Lin Xiaxia had just picked up her bowl and was about to eat dinner when someone knocked on the courtyard gate.
When she opened it, she found Granny Zhou standing outside with her son, Gao Dahai, and her daughter-in-law, Fengxia.
“Doctor Lin, have you eaten dinner yet?” Granny Zhou asked with a smile, though there was an unmistakable sense of urgency in her eyes.
“I was just about to eat. You came pretty early.” Lin Xiaxia stepped aside to let them in.
Granny Zhou smiled awkwardly. “We’ve been worrying about this all day and couldn’t sit still. Go ahead and eat first. We’ll just wait here. Don’t mind us.”
“It’s fine. I can eat anytime. Let me examine you first.”
Lin Xiaxia set her bowl on the stove and wiped her hands.
Hearing that, Granny Zhou immediately gave her son a push.
“Go on! Let Doctor Lin examine you.”
Gao Dahai was around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, tall and strongly built. His mother’s shove made him stumble forward, and his face instantly turned red all the way to his ears.
He spoke in a deep, embarrassed voice.
“Mom, this… Comrade Lin is just a young woman. How can she examine me for something like this? I’m not doing it.”
“You’re not?”
Granny Zhou immediately became furious. She jumped up and smacked him hard on the back.
“Are you planning to let our family line end with you? Sit down right now! Do you know how much medicine your wife has taken over the past five years? Do you know how much she’s suffered? If the problem is actually with you, then Fengxia won’t have to keep going through all this!”
“But… when we went to the county hospital before, the doctor said there was nothing wrong with me.”
Gao Dahai tried to argue, but one glare from his mother immediately silenced him.
“Enough! I told you to sit down!”
After being scolded like a child who had done something wrong, Gao Dahai reluctantly sat on a wooden stool in the main room.
He slowly stretched out his hand, looking as though he were preparing to face his execution.
The sight made the corners of Lin Xiaxia’s lips twitch upward.
Suppressing her amusement, she placed her fingers against Gao Dahai’s wrist and carefully felt his pulse.
His pulse was strong, but upon closer examination, there was a faint sluggishness to it. It didn’t flow as smoothly as an ordinary person’s.
It was probably a genetic issue.
Perhaps the men in his family had inherited some form of low sperm motility.
She asked him several more questions about his daily routine and diet, as well as whether he often felt tired or experienced any other discomfort.
Gao Dahai answered hesitantly. He said he had plenty of strength when working, but his lower back occasionally felt heavy and sore. He had never paid much attention to it.
Lin Xiaxia released his wrist and thought for a moment before turning to Granny Zhou.
“Auntie, I need to think more carefully about his exact condition and what medicine would be appropriate. I won’t prescribe anything just yet.”
“So… there really is something wrong with him?” Granny Zhou froze, immediately looking worried. “Then… can he still have children?”
Lin Xiaxia reassured her.
“I’ll do my best to treat him. I think there’s a good chance.”
Granny Zhou tightly grasped Lin Xiaxia’s hand.
“Doctor Lin, as long as you can cure him, we’ll pay whatever it costs! Please, you have to help our family.”
Gao Dahai was stunned as well. He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but eventually swallowed his words.
Lin Xiaxia smiled and shook her head.
“I can’t promise anything for certain, but I’ll definitely do everything I can.”
“Yes, yes! We’ll listen to you!”
Granny Zhou nodded repeatedly, then pulled Fengxia forward to thank Lin Xiaxia.
“Thank you so much, Doctor Lin. If this really works, our family will put up a memorial tablet in your honor!”
“Auntie, there’s no need to go that far.”
Lin Xiaxia escorted them to the door.
“Let’s try the treatment first. You can thank me after it works.”
She watched the family of three disappear into the darkness before returning to the kitchen and picking up her bowl of noodles, which had already gone slightly cold.
As she ate, Lin Xiaxia opened the system interface and slid her fingers across the glowing screen, searching for medical equipment.
Based on Gao Dahai’s condition, she suspected that he might have low sperm motility or a similar fertility problem.
Normally, laboratory testing would be necessary to confirm the diagnosis.
But the village didn’t even have electricity.
Even if she purchased sophisticated laboratory equipment, there would be no way to operate it. More importantly, she couldn’t simply produce advanced medical machines out of thin air without raising suspicion.
She stared at the equipment listed on the screen, with prices ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, and silently sighed.
Even if she had enough points, taking those machines out would create another problem entirely.
She continued scrolling until her finger suddenly stopped.
Her gaze landed on an icon at the very bottom of the screen, and her eyes instantly lit up.
[Medical Operating Room — Portable Alternate-Space Edition]
She immediately opened the description.
It contained a complete set of laboratory testing and diagnostic equipment. The operating room existed within an independent alternate space, required no external power source, and all examinations and procedures could be performed directly inside.
Wasn’t this exactly what she needed?
She wouldn’t have to worry about electricity or figure out how to hide the equipment.
It was perfect!
But the moment she saw the price, the smile vanished from her face.
One billion gold coins.
Lin Xiaxia blinked.
Then she leaned closer and looked again.
That long string of zeros was painfully clear, instantly extinguishing all her excitement.
She silently closed the page and let out a long sigh.
“Ah… without money, you really can’t get anywhere.”
Just as disappointment set in, something in the neighboring slot caught her eye.
Its icon depicted an old, yellowed, thread-bound book.
The price was fifty million.
She casually tapped on it.
[Complete Collection of Exclusive Imperial Physician Formulas]
The description beneath it was even more tempting.
[Contains secret remedies passed down by imperial physicians from royal courts across different eras and dimensions, covering internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, and more. Includes handwritten annotations from renowned physicians. From health maintenance and physical conditioning to rare and complicated illnesses, everything is covered in one comprehensive volume. Exceptional value guaranteed.]
Lin Xiaxia immediately became interested.
Imperial physicians had been among the finest doctors of their respective eras. Their prescriptions had been refined and tested countless times, so their practical value should be unquestionable.
In particular, their remedies for strengthening and regulating the body might be useful for conditions like Gao Dahai and Fengxia’s.
Perhaps there was an even better prescription hidden inside.
She suddenly remembered reading an unofficial historical account claiming that during Emperor Qianlong’s reign, he had once suffered from a private illness that no one dared openly discuss. Later, an imperial physician had adjusted his treatment and prescribed a secret medicine.
Could that medicine have been intended to treat something similar to low sperm motility?
Fifty million points was still an enormous amount, but compared to one billion, it was far more realistic.
“This one’s worth it!”
She slapped her thigh, completely forgetting about her dinner as she stared at the book’s icon, already having made up her mind.
“I’ll buy this first. With all these prescriptions, I’ll be much better prepared to run the clinic.”
Lin Xiaxia quickly finished the rest of her noodles in a few bites.
She didn’t even bother washing the bowl before heading straight into the inner room.
After locking the door, she moved her thoughts, and the items stored in her space appeared on the kang.
She first picked up the box of small gold bars and selected [Recharge and Exchange] on the system interface.
The numbers on the screen began climbing rapidly.
Golden light reflected in her eyes as she watched with nervous anticipation.
Once all the gold bars had been exchanged, the number finally stopped at thirty-eight million.
She was still twelve million short.
Gritting her teeth, Lin Xiaxia picked up the jadeite necklace.
The jadeite was highly translucent and had a rich, pure color, so the system valued it quite highly.
She then added two jade bangles. Both were made from fine old-mine jade, smooth, lustrous, and beautifully translucent.
“Confirm exchange.”
At her command, the necklace and bangles dissolved into specks of light and disappeared.
The number on the system interface soared rapidly before finally stopping at—
Fifty-one million.
Enough!
Lin Xiaxia’s heart pounded wildly.
With slightly trembling fingers, she opened the [Complete Collection of Exclusive Imperial Physician Formulas] and pressed [Purchase].
“Ding—Purchase successful. The item has been stored in the system space.”