Zheng Zixuan was completely baffled. "What does she see in me? They are now much wealthier than me, and my second brother treats her well. They have both a son and a daughter, what could they possibly be dissatisfied with? I'm all alone, and even if I have money, I've never shown it off. Does she not know that? I have no clan or brothers to help me, so why would she want to remarry me? I don't think she's interested in me at all."
Xu Zifan knew why, of course, but he couldn't very well tell her that it was all part of the typical plot of a novel. He chuckled and shrugged, saying, "I don't know what she's thinking either. Who cares? As long as you know her purpose, let her be."
Zheng Zixuan thought for a moment and then laughed, "I never thought she was doing this all along. I was the one who was stupid, not expecting to attract such a bad suitor. From now on, Xiaolian and I will study pharmaceuticals. That way, we'll have something to do, and my second sister-in-law won't bother us too much."
"Anything is fine, she's not really a problem."
After learning of Su Qianyun's purpose, Zheng Zixuan found Su Qianyun's behavior somewhat laughable, and at the same time, she was utterly baffled by her obsession with a hunter. "Zheng Chuan" was a hunter who had gone to serve in the army; whether he would return was uncertain. How could he compare to the stability of someone like Xu Erlang, who ran a small restaurant? She truly didn't understand Su Qianyun's thinking. Furthermore, she was deeply disgusted by Su Qianyun's behavior of having a husband and children yet still harboring feelings for someone else. Even though she disliked many of the constraints and rules imposed on women, she couldn't accept someone who betrayed their family, and naturally, she remained cold and indifferent towards Su Qianyun.
Su Qianyun would also find excuses. She told Xu Erlang that Xu Zifan had passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, which would raise his social status. She said they should try to get closer to him to gain an advantage. Xu Erlang naturally agreed with her idea. He needed to keep an eye on the restaurant, so he asked Su Qianyun to frequently visit the two elders to show filial piety and ingratiate herself, hoping that the two elders would influence Xu Zifan and make him feel closer to them again.
Xu Zifan turned a blind eye to Su Qianyun's occasional gifts and cooking for his parents, letting her please them. He wondered what Su Qianyun's expression would be when Zheng Chuan disappeared completely.
As a result, Su Qianyun discovered that the Xu family was very well-off. They ate meat almost every day, and both staple foods and vegetables were plentiful, with plenty of snacks and desserts. Although the fabric of the Xu family's clothes wasn't particularly eye-catching, it was clear upon closer inspection that they were made of high-quality, expensive, and comfortable materials. Furthermore, the Xu family's tables, chairs, cups, saucers, ornaments, bedding, and so on were all of excellent quality and worth a considerable sum. At least the restaurant she was so proud of hadn't provided her with such a comfortable life; Xu Zifan was actually richer than her!
It was one thing to be inferior in status and position, but now she couldn't even compete with him in terms of money. Su Qianyun found it hard to accept and quieted down considerably, not causing any more trouble.
After learning that Su Qianyun frequently visited the Xu family, Cai, the eldest wife, also often brought her children to visit the Xu elders. They enjoyed plenty of good food, and their land was registered under Xu Zifan's name, exempting them from taxes, but they didn't receive many other benefits. Xu Zifan wasn't short of money, and seeing that the elders were happy and enjoyed the lively atmosphere, he didn't care about such things. His task was to take good care of the elders; as long as they were happy, he didn't care about anything else. He also felt he had already fulfilled his task of not letting the second wife's family tarnish his reputation. Now, if the second wife's family spoke ill of him to others, who would believe them? The second wife's family wouldn't even have that thought; instead, they would try their best to get closer to him.
He appeared to have no connection with the second wife, but this was actually a deliberate act. He understood Su Qianyun's psychology, so he gradually eroded her self-confidence. Others wouldn't have such a significant impact on Su Qianyun, but he was different. He was the perfect brother-in-law Su Qianyun had initially deemed ideal, the burden she was eager to discard after the family division. That division was Su Qianyun's first achievement in this world, of extraordinary significance.
But he proved with his abilities that he wasn't a burden, nor was he a failure. All of this was because Su Qianyun was too complacent, causing her to miss out on a capable relative. He shattered Su Qianyun's delusions step by step, suppressing her with every large step. Since they were from the same family, comparisons were inevitable, and Su Qianyun would always live in his shadow, feeling that nothing she did was enough, that she couldn't even compare to someone she once looked down upon. How could Su Qianyun possibly tarnish Xu Zifan's reputation? When someone is far more capable than her, she can't even entertain such thoughts.
Xu Zifan has a deep understanding of psychology, and after understanding the situation of both parties, he devised this plan. Mainly, he was busy earning money, studying medicine, and preparing for the imperial examinations; he didn't want to waste too much time on Su Qianyun, nor did he want to constantly be on guard against the time-traveling woman causing trouble. So he simply came up with this effortless and convenient method: subtly putting psychological pressure on her, while he only needed to do his own things to achieve the desired effect.
Compared to Su Qianyun's blatant disregard for the Xu family's reputation for the sake of her own, he was quite merciful. In this small village, Su Qianyun's actions had unwittingly ruined the development of the eldest and third branches of the family. The only reason Su Qianyun could still run a shop in town was because the original owner hadn't vowed revenge. However, Xu Zifan couldn't concern himself with Su Qianyun's future mindset or whether she would become despondent. His mission was essentially complete; he could now do whatever he wanted.
In the days that followed, Xu Zifan devoted himself to medicine, living a simple life between home and work. He began to demonstrate his true abilities, his medical skills far surpassing those of the other doctors in town. Three months later, a man contracted appendicitis, suffering excruciating pain. He had seen four or five doctors, all of whom said there was no hope and advised the family to prepare for the worst. The patient was an only child, and the family refused to give up, clinging to a sliver of hope as they came to Jishetang.
Xu Zifan and several doctors examined the patient, but all the doctors frowned and shook their heads. "This symptom is incurable. We can only give some painkillers to relieve it temporarily, but..."
"No! No, this can't be... Doctor, you..."
"Take another look, please take another look! I only have one son! This is going to kill me!" The woman, nearly forty years old, burst into tears, her voice filled with despair.
Xu Zifan hadn't planned to reveal his knowledge of Western medicine too early, but seeing the twenty-year-old youth writhing on the ground in pain, he took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "I have a method, but the chance of successfully treating him is only fifty percent."
The woman immediately fell silent, grabbed him in surprise, and exclaimed, "Dr. Xu! You have a way? You can cure him!"
The doctors in the ward were shocked. If they said they could cure it but failed, it would ruin the reputation of Jishetang! They hurriedly asked Xu Zifan, "Dr. Xu, what method do you have? How can this intestinal rupture be cured?"
Xu Zifan said seriously, "The patient has an internal ailment. My method is to treat it with surgery, remove the problematic part, and then suture the wound. After it heals, it will have no impact on the patient."
"What?! Surgery? Resection? Dr. Xu, you, you, you absolutely can't do this!" The other doctors panicked as soon as they heard this.
The patient's parents were also speechless with shock. An abdominal surgery? Removing the internal organs? Could the person even survive? And then they'd have to stitch up the abdomen? It's not like making clothes, how are they supposed to sew that up? This is terrifying!
Xu Zifan reassured them, "As I said, this method has a 50% chance of curing the disease. If you don't agree, then there's nothing I can do, and you'll have to find someone more capable. You can go back and think about it. If you decide to have the surgery, do it as soon as possible."
The patient and his family left in a daze, and then went to see other doctors. Meanwhile, the atmosphere at Jishetang lingered, with everyone saying Xu Zifan was being reckless and disapproving of his dangerous method. Doctor Tong called Xu Zifan to the backyard and asked him seriously, "Are you really 50% sure?"
At this moment, it was just the two of them. Xu Zifan didn't hide anything and looked at him, saying, "The medicine and equipment are well prepared. I'm 90% confident."
Doctor Tong was startled. Seeing Xu Zifan's confident demeanor, he couldn't help but believe him somewhat. At the same time, he couldn't help but marvel. Such miraculous medical skills were not unrecorded in ancient books, but the information was too scarce to learn and imitate. Even those few successful cases were only achieved by divine physicians. He knew Xu Zifan's character; he knew Xu Zifan wouldn't speak carelessly. If he said he was 90% certain, he meant it. Just how advanced were Xu Zifan's medical skills?
Dr. Tong asked him several more questions, such as what instruments he would prepare, what the surgical procedure would be like, and how to manage pain and bleeding. Xu Zifan answered them all, which further convinced Dr. Tong that he could perform the surgery. With a compassionate heart, Dr. Tong, after much deliberation, decided to personally persuade the patient's parents. Their bodies were gifts from their parents, and almost no one could accept the idea of surgery to remove internal organs. However, after Dr. Tong appealed to the family's emotions and reasoned with them, they had no choice but to agree to the surgery in their desperation.
Xu Zifan had already secretly built a set of surgical instruments, and with Dr. Tong's approval, he set up an operating room in the backyard of the clinic. He and several doctors personally cleaned, disinfected, and prepared the medicine, not letting anyone else interfere, for fear that a mistake might cost a patient their life. Xu Zifan was calm and composed, and under his influence, the others gradually became less panicked and more confident.
Ancient times were not as convenient as modern times. Xu Zifan's surgery lasted a full hour. The people waiting outside had their legs go numb from standing, still anxiously awaiting the results. When they finally saw Xu Zifan emerge, they all stared at him, not daring to ask a single question. Xu Zifan took off his mask and smiled at them, saying, "The surgery was very successful. As long as he rests well for two months, he'll be fine."
"Really? Really?" The woman's tears kept falling, but she still stared at Xu Zifan with wide eyes.
The man next to her was also staring intently at Xu Zifan, his lips trembling, his face full of disbelief.
Xu Zifan nodded, "Really, you can go see him now, but don't touch him or let him move around."
Upon hearing this, the couple tried to run into the room, but nearly tripped and fell. Two nearby employees caught them and carried them into the operating room. Fang Mingda was cleaning the operating room; the sight of basins of blood and blood-soaked cloths was dizzying, but the patient was indeed sleeping peacefully, still breathing, and the bleeding from the wound had stopped. He showed no signs of the excruciating pain he had previously endured. The couple approached the bedside, staring blankly at their son. Their hearts, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally settled. They looked at each other in disbelief, grasped each other's hands, and wept tears of joy.
Xu Zifan truly became famous because of this surgery. The title "Dr. Xu" became deeply rooted in people's hearts. He brought everyone a deep sense of trust. Even the clinics in the prefectural city knew about him and sent people to recruit Xu Zifan to work as a doctor in the prefectural city.
The medical resources in the prefectural city are better, and there are more patients, so Xu Zifan naturally wants to develop his career there. Being recruited there will bring better treatment, and his family can live a better life. Fang Mingda has always been by his side learning, though he's not very good at traditional Chinese medicine, he has a great talent for Western medicine, and he adapted best during the surgery that day.
When Xu Zifan mentioned going to the prefectural city, Doctor Tong wanted to entrust Fang Mingda to him, but Fang Mingda refused. He hadn't left when his parents passed away because he was worried about his master; how could he possibly leave for a better future? He treated Doctor Tong like a grandfather. So, while Xu Zifan was tidying his study, he specifically sought him out and said regretfully, "Brother Xu, I... I won't go to the prefectural city with you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiaolian suddenly rushed into the study, glaring at Fang Mingda and asking, "You're not coming with us? Really?"