Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 224: Stroke
After a few rounds of drinks and several courses, the group had reached a consensus on the Shanyang County project.
"Chairman Ding is right," said the pot-bellied Chairman Zhao, holding his glass. "We're businessmen, not philanthropists. Investments have to show a return. That mess in Shanyang County is a money pit—whoever invests is doomed. At the city meeting tomorrow, I'll stick to that line: they can have my life, but they're not getting my money!"
"I feel the same way," President Qian chimed in. "We can't just let the government paint some pretty picture and expect us to pour our hard-earned cash into it, can we?"
Sun Qingli smiled at Ding Aiguo and said, "Old Ding, your son Kaifang really has a sharp mind, gathering us all beforehand to get on the same page. Otherwise, they might have actually managed to divide and conquer us tomorrow."
Ding Aiguo laughed heartily. "It's all for the company, for the livelihoods of the thousands of employees under us."
Just then, Ding Kaifang clapped his hands, signaling a waiter to bring in the final, show-stopping dish.
A massive blue-and-white porcelain basin was placed on the table, filled with tender, golden-brown stewed beef that smelled heavenly.
"Uncles, please try some." Ding Kaifang stood up, introducing the dish with a hint of pride. "This isn't just any ordinary beef. You all remember what I posted on my social media a couple of days ago, about a friend of mine who acquired a top-grade Natural Bezoar?"
Everyone nodded. The story had already made the rounds in their circle.
"This beef is from that very same ox," Ding Kaifang said mysteriously. "My friend sold the meat to me. I did a little research, and supposedly the medicinal properties of the Bezoar permeated its entire body. There's no scientific basis for it, of course, but it's for good luck. Who knows, eating it might even ward off all illnesses!"
"Haha, is that so?" Chairman Zhao picked up a large piece and put it in his mouth. "Mm, it really is delicious. Must be the placebo effect, but I feel like my back and legs don't ache anymore."
The room erupted in laughter, and the atmosphere grew even more congenial.
Sun Qingli also smiled, picked up a piece, and praised, "Kaifang is a good kid. He really knows how to get things done."
He picked up his white liquor glass and said to Ding Aiguo, "Old Ding, come on. It's been a while. Let's have one."
"Alright, Old Sun, bottoms up!" Ding Aiguo also raised his glass with gusto.
The two of them drained their glasses of the fiery white liquor in one go.
Sun Qingli lowered his glass, a flush spreading across his face. He was about to say something more when his expression suddenly froze.
"Urgh..."
A strange sound came from his throat, and the hand holding the glass began to tremble violently.
CRASH! The glass slipped from his hand, shattering on the floor. The sharp sound silenced the entire private room in an instant.
All eyes were fixed on Sun Qingli.
His body slumped to the left, one entire side seeming to have lost all its strength as he collapsed limply in his chair.
His mouth twisted to one side, and drool trickled uncontrollably from the corner.
His eyes were wide with terror and despair, his eyeballs rolling upward involuntarily.
He tried to speak, but all that came out was a ragged, hoarse "Hhh... hhh..." like the sound of a broken bellows.
"Old Sun!" Ding Aiguo, who was closest, was the first to react. His face went pale as he shouted and reached out to steady Sun Qingli's swaying body.
"Uncle Qingli!" Ding Kaifang rushed over.
"This is bad! It's a stroke!" Chairman Zhao, being more experienced, cried out in alarm.
The room instantly descended into chaos.
Some people fumbled to apply pressure to the philtrum below his nose, while others frantically pulled out their phones.
"Call 911!" Ding Kaifang was the quickest to react. He was already dialing the emergency number as he yelled, "Hello! Is this 911? We're at the Feng City Restaurant! Someone is having a stroke, it's critical! Please send an ambulance immediately!"
As he rattled off the address and symptoms to the operator, Ding Kaifang's heart sank.
'He knew that with a stroke, time is life. From here to the nearest hospital, even if the ambulance got green lights all the way, it would take fifteen to twenty minutes at best. And during those precious minutes, the damage to the brain is irreversible. By the time the ambulance arrived, even if they saved him, he would likely be left with severe long-term effects, or even end up in a vegetative state.'
They had another option: they all had cars and could drive him to the hospital immediately.
But none of them were doctors.
They wouldn't know how to care for him on the way.
An ambulance, on the other hand, would have paramedics who could start treatment right away.
All things considered,
they decided to wait for the ambulance.
「Meanwhile.」
Ding Aiguo was beside himself with regret.
He knew Sun Qingli had cardiovascular problems and had rarely drunk any alcohol in the past year.
'I should have stopped him from drinking today,' 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
he thought.
"This is all my fault, all my fault..."
As Ding Aiguo was wallowing in regret, he suddenly remembered the An Gong Bezoar Pill he had just acquired that day.
"Don't touch him!" Ding Aiguo bellowed, his voice cutting through the panic and startling everyone into stillness.
He then spun around, rushed to his coat on the rack, and pulled a small wooden box from an inner pocket.
He opened it,
roughly scraped off the sealing wax, pried out the porcelain vial, pulled the stopper, and tipped the gold foil-wrapped pill into his palm.
"Kaifang! Get some warm water! Quick!" Ding Aiguo yelled to his son.
Ding Kaifang's eyes lit up when he saw the pill.
He snatched the lukewarm teapot from the table.
The pill was too large
to be swallowed whole.
Ding Aiguo placed the gold foil pill in a clean teacup and quickly crushed it with the handle of a spoon.
The golden coating flaked away, revealing the dark brown pill within. An intense, commanding medicinal aroma instantly filled the air.
"Pour the water!"
Warm water was poured into the cup, and the powder dissolved quickly, turning into a murky, brownish liquid.
By now, Sun Qingli had slipped into a semi-conscious state. His jaw was clenched shut, and his breathing had become faint.
"Old Zhao, Old Qian, help me hold him steady!" Ding Aiguo commanded in a low voice. "Kaifang, help me pry his mouth open!"
Several people scrambled to hold Sun Qingli securely in his chair.
Ding Kaifang, casting aside all hesitation, used two fingers to forcefully pry open Sun Qingli's jaw.
Ding Aiguo picked up the cup. With one hand cradling the back of Sun Qingli's head, he carefully poured the medicinal liquid into his mouth, drop by drop, from the corner of his lips.
The liquid was bitter, and mixed with saliva, it kept dribbling out from the corners of Sun Qingli's mouth.
Ding Aiguo paid it no mind, focusing solely on administering the medicine.
Time seemed to freeze in that moment.
The private room was deathly silent, the only sounds being the heavy breathing of the onlookers and the "GULP" from Sun Qingli's throat as he struggled to swallow the liquid.
Most of the cup's contents were successfully administered.
Ding Aiguo breathed a sigh of relief, his forehead covered in beads of sweat.
He set the cup down. Everyone's eyes were glued to Sun Qingli, their hearts filled with a mixture of anxiety and hope.
Chairman Zhao asked in a low voice, "Old Ding, what medicine is that?"
Ding Aiguo didn't hide it. "An Gong Bezoar Pill. It's used for treating acute strokes."
"What?"
Chairman Zhao and President Qian exchanged a look of utter shock.
The An Gong Bezoar Pill—who among men of their age and wealth hadn't heard of it?
It was a legendary medicine, hailed as a "Divine Medicine for strokes" and a "life-saving Immortal Pill."
The version made before 1993, which used Natural Rhino Horn and natural musk, was particularly sought after, its price driven to astronomical heights. It was priceless and nearly impossible to find, with a single pill being incredibly rare.
But a legend was just a legend.
They had seen Sun Qingli's condition with their own eyes.
The twisted mouth and eyes, the inability to speak, the semi-paralyzed body—these were all symptoms of a classic, severe stroke. It was an extremely dangerous situation.
Could a single pill really pull someone back from death's door?
Could the legendary An Gong Bezoar Pill truly create a real-life miracle, right here, right now?
