Chapter 74: Persuasion

Lan Mo had no idea that Gu Yan’an was currently on his way to Haishi, intending to visit her.

A few days earlier, after her soul binding with the space, she had gone to exchange with “Little Useless in the Cultivation World” for one Soul-Tempering Pill and three Soul-Nourishing Pills.

That Little Useless had even tried to trick her into trading with Hundred Flowers Immortal Dew—how was that possible? She herself only had one bottle of Hundred Flowers Immortal Dew left, of course she was saving it to drink slowly herself later.

In the end, she took two hundred-year-old Fire Lingzhi that she had stolen from “The Little Medicine Boy of the Supreme Lord Lao” and traded them with her. “Little Useless in the Cultivation World” happily agreed in the end.

After taking the Soul-Tempering Pill and the Soul-Nourishing Pills, Lan Mo felt her soul was unprecedentedly strong, and even her body’s sensitivity had increased significantly.

Don’t ask her why—at night when she slept, she could always hear many inexplicable sounds. Sitting in the office at work, she often could smell what the cafeteria uncle was cooking that day.

“Doctor Lan, what are you daydreaming about? I’ve noticed you’ve been spacing out a lot these past two days. What are you thinking about? Could it be that you’re missing your sweetheart?” Li Jing joked with a smile.

Lan Mo pulled her thoughts back, snapped out of it, and smiled. “Nothing much, I was just thinking about what to have for lunch today.”

Ever since she could manipulate the space with her mind, Lan Mo would take advantage of times when there were few patients to zone out and sneak into the space to “harvest” from various friends.

After all, before, she could only operate the display screen when her physical body entered the space, but now she could do it with her mind.

Speaking of food, Li Jing remembered the big, round apples Lan Mo had given each of them.

“Doctor Lan, where did you buy those apples you gave us last time?”

“I brought them from home last time. I left them there and kept forgetting to eat them.”

“I thought you bought them at the black market. I wanted to buy a few pounds to take home for my daughter to eat. I’ll tell my husband to check out the black market tomorrow!”

“Do you have a black market in your town too?” Lan Mo asked.

“Why wouldn’t we? Do you want to go take a look? Next time we have a day off, I can take you to see it?”

“Thank you, Doctor Li, but I don’t really have anything I want to buy right now.”

Lan Mo didn’t want to go to the black market. Anyway, she didn’t plan to sell anything there—not only would she not be able to sell much, but it would also waste time.

If she could take time off, she’d rather ask for two days’ leave to go back home.

Just as she mentioned wanting to go home, Lan Yuanzhi hurriedly came to see Lan Mo, carrying a large bundle.

Seeing the man suddenly appear at the office door, Lan Mo immediately stood up and went over to greet him. “Elder Brother, why are you here?”

“Comrade Gu Yan’an sent you a big package a while ago. I specifically brought it over for you today.

I don’t know if he’s a bit thoughtless or what, but he actually sent you a Jingshi roast duck. Is there something wrong with his head? How can you mail a roast duck?

From such a long distance, it must have grown maggots by the time it arrived. Even a dog wouldn’t eat it if you threw it to them.” Lan Yuanzhi said, pursing his lips in disdain.

Well, in this era, roast duck didn’t have vacuum packaging, so it probably really did spoil easily.

“Elder Brother, he actually meant well. He probably thought we’d never had authentic Jingshi roast duck. Don’t criticize him anymore!”

Sure enough, girls tend to side with outsiders—she’s not even married to him yet and she’s already speaking up for him.

“Momo, let’s go back to the dorm first. I have something to tell you.”

Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, Lan Mo turned around, said goodbye to everyone, and took her elder brother back to the dormitory first.

Lan Yuanzhi saw that his younger sister had made the dormitory feel just like home and said with a smile, “Momo, are you planning to work at the town hospital for the rest of your life?”

“How could I? There’s no way I’d stay in this small town forever. By the way, Elder Brother, you didn’t come all this way just to deliver something, did you?”

“Well, the scar on our factory director’s temple has already healed, but after it healed, it left a very noticeable mark. Now he looks a bit fierce overall.

The factory director’s family has been asking around everywhere, trying to find out where they can buy scar removal medicine. They’ve even visited the dermatology departments of all the major hospitals.”

Lan Mo couldn’t help but feel amused—an old man caring so much about his appearance.

“Elder Brother, why have you decided to help him now?”

Lan Yuanzhi smiled and said, “Didn’t we save him last time? After that, he came to our house with gifts to thank us.

I used to be a team leader, and the factory director told me to work hard. If I get rated as an advanced worker by the end of the year, he’ll promote me.”

At least he knew how to show gratitude. If he had been an ungrateful person, Lan Mo wouldn’t have bothered helping him. But for her brother’s future, she decided to take out a bottle of scar removal ointment.

Lan Mo took out two bottles of Yurong Ointment from her medical kit and handed them to Lan Yuanzhi. “Elder Brother, sell one box to your factory director and keep the other at home for emergencies.

This Yurong Ointment can even remove old scars! New scars will show results in a week, while old scars need to be applied for over half a month to take effect.”

Such precious medicine, and Momo just gave it away without hesitation—his sister was truly generous! But no! She was a girl, so she should keep the medicine for herself. He couldn’t take it.

“Momo, you’re a girl. Keep the other box of medicine for yourself! How much does this medicine cost per box? I’ll give you the money when I get back.”

Lan Mo asked, “Elder Brother, are you planning to pay for the medicine out of your own pocket for the factory director?”

Lan Yuanzhi laughed awkwardly. “No, the factory director earns much more than us ordinary folks. I’ll definitely charge him for it.”

“Then charge him a hundred yuan. If he thinks it’s too expensive, just tell him the ointment is made from over a dozen precious herbs and is a secret family recipe passed down from my master’s family, with only this one bottle left.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration to call the medicine made by the “Peerless Little Divine Doctor” a secret family recipe.

They couldn’t charge too much, nor too little, and certainly not nothing. After all, the medicine was highly effective. Charging too much would make the factory director think her brother was ripping him off.

Charging too little wouldn’t be worth it for Lan Mo, and not charging at all would make the factory director think her brother was trying to bribe him, which could also leave them vulnerable.

Seeing how precious the medicine was, Lan Yuanzhi still wanted to leave it for his sister. “Momo, you should keep the other bottle. We have no use for it.”

“How is it useless? There are so many people in our family. Can you guarantee none of them will ever get injured? Take it, Elder Brother. I still have another bottle for myself.”

After all, her brother wouldn’t rummage through her kit. If she needed more of this medicine, she could always go to the “Peerless Little Divine Doctor” to exchange for it.

“Alright then. Once I get the money, I’ll send it to you right away!”

“No need, Elder Brother. Give the money to Mom for living expenses! Consider it me paying a year’s living expenses in advance. It’s getting late—let’s go to the cafeteria to get some food.”

“I won’t stay for a meal. I have to hurry back—I still have to work this afternoon.”

Lan Mo couldn’t care less whether he was going to work or not, pulling Lan Yuanzhi along as she ran toward the cafeteria. Was he planning to go back on an empty stomach without eating?

After seeing Lan Yuanzhi off, Lan Mo didn’t take a nap at noon. Instead, she entered the space to feed her silkworm babies, as today they were undergoing their first molting.

She moved them from the cardboard boxes into large bamboo trays, added fresh mulberry leaves, and finally arranged the trays on triangular stands.

With so many silkworms, the task took a full hour. Since she hadn’t rested at noon, her energy level wasn’t great when she returned to work in the afternoon.

Fortunately, there weren’t many patients in the Orthopedics Department today. Apart from a few elderly people coming in for rheumatism and bone pain, and an aunt who had twisted her leg, there were almost no other patients.

The Obstetrics Department, however, had been quite busy these past two days, with a surge of women coming to give birth. Three pregnant women from the town had come to the hospital to deliver, and another pregnant woman from the countryside had come seeking an abortion.

It was said that the pregnant woman from the countryside had lost her husband a month ago—he had been swept into the sea by a wave while fishing and was never found. Her family was now forcing her to come to the hospital for an abortion.

Both Li Jing and Wang Min tried to persuade the woman to keep the baby, as she was already over eight months pregnant. Aborting a living child at this stage would be nothing short of a sin!

If she waited for the baby to mature and be born naturally, the mother would suffer less harm. An abortion at this stage required medication to induce uterine contractions, and if anything went wrong, it could lead to severe bleeding and complications.

The woman, named Tian Xiuxiu, was only nineteen years old. Perhaps due to her youth, she lacked any sense of agency.

When the doctor said that an abortion would harm her body, she insisted on keeping the baby. But as soon as her mother said that giving birth would ruin her chances of remarrying, she immediately started clamoring for an abortion.

Now, Tian Xiuxiu’s mother stormed into the office, making a scene. “Doctors, what’s wrong with you? I just convinced Xiuxiu to get rid of the baby, and you’re meddling, telling her to keep it.

Who’s going to raise the child if she gives birth? Let me tell you, my daughter is still young. She can’t be burdened by this wretched child for the rest of her life. If anyone wants to give birth to this posthumous child, let them do it!”

Li Jing stood up and calmly explained, “Xiuxiu’s mother, your daughter is 260 days pregnant. In about twenty days, she’ll go into labor naturally.

An abortion at this stage is dangerous for both the mother and the child. If something goes wrong and the mother suffers severe bleeding, who will take responsibility?”

The woman clearly didn’t believe it, thinking the doctor was trying to deceive her.

“You’re lying! There was a woman in our village whose baby was over seven months old, and last month she still found a barefoot doctor to help her abort it, didn’t she?

This is a town hospital—can’t you even handle something like this? What are we paying you for? Just to look pretty?” After saying this, she disdainfully glanced at Lan Mo.

Lan Mo had remained silent all along—after all, she was an orthopedic doctor. Even though she had been an obstetrics expert in her previous life, she couldn’t reveal that now.

But seeing the old woman look down on her, she couldn’t just let it slide.

She smiled and said to Doctor Li, “Doctor Li, if the family tells you not to interfere, then don’t. Let them sign the consent forms themselves. If the pregnant woman really suffers severe bleeding and ends up with two lives lost, it’ll be on their own heads.”

Don’t blame her pretty face for uttering such harsh words. If she didn’t scare that ignorant old woman, she would never understand the preciousness of life.

Lan Mo then muttered darkly to herself, “Ah… I’ve heard that aborted children can’t reincarnate, and they hold deep resentment, always seeking revenge. I wonder if that’s true?”

Upon hearing that an aborted child couldn’t reincarnate and would come for revenge, the woman turned pale with fear.

Summoning her courage, she raised her voice, “Who are you? What business is it of yours what we’re talking about? I’m telling you, don’t spread superstitions here!”

Having said what needed to be said, and not wanting to actually argue with a patient, Lan Mo decided to keep quiet. Let the woman say whatever she wanted—she simply wouldn’t respond.

Li Jing seized the opportunity to press further, “Auntie, Doctor Lan only has your daughter’s best interests at heart. The baby is already so big now; if aborted, it might still be alive. Are you really prepared to strangle a living child? Actually, if your daughter gives birth, it won’t necessarily affect her chances of marriage. She could give the child to her in-laws!”

The woman stubbornly replied, “Then everyone would know my daughter has had a child. Who would still want to marry her?”

“People already know your daughter is pregnant. Whether she aborts the baby or gives birth, this matter will definitely be known. Your daughter isn’t an untouched maiden anymore—if people were going to look down on her, they would have done so already.”

The woman seemed to finally be persuaded, but just as she was about to respond, a piercing scream shattered the momentary peace in the office.

“Oh no, that’s Xiuxiu’s voice!” The woman sensed something was wrong and immediately dashed off, with Li Jing quickly following behind.