Chapter 71: When Did This Happen?

Back at the clinic, Doctor Jin called the two of them to the back and asked whether they had faced any difficulties at the Xie household.

“No, Master,” Wen Jun replied, lowering his head like a child admitting fault. “Master Xie and Madam Xie didn’t make things hard for us. In fact, they gave me two hundred taels of silver as a token of thanks. I tried to refuse, but they insisted, so I accepted. Master, you won’t blame me for that, will you?”

Doctor Jin watched his guilty expression and burst out in hearty laughter, patting him on the shoulder. “Wealthy families always give rewards when you treat them, all the more since you saved their precious child. Two hundred taels isn’t too much; since you’ve accepted it, so be it.

“Now, tell me—how exactly did you save the Xie family’s young master? When I visited later, Madam Xie described the scene to me, and it was truly frightening. To be honest, many children throughout history have died from choking on foreign objects, not only children—even adults sometimes. How did you manage to get the little master to cough up what was stuck in his throat?”

Wen Jun hesitated, unsure how to explain the Heimlich maneuver to his master.

Doctor Jin misread his pause, thinking it must be a technique passed down in Wen Jun’s family and feeling awkward—after all, even as his teacher, he couldn’t claim another family’s secret as his own.

“It’s all right. If it’s inconvenient to say, you don’t have to. I’m only asking out of curiosity,” he added quickly, trying to ease the tension.

Wen Jun hurriedly shook his head. “No, Master, I was just wondering how to explain it. I stumbled upon the method by chance myself.

“You see, people die from choking because the object blocks the airway, making it impossible to breathe—they suffocate. So the key is to get the object out. But in that situation, trying to pull it out directly just wedges it in tighter. That’s when we need to use certain emergency measures…”

“Airway? Emergency rescue? What do those mean?” Doctor Jin was intrigued, listening attentively and interrupting when he didn’t understand a term.

Wen Jun thought for a moment, then pointed to his throat. “The airway is the passage we use to breathe. You see, when we breathe, the air goes in and out through here.”

Doctor Jin seemed to discover a new world and nodded. “I see—airway. That’s a good term. And emergency rescue, what does that mean?”

That was easier to explain. Wen Jun smiled and asked, “When you’re saving someone, is it urgent or not?”

Doctor Jin instinctively replied, “Of course it’s urgent!” Then he laughed heartily. “Ah, I understand now. Go on.”

At this moment, Doctor Jin was like an eager student, afraid to miss a single word of Wen Jun’s explanation.

Wen Yao watched them for a while, then quietly slipped out to the main hall.

Behind the counter, Hong Hai was organizing things. Wen Yao wandered over and helped him tidy up the medicine cabinet before asking, “Brother Hai, do you know of any reliable broker’s offices?”

Hong Hai paused in his work. “What are you looking to buy?”

“Land,” Wen Yao explained. “Something happened at home a while ago and my grandparents sold our land. Now that we’ve saved up a bit, we want to buy it back before spring, so the old folks can have a happy New Year.”

“Land, huh. Let me think.” Hong Hai pondered for a while before saying, “There’s a broker’s office south of town. The shopkeeper knows our own master here. You can inquire there—just say you’re from Jishitang and they’ll treat you fairly.”

Wen Yao thanked him and planned to discuss the details that evening with Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun.

Doctor Jin and Wen Jun talked in the back courtyard for a long time, only stopping when a patient arrived and Doctor Jin had to go out and tend to them.

Wen Yao also noticed that Doctor Jin suddenly became much more meticulous in teaching Wen Jun. Even if someone just had a simple cold, he would explain every detail—how to differentiate symptoms, how to read the pulse, and so on.

She cooked another meal for them at the clinic before being escorted back to Gutong Village by Ah Wang, whom Doctor Jin had sent.

As soon as the carriage was heard outside, Datou shot out of the house like a little firecracker. Madam Luo and Wen Di followed, just in time to see Wen Yao step down from the carriage, holding Datou’s hand and thanking Ah Wang.

Ah Wang greeted Madam Luo before turning the carriage around and heading back.

Madam Luo pulled Wen Yao inside and slammed the door shut. “What happened? Why did they send for you? Where’s your brother?”

Leading Datou by the hand, Wen Yao explained, “Grandma, it’s nothing. My brother is still at the clinic. There’s nothing to worry about. Earlier, my brother and I saved a child, and his family came to thank us. Doctor Jin thought since we both helped, Ah Wang should bring me over too.”

Madam Luo was startled. “You saved someone? Who? When did this happen? Was it dangerous?”

Even Datou looked up at her, worry in his eyes.

Wen Yao took the opportunity to pinch his nose playfully. “It wasn’t dangerous at all. The child just fell by the roadside, and we helped him up. Really, Grandma, don’t worry. My brother will be back tonight. I just came home early in case you needed help.”

Since she put it that way, Madam Luo didn’t ask further. She led Wen Yao into the kitchen, showing her what needed to be tidied or cooked.

Wen Yao sampled the prepared braised meat and found the flavor and tenderness just right, so she praised Madam Luo extravagantly.

Seeing everyone safe, Wen Yao home, and the braised meat done, Madam Luo took Wen Di and Wen Ying back to the old house.

Once the old lady left, Wen Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief, silently reminding herself that it was all to surprise her grandmother—she hadn’t meant to keep things secret.

But Datou hadn’t missed her little act. He tugged her hand, his face solemn and brow furrowed, giving her a look that said, “You’re not telling me the truth.”

Wen Yao couldn’t help but laugh at this little dumpling. She knelt down and said with a smile, “It really is just like I told Grandma—nothing dangerous, and the family really just wanted to thank us. They even gave us a reward.”

Datou tilted his head in curiosity. A reward?

Wen Yao led him back to their room and began pulling things from her sleeve. When four fifty-tael silver ingots clinked onto the table, Datou’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Wen Yao helped him close his gaping mouth. “We’ll put this money to good use. When Dad and Big Brother are home tonight, the four of us can sit down and discuss how to spend it.”

How much land to buy, what kind, all needed to be decided together. If there was anything left over, Wen Yao thought, she’d really like to fix up their house—it was just too shabby!