Chapter 81: The Tough Guy Becomes a Rough Man

After Lan Mo’s soul returned, she moved her body and found nothing seriously wrong, which put her at ease.

Suddenly remembering that she would never see them again in this lifetime, she lay on the bed and cried loudly, overwhelmed with sadness.

Although it was possible to enter the same person’s dream three times, considering their health, entering twice was enough.

Before her death, she had saved over six hundred thousand yuan in her salary card. After her death, the authorities would likely compensate her family around a million yuan, right?

Plus the things she had given them, they probably wouldn’t lack money for the rest of their lives.

Thinking of this, Lan Mo suddenly felt enlightened. Everything would get better, so she should just hurry up and sleep!

The next day at work, the office, which had been lifeless the day before, was now unusually lively.

“Good morning, Doctor Lan!” Li Jing and Wang Min greeted Lan Mo simultaneously.

“Good morning, Doctor Li, Doctor Wang. Have you had breakfast yet?”

Li Jing’s brows relaxed as she smiled and said, “After that little girl was taken home by her grandmother last night, I felt particularly relieved. Feeling so good, I got up this morning and cooked a bowl of noodles for each of my family members.”

Wang Min also smiled. “I specifically went to the cafeteria today and bought two sweet buns. My mouth still tastes sweet.”

Everyone was very happy that the little girl had found her home. Probably the only unhappy ones were Zhu Tianxiu’s family, right?

Ouyang Zhiqiang, sitting opposite, suddenly spoke up. “Doctor Lan, everyone says you’re great with needles. I had a stiff neck last night. Could you give me a few acupuncture treatments when you have time later?”

“Sure.”

To master acupuncture techniques, one must practice frequently. She hadn’t been able to find a live subject for a while, and here one was, offering himself up.

For a stiff neck, acupuncture could be applied to acupoints such as Dazhui, Luozhen, Houxi, Lieque, Shousanli, Xuanzhong, Ashi, Fengchi, and Jianjing…

During work hours, everyone focused on their tasks. As noon approached and there were few patients left, Lan Mo picked up the silver needles during the last twenty minutes, ready to treat Doctor Ouyang.

“Doctor Lan, don’t you have a set of golden needles?”

Lan Mo smiled. “Doctor Ouyang, your condition doesn’t require golden needles. Silver needles will do just fine.”

Lan Mo twirled the silver needle between her fingers, her movements swift and fluid. She deftly inserted several needles into the acupoints corresponding to the stiff neck, performing lifting, thrusting, twirling, and shaking techniques with practiced ease. The entire process was seamless and executed in one go.

The doctors watched quietly as Lan Mo treated Ouyang Zhiqiang’s stiff neck, each of them stunned and wide-eyed.

Doctor Zhu exclaimed in admiration, “Doctor Lan, your needle technique is incredible! What kind of method is this? How do you insert the needle with just a flick of your finger?”

“It’s the Flying Needle Acupoint Technique!”

Ouyang Zhiqiang was very satisfied with Lan Mo’s technique. He chuckled and said, “Doctor Lan, who taught you this Flying Needle technique?”

“My grandfather.”

The original host had indeed systematically studied acupuncture with her grandfather for a period, but she had never learned this Flying Needle technique.

Lan Mo herself had only recently started learning it. To master the Flying Needle technique, she would practice incessantly on clay figurines whenever she had time. Before bed, she would also flip through the book “Nine Yang Golden Needle Technique,” memorizing everything she needed to know.

After lunch, Lan Mo took a one-hour nap in the dormitory. As soon as she started work in the afternoon, a middle-aged woman came in.

Seeing her ankle swollen badly, Lan Mo asked, “Comrade, how did you injure your foot?”

“Yesterday, I went to the chicken coop to collect an egg, and somehow, my foot suddenly twisted. It hurt so much I broke out in a cold sweat. I thought it would get better after a night’s sleep, but this morning, it was even more swollen. Now I can’t even walk, so my husband brought me to the hospital for treatment.”

Lan Mo carefully examined her and found significant swelling in her right ankle joint, with noticeable deformation and inward tilting—a typical case of inversion-type fracture.

“Comrade, you have a fracture.”

“No wonder it hurt so much—it’s a fracture! I thought it was just a sprain that would heal in a few days. Doctor, what should I do now?”

“First, we’ll perform bone-setting, then acupuncture, and finally immobilize it!”

“Oh, I see! Then please write the prescription quickly. I’ll have my husband go pay now.”

“Alright.”

After the patient’s family member paid, Lan Mo took her to the treatment room.

She began by using pushing, pressing, kneading, pinching, and separation techniques to relax the area for bone-setting. Later, she would combine acupuncture and bloodletting therapy, and finally immobilize it with Fir Bark.

For an ankle fracture, using splints for immobilization tends to loosen easily. A plaster cast would be the preferred choice, but unfortunately, the town hospital didn’t even have plaster of Paris. What use was gauze alone?

Sigh… it’s so difficult! In the end, she could only carve the Fir Bark into small pieces and wrap it with gauze first.

During the bone-setting, the patient cried out in pain. Lan Mo comforted her while treating her, saying, “Comrade, try to relax. It’ll be over soon! If we don’t treat this leg properly and let it heal deformed, you’ll end up limping when you walk.”

The woman gritted her teeth and said, “I don’t want to become lame. I can bear it. Doctor, please treat me well!”

“The ankle is very swollen. I’ll now perform acupuncture for you, and after that, I’ll immobilize it.”

Today, she could finally use the sharp needles from the gold needle set for bloodletting.

Afraid of becoming lame, the patient didn’t make a sound even during the painful bloodletting. In truth, the worst pain must have been when she fell yesterday.

Lan Mo truly admired her for enduring it for so long before coming to the hospital.

After bandaging the patient and washing her hands, Lan Mo disinfected all the used gold needles and returned them to the needle case.

As soon as she stepped into the office, she noticed a weary, weathered man carrying large and small bags, appearing in her office.

How did such a handsome young man turn into such a rough-looking fellow so quickly?

Did he go through some kind of “transformation journey”?

His hair had grown longer, his beard had sprouted, and his face had thinned.

Before seeing Lan Mo, Gu Yan’an had a thousand things he wanted to say, but when he finally saw her, he didn’t know what to say. In the end, it all condensed into one sentence: “Momo, long time no see!”

Lan Mo walked over with a smile. “Comrade Gu Yan’an, long time no see!”

Li Jing felt something was off between them. Her eyes quickly shifted as she asked with a smile, “Doctor Lan, is this your relative or your partner?”

They all knew Lan Mo’s elder brother, but they had never met or recognized Gu Yan’an.

Lan Mo replied straightforwardly, “He’s my partner!”

Wang Min, standing nearby, joked, “Oh, so this is Doctor Lan’s partner! I always wondered how someone as beautiful as Doctor Lan could be single. Well, here he is!”

The others joined in the teasing, “Doctor Lan, your partner looks really sharp!”

Lan Mo forced an awkward smile. Looking this disheveled and still being called sharp—could it be they meant he was handsome? His facial features were indeed quite good.

Receiving Lan Mo’s acknowledgment, Gu Yan’an smiled and greeted everyone, “Hello, everyone! My name is Gu Yan’an, and I’m Lan Mo’s partner. I look forward to getting to know you all.”

After speaking, he took out a bag of red dates from his luggage and handed each person a generous handful.

“Hello! Hello!” they responded warmly. “Comrade Gu, these red dates are huge! Where did you buy them?”

“I went on a business trip to Xinjiang, and I bought these red dates there.”

Ouyang Zhiqiang nodded and said, “Xinjiang red dates are big and red, very good indeed. Doctor Lan, why don’t you take your partner to settle in first? It’s almost time to get off work. If any patients come, I’ll help you see them.”

“Alright, thank you! Doctor Ouyang, could Comrade Gu Yan’an squeeze in with you tonight? During the day while we’re at work, he can sleep in my bed without any issues.”

During the day, everyone was used to locking their doors. If a stranger slept in their room and something went missing, who would be responsible?

During her shift, she had to be on duty, so it was fine to let Gu Yan’an use her bed.

“Sure, no problem. Have him come find me at the dormitory tonight. I imagine your partner must be tired from the journey. You should take him back to your dormitory first to get settled.”

“Alright, thank you all!”

Seeing him carrying a rolled-up quilt on his back, a bag slung over his left shoulder, and another large bag in his right hand, Lan Mo spoke up, “Comrade Gu Yan’an, let me help you carry one of the bags!”

“No need, let’s go! I’ve carried them all this way, don’t worry.”

Fine, if he said so, there was no point in being overly polite.

Lan Mo took Gu Yan’an back to her dormitory. To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, she left both the door and windows wide open.