Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 154: The Progress of the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
"Ms. Wang, from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, your condition is what’s known as ’spleen and kidney Yang Qi deficiency with a dysregulation of your nutritive and defensive qi.’"
Lü Ying explained in terms the patient could understand. "The major blood loss from your miscarriage depleted the essential energy in your kidneys. Plus, with your history of stomach ulcers, your spleen’s Yang was already weak. Now, your Yang Qi is deficient both internally and externally, which is why you feel so cold. The disharmony between your nutritive and defensive systems is why you’re prone to colds and diarrhea. And when your Yang Qi can’t warm your spirit, it leads to poor sleep and low moods."
Ms. Wang’s eyes lit up. For the first time since she’d walked in the door, a flicker of hope showed on her face. "Can it be cured?"
"It will take time, but it can be improved."
Lü Ying began typing up a prescription on her computer—True Martial Soup to warm the kidney’s Yang Qi, strengthen the spleen, and promote urination, combined with Cinnamon Soup to harmonize the patient’s nutritive and defensive energies, and with added ingredients to soothe the liver and alleviate depression.
Processed Aconite, Poria Cocos, Fried Atractylodes, fried white peony, cinnamon, Cinnamon Bark, Wuzhuyu...
"The Aconite needs to be boiled for an hour first. This removes its toxicity but preserves its medicinal effects," Lü Ying specifically instructed. "Use a generous amount of ginger, avoid raw and cold foods while you’re on the medication, and be sure to keep warm."
Mr. Wang took the prescription, his fingers trembling slightly. "Dr. Lü, this... will it really be effective? I’ve already tried so many methods."
"Come back for a follow-up in one week. Contact me anytime if you notice any changes."
Lü Ying walked them to the door and added, "At night, try soaking your feet in hot ginger water before bed. It helps generate Yang Qi."
...
The Internal Medicine Department at Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Guo Yu was prescribing medicine for a patient.
The patient before him had gastroenteritis.
The patient had been to many places without finding a cure.
"I’ll prescribe you Fuzi Lichong Decoction. Be sure to stay warm..."
"Fuzi Lichong Decoction? I’ve had it before. It didn’t work well."
"Our hospital’s Fuzi Lichong Decoction is different. We use high-quality herbs, especially the Aconite—it’s extremely potent. Rest assured, it will absolutely be effective."
"Alright. I’ll go home and try it."
...
The Respiratory Department.
Attending physician Gao Jiandong was diagnosing an asthma patient.
"You have cold-type asthma. People with this condition often have insufficient Yang Qi in their spleen and kidneys. It requires the warmth and driving force of Yang Qi..."
"COUGH, COUGH... What medicine will you prescribe?"
"I’m prescribing you Little Cyan Dragon Soup with Aconite. Aconite is known as the ’chief of all medicines.’ It is acrid, sweet, and intensely hot. It has the ability to restore depleted Yang, supplement the body’s fire to support Yang, disperse cold, and resolve fluid retention. I’m going to prescribe a large dose; it will absolutely be effective."
"I’ve heard of Aconite. I hear it’s poisonous... It won’t damage my body, will it?"
"Rest assured, the Aconite we use here is high-quality. As long as you prepare the medicine according to my instructions, there will be absolutely no problem."
"Thank you, Doctor... COUGH, COUGH."
...
Aconite could be used to treat a wide range of illnesses.
Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine had switched to Jiangyou True Aconite.
Whenever an illness had several possible treatments, the doctors opted to use Aconite.
Even Gao Jiandong, who had never been fond of Li Xu, was using Aconite. He had personally inspected the herb and confirmed its high quality; it would have been unreasonable not to use it.
The feedback came quickly.
On the day of her follow-up appointment, Ms. Wang walked into the gynecology clinic.
Lü Ying’s eyes lit up when she saw her.
Although she was still wearing a thick coat, the gray pallor on her face had faded considerably. Most noticeably—she wasn’t wearing gloves today.
"Dr. Lü, the medicine is really working!" Ms. Wang spoke first, her voice much clearer than last time. "By the third day of taking it, I didn’t need to wear socks to bed anymore. My diarrhea is much better now, and I even sat in an air-conditioned office and didn’t catch a cold!"
Lü Ying smiled and motioned for her to extend her wrist.
This time, her pulse was still on the fine side, but it had lost its taut, string-like quality and become much softer.
Her tongue coating had also changed from white to a faint yellow, and the teeth marks along the edges were less pronounced.
"How about your sleep? Are you still waking up easily?"
"Much better. I still dream, but I can sleep through the night until dawn." Ms. Wang paused. "It’s just... my mood is still up and down."
Lü Ying nodded. "Restoring your Yang Qi is a process, and regulating your emotions is even more so. This time, I’ll make a small adjustment to the original prescription to enhance the effect of soothing the liver and regulating qi."
She added a few more herbs to the prescription.
After they left,
Lü Ying noted the effects of the Aconite in the diagnostic record.
Meanwhile,
In the internal medicine and respiratory departments, Guo Yu, Gao Jiandong, and the other doctors were also getting feedback from their patients.
The medicine was extremely effective; just a few doses brought significant relief to the patients’ symptoms. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
This made Guo Yu and the others even more confident and bold in their use of Aconite.
It created a virtuous cycle.
...
「Northwest Border.」
North Bay was in a unique geographical location.
The Eerqisi River snaked through the area, nourishing the land, but it also created a landscape dotted with swamps and wetlands.
Its abundant water, flat terrain, and humid air provided the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
There were almost no strong winds here, and a lack of fish that feed on mosquito larvae.
This allowed the mosquitoes to multiply en masse, ultimately creating the dreaded "Mosquito Kingdom."
The mosquitoes here were not the common type found in inland areas.
They were small, their bites were potent, and they were exceptionally resilient.
During peak season, there could be over 5,200 mosquitoes in a single cubic meter of air—a number so high it would make your skin crawl.
A bite from one of these mosquitoes wasn’t just a simple itchy, red bump.
It was more like a bee sting, instantly swelling into an egg-sized welt that itched unbearably and could even trigger a high fever.
Even protective suits couldn’t completely fend off their assault. The smallest tear would become a breach for the swarm.
Worse still, these mosquitoes carried all sorts of bacteria and viruses, posing a significant threat to a person’s health.
It was this extreme environment that made the North Bay area practically uninhabited, a veritable no-man’s-land.
The residents and herders who once lived here had been forced to leave, unable to endure the relentless torment of the mosquitoes.
Countless livestock and poultry had also died from the bites, turning this land into a dead zone.
But in this "dead zone," one group of people held their ground: the border soldiers.
Yang Tian was one of them.
He had nearly had a breakdown when he first arrived.
However, after several months of acclimatization,
he was still unable to adapt.
’It was so fucking miserable.’
Twenty large mosquito zappers were set up around the camp, running day and night. The constant ZAP-CRACKLE of mosquitoes being electrocuted filled the air.
Every morning, the moment the reveille sounded,
Yang Tian and his comrades’ first task of the day was to clean out the zappers.
The place was wet and rainy, and the mosquito corpses would rot easily, causing the machines to malfunction.
Yang Tian still remembered his first day, when he had to clean one of those zappers for the first time.
He was in shock for the entire day.
The sheer volume of dead mosquitoes inside could fill more than twenty military-style washbasins and weighed nearly six kilograms.
The mosquito carcasses rained down with a sickening rustle, making goosebumps break out all over his skin.
Before becoming a soldier, he had always lived inland.
In his entire eighteen years of life, he had never seen so many mosquitoes in one place.
