Soon, the day agreed upon with Zhuo Weiqian for the free clinic arrived, and Ji Kongqing rode the princess’s carriage to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Before leaving, Ji Kongqing opened the system care package rewarded from her last completed task, unlocking three more medicines in the system pharmacy: anesthetics, montmorillonite powder, and Yunnan Baiyao.
Recently, while staying in the princess’s estate testing the system’s functions, she discovered that system coins could be withdrawn into the currency used in this world, and the currency of this world could likewise be exchanged back into system coins.
Therefore, to prepare medicines in advance, she converted some silver into system coins, and asked Zhuo Weiqian for a small wooden medicine chest, 10 small medicine jars, and a stack of draft paper.
She used scissors to cut the draft paper into small squares, bought plenty of medicine from the system space, unpacked them, and placed them into the medicine jars.
After packing all the medicines into the medicine chest, Ji Kongqing placed medical instruments such as the stethoscope inside, and finally brought the chest out.
“Let us go.” The people from the Imperial Medical Bureau traveled in the bureau’s carriage, while Ji Kongqing sat in the princess’s carriage as before. The group drove to the Huimin Pharmacy.
On the fifteenth day of every month, the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau would come here to hold a free clinic.
The impoverished commoners, who had known the schedule long ago, arrived before dawn. By the time the imperial physicians arrived, the area outside the Huimin Pharmacy was packed with people, every single one of them wearing old, coarse cloth garments covered in patches.
“Please line up in order.” Zhuo Weiqian led everyone down from the carriages and sat at a consultation table.
Ji Kongqing followed his instructions and sat at the table right next to his.
Under Zhuo Weiqian’s direction, the chaotic crowd orderly split into several queues, voluntarily lining up in front of the different imperial physicians’ tables.
There were a total of five imperial physicians out for this free clinic, and the queue in front of Ji Kongqing’s table had the fewest people. This was because she looked the youngest, bore very little resemblance to someone from the Jiaming Kingdom, and gave off an unreliable impression.
Ji Kongqing was not in a hurry either. She observed Zhuo Weiqian’s diagnostic steps first, noticing that he always checked the pulse first, then wrote a prescription, and finally had the commoners collect their medicine from the pharmacy behind them.
The Huimin Pharmacy could be considered a charitable government institution of the Jiaming Kingdom. The imperial physicians’ free clinics charged no fees, and medicine prices were half as cheap as those at regular commercial pharmacies, yet they still cost upwards of 500 wen.
These commoners only came here for treatment when their illnesses could no longer be delayed. Even though it was already much cheaper, coming up with this money was still extremely difficult for them.
The first person Ji Kongqing received was a middle-aged man. He was coughing violently and his face was very red. The moment Ji Kongqing touched his hand, she knew he had a fever.
Opening the medicine chest, she took out a stethoscope. After putting it on, Ji Kongqing began listening to his lung sounds, instructing him to inhale and exhale according to her directions.
“Physician, do you not need to check his pulse?” The person accompanying the middle-aged man was a young man, apparently his son.
After listening with the stethoscope, Ji Kongqing could roughly determine the issue and asked, “When did the coughing start?”
“Seven days ago. My father caught a chill after getting caught in the rain coming down from the mountain. He has been coughing ever since, and it has only gotten worse. He even started running a fever last night, and his mind became muddled from it.”
Seeing that Ji Kongqing did not check pulses, his son felt somewhat doubtful about her medical skill. However, remembering that she had come with the people from the Imperial Medical Bureau, he still answered.
“I see.” Ji Kongqing opened the medicine chest to retrieve the medicine. She took out three sheets of draft paper and doled out a three-day supply.
“This is for relieving coughs and reducing inflammation. Take two pills twice a day, swallow them, and take them after meals.”
“This is for reducing fever. Just take one pill. If the fever returns after subsiding, take another one. There should be a gap of two to three hours between the two doses. Did you understand?”
Ji Kongqing skillfully wrapped the medicine packages and handed them to the middle-aged man’s son.
“Do we not need to collect the medicine?” The young man glanced at the pharmacy behind them with some hesitation.
“No need. Only I have this medicine. Just give me 200 wen. If the symptoms do not ease after three days, come find me again.” Ji Kongqing put away the stethoscope. “Did you remember everything?”
“I remembered,” the young man repeated the instructions. “Physician, will you be coming back in three days?”
“Mhm.” Ji Kongqing nodded.
“Physician, may I take it now? I already ate breakfast before coming out.” The middle-aged man’s cough was so severe it felt like it was tearing at his heart and lungs.
“Yes, you may.” Ji Kongqing nodded. “Go to the pharmacy in the back, get a bowl of hot water, and take it.”
“Alright.” The young man quickly returned with water and administered the medicine to his father according to Ji Kongqing’s instructions.
Ji Kongqing checked her system panel and found that the number of people treated had changed to 2. There was no reward, which seemed to indicate that not every patient treated yielded a reward.
“Would any of you like to be seen?” Ji Kongqing propped her chin on her hand and looked at the people waiting in line behind them.
Those people looked at each other with hesitation. Seeing Ji Kongqing’s unconventional way of healing and those colorful pills they had never laid eyes on before, they felt somewhat unsettled.
Though they came from impoverished backgrounds, they still valued their lives.
While they hesitated, a large man who had grown tired of waiting shoved them aside. “If you are not going to be seen, stop blocking the way. My stomach is killing me.”
He plopped down onto the chair in front of Ji Kongqing.
“What are your symptoms?” Ji Kongqing looked at him.
“The runs,” the man said, his face somewhat pale. “It has been running for two days, and now my legs feel weak from it.”
“Does your stomach hurt?”
“It does not hurt, it just runs.”
Ji Kongqing immediately prescribed montmorillonite powder. “20 wen will do. You can drink it right now. Dissolve one packet in water.”
“Alright.” The burly man did not care whether Ji Kongqing was young or not. To him right now, as long as it worked, that was enough. He immediately dropped the money off to get some water, tore open the medicine package, dissolved it, and gulped it down quickly.
The roiling in his stomach soon stopped acting up, and the man felt a miraculous sensation. “Physician, your medicine is truly effective. And it is even sweet; not bitter at all.”
“It is actually sweet?” The people behind them looked surprised. “It has sugar added, and it is only 20 wen?”
Ji Kongqing paid no mind to their discussion. She converted all the money she had just received into system coins. Even though these medicines seemed very cheap to them, she was still making a profit.
“Dad, your fever is gone,” the young man’s side exclaimed with pleasant surprise. “This medicine is too effective.”
The middle-aged man’s coughing had also quieted down considerably. Feeling much more comfortable in his body as well, he nodded, “I feel a lot lighter in the chest.”
“Let us go home then.” The young man helped his father up and took him home.
“Physician, I want to be seen.” Seeing the results on the two previous patients, the remaining people stopped doubting and rushed forward all at once.
Ji Kongqing had too few types of medicine. When encountering conditions she lacked medicine for, she referred patients to Zhuo Weiqian, and only treated those she had medicines for.
When she finished seeing the ninth person, the system stirred: “Successfully treated 10 people. Thirty new types of medicine unlocked in the pharmacy.”
“Physician! Physician, save someone quickly!” A cart pulled by an ox stopped abruptly not far away.
Two young men jumped down and began shouting, “My dad fell from the mountain!”
Understanding the gravity of the situation instantly, Zhuo Weiqian hurried forward to check.
Ji Kongqing crowded around as well, discovering that the man lying on the ox cart’s wooden board was covered in blood on his head and his left leg. Even though it was wrapped in a tattered piece of cloth, it was still a bloody mess, and the flowing blood had soaked the straw on the cart.
With a grave expression, Zhuo Weiqian checked the man’s pulse and sighed, “The pulse is floating, large, and hollow. This is severe blood loss.”
“Physician, Physician, I beg you to save my father.” The two young men dropped to their knees and kowtowed to Zhuo Weiqian.
Zhuo Weiqian was not skilled in treating trauma, and among the imperial physicians out for this free clinic, none belonged to the surgical and ulcer department. He wore a troubled look.
Watching Ji Kongqing’s movements, Zhuo Weiqian suddenly recalled her previous claim that she excelled at handling such injuries. He immediately asked her in a low voice, “Consort, can you handle this?”
Ji Kongqing stroked her chin. “Bring him inside the courtyard. Trauma can be treated, but I cannot guarantee whether he will wake up. Do you still want to treat him?”
“Treat him, treat him.” The young men shifted their hope to Ji Kongqing. “I beg of you, please.”
“Very well.” Ji Kongqing nodded. “Be careful lifting him and take him to the treatment bed in the courtyard.”
As luck would have it, her system store had just unlocked local anesthetic drugs and syringes right before these two men arrived. Perhaps it was meant to be.
After carrying the man to the treatment bed in the backyard, Ji Kongqing dismissed everyone and swiftly began debridement and cleaning for him.
Although the wound on his leg had a large opening, fortunately it had not severed an artery; the bleeding just looked extensive. Ji Kongqing quickly administered anesthesia and sutured it.
The same went for the head wound, which she closed with three stitches before applying gauze over it.
Once finished, Ji Kongqing pushed the door open. “It is done.”
The two young men stepped inside quickly. Looking at the man bandaged up on the bed, Zhuo Weiqian looked astonished. “Kongqing, you handled that too quickly. Imperial Physician Wang from the surgical and ulcer department has spent years in military camps and does not process these kinds of wounds as fast as you.”
Ji Kongqing curled her lips into a smile. “Practice makes perfect.”
“Do not rush to take your father back just yet. Leave him here for observation to see if he wakes up. If he does, I will tell you how to handle the subsequent care.” Ji Kongqing turned around to instruct the two.
“Thank you, Physician. We understand.” The two young men stationed themselves by their father’s side and nodded.
“Successfully performed debridement and suturing for 1 person. Recycling bin unlocked; system store unlocked +100.”
Ji Kongqing opened the system panel and saw that it had changed.
[Treating count: 11 Pharmacy: Opened System Space: Opened Quest: Not triggered Recycling Bin: Opened Account Balance: 2200]
Tapping on the recycling bin brought up a line of description. It stated that you could recycle medical waste, system coin rebates would be given upon recycling, and non-recyclable medical waste would be processed automatically.
Seeing this, Ji Kongqing’s face lit up with joy. She immediately tossed the medical waste from her space into it, receiving a rebate of 10 system coins.
The system store was unlocking more and more items as well. This time there were quite a few injectable drugs, medical dressings, and a broader variety of medicines. Accompanying Zhuo Weiqian out today truly was the right decision.
Ji Kongqing felt quite pleased.
An hour after Ji Kongqing treated him, the middle-aged man woke up. Ji Kongqing put down the work in her hands and went over to check on his status.
“I just feel dizzy and want to vomit.”
Ji Kongqing breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that his consciousness seemed clear enough, she nodded. “It should just be a mild concussion. This state is quite normal right now.”
“So, my dad is going to be fine?” the young man asked.
“Mhm, just take him home and let him rest properly. Keep the wounds away from water and avoid spicy foods.” Ji Kongqing nodded. “Change the gauze every three days and disinfect it.”
“Come here, I will teach you how to operate.” Ji Kongqing opened the medicine chest, exchanged medical cotton balls and iodine from the system, uncovered the injured area on the middle-aged man’s head, and showed the two of them.
“I have already sutured the wound. Three days later, when changing the gauze, peel it back like this, dip a cotton ball into this medicine, and dab it around the surroundings. When using cotton balls, it is best to scald the tool used to hold them with boiling water. Do you understand?”