Kraft saw the visitor, who was alone and did not appear to be feeling well.

He was probably the man Liston called "living in a place like the salt tide." Inferior linen clothes, with mending and threads that can be seen a few steps away, smell fishy when approached.

The student who came to report did not lead him to any empty room, but allowed him to stand in the hall of the medical school, and the black-robed people who came and went occasionally cast strange glances, and the environment invisibly rejected this strange intruder.

A dock hire, Kraft made his judgment.

The student who had come to tell him took Kraft down the hall and whispered, "I didn't want to disturb you, but he insisted that he only wanted to see you, and he wouldn't tell me why. I wonder if there is something special about it? ”

"Thank you, Matt, and please do the same next time." Kraft called out his name accurately, nodded to him in thanks, and the student left flattered.

Seeing off the students, Kraft observed the visitor as he approached. His eyes were fixed on the ground, his trouser legs and shoes were wet, and he felt like he had just come from some damp place, eighty percent of which was seawater, and the place he stepped on would leave a layer of salt frost when it dried out.

That's probably why the student didn't take him inside.

"Hello, I'm Kraft, is there anything I can do to help?" Kraft stood still in front of him and expertly greeted him.

"Ah, hello, that's me." He shuddered, as if taken aback, and shifted his gaze to Kraft's black robe, "I've heard that you can cure some diseases here that others can't......"

He paused for a moment and asked in an uncertain tone, "And only five silver coins?" ”

Well, it's another rumor that I don't know which version it is, and it seems that the rumor has quickly developed into a cure for incurable diseases.

I do come across some of these patients these days. Because of the outrageous rumors, he came to the medical school with a condition that had nothing to do with abdominal pain, and made all kinds of demands, which really gave Kraft a headache for a while.

However, the professionalism still made him force himself to be serious and complete the standard process.

"Actually, there are some differences, but if something is uncomfortable, we can find a place to sit and talk." Kraft wasn't polite, he wasn't used to this kind of environment, and maybe when he should apply for a special reception room.

"No, no, just say it here. Is it really only five silver coins? The visitor held out his hand, and it was then that Kraft noticed that he had been holding five black silver coins in his hand.

To put it bluntly, this black silver coin is too dark, and it can't be blamed for too many private coinage, because the preservation environment is too poor, and the value has to fall by a notch.

"Please come with me, talk in a quiet place, just as a chat, my time is not money."

As the saying goes, everyone is coming, but you can't drive people away. Kraft found an empty room nearby, brought two chairs, and asked him to sit down.

After changing places, the visitor seemed to relax a little, and talked about his problems intermittently, "I don't know when it started, but it seems that I sleep longer and longer." I know it's weird to say that, but my situation is different. ”

"I work as a hired hand on the docks, and I have to go there every day to find work, and I usually wake up early. At first, I didn't notice it, but one day I woke up when the sun was shining on my face. ”

"Then I noticed that I woke up late, and I asked my wife to wake me up in the morning, only to find out that she was the same."

"Will you be overworked during this time?" Kraft rubbed his eyes, saying that the topic brought up his sleepiness. Lately, he hasn't slept well, his nap time has been shortened, and his working hours have become increasingly anti-human.

"No, no, no, I'm definitely not like that. Since then, I've been waking up later and later, and I'm more sleepy at night, and now I'm sleeping half the morning before I wake up. ”

"I went to several clinics, and they all thought that I didn't have any disease at all, and the medicine I was prescribed didn't work."

His words were filled with incomprehensible panic and confusion, and his eyes looked at Kraft, hoping to find a glimmer of recognition.

"Is there anything else wrong? For example, cough, fever, etc.? Kraft adjusts his posture, leans forward, and listens. In fact, he didn't think it was a big deal, and he changed his posture just because he had a sore back after sitting for a long time.

It sounds like some kind of lifestyle change that disrupts the daily biological clock of the visitor and his wife, and everyone has experienced this experience, but Kraft is not deeply involved in this profession and has no special advice on this.

If you know how to wake up early naturally, will you be late for college classes?

Seeing that Kraft did not show the same signs of impatience as the others, the visitor continued his narrative, "I tried to get the neighbors to wake me up, but they did the same. In the end, I had to find a friend with whom I had a good relationship, and I was woken up by the dock in the morning. ”

"Neighbors too?"

"Yes, they also find themselves sleeping longer and longer. And my friend said that it was not easy to wake me up, he said that he called my name loudly in my ear and slapped my face so that he could wake up. The look of doubt on his face grew heavier and heavier, and he spoke of the strangest place.

"But...... But I'm not impressed at all, so I think I should have some feeling when I'm half-awake, right? ”

"Like only being asleep and awake? You just said that your wife is like this, have you tried it on her? Kraft grabbed the handrail and propped himself up.

"Yes, my wife is like that too, it's hard to wake up, and I don't remember what happened, so I believe him." The arm wrapped in burlap trembled slightly, "I really feel sick." If you go too late, you'll have to work for half a day, and you can't get by. ”

"What about your neighbors, they have a hard time waking up?"

"I didn't ask them this. I know that's all I know. He fell silent, looking at Kraft expectantly, hoping for a different answer.

If he hadn't lied or concealed it, Kraft really couldn't find anything to match his symptoms. What is this going to be called? "Progressive sleep prolongation"?

Such a bald thing is not without precedent, and all kinds of strange complaints have hidden truths behind them, either the patient has made a mistake or key information has been missed.

For example, when I got up overnight and had hematuria, I found nothing for the indications of kidney disease, and finally found that I had eaten half a box of red heart dragon fruit last night.

For example, the famous advertising slogan "Children are sick and old, most of them are pretending, and they are beaten ......"

In short, the patient is not wrong, if you want to blame, you can't ask clearly, and the responsibility lies with him. Even if he is pretending to be sick, you have to show him that you have to understand.

"Okay, I see what you mean. I'm going to ask some questions in more detail, which may sound unrelated to your illness, but they are all necessary. Kraft dipped himself in ink and spread the paper, "First of all, can you tell me your name and where you live?" ”

"My name is Gary and I live in the Salt Tide District."

"Where?" Kraft jotted down his name on a piece of paper and divided the address bar next to it.

"I ...... I can't tell, is this important? Gary couldn't answer the question, "In the salt tide area, near the church, there is a salted fish place next to it, and there is a tree in front of the door. ”

Kraft covered his forehead, deeply aware of Liston's pain. He actually knew about the salt tide area, but he had never been there, and he never wanted to go in.

This place is equivalent to the slum of Wendeng Port, with completely irregular architecture, typical of the early days of urban construction without planned development.

The name is so low that the tide sometimes overflows here, leaving wet mud and large and small puddles of saltwater, which when dried in the sun, leave behind the smell of fine salt particles and dead creatures.

People who could not afford to settle in other areas of Wenden Harbour were squeezed into this rotten land, and they built all kinds of dwelling shacks on their own, which expanded in tandem with the development of Wenden Harbour, becoming a gray urban area that the city did not want to recognize.

There are no normal streets inside, just narrow alleys between crooked and inferior houses, crawling and staggering irregularly, and growing with the arrival of more people every year. The accumulation of untreated dirt has deteriorated to the point where it is impossible to sort it out, and the more inwardly it is, the more so.

In the past, Kraft, as a small aristocratic child who came to Wendeng Harbor to have fun, of course, could not go in, at most he passed by the edge, and avoided it when he smelled a strange smell.

The city's administrators didn't bother to send people in, allowing the salt tide area to become a three-way zone, in which chaos and disorder flourished.

The hated Wenden Harbour Characteristic Seawater Prison is also placed on the seaward side of the salt tide area, and everything that is not suitable for a clean city is thrown into this salty and wet garbage can.

It's simply not possible to go in and do a follow-up.

"Ugh." Kraft sighed and wrote a general "Salt Tide Zone, Northwest" in the address field, noting the sign he had said.

"It's fine, it doesn't have much impact. Do you and your neighbors have a habit of closing the windows in your room to keep warm? ”

"No, firewood is susceptible to moisture and mold."

……

……

Kraft found nothing.

Gary's life was full of problems, including a single diet, lack of vitamins, long-term living in damp places, and heavy physical labor.

None of them could single out what explained the Garys' symptoms. Considering that there are neighbors, it is probably the influence of the surrounding environmental factors, and there will be no results if you don't go to the scene to see.

If you go, you may not find anything.

"Sorry, I don't have a clue for the time being, this is the first time I've been exposed to such a situation." Kraft shook his head and said, "If you can, come to me in two days, and I'll try to find out the reason with you as much time as possible." ”

"No, no." Gary lowered his head and didn't say much, perhaps he understood the remark as a euphemistic rejection.

He got up from his chair, pulled the door open himself, and left quietly without pain or anger. Gray emotions enveloped him, without words, and clearly smeared all over his body, and anyone could read the heavy depression.

Before stepping out the door, he turned to face Kraft and left one last word before leaving, "Thank you, you are the only one who will listen to me, may the Lord bless you with good health." ”