Chapter 170: A Doctor Appears
Chapter 170: A Doctor Appears
Suisui shared stories of her past life with He Shuran.
Unconsciously, Suisui glossed over the hardships, picking out only the vivid and colorful memories to share.
He Shuran listened intently, her eyes blinking less frequently as she became engrossed in the tales.
She felt her own discomfort ebb away, and her mood lightened considerably.
She felt a newfound yearning and anticipation for the outside world.
Due to her frail health, He Shuran was not much of a talker.
Not wanting Suisui to bear the burden of storytelling alone, she racked her brains to recall some interesting events from her own mundane and somewhat dull life, and shared them with Suisui.
"It's so fascinating when the sheep give birth to lambs. They just pop right out—ba-ba-ba!"
This was a rare occasion for He Shuran to witness a ewe giving birth, and she didn't catch much of the action.
Before she knew it, the lamb was already born.
To Suisui, this was all new and unfamiliar, and she had to rely on her imagination to fill in the gaps.
In the past, chickens and ducks were common sights in the village, with every household keeping a few.
However, cattle and sheep were considered more precious. Aside from the cost of purchasing them, there was also the matter of whether a family could afford to keep them.
Now, as He Shuran spoke about these animals, Suisui listened with utmost attention.
She thought, "My sister knows so much! She's so amazing!"
She decided that she wouldn't sleep early tonight.
She wanted to hear more stories, and she wanted to become amazing too!
In the future, she would tell her own new stories to Sister Shuran.
Suisui clenched her little fists in determination.
He Shuran mistook her sister's eagerness for excitement and continued her storytelling with even greater enthusiasm.
However, due to her limited experiences, she soon ran out of topics and could only talk about embroidery and jade.
Even so, Suisui listened intently, as all of this was new to her.
As night deepened, the quarters gradually fell quiet.
Most people had retired to bed, and although He Shuran's health was fragile, if it weren't for the concern of disturbing the children's rare enthusiasm, Lady He would have spoken up by now to urge them to rest.
Seeing that most people had settled in for the night, they knew it was time for them to leave as well.
Although He Shuran was still brimming with excitement, Lady He had to interrupt, "Little Shuran, it's time for us to head back and get some sleep. Your sister looks tired."
Suisui was indeed exhausted.
Children had limited reserves of energy, and once they were depleted, they could fall asleep at any moment.
Suisui had climbed the mountain and listened to the sutras today, and although she had taken a nap during the day, her body still demanded rest.
He Shuran was reluctant to leave, but her body also felt weary, and seeing Suisui's drooping eyelids, she soon nodded in agreement.
After bidding farewell to Princess Qi and Suisui, the mother and daughter returned to their quarters to rest.
Although Suisui was tired, she tried her best to stay awake.
The temple didn't offer much privacy for bathing and changing.
So, Aunt Qiu simply gave Suisui a quick wash and helped her change into a new set of clothes.
With her hair loose and flowing, Aunt Qiu then coaxed the little girl to lie down on the kang (heated brick bed) to sleep.
The temple provided simple communal sleeping quarters with ample space. If Suisui slept alone, she might roll around all night.
However, tonight, Princess Qi would be sleeping alongside Suisui.
Aunt Qiu didn't feel at ease leaving them alone, so after discussing it with Princess Qi, she decided to sleep on the other side of the kang.
She initially wanted to push two chairs together to make a makeshift bed, but Princess Qi wouldn't hear of it and insisted that she sleep on the kang instead.
Qi Wangfei slept on the other side, sandwiching Suishu between herself and Qiu Guogu.
This way, if the child had any needs during the night, either of them would be able to hear and respond.
Qi Wangfei suggested this arrangement, and Aunt Qiu didn't object.
After a quick tidying up, they all returned to the kang (heated brick bed) to sleep.
Suishu initially tried to stay awake, determined to wait until her mother and Aunt Qiu were asleep so she could listen to more stories.
The way the little girl stubbornly kept her eyes open in the dark was both heartwarming and amusing.
The system had no choice but to encourage her to sleep, warning that she wouldn't grow taller if she didn't get enough rest.
Suishu's eyes snapped shut at the mention of not growing taller, and she soon drifted off to sleep.
Qi Wangfei, having changed her sleeping spot, found herself a bit restless at first.
However, upon hearing Suishu's steady breathing, she, too, fell asleep shortly after.
The system believed that the little girl would sleep through the night.
However, Suishu woke up in the middle of the night.
She didn't need to use the bathroom; she simply opened her eyes and, in her groggy state, asked, "Lele, has today not passed yet?"
The system had been idling, and the sudden sound startled its data stream.
But it quickly recovered and responded in a hushed tone, "Lele is here, Suishu. Today hasn't passed yet."
Hearing that the day hadn't passed yet, Suishu felt relieved and soon asked, "Can I listen to a story now?"
The system continued in a soft voice, "Of course. I'll summon a storyteller right away. How does that sound?"
It wasn't sure if the little girl was fully awake, but any amount of company would be good for her.
Suishu mumbled a vague response, and the system proceeded to summon the storyteller.
Today's storyteller was a grandmotherly figure with white hair, also dressed in white.
Her username was rather long and unusual.
Suishu glanced at it and realized she didn't recognize it.
The system glanced at it as well and understood the words but couldn't make sense of them.
["Don't want mango, don't want fire."]
Well, it's safe to say that this username was quite the peculiar choice.
Upon further inspection, they noticed the kind-looking grandmother was wearing a white doctor's coat.
The system realized that she must be a doctor.
Dr. Xu looked at her chosen username and felt quite pleased with herself.
Although this name had been of no use to her when she was alive, she felt it suited her well now.
During her lifetime, whenever it was her turn for the night shift, she would be swamped with work!
But now that she was in the underworld...
Hey!
Life, or rather afterlife, had slowed down considerably.
The denizens of the underworld, or more accurately, the ghosts, were surprisingly resilient.
Fractures and minor injuries were common, and they hardly required any treatment.
As a result, Dr. Xu found herself with ample free time and excellent treatment from others.
After all, one wouldn't dare offend a skilled doctor, even in the afterlife!
She had taken on a part-time job today, and as she looked at Suishu's sleepy eyes in the soft light of the system, Dr. Xu smiled and said, "Hello, Suishu. I'm the grandmother telling you a story today. My surname is Xu."
Although Suishu was sleepy, she politely greeted her, "Nice to meet you, Dr. Xu. I'm Suishu."
Dr. Xu nodded and asked with a smile, "Suishu, what kind of story would you like to hear?"
"Is this an ancient world?" Suishu asked.
"What does the ancient world need?" Dr. Xu prompted.
"Penicillin? That might be a bit difficult for you to understand right now, Suishu. Let's keep that for later. Allicin, on the other hand, is quick, convenient, and effective. Would you like to hear about that?"
Suishu: ...
She didn't understand what 'alin' was either.
However, Lele had quietly explained to her that this Dr. Xu had been an excellent doctor during her lifetime.
A doctor, or 'dafu' in Chinese, was someone who healed people.
Dafu!
Upon remembering Shuran's illness, Suishu tentatively asked, "Dr. Xu, can you help me save Shuran?"
(To be continued in the second update at 7 PM)
(End of Chapter)
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