At this moment, the samurai in green finally remembered his purpose. Seeing that Harano was tall, dignified, well-dressed, and carried an air of nobility, there was no way he could be an ignorant villager. The samurai immediately sheathed his sword, dismounted, and revealed the little girl he'd been holding in his arms, exclaiming excitedly, "You're that out-of-town samurai who can cure illnesses, aren't you? Hurry, take a look at Ah Matsu!"
Ah Matsu?
Harano's gaze fell on the little girl. She looked about four or five years old, with jet-black straight hair, dressed in a coarse cotton kosode with blue snowflake patterns, and wrapped in a large, old grey futon. She was curled up tightly, clutching her stomach with both hands, eyes half-closed, her face waxy yellow, flashes of pain crossing her expression, with traces of white foam at the corners of her mouth that hadn't been wiped off.
Saving lives was the priority, so Harano didn't dwell on the chaos the samurai had caused in the yard. He immediately stepped forward to examine the girl, paying particular attention to the foam at the corners of her mouth—if it was bubbly phlegm caused by pulmonary congestion or edema, that would mean it was untreatable in this era. Fortunately, it wasn't that; it looked much more like digestive secretions, likely regurgitated after dry heaving or jostling.
Harano hadn't wasted his recent reading; he now had some basic diagnostic skills. He immediately asked the green-clad samurai, "Has she vomited? How long ago did it happen? What did she eat before vomiting?"
"She ate about half a rice ball, and a few Golden Flat Sugars. She vomited not long after eating." The green samurai answered, then quickly pulled out a small glass vial, half-filled with pale yellow, spiky candies resembling sea urchins. They looked beautiful in the sunlight.
Ah Man, who had just been glaring at the samurai and plotting who-knows-what, was instantly captivated by the vial. She couldn't help but mutter in awe, "That's the Golden Flat Sugar worth its weight in gold? And there's half a vial..."
She instinctively estimated their value. This half-bottle likely weighed about two liang; not counting the bottle itself, it could fetch two or three strings of Yongle coins. She was sorely tempted to snatch it, but given the samurai's ability and connections, she didn't dare make a move for now.
To Harano, though, this primitive white sugar candy mixed with wheat flour was nothing special. He casually took the vial, opened it, gave it a sniff, and tasted a piece—immediately picking up a faint moldy sour odor.
He spat the candy onto the ground and asked, "How long has this been kept?"
The green samurai was stunned, looked hesitantly at the candy and said, "It's gone bad? My Lord only awarded this half a year ago. I ate one myself before, didn't feel sick at all…"
Harano cast him a sideways look—Are you, a nearly grown strong man, really comparing your digestive system to that of a four or five-year-old child? Why not compare yourself to a wild boar while you're at it?
But he didn't bother explaining. He handed the vial back to the samurai and said coolly, "Looks like it's just acute gastroenteritis triggered by spoiled sweets… Hmm, in medical terms, it's a kind of heat-type cholera caused by external filth and toxin. Would you like to treat her here?"
The samurai instinctively gripped his sword and stared blankly at the candy, not comprehending at all. It seemed he wasn't just lacking in vocabulary—his education was lacking, too.
Harano patiently waited a moment for him to catch up. The samurai then blurted out, "Yes, treat her—no matter the cost! Please, you must save her!"
"I'll do my best!" Harano nodded, called over Yayoi, who'd been watching anxiously from nearby, and asked her to help settle the patient and her family. Meanwhile, he fetched his pinyin copy of the Barefoot Doctor's Manual to pick a remedy—acute gastroenteritis was pretty common in rural areas and not hard to cure. He'd memorized the prescriptions, but as it was his first time treating a patient, he wanted to make sure—better safe than sorry. He didn't want to get the medicine or the dosage wrong and end up killing someone on his very first case.
This was, after all, his very first paying customer. If he could avoid killing them, he'd rather not kill them!
Ah Man followed close behind, shot a wary glance at the green samurai, and whispered, "Are you sure about this? He looks like one of Oda Danjo Chonosuke's men—probably one of Oda the Big Fool's retainers. Those people are a bit crazy, not easy to cross. You'd better be careful!"
If she hadn't realized the guy was one of Oda the Big Fool's retainers—and since all of Owari was Oda's turf, and Oda Nobunaga was a certifiable lunatic not to be trifled with—she would've taken action long ago, not just tried to spread nasty rumors. She only looked a bit goofy; she was far from naïve, had seen life and death many times over, and if push came to shove, wouldn't hesitate to kill. If she did kill someone, she'd just run away at night—no fear whatsoever.
The same logic applied now. She didn't know how good Harano's medical skills really were—who knew if he'd save Ah Matsu or accidentally kill her? She'd eaten Harano's food, and he'd always treated her well and respectfully, so she didn't want to see him get in trouble. That was why she bothered warning him.
The green haori bore a family crest—the Five Melon Patterns unique to Oda Nobunaga. Harano noticed as well and gave a slight nod, "I know. I'm confident I can handle the illness. Don't worry."
Not only did he know this was Oda Nobunaga's man, he'd already guessed he was likely Maeda Toshie himself. He just hadn't expected to meet the future "Daimyo of One Million Koku in Kaga" in such a way. But Hibi Village was originally the Hosokawa Family's territory anyway, so meeting him here wasn't all that strange—surprising, but reasonable.
Besides, since he'd already crossed over to this era, dealing with these feudal samurai was unavoidable. He'd prepared himself mentally, so meeting them a little earlier made no difference to him—he was calm and unfazed.
In any case, first treat the patient—then talk!