Chapter Fourteen: Curing the Father

  After the wine party, Liu Yuanqi, who was drunk, bid farewell and left. He stumbled as he walked, but eventually Liu Bei escorted him back. Liu Hong also drank too much and had a severe headache, so he retired early to rest. Deng Shi carefully laid out the bedding for Liu Ze and sat on the couch talking to him in a low voice until midnight.

  The next day, Liu Hong felt that his condition had worsened, feeling dizzy and weak, with a more severe cough. At first, he didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just because he had drunk too much wine the day before, so he still went to work at the county office. However, by the second day, he had a high fever that wouldn't subside, couldn't get out of bed, and had severe coughing fits with blood in his phlegm. Panicked, Deng's wife hastily invited the town's doctor to take a look, but the doctor was only a barefoot doctor who took a glance and said it wasn't serious, prescribing some medicine.

  But for several days, Liu Hong's illness became more and more serious, so Deng had to ask Liu Yuanqi to go to the city of Zhuo County to invite Zhang Dafu from Chuntang back. Liu Yuanqi hurriedly arrived in the city, originally Zhang Dafu did not make house calls, but he could not withstand Liu Yuanqi's soft and hard bubbles, and only after receiving double the consultation fee did he arrive at Lousang Village.

  The doctor took a look at Liu Hong's complexion, felt his pulse, shook his head and sighed, packed up his medical bag and left. When asked by Liu Yuanqi, he only said: "Prepare for the worst." and then went out the door.

  Deng heard and cried bitterly, Liu Bei also cried endlessly.

  Liu Ze knelt down in front of Zhang Daifu and blocked his way, begging: "Please, sir, save my father."

  "Alas, it's not that I'm not doing my best," said Zhang, "but your esteemed father is already critically ill and beyond help. I'm truly powerless to do anything... unless..."

  Liu Ze was overjoyed and said: "Unless what? Please speak, sir?"

  "It is rumored that in Qiao County there is a divine doctor named Hua Tuo, who has the medical skill to bring the dead back to life. If you can get him to treat your lord, perhaps he may still be saved."

  Liu Ze hastily asked: "May I ask, sir, where can we find the Chinese divine doctor?"

  "Zhang Daifu shook his head and said, 'Hua Shen Yi travels the world, with no fixed abode, and is as elusive as a divine dragon. I, an old man, have long admired his name, but unfortunately, we have never had the chance to meet.'"

  "Thank you, sir, for your guidance. I will search all over the world and invite the great Chinese doctor."

  "Alas, it's difficult," said Zhang with a bitter smile. "Even if the young master is found, your respected father may have already passed away. Well, I bid you farewell."

  Yes, Father is on his deathbed. Even if we could find Hua Tuo, how long would it take for him to arrive? Liu Ze stood up helplessly, feeling a sense of desperation. According to the "Records of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of the First Emperor", the First Emperor was orphaned at a young age, but it is not known when or from what illness his father died, as Chen Shou did not mention it. Now it seems that Liu Bei is in his teens, and Liu Hong's time has come. Even the famous doctors in the city of Zhuo are powerless to save him, and it is likely that Liu Hong will not survive this ordeal.

  Although Liu Ze was not very familiar with medical science, in his opinion, Liu Hong's illness was just a slight cold that had led to pneumonia, and after dragging on for some time, it had developed into a secondary infection. If this were modern times, an intravenous drip and some antibiotics would have him recovering quickly. But now they were in the Han Dynasty, where could they find antibiotics?

  But he didn't want to give up, since he was reborn in this family, he couldn't just watch his father die, and the already impoverished household would be even more destitute. Liu Bei would also become a peddler of straw sandals as history had it, struggling at the bottom rung of society. He couldn't and wouldn't let history repeat itself——Liu Ze silently screamed in his heart.

  Penicillin! In later generations, penicillin that can be bought for only 40 cents, Liu Ze has never thought of its preciousness, but at this moment, Liu Ze silently prayed to God in his heart - Oh God, grant me a bottle of penicillin, just one bottle is enough!

  The sky is speechless, and the autumn wind whispers.

  Liu Ze sat in the courtyard with a furrowed brow, and Xi's sunshine warmed his back, but he didn't feel any warmth at all. The sorrow in his heart filled his body and mind. A person's ability is ultimately limited. Even if he possessed 2,000 years of wisdom, it was useless at this moment.

  In the courtyard, a canopy was set up with four wooden pillars supporting it, and thatch on top. When the weather is hot, people can cool off in the yard. However, now that autumn has arrived, the weather is gradually cooling down, and the canopy has been unused for a long time. Next to the pillar were several watermelons, one of which was broken and rotten, emitting a foul odor in the air. Liu's wife was busy taking care of her sick husband and didn't have time to clean up. The day before yesterday, she had instructed Liu Bei to throw away the rotten melon, but Liu Bei was always careless and ignored it.

  Liu Ze reluctantly walked over and picked up the rotten watermelon, ready to throw it away.

  That watermelon had been rotting for several days, completely decayed, with juice flowing all over the ground, and a large patch of fluffy light green mold growing on the rotten skin. Liu Ze's heart skipped a beat, and his mind flashed with inspiration. Although he didn't understand much about it, as someone who loved reading in his past life, he still remembered some interesting anecdotes. There was an interesting story about the invention of penicillin: Fleming had discovered penicillin but couldn't purify it, and later a scientist named Florey took over his research. One time, while buying watermelon at a fruit shop, he accidentally found mold on a rotten watermelon, which he extracted and cultured into high-purity penicillin.

  Liu Ze crouched down, carefully scraping off the moldy spots on the rotten watermelon and placing them in a ceramic pot. Flori used corn flour to make the culture medium, but since there was no corn during the Han Dynasty, Liu Ze used millet flour as a substitute instead. Having studied biology and chemistry, Liu Ze knew that bacteria could rapidly multiply at suitable temperatures. He placed the ceramic pot into a large cauldron, pouring in warm water, and although he didn't have a thermometer, Liu Ze was able to estimate a temperature of around 40 degrees by feel alone.

  But the problem is that this era does not have a microscope, Liu Ze simply cannot know how many units of penicillin he has cultivated. If the unit content is low, it will not have a bactericidal effect at all. If the unit content is too high, it will become a deadly villain instead. Moreover, using penicillin requires skin testing. If Liu Hong is allergic to it, that would be fatal as well. Now Liu Ze has no other choice, Liu Hong's life hangs in the balance, and he can only try his luck with this penicillin, praying that it will have some therapeutic effect and that Liu Hong won't be allergic to it. Liu Ze worked tirelessly throughout the night, constantly changing the warm water in the pot until dawn when he finally poured out the contents of the porcelain jar.

  Liu Hong knew that his days were numbered, so he said to his wife who was guarding beside the bed: "Life and death are destined, wealth and nobility are in heaven. Today's great limit has arrived, you should be self-respecting, don't grieve."

  "Ah, husband, you can't leave us! How will our orphaned children and widowed mother survive?"

  Liu Hong let out a long sigh and said, "Heaven's will cannot be defied. After I'm gone, you can remarry, don't stay in widowhood. However, my two children must not change their surname to another family's. This is the root of our Liu family. No matter how difficult it gets, make sure they study and remember this well."

  Deng was already choked with sobs.

  Liu Hong also said to Liu Bei: "Bei, you must be filial to your mother, diligent in reading books, and only then will you have the opportunity to stand out. You must treat your younger brother well, Ze'er is about to return, but as for Father, he will soon pass away. The eldest brother is like a father, I hope you can take good care of him, and in the future, you brothers will join hands to revive the family's reputation."

  Liu Bei nodded repeatedly and wept uncontrollably. Liu Hong looked around, but did not see Liu Ze's figure, and sighed: "Where is Ze'er?"

  Deng hastily wiped away his tears and said: "I'll go take a look."

  Before she could leave, Liu Ze came in with a large ceramic bowl filled to the brim with a mysterious liquid that was half yellow, half green, half thin and half thick. He handed it over to the bed and said, "Father, please drink this bowl of medicine first."

  Liu Hong shook his head and sighed: "My illness can't even be cured by Doctor Zhang, let alone... Never mind, I won't drink."

  Deng said in surprise: "Ze'er, where did you get this medicine from?"

  "The child had seen this prescription in the hundred-volume collection of books by his master, which was specifically used to treat typhoid fever. The child was anxious to save his father and didn't know if the medicine was really effective, but since even Doctor Zhang couldn't cure it, he dared to offer the medicine and asked his father to try it."

  "Zhe'er, where did you get the money to buy medicine again?"

  "This medicine is not available in pharmacies, it's just some ordinary things, but it requires careful preparation and takes a whole day and night to complete."

  Liu Hongda was moved and said, "Good child, you have this filial heart, but my fate is not something that can be cured with a few doses of medicine. Now that your father has passed away, the two brothers must support each other, never to part or abandon one another. If our family has descendants, I can close my eyes in peace even in death."

  Liu Ze hastily said: "Father must not speak rashly of Heaven's will, for human effort can certainly triumph over the principles of Heaven."

  Deng also persuaded him on the side: "Husband, considering the child's filial piety, you might as well take this bowl of medicine. At this point, it's a case of using a dead horse as if it were alive."

  Liu Hong nodded silently, struggled to sit up halfway, drank the bowl of medicine, and then lay down weakly, unable to speak again. Liu's wife covered him with a quilt, tears streaming down her face as she retreated.

  The next day, Liu Yuanqi came to visit and originally thought that Liu Hong had fallen ill and was not long for this world. However, as soon as he entered the door, he saw that Liu Hong's complexion had greatly improved, and he couldn't help but be shocked: "Yesterday, Doctor Zhang said there was no medicine that could save him, today looking at Brother Hong's complexion is so good, could it be..."

  Deng said: "Yesterday Ze'er found a way to get one, and after adjusting it for a whole day and night, it was finally made. After the gentleman took it, he felt much better."

  Liu Yuanqi was even more astonished, and turned to Liu Ze saying: "Ze'er, where did you get this prescription from? It's actually effective in bringing people back from the dead!"

  Liu Zexin thought, "Ancient medicine is really too backward. Even the most common pneumonia has become an incurable disease, no wonder the mortality rate is so high." But he couldn't explain what bacteria and other things were, so he had to put off answering: "Uncle, when I was in the deep mountains, I was rescued by a mysterious old man. His cave had hundreds of books stored inside. I happened to see it on one of the volumes, which specialized in treating cold damage. I don't know if the medicine matches the disease, but since there's no other way to cure it, I dared to try my luck."

  Liu Yuanqi couldn't help but ask excitedly: "Where is the prescription?"

  Liu Ze said, "I only remember a few flavors, and I haven't copied down the prescription. In fact, these few medicines are very common, but they need to be carefully adjusted before they can be used."

  Fortunately, Liu Yuanqi didn't understand medicine either, so he didn't ask about the prescription again. He sighed and said: "Brother Hong has such a noble son, his life shouldn't be cut off."