Chapter 40: Lu Xiusi

Lu Xiusi flipped open a medical record, copied down the address, and closed it.

"This one also can't be followed up; let him come for a re-examination on his own."

He was currently sitting in Li Si's clinic, where the owner was organizing freshly boiled instruments, while he handled routine paperwork.

After handing over the medical record that had messed up the follow-up investigation to Kraft, they received a brand-new request the next day.

A reporting schedule of once every five days was added, and the Clarity Potion was changed to be collected once every five days. The new plan specifically mentioned "emphasize the potential dangers to the patient and use only when absolutely necessary," attempting to increase the likelihood of voluntary re-examinations.

There were also some detailed rules regarding addresses and possible symptoms, accompanied by a table summarized by Kraft; just copy it exactly as is and use it, aiming for foolproof operation.

"I don't think it's realistic," Li Si said, using tongs to lift a small hand saw from boiling water; the steam hit his face, making him unable to open his eyes. "How did Kraft describe it again? In one ear, out the other; they don't care about this. If they wake up and feel fine, they won't bother again."

On the clean cloth nearby, many strange tools were already laid out: scalpels, drills, retractors, scissors of various sizes, and a branding iron that looked quite intimidating.

This wasn't the first day here; Lu Xiusi was already used to it. Compared to Kraft's gentle operations, much of what was done in the clinic was physical labor.

Amputation inevitably required sawing through bones and stopping bleeding on a large surface. If Li Si hadn't been from a non-martial arts family like Kraft, he would have surely tried using an axe.

During this time, Lu Xiusi had honed the skill of remaining calm amidst cries of pain and wails, focusing solely on flipping through what he needed to read.

The foolproof operation table provided by Kraft gave him some inspiration. "I think we can change our approach: list the things the patients themselves can feel without needing specialized examinations."

"And then?" Li Si dried the saw, placed it next to the scissors, and asked casually.

"Then we can let the patients take it home, fill it out after a period of time, and when they come back when they have free time, they can bring it along and hand it to us." Lu Xiusi felt he was truly a genius, easily coming up with an answer neither Kraft nor Li Si had thought of, displaying the demeanor of a lecturer.

"Hmm, well said." Li Si showed no reaction, continuing his current work and placing the dried instruments into a square tray.

Although still skeptical of Kraft's "germ theory," after following it, the probability of patients' wounds becoming inflamed and suppurating had indeed decreased significantly; a pragmatist would not refuse a useful new method.

He needed to prepare several sets of instruments, boil them, place them in the tray, wrap them in several layers of cloth, and have them ready to be unwrapped and used directly when patients arrived. He was very busy now, his attention not on Lu Xiusi.

"Then let's make a few copies now? Even sailors can take the forms we give them, fill them out on the ship, and hand them to us when they next arrive at Wendeng Port." Lu Xiusi became more and more excited as he spoke, finding the idea more and more reasonable. "This way, we will receive feedback much later, and the information will be incomplete, but it is at least possible to obtain it."

Li Si temporarily finished part of his work, covered the square tray, wrapped the outside with cloth, so there was no need to worry about splashing saliva while speaking loudly.

He placed the instrument bundle on the shelf, pulled out a chair next to Lu Xiusi and sat down, pressing down on the hand Lu Xiusi was about to use to write. "What you said makes a lot of sense, but based on my experience, there is a tiny little problem here that needs solving."

"What problem?"

"A problem that is hard to realize before you have your own clinic." Li Si didn't answer directly, instead taking a detour. "What kind of people do you think come here for amputation surgery?"

"Mostly sailors and hired laborers, haven't we already compiled statistics? Many sailors are because the ship's doctor couldn't handle it at sea, and the injury was dragged out too long; hired laborers are because they need to keep finding work, or to save money they drag it out until it develops to this point."

They had organized this long ago, finishing it immediately after returning from Kraft. Thanks to the medical record template also provided by Kraft, which already included occupation, analysis was very convenient.

"Hmm, then you also know who they are. How many words on this paper do you think they recognize?" Li Si tapped the item list provided by Kraft with one finger.

It was all professional terminology, with a few even newly coined; the meanings had been explained in the morning lecture not long ago, and the ink on the notes had barely dried.

"Let alone this sheet, even the simplest books are not something they can understand. If they could read and write normally, why wouldn't they find a clerical job?"

"Uh... perhaps we can simplify it as much as possible, and then explain the meaning of each item to them?"

Lu Xiusi realized his own foolishness, but he still wanted to struggle a bit, unwilling to give up the idea that had just flashed through his mind.

"Do you think you can explain it completely to them so they can record it on time according to what you said when they return?"

Li Si had thought of similar methods before, but explaining to someone with no medical training what he wanted was too difficult; let alone teaching someone who couldn't read to clearly remember the meaning of every item on a scale.

"Even if you have Kraft's level of lecturing and force them to understand it on the spot, they still need to remember it five or ten days after returning."

"Then if they forget, can they find someone literate to help read it for them?"

Li Si leaned back in his chair, speechless at this suggestion that had gone through the brain but not completely. "They won't come for a free re-examination, yet they have time to find someone to read it for a fee? Or do you want sailors to find someone on the ship to help them handle this form?"

"Alright, that is indeed the case." Lu Xiusi gave up on this tempting plan.

He put away the paper and pen, continued flipping through the next medical record, and was pleasantly surprised to find a re-examination record added to this one.

This medical record was from a baker who, after getting drunk, stepped barefoot into a ditch and was cut by a shell fragment thrown by some despicable person, resulting in a large bloody gash; dragged out for several weeks, a large black patch of gangrene on the foot needed to be cut off.

He missed the five-day re-examination but actually came on the twelfth day.

"If I remember correctly, this one is new, right?"

"Let me see?" Li Si leaned in to look at the picked-out record. "Yes, although it's a bit late, at least it's here."

"I don't know when these records will ever end; although they are quite useful, they take too much time, and writing for a long time gives me a headache."

"I'm afraid there is no end to it; Kraft said that at least the main medical record is required for all patients, and there must also be progress notes." Lu Xiusi said while reading.

This follow-up re-examination was written according to the latest list provided by Kraft; for ease of reading and memory, various symptoms were listed separately in order from head to toe: mental state, breathing, digestion, as well as urine and feces.

There were many entries marked "unknown," such as the color of urine and feces; the dark public toilets did not support this item.

Besides these unknowns, Lu Xiusi also found an alteration: in the mental state column, a black smudge was made after "drowsiness," replaced by a slash indicating absence.

"This has been modified?"

Lu Xiusi picked up the paper and pointed to that black spot for Li Si to see.

"Yes, I remember. Because he said he recently felt waking up later and was hard to wake up." Li Si straightened up, took the record. "Accidentally checked drowsiness, but after thinking carefully, felt it wasn't to that extent."

"It's not written in the remarks."

"This kind of subjective feeling with average credibility isn't very significant, is it? Everyone has a period where they really want to sleep, and his mental state is good." Li Si leaned back in his chair.

"Alright, I'll mention it to him when I hand in the medical record." Lu Xiusi stuffed the paper back in, stood it up, and shook it neat.

This was the last one for today; he hugged the entire stack of documents, bid farewell to Li Si, and returned to the academy to report, 顺便 taking the next five days' quota of Clarity Potion.

The first diluted solution in that clay cup was probably almost used up; in another half month, another cup would need to be made again.

It wasn't just Kraft who was busy this month; in fact, the entire medical school had been stirred into motion by him, expanding outward from the new surgical methods into supporting courses and a series of affairs.

Clearly, so many things couldn't be completed by one person, so part of it was extended to Lu Xiusi and Li Si.

Li Si's clinic had effectively become the main source of information on the effects of Clarity Potion on adults; Kraft couldn't spare time to come here often, so he handed it over to Lu Xiusi, who had received the most teaching.

Lu Xiusi did not feel annoyed by this; on the contrary, he clearly understood the benefits of participating in these matters; at least, with this experience, securing a lecturer position at the academy in the future was a certainty.

Carrying visions of a bright future, he returned to the academy with the latest records, walked into the professor's room, which was temporarily occupied by Kraft, becoming Kraft's office, where everyone knew to come to find him.

"These are the new cases from the last five days, and a twelve-day re-examination for a previous case." Lu Xiusi put down what he was holding on the corner of the desk, glanced at the table full of paper densely covered with neat small characters. A fully packed schedule was pressed under the inkwell.

Kraft was not doing well; this was what Lu Xiusi had heard recently; amidst heavy affairs, several strange patients often came to打击 his morale, making it hard for anyone to feel good.

The room was thick with gloomy, weary negative emotions; the person at the desk was shrouded in dark clouds, and approaching him now to court disaster was certainly not a good idea.

But a sense of responsibility still made Lu Xiusi force himself to speak up and interrupt Kraft's work. "There is a small issue here. Although Lecturer Li Si said it was harmless, I feel it is necessary to mention it."

"Meticulousness is a good thing. Tell me... ahem," Kraft said in a slightly hoarse voice. He grabbed the teacup nearby, gulped down a large mouthful of cold barley tea, and was choked into coughing.

He quickly covered his mouth, but a few drops of water still jumped onto the freshly written characters, smearing several ink spots.

"It is not a big deal; a patient said he has recently felt his waking time has become later and that he is not easily woken up." After Lu Xiusi finished speaking, he prepared to leave; he also felt it was not valid information, acting only out of a sense of duty.

"What?"

Unexpectedly, Kraft ignored the ruined manuscript, stood up, and called out to stop Lu Xiusi. "Which medical record? Where is he staying? Let us see."