Chapter 26: 26, Save the mother or the child?

Early in the morning, Ren Xiaosu opened the clinic door, surveying his surroundings—this was probably the first time in many years in the settlement that he felt the morning air was rather fresh.

After the catastrophe, the sky was mostly shrouded in a strange haze, as Mr. Zhang Jinglin of the academy said, caused by massive smoke and dust particles rising during the disaster, not only blocking the sunlight's photosynthesis, but also making the climate unusually cold, and often bringing acid rain.

Until recent decades, this situation gradually improved, and most of the time in a year, the sun could be seen.

Ren Xiaosu's clinic was opposite the grocery store, and as soon as he opened the door, he saw Wang Fugui stepping out from across the street, holding two freshly baked sweet potatoes: "Xiaosu, want some sweet potatoes!"

Ren Xiaosu not only marveled—before this, he had tried to get this old Wang to send him a needle for sewing clothes, but no, even a thread for sewing clothes was impossible.

But now, this stingy fellow actually took the initiative to send sweet potatoes...

Looking at Wang Fugui's cheerful face, Ren Xiaosu thought that accepting gifts from others required reciprocity, so he mumbled, "I don't have anything to give you back, just some anesthetic, how about I give you an anesthetic shot?"

"Give you an anesthetic shot, is that reasonable?" Wang Fugui's face darkened instantly, and he asked, "By the way, you haven't gone out to gather herbs these days, does your medicine still have any left..."

"Yes, anti-inflammatory, anesthetic, cough suppressants, all have," Ren Xiaosu said with a smile.

"I mean that black medicine, do you still have any?" Wang Fugui seemed a bit embarrassed.

"You just bought some, didn't you?" Ren Xiaosu pretended to ask.

"That was for the big shots inside the Wall, don't pretend with me, without my medicine supply, could you have gotten this clinic so cheaply?" Wang Fugui complained, "Honestly, I only sent medicine to Chen Haidong at first, but somehow it ended up in Luobo's hands..."

At this moment, Wang Fugui himself was a bit puzzled about how the black medicine was sent up layer by layer, and didn't know how many times it could still be used when it reached Luobo's hands...

"Here," Ren Xiaosu took out two small porcelain bottles, he had exchanged a small bottle of black medicine yesterday to treat Yan Liuyuan's fever, and now there were two more treatments left, so he had already divided them: "1200, not a penny less."

"I have a bottle to send in, but..." Wang Fugui glared, "Do you have the nerve to take so much money from me?"

"Take it or not," Ren Xiaosu said, preparing to put the black medicine back into his pocket.

As a result, Wang Fugui didn't hesitate, decisively grabbed Ren Xiaosu's arm, paid the money and took the medicine, and finally even thanked him!

"Gratitude from Wang Fugui, +1!"

Hmm, Ren Xiaosu thought this Wang Fugui was quite interesting, two thanks in a row actually gave him two gratitude coins!

Though Ren Xiaosu felt a bit regretful, his gratitude coins were getting fewer and fewer, now only four left...

But after weighing the pros and cons, he wanted Yan Liuyuan and Xiaoyu to live better in the settlement, and it was essential to get closer to the Wall.

Moreover, this black medicine wasn't given for free, so why not take advantage of it.

Thinking of this, Ren Xiaosu sighed, he could only see if he could gain more gratitude now that he had the identity of a clinic doctor.

Ren Xiaosu's immediate priority was to go out and gather herbs, he was a cautious person, and even his disguise had to be thorough, otherwise it would raise suspicion.

When the time came, people would say: So-and-so's supernatural ability manifested out of thin air, creating an ice mountain to destroy cities, so-and-so's ability could cut through mountains, but Ren Xiaosu's ability... was to make that black medicine, which was really awkward.

After Ren Xiaosu entered the wilderness, he finally couldn't resist checking the place where he had buried his gun, confirming no one had tampered with it before he felt relieved—this was his greatest reliance now, and he must not make a mistake.

Even though he now possessed 4.5 strength and 4.1 agility, humans were still not as fast as guns.

When Ren Xiaosu returned to the clinic with a bamboo basket on his back, he saw Xiaoyu was looking at a couple who had come for consultation with a troubled expression.

Xiaoyu immediately cast a pleading look at Ren Xiaosu upon seeing him return: "Xiaosu, hurry and see the patient."

Ren Xiaosu threw the bamboo basket on the ground and asked, "What's wrong with you two? Let me tell you, you've come to the right place..."

"That's great," the man said, "We're not injured, it's just that my wife is four months pregnant, and this morning her stomach suddenly hurt, we're worried something might go wrong, so we came to see if you can treat her."

Ren Xiaosu was petrified on the spot—he might run a clinic now, but he didn't know how to treat such a condition!

Now there was no distinction between men's and women's medicine, in the eyes of the wandering people in the settlement, if you had a disease, coming to the clinic was the right thing.

The dilemma was Ren Xiaosu, he had already boasted earlier, and now faced the expectant eyes of the couple, Ren Xiaosu couldn't just hit his own face in public, could he?

Ren Xiaosu tried hard to recall the lessons Mr. Zhang Jinglin had taught, and the books he had seen at Mr. Zhang's place, attempting to search for a way to handle this, what would a general doctor say to a pregnant woman and her family?

Ren Xiaosu pondered for a moment: "Do you want to keep the baby or not?"

The couple: "???"

The man suddenly flew into a rage: "Are you a real doctor? My wife just has a stomachache, and you ask if we want to keep the baby? The problem is, the child is only four months old, where would we put it if we kept it small?!"

Ren Xiaosu thought, that seemed to be the case...

This time he sighed: "I'm sorry, I was wrong just now, let me tell you two this—I really don't know how to treat gynecological diseases. The previous doctor didn't either, he was just a charlatan."

To be honest, he could kill a deserving person without blinking an eye, but deceiving a pregnant woman was something Ren Xiaosu really couldn't do.

Ren Xiaosu continued: "My suggestion is that you go to the academy and borrow some books from Mr. Zhang on this topic, let the lady eat and drink well, and whether she can deliver smoothly depends on fate. I won't cheat you two out of your money. Also, don't buy any random medicine from others—I know that pregnant women can't take medicine, and there's a high chance it will cause fetal malformations. If you don't believe me, you can ask Mr. Zhang."

The couple looked at each other in dismay, they didn't expect Ren Xiaosu to say such a thing. The man thought for a long time: "I feel you're better than the previous doctor. Last time I was sick, he was afraid I wouldn't buy medicine, and after taking his medicine, my illness didn't improve—it was my own endurance that got me through."

The pregnant lady stood up and smiled: "Thank you, doctor."

"Gratitude from Qin Jiajia, +1!"

Ren Xiaosu was stunned for a moment—this time he had done almost nothing, yet he had received a gratitude coin out of the blue.