The Enhanced Doctor
Chapter 35 - 035 Your baby is really sick.

Chapter 35: 035 Your baby is really sick.

Today’s brilliant performance was a result of the synergy between his spirit, agility, and strength. Consequently, Liu Banxia found himself even more eagerly anticipating an increase in his final attribute—stamina—which had yet to improve.

However, he didn’t dare to casually spend his remaining skill points; every single point was precious. The same was true for Glory Points. Although they seemed more abundant and easier to obtain than attribute points, they were quickly depleted.

To use a term from the martial world, he had to lie low and develop cautiously for now; there was no room for recklessness.

This was because his primary focus was still the ER. Take yesterday’s patient, for example: even with his enhanced agility, he might not have successfully clamped the ruptured blood vessel if he hadn’t drunk that potion.

By the time he got off the subway, it was almost midnight—one of the unfortunate realities of working night shifts in the ER. Even if he hadn’t gone to help the proctology department and missed Chen Jianyong’s assistance, the normal shift handover wouldn’t have been much earlier than this.

A twenty-four-hour shift sometimes dragged on and on, extending to thirty-plus hours—a common occurrence.

After some thought, since I’ve been quite successful lately, I’ll swing by the wet market and get some hearty dishes. Even if his cooking skills were far inferior to Zhou Li’s, he could still manage to make something edible.

This was one of the conveniences of living in an old residential area: it had a proper wet market. In mid-to-high-end communities, one could only find supermarkets for fresh food or specialized fruit and vegetable stores.

Two hundred fifty grams of pig’s head meat, sliced and seasoned by the vendor, and a fried chicken leg, cut open and sprinkled with dry seasoning—these were Liu Banxia’s purchases from the wet market.

My original intention to cook myself was quite firm, but I got lazy after arriving at the wet market. I’ll just grab a couple of chilled beers on the way home, eat, drink, and then have a good sleep. That’s the life.

"Oh, Liu, you’re back! Finished another night shift?" Uncle Jiang, the owner of the convenience store, greeted him warmly.

"You bet, I’m exhausted. I’ll take two cold beers; I’m too tired to cook. Your place is lively, got guests over?" Liu Banxia said.

"My daughter brought my grandson home. This chubby little fellow is so adorable; he smiles at everyone he sees," Uncle Jiang said, praising his grandson while getting the beers.

"I often hear you talk about him. It seems the boy takes after you; he’s very cheerful," Liu Banxia complimented.

"Well, you know, even though we run a small business, we believe that harmony brings wealth. Oh, right, there’s a package for you. Let me get it. It arrived three days ago, but I kept missing you," Uncle Jiang said, heading towards the back.

Only then did Liu Banxia remember his mother saying she had mailed him something. He’d been so incredibly busy these past few days that it had completely slipped his mind. _{f.r(e)e\webn.ovel.co\m}

While Uncle Jiang went to get the package, Liu Banxia glanced inside.

It was a small convenience store converted from the ground floor of a residential building, where the old couple also lived. Then he saw Uncle Jiang’s wife happily holding a chubby baby boy—this must be the grandson Boss Jiang always boasted about whenever he came over.

But after one glance, the smile on Liu Banxia’s face vanished.

"Liu, this is quite heavy—must be about ten jin. I think it’s a melon; I can smell its fragrance. Take it home and eat it quickly before it spoils," Boss Jiang said, emerging with a cardboard box.

"Uncle Jiang, there’s no way I can eat this much. Let’s open it, and I’ll share some with you," Liu Banxia said.

"No need to share with us; just take it home and enjoy it. And don’t worry about paying for the beers today; I’m in a great mood," Uncle Jiang said with a laugh.

"I can’t let you do that. Uncle, how many months old is the baby?" Liu Banxia asked while paying.

"Three months. When we have his 100-day celebration, if you’re off work, come over for a drink," Uncle Jiang replied happily.

Liu Banxia hesitated, unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say next. He felt that something was off about the baby.

DING! New Mission: The Smiling Baby.

Open-ended Mission: The Host has observed that the smiling baby may have an underlying medical condition. Please make your own judgment. Mission rewards will be issued based on the diagnostic results.

"Uncle Jiang, may I take a closer look at the baby? He’s so chubby and adorable," Liu Banxia asked with a smile.

"Of course! This little fellow isn’t shy with strangers; he smiles at everyone," Uncle Jiang said, even more pleased.

Following Uncle Jiang into the back room, Liu Banxia maintained a radiant smile, but inwardly, he felt a growing unease. The baby was laughing happily, yet that very laughter seemed to confirm the bad feeling he’d just had.

"Liu, it looks like he likes you too. See how happy he is!" Uncle Jiang said, gently taking the baby’s hand and giving it a little wave.

"Uncle, has the baby had a check-up since he was born?" Liu Banxia asked, seemingly casually.

"A check-up? What for? Has your hospital started pushing check-ups too?" Uncle Jiang suddenly became wary.

Liu Banxia smiled and shook his head. "You’ve misunderstood, Uncle. The check-ups at our hospital are just routine examinations. I mean, it’s generally better for newborns to have a check-up after birth."

"Liu, I don’t like what you’re saying," Uncle Jiang’s wife interjected.

"Who takes a newborn for a check-up right after birth? Are you wishing for our precious boy to be sick? He’s perfectly healthy! He weighed over seven jin when he was born; even the delivering doctor praised him."

Liu Banxia gave an inward, bitter smile. I knew I’d likely encounter this kind of reaction. But I saw it. Should I pretend I don’t know, just to spare their feelings?

Steeling his resolve, he looked at Uncle Jiang. "I’m not a pediatrician, but we all get some exposure to it during our studies. I looked closely just now, and I genuinely believe your grandson is ill."

"Please, don’t get upset yet. Listen to me. I’m not usually the type to speak recklessly, am I?" Seeing Uncle Jiang’s face darken, Liu Banxia quickly added.

"Liu, you’ve lived here for over a year. This isn’t the kind of joke you should be making," Uncle Jiang said gravely.

"Sigh... Normal babies do smile, but those are usually occasional, reflexive smiles, not spontaneous ones," Liu Banxia finally explained.

"I observed him carefully just now. The baby doesn’t just smile; he laughs very cheerfully. It’s been less than five minutes, right? And he’s already laughed three times."

"So what if he does? Our grandson is strong and healthy. Don’t tell me your hospital has quotas for this too? Young people these days, just saying whatever pops into their heads," Uncle Jiang’s wife said, even more displeased.

"Auntie, I’m not even a pediatrician. What kind of quota would I have?" Liu Banxia said, feeling helpless.

"Sigh... That’s all I can really say. Perhaps you could ask someone else, see if what I’m saying makes sense. My personal advice is to get him checked out. If there really is an issue, we can intervene early."

DING! Acquired 5 Experience Points. Diagnostics Skill Proficiency +5 points.

I’m truly not saying this just for the mission; I’m genuinely worried. Usually, symptoms like these in a baby indicate a condition that could be life-threatening.

His assessment pointed towards a neurological disorder or perhaps a brain tumor, but he truly didn’t dare to voice this suspicion yet.