TTLJDFL Chapter 49

Previous | Table of Contents | Next

ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi guys, chapter 50 onwards will be posted on my ko-fi page, thank you 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Because he lingered a little too long with the young man before leaving, Li Jin unexpectedly ran into Chen Xiran at the entrance of the Song residence.

Chen Xiran rubbed his eyes, looked up at the sky, and thought that the sun must have risen from the west today.

Li Jin, who was always strict with himself, had actually arrived just on time!

Usually, by the time Chen Xiran got there, Li Jin would have already transcribed a large portion of the text. But today, they met at the gate.

Li Jin and Chen Xiran entered together, and Song Dalang, the eldest son of the household, commented in surprise, "Brother Li, you’re actually not early today. I even waited at the gate for a while."

Li Jin sighed helplessly. He had only slacked off once! Besides, he was still earlier than the students from the nearby academy.

Chen Xiran observed Li Jin’s expression and chuckled. "Dalang, don’t you think Brother Li looks more like a young man now?"

Before, he had always been too disciplined and mature, making him seem distant.

Song Dalang thought for a moment, then shook his round little face under Chen Xiran’s expectant gaze.

"Brother Li has always been young."

Chen Xiran fell silent. That was when he remembered that Li Jin was actually younger than him by a year. So how could he call him old?

The day of study passed quickly, and Li Jin followed his usual routine, heading to the medical clinic afterward.

Recently, the number of patients at the clinic had doubled, most of them suffering from colds.

Li Jin instructed Zhou Gui to prepare extra medicine.

Zhou Gui asked, "Doctor Li, the medicine is ready and at the perfect temperature. Who should I bring it to?"

Li Jin gave him a glance, then followed him into the inner hall. "We’ll drink it ourselves, of course."

Zhou Gui was puzzled. "But we’re not sick!"

Li Jin picked up a bowl of medicine and downed it in one go. His brows furrowed slightly, and after a few seconds, he said, "This is called prevention."

Colds are contagious, so prevention is necessary.

Though the logic was simple, it was difficult to explain to people of this era due to their ingrained beliefs.

Since he couldn’t fully explain, he simply ordered Zhou Gui to drink the medicine as well.

He even added, "You should take a bath before going home, so you don’t bring the sickness back to your family."

Zhou Gui thought to himself that although he wasn’t sick, he worked as a helper at the medical clinic and was constantly exposed to patients. Just as Doctor Li had said, it was inevitable that he would come into contact with illness.

Changing clothes and bathing before entering the house was fine, but drinking medicine… Forget it. Since it was Doctor Li’s order, he might as well drink it.

Li Jin had originally planned to spend the next few days intimately with the young man. After all, his body was only eighteen years old, a time of youthful vigor.

He had abstained before, which wasn’t an issue, but now that he had indulged, returning to a monk-like life was something his body would not agree to.

However, there was still a little child at home, barely over two months old, with a fragile immune system.

Li Jin gathered some dry straw and spread it on the floor in the study, then asked the young man to bring him a mattress.

Hearing this, Qin Muwen froze for a moment, his face instantly turning pale.

He bit his lip and silently followed Li Jin’s instructions.

Li Jin, meanwhile, was recalling and jotting down the couplet that Mr. Song had given him today.

No matter what, the older generation still had more experience—Mr. Song’s skill in composing couplets was far superior to his and Chen Xiran’s.

Li Jin wanted to study it thoroughly, hoping to gain some inspiration from it.

By the time he came back to his senses, the young man had already finished cooking and was feeding rice porridge to the baby in his arms.

In the past, Li Jin would have taken the baby from him, and the little one would have given his father a bright smile.

But this time, Li Jin said, "Wenwen, take the baby back to the room."

He didn’t see how much paler Qin Muwen’s face had become.

After feeding the baby, Qin Muwen noticed that Li Jin had gone to fetch water for watering the vegetables. On the table, he saw that Li Jin had left out boiled corn and cold cucumber salad—both dishes he liked.

Yet, he still felt deeply sad.

Qin Muwen wondered if he had been too tense last night. Li Jin had kept telling him not to be afraid, to relax…

Was that why Li Jin was unhappy and wanted to sleep separately?

Qin Muwen ate his meal without tasting a thing. He wanted to explain to Li Jin that he wasn’t scared last night—just nervous.

But later, he quickly lost control under Li Jin’s touch, completely surrendering his body.

He had always been straightforward and open by nature, never liking to hide things. But the original Li Jin hadn’t liked him talking much, so he had rarely spoken before.

This time, Qin Muwen decided to explain himself and promise that next time—next time he would definitely relax.

When Li Jin returned with the water, he saw the young man pacing in the courtyard, muttering to himself as if rehearsing his words.

“What’s wrong?” Li Jin asked first.

Qin Muwen stiffened slightly at his words. He reached up to pinch his burning earlobe, feeling that no matter how much he prepared himself, saying something this embarrassing out loud was impossible.

But to avoid making Li Jin upset, Qin Muwen obediently walked up to him, lowered his head, and didn’t dare to look at him.

“Ah Jin, last night I…”

Li Jin listened attentively without interrupting.

It was his first time as well. Although he had read all of the medical books left behind by Doctor Wu and knew that physically, there was little difference between a ger and a man—

When it came to actually doing it, he had still been afraid of hurting the young man.

But when the young man finally fully opened up and accepted him, all those concerns vanished from Li Jin’s mind.

He had excellent stamina, and while the young man initially cried and begged for mercy, he later couldn’t even cry anymore and could only endure passively. Only then did Li Jin finally let go and hold him to sleep.

Li Jin thought that if the young man complained about things being too intense, he could only scratch his nose and admit to it.

The person was his, after all, and even if his body couldn’t handle it now, he would get used to it in time.

As a man, he absolutely wouldn’t compromise in this area.

Li Jin was prepared for the young man to accuse him, but unexpectedly, Qin Muwen stammered an explanation instead.

“I let you down last night. I was just too nervous… I-I won’t be next time. Can we not sleep separately?”

Li Jin’s heart softened instantly. He had never met someone as obedient, pure, yet passionate as the young man.

So he gently pinched the young man’s cheek, leaned close to his ear, and said, “I was very satisfied with your reaction last night.”

Qin Muwen’s face instantly turned red.

Li Jin continued, “I’m sleeping separately this time because many people in town have caught colds. I’ve been in contact with them at the medical clinic, and I don’t want to bring the illness home to you and the baby.”

Qin Muwen’s mouth dropped open in shock.

So that was the reason for the separate rooms?!

Then… then all the things he had just said… how embarrassing!

Li Jin looked into his eyes, not allowing him to avoid his gaze.

“I’m very happy that you can tell me what’s on your mind directly. And as for what you just said, I was never disappointed in your response.

You did very well. We have a long time ahead of us, and I’ll help you get used to me as soon as possible, okay?”

With nowhere to retreat, Qin Muwen could only make a soft sound of agreement, laced with a hint of nasal tone.

Li Jin patted his head. “The baby is crying. Go take care of him. I can’t hold him these days, so make sure he doesn’t forget his father.”

Receiving his reprieve, Qin Muwen practically fled in embarrassment.

It seemed that no matter how open and cheerful he was, he was still quite shy about this matter.

But Li Jin was very pleased with his innocence.

That way, he could shape him exactly how he liked.

Or rather, Qin Muwen was already exactly what he liked.

Still, there was always room for improvement.

A few days later, the number of patients at Xinglintang not only failed to decrease but actually increased. Some people even came in for other ailments and ended up catching colds themselves.

Seeing this, Zhou Gui couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

Those people had merely spoken to a cold patient for a moment and still got infected…

Zhou Gui even personally served medicine to elderly patients suffering from colds!

He figured he would probably get infected too…

But after waiting for a long time, he never developed a fever. That was when Zhou Gui realized just how wise it had been for Doctor Li to order him to take medicine in advance.

At the beginning of September, the cold wind passed, and the weather warmed up again. The patients at the clinic gradually recovered and went home.

Zhou Gui took a stroll down the street and bought some crisp pastries to bring back.

This time, he had safely made it through the end of August, all thanks to Doctor Li’s medicine.

Zhou Gui knew that if he tried to give Doctor Li a gift, he would definitely refuse.

So instead, he usually brought small treats that the doctor's husband liked.

Zhou Gui smiled at Li Jin and said, “I heard from the neighbors that the other two medical clinics in town recently shut down. Their doctors got infected with the cold too. That’s why we had so many patients in the last couple of days.”

Li Jin nodded and said, “The cold isn’t a big problem—treat it early, and it gets better quickly. Besides, Doctor Wu is returning tomorrow, so I won’t be coming to Xinglintang to practice medicine anymore.”

So, August had passed just like that.

While assisting Li Jin, Zhou Gui felt that the doctor always had everything well organized.

He hardly needed to think—he just had to follow Doctor Li’s instructions.

Even in the last few days of August, when the number of patients surged, Li Jin calmly directed him to prepare medicine in an orderly fashion, showing no signs of panic.

Zhou Gui admired him even more.

Beyond that, he was also reluctant to part with Li Jin.

Li Jin was highly knowledgeable, and compared to the elderly Doctor Wu, Zhou Gui felt they had more common ground.

Sometimes, when Li Jin had free time, he would even teach Zhou Gui how to write.

Zhou Gui felt that in just one month with Doctor Li, he had learned more than he had in the past year.

The next day, Doctor Wu returned, looking cheerful. It seemed his son had done well in the exams.

But since the official results hadn’t been announced yet, no one could say for sure if he would pass.

The shopkeeper settled Li Jin’s monthly wages. Originally, it was supposed to be three taels of silver, but the shopkeeper gave him six.

Li Jin remained calm and said, “Shopkeeper, I cannot accept payment I did not earn.”

But the shopkeeper insisted, “Doctor Li, this is what you deserve. In the last few days, we were the only medical clinic open in town. This has greatly boosted our reputation, all thanks to your foresight and remarkable medical skills.”

Li Jin accepted the silver, had a meal at Xinglintang, and then set off for home.

Doctor Wu was surprised by the extra payment, but just hearing Zhou Gui’s account of the situation made him realize how difficult it must have been to manage. It was hard to imagine that Li Jin had handled everything so smoothly.

Doctor Wu chuckled and said, “Doctor Li is truly impressive. He may not have earned an official title yet, but I believe it’s only a matter of time.

“Last month, I accompanied my son to take the autumn exams. I had to handle all the logistics while my son only focused on memorizing books—he knows nothing about worldly affairs.”

The shopkeeper did not respond to that and instead said, “Doctor Wu, don’t be so modest. Not everyone can even qualify to take the autumn exams…”

Before they could finish their conversation, a man dressed as a scholar, with a square scarf wrapped around his head and looking to be in his forties, walked in.

Before the man could speak, the young boy following behind him glanced around the clinic and asked, “Greetings, everyone. Is the young doctor seeing patients today?”

_______

T/N: Thank you for reading 🌰🌰🌰