Chapter 145

Li Xiangzhi had already fallen into a coma due to suffocation, so anesthesia was unnecessary.

The situation was extremely urgent, leaving no time for Hu Xiaotian to calmly perform a tracheotomy; he made a quick decision to first perform a cricothyroid membrane incision on the patient to relieve breathing difficulty, then proceed with a regular tracheotomy.

The cricothyroid membrane is a section of the tracheal wall located below the thyroid cartilage and above the cricoid cartilage. Because it lies between two cartilages, the gap is relatively large, and there are fewer blood vessels and nerves passing through, so incision does not cause significant bleeding or extra damage.

Hu Xiaotian quickly put on his homemade mask, took out the scalpel, accurately positioned it, and the blade cut into Li Xiangzhi's neck skin. Gasps rang out around; the timid womenfolk, frightened, had already turned their heads away. In his haste to save her, Hu Xiaotian had just forgotten to clear the area. Although he was saving her, the motion clearly looked like he was slitting her throat; to many it seemed he was committing murder! Some even fainted on the spot.

Having already endured the shock of Hu Xiaotian breaking open his son's skull, Wan Boping found some psychological tolerance in seeing Hu Xiaotian cut his daughter-in-law's throat before his eyes; at least he knew Hu Xiaotian was saving her, not murdering.

After the patient's cricothyroid membrane was exposed, Hu Xiaotian made a transverse incision with the knife, took a curved vascular clamp from the surgical box, used the clamp to widen the opening, and inserted a pre-prepared, sterilized reed stalk as a temporary tube. Hu Xiaotian's movements were swift and clean; as the reed stalk went in, Li Xiangzhi's suffocation symptoms were immediately relieved.

She came to, her eyes wide open. Her gaze showed abnormal fear.

Hu Xiaotian comforted her: "It's fine, don't panic, you must not move; next I still need to help you remove the foreign object in your throat." Under Hu Xiaotian's reassurance, Li Xiangzhi gradually calmed down.

For Hu Xiaotian, a medical doctor, a regular tracheotomy was a trivial procedure, but in this era it was undoubtedly a shocking, unconventional act.

Hu Xiaotian's unruly nature meant he rarely cared about others' opinions, but after arriving here he gradually learned to assess the situation and adapt to his surroundings; yet when he wholeheartedly focused on treating patients, he would overlook everything else.

The surgery used a straight incision from the lower edge of the thyroid cartilage to the suprasternal notch of the sternum. Along the midline of the neck, the skin and subcutaneous tissue were cut. Then, using the vascular clamp along the midline, the sternohyoid and sternothyroid muscles were separated to expose the thyroid isthmus; Li Xiangzhi's thyroid isthmus was somewhat wider than normal anatomically, so part of it had to be dissected at its lower edge and the isthmus tissue pulled upward to expose the trachea. The surgical box contained retractors, and the responsibility for holding them fell naturally to Zhou Wenju. Although Zhou Wenju and Hu Xiaotian had just gone through a heated argument, he cooperated fully throughout the rescue. Hu Xiaotian instructed him to apply even, moderate force on both retractors so that his surgical view would remain centered.

During the procedure, Hu Xiaotian several times probed the cricoid cartilage and trachea with his fingers to confirm they remained in the midline. Although Hu Xiaotian usually appears frivolous and carefree, once he enters the surgical state he becomes utterly focused and meticulous. After confirming the trachea's position, he made an incision at the third tracheal ring, using the tip of the blade to lift upward and split two tracheal rings, handling the knife with extreme care to avoid puncturing the posterior tracheal wall or the anterior esophageal wall.

Thanks to the experience from saving Wan Ting Sheng last time, today the Wan mansion's servants had the lighting just right. Using several copper mirrors, they focused the light on the surgical site. Hu Xiaotian easily spotted the piece of beef obstructing the trachea. He clamped it with the vascular clamp; the beef was about the size of a thumbnail. Li Xiangzhi, absent‑minded while eating, had accidentally swallowed it into her trachea, causing the blockage; if rescue had been delayed, she would likely be dead by now.

Having resolved the fundamental airway obstruction, the subsequent suturing was quite simple; as a precaution, the tracheal tube remained left in place. In the past, Hu Xiaotian would have had to worry about postoperative complications and such, but he noticed that in this world, whether due to people's own constitution or because pathogens are far fewer than in modern society, none of the several surgeries he has performed have resulted in infection. It seems the former is more likely: here the human body's self‑healing ability is very strong.

Hu Xiaotian gave detailed instructions to the maidservants in charge of caring for Li Xiangzhi, telling them some basic nursing knowledge; after all, these people already had experience nursing the Wan family's second son, so picking it up was not difficult. Once everything was done, night had fallen.

Zhou Wenju listened in on Hu Xiaotian's instruction of nursing basics to those maidservants, feeling increasingly ashamed and alarmed. After personally witnessing Hu Xiaotian pull Li Xiangzhi back from the brink of death, he felt sincere admiration, thinking that if it had been him, Li Xiangzhi would surely have died. In fact, Zhou Wenju is no charlatan; the reputation of Xichuan's number one divine doctor is not empty—he has treated countless patients—but his surgical knowledge is pitifully lacking.

Hearing is false, seeing is believing; only those who have personally witnessed Hu Xiaotian's entire surgery know what it means that there are always people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens.

When Hu Xiaotian went to wash his hands, Zhou Wenju also came over to wash his hands; their eyes met, and the earlier hostility was gone. Zhou Wenju pressed his lips, gathered his courage, and said: "Sir Hu, my earlier conduct was improper; if I have offended you, I hope you will be forgiving."

Given Zhou Wenju's status, it is no small thing for him to proactively apologize to a junior; Hu Xiaotian is not narrow‑minded either. Although he had just exerted himself in a bout with Zhou Wenju, seeing Zhou lower his posture and extend a friendly gesture, he immediately forgot all that displeasure, smiling: "Mr. Zhou, don't blame me—I'm the one who is young and rash, whose conduct was improper."

Zhou Wenju, somewhat excited, said: "Sir Hu, I have practiced medicine for decades and have never seen such an exquisite life‑saving technique; please excuse my ignorance—what is the name of the method you just used to treat the illness?" Although Zhou Wenju thinks highly of himself, he genuinely admires those with real ability, does not hesitate to humble himself to ask, and his attitude becomes much more modest.

Hu Xiaotian said: "My school calls it surgery!"

"Surgery?" Zhou Wenju silently chewed on this unfamiliar, novel term.

At this moment Wan Boping came over to invite the two to eat. If Zhou Wenju's earlier remarks had already caused Wan Boping to doubt Hu Xiaotian, the sudden mishap of his eldest daughter‑in‑law, fortunately rescued by Hu Xiaotian's intervention, has dispelled all the doubts in Wan Boping's heart; Hu Xiaotian's medical skill now seems almost mythical to him. Although he knows nothing of medicine, he witnessed what just happened—even Xichuan's famed number one divine doctor Zhou Wenju was helpless—and it was Hu Xiaotian who stepped forward to save his daughter‑in‑law. In his mind, a preliminary judgment of who is superior has naturally formed.

Had it been just before, nobody would have imagined Hu Xiaotian and Zhou Wenju sitting down to eat together, yet this world holds far too many unexpected turns.

Hu Xiaotian raised his cup to toast Zhou Wenju and smiled: "I just said that everything in this world is constantly changing; when we were arguing fiercely earlier, neither of us would have thought that an hour later we would be sitting here, drinking and making amends."

Zhou Wenju, face flushed with embarrassment, said: "Sir Hu, are you still holding onto what happened earlier? I am using this drink to make amends to you."

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Oh no, Mr. Zhou, saying that makes me feel embarrassed. As a junior, I bear no grudge; our earlier exchange was merely an academic debate, a gentleman's disagreement, a difference of opinion—not any personal grudge. Surely in your eyes I am not truly that petty, am I?"

Zhou Wenju laughed: "If you don't take offense at my harsh words just now, I won't call you petty." The two locked eyes and burst into laughter together.

As the host, Wan Boping arrived late, not because he meant to slight the two distinguished guests, but because there were simply too many household affairs. Just as Wan Boping had sat down, thunder boomed and lightning flashed, rain began to fall—though it was not heavy. Hu Xiaotian's current worry is a heavy downpour; as long as the rain stays light, it will not threaten the dikes of the Tongji He, where Liu Kuohai is in charge, so there should be no serious problem. Moreover, he knows his own whereabouts, and if any emergency arises he will immediately come to report.

Although his daughter‑in‑law was now out of danger, Wan Boping still wore a worried face. After separately offering a cup of wine to Sir Hu and Zhou Wenju, he sighed and said: "Sir Hu, to be frank, last night the nine incense burners you set up were knocked over, six of them."

Hu Xiaotian gave no response, after all Zhou Wenju was right beside him; although they had not known each other long, he could see that Zhou Wenju was not a bad person—clear‑cut in gratitude and grudges, upright and unyielding—and moreover he seemed to be a materialist, erudite, with deep research in feng shui; if Hu Xiaotian spoke carelessly, it would surely provoke another debate.

Wan Boping said: "Sir Hu!" He feared that Hu Xiaotian might forget about the affair of the nine cauldrons that suppress evil.

Hu Xiaotian smiled faintly: "I'll look into that later."

Seeing Hu Xiaotian unwilling to mention the matter, Wan Boping could only swallow his words. Hu Xiaotian had two reasons: first, Zhou Wenju was present; second, he wanted to take the opportunity to make things difficult for Wan Boping, this old fox—just now he had believed Zhou Wenju's words and doubted himself, and now he brazenly came asking for help, yet he hasn't taken a single copper for his daughter‑in‑law's surgery fee.

At this moment Wan Changchun came over again to ask Wan Boping to go over, saying that Madam Wan had something for him. Wan Boping greeted the two, then rose and hurried away. (To be continued. If you like this work, please cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)