Minnie saw a man sitting on a simple sedan chair made from two bamboo poles and a tied seat. He wore white clothes, and his eyes were covered with a cloth strip, just like hers before. He was probably brought up the mountain in the same way.
But this man was too handsome!
Even without seeing his eyes, Minnie was shocked. His chin was sharp, lips thin and tight, and his nose high and straight. The sunlight shone down from above, making him seem to glow.
Rhett followed Minnie's gaze and saw the man too. He cleared his throat, and the noisy crowd quieted down immediately.
"Quick, report to Boss Hayes that the divine doctor has arrived."
Minnie understood that this man must be the so-called Doctor San. She did not expect him to be so young and look like this.
The sedan chair was set down. Someone next to Doctor San removed the cloth from his eyes respectfully. "Divine doctor, you have arrived."
The doctor opened his eyes and saw the crowd looking at him. He frowned slightly with some disgust.
Boss Hayes and Jax quickly came forward.
"Sanruwi, I will introduce you. This is Boss Hayes, the head of Phoenix Mountain," Jax smiled, then said to Boss Hayes, "Boss Hayes, this is the famous Doctor San."
Sanruwi looked at Boss Hayes calmly and asked, "Where is the patient?"
"My wife is in the inner room. Divine doctor, please come with me," Boss Hayes said quickly.
Sanruwi looked at Jax, "Your wife? You never told me it was a woman!"
As he spoke, the atmosphere suddenly grew cold.
"I did hide it from you, but this patient is worth seeing," Jax said.
Sanruwi snorted coldly, "How do you know that?"
"I met Imperial Doctor Wen before. He was also invited up by Boss Hayes. From what he said, it sounds like the poison Uncle Rhett mentioned."
Sanruwi thought for a moment, "The imperial doctor Imperial Doctor Wen?"
Jax nodded.
"That old man used to be the chief imperial doctor," Boss Hayes muttered.
"Imperial Doctor Wen was chief imperial doctor but retired ten years ago. Boss Hayes, you are lucky to have invited him," Jax said.
"Imperial Doctor Wen still has some skill," Sanruwi hesitated.
"Imperial Doctor Wen came up a month ago. He said he can only temporarily suppress the poison with medicine. If it gets worse in a few days, it will be hopeless. If you want to see this poison, you must hurry."
Sanruwi did not say anything.
"Boss Hayes, let's go inside and talk," Jax said to Boss Hayes.
"All right, let's talk inside," Boss Hayes agreed quickly.
Minnie also stepped forward.
"Miss Minnie," Rhett looked troubled, "Do you like the divine doctor?"
"Like?" Minnie understood and shook her head quickly.
"Miss Minnie has been staring at him…"
"Because he is very handsome," Minnie said honestly. "Good-looking people deserve a longer look."
"Indeed, it is unexpected that the fierce Doctor San is so beautiful," said the second leader Erina, who appeared from somewhere. She held her belly with one hand and stroked her chin with the other, her smile unclear. "I wonder if he is married. Otherwise, I would take him as my seventh husband!"
"Women, what are you talking about?" Sanruwi stood in front of them angrily. His face turned a shade of rouge from anger, making him even more handsome. Erina's voice was loud enough for Sanruwi to hear clearly.
"Beauty!" Erina foolishly reached out to touch Sanruwi's face. Sanruwi pushed her arms away angrily. She dodged lightly, still teasing, "Beauty, you look even better when angry."
"Second!" Boss Hayes shouted angrily.
Erina was startled and stopped moving.
"Go back now!" Boss Hayes's low voice was full of threat.
"Boss, I'm sorry," Erina, though bold, was very respectful to Boss Hayes. "Boss, I will go back now." She looked at Sanruwi, "Divine doctor, I always say silly things. Please forgive me and don't take it to heart!"
Sanruwi seemed surprised that Erina apologized right away and said nothing.
"Go quickly!" Boss Hayes said through gritted teeth.
Erina left reluctantly, glancing back at Sanruwi with longing.
After a few steps, she held her belly and slowly turned around. "Boss!"
Boss Hayes was about to get angry. "What is it again?"
"Boss, I'm afraid we will trouble the divine doctor," Erina bit her lip. "My belly hurts badly now. Can the divine doctor take a look?"
"Dream on!" Sanruwi snorted coldly.
Minnie suddenly stepped forward, helped Erina sit down, and reached to touch her belly.
"The pain must have started before, right?" Minnie asked.
Erina thought and said, "It started hurting slightly yesterday afternoon, but it was nothing serious, so I ignored it."
"You are amazing!" Minnie sincerely praised. It was rare to see such a strong woman. Most in the hospital were afraid of pain and booked cesareans early. Few could endure contractions quietly. "Is this your first child?"
"Yes," Erina nodded.
"You are about to give birth. It will probably be within three or four hours," Minnie said.
"Really?" Erina was surprised. "I thought I still had more than half a month."
The room fell silent. Then it suddenly erupted.
"What did you say? The second mistress is about to give birth?" Boss Hayes's eyes grew wide.
"Second sister, second sister, are you really going to have the baby? Miss Minnie, you're not joking, right?" Rhett asked nervously.
"The second mistress is going into labor! Hurry and find her husband!"
"Which one should we find?" a group of bandits ran around.
"Miss Minnie, you said it would take three or four hours? How long is that?" Jax asked.
Minnie paused. "About one or two hours."
"That's really fast!" Jax was surprised.
At that moment, six big men rushed inside. They were around thirty years old, with different heights and builds. Their clothes were all different.
They hurried straight to Erina without greeting Boss Hayes.
"Erina, how are you?" someone asked anxiously.
"Ha ha, my baby is about to come." Someone laughed foolishly. Another person hit him on the head and said unhappily, "Who said it's yours? This baby is mine!"
They were about to argue when an older man stopped them.
"Why make noise now? You're making a joke out of this! Help the mistress back." He bowed to Boss Hayes. "Boss, this is her first birth. It started suddenly, so no one was prepared. Please forgive us for being rude. Sorry for disturbing your guests." He then apologized to Sanruwi and Jax with a bow. He was the oldest among Erina's servants and the most respectful.
Sanruwi ignored him. Jax returned the bow and said, "No problem. This is a happy event. We celebrate with you."
Sanruwi rolled his eyes. What happy event? Are you in a rush to marry and have kids? How embarrassing.
Erina held her belly and stood up. Several men reached out to support her, but she pushed them away, annoyed. People crowded around her, pushing forward and following behind.
The onlookers left, and the gathering hall became quiet again. Boss Hayes called everyone to sit and served hot tea and snacks. After what happened with Erina, Boss Hayes didn't try to persuade Sanruwi. Seeing it was late, he ordered the kitchen to prepare food for the guests.
Minnie hesitated, looking toward the door.
"What's wrong?" Jax noticed her unusual expression.
"I want to go see..." Minnie whispered. But she was afraid to be alone among the bandits without Jax as her guard.
"Miss Minnie, you said the second mistress will give birth in one or two hours? Really?" Boss Hayes asked suddenly.
Minnie nodded blankly.
"How do you know?" Though Boss Hayes's face was unclear, his tone and eyes showed doubt.
Her professional skill was questioned. Minnie wasn't afraid anymore and said, "It's based on the timing of her contractions. It's accurate. It's my profession."
"Profession?" Boss Hayes frowned.
"Are you a midwife?" Jax asked, surprised to hear of such a young midwife.
Minnie smiled. "It's similar to a midwife, but I'm an obstetrician."
"Obstetrician?" Jax had heard of gynecologists but never an obstetrician. He looked at Sanruwi, who frowned slightly. Jax knew Sanruwi felt the same.
"Yes, both gynecology and obstetrics. Women's diseases and childbirth are my specialty. I have delivered hundreds of babies," Minnie said seriously. "So I won't be wrong about the birth time."
"So you are a doctor, a colleague of Sanruwi's," Jax smiled.
Sanruwi's face darkened. He said nothing.
"If so," Boss Hayes thought for a moment. "Erina is about to give birth. There is no midwife on Phoenix Mountain. It is uncertain if one can arrive from the foot of the mountain in time. Miss Minnie, can you go see? This is her first birth, and there have been no births here for years."
Minnie nodded, then looked at Jax and asked shyly, "Can you go with me?"
Jax was surprised but agreed. He also invited Sanruwi. "Sanruwi, let's go together." Jax was careful. Although Minnie said she had much experience, she looked too young. Childbirth was serious. If anything happened, Sanruwi could help. He wondered if Sanruwi would act, but said nothing.
Sanruwi did not object. Boss Hayes personally accompanied them. The four went to Erina's place.