TTLJDFL chapter 26

After bidding farewell to Chen Xiran, Li Jin temporarily didn’t think about Mr. Song. Previously, Mr. Song had already mentioned that he would vouch for himself and Chen Xiran, guaranteeing their participation in the Tongsheng examination.

Although Mr. Song was in a bad mood today, he still devotedly taught them and did not bring up this matter on his own. That proved that this really was a false accusation, and Mr. Song could probably handle it.

Li Jin thought, Chen Xiran was indeed right about one thing.

That is because he pays too little attention to the gossip in the town.

Although in ancient times scholars were supposed to ‘Turn a deaf ear to what is going on outside,’ nowadays His Majesty is diligent in governance, loves the people, and values agriculture and sericulture. The examiners below, trying to gauge His Majesty’s thoughts, might include related questions.

Li Jin thought that he still needed to pay more attention to the various lives of people in the town. This would help him write essays with his own unique perspective in the imperial examinations.

He felt that he was not originally an ancient person, and having only recently traveled here, he really couldn’t write articles with elegant and ornate language. It would be better to find his position as a farmer and write articles with his own style; only then could he stand out.

Thinking this way, he felt that his mind became much clearer. After all, in this era, every scholar could memorize books, but if the Tongsheng exam only tested memorization, how could there be so many elderly people who still could not pass the Tongsheng exam?

Is it that they haven’t memorized the books? No.

Li Jin wanted to pass the Tongsheng exam in one go next February, and memorization and recitation were just the basics.

Mr. Song had said before that after he finished copying and memorizing all the books, he would teach him how to write policy essays, which were the main content of the exam.

Just as Li Jin walked to the main street of the town, preparing to return to the village, he suddenly heard shouting coming from the clinic where he supplied herbs.

If it had been in the past, he probably would have hurried home and ignored this matter.

But this time, he wanted to understand more about the lives of people in this era.

So, with his basket on his back, he turned and headed that way.

There were already three circles of people around the entrance of Xinglin Hall, and Li Jin couldn’t see Doctor Wu or the apprentice Zhou Gui at all.

He asked the person standing next to him, “Sir, what’s going on here?”

That person originally didn’t want to pay any attention, but seeing Li Jin wearing a scholar’s robe, with handsome features and a refined bearing, he nodded politely and said, “It’s nothing much, just that the butcher’s wife is giving birth.

The midwife brought several helpers, but the wife is having a difficult labor. The midwife said it’s hopeless and warned it might end tragically for both mother and child. Yet the butcher, shamelessly, just had his men carry his wife over to the clinic.

The other two clinics refused, but Dr. Wu at Xinglin Hall had a kind heart and was actually willing to help. After all, it’s a woman giving birth—men and women, propriety and boundaries must be observed!”

Li Jin felt a chill in his heart. Ancient precautions between men and women were taken so extremely that even medical clinics wouldn’t accept a woman in difficult labor.

Fortunately, Dr. Wu was benevolent. Otherwise, any further delay would surely result in two deaths.

Seeing that Li Jin didn’t speak, he continued: “However, even if the woman gives birth successfully, how could she still have the face to live in this world? But if she can at least have a child to carry on the family line, that would already be her blessing.”

Li Jin didn’t speak again, but his face had already turned ashen. He stood on the steps of the clinic, just able to see Zhou Gui blocking the entrance and preventing people from coming in.

Zhou Gui was desperately trying to explain, “Please, fellow villagers, have some mercy! Doctor Wu is saving someone; don’t just stand here gawking!”

Li Jin shouted loudly, “Zhou Gui!”

He shouted the first time, but Zhou Gui didn’t hear; after shouting three times, Zhou Gui finally lifted his head and saw Li Jin.

Zhou Gui quickly pushed through the crowd and beckoned Li Jin in. “Brother Li, what brings you here?”

Li Jin said, “I just got out of school and heard some commotion over here, so I came to take a look. I happen to know a bit of medicine; I wonder if Doctor Wu needs any help.”

Zhou Gui said, “Ah… I can’t make the decision on this, but the new mother and the master are in the inner hall. You can go in, while her husband is in the outer hall. You two can talk it over.”

Saying that, Zhou Gui motioned for the man to open the door from inside, and after Li Jin went in, he quickly shut the door again.

The man was big and burly. He wasn’t taller than Li Jin, but he was much more solid.

At this moment, such a sturdy guy actually looked incredibly wronged.

“My damn wife is having a difficult labor, it’s a life-and-death situation, and they still won’t let me seek medical help! If something happens to my wife, I’ll go out and fight them!”

Li Jin somewhat admired this man; after all, he could set aside the so-called ‘no physical contact between men and women’ and put his wife’s life first. In ancient times, many men truly preferred their wives to die rather than let a male doctor deliver the baby.

Of course, this situation might ease up a bit in the capital, after all, those are wealthy families. Some women come from marquis or high-ranking military families, so of course they need to be well taken care of.

The more remote and poor the place, the more brutal human nature becomes.

Li Jin said, “Sir, please calm down. I’m a doctor too, I might be able to help.”

Then Li Jin asked the man how long the woman had been in labor and estimated a rough timeframe.

Over there, Dr. Wu was already using his own body to sustain the life of the woman in labor. He heard Li Jin’s voice and shouted, “Li Jin’s here? Ah, the situation is really bad.”

Li Jin thought that it wasn’t yet the most dangerous time, and from across the hall, he loudly asked Dr. Wu about the basic condition of the woman in labor. He got a rough idea in his heart.

He said, “Dr. Wu, can I brew a medicine myself? It might help.”

Dr. Wu’s shout and the man’s words rang out almost at the same time.

“Sure, you can gather the herbs and brew them yourself.”

“Go ahead, go ahead, I’ll cover all the expenses!”

Li Jin put down his basket, washed his hands, and picked some herbs like motherwort that warm the womb but also help speed up labor.

He had memorized these formulas before, but it seemed that in this era, such prescriptions hadn’t appeared yet.

After he finished brewing the medicine, the man just took it straight inside.

After the new mother took the medicine, sure enough, the labor pains returned.

Li Jin thought that just because Dr. Wu, disregarding the opinions of others, insisted on treating patients out of his kind heart, he considered this prescription as a gift. After finishing writing it, he also noted the situations in which the prescription could be used.

Only then did he put down his pen and quietly wait for the final outcome.

The reason he didn’t go into the inner hall wasn’t because of what others might think, but because he was sweating all over and didn’t know how many germs he had carried. To avoid any infection, it was better to wait outside comfortably.

And so he waited, until the sun was setting in the west.

Finally, a loud wail came from inside the house. The man hurriedly asked, “Doctor Wu, is my wife alright?”

“Thanks to Li Jin’s medicine, both mother and child are safe.”

The man was so excited that he didn’t know what to say, anxiously rubbing his hands while waiting.

When he came to his senses, he realized that Li Jin had unknowingly walked away.

=

Li Jin, carrying a basket on his back, quickened his pace as he looked at the dim sky.

Their village was near the mountains. Although the village itself was safe, walking alone on the road at night still meant there was a possibility of encountering wolves.

Luckily, it’s summer now, so there are still people on the road carrying baskets or shouldering yokes. Li Jin stuck with them, which made it not so dangerous.

As he reached the river, he saw someone pacing anxiously back and forth at the village entrance from a distance.

That figure… looked a lot like Qin Muwen.

Even though Li Jin’s legs were already exhausted, he suddenly felt like he was full of energy and started running faster.

The young man happened to see him too. His eyes lit up, and he finally smiled.

On the way back, neither of them said a word.

Back at the yard, Li Jin spoke first: “My bad. I had something to do today and came back late, so I didn’t get a chance to inform you in time.”

The young man shook his head and said, “It’s fine. I just went to the village entrance after seeing the child had eaten and fallen asleep… didn’t wait long.”

The young man helped Li Jin take the basket off and put it on the ground.

Li Jin pinched his hand and frowned, saying, “You said it wasn’t long, but your hands are already so cold.”

So, without waiting for an explanation, he tucked the him into the quilt and asked him, “Have you eaten dinner? How about I stew some pig’s trotters soup?”

When he returned to the kitchen, he found scallion pancakes in the pot—not the simple pancakes he had made before, but thick pancakes made by kneading the dough and then cooking them in a pan.

The pancakes were already a bit cold; it seemed that the young man had timed it to make them just as he returned.

And there were twelve in a pot, not one missing…

The young man hadn’t eaten anything at all!

Li Jin let out a sigh, added more firewood, and reheated the pancakes.

In another pot, pork trotters soup was simmering.

The scallion pancakes were quickly warmed up, he plated them, and carried them into the house.

Li Jin really wanted to ask him if what he was doing was stupid.

But when the young man saw him, there was always a smile in his eyes, as if he was the young man’s whole world.

Li Jin put the plate in the boy’s lap and let him sit on the bed to eat, while he took another one and sat by the bedside.

The scallion pancakes were crispy on the outside. Although the flour had bran in it, with the scallions and pepper for seasoning, it actually had a unique flavor.

Li Jin ate three in one go, and the boy, probably really starving, ate one and a half.

He couldn’t finish the remaining half, so Li Jin just took it and ate it himself.

He said, “Leave some room in your stomach, there’ll be soup later.”

The boy watched as his remaining half of the pancake went straight into Li Jin’s stomach.

His mouth slightly parted, and he looked a bit dazed.

A Jin actually ate half of what he had eaten…

The young man didn’t know what this feeling in his heart was—happiness, joy, affection, and various emotions interwoven, making him feel that in his seventeen years of life, he had never been this happy before.

The young man thought, in the past at home, Li Jin wouldn’t let him sit at the table, and the food he ate was all what Li Jin had left.

Although he felt uncomfortable, and at first couldn’t eat the leftover food that looked very unappetizing, after being beaten by Li Jin a few times, he was finally able to eat it without showing any change in expression.

At that time, he probably felt very embarrassed, but now, he seems to have forgotten how he felt back then. Forgotten the painful life of those two years. He has Li Jin now, and it is very happy.

Li Jin himself was also somewhat surprised; with his cleanliness obsession, he could eat vegetables and hotpot with friends, but eat someone else’s half-eaten scallion pancake.

Li Jin asked himself sincerely whether it was because they were poor that wasting it was such a pity.

Then he heard the answer from the bottom of his heart: “Yes.”

Alright, Li Jin was satisfied. He said to the young boy: “Throwing it away would be a waste, let me help you eat it.”

See, what a perfect reason.

The boy didn’t notice anything wrong with this sentence at all and lowered his head a little shyly. His long, curly eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes.

Li Jin looked away, suddenly stood up so fast the young man didn’t even react. He said, “I’m going to check if the soup is ready.”

Author’s note:
Li Jin: Something feels off

Qin Muwen: ??? Huh??? What’s wrong???

[From a conversation between someone who is openly gay and someone who doesn’t realize they’re already gay]​