Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 33: Has a Few Tricks Up His Sleeve

Elephant dung carries a variety of pathogenic microorganisms, parasite eggs, and residual toxins.

These are difficult to eliminate through conventional means.

Even after disinfection, serious health risks remain.

Clearly, Zheng Wenwen and her friends had gotten sick from their little taste adventure.

And Li Xu had just tricked her into admitting it.

Seeing everyone’s shocked, skeptical, speechless, and disgusted gazes, Zheng Wenwen was in such a panic she couldn’t even feel her stomachache anymore. She hurriedly explained, "Don’t get the wrong idea... I didn’t eat human feces, it was elephant dung... No, an elephant dung dessert. Not quite, it was called ’ecological fusion cuisine.’ I ate it at a proper restaurant, and it cost 3,888 yuan a serving..."

Hu Qiming, Song Sisi, and the others had never heard of such a restaurant and were skeptical.

Aunt Li, however, didn’t believe a word of it.

’What nonsense.’

’Who would spend over 3,000 yuan just to eat dung?’

’Wouldn’t that make you a fool?’

She was about to press her further when Ding Aiguo, who was standing at the entrance, spoke up. "Such a thing does exist."

SWOOSH!

All eyes turned to Ding Aiguo.

Including his son, Ding Kaifang, and his granddaughter, Ding Duoduo.

His wife, Xue Mei, looked even more shocked and asked, "Aiguo... don’t tell me you’ve eaten it too?"

"What are you all thinking?"

Ding Aiguo was exasperated but also amused. "Some rich people get bored and like to seek out novelty. I have a few friends who once ate elephant dung in a rainforest. Just last week, I saw them showing it off on their social media. It was at a restaurant in Shanghai, which I assume is the same one Miss Zheng went to. I’ve never eaten it myself."

’So that’s how it is!’

Everyone came to a sudden realization.

Zheng Wenwen felt as if she had found an ally. The embarrassment faded, replaced by a hint of pride. ’See? It’s not just me. Even those tycoons eat it.’

"Hey, look! Elephant dung is trending."

Hu Qiming said in surprise, looking at his phone.

"Read it out,"

Li Xu instructed.

"’High-end Shanghai restaurant under investigation for launching elephant dung dessert...’"

The reason was simple: it violated food safety laws and regulations.

"See? These novelty foods have no safety guarantees. You’d better not eat them again in the future,"

Li Xu kindly reminded her.

Just then, Song Sisi finished preparing the medicine.

She came out carrying a bowl.

"Let me."

Aunt Li volunteered, taking the medicine and helping Zheng Wenwen to a chair to drink it.

Because it was an acute bacterial infection,

the medicine Li Xu prescribed was the right one for the job.

The severe pain subsided soon after she drank it.

However, a full recovery would still require a few days of recuperation.

"Aunt Li, you should take her to a hospital for a proper check-up, and get her stomach condition treated while you’re at it."

"Thank you, Xiao Xu."

Aunt Li, her face a mask of worry, pulled Zheng Wenwen towards the exit. "What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into..."

Ding Aiguo, still by the clinic door, regretted not leaving earlier.

If he left now,

people might misunderstand and think he was disgusted with the clinic.

Li Xu, unaware of Ding Aiguo’s thoughts, beckoned to them. "Why don’t you all come in? It’s a good chance to disinfect."

"Oh."

Ding Aiguo took the opportunity to step inside.

Ding Kaifang didn’t refuse either. After all, the sooner they disinfected, the better.

「A moment later.」

The smell of disinfectant still lingered in the air as everyone took a seat.

Ding Aiguo thanked Li Xu solemnly. "Doctor Li, it’s all thanks to your medicine. My wife has been sleeping much more soundly these past few days, and her complexion has improved as well."

Xue Mei nodded, a rare hint of color in her cheeks. "That Sandalwood Fragrance is truly miraculous. I just place it by my pillow, and I don’t even have nightmares anymore."

Li Xu had expected as much. He checked Xue Mei’s pulse again and adjusted her prescription. "One more course of treatment to consolidate the effects should stabilize your condition."

After thanking him again, Ding Aiguo’s gaze shifted to Duoduo, who had been hiding behind his son. His expression grew grave. "Doctor Li, there’s actually another matter I was hoping you could help with today..."

He pulled the frail Duoduo forward. The little girl’s face was pale, her lips were chapped, and her timid eyes made her look like a frightened little animal.

"This is my granddaughter, Duoduo. She developed anorexia half a year ago, and it’s been getting progressively worse..." Ding Aiguo’s voice was low. "Now she can’t even drink water. We’re keeping her alive with IV drips."

Xue Mei’s eyes reddened, and she turned away to wipe her tears.

Ding Kaifang sighed, looking deeply pained.

Hm?

A thought struck Li Xu—’The wild brown rice mentioned in the intel from the day before yesterday might be the perfect solution for this situation!’

He turned and walked to the medicine cabinet, taking out a small cloth bag. Inside was the brown rice he had gathered from Tang Mountain.

The grains were coarse and dull-colored, looking utterly unremarkable.

He had specifically made a bowl of congee with it yesterday.

It had turned out to be disgusting.

He wasn’t sure if someone with anorexia would be able to eat it.

If she couldn’t, then its effectiveness wouldn’t matter.

But before he could speak, the listless Duoduo suddenly lifted her head, her small nose twitching slightly as if she had smelled something.

"This...?" Li Xu was a little stunned.

The next second, Duoduo actually walked over on her own, reached out a scrawny little hand, grabbed a small handful of the brown rice from Li Xu, and shoved it directly into her mouth!

"Duoduo!" Ding Kaifang exclaimed, rushing to stop her.

Li Xu also caught Ding Duoduo’s hand and said gently, "Little one, this is raw. You can’t eat it."

But Ding Duoduo clenched her fist around the brown rice, refusing to let go for dear life.

Li Xu motioned for Ding Kaifang to step back.

He asked softly, "Little one, do you want to eat this?"

"Mhm."

Ding Duoduo gave a weak, frail nod.

"Then how about I cook it for you? You can have it as congee, okay?"

"Okay."

Only then did Ding Duoduo relax her hand.

Li Xu took back the brown rice and handed it to Song Sisi. "There’s a rice cooker in my room. Make a bowl of congee and add some honey."

"Alright."

Song Sisi went to the back room to get busy.

"Doctor Li, this..."

Ding Aiguo was both shocked and delighted. He had a suspicion, but he couldn’t be sure.

Xue Mei and Ding Kaifang felt the same.

They all looked at Li Xu in unison, wanting an answer, yet afraid it wouldn’t be the one they hoped for.

They were incredibly conflicted.

Li Xu smiled. "Don’t be anxious. We’ll know soon enough if it works."

It would take about half an hour to cook the congee.

For Ding Aiguo’s family, that half-hour wait felt like an eternity.

They wanted time to pass quickly so they could have an answer sooner.

Yet they also wanted it to slow down, afraid the answer wasn’t what they imagined.

The only outsider was Hu Qiming.

But he wasn’t idle, either.

He was on his phone, chatting in his class group.

@All: "Classmates, I’m helping out at Li Xu’s clinic today. Guess what strange thing I just ran into?"

Jiang Peng: "A patient causing trouble?"

Li Xu: "Seriously? Can’t you wish me well for a change?"

Jiang Peng: "Hehe, for a doctor, isn’t a patient dispute the strangest thing that can happen?"

Miaoli: "Patient disputes aren’t that strange, they happen all the time. I’m guessing... there were no patients at all."

Li Xu: "..."

Li Baojie: "Haha, you guys are so savage. Since Hu Qiming is the one saying this, it must be that a patient came to see Li Xu, but Li Xu didn’t know what to do, so Hu Qiming stepped in and guided Li Xu in writing a prescription."

Li Xu: "..."

Hu Qiming: "Haha, Li Baojie, you get me. But you’re all wrong. We all underestimated Li Xu. Turns out he’s the real deal."