FDNL CH 13

Chapter 13

First Arrival in Another World 13

“If I’m not mistaken, he should be lacking a trace element essential to the human body—potassium.”

Amid the eager anticipation of the entire Sun family, Su Lianyi spoke with a solemn expression. Her voice was not loud, but it carried authority.

“Fake? What fake?” The Sun family woman didn’t understand. This illness—what did ‘lacking fake’ mean?

Lianyi smiled slightly. “Sister-in-law Sun, it’s not the ‘fake’ of real or fake. It’s a trace element. Even if I explained more, you wouldn’t understand.” Not to mention people of ancient times—even in modern times, many people probably wouldn’t understand this illness. “When the human body lacks potassium, the muscles can’t contract and relax properly, leading to easy fatigue. It can also hinder intestinal peristalsis or cause edema, hemiplegia, and heart disease. Put simply, the body can’t exert strength, the whole person feels exhausted, and it’s accompanied by intermittent fainting.”

The weak man’s unfocused eyes gradually brightened, as if he had grabbed onto a piece of driftwood in the vast sea. So many physicians had examined his illness, yet none could determine the cause. At most, they would say it was qi deficiency and prescribe medicine, but it never cured him. He never imagined that the village’s so-called female devil would actually know what his illness was!

The elderly woman and the other woman of the Sun family were overjoyed. The old woman even knelt down, kowtowing shakily. “Miss Su, you must cure my son’s illness. This old woman will repay your kindness even if I must be an ox or a horse in my next life.”

“Auntie Sun, please don’t do this. I can’t accept it.” Lianyi hurriedly reached out to help the old woman up, sighing inwardly that ancient people really knelt at the drop of a hat—something she was truly not used to.

“Then, Miss Su… my son’s illness—can it… still be cured?” the old woman asked tremblingly.

Lianyi frowned. This illness could be minor or severe. If mild, dietary supplementation and proper rest would suffice; but if severe, it could be life-threatening. And potassium supplements—the 10% potassium chloride oral solution—were nowhere to be found in this ancient era. For her to compound such medicine herself would require basic materials she didn’t have. Could she really go mining and refine it bit by bit?

“This… is hard to say,” Su Lianyi answered honestly. Once the condition reached a certain severity, dietary supplementation alone would no longer be effective.

Without Western medicine, what about Chinese medicine?

Su Lianyi thought of traditional Chinese medicine. If this place resembled ancient China, then medicinal herbs should be abundant. Near Su Village were endless mountain ranges; among them was a towering, perilous peak. Such heights would likely harbor many precious medicinal materials—but medication could not be used indiscriminately.

Although integrated Chinese and Western medicine was popular in modern times, many Chinese medicines, when combined with Western drugs, not only failed to help but actually hindered the absorption of certain trace elements. Combining Chinese and Western medicine required prescriptions from specialized doctors and professional pharmacists, as well as clinical trials. She didn’t know which specific Chinese medicines would interfere with potassium absorption—after all, this wasn’t her field of expertise, nor was she a neurologist.

More importantly, her suspicion that the Sun family man suffered from hypokalemia was only a clinical inference. Without the ability to perform tests, she couldn’t make a definitive diagnosis.

The Sun family, who had just been filled with hope, were plunged back into sorrow upon hearing Su Lianyi’s words, clutching their heads and weeping.

“Don’t cry yet. It’s not that it can’t be cured—it just takes time,” Lianyi said quickly.

“Really? Miss Su, please, you must cure my husband. If he… if he… what will our family do?” The Sun family woman rushed over, knelt down, and hugged Su Lianyi’s legs.

Lianyi was helpless—why kneel again? She hurriedly pulled her up with force. “Sister-in-law Sun, don’t worry. I’ll do my best. I can’t guarantee he’ll get out of bed and walk immediately, but his life is not in danger.”

“Miss Su, you’re a living immortal among men! You’re the great benefactor of our Sun family!” No sooner had she helped the Sun family woman up than the old woman beside them knelt again. Even the usually steady Su Lianyi was flustered—modern people simply couldn’t understand ancient people’s constant kneeling.

Not knowing how to deal with such a scene, Lianyi deliberately changed the subject. “Don’t thank me yet. I have some questions—can you answer them?”

“Miss Su, please ask,” the woman replied hurriedly.

“Bananas, strawberries, citrus fruits, grapes, pomelos, watermelon, spinach, Chinese yam, edamame, scallions, soybeans, mung beans, broad beans, kelp, laver, yellow croaker, chicken, milk, corn—have you heard of these foods?” She listed as many potassium-rich foods as she could remember, unsure whether these foods even existed in this time and space, and thus asked the Sun family.

The fact that she wasn’t the original owner of this body couldn’t be known by Su Feng and Da Hu, but it should be fine with a family unrelated to the Su household. Besides, she could also learn more about this world.

The Sun family didn’t understand why Su Lianyi asked this, but they still listed the foods they had heard of. “We have grapes, watermelon, spinach, Chinese yam, scallions, soybeans, mung beans, broad beans, chicken, milk, and corn.”

After hearing this, Lianyi formed a general idea. “Kelp—haven’t you heard of it?”

“No. We don’t know what that is,” came the reply.

“How far is the sea from here?” Lianyi asked. Kelp was a good thing—rich in iodine and potassium—and was not rare in temperate seas. She just didn’t know if this time and space had it.

The Sun family woman didn’t understand why she was asking about the sea. “It’s some distance away. By carriage, it takes two days and two nights.”

Lianyi nodded. As long as there was a sea, that was good. When she had time, she would go there herself. If there was kelp, she would definitely bring it back. “These are the foods Brother Sun should eat in the future. From now on, his staple food should be a porridge made by grinding mung beans into flour and cooking it together with cornmeal. For dishes, eat as much spinach and Chinese yam as possible, paired with chicken soup. After meals, eat more grapes and watermelon.”

The dietary plan was laid out, but the two Sun family women looked miserable. It wasn’t that they couldn’t find these foods—it was that… how could they afford them? Not to mention fruit; even chicken was something the whole family hadn’t eaten in a long time.

Lianyi soon thought of this issue as well. Looking at the dim, shabby room, she sighed. “The money you had before was all used to buy medicine, right? From now on, you won’t need to buy that medicine anymore. Save the money to get these foods for him instead.”

“Yes.” Though they agreed, it was springtime, they had no poultry or livestock, and the grain hadn’t been harvested yet—how could there be any money? Thus, the Sun family remained worried.

Lianyi couldn’t help sighing again. If it were before, she would certainly have opened her purse to help, but now she could barely take care of herself. “Let’s leave it at that for now. It’s getting late—eat and rest. I’ll come again tomorrow.” With that, she prepared to leave.

The Sun family woman hurriedly took out the remaining few copper coins to hand to her, but Lianyi stopped her. “The patient comes first. Other matters can wait.” After saying that, she rushed out of the courtyard without looking back.

The sky gradually darkened. There was no one on the village streets; everyone had returned home for dinner. The entire village was filled with the fragrance of cooked food.

Lowering her head, Lianyi entered her own courtyard and went straight into the kitchen. Her bulky body squeezed into a small corner. There was none of the calm composure she had shown earlier—her face was full of worry.

What should she do now? She had just finished playing the “savior,” and now she was worrying about her own food. Go hungry? Forget it—she’d treat it as weight loss. But what about tomorrow? Weight loss required dieting, but she absolutely couldn’t starve herself!

The man in the house waited patiently for Su Lianyi to return. Seeing her come back and head straight into the kitchen, the corner of his mouth curled into a sneer. He was already used to her bringing back money obtained through extortion.

After waiting a long time, he still didn’t see that fat figure come out of the kitchen, nor did he smell any food at all—everything was silent.

The man frowned slightly and finally couldn’t resist his curiosity. He walked to the kitchen door and saw Su Lianyi curled into a ball in the corner. The stove was clean and tidy, yet cold and desolate, without the slightest sign of having been lit.

“Where’s the food?” he couldn’t help asking.

Author’s Note

Is potassium deficiency really that scary? Yes—it really is that scary. This hypokalemia is a hereditary disease in my family. My uncle was critically ill twice because of it; my aunt had frequent episodes for a period of time; my father once fainted on his way home from work. I don’t know whether I’ll have an episode when I reach my forties—T_T.

If you dear readers suddenly feel dizzy or have related symptoms, be sure to go to the hospital in time to get checked and test your body’s trace elements.

Thanks to Chuying (5 flowers, 5 diamonds, 5 votes), muah! Thanks to berthl (1 flower)—are you a new friend? Welcome, welcome!