A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 35 Doctor?

After leaving the palace, the biggest trouble is eating. Li Yu now has to go to Jinyu Alley to eat at street stalls every day.After exercising early in the morning, I ran to the noodle stall in Ding Deshan.

There were not many people today, and I saw Eunuch Wei whom I met for the first time at the noodle stall.There was a middle-aged man beside Eunuch Wei. Eunuch Wei seemed to respect him, nodding and bowing all the time.

Li Yu took a few steps forward, Ding Deshan immediately pointed at him and said, "Elder-in-law! This is the Li Yu you are looking for!"

Li Yu was stunned: looking for me?Why is a eunuch in the palace looking for me?

"Yo, it turned out to be a young student!" Eunuch Wei greeted him with a smile, "Good morning, Mr. Li! Let me introduce you, this is our Mr. Liu, and he is looking for you."

Li Yu didn't know Master Liu, but since Eunuch Wei treated him so politely and called him "Master", he seemed to be an official, so he said politely, "I've seen Master Liu."

Master Liu cupped his hands, and said very politely: "You're polite, I'm just a nominal seventh-rank official, and I can't be called a master in the capital."

Li Yu felt that he should not be so famous, but could have official fans, so he asked, "I don't know why your Excellency is looking for me?"

Mr. Liu paused for a moment, then said with a smile: "I'm also... a person from the apricot forest who has something to do with it. I have something to ask you for advice today."

It turned out that he misunderstood that he was a doctor!But think about it, the content of the article in "Shenbao" is indeed about medicine.

Li Yu said: "To be honest, I am not a doctor, but I have a little understanding of disinfection and sterilization."

"That's right! I came here just for this purpose. Your Excellency seems to have stayed in the foreign land?"

Li Yu nodded: "Yes."

"Great! You must have been to a foreigner's clinic, so you can give me some pointers."

Li Yu thought in his heart: He is a doctor and an official, so he is an imperial physician?

Master Liu continued: "I wonder if you have time to sit in my library?"

Li Yu thought for a while and said, "Okay, where is your clinic?"

After all, it is No.1 because of my own article, so I still have to be responsible.

Mr. Liu immediately said happily: "It's not far, it's just outside Di'anmen Square Brick Factory Hutong."

As soon as he said he would leave, Li Yu asked for two pancakes, and walked over with him while eating, but Eunuch Wei didn't come with him.

The Brick Factory Hutong is located in today's Nanluoguxiang. When I was in college, whenever my classmates came to Beijing to visit me, Li Yu would bring them here for a snack.

It doesn't matter if it's delicious or not, anyway, when you see the crowds of people, the atmosphere will rise first.

Today's Brick Factory Hutong is naturally integrated into Nanluoguxiang and has become a commercial street. It is said that there is a noodle with fried sauce that Nicholas Tse has eaten in the alley.But in the Qing Dynasty, there really was a veritable brick factory here, specializing in the firing of square bricks for the imperial palace.

As soon as Li Yu and the two arrived at Master Liu's clinic, they saw an old man waiting at the door with a thin little boy. Just by their clothes, they could tell they were from a poor family.

The old man saw Mr. Liu approaching from a distance, so he rushed over and knelt on the ground, crying, "Mr. Liu, you are here! Please do me a favor and leave my child behind. I really can't afford it."

Master Liu was a little unhappy: "I've said it all, it's God who doesn't reward this meal, your child is too thin."

The old man grabbed his trouser legs vigorously: "He is still young, as long as he eats, he won't be so thin."

Unable to break free, Mr. Liu sighed and said, "Okay, okay, let me check."

Hearing his words, the old man quickly got up and wiped away his tears, and pulled the child to Master Liu.

The little boy was a little timid, but he was so hungry that he had no strength.Mr. Liu looked around him, and then suddenly came one... a crotch!
I go!

Li Yu's eyes almost popped out of his eyes!Just now I thought it was because of his kindness, he wanted to see a doctor for poor children.

Now Li Yu suddenly reacted!
What kind of doctor is he!
He is clearly a knife maker who specializes in cleansing people!And it's Xiaodao Liu, one of the two biggest ones!
I didn't expect that the first person who found me because of the disinfection article was really a surgeon!

But this is too... too outrageous!

However, with the medical conditions back then, the death rate was indeed frighteningly high.

For example, during the Tianshun period of the Ming Dynasty, there is a detailed record: the guarding eunuchs in Huguang and Guizhou selected 1565 captured young children at one time, and presented them to the court after cleansing. As a result, 329 people died!The mortality rate is as high as 20%!

The medical level in the late Qing Dynasty was not much better than that in the Ming Dynasty. The only advantage of professional knife makers like Xiaodao Liu may be that they would provide medical care for several months to reduce the death rate as much as possible.

In fact, there was also a special purification institution in the palace at that time, which was the Punishment Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Those who have watched Qing court dramas may have heard of its name, but most of them watched how they tortured palace maids or concubines who failed in palace battles.

But in fact, the Punishment Division mainly manages the eunuchs except for the small cases that happened in Shangsanqi.As for the concubines, they dare not interrogate them even if they are killed. That is the right only the emperor and empress have.

The cleansing method of the Punishment Department is not as good as that of the folk knife makers, so most of the eunuchs still choose to come to the knife smiths with better skills to cleanse themselves.

And the most famous knife makers in the capital are Xiao Dao Liu and Bi Wu.The two of them send about 160 high-quality eunuchs to the palace every year.It is also because of this credit that the Ministry of Internal Affairs rewarded Qipin Dingdai.

It is said that the knife maker will keep the cut part, which is called "treasure".In the future, if any eunuch gets rich, they will come back and ask them to redeem them, so that they can be buried together when they die in the future. After all, no one wants to be an eunuch in the next life.Even Wei Zhongxian, who is nine thousand years old, doesn't want to!
No wonder Eunuch Wei was so polite to him just now, the knife probably belonged to Jing's Xiaodao Liu.

Cough cough, this Wei is not that Wei!
Xiaodao Liu said to the old man after the inspection: "The child is not bad, if I can find a guarantor when I go back, I can take this matter."

Purification also costs money, and the operation fee is 6 taels.If you add the boots, hats, gowns and gowns that you will get before entering the palace, as well as the expenses for recuperation, food, rehabilitation, etc., there will be more than a few dozen taels.

But those who purify are basically poor families who have no money at all, and usually pay on credit, and pay it back slowly later, so a reliable person is needed as a guarantee.

The old man wiped his tears and said, "Thank you, Mr. Liu! I'll go find a guarantor right away!"

After the old man left with the child, Xiaodao Liu turned to Li Yu with a smile and said, "I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting." Then he pointed to the courtyard door and said, "Come in and have a seat."

When Li Yu heard this, he immediately felt a chill down his crotch.

This Nima is too scary!Who knows what to see inside!
　This chapter could have a subtitle: Crazy hints, no eunuchs...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)