The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

After returning to the inn, Zhang Laoer asked the waiter to bring a bucket of bath water to the room, prepared meals, and then asked his eldest son-in-law to call a doctor.

When he brought the food back to the room, he found that his son had fallen asleep in the bathtub. Zhang Laoer's eyes turned red and the grown man almost shed tears.

After suppressing the emotion in his heart, Zhang Laoer stepped forward and gently helped his son wash his hair. Zhang Pingan didn't react at all and was sleeping soundly.

After changing several towels to dry his hair, Zhang Laoer carried his son to bed. Fortunately, the weather was hot, so there was no need to worry about him catching a cold.

Liu Sanlang also brought the doctor back at this time. There were too many people asking for doctors after the college entrance examination. He had to run seven or eight streets to find one. In addition, he could not speak clearly, so he was anxious and sweating profusely. Fortunately, the doctor had seen this kind of situation many times, so he followed with his medicine box on his back.

Zhang Laoer saw that the doctor was not very old, probably only about fifteen or sixteen years old, and was a little hesitant, but since he was here, he might as well take a look.

Although the doctor was not very old, his family was a family of doctors. He had been practicing medicine in the clinic with his grandfather and father since he was a child. He had seen all kinds of patients. Knowing that Zhang Laoer did not trust him very much, he did not care. He sat down beside the bed, put two fingers on the patient's wrist and carefully felt the pulse before replying: "There is nothing serious about your son. He is mainly overtired and sleepy, so he fell asleep. He will be fine after he wakes up and eats something to restore his strength."

"That's good, that's good," Zhang Laoer finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Doctor, do you want to prescribe some medicine to replenish his vitality? This child has suffered a lot in the exams these days. He is a twin and has been weak since childhood. He is in poor health. I am afraid that he has damaged his foundation."

The young doctor saw that they were dressed in ordinary clothes and thought they were ordinary people. So he shook his head and said, "Just eat more good supplements. Medicinal herbs for replenishing vitality are not cheap. He is in good health, so there is no need."

Zhang Laoer was a man who knew what was good for him. Hearing this, he knew that the doctor was a kind person. He smiled gratefully and asked, "Excuse me, doctor. How much is the consultation fee?"

"One hundred coins," the young doctor replied, then said with a smile, "But you have to call a car to take me back. I can't walk these seven or eight blocks. I just had this man carrying me here on his back. I saw that he was really anxious and couldn't explain the situation clearly, so I thought the patient was in a serious emergency, so I didn't say anything and let him carry me here."

Upon hearing this, Liu Sanlang scratched his head in embarrassment, his face flushed red, and he said embarrassedly: "Yes... yes... yes... no... no... can't... hold on"!

The young doctor waved his hand and said, "I think the person on the bed is fine, but your stuttering is quite severe. If you don't mind, I'll take a look at you. Maybe I can cure it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Sanlang and his father-in-law looked at each other in bewilderment. Zhang Laoer asked doubtfully, "Can stuttering be cured? I've never heard anyone say stuttering has been cured."

"Of course it can be cured. We at Huichuntang have cured many stuttering patients before," the young doctor said proudly. He paused before continuing, "But it depends on the individual. I need to first determine the root cause of his stuttering before I can conclude whether it can be cured. I wonder if it's congenital or acquired through shock?"

“Heaven…heaven…heaven…it’s…alive…alive…” Liu Sanlang stammered back.

Stuttering brings many inconveniences to life, and it would be best if it could be cured. With a try-it attitude, Zhang Laoer said, "Excuse me, could you please help my son-in-law take a look?"

The young doctor then stepped forward and said to Liu Sanlang, "Please sit on the stool first. I'll take a look at your Adam's apple and tongue."

Liu Sanlang sat down on the stool in a daze.

"Tilt your head back and open your mouth wide, ah!" the young doctor gestured.

"Ah..." Liu Sanlang opened his mouth obediently.

The young doctor lifted Liu Sanlang's chin and took a closer look at him, then said, "His problem is mainly caused by hypertrophy of the laryngeal nucleus, and the internal disturbance of phlegm and fire also has some influence. Normally, his stuttering should not be so serious, but patients who stutter are generally unwilling to speak and have less practice, so naturally the stuttering becomes more serious."

Zhang Laoer asked, "Can this be cured? How much silver will it cost?"

"It can be cured. I'll give him acupuncture first to see the effect. The consultation fee is two hundred coins," the young doctor said as he took out an acupuncture bag from the medicine box. When it was unfolded, there were forty or fifty long and short silver needles, shining on the table.

"Wait a minute, doctor, this won't be a bad thing, will it? At least he can speak now, he just can't speak fluently. What if he can't even speak after the injection, what should we do then?" Zhang Laoer hesitated as he watched the young doctor about to stick a needle in his son-in-law's mouth.

He was frightened by the row of silver needles. He didn't know how skilled this young doctor was. His eldest son-in-law was fine when he followed him out, but he couldn't let him become mute when he returned.

"What are you talking about? If I wasn't sure, why would I give him acupuncture casually? Let's not talk about whether it can be cured completely, but at least I won't make him worse." The young doctor was a little angry when he heard this. People often judge people by their appearance. This situation has happened countless times. Otherwise, he would not be sitting on the bench in the clinic and being invited by Liu Sanlang.

"This...this..." Zhang Laoer was very embarrassed.

Seeing Zhang Laoer's expression, the young doctor relaxed his expression and patiently explained, "I know you're worried about me harming the patient because of my youth, but please rest assured. I've been learning medicine from my grandfather since I could read at the age of three. Our Chen family has been practicing medicine for generations, so we have basic medical ethics. I'm not a quack who would fool people for a small fee."

Zhang Laoer was unable to make a decision on this matter and was sweating profusely in anxiety. At this time, Liu Sanlang said, "Dad... Dad... Dad, I need... I need... I need... to treat... him."

Although he still stuttered, his face was full of determination as he repeated: "Heal...heal!"

Seeing his eldest son-in-law like this, Zhang Laoer took a deep breath and said, "Then treat him!"

Doctor Chen then began to give acupuncture. Each needle was quick and accurate. Liu Sanlang didn't even feel any pain, just a little swelling at the needle point.

"Okay, we'll know the result in a quarter of an hour," said Doctor Chen, letting out a breath after completing the acupuncture.

Liu Sanlang was a little nervous when he heard this. He had round eyes, a wide mouth and a dark complexion. He obviously had a very powerful appearance, but now he had a mouth full of needles and dared not move. He looked very pitiful.

Zhang Laoer was also worried, but after all, he had lived for several decades and knew the etiquette, so he asked the doctor to sit down and poured him a cup of tea.

A quarter of an hour later, Doctor Chen took out the needle and put it into a small long-necked porcelain bottle, which was probably filled with strong liquor. Zhang Laoer smelled a strong smell of alcohol.

"Try to speak," Doctor Chen asked after putting away the needle.