It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Just as Li Cheng was about to contemplate the meaning of life, Freya suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

"Chef Clark, is there anything you should be careful about when you twisted your waist just now?"

It turned out that every time the chef kneaded the dough for a while, he would twist his waist in a very regular way, but he never said anything about it. Freya wondered if this was a kneading technique, such as using waist strength.

Chef Clark quickly waved his flour-covered hands after hearing this: "No, it has nothing to do with kneading dough. It's mainly because my hemorrhoids have flared up recently—it's a lingering effect from when I was at sea years ago, and there were no vegetables on board."

Li Cheng: "......"

Damn hemorrhoids! They completely interrupted my serious reflections on life! And these hemorrhoids left over from life at sea are so real! What happened to the idyllic sea adventure stories I was promised? Now all I have left are these painful lumps of flesh to avoid!

......

After a while.

Even the best student needs time to master something they've never done before. Freya quickly produced quite a few rather unsuccessful dishes, the kind that were clearly inferior to those of a chef just by looking at them.

Seeing that with Freya's hard work, the family would soon be eating steamed buns for a week, Li Cheng was a little worried - steamed buns don't have a long shelf life, and they can't compare to those black breads that can be used as bricks.

"Did we make too much?"

He reminded them, "It will spoil if you don't finish it."

Freya was completely absorbed in kneading the dough, and only after being reminded did she finally realize the expiration date. However, it was too late; the dough couldn't be kneaded back, and she could only stand there somewhat awkwardly.

Seeing this, Li Cheng suggested, "Since we've already kneaded a lot of dough, let's try making steamed buns today."

"steamed stuffed bun?"

Freya was taken aback.

“It’s a steamed bun with filling inside.” Li Cheng gestured in the air as he described, “For example, you can chop up meat or vegetables, mix them together, and wrap them inside the steamed bun.”

Baozi is an advanced version of mantou; it wouldn't be wrong to call it a mantou with filling.

In the earliest days, steamed buns weren't called steamed buns; they were called "mantou," which, according to legend, was invented by Zhuge Liang as a substitute for human heads during a sacrificial ceremony to Heaven. Later, because it sounded too unpleasant, it was changed to mantou. The change from mantou to steamed buns occurred later, during the Southern Song Dynasty, but the specific reason is unknown.

"A flattened, round sphere, filled with stuffing... like this, like this... Do you understand?"

Li Cheng gestured with his hands and words to roughly describe the shape and characteristics of the steamed bun.

"Okay, okay, I'll try it right away."

The chef with hemorrhoids had a hint of fanaticism in his eyes. Although he was quite laid-back, he was still very interested in mastering the new dish: "First, prepare the filling, right? Are there any special requirements for the filling? What ingredients are necessary?"

"No, I'll eat anything that's edible."

Li Cheng casually mentioned it, not taking it to heart.

After teaching the chef and Freya the concept of the upgraded version of steamed buns, namely baozi, Li Cheng lost interest in watching and turned to leave—mainly because he was afraid Freya would ask him to demonstrate and expose his clumsy hands.

The butler seemed to have been waiting outside the kitchen for a long time. As soon as Li Cheng came out, he immediately stepped forward and handed him an envelope: "Master, your letter."

Li Cheng took the letter with a puzzled look, and was surprised to find that the sender was Veronica. His expression became slightly serious: "Thank you for your hard work. Actually, you could have just knocked on the door. I was just killing time inside, or you could have left the letter on my desk."

"understood."

The butler did not refute, but indicated that he understood.

Seeing the old man's serious attitude, Li Cheng knew that what he had said earlier was useless. Although this man was excellent in ability and serious in attitude, he was also ridiculously stubborn in some certain aspects, which was something he had not expected. Fortunately, the problem was not serious.

He shook his head, walked to his study, sat behind his desk, and then opened the letter to read it carefully.

[To Abel Lee]

Having witnessed the astonishing anesthetic effects of ether before, I kept it in mind.

My father has been troubled by cavities for some time, but the pain of tooth extraction has made him hesitate. I then mentioned that there is a pain-relieving medicine available in the city recently, and my father was indeed very interested in it.

[After witnessing firsthand the anesthetic effects of ether, the king was overjoyed and decided to use ether to assist with his tooth extraction and reduce pain.]

I believe my father must be a sufficiently influential patient. After he personally tries it, ether should be able to be quickly popularized and no longer be questioned.

I have fulfilled my promise. I wonder how your loom project is progressing. I'm curious to know what you will do next.

Veronica Stuart

After reading the letter, Li Cheng's expression was a little strange.

When he took Veronique to visit the ether experiment, it was just a last resort. When asked what he needed to do later, he mentioned it casually.

To everyone's surprise, Veronica actually took it to heart, even urging her father to personally experience the effects of anesthesia. Although it was confirmed that ether was a legitimate anesthetic, he was the King, after all; it would be too embarrassing if something went wrong.

Although time-travel novels about killing emperors are popular now, dying from an anesthesia accident during a tooth extraction is just too ridiculous. At least make some sense!

Fortunately, Veronica didn't mention that the anesthetic was invented by Li Cheng. Instead, she simply mentioned that there was a new drug that could have an anesthetic effect.

Just then, Li Cheng was suddenly struck by inspiration and remembered something else he had overlooked, which made him feel uneasy.

Wait, wait a minute. Speaking of which, Mr. Stoller once said that his friend Richman died in an accident. Could it be that Veronica really did die in an accident and is now planning to repeat the same trick?

A conspiracy theory flashed through Li Cheng's mind for a moment, but he then shook his head and dismissed it: Veronica was the one who suggested the anesthesia for tooth extraction, and if anything went wrong, it would all be pinned on her.

"You're probably overthinking it."

Li Cheng shook his head, putting the matter aside for the time being.

But after thinking about it, he was still a little worried, so he took out some stationery to draft a reply, reminding him of some precautions regarding Veronica ether, making sure the dentist didn't use too much, and that it would be best to try a small dose before the actual extraction to ensure that Charles II wouldn't have any strange reactions to the ether.

Oh right, and most importantly, if Charles II had a cold or asthma, he should never use ether, as it could easily cause suffocation, unless he could accept having his trachea cut open for resuscitation.

As for Veronica's concern about the progress of the loom... Li Cheng thought about it and figured that since the princess had nothing else to do anyway, he could consider luring her over to be a mascot for a spin.

Knock knock knock—

Just as Li Cheng was pondering how to reply, there was a knock on the study door.

"Please come in."

As the door opened, Freya entered the open study, carrying something that looked a bit strange, but could be vaguely identified as a steamed bun.

Li Cheng observed for a moment, then nodded and said, "Did you make these buns? That's pretty good for your first time."

Freya was delighted to receive the compliment and smiled, saying, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. By the way—what filling did you make?"

Freya replied, "Apple filling."

"What?"

Li Cheng was taken aback, wondering if he had misheard: "What filling did you say you made?"

"Apple filling."

Freya then repeated, "Chef Clark said apples are delicious and also good for digestion."

"What the hell is this good for digestion? I don't have hemorrhoids..." Li Cheng felt a slight stomach ache. He began to realize that letting the British chef do whatever he wanted with the fillings was a complete mistake.

Chapter 138 Triple Kill

Hemostasis, anesthesia, and disinfection are the three cornerstones of a successful surgery. What seem like trivial matters to modern people were almost insurmountable challenges to people hundreds of years ago.

At that time, the mortality rate for surgery was basically 50%, meaning that life or death was determined by flipping a coin.

While a 50% mortality rate is already outrageous, an even more outrageous one is a 300% mortality rate—meaning that for every patient who underwent surgery, three people died in the end.

The man who committed this infamous act was Robert Liston in the 19th century, known as 'London's Fastest Surgeon,' whose fastest amputation took only 26 seconds. His favorite pastime was to hold a scalpel in his mouth and shout, "Ladies and gentlemen, time me! Time me!"

During that surgery with a 300% mortality rate, Robert made the incision too quickly, and the assistant who was helping to hold the patient down had two fingers cut off on the spot and died from excessive blood loss [first blood].

Then a spectator (at that time, surgical procedures were paid for to be watched, and it was similar to actors performing on stage) was so frightened by the patient's screams of pain that he suffered a heart attack and died on the spot [double kill].

Ironically, the patient who underwent the surgery was the last to die, the cause of death being postoperative infection [a triple kill].

......

After repeatedly replaying the imagined scene of Robert the Swift-Knife slaughtering in his mind, Li Cheng became increasingly uneasy and decided to personally give the doctor, who might kill Charles II ahead of time, a few instructions. It would be too ridiculous if he really died young because of tooth extraction.

"You want to see that surgeon?"

“There are some things to be aware of when using ether, and the ones he bought outside are not of very good quality. I have purified ether. In addition, I have some research results on microorganisms that are related to surgical mortality rates.”

Li Cheng explained his intentions, mainly that he did not want the king's tooth extraction surgery to go wrong.

After hearing Li Cheng's reason for wanting to see the surgeon, Veronica did not refuse and agreed to help invite Charles II's personal surgeon, Arnold Robert, the next day. This surgeon shared the same surname as the one who went down in history, which made Li Cheng even more wary.

That evening.

Speaking of which, as soon as Annie came back, she complained to Li Cheng that she was bored and it was no fun. She said that Newton and Halley were doing something over there and hadn't really paid any attention to her all day.

The commotion continued until dinner time, because too much dough had been kneaded earlier, resulting in dinner consisting mainly of steamed buns—and they were even apple-filled!

Li Cheng originally thought he wasn't the only one suffering, but to his surprise, everyone in his family ate with great relish. They had no doubts about the apple-filled buns, at most expressing a little curiosity... wondering when the buns were made.

This damn difference in food culture... Li Cheng was indignant, finding it hard to understand what was so delicious about this weird apple-filled bun.

......

The following afternoon.

Li Cheng met the king's surgeon at home, accompanied by a servant who helped with the introductions.

Arnold Roberts was a tall man with a pair of thick arms.

When Li Cheng first met the other party, he almost mistook him for Veronique's bodyguard. Only after the introduction did he reluctantly accept the fact that he was a two-meter-tall surgeon with eight-pack abs.

However, on the other hand, modern doctors should actually learn from Arnold. Regular exercise and having eight-pack abs can definitely reduce medical disputes. In the unlikely event of a medical dispute, it can at least ensure that the patient's family cannot beat you.

Upon seeing the two-meter-tall, muscular doctor, Annie immediately asked, "Hey, aren't you a doctor? How come your arms are so thick?"

Yes, upon learning that Li Cheng was going to meet with the surgeon who would extract the king's tooth, Annie came to join in the fun again. As for the reason... do we even need a reason? Just as you can't expect a husky to stay quiet, you can't expect Annie to give up joining in the fun.

Although Arnold was just over two meters tall, he had a very gentle personality. Hearing Anne's question, he gave a somewhat naive smile: "Because I need to hold the patients down to prevent them from struggling and screaming."

He said something incredibly terrifying with such a gentle expression! The contrast is so stark, it's truly chilling!

!

For some reason, the eccentric Annie seemed startled by Arnold's reply. She sprang up from the sofa in a flash and nimbly darted behind Li Cheng.

Only then did she feel a little safe, and asked in shock, "Why is the patient struggling and screaming?"

Arnold didn't seem to care much about this eccentric behavior, and just shrugged helplessly (Li Chengzhen was worried the sofa would collapse): "The surgery is very painful, and I have to do this to continue."

"Is that right?"

Annie patted Li Cheng on the shoulder, puzzled.