Chapter 4

As Old Mr. Jiang's face showed a look of astonishment, the others also noticed Jiang Yuan's actions. They saw him seriously rolling up the pregnant woman's sleeve and starting to measure her blood pressure, and they exchanged glances.

Most of the people around had heard that Old Mr. Jiang's long-missing precious grandson had returned today. Although Jiang Yuan had changed somewhat over the past three years, they all knew who he was since they were from the same village.

Seeing that Old Mr. Jiang was not speaking, they all followed his lead, wondering if Jiang Yuan, who had been missing for three years, had perhaps learned some good medical skills from outside.

Zhang Dapao also noticed Jiang Yuan's actions. Originally, he had already given up hope, but now he stopped his wailing and looked at Jiang Yuan with pleading eyes. Although he didn't really have much hope in this young man, it was still another straw to cling to.

Jiang Yuan measured the blood pressure and listened to the heart with a stethoscope. His eyes lit up, confirming his suspicion. Although he hadn't encountered such a patient in recent years, he still remembered the definition and diagnosis of eclampsia from his books. The pregnant woman's prenatal checkups were normal, and her blood pressure was only 75/50 mmHg, which was not high, and there were no signs of shock. These did not seem to fit the diagnostic criteria for eclampsia.

Moreover, eclampsia did not typically present with rapid breathing. According to the midwife's account, the pregnant woman first showed signs of tension and felt short of breath. It was very likely that...

Hearing the pregnant woman's heartbeat becoming weaker, Jiang Yuan couldn't wait any longer. He dropped the stethoscope and started looking around.

At this moment, Old Mr. Jiang came to his senses and hurriedly approached Jiang Yuan, whispering, "Jiang Yuan... this is a matter of life and death, you... you can't act rashly..."

Jiang Yuan's eyes caught sight of the water bottle on his waist that contained gunpowder. His eyes lit up, and without a word, he grabbed the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and poured out the gunpowder. He then said to Old Mr. Jiang, "Grandpa... try to needle the Neiguan and Sanyinjiao points, I'll think of a way to save her!"

"Ah... this is a matter of life and death, you can't be careless, Xiao Yuan... are you sure about this?" Old Mr. Jiang's eyes also lit up, but as a doctor, he was still cautious and asked worriedly.

Before Jiang Yuan could answer, Zhang Dapao, who was already desperate, quickly said, "Doctor Jiang... please try, please try. My wife is in such a state, even if... even if you can't save her, I won't blame you..."

Seeing Zhang Dapao's words and Jiang Yuan's determined look, Old Mr. Jiang, though reluctant, bit his lip and hurriedly went back to the house to get the silver needles.

Jiang Yuan shook the water bottle a few times to get rid of the gunpowder, then ran to the well, picked up a machete, placed the bottle on a wooden stake, and chopped it with a swift stroke.

The machete accurately cut the top of the bottle, neatly severing it.

Jiang Yuan looked at the clean cut and the remaining 17-18 cm bottle bottom, nodded in satisfaction, washed the bottle in the well, and ran back.

In the surprised and doubtful looks of the crowd, he flattened the bottle and used the cut end to cover the pregnant woman's mouth and nose, completely covering her nose and mouth.

Seeing Jiang Yuan's actions, everyone was stunned, wondering, "What is he doing? Covering her mouth and nose like this, won't she suffocate even more?"

However, the pregnant woman was already in a critical state, and Zhang Dapao had placed all his hopes on Jiang Yuan. As the saying goes, treat a dead horse as if it were alive, so no one spoke up.

Old Mr. Jiang quickly returned with the silver needles, and seeing Jiang Yuan's actions, his face stiffened. However, he believed his grandson was not the type to act rashly, so he held his tongue and, as requested, approached the pregnant woman, rolled up her sleeves and pants, and began to needle the Neiguan and Sanyinjiao points.

These points have a calming and antispasmodic effect, which should help with the pregnant woman's convulsions, so Old Mr. Jiang felt his grandson was not acting rashly.

Everyone watched Jiang Yuan closely, waiting to see what he would do next. After Old Mr. Jiang inserted a few needles, Jiang Yuan simply kept the bottle bottom over the pregnant woman's mouth and nose, occasionally lifting it a bit to let in some air, but did nothing else.

Seeing this, everyone exchanged glances, but no one spoke. After all, in such a life-and-death situation, everyone except Old Mr. Jiang was a layman, and since he didn't speak, they all just watched.

Old Mr. Jiang was getting anxious. He didn't understand what Jiang Yuan was doing, and in his decades of medical practice, he had never seen anyone treat a patient by covering their mouth and nose.

He was about to ask Jiang Yuan, but at that moment, a murmur arose from the crowd.

"Hey... Zhang Dapao's wife seems to be getting better... see, her face looks better, and her eyes aren't rolling as much..."

"Yeah... it seems so... her breathing is less labored, didn't you see..."

"Right, right..." The crowd's surprise and joy grew louder. Zhang Dapao, who was trembling with tension, was initially skeptical, but after staring at his wife for a while, he saw that she was indeed improving. His face lit up with joy, and he wanted to thank Jiang Yuan, but seeing Jiang Yuan's focused expression, he held back.

Seeing the patient's condition improve, Jiang Yuan also breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't 100% sure about the pregnant woman's condition, but based on his analysis and a similar case he had seen before, where a patient had been scared by gunfire, he suspected it might be a case of hyperventilation syndrome due to excessive tension during childbirth.

This condition is mainly caused by rapid breathing due to tension, combined with the moderate hyperventilation that occurs during pregnancy, leading to excessive oxygen intake and a significant decrease in carbon dioxide levels in the body, which can cause hypocalcemia and symptoms such as a feeling of suffocation, rapid heartbeat, and convulsions.

So Jiang Yuan was just trying. Now, the pregnant woman's condition was indeed improving as he had expected. By reducing oxygen supply and increasing the self-circulation of carbon dioxide during breathing, combined with the calming and antispasmodic effects of needling the Neiguan and Sanyinjiao points, he successfully alleviated the pregnant woman's symptoms.

However, Jiang Yuan was still not relaxed. He took out a piece of paper and a pen, wrote a few lines, and handed it to Zhang Dapao, who was now full of excitement and joy, and said sternly, "Don't celebrate yet, she's not out of danger. Go to the clinic and get these medicines, and she needs an IV and observation..."

Zhang Dapao didn't dare to delay. Hearing that his wife was not yet out of danger, he quickly took the paper from Jiang Yuan, borrowed a motorcycle, and sped off.

While the midwife and Old Mr. Jiang were visibly relieved, Jiang Yuan's face remained serious. Although the pregnant woman's condition had improved significantly, there was a more serious problem...

The baby, which was supposed to be born, had been stuck in the mother's womb for over an hour. The mother had also experienced severe shock, suffocation, hypocalcemia, and convulsions, which posed a significant threat to the baby's survival.

Moreover, regardless of the baby's current condition, if it was not delivered soon, it could pose a great risk to both the baby and the mother. The baby needed to be delivered as soon as possible, or the consequences would be severe.

Old Mr. Jiang, who had initially relaxed, now felt a tightness in his chest. Was the pregnant woman still in grave danger?

"Did you bring oxytocin?" Jiang Yuan suddenly asked the midwife sternly.

The midwife, who was still rejoicing at the pregnant woman's improvement, was startled by Jiang Yuan's question.

But she quickly realized what Jiang Yuan meant and her face turned pale. Clearly, she had also thought of this problem.

"I... I brought it..." The midwife touched her medical bag, her lips trembling as she looked at Jiang Yuan, hesitantly saying, "But... we should send her to the hospital as soon as possible..."

Seeing the midwife's nervous and fearful expression, Jiang Yuan's eyebrows furrowed, and he said coldly, "Send her to the hospital? Is there time? If she doesn't give birth now, the baby will die, and it might... be a double tragedy..."

Hearing Jiang Yuan's stern rebuke, the crowd, who had just relaxed, suddenly remembered the baby in the womb. The woman was getting better, but what about the baby, who had been through so much? They all became tense again, knowing that if the baby couldn't be delivered, it could indeed result in a double tragedy.

Jiang Yuan put on the stethoscope again, lifted the pregnant woman's clothes, and placed the stethoscope on her belly. Hearing the faint but slow "thump thump" of the fetal heartbeat, he frowned again.

"The fetal heartbeat is very weak. The baby might still be saved, but we need to act fast..."

Concerned about his wife's life, Zhang Dapao moved quickly. In just a few minutes, he returned with the medicines and equipment prescribed by Jiang Yuan.

"Let's go... carry her inside... prepare for delivery..." Seeing Zhang Dapao return in time, Jiang Yuan quickly administered an IV of glucose and two injections of calcium gluconate to correct the hypocalcemia, and said sternly.