Upon hearing Xu Mingxuan's explanation, Chen Lan felt helpless but could only accept the situation. What else could she do?
She then changed the subject and asked, "Is the leg ailment the same as 'old cold legs'?"
As soon as Chen Lan asked this, Xu Mingxuan took off his snow boots, stepped onto the heated brick bed, and immediately asked, "Lan'er, do you have a good way to treat 'old cold legs'? I just went to the camp, and Battalion Commander Liu told me that the weather is getting colder, and more and more soldiers in the camp are suffering from 'old cold legs.' Neither Liu nor I are doctors, so we really have no solution. We can only tell them to heat the brick bed more, soak their feet more before sleeping, and wear more clothes when on guard duty."
Regarding 'old cold legs,' Chen Lan hadn't paid much attention to it in her previous life. She moved further inside the brick bed to make space for Xu Mingxuan to sit beside her, and replied, "I've only heard about it. This condition is quite common in our Northeast region. People who suffer from it are more accurate than the weather forecast. Once the weather changes or the temperature drops, their knee joints will ache. Even if they cover themselves with the thickest quilt at night, they will still feel cold in their knees."
Xu Mingxuan nodded repeatedly in agreement, "Yes, yes, that's exactly it! Lan'er, do you have any good methods? Or, could you ask Father to see if he has any good ways to treat this condition?"
Chen Lan could only nod in agreement. She understood the condition of 'old cold legs.' It is mainly caused by the invasion of cold evil into the human body. This means that the body, under prolonged exposure to wind, cold, and dampness in a cold and humid environment, leads to wind-cold invading the legs. This obstructs blood circulation, causing poor blood flow, which in turn leads to pain in the leg joints.
In simpler terms, it's about keeping warm and not letting the legs get cold. In her previous life, many people suffered from 'old cold legs,' let alone in the 1950s and 60s when clothing was scarce.
Thinking of this, Chen Lan said, "Brother Mingxuan, Father-in-law said they don't have any better methods either. He said this is a chronic illness that is generally difficult to cure completely. It's not easy to get rid of it permanently; one can only prevent it. Father-in-law said that the methods you mentioned are very good. The best way to prevent 'old cold legs' from acting up is to keep the knees warm. Tell the soldiers to pay attention to keeping warm, monitor temperature changes, add clothes in time, soak their feet more before sleeping, and use knee pads. That's the best approach."
Xu Mingxuan was very disappointed to hear this! He was still somewhat unwilling to give up and continued to ask, "Lan'er, could you please ask Father again if there's any medicine to eat that can relieve the pain?"
Chen Lan could only nod again, then lowered her head and used her consciousness to open the search function on the system's light screen, searching for treatment methods for 'old cold legs.' The system recommended several proprietary Chinese medicines.
Looking at the prompts on the system's light screen, she said, "Brother Mingxuan, I asked Father-in-law. He said there is medicine for 'old cold legs,' which is a Chinese herbal medicine that activates blood circulation, removes stasis, and warms the yang to dispel cold. However, it can only play an auxiliary role and cannot cure the root cause."
Upon hearing that there was medicine, Xu Mingxuan immediately said happily, "Lan'er, it's okay if it can't cure the root cause. We can still prevent it, right? As long as it can make the soldiers less painful and uncomfortable, that's good."
Seeing Xu Mingxuan's happy expression, Chen Lan said nothing more. Yes! Being able to alleviate the soldiers' suffering was good. Chen Lan strongly supported Xu Mingxuan's behavior of treating soldiers like his own children!
Without further hesitation, Chen Lan immediately used her consciousness to open the system and ordered all the proprietary Chinese medicines recommended by the system for treating 'old cold legs.'
Then she immediately took them out from the system's warehouse. The couple and Xiangxi began to sort and unbox the medicines. Chen Lan also took out the brown glass bottles with lids she had bought earlier but hadn't used, along with three pairs of scissors. She asked Xu Mingxuan and Xiangxi to carefully cut out the pills one by one and put them into the glass bottles.
Chen Lan gave a wry smile. This was a big undertaking. It seemed she had something to do today and tomorrow.
Xu Mingxuan studied the treatment scope of the several medicines for a while. He then asked Chen Lan to take out some white paper. He carefully wrapped several types of medicine into small packets, wrote down the usage and dosage clearly, then put on his snow boots and hurriedly got off the brick bed, preparing to go out.
Before leaving, he did not forget to add several large pieces of firewood to the stove and then closed the door.
Chen Lan and Xiangxi continued their hard work for a while longer. Their hands and necks were sore. Xiangxi started to get restless and said, "Little Lanzi, why are we making it so troublesome? Can't we just take the pills out and put them directly into the glass bottles? Why do we have to cut them out one by one with scissors?"
Chen Lan pinched her neck and replied with a smile, "Little Watermelon, you're the smartest. Do you think I like being this troublesome? You should know that I dislike trouble the most! If the pills are taken out like you suggested, they will be very susceptible to moisture. Once the pills get damp, they will lose their medicinal properties. Do you understand?"
Seeing Xiangxi's dejected look, Chen Lan decided to give him a treat. She said, "Little Watermelon, work hard, and we'll have a big meal tonight."
Upon hearing about a big meal, Xiangxi immediately perked up. He began to complain, "Little Lanzi, look at me, haven't I lost a lot of weight?"
Chen Lan glanced at him and shook her head, "I can't tell. Little Watermelon, have you lost weight?"
Xiangxi continued, "Little Lanzi, what are you saying! Look again carefully. I must have lost a lot of weight. You don't know what I've been eating these past few days. It's really hard to describe! Little Lanzi, do you know..."
Xiangxi rambled on and on about how poor the camp's food was, how bad the head chef's cooking was, and how he only knew how to add salt when cooking...
Chen Lan immediately exclaimed, "Stop, Little Watermelon, you've just never experienced hardship and you're being fussy. If you were starved for a few meals, you'd find anything delicious.
Xiangxi immediately retorted, "How am I being fussy! It's really not tasty; it's almost inedible. It only serves to fill your stomach without being hungry."
Chen Lan was amused by Xiangxi's words and retorted, "Little Watermelon, the drought has been so long, and you're still not satisfied with just filling your stomach without being hungry. You truly haven't starved. This time when we go out to get food, you must put in a lot of effort, and then you'll understand the value of every grain of rice."
Xiangxi replied indifferently, "I'll go if you say so. Who's afraid of whom? But, Little Lanzi, you promised me that big meal tonight, and you can't go back on your word."