Chapter 6
Wu Heng chuckled softly, wondering what Mrs. He must have been feeling to say those words. He replied, “This is Wu Heng. How did you find me?”
Mrs. He had her phone on speakerphone. The whole family was gathered around, looking quite nervous.
Mr. He, hearing Wu Heng’s question, quickly said, “Doctor Wu, please don’t be offended. I have a small partnership with the Shark Short Videos platform, so I obtained the landline number you provided for registration. The young man who answered gave me your mobile number.”
The He family was considered a prominent family in the capital city, and Mr. He hadn’t spoken so humbly to anyone in years.
Grandfather had gone to the mountains to collect herbs, so the registered number was unreachable. The backup number must have been the clinic’s landline, and You Jin probably hadn’t closed the clinic yet, so he answered. It was quite a roundabout way to get Wu Heng’s number.
The He family was anxious, unsure what Wu Heng meant.
Mr. He had taken the time to watch the screen recording of Wu Heng’s live diagnosis, which had already gone viral online, and complained slightly about his wife’s stinginess.
Mrs. He felt wronged: “The most expensive gift on their platform is only worth 3,000 yuan. How can you blame me?”
Just as the family was feeling uneasy, a boy’s scream suddenly came from the other end: “Ah—!”
Zhou Yi tugged at Wu Heng’s clothes, pointing at the white snake on the stone path ahead, his voice filled with fear. “Wu Heng, a snake, it’s that snake from before!”
The little white snake stood upright, tilting its head as it stared at Wu Heng, seemingly trying to confirm something.
“What should we do? Chicken, there’s no rooster here. Should I go back to the Lai family and get the rooster from earlier?” Zhou Yi asked, his face pale.
Wu Heng shook his head. “Don’t mind it. Are you coming back to the clinic with me, or going home to study? Your mother is urging you to study.”
Zhou Yi practically glued himself to Wu Heng, nodding frantically. “Going to your clinic, to study…study. I’ll ask my mom to bring my books to your place later if that’s okay.”
The He family didn’t interrupt their conversation, listening quietly, inwardly nodding. It seemed that this Doctor Wu Heng’s family did run a clinic, but unlike ordinary clinics, he was a shaman doctor, knowing some witchcraft that other doctors didn’t.
The two walked towards Chengde Medical Clinic, the little white snake slithering behind them.
Mr. He first showered Wu Heng with compliments, then quickly got to the point of the call, anxiously asking, “Doctor Wu, how do you think we should treat my son? The fee is not a problem.”
“Doctor Wu, why don’t you give us your clinic’s location? We’ll bring Yunxiao over for treatment right away.”
Online diagnosis wasn’t as good as offline, after all. It was best to meet Wu Heng in person.
Businessmen, more or less, believed in Feng Shui. Many of Mr. He’s friends in the CEO circles invited Taoist priests and spirit mediums. Mr. He had a large business and had vaguely heard that the past couple of years hadn’t been peaceful, that it was easy to attract negative energy and get sick. To know a capable shaman doctor was worth more than gold.
Wu Heng said, “My home is in the mountains, in a remote area.”
Many areas in the village still didn’t have full 5G coverage.
Mrs. He quickly interjected, “It doesn’t matter, we don’t mind the distance.”
Zhou Yi whispered, “Our Nan Nuo village is really far away. It’s a small village on the border in the southwestern mountains. The high-speed rail won’t be open until next year. To get here now, you have to take a long-distance bus from the provincial capital and travel on national roads for at least seven or eight hours.”
“It’s the rainy season now. The national roads are blocked by landslides, you won’t be able to get in.”
Building roads was the first step to prosperity. The high-speed rail would be open next year, and Village Chief Zhou Dagui was cooperating with the government to promote Nan Nuo village’s tourism in advance.
According to Zhou Dagui’s vision, it would be best to have something that could attract tourists to travel thousands of miles to Nan Nuo village.
Upon hearing this, the He family felt a pang of disappointment, but they quickly rallied their spirits.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. They had to face difficulties head-on. With money, everything was negotiable.
Mr. He was already considering hiring sedan chair carriers, even at a high price, to carry He Yunxiao into their village. He quickly had another idea. “Or, we could take a helicopter? That’s faster.”
Zhou Yi was still marveling at the resourcefulness of the rich when Wu Heng spoke again, “He can’t be moved easily now. Traveling will disturb the fetus. He’s due within three days and must stay in bed to rest.”
Give birth again?
One snake was enough to give the whole family a headache, and now more were coming?
Mrs. He hadn’t ruled out the possibility of having grandchildren in ten years, but she had never imagined having snake grandchildren!
According to Wu Heng, they were in a dilemma.
The national roads were blocked, Wu Heng couldn’t come out, and they couldn’t go in. Even taking a helicopter was out of the question because He Yunxiao shouldn’t be moved.
He Yunxiao, feeling no paternal love for the little snake in the bassinet or the snake fetuses in his belly, asked with a grimace, “Can I… have an abortion online?”
As a man, saying “abortion” was truly scummy behavior, but he was aborting his own fetuses. He was being scummy to himself!
He Yunxiao felt like the world had become magical. He still couldn’t quite accept that he was pregnant with snake fetuses.
Mrs. He quickly chimed in, “Yes, yes, Doctor Wu. Just like your live consultation this morning, a remote abortion is fine too.”
Wu Heng had the means to treat people from thousands of miles away, so couldn’t he do the same for this?
Wu Heng explained, “This morning’s needle worked because they were unaware and unprepared. Another remote abortion like that would endanger the expectant father’s life.”
The He family almost cried upon hearing this. If this wasn’t possible, and that wasn’t possible, did they really have to give birth to all of them?
They hadn’t done anything wrong, why were they encountering such a thing?
Everything had been fine all these years. They had only heard of strange things happening to their neighbors, the Shi family, but it shouldn’t have affected them.
Wu Heng paused and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll find time to come over.”
Wu Heng asked for the He family’s address, and they immediately provided their location coordinates.
“Doctor Wu, why don’t you pack your things, and we’ll send a private jet to pick you up?”
Since Wu Heng said He Yunxiao couldn’t be moved, the He family naturally assumed that Wu Heng had to come in person.
From a remote village in the southwest to the capital city, since there was a landslide, they would arrange a helicopter to pick him up and then transfer to a private jet. It would still be a tiring journey, but at least Doctor Wu, unlike Yunxiao, could travel.
Wu Heng: “No need.”
Hearing this, the He family didn’t force the issue, only planning to give Wu Heng a generous gift after he cured Yunxiao.
The He family was deeply moved but also worried, unsure if Wu Heng could arrive in the capital within three days.
After Wu Heng hung up, Zhou Yi spoke, “Xiao Heng, are you going to the capital city? Over three thousand kilometers, Brother You Jin won’t agree.”
Before leaving to collect herbs, Old Doctor Wu had entrusted Wu Heng to his grandfather, Zhou Dagui. As the village chief, his grandfather would never let Wu Heng leave.
Although Wu Heng’s father, Wu Su, worked as a steward for a wealthy family in the capital, Wu Heng had never left Nan Nuo village in his seventeen years. He was unfamiliar with the outside world, and Zhou Yi was worried about him running into trouble.
Wu Heng didn’t answer, entering Chengde Medical Clinic with Zhou Yi. You Jin was tidying up, preparing to close.
“Just now someone with a capital city accent called asking for your number, Xiao Heng. I gave it to them, is that okay?”
Wu Heng shook his head, saying it was fine.
After You Jin finished cleaning the clinic’s main hall, he pulled on the wooden door while chattering instructions to Wu Heng and Zhou Yi. “Be careful staying at the clinic. If you need to pee at night, use the toilet or the chamber pot. And…”
A series of hurried footsteps approached, and several strong men in mourning clothes rushed in, sneezing continuously.
The leading man rubbed his goosebump-covered arms and said, “So cold, freezing. Give us some cold medicine.”
These were clearly the men who had carried Lai boy’s coffin, probably having just finished the burial.
They were all cold, thinking it was because the water seeping from the coffin had soaked them. Taking some medicine couldn’t hurt.
You Jin, unaware of what had happened at the Lai family’s that night, was surprised to see them shivering so much.
You Jin took the thermometers from the consultation table and had them take their temperatures. Five minutes later, he took the mercury thermometers from their armpits. “36.5°C, normal temperature.”
How could he prescribe medicine then?
But these strong men kept shivering from the cold, sitting in the hall, constantly drinking hot water, refusing to even turn on the fan.
Zhou Yi leaned closer and whispered to Wu Heng, “Is it because the water seeping from the coffin was… something unclean?” So ordinary thermometers couldn’t detect it.
Wu Heng nodded, went into the pharmacy, took out a square sheet of yellow paper used for wrapping medicine, picked up a worn-out calligraphy brush, and started writing on it.
You Jin was practically foaming at the mouth trying to persuade them. “Your temperatures are normal, I can’t prescribe cold medicine… Hey, hey, hey, don’t make things difficult for me, I’m just an apprentice.”
Chengde Medical Clinic was the only clinic in Nan Nuo village. Online shopping wasn’t convenient, so villagers with minor ailments could only come here for help.
At this time, Wu Heng came out of the pharmacy with several boxes of cold and fever granules and a packet of yellow paper medicine, handing them out separately. “I’ve prescribed some medicine and herbal remedies.”
The coffin bearers also felt they should at least take some herbal remedies even without a prescription. They glanced at Wu Heng and said, “Doctor Wu’s grandson is so sensible and adaptable. He’s really become smarter. You Jin, you’re too rigid.”
With that, the group left with the medicine. Whether it was a placebo effect or not, holding the yellow paper packet in their hands felt like holding a hand warmer, gradually dispelling the chill in their bodies.
The men looked at the thin yellow paper packet, then at the box of cold medicine, feeling that the paper packet was the truly effective one.
“Amazing, truly amazing.”
Inside the clinic, You Jin was so scared he almost jumped. “Herbal remedies are fine, but Xiao Heng, what do you know about prescribing medicine?! What kind of prescription did you give them? What if they die?”
Wu Heng said nonchalantly, “I didn’t prescribe anything. I just wrote a character on the yellow paper, just to appease them.”
Hearing this, You Jin breathed a sigh of relief. Just wrote a character? That’s fine.
But…
You Jin started dancing with joy again. “Our Xiao Heng can write now? Did Zhou Yi teach you? When Master returns, I’ll have him arrange for you to go to high school, and in the future, you can also go to university like Zhou Yi, bringing honor to our ancestors!”
Wu Heng and Zhou Yi knew that You Jin was a chatterbox, so they didn’t say much and hurried upstairs.
Zhou Yi stammered to Wu Heng, “The character you wrote just now…I didn’t recognize it.”
Wu Heng was about to explain that it was a secret character used in Zhu Youshu (a type of traditional Chinese medicine involving incantations and talismans), when Zhou Yi hesitated and said, “It looked like a ghost-drawing talisman.”
Zhou Yi scratched his head and immediately tried to reassure himself, muttering, “I must be overthinking it, it was all just a coincidence before, how can there be ghosts in this world? I did very well in my politics class…”
Wu Heng calmly shattered his wishful thinking: “Remove the ‘looked like.'”
Zhou Yi: “???”
Waaah—!
Thanks for the chapter 🌻✨