Chapter 672 - 347: The Ignorant Are Fearless?

Chapter 672: Chapter 347: The Ignorant Are Fearless?

Huai Zi and Qingmu finally relented. Because this place was a bit far from the river—it was the same plot of barren land Juhua’s family had first bought—they also helped dig a well in the courtyard.

After everything was done, the group stood at the courtyard gate, gazing at a nearby pond of green lotus leaves interspersed with pink lotus flowers—that was the Zheng Family’s fish pond. In the fields beside it was an expanse of green Shanyu vines and lush Huangdou plants. A little higher up were corn stalks that looked like a small grove of trees. Deeper in the fields were the overlapping clusters of trees and houses of the village, wisps of cooking smoke drifting from them.

Qin Feng withdrew his gaze and smiled. "This is a great spot. Open in the front, with a mountain at the back."

The reason he let the Zheng Family and the Zhang family arrange things for him was to put their minds at ease. These simple farmers didn’t like to always be taking advantage of others.

Qingmu smiled. "Let the house air out for a few days. You can move in after the summer. Besides, there’s still a lot to buy. You can’t have the house this empty."

Qin Feng said, "Don’t you all worry about that. We’ll handle it ourselves. Besides, I need to get some specific tools that you wouldn’t know much about."

Huai Zi and Qingmu smiled and nodded, telling him to just say the word if he needed help.

Just then, Yun Ying and Juhua walked out of the new house. Juhua teased with a smile, "Yun Ying, from now on, if you want to eat some Huangdou, you can just pull them up from my brother’s field. If you want Shanyu, just dig them up yourself. If you want fish, just catch them yourself. Look, this plot of land has everything."

Everyone looked, and wasn’t it the truth? This large plot of land was originally twenty mu. Even after marking off a section by the mountain for Qin Feng and his junior sister to build a house, that was just a corner of it, leaving a huge area. And on this land, there was a fish pond, various types of Huangdou, Shanyu, corn, sesame, and so on. There were even sunflowers planted in the furrows between the Huangdou rows.

In short, besides their staple grains, farming families always made sure to plant a little bit of everything else. Take sesame, for instance. It was needed to make sweets for the New Year. Even if they only planted a little and harvested just a few catties, it was better than nothing. If they didn’t have any, they’d have to spend money to buy it. Whether they had the money was one thing, but for farming families, shelling out cash for such things was intolerable.

’This must be the small-farmer mindset!’ According to Juhua’s way of thinking, it was less trouble to just buy things. Planting one more crop meant one more thing to worry about. But the elders of both families would never listen to her.

Yun Ying saw that Juhua had been eating and sleeping well ever since she started taking her medicine, which put her in a much better mood too. Looking at the land before them now, she said happily, "I can do without the other things, but I’ll definitely be catching some of that fish to eat often. Brother Qingmu, don’t you be heartbroken when the time comes."

Before Qingmu could speak, Huai Zi laughed. "He definitely won’t be heartbroken. Just the other day he was telling Hulu that he should ask to become his master."

Juhua laughed. "What are you talking about? Hulu is still so little. What if he doesn’t like any of that and just wants to be a farmer? Are you going to force him to study medicine? Come on, Yun Ying, let’s go pull up some Huangdou to take back. I’ll shell them and cook you some fish. Brother, I’ll just pick them from here. You and Doctor Qin should come over for lunch too."

Qingmu nodded and smiled. "Why are you telling me? Even if you pulled up all the Huangdou here and took them home, no one would say a thing."

Seeing the brother and sister teasing each other, Huai Zi chimed in with a smile, "You might not mind, but that’s not how it works. Juhua, you go on ahead. Your brother and I will bring the Huangdou back. Don’t worry about the fish. We still have some at home. There’s one left from what I caught yesterday."

Qin Feng said he had something to do and told them to go on ahead. Then he stood at the gate, gazing at the fields in deep thought.

He had been in a terrible mood lately. Two pregnant women in a row had suffered difficult births, and he had been helpless, only able to follow the families’ wishes to either save the mother or save the child. In neither case could he save them both.

He had often encountered such situations before, and while he would sigh, it had never weighed on him so heavily. As a doctor, he was used to life and death! Childbirth was a gate to the underworld. Countless women died from it every year. He wasn’t a miracle-working physician; he couldn’t guarantee that mother and child would be safe every time he acted. All he could do was his best to improve his medical skills in the hope of saving more people.

But now, with the idea of a C-section in his mind, he didn’t dare to even try it. Seeing another pregnant woman or child die before his eyes now filled him with guilt and torment.

’Was I more afraid of failure, or was I more afraid of being hounded and blamed afterward, ruining my master’s reputation and my own?’ he sometimes reflected with shame.

Everyone knew that childbirth was a perilous trial. As a doctor, when he was called to a life-or-death situation, if he saved both mother and child, it was naturally a joyous occasion for all. If he couldn’t, he would truthfully tell the family which one he had a better chance of saving. That way, even if someone died, the family wouldn’t blame him.

However, if he were to suggest performing a C-section on the woman, the consequences wouldn’t be so simple. If he succeeded, all would be well. But if he failed, he feared the family would tear him limb from limb, and the news would tarnish Master Yun’s lifelong, illustrious reputation—because such an act was simply too shocking and unconventional!

Juhua was just a layperson. No matter how he questioned her, she could only offer a couple of points. He had to figure out the rest on his own. He and his junior sister had made all the preparations and attempts they could: anesthesia, using a Golden Needle for hemostasis, suturing with catgut, disinfecting with strong liquor, and so on. But every time the critical moment arrived, he still didn’t dare to act.

The last time, standing by that pregnant woman’s bedside, he had struggled intensely. In the end, he had given up on the child. He came back and sat numbly all night.

’If only Master were here.’ With the old man there to back him up, he would have the confidence and would surely dare to try.

’I’m still afraid, aren’t I!’ he thought bitterly.

But now his master was gone, and even his junior sister was counting on him. If he didn’t take the lead, they would never be able to take that first step.

He recalled the last time he couldn’t bear the torment and went to see Juhua. She had looked at him and his junior sister calmly and said, "I won’t hide it from you. I had a long, strange dream, and I know some things from it. But that’s not what’s most important—because even as a layperson, I’ve never heard of any surgery that is completely foolproof. It depends on many factors. What’s important is, do we have any other choice? Someone has to be the first. I’m fighting for myself and my child, and you’re fighting for your careers. We each get what we need. Don’t worry. When the time comes, I’ll write everything down and explain it clearly to my family. That way, even if you fail, they won’t blame you."

After saying all this, she smiled again. "I don’t know why—you can call it ’the ignorance of the fearless,’ I suppose—but I just believe in you two."

’Do I not even have as much courage as Juhua? Is she really just ignorant and fearless?’