The Tenth Act: The Life-Saving Divine Medicine

  "TCM?! Witchcraft? No thanks." As soon as he heard it was a TCM medicine, Tan Ni immediately shook his head in strong distrust. He had been in China for some time and had naturally heard of the so-called medicines used in traditional Chinese medicine - lizards, mouse tails, various insects... even the dust from a widow's bedhead... He couldn't imagine what difference there was between these concoctions and the black magic of female witches.

  "Don't jump to conclusions so quickly." Roger smiled awkwardly, originally wanting to add some mystery, but forgetting that only Chinese people like "ancestral secret recipes", while Westerners are superstitious about "latest scientific research results". As a result, he ended up being clumsy, although both "ancestral secret recipes" and "latest scientific research results" are basically just scams.

  "I've used this medicine before, and it's really effective, works very quickly," Roger said. "Although it may be a bit excessive, to be honest, for severe cases of infection, I'm afraid there wouldn't be any effective treatment methods in the US either. Moreover, the patient would have to undergo a long sea voyage, which could be fatal in itself. So why not let me try?"

  Tan Ni hesitated for a long time before finally speaking up: "Can you be certain of the effect of that medicine? Can it really cure patients with severe infections?"

  "As long as the lady is not allergic to this medicine, we need to confirm that with a small test."

  Seeing Tan Ni still hesitating, Roger continued: "I can guarantee the effectiveness of this medicine. In fact, I've tried it myself! Even if it can't completely cure your wife, at least it can alleviate her symptoms, and then you can send her back home, isn't that better? Moreover, this medicine is different from traditional Chinese medicine in the classical sense. It's a serum developed on the basis of traditional Chinese medicine with the addition of modern Western medical techniques, and it has nothing to do with witchcraft."

  "Alright, alright, I'll give it a try. Anyway, I know that sending her back to the US would be a dead end. The so-called better treatment is just a consolation. In that case, I might as well take a chance on your Chinese magic."

  Just as Roger was beaming with joy, Tan Ni spoke up again.

  "But if you fail, I swear, I will make sure you die a terrible death! No matter what the cost!" By this point, Tan Ni's face had twisted beyond recognition.

  "Don't worry, you won't have to pay any price because I won't fail at all! However, if the treatment is successful, I hope you can help me with some things. Of course, it won't be anything that will put you in a difficult position. For you, they are just trivial matters, such as helping me register a company or dealing with annoying bureaucrats."

  "If it's just like that, then there's no problem at all. However, the premise is that you must be able to cure my wife, don't forget this point."

  Under Tan Ni's lead, Roger soon saw his wife - a laceration on her leg, although not too serious, but said to be scratched by rusty angle iron, so it quickly became pus-filled, and the current situation is quite serious.

  Since the condition has been confirmed, there's no need to delay any further. Roger immediately took out penicillin and prepared to get started. Although his major in pharmacy didn't involve diagnosis or nursing, he had done animal experiments before, so skin tests and injections were not a problem for him. It was all over in just a few minutes.

  Originally, Roger wanted to continue chatting with Tanny to understand the international situation in 1924, but it was clear that at this time Tanny's entire energy had been focused on his wife, and Roger could only leave tactfully and return to the hotel.

  ……

  The next morning, before dawn, Roger was woken up by a series of knocks on the door. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and got out of bed reluctantly.

  "Who is it? Can't you see what time it is? It's just past 5 o'clock! Do you want to let people sleep or not?"

  Roger had just opened the door when a tall, dark-clad man suddenly rushed into the room. The shop owner outside nodded and bowed to accompany him, with an awkward expression on his face.

  "That foreigner was saying something I didn't understand, but he kept calling your name, so I brought him here. Sorry to disturb you, sir."

  Turning his head to look at the person who came in, Roger asked strangely: "Consul Tan Ni, why did you come so early to find me? Even if there's something going on, can't you just send someone over? Do you need to come personally?"

  Tan Ni smiled awkwardly and said, "Originally, I was going to send someone over, but I really couldn't bear the torture of waiting. My mind was filled with thoughts of you, thinking that even if it's just a second earlier, it would be better, so I came myself."

  When Roger heard Tan Ni's words, he was stunned at first, and then his whole body's goosebumps fell to the ground. He turned around and wanted to run away, but there were two American soldiers standing guard in the corridor, obviously unable to escape. So Roger could only turn back into the room and rush towards the window.

  "Mr. Roger, why are you running away!? I didn't bring people here to catch you, your medicine is very effective."

  I know!

  "Why are you still running!?"

  "Because I'm not interested in men! And I don't like other men being interested in me!"

  "Uh-huh, same here, so can you calm down and move away from the window?"

  "Stop! Don't come any closer, if you take one more step I'll jump off! I swear, I will!"

  "Uh, I believe you, it's just the first floor here, jumping down won't be too dangerous. But what I wanted to remind you is that when I came, I saw a few mad dogs lurking in the alley outside your window, and I hope you won't provoke their hostility if you jump out rashly."

  ……

  Although Roger eventually accepted Danny's apology and went to the consulate with him, he resolutely refused Danny's invitation to ride together in a carriage, instead taking a rickshaw and following behind the horse-drawn carriage at a slow pace.

  Roger checked on Mrs. Tanen's recovery and found that the effect of penicillin treatment was beyond his imagination for a person in 1924, even though he had long known that bacteria in this era when antibiotics were not widely used had no resistance to them, but he did not expect that just one small injection of penicillin could make a seriously infected patient recover quickly, and with only one injection and half a day's time, Mrs. Tanen was already more than half recovered.

  For the later generations where serious and minor illnesses are often treated with intravenous drips, and even super bacteria that render antibiotics completely ineffective have emerged, the bacteria of this era are still too fragile.

  Because the second injection was scheduled for the afternoon and neither of them had eaten, to apologize for disturbing Roger early in the morning, Tan invited him to have breakfast together.