America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

Chapter 74 Fever of 100 Degrees

"Tell me how you caught a cold," Dad asked.

"Liqun gave Peter a tissue to wipe his nose."

Li Qun grabbed a box of tissues and placed it in front of Peter.

No need to give him a single tissue; this whole box of tissues is his.

Peter recounted his morning's events to his father: first, he fell into a sewer, then he took a cold shower at school, and during class he was exposed to the sun and wind.

Li Qun only told Peter to sunbathe, but Peter opened the window himself and let the wind blow on his damp hair to dry it faster.

"You made Peter take a cold shower." The old man pointed his index finger at Li Qun, who lowered his head in embarrassment.

"Peter, you've given yourself a cold breeze."

The old man continued to extend his middle finger, pointing two fingers at Peter.

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

The old man tapped both Li Qun and Peter on the head with his finger. Peter covered his head; it hurt terribly.

"Let me take your temperature."

"Peter, are you cold?" the old man asked.

“It’s a bit cold,” Peter replied.

"It's a cold," the old man said.

“A cold? What do you mean?” Peter repeated his father’s words, which his father had spoken to Li Qun in Chinese.

The old man took a mercury thermometer from the family medicine cabinet and had Peter place it under his armpit, while Liqun timed it for five minutes.

"Liqun, go upstairs and make Peter a pot of ginger and brown sugar water. Tomorrow, bring Peter some perilla leaves and boiled eggs for him to eat," the old man instructed.

"Aren't you going to prescribe any medication for Peter?" Li Qun asked.

“He’s only in mild condition right now, so we can prescribe medication, but I don’t think Peter can handle the bitter taste of traditional Chinese medicine,” the old man replied.

"Paper and pen."

Liqun quickly found paper and pen for his father from the counter, and his father began to write the prescription.

"Go to the pharmacy and get the medicine yourself: Schizonepeta, Saposhnikovia, Notopterygium, Angelica pubescens, Bupleurum, Peucedanum, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Citrus aurantium, Platycodon grandiflorus, Poria cocos, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Don't bring Peter with you," the old man said to Liqun.

Why not take Peter with you?

“Bring Peter along, and the pharmacists will raise the price,” the old man said.

"understood."

"Peter, I'm going to get the medicine now. Wait for me here with Dad. Bring the thermometer out in two minutes."

Peter nodded obediently.

From a young age, Peter was afraid of going to the hospital because going to the hospital when he was sick was a very troublesome thing. It would keep Uncle Ben and Aunt May from going to work, and Uncle Ben would also argue endlessly with the health insurance company on the phone.

Peter stared at the clock on the wall. Two minutes passed, and Peter took out the thermometer.

"100, low-grade fever," the old man said to Peter, looking at the thermometer.

Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius, Peter's body temperature is 37.8°C.

"Come up with your dad, and he'll make you some ginger and brown sugar water."

Peter followed his father upstairs. Peter sat on the sofa nervously, glancing at the kitchen every now and then. His father was busy in the kitchen, making a pot of ginger and brown sugar water—a simple task.

The old man had prepared ginger and brown sugar water and served it to Peter in a five-inch porcelain bowl. Peter held the bowl with both hands, blew on it, and drank it in small sips.

More than ten minutes later, Li Qun returned with the Chinese medicine after a brief tug-of-war with the shop owner.

"The boss asked if I was sick, Dad. I said no. Then the boss asked if I wanted the decoction service..." Li Qun said to his father.

“Peter will go home and brew Chinese medicine himself. Won’t the smell of the medicine make the neighbors call the police?” Li Qun looked at Peter, and the old man nodded.

"Then the medicine will still be decocted here. Today is the first time Peter will drink the medicine here. Liqun, you are responsible for bringing the medicine to Peter when you go to school."

"Where did my medicine pot go?" The old man turned and went into the kitchen, and soon came out with a black earthenware pot.

Li Qun and Peter squeezed into the kitchen, watching their father prepare traditional Chinese medicine using ancient methods.

Peter pinched his nose as the medicine in the pot began to boil.

“No wonder the neighbor might have called the police; I would have called the police too,” Peter said.

"Is that all? This doesn't even smell as bad as the New York subway," Li Qun complained.

Before the medicine was even fully brewed, Peter's forehead was already sweating; the ginger and brown sugar water he had drunk earlier was beginning to take effect.

The old man used a high flame to quickly boil the medicine, in order to accommodate Peter's return time, but it still took more than half an hour to prepare the medicine.

Peter held the steaming, pungent, brownish-brown herbal soup, but couldn't bring himself to drink it.

“Blow on it to warm it up, then drink it all in one go. Don’t hesitate,” Li Qun told Peter, sharing his experience.

When Li Qun was practicing martial arts with his father, his father often brewed nourishing medicinal soups for him to drink.

Peter took three minutes to mentally prepare himself, and then drank the medicine in one gulp once it was at the right temperature. He drank it too quickly, and because of the taste that he was afraid of, Peter almost vomited.

"Hold on, hold on, don't hold your breath, pay attention to your breathing rhythm."

Peter calmed down for a while and felt that the aftertaste of the medicine in his mouth was slightly sweet, but upon closer tasting, it also had a slightly spicy sensation in his throat.

The taste of the medicinal soup was so complex, layer upon layer, like a rock band holding a concert in his mouth.

“Just keep drinking it for three days, three times a day,” the old man smiled at Peter.

“Three days…” Peter’s scalp tingled; he was so scared he felt like he’d been cured.

Li Qun took Peter home, and the bicycle quickly disappeared around the corner of the bustling Chinatown.

Peter Parker got home a little late today, but Uncle Ben wasn't home yet. Aunt May greeted Peter at the door, and he smelled of Chinese medicine.

"What's that smell?" Aunt May sniffed Peter.

Both Li Qun and Peter had a faint smell of Chinese medicine on them, having been exposed to it in the kitchen while watching the medicine being prepared.

"Does it smell bad?" Peter raised his arm and smelled himself.

"There's a natural smell to it. What have you been doing?" Aunt Mei asked.

“I did a chemistry experiment after class,” Liqun said to Aunt Mei.

"Aunt Mei, I'm leaving now."

Goodbye, Liqun.

Peter waved goodbye to Liqun, then touched his nose and suddenly realized that he no longer had clear snot running down his face.

Traditional Chinese medicine can also be effective quickly.

Peter pondered. Could these Chinese herbs contain antibiotics? He'd ask Li Qun for help getting Chinese medicine prescriptions if he got sick in the future.

"Aunt Mei, what are we having for dinner tonight?"

……

……

Peter opened his eyes in bed when his phone alarm rang. He hadn't slept well last night, and he was covered in sweat.

My nose is still stuffy; the cold didn't get better after a good night's sleep.

Peter quickly dressed and glanced out the window.

Peter saw Li Qun waiting for him on the sidewalk outside. Li Qun also saw that Peter had gotten up and waved to Peter by the window.

Chapter 75 Medical Common Sense

"Ben, come here."

"What, Mei?"

Aunt May stood by the window, lifted half of the curtain, and let Uncle Ben look out the window. Peter sat on the back of the bicycle, and Li Qun handed his backpack to Peter and held it. The two of them rode the bicycle to school.

"I need to take a closer look."

Uncle Ben pushed up his tortoiseshell glasses and squinted.

"I'm so glad you came."

“I can’t ride a bicycle or take the school bus now. If I want to ask for leave, I have to tell Uncle Ben and Aunt Mei that I’m sick.”

"Should we drink the medicine now or wait until we get to school?" Peter asked from behind Li Qun.

"I'll drink it when we get to school. I'm afraid you'll throw up on me on the way."

"Ok."

“If only we had our driver’s licenses, we wouldn’t have to squeeze onto this rickety bicycle, which is older than me,” Peter said.

“Let’s wait until next year. We’ll have an easier time next year. Gwen’s car will be able to drive to school too,” Li Qun said.

As they chatted, Li Qun, who had only ridden the route from Peter's house to the school a few times, became very familiar with the road conditions and brought Peter to the school in a shorter amount of time.

After getting off the bus, Li Qun and Peter inexplicably attracted the attention of other students.

"They're really bold," some students whispered to each other.

Li Qun opened his backpack, took out a thermos full of Chinese medicine, and handed it to Peter.

"Drinking outside, the smell is a bit strong in the classroom."

Liqun helped Peter unscrew the lid of the cup, and Peter, looking reluctant, drank the Chinese medicine soup.

The Chinese medicine was warm, and Peter gulped down several large mouthfuls without paying attention to how much he drank. He stopped when he felt he had drunk enough.

“Have another drink after school this afternoon, and another one before you go to bed tonight. That’s the schedule for three times a day,” Li Qun told Peter.

“You take your medicine about every eight hours, right?” Peter smiled bitterly.

After drinking the Chinese medicine, Peter felt much more alert, even more so than after drinking bitter coffee.