Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Interference

I did think of somewhat terrible scenes saying treatment of Boer War wounded.

Emergency surgery of penetrating wounds by bullets, or injuries obtained from explosions?

But thinking about it from South Africa to London Britain by ship alone it takes at least 2 weeks distance, transporting such urgent patients to London and operating was an unnecessary matter common sense-wise.

Ordinary emergency treatment or procedures would already have been finished on site that talk.

So treatment in London was, the level of cutting out again the part that necrosed later because emergency treatment went wrong, or retrying treatment that failed on site.

For example breaking the wrongly set bone again and newly putting a splint, or helping rehabilitation training of soldiers who can't walk properly due to long hospital life.

Of course in the hot and poor environment of South Africa, and that wounds obtained on the battlefield being properly treated on site was an extremely rare situation.

No matter how much Nightingale improved the hygiene environment what doesn't work doesn't work.

So even though such a big hospital when realizing the fact that there are many disabled soldiers who need follow-up measures more urgent than imagined hospitalized, even I got a bit fed up.

Because such things were content newspapers would absolutely not deal with.

Mr. Doyle next to me also sighed along.

"This is exactly the reality of the Boer War. Even if dividing and accommodating in each hospital in London the beds are short. It's also the reason government support is absolutely necessary."

The faces of patients passing the corridor holding wheelchairs or crutches were full of fatigue and pain.

On the battlefield they might not have properly realized what situation they were in drunk on adrenaline, but returning to peaceful London and looking at their future they might have become miserable.

Moreover the 'cure' Colonel Ludwig said, looking into it wasn't that the wound heals normally and goes out. Just scab forms, and if becoming a level one can barely move the body it's counted as 'cure' all.

There's no antibiotic like penicillin, and no proper surgical technique!

Now it's an era of boiling medical tools saying they'll kill germs.

Beds are severely insufficient but patients continue to flock, and there's no leisure to hospitalize soldiers who need recovery long that.

A country that puts young people who should work for social development into the battlefield, and abandons the aftermath so irresponsibly.

Isn't this a bit too much?!

Turning and saying that point, Colonel Ludwig also lowered his head and made an expression as if self-reproaching.

"Even this level is improved so it's fortunate. It was possible because there were many sponsors. Even soldiers who lost part of the body on the battlefield we request to workshops and make such things so there's no difficulty in daily life."

He held out some latest medical device to me.

Yes, it certainly looked latest. By this era standards.

Creak, creak.

"How is it? If remaining up to the elbow one can even pick up a water cup with this, and if replacing the wrist part one can also mount a hammer or saw."

What he showed was a prosthetic arm. Wood with simple iron plate attached, made so one can grip fingers with spring and lever.

"This prosthetic arm and prosthetic leg were made with full navy budget support. Made ergonomically there's no inconvenience in actual use at all, and mounting can also be done with one hand only. Using division of labor method one can sufficiently produce 10 custom prosthetic arms a day. I put quite a lot of effort into the design. I also stayed up a bit at night together."

10?! Who are you attaching that to whose nose?!

At least people who can mount prosthetic arms or legs should be said better?

The appearance looked crude like unfinished automail, but unexpectedly practicality seemed sufficient. The point that one can rotate the wrist joint and mount tools was also quite practical.

The era being the era, such devices were essential for survival.

Fixing a leaking roof, or sawing and making simple furniture one has to be able to do directly to be recognized as an adult the world.

The colonel also showed off various devices and facilities inside the hospital like boasting besides that, but honestly in my eyes there was only one that could be called real 'latest'.

I was startled and stepped back.

"Why? Why are you moving so far away?"

"No... Isn't this a bit bizarre? Simply seeing through a person's body like this... By any chance did you sell your soul to the devil and make it?"

"Haha, I understand being surprised. It's X-ray that German Dr. Roentgen discovered, with this one can look inside a person's body in detail! It's a product of modern science development! Thanks to that one can check the state in real time without tearing open again the wounds of soldiers whose bones were wrongly set in South Africa. There's absolutely no need to be tense. In fact I was also very surprised when I first saw it!"

They were already using X-ray in 1901?!

Of course I acted as a country bumpkin ignorant of latest things, but it wasn't that I really stepped back surprised.

A person who even took CT in my previous life would be surprised at X-ray?!

But it's X-ray! Radiation! Cancer! Death ray!

Using such a thing openly without even knowing how much exposure in a state without shielding, isn't it crazy?!

So I absolutely didn't go close near that. I only firmly resolved not to make a matter of using that.

Anyway with that all the tour activities ended.

The colonel proudly guided every corner of the hospital, but my heart was not comfortable at all.

Rather what scratched my nerves was separate. A suspicious oily rancid smell that flowed in riding the wind.

A smell very annoying as a chef.

"Is there a kitchen nearby? It seems cooking smell is coming."

"Yes, there's a cafeteria in the next block. Because it's a place where many people reside one has to cook food in large quantities so good smell seems to waft up to here. Haha."

Good smell? No matter how I smell it's rancid oil?

And curiosity triggered from the conversation of the medical doctors just now.

What on earth are they feeding patients at hospitals in this era?

Common sense-wise low-salt diet is right.

Sodium has the property of holding body fluids, so if excessively intaking salt it can raise blood pressure and worsen body edema and slow natural healing.

Salt is extremely evil for trauma patients that talk.

But of course such research wouldn't have been done. I've heard some doctors with rich experience say to avoid salt intake, but would hospitals also do so?

Suddenly a strong impulse of wanting to interfere with hospital food arose.

Is this level of meddling okay? It's for the patients.

"By any chance can I look around the kitchen? I'm curious what they prepare as recovery food for patients."

"Of course. Please see this hospital's latest diet once. I'm also curious about the teacher's opinion. If there are matters to modify please advise without hesitation."

Colonel Ludwig, somehow it seems the speech habit attaches 'latest' to every word?

Well inside the hospital there were quite many things that looked latest.

The interior was also very clean more than thought, and one felt they were managing without even one speck of dust.

Seeing they even laid foot mats at the entrance so dirt dust outside the hospital doesn't enter inside it was clear they cared a lot.

Bed sheets also seem boiled periodically.

But as much as the kitchen state, especially as much as the food it absolutely wasn't latest.

Seeing the prepared hospital food I inwardly slightly startled.

So I asked the cook who was moving diligently.

"What on earth is that?"

"Ah, this is fishcake made with cod. Scraping only the fish meat and mixing with potato and frying. At our hospital we include fish like this in the diet every week for patients."

In one word it was croquette made with fish meat.

Because Britain preferred fried dishes like fish and chips it was a dish made along, and this was a dish that if made well one can make delicious as much as one wants differently from other British styles.

Cod is a representative white fish one can obtain cheaply in Britain.

The meat is also many and plain and there are few fine bones so easy to prepare, so if dishes using fish in Britain most the main ingredient was cod.

They do eat sardines too, but that one had to eat enduring strong fishy smell. However if cooking on strong fire the bones also soften and crumble so one can just chew and eat the fine bones so only not inconvenient to eat.

The problem wasn't the dish. It was the cooking state.

"But this is all cold? When did you make it?"

"Because the amount to prepare is many I continued making from morning. Ah, the ones over there are made yesterday. Still the taste is okay. Because I covered the lid so bugs don't stick."

Are bugs important now?!

Fried food is most delicious made and eaten right away is common sense.

As time passes the batter absorbs moisture in the air and becomes soggy, and if oil reacts with oxygen and oxidizes the flavor also drops sharply.

So fried dishes, in fact were perfectly the worst for the purpose of cooking something in large quantities and storing.

And fried food spoils soon if stored at this room temperature! One gets food poisoning!

Caring about hygiene for other things but leaving the food like this?!

Moreover that frying oil, when on earth did you change it?! The identity of the unpleasant smell floating in the air was exactly that cloudy cooking oil! Rancid to the point one couldn't even guess how many times used!

Eating fried food made with such a thing so the soldiers' expressions were so rotten! Would it even help wound recovery?!

I quickly dragged the colonel and Mr. Doyle to the back.

"Yes? Borrow the kitchen for a moment?"

"Yes, I have a simple cooking recipe that just came to mind, and I'd like to soothe the soldiers' tastes with that. As a visit gift."

"But as you see here is a hospital so there's no high-end cooking facilities, and one can't use expensive ingredients. Can decent food come out?"

"Don't worry. Facilities or ingredients are no problem. Just with what's here now is sufficient."

Hearing my words Colonel Ludwig disappeared somewhere, and soon brought a man who looked high rank.

When he muttered something to the cooks, everyone was startled and looked back at me. Somehow it seemed they immediately disclosed my identity.

The colonel waved his hand toward my side.

"They say they'll gladly lend the kitchen. But really how are you thinking of doing?"

"I won't make directly. I'll just inform the recipe so please make them follow as is. A better dish than thought will come out."

Special ingredients weren't needed. There was one East Asian common dish that can be easily modified if just adding starch to the ingredients used in fishcake.

That was exactly fish cake.

I was thinking of teaching the method of making handmade fish cake. And that a version made without oil.

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Fish cake.

It means jelly made with fish, but in fact looking at the cooking method it's close to meat dumplings made with fish meat.

The East Asian fish cake concept was directly translated as fishcake in English, and that was because dumplings made by scraping fish meat are a cooking method commonly used regardless of East and West.

If fish cake in Korea one usually recalls Japanese-style fried oden, and that was because that recipe became popular during the Japanese colonial period.

If tracing the origin, it was food first offered to Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty, and originally not frying but steaming and eating.

In fact the method of cooking fish cake doesn't matter. If made properly both are delicious.

The making method is very simple.

Mashing the white meat of fish with bones removed and putting egg and starch and mixing, then just shaping is the end.

That is, even if just using starch instead of potato in British-style fishcake no other ingredients are needed that talk.

But if simply mixing only fish meat and starch the taste and texture become bland, so finely chopping onion and carrot, bell pepper a little and putting, and appropriately adding spices like salt and pepper was essential.

I directly demonstrated that to the hospital cooks.

"Come, after mixing the ingredients like this just appropriately tearing with hands and shaping round is fine. In fact the shape doesn't matter at all. One can make long or square, do as convenient. If doing this preparation ends right away. Easy, right?"

If I had my electric grinder I could grind the cod meat more easily, but even mashing with hands was sufficient.

"The teacher's method looks much more convenient than when making fishcake. But is there a need to do this much? Isn't familiar cooking better?"

"Of course there's a difference. Even the same ingredients if changing the cooking method the flavor and texture completely change. Potato and cod are a combination that representatively doesn't match."

"Doesn't match?!"

Fishcake was one of the few foods I ate both in previous and current life. But honestly both sides weren't good.

Potato and cod if used separately are excellent food ingredients, but if used together the taste and texture can easily go astray.

Cod is a very plain fish, almost no unique fish aroma and gives a neutral taste. Speaking it's an ingredient with a character like white canvas.

Potato is also bland and plain. So if combining the two instead of synergy effect it rather makes dissonance or becomes bland.

The taste is buried that talk. The texture was more serious.

Cod if cooked the meat easily crumbles, and is a fish easy to become dry because of little fat.

Similarly potato is also dry and even density high so if eaten alone it's a representative vegetable that chokes the throat.

If mixing these two no umami comes out at all. Bland, dry, stiff. That's the keyword of this dish.

It was no different from that terrible British home-style I got and ate at Nightingale's house.

"The time difference potato and cod take to cook is big. Potato cooks slowly but cod cooks soon. So no matter how one cooks it's easy to overcook or undercook."

That is fishcake is in fact a expert dish that requires quite delicate skill! Other European countries also know that problem so even if making the same fishcake they covered the taste with flavorful sauce or spices!

But Britain just eats fried without sauce all!

Trying to cook that in large quantities ordinary people would there be taste or not?!

"So if removing potato like this and changing to starch only the advantage of cod meat lives. The result you'll be able to confirm soon."

"Oho! Indeed! As heard the cooking knowledge is amazing!"

Fish cake is delicious even if fried, but even if not fried it's a sufficiently delicious dish.

If just leaving they'll continue using that rancid oil was obvious, so I was thinking of teaching a recipe without oil.

So I just put the fish cake lumps I made into the oven.