(24) Memories of the Past and Penicillin

  "Do you know whether the dragon candle or the phoenix candle went out first the next morning?" Huang Yunzhi gently pressed down on Yang Shouming's hand that was resting on her shoulder, grasping it tightly as she asked.

  Yang Shuo Ming suddenly understood why she was crying, he smiled and said: "It should be Long Zhuang Ba?"

  She turned her head and looked at him, with a deep resentment in her eyes.

  "I know there's a saying that if the dragon candle goes out first in the bridal chamber, it means the husband will leave first, and if the phoenix candle goes out first, it means the wife will leave first." Yang Shouming shook his head and said, "This is completely superstitious, it can't be taken seriously." He smiled and hugged her, "Why do you still believe in this?"

  "It's not superstition." Huang Yunzhi seemed to recall something, sighed, struggled out of his arms, and began to take off his outer gown and change into his undergarments.

  "My mother once told me that on the day she and my father got married, the phoenix candle went out first, and it was extinguished shortly after being lit. As a result, she indeed left very early."

  "It's just a coincidence," Yang Shuoming said, savoring the warmth of her undressing him, "If we follow your logic, if we don't light candles in the bridal chamber and instead use electric lights for a whole night, can the couple live forever?"

  Huang Yunzhi was taken aback by his words, and then her eyebrows relaxed, revealing a sweet smile once again.

  "You're full of nonsense."

  As the sky gradually darkened, Huang Yunzhi lit up the lamp, and for a moment, the room was enveloped in a warm red glow, giving people a sense of unusual tranquility and peace.

  Yang Shuo Ming wrapped his arms around his wife, lying on the bed, and his hands unconsciously slid onto her chest. Huang Yunzhi lay beside him, letting his hands wander over her body. She unbuttoned her clothes, took off her outerwear, and covered her tightly dressed body with a quilt.

  "At that time, China didn't even have a single electric light...” Yang Shuoming gazed at her radiant ** under the dim lighting, muttering to himself in his heart.

  Because it got dark early, there were no electric lights, and he couldn't go online, Yang Shuoming could only lie down early. Fortunately, he could still share a romantic night with his wife, so he didn't have nothing to do.

  After a while, Yang Shuo Ming looked at Huang Yunzhi who was sleeping sweetly in his arms and felt full of love and tenderness.

  At this time, his body felt somewhat tired due to the extreme pleasure she brought him, but his mind was somehow exceptionally active, without a hint of sleepiness.

  What must be done in order to truly change history?

  In the past, as long as it was accompanied by the questions in his mind, "Super Computer Eye" would give a large number of answers for him to choose from. As Yang Shouming's most important reliance in this era, "Super Computer Eye" could easily solve many technical problems. However, facing the problem he had been considering the most these days, "Super Computer Eye" was also silent.

  At this time, the lights in the house had already gone out, and the bright moonlight shone in from outside the window, making the bedroom full of classical atmosphere even more quiet, and also making Yang Shuo Ming's thinking clearer.

  Since ancient times, enriching the people and strengthening the country has been a fundamental principle: only when the people are prosperous can the country be strong!

  Agriculture is the foundation of wealth; industry is the key to national strength!

  If you want to develop industry, then high-tech is indispensable!

  High-tech!

  High-tech! Now in your own eyes!

  The high-tech stored in his own "Super Computer Eye" is unknown how many times higher than that of the powers of this era!

  How can these high-tech resources be fully utilized?

  At this point, Yang Shuo Ming's mind became excited.

  Right, and then there's the issue of funding.

  He had already successfully impressed the local gentry, including his father-in-law, at the dinner party, and with the gold bars he snatched from Hei Lu's hands, the start-up capital shouldn't be a big problem...

  Along with Yang Shuo Ming's thinking, "Super Computer Eye" gave out one by one specific plan and program.

  "Why haven't you slept yet?" At this time, Huang Yunzhi didn't know how she woke up. She brushed away the scattered hair on her temples, looked up at Yang Shouming who was staring at the ceiling with wide eyes, and asked softly.

  Yang Shuo Ming looked down at her eyes shining like morning stars in the dark night, and suddenly thought of something, asking: "By the way, why did you choose to study medicine? Can you tell me?"

  After hearing Yang Shuo Ming's words, Huang Yunzhi's pair of eyes that could speak flashed a faint sorrow.

  "For my mother." She lowered her head and stretched out her hand to stroke Yang Shuo Ming's chest.

  "Oh." Yang Shuo Ming suddenly realized he had asked an inappropriate question, wanting to help her shake off the painful memories. He immediately joked, "You're so beautiful, just like a fairy, your mother must be a great beauty too?"

  "Hmm." Huang Yunzhi nodded, recalling past events, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. "I still remember now, when I was young, my father would watch my mother comb her hair, apply oil, powder, and rouge. I'd watch too, and after my mother finished dressing up, my father would see me staring at her and ask with a smile: 'Is your mother beautiful?' I'd answer: 'Beautiful.' He'd ask again: 'What makes her beautiful?' And I'd say: 'She's like a painting come to life from the wall.' My father would laugh so hard he couldn't speak, then ask me: 'Have you seen any other woman as beautiful as your mother in anyone else's home?' I'd answer: 'No.' Then my parents would hug and kiss me..."

  Yang Shuo Ming listened quietly as she told stories of the past, and before his eyes seemed to emerge a young couple and their daughter enjoying a happy family scene.

  “…I don’t remember when it started, but Mother began to cough. Her face turned rosy and her body became thinner, making her look more beautiful than before. However, Father looked at Mother with increasing worry every day. He didn't let me cling to Mother, and Mother also kept me away from her. I was puzzled, so I asked Father what was wrong with Mother? Father cried and said that Mother had contracted a disease. Women who contract this disease become more beautiful but thinner, constantly coughing until they spit blood and die. This disease is incurable and contagious too. Father said he didn't let me get close to Mother because he was afraid she would pass the disease on to me...”

  Yang Shuo Ming listened to Huang Yunzhi's account and immediately understood what her mother was suffering from.

  Her mother had what was then commonly known as "consumption", or pulmonary tuberculosis.

  This disease is basically an incurable terminal illness in this era where medical and health conditions are still underdeveloped.

  “…Mom's body was getting weaker and weaker, her coughing was getting worse and worse, every time she coughed, she almost fainted, Mom's handkerchief often stained with a thread of blood, Dad kept spending a lot of money to ask doctors to see Mom, taking so many medicines, but Mom's condition didn't get better, Dad's temper also became worse and worse...Dad always comforted me, saying that Mom would be fine, but I could sense that Dad was as scared as I was that Mom would leave us...I was terrified, I wanted to cure Mom's illness, I desperately flipped through the medical books at home, looking for all sorts of prescriptions, wanting to treat Mom's illness, when Dad saw me messing with the medical books, he hit me and scolded me, telling me not to touch them, I said I wanted to find a way to cure Mom's illness, didn't want her to leave...Dad cried, it was the first time I saw him cry like that...”

  “…My mother finally fell ill and lay in bed all day, I accompanied her by her side. Mother liked flowers, so I filled her room with all kinds of flowers. Every time she saw me, she would smile happily. She knew that I had been looking for medical books to find a cure for her, so she told me a story about an ancient woman who got sick in a private place but couldn't find a female doctor to treat her. In order to preserve her chastity, she refused to let a male doctor examine her and eventually died. Mother said that since I had this heart, I should become a female doctor in the future. She said that if I could cure women with the same illness as hers in the future, she would be happy even after death... The day mother passed away, I cried until I fainted... Later, I heard that a new school was opened in the provincial city, and my father knew what mother had told me, so he sent me to the provincial city to study. I followed my mother's last wish and went to the church medical college to study Western medicine...”

  "You should have learned well," Yang Shuo Ming stroked her hair, gently kissing her forehead. "I was so badly injured that day, if it wasn't for you, I might not have made it."

  "You were burning up so badly back then, you were talking nonsense and scared me to death," Huang Yunzhi looked at Yang Shuoming with a bright glint in her eyes. "The doctor we called also said it was very dangerous, I was afraid you wouldn't wake up again. We tried every possible method, it's really fortunate that you managed to pull through..."

  Yang Shuo Ming felt her touching the wound on his shoulder, thinking of the consequences brought by his momentary carelessness, and couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

  Yang Shuo knew that the reason for this was because the wound had been infected with bacteria and inflamed, just like in World War I, where a large proportion of deaths were caused by inflammation from gunshot wounds.

  If penicillin could be mass-produced and used at that time, such a tragedy would not have occurred.

  If penicillin were to be developed in this era, it would be a treasure equivalent to gold...

  Even for the sake of one's own safety, penicillin should be obtained!

  At this time, with Yang Shuo Ming's thoughts jumping, a large amount of information about penicillin also began to surge in his eyes.

  "Actually, I know of a medicine that can cure your mother's illness." Yang Shuo Ming looked into Huang Yun Zhi's eyes, "A kind of medicine you've never heard of before."

  "Really?" Huang Yunzhi's eyes flashed with a surprised light, "What is it?"

  "This medicine is called 'penicillin'," Yang Shao Ming said with a smile, turning her chin, "Want to know what its pharmacological effect is?"

  Huang Yunzhi saw the mischievous smile on his face, thinking he was comforting himself and joking with himself, but when she heard his words containing extremely "professional" vocabulary, she immediately straightened up, staring intently at Yang Shao Ming, concentrating on listening to what he had to say next.