Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 248 A Healer's Compassion! The Effectiveness of the Knee-Chest Position!

To be honest, Zhang Yunxiu put in a lot of effort to assemble the team of female doctors at Renmin Medical Hall.

Women like Zhang Lanying, who are both literate and capable of appearing in public, are truly a rare breed.

If we really want to find one, there is only one group that fits the bill: women from impoverished families who once came from scholarly backgrounds but whose families fell into decline for various reasons.

The feudal ethics of the Ming Dynasty were strict. Families with even a slightly better financial situation would not allow their women to go out, let alone treat all kinds of patients.

Therefore, the vast majority of female doctors came from wealthy or scholarly families.

In some ways, entering the clinic was actually a good place for them to belong.

After all, if they were not admitted to Renmin Medical Hall, the lucky ones could find a family to marry, while the unlucky ones would have no choice but to enter the brothel or the music and dance hall in order to make a living.

For this reason, most female doctors cherished this hard-won opportunity and hoped to become disciples of Li Shizhen or Zhang Yunxiu, just like Zhang Lanying.

However, although these female doctors were literate, they usually read classics specifically for women, such as "Admonitions for Women," "Inner Teachings," and "Classic of Filial Piety."

You might be able to get them to take care of people, but getting them to shift their mindset and study medical principles and techniques is really quite difficult.

This only highlights the extraordinary qualities of Liu Wan'er.

While others were asking simple questions like "disinfection" and "basic theory," Liu Wan'er took a leap of faith and went straight to asking about the most difficult surgical procedures.

Zhang Yunxiu frowned and looked at the other party with some suspicion.

"You want to learn surgery too?"

Liu Wan'er was a little flustered. She took out a notebook from her bosom and placed it respectfully on the table.

"My daughter has seen Master Dongbi perform this several times, and I think it must be very beneficial for midwifery. So I thought I would learn it so that I could help Master Dongbi."

"Don't aim too high."

Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and couldn't help but remind him.

"If one doesn't master the basic medical principles, it will cause problems if one rashly learns surgery. In the entire clinic, only Master Dongbi dares to perform surgeries because he has a wealth of experience from the common people. Even he is extremely cautious."

He said that, but he still examined the notebook closely.

Liu Wan'er was somewhat frightened by what was said and tried to make amends.

"Sir, please take a look. This is what my daughter has been keeping in mind. I wonder if there are any errors or omissions. My daughter... I don't mean to be unrealistic; she's just curious. If you find anything wrong, I will go back to my studies and never touch this subject again."

She seemed afraid of being blamed.

Zhang Yunxiu narrowed his eyes, finding the female official quite strange.

But he still focused his attention on the notebook, glanced at it briefly, and was quite pleasantly surprised.

The handwriting is very neat, and the understanding of the surgery is quite profound.

It's clear that he put in a lot of hard work.

In particular, the sentence, "From my observation of three medical cases, the timing of episiotomy is especially important; it should not be too early or too late, but only during uterine contractions. The action must be decisive to reduce the need for multiple incisions," is particularly noteworthy.

What amazed Zhang Yunxiu even more was that it was not something someone who read the "Admonitions for Women" every day could write; rather, it seemed to be the result of a very sophisticated and systematic teaching.

After reading it, Zhang Yunxiu looked up and stared at the other person with a very serious expression.

"Was this journal written by you?"

"This..." Liu Wan'er's eyes darted away slightly, "is indeed my daughter's doing."

Zhang Yunxiu sized up the other party, not in a hurry to verify. He put the notebook on the desk, nodded and said.

"This method is of great importance and must be studied carefully. You should go back first, and I will give you an answer in a few days."

"gentlemen."

Liu Wan'er was startled, seemingly regretting giving the notebook to Zhang Yunxiu, but dared not ask for it back.

Zhang Yunxiu didn't expose him, but instead gave him a stern lecture.

"There's no need to rush this. Your priority right now is to thoroughly understand the 'knee-chest position' method and how to determine if the baby is breech. You must become familiar with these methods, as they are of great importance and should not be taken lightly."

He always had the final say in the clinic, so Liu Wan'er naturally didn't dare to have any objections and nodded obediently.

"I will follow your teachings."

The knee-chest position was so successful that it was almost unbelievable.

The ten-day period had arrived. Li Shizhen examined the woman's condition, first using the "four-step palpation technique" to check her condition, and then taking the woman's ward log to check the fetal movement and specific location.

Even after doing all that, I was still a little uneasy.

Li Shizhen took the newly developed stethoscope from the clinic and placed the metal end of the stethoscope on the woman's belly. The sound was transmitted to Li Shizhen's ear through a special device and a cowhide tube.

The stethoscope appeared somewhat rudimentary, but it was extremely practical. Especially after silencing everyone around him, Li Shizhen, following Zhang Yunxiu's earlier instructions, actually heard the fetal heartbeat on the woman's belly.

His pupils contracted slightly, but his face remained expressionless.

He gently covered the woman with a blanket, carefully put away the stethoscope, and turned to look at the expectant female doctors.

He took a deep breath and said.

"The problem of breech presentation has been resolved!"

When he said those words, Li Shizhen still couldn't hide his excitement.

The ward erupted in excitement.

"It worked! We succeeded!"

The ladies-in-waiting cheered and embraced each other as if it were New Year's Day.

Zhang Lanying quickly stepped forward, looked at the woman in the linen clothes, and asked her with concern.

"Sister, are you feeling unwell today?"

"Thank you so much, sister. I feel much better, thanks to the care of all the ladies at the clinic." The woman's voice was a little hoarse, but her joy was evident. She couldn't help but ask, "Did you save my baby?"

Zhang Lanying was used to not making hasty judgments, but she still nodded firmly and said.

"Don't worry, sister, we will definitely help you."

"You are all wonderful people, living bodhisattvas."

The woman's mouth twisted, and tears welled up in her eyes; only she knew how difficult it had been.

Her family was poor, and if she hadn't entered Renmin Medical Clinic, she wouldn't have had the money to see a doctor.

"I'm kowtowing to you."

As she spoke, the woman tried to get off the bed, but Zhang Lanying pressed her back down onto the bed.

“Sister, you don’t need to do this. Just get well and cooperate with us to keep records. You are the first person to successfully use the ‘knee-chest position’ therapy, which has great clinical value. This is the best reward for us.”

"Yeah~"

"Yeah~"

The ladies-in-waiting around them smiled and offered their words of comfort.

"I'll cooperate! It's just practicing martial arts, right? I'll practice every day from now on!" The woman said with a smile, wiping away her tears.

Li Shizhen silently walked out of the ward, took off his mask, and the smile on his lips was genuine.

The study of obstetrics and gynecology was a top priority for the Ming Dynasty, and naturally, many Imperial Guards were stationed outside to guard it.

He spoke to the guards outside the ward.

“This captain, quickly go and inform Zhang Tongzhi and Yang Guanzhang, and ask them to come and take a look. Tell them that the ‘knee-chest position’ has been successfully performed.”

"Don't worry, Mr. Dongbi." The guard was also pleasantly surprised and quickly ran outside.

After the guards left, Li Shizhen turned his head to look into the ward, where the female officials and women were enjoying themselves. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

After becoming familiar with "modern medicine", he understood the importance of clinical trials.

Clinical trials, unlike laboratory experiments using mice, inevitably involve ethical issues.

Why should this treatment, whose effectiveness cannot be confirmed, be used on these ordinary, poor people?
Previously, Li Shizhen strongly disagreed with this method, believing that Zhang Yunxiu treated ordinary people as worthless.

Seeing this scene today, he finally understood something.

On the contrary, these kinds of experiments saved the lives of ordinary people.

Rather than letting them wait to die at home, it's better to let them participate in the experiment. The clinic provides the best medical services, so there's still a glimmer of hope.

Because otherwise, they might just have to wait to die at home.

Thinking of this, Li Shizhen's gaze became increasingly complicated. He recalled Zhang Yunxiu's mention of the principle of "universal harmony."
But in just a moment, he dismissed the "terrifying" thought and shouted into the ward.

"Lan Ying, come out for a moment. We need to discuss the details of the 'knee-chest position' further."

"Hey—" Zhang Lanying's dark face was filled with joy. Nothing made her happier than seeing her patients cured by medicine.

Among the crowd, one person was lost in thought.

Liu Wan'er stared intently at the ward log, recalling the "knee-chest position" method, and fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)