Chapter 26: Twenty-six, Gratitude Chapter 26: Twenty-six, Gratitude Everyone was shocked upon hearing this. They had never heard of soy milk poisoning before.
“Soy milk is supposed to be nutritious, how can it cause poisoning?” Mr. Xu posed the question on everyone’s mind.
Yang Lisheng looked at Song Yan Ning, “Xiao Ning, explain it to everyone, Grandpa needs to help Da Bao induce vomiting.” Fortunately, Da Bao’s condition wasn’t too serious, otherwise, he would have needed to be taken to the hospital for gastric lavage.
“Okay!” Song Yan Ning nodded and addressed the crowd, “Generally, as long as it’s a legume, such as sword beans, peas, lentils, soybeans, and fava beans, they all contain some anti-nutritional factors. So no matter when, beans must be cooked thoroughly before eating. Soy milk, which is made from soybeans, also needs to be cooked thoroughly before drinking. Otherwise, it could lead to poisoning like it did for Brother Da Bao, causing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea.”
“What should we do if someone gets poisoned?” Sister-in-law Lin asked.
“Legume poisoning can be mild or severe. In mild cases, symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and gastroenteritis. Generally, these cases heal on their own without treatment, but it’s best to eat some liquid food afterward, like porridge, and keep the diet light. If it’s a case like Brother Da Bao’s, where it’s not serious enough to require a gastric lavage, using chopsticks or the handle of a spoon to stimulate the throat and induce vomiting to get rid of the ingested soy milk, followed by a visit to a hospital for examination and treatment or heading to a hospital as soon as the poisoning is discovered, is advisable, otherwise, it could be life-threatening,” Song Yan Ning explained in detail.
“I understand now, thank you Xiao Ning!”
“If you hadn’t told us this, we’d continue to be careless, who knew soy milk could be poisonous!”
“Yes, we need to be careful from now on.”
“No wonder I got diarrhea last time; it was because I drank uncooked soy milk. To think, I was really lucky.”
Given what Song Yan Ning had said, the villagers naturally wouldn’t doubt her. Despite her young age, Song Yan Ning had always been known as the little genius in the village, and since she was three, she had been gathering herbs in the mountains with her grandpa, always learning something new.
“Xiao Ning, apart from raw soy milk, what else should we pay attention to in our daily lives?”
“Yeah, we don’t understand these things; if you explain them, we can be more careful in the future.”
Song Yan Ning nodded, thought for a moment, and said, “Sometimes we accidentally scald ourselves with boiling water. If it happens under our clothes, don’t be in a hurry to take them off, as that could cause secondary damage. Also, don’t apply toothpaste or soy sauce on a burn; not only are they ineffective, but they can also worsen the injury. The best method is to a run cold water over the burn for 20-30 minutes. This can reduce the damage from the burn, and allow the wound’s temperature to completely cool down before removing your clothes. Additionally, if there’s severe bleeding from an injury, don’t apply any medication to the wound, as it could lead to infection, and the doctors will have to clean the wound again at the hospital. The best method is to press a clean towel against the wound and get to a hospital for timely treatment.”
“We’ve got it, thank you, Xiao Ning!”
“If you didn’t tell us this, we would have had no idea.”
“Last time Xiao Shan got scalded with boiling water, I immediately helped him take off his clothes, and it peeled off a big patch of skin. Now, there’s still a big scar on his back. If only we had known this sooner.”
“If you’re ever in an emergency and don’t know how to deal with it, you can go to my grandparents,” said Song Yan Ning, turning to look at Yang Lisheng. She saw that he had finished treating Xu Dabao.
“Dr. Yang, I really can’t thank you enough this time. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known what to do,” Mr. Xu said gratefully as he took Yang Lisheng’s hand and bowed continuously. He had three daughters, and Da Bao was his only son. He and his wife were counting on their son for the future. If anything had happened to him, they wouldn’t want to live either.
“Old Xu, don’t be like this. I’m a doctor; saving lives is just part of my job,” Yang Lisheng said as he steadied Mr. Xu, preventing him from bowing again.
“Dr. Yang, you are truly a living bodhisattva. You’ve saved our whole family this time,” Jiang Caizhen said gratefully, looking at Yang Lisheng with choked sobs, thanking him profusely.
Yang Lisheng waved his hand, “Old Xu, Mrs. Xu, you really don’t need to be so formal, it was just a simple effort. Alright, Da Bao is fine now, we should be going. Later, make some porridge for Da Bao to nourish his stomach.”
“How much is the consultation fee?” Mr. Xu asked.
“There’s no need,” Yang Lisheng, lifting the medical box from the table, looked at Song Yan Ning, “Xiao Ning, let’s go home.”
“Mm.” Song Yan Ning nodded gently and walked towards the outside with Yang Lisheng.
Mr. Xu pulled out five hundred yuan from his pocket, caught up, and stood in front of Yang Lisheng and Song Yan Ning, forcefully stuffing the money into Yang Lisheng’s hands, “Dr. Yang, you saved my Da Bao’s life. You must take this money; otherwise, I won’t feel right about it.”
“It’s really not necessary,” Yang Lisheng put the money back into Mr. Xu’s hands.
“No, you must take this money today; otherwise, I won’t let you go,” Mr. Xu insisted stubbornly.
Yang Lisheng shook his head helplessly, “Okay then, we don’t need the consultation fee, but I’m out of chicken eggs at home, just give me a few eggs instead.”
“I have eggs at home, but you should take the money too. Wife, go get some chicken eggs for Dr. Yang,” Mr. Xu said to Jiang Caizhen at his side.
“Ah!” Jiang Caizhen responded and headed towards the kitchen.
Yang Lisheng pushed the money back again, “Old Xu, we’ve known each other for more than just a day or two, I’m not just being polite, take your money back or I won’t come in the future.”
Seeing Yang Lisheng’s firm stance, Mr. Xu could only nod his head, “Okay then.”
“Dr. Yang, take this basket of eggs,” Jiang Caizhen said, approaching Yang Lisheng with a basket full of eggs, extending it towards him.
“Alright,” Yang Lisheng took the basket without further politeness this time.
“Grandpa, let me carry it,” Song Yan Ning reached out to take the basket, walking outside with Yang Lisheng.
“Such good people! Our village is lucky to have Dr. Yang and his family.”
“That day when my Little Tiger had a fever, it was also Dr. Yang who cured him, and he didn’t take my money either,” the people said one after another as they watched Yang Lisheng and Song Yan Ning’s departing figures. Over the years, almost all of them had received favors from Yang Lisheng’s family.
Li Meixiang was washing clothes in the courtyard and saw Yang Lisheng and Song Yan Ning returning, “Why did you bring back a basket of eggs?”
“Old Xu insisted on giving money, I talked for a long time to no avail, and when I thought about how we were out of eggs at home, I just asked him for some eggs as the consultation fee, and here we are, carrying back a basket,” Yang Lisheng said, walking into the house.
“Are you still going to gather herbs in the mountains today?” Li Meixiang stood up, wiped her hands on her apron, and stepped forward to take the basket from Song Yan Ning’s hands.