baima Village, Aunt Wang was stopped by people from Hekou Village. "Aunt Wang, what a coincidence! I was just about to go to the capital to find you. Midwife Li isn't here, and my wife is having a difficult childbirth; she's in so much pain."

Feng Chuchen said, "Aunt Wang, go ahead."

Aunt Wang left, Banxia went home to cook, and Feng Chuchen led Datou up the mountain.

It was already late morning, and the sun overhead was blazing. But as soon as we stepped into the foot of the mountain, the temperature dropped, and the rich scent of grass and dampness greeted us, making it very pleasant.

Feng Chuchen liked the taste and took a few deep breaths.

As soon as they climbed up Jiulingpo, Datou shouted a few times in the direction of the grave.

Looking through the branches and leaves, Feng Chuchen saw a man standing in front of his aunt's grave, while several other men wearing straw hats were a little further away.

Even with her view partially obstructed, Feng Chuchen could still see that the man was very tall, wearing a dark blue robe, with a short beard, and possessed a refined and handsome appearance, exuding a noble air with a touch of languor.

Feng Chuchen had never seen many people with such talent in his past and present lives.

The others also heard the commotion and looked over.

The man bowed to the grave, whispered something, and extended his right hand.

An attendant handed him a straw hat, which he took and put on. The group then walked toward Feng Chuchen.

As Feng Chuchen walked out of the woods, she was surprised to find the man somewhat familiar.

Oh, it's the man in the straw hat I met at the foot of the mountain last year.

As they passed each other, Feng Chuchen stopped, curtsied to him, and whispered, "Thank you."

The man paused, stopped, and looked at Feng Chuchen.

He said, "Dr. Feng saved my wife and son, and my family and I will always remember this kindness. We just happened to be passing by today, so we came to burn incense for Dr. Feng."

His voice was warm and magnetic, extremely pleasant to listen to.

After saying that, he nodded again, turned around and left.

In a flash, Feng Chuchen noticed an old pouch hanging from the man's waist.

It is light gray, with a few orchid leaves and two yellow orchids embroidered on it, and three red dots in the center of the flower.

The pattern is very familiar.

The man had already taken a few steps when he belatedly realized he had to cover his purse with his sleeve and hurriedly leave, his back to the trees disappearing into the woods in an instant.

After a moment of stunned silence, Feng Chuchen remembered that it was the pattern of the purse her aunt wore when she died, except that her purse was pink.

We sleep under the same sky, yet each of us feels the chill in our silk robes.

Are those two lines of poetry alluding to this person?

Is it him who made his aunt worry and then let her down?
My aunt wasn't a virgin, was it with him?
Feng Chuchen used his brain to analyze the situation and concluded that it should be true.

My aunt is such a proud and aloof person, it's unlikely she would go for a marriage to ward off bad luck, let alone marry a sickly man who is about to die.

The idea of ​​using a marriage to bring good luck is probably fabricated.

Judging from his demeanor, presence, and the few attendants he had, the man was of noble birth and held a high position.

My aunt came from the countryside, was a midwife, and was the descendant of a criminal. None of these qualities made it possible for her to have any dealings with a man of noble birth.

I don't know why they had a past, but their separation was inevitable.

Even if we disregard the fact that this is a feudal society, people with vastly different backgrounds and experiences would find it difficult to be together in their previous lives.

Judging from those two lines of poetry, the eldest aunt missed and cared for him.

Feng Chuchen instinctively believed that her aunt was aloof, rational, and intelligent, and would not actively provoke a man who was unlikely to marry her.

So, it must have been that man who provoked Auntie first.

How could he do this? Knowing it's impossible, he still went and provoked a girl he couldn't marry.

In that box of letters, my aunt only wrote two lines of poetry about love. For more than twenty years, she held onto that fleeting love. How lonely and desolate she must have been.

She didn't even have any expectations for the next life or the life after that, so she must have resentment towards that man.

Thinking this, Feng Chuchen felt a bit resentful towards that man.

If my aunt had never had him, perhaps she would have found a wonderful man with a similar background who loved her and would spend her life with him...

Feng Chuchen felt a tightness in her chest and walked to the grave.

There were still unburnt incense sticks and paper money in front of the grave.

Belated affection is worthless; what's the use of remembering someone who's already dead?

She lit incense, candles, and paper money, and reported on the major events that had occurred recently.

“Aunt, we’ve moved. I’m in school now and have received many praises from my teacher. If he doesn’t want to practice medicine, he can take the imperial examinations... I passed the exam to become a qualified doctor, and I even came in second place.”

"We're planning to open a maternity and children's clinic, specifically for women and children. The deed is all done. My aunt's unfulfilled wish is for the clinic to fulfill..."

Finally, she asked, "Auntie, is that man the reason you won't get married?"

The only response she received was the rustling of leaves.

Feng Chuchen stood up and looked down the mountain.

By now, the man should have reached the foot of the mountain.

She indeed saw the figures of those people descend to the foot of the mountain, and a carriage and several horses emerged from the woods. The man boarded the carriage, and the attendants mounted their horses, and they sped off towards the capital.

Feng Chuchen turned around and saw that the incense and paper money had burned out before leading Datou down the mountain.

After lunch, she didn't want to stay there any longer. She didn't even send the design of the kimchi jar to the Yao family, and asked Uncle Wu to take her home.

Then he said to Banxia, ​​"You wait here for Aunt Wang, and pick more vegetables to take home."

Before you even reach the entrance of the alley, you can hear the sounds of clattering and clanging.

The clinic has already begun renovations.

Peony opened the door and said, "Weren't you supposed to stay in the countryside for a day? Why are you back, young lady?"

Feng Chuchen ignored her, hurriedly went back into the house, took out her aunt's notes, and turned to the page with the two lines of poetry.

She wanted to find information related to that man.

The entire month before and after that was spent writing about delivering babies, all of them children from the countryside, and it had nothing to do with that man.