Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 196: As Effective As Ever
At twenty-three, Ji Youyou started dieting.
At twenty-four, her family discovered for the first time that she wasn’t eating.
Her weight was plummeting, and her ribs had even begun to protrude through her clothes.
People around her grew more and more shocked by her appearance, but she thought she looked wonderful.
Ji Youyou was always clever about hiding her condition and deflecting attention.
For instance, she would tell people she wasn’t dieting anymore.
But when she went out with others, she would order different dishes and then have everyone try a portion to reduce her own intake.
She also spent a great deal of time exercising every day to burn calories.
At twenty-six, her health began to deteriorate.
She missed numerous rehearsals and performances because of problems with her immune system, which caused her to fall ill constantly.
She also became addicted to laxatives. To burn more calories, she started taking ten times the recommended dose of thyroid medication.
Afterward, Ji Youyou began systematic treatment for anorexia.
Li Xu had also obtained Ji Youyou’s previous medical records.
But according to her therapist, Ji Youyou felt she had never received any affection and was extremely lonely.
Corroborating this, her family still didn’t truly care about her. They just wanted her to be fixed quickly, like a machine.
Although her weight gradually recovered with treatment and she overcame her addiction to laxatives, she still had an extreme aversion to eating.
And now, she was showing signs of a relapse.
She heard from other anorexia patients that Li Xu had cured many people.
So she sought him out.
However, Li Xu didn’t have any of the special rice to spare at the time, so things were delayed until now.
He called Ji Youyou and told her to come in the next day.
...
「The next day.」
The weather had grown colder.
Not long after Li Xu put on a sweater and his white coat, a patient arrived.
Song Sisi was still in the back, eating a steamed bun.
A woman, bundled up from head to toe, stood in the doorway.
Oversized sunglasses covered half her face, a mask was pulled up to the bridge of her nose, and a baseball cap was tugged down low, revealing only a few strands of dry, yellowed hair.
She wore a gray trench coat that was clearly several sizes too large, looking as if she might disappear inside it.
"Are you Miss Ji?"
Li Xu asked.
The woman nodded slightly, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her coat.
Li Xu noticed her hands—the knuckles were sharp, the veins pronounced, and the skin was so thin it was nearly transparent, like paper on the verge of tearing.
"Please come in, Miss Ji." Li Xu gestured for her to enter the consultation room.
Song Sisi was thrilled.
She was a fan of Ji Youyou.
The last time Ji Youyou came for a consultation, she had really wanted to ask for an autograph.
But the woman had been in such poor spirits that she hadn’t dared to ask.
’This time, the boss has the rice. After he cures her, maybe I’ll finally get that autograph!’
Inside the consultation room, Ji Youyou slowly took off her trench coat, and the sight underneath made Song Sisi, who had leaned in for a closer look, gasp.
She was wearing a baggy black sweater, but the outlines of her shoulders and arms were still visible, as if the clothes were hanging directly on a skeleton.
Her jeans looked empty, as if there was nothing inside them.
When she removed her sunglasses and mask, she revealed a face so emaciated it was almost unrecognizable—her cheekbones were high and sharp, her eye sockets were sunken, and her lips were chapped and pale.
"Please... please have a seat." Song Sisi quickly pulled a chair over. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
As Ji Youyou sat down, Li Xu noticed she first wiped the surface of the chair with a tissue before carefully perching on just the front third of the seat.
Her knees were pressed tightly together, her hands were folded in her lap, and her index finger tapped restlessly against the back of her other hand, as if she were counting something.
"Miss Ji, could you place your wrist here? I need to take your pulse." Li Xu pushed the Pulse Pillow forward.
Ji Youyou extended her left arm. Her wrist was so thin Li Xu could have encircled it with just two fingers.
Her skin was ice-cold, and her pulse was faint and rapid.
Li Xu closed his eyes to concentrate, his three fingers resting lightly on the cun, guan, and chi pulse positions. His brow gradually furrowed.
"The function of your spleen and stomach is severely damaged, and you’re deficient in both qi and blood," Li Xu said gravely. "There’s also significant liver qi stagnation, indicating long-term emotional distress. Your stomach meridian shows almost no reaction. This is very dangerous."
A bitter smile touched the corner of Ji Youyou’s mouth. "I know. When I was hospitalized, the doctors told me that if I kept this up, my heart could stop at any moment."
Her voice was hoarse, nothing like the beautiful sound it had when she sang.
"When was the last time you ate a proper meal?" Li Xu asked.
Ji Youyou’s gaze drifted away. "Three days ago... I had half a slice of toast and some vegetable broth."
She paused, then added, "And then... I threw most of it up."
Li Xu nodded and said no more.
He went straight to a cabinet and took out some of the raw rice he had harvested the day before.
The grains were plumper than ordinary rice and gave off a peculiar, fresh fragrance, like paddy fields in the morning dew mixed with the scent of medicinal herbs.
Ji Youyou’s previously vacant gaze suddenly focused on the bowl. She leaned forward slightly, her nostrils flaring. "What... what kind of rice is this?"
"The rice that can treat anorexia." Li Xu pushed the bowl a little closer. "Smell it. Do you still feel repulsed?"
Ji Youyou leaned in hesitantly. Suddenly, her eyes widened.
A long-forgotten sensation rose from her stomach—not nausea, not fear, but a primal, instinctual craving.
She swallowed involuntarily.
"I... I want to try it." The words tumbled out, surprising even herself.
For years, eating had been a forced act for her—a result of pressure from doctors and family, a numbers game with her weight. She had never once felt a spontaneous desire to eat.
Li Xu wore an expression that said he knew this would happen. "Sisi, go cook a bowl of rice. Use this."
Song Sisi carefully measured out half a cup of rice and washed it three times—this was at Ji Youyou’s insistence; she had to be sure every single grain was clean.
As the rice cooker started, an indescribable aroma gradually filled the entire clinic.
It wasn’t the smell of ordinary rice, but a rich fragrance with the sweet clarity of herbs, reminiscent of fields after the rain and a sun-drenched granary.
Ji Youyou shifted restlessly, her fingers drumming on the tabletop, but her eyes remained fixed in the direction of the rice cooker.
When Song Sisi finally brought out a bowl of steaming rice, Ji Youyou’s body leaned forward slightly, like a child longing for candy.
"Careful, it’s hot." Li Xu took the bowl and placed it in front of Ji Youyou.
Ji Youyou stared at the bowl. The translucent grains were perfectly distinct, gleaming with an alluring luster.
She picked up the spoon, her hand trembling slightly, scooped up a small amount, and blew on it gently.
The moment the first mouthful of rice entered her mouth, her eyes suddenly grew moist.
The warm grains melted on her tongue, releasing a sweet fragrance she had never experienced before.
It wasn’t the taste of seasoning, but the purest, most delightful flavor of the grain itself.
She chewed slowly, feeling the texture of each grain breaking between her teeth as tears streamed silently down her face.
"Is it good?" Li Xu asked.
Ji Youyou nodded, unable to speak.
She scooped up another spoonful, this time a larger one.
The warm rice slid down her esophagus, and she could almost feel the warmth spreading all the way to her stomach, as if a small lamp had just been lit there.
The bowl of rice was empty in no time.
Ji Youyou looked at the empty bowl, still wanting more. She asked hesitantly, "Can... can I have a little more?"
