Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 168: I Want to Learn Massage

Li Xu was good-natured. He had Da Zhu Mother stand with her back to him and gently pressed both sides of her waist with his hands. "Does it hurt here? ...How about here?"

His fingers precisely located several tender points, and he began the Massage with a specific technique.

Da Zhu Mother first grimaced in pain, but her expression gradually relaxed. "Ooh... that feels good... right there... ah..."

The onlooking women stared, dumbfounded.

In less than ten minutes, Da Zhu Mother could already twist her waist freely. "It’s a miracle! It really doesn’t hurt anymore! Doctor Li, which hospital are you from?"

"Third Auntie! We have to go!" Seeing things were getting out of hand, Song Sisi quickly grabbed Li Xu to break through the crowd.

Third Auntie snapped back to reality and shielded the two of them as they fought their way out of the encirclement. Behind them, the women’s enthusiastic invitations followed: "Doctor, come visit my house when you have time!"

"My husband’s legs have been hurting for years..."

After turning through a few small alleys, they finally arrived at Third Auntie’s house.

It was a newly built, two-story house. A few Chinese roses were planted in the courtyard, blooming vibrantly.

Third Auntie rushed into the kitchen like a whirlwind and, a short while later, brought out a table full of dishes—braised free-range chicken, steamed crucian carp, stir-fried pork with cured chili peppers... The aroma was overwhelming.

"Don’t be shy, eat while it’s hot!" Third Auntie placed a large chicken drumstick in Li Xu’s bowl. "Doctor Li, this problem my Haochen has, will it come back?"

’This was the real reason she had insisted on treating Li Xu to a meal.’

Her son’s bleeding had stopped this time.

’But what about next time?’

’Use stove ash again?’

’Wouldn’t it be better if his nosebleeds could be cured completely?’

Li Xu put down his chopsticks and beckoned Haochen over.

The little boy had already regained his energy and was hiding behind his mother, peeking at this "Mage Uncle."

"Stick out your tongue for me." Li Xu carefully observed Haochen’s tongue—the body of it was reddish, with a thin, yellow coating.

He then took his pulse, which was thready and rapid.

"The boy has heat in his body. When this heat causes the blood to move recklessly, it can easily lead to nosebleeds," he explained. "Does he usually like to eat spicy and fried foods?"

Third Auntie nodded repeatedly. "He loves spicy sticks! If I don’t buy them for him, he throws a fit!"

"You can try boiling cogon grass root in water for him to drink," Li Xu said. "Cogon grass root is sweet and cold in nature. It can cool the blood and stop bleeding, making it ideal for nosebleeds in children."

"Cogon grass root? Is that the kind of grass root by the river?" Third Auntie’s eyes lit up. "There’s tons of it on the riverbank behind our village!"

Li Xu nodded. "Pick the thick ones, wash them clean, and cut them into sections. Use 30 grams each time to boil in water. Add some rock sugar, and he’ll like it more."

He thought for a moment and added, "Also, have him eat fewer spicy foods and more cooling foods like pears and lotus root."

As if she’d found a priceless treasure, Third Auntie forgot all about eating and took out a small notebook to jot everything down carefully.

"Oh, right," Li Xu suddenly remembered something. "If his nose starts bleeding again unexpectedly, you can still use the method I showed you. Get some stove ash, but remember, it has to be ash from burning plants..."

After finishing their meal, the two didn’t linger and left in a hurry.

Otherwise, they might not have been able to get out of Dasong Villa at all that day.

On the way back, Li Xu received a call from Lin Xiaoyu. "Dr. Li, why is your clinic closed today?"

"Oh, my apologies. I had to go out for something today and forgot to tell you."

"That’s okay, I’ll come by tomorrow."

"Alright."

After hanging up, Song Sisi said with a serious expression, "Boss, I want to learn Massage."

"For real?"

"Of course." Song Sisi nodded. "I’ve already learned to identify all the herbs. I feel like I’m not growing by just filling prescriptions for you every day. Massage is different. Once I learn it, I could open my own massage parlor, even if you decide you don’t need me anymore."

"Haha, don’t worry about such things. Why would I ever not need you? But if you want to learn, I’ll teach you."

"Then it’s a deal."

...

「City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.」

「Internal Medicine Department.」

Hu Qiming was in a consultation session with Deputy Chief Physician Lin Guorui.

An elderly man walked in.

"Doctor, I’m here for a follow-up," the man said with a cheerful smile as he sat down, handing over his registration slip.

Lin Guorui pulled up the patient’s records on the computer. "Uncle Qian, is it? You were last here for the edema in your legs and feet."

The medical record showed the details of his last visit. "Hmm... I prescribed the True Martial Pill. How did that work for you?"

The moment Uncle Qian heard this, his face lit up. "It’s a miracle! This time, the True Martial Pill was absolutely miraculous!"

He deftly rolled up his pant leg, revealing a skinny but no longer swollen calf. "Look! I saw results after just three days, and now the swelling is completely gone!"

Lin Guorui was visibly taken aback.

He put on a pair of gloves and carefully examined Uncle Qian’s legs. The pitting edema, which previously left an indentation when pressed, had indeed disappeared, and his skin had returned to its normal elasticity.

"This..." Lin Guorui frowned, looking back at the previous records. "You’ve taken the True Martial Pill before, haven’t you? The effects were mediocre, as I recall."

"Exactly!" Uncle Qian slapped his thigh. "The ones I took before were like candy. This time was different!"

He pulled a medicine box from his pocket. "This one! It’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth it!"

Hu Qiming recognized the familiar packaging at a glance—the True Martial Pill from Ding’s Pharmaceutical.

He had seen it at Li Xu’s clinic the last time he visited.

He secretly glanced at Director Lin and saw him staring at the medicine box, lost in thought.

"Ding’s Pharmaceutical?" Lin Guorui read the name on the box, his brow furrowing even more. "I feel like I’ve heard that name recently..."

Hu Qiming couldn’t help but remind him in a low voice, "It’s the one the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is using. The formula was provided by my classmate, Li Xu..."

Lin Guorui’s expression instantly soured.

"A single case doesn’t prove anything. A drug’s efficacy varies from person to person. It’s possible this just happened to be the right treatment for him." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The atmosphere in the consultation room suddenly became awkward.

Uncle Qian, oblivious to the change, was still chattering away. "Doctor, I’ve had this old problem for so many years. Is there any medicine I haven’t tried? This time was really different! Look at my energy levels..."

Seeing Director Lin’s darkening expression, Hu Qiming knew better than to say another word and shut his mouth.

"Continue taking it for another course of treatment to consolidate the effects," Lin Guorui finally said, typing out a prescription on the computer. "True Martial Pill, take for one week..."

Uncle Qian craned his neck to look at the computer screen. "Doctor, does the hospital pharmacy have this brand of the True Martial Pill? If not, I won’t get the medicine from here."

Lin Guorui’s voice hitched, and his expression grew even uglier.

He was responsible for writing prescriptions, but he couldn’t force a patient to fill it at the hospital pharmacy.

As long as the medicine from a regular pharmacy was genuine and up to standard, it was fine.

"The hospital doesn’t have it. Go buy it from a pharmacy."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Uncle Qian left happily with his prescription slip.

A silence fell over the consultation room.

Hu Qiming kept his head down, pretending to look through a medical file, but his mind wasn’t on it at all.

"Do you think the True Martial Pill from Ding’s Pharmaceutical is really that effective?"

Lin Guorui asked suddenly.

"Uh..."

Hu Qiming first glanced at the other man’s face. Seeing that he wasn’t angry, he said cautiously, "Director Lin, I have a classmate at the District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. They’ve been using the True Martial Pill from Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory recently, and the results are supposedly quite good..."

Lin Guorui thought for a moment, then picked up his phone.

Hu Qiming had an acquaintance at the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Having been a doctor for over a decade, he naturally had acquaintances there as well.

"Old Gao, busy lately?"

"It’s alright. We’re a small hospital, can’t compare to you guys at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. We don’t have that many patients. What’s got you calling me out of the blue?"

"I wanted to ask, how effective is the True Martial Pill you’re using at your hospital? The one produced by Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory..."

"Well..."

"Is there something you can’t say?"

"Heh heh, the hospital director issued a gag order. I’m only telling you, so don’t spread it around. The effects are excellent. Our hospital’s recovery rate has gone up a lot..."