Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 39: Analysis

After Wang Jun drove away from the clinic, he immediately asked his son, "Xiao Bao, what did the doctor say to you?"

Of course, Wang Zhibao wasn’t about to tell the truth, so he spun a quick lie. "He was practically begging me to tell him what was wrong. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it with you two there; he was trying to save face."

"Is that so..."

Wang Jun didn’t believe his son’s nonsense, nor did he have any faith in Li Xu’s medical skills. "Old Ding, I just don’t think this doctor is reliable. He’s too young."

Ding Aiguo disagreed. "Don’t underestimate him. There are plenty of brilliant young people out there. What about the ones starting businesses with AI? Aren’t they getting national attention?"

Wang Jun shook his head. "That’s different. Traditional Chinese medicine is a field that requires accumulated knowledge. The older the practitioner, the more sought-after they are."

Ding Aiguo didn’t argue with him. "It’s just for one week. Let’s just have him try the medicine first."

"That’s true."

Wang Jun drove Ding Aiguo home.

...

"Duoduo..."

Walking into the villa, Ding Aiguo saw his precious granddaughter playing with a jigsaw puzzle. He smiled, walked over, and started playing with Duoduo.

At lunchtime, Ding Kaifang arrived as well.

The nanny had prepared a full table of dishes, but Lin Yue had cooked Ding Duoduo’s rice separately.

She had mixed two-thirds medicinal rice with one-third refined white rice.

"Duoduo, try the rice Mommy cooked for you."

"Mm-hmm."

Ding Duoduo picked up her spoon and ate slowly, chewing each mouthful carefully.

When she got a spoonful of the white rice, she frowned slightly but still managed to swallow it slowly.

Ding Aiguo, Ding Kaifang, and the others, who had been watching her intently, all quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

’Gradually mixing normal rice in with the medicinal kind... this method is working! It might not be long now before Duoduo can eat normally.’

The family was filled with joyous chatter and laughter.

RING RING RING~

Ding Kaifang’s phone rang.

’A call from Professor Gao?’

He quickly answered the call. "Professor Gao, how can I help you?"

"I’m calling to do a follow-up. How is your daughter’s anorexia? Has she taken the medicine I prescribed for her?"

"Ah?... Oh..."

Then it dawned on Ding Kaifang.

He remembered Professor Gao saying at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine that anorexia was a special case and that he would follow up to monitor the patient’s condition.

"I’m sorry, Professor Gao. Duoduo couldn’t stomach the medicine you prescribed, so she didn’t take any."

Ding Kaifang told him the truth. "However, her condition has improved significantly. She can eat some normal food now."

"Oh? Where did you take her for treatment? Did you go to the Capital City?"

"No, we just saw a doctor here in town. At a small clinic."

"A small clinic?"

On the other end of the line, Professor Gao’s tone was one of clear surprise. "What medicine did the doctor at this clinic prescribe?"

"Rice."

"What? Rice?"

"Er... to be precise, it’s medicinal rice. It tastes awful and the texture is very coarse, but miraculously, my daughter can actually eat it."

...

After a moment of silence, Ding Kaifang thought the line had disconnected. "Professor Gao?"

"...I’m here. Are you sure you’re not joking?"

"Of course not, Professor Gao. Let me add you as a contact. I’ll send you a video of my daughter eating, and you’ll see I’m not lying."

"Okay."

...

「Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Internal Medicine Department.」

Gao Guanghui was using his lunch break, when there were no patients, to follow up on Ding Duoduo, and he had just received some surprising news.

He opened the video.

On the screen, a little girl held a porcelain bowl, sipping small mouthfuls of rice porridge.

The porridge was a dreary color.

You could tell the quality of the rice wasn’t good, either.

And yet, the little girl didn’t stop eating for a second.

And this little girl was the very same patient who had been suffering from pediatric anorexia.

"This..."

Gao Guanghui’s brow furrowed. He was utterly baffled.

’How is this possible?’

He dialed Ding Kaifang’s number again. "My apologies, this is just too incredible. I have to confirm one more time—it’s really just rice?"

"That’s right."

"I have a small request, if you don’t mind me asking."

"Professor Gao, you’re being far too polite. Please, ask whatever you need."

"Could you mail me a small sample of the rice the patient is eating? I don’t need much, just a few dozen grains will do."

"No problem."

Ding Kaifang agreed without hesitation. "We bought five pounds of it in total, and Duoduo is adjusting back to normal food much better than we expected. She probably won’t finish all five pounds, and even if she does, we can always buy more. I’ll send half a pound your way."

"Thank you so much."

Professor Gao thanked him profusely.

Professor Gao got the address, and they ended the call.

Ding Kaifang had his driver come in, pour out half a pound of rice, and put it in a plastic bag.

He then told the driver to send the rice to the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine via SF Express.

The family went back to their meal.

Ding Aiguo remarked with a sigh, "Even a professor from the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has never heard of this stuff. I wonder where Doctor Li got this rice."

Ding Kaifang smiled. "It doesn’t matter that we don’t know. A sample has already been sent to the National Science Academy Biotechnology Research Institute. With Professor Shen’s expertise, I’m sure we’ll have results soon."

Ding Aiguo nodded. "That’s right. They might even have some findings by tomorrow."

...

「National Science Academy Biotechnology Research Institute (Feng City).」

Inside the spacious, well-lit laboratory, precision instruments were lined up in neat rows. The faint scent of disinfectant hung in the air.

Professor Shen, wearing white gloves, took a single grain of the unpolished rice from a sealed bag and placed it under an electron microscope.

’"A coarse exterior, dull color, and the grain isn’t plump..."’

He shook his head. ’Based on looks alone, this rice is of even lower quality than common rice.’

He placed the grain in an elemental analyzer, and the machine whirred to life.

A few minutes later, a string of data appeared on the screen:

Mineral Content: 34 types of trace elements, including iron, zinc, selenium, and calcium, at levels 5 to 8 times higher than in ordinary rice.

Amino Acid Profile: 21 types of amino acids, including 8 essential ones that the human body cannot synthesize.

Vitamin Content: Significantly high levels of B-complex vitamins and Vitamin E.

"Well now..." Professor Shen pushed up his glasses, somewhat surprised. "The nutritional composition is certainly unique."

But as he continued his analysis, he frowned. The instruments detected no specific compounds known to target anorexia.

’"Strange..." Professor Shen murmured to himself. "If it’s just these minerals and amino acids, that shouldn’t theoretically be enough to make an anorexia patient want to eat on their own."’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He printed out the data and compared it again and again, finally shaking his head. ’It seems there are some things our instruments just can’t measure.’

It was like the difference between ginseng and a radish. Their chemical compositions are up to 80% similar, but their medicinal effects are worlds apart.

Further research yielded no new discoveries.

Professor Shen picked up the phone and dialed Wang Jun’s number. "President Wang, the test results are in. The rice is indeed rich in various minerals and amino acids, but..."

He paused for a moment. "Scientific instruments can only analyze known components. As for why it’s effective against anorexia, that would likely require much more in-depth research, which can’t be done overnight."

"Understood. Thank you, Professor Shen. I’ll let my friend know."

Wang Jun called Ding Aiguo and relayed Professor Shen’s analysis.

Ding Aiguo was stunned. He hadn’t expected that even the National Science Academy Biotechnology Research Institute would find nothing out of the ordinary.

’Looks like that little idea of mine won’t be possible after all.’

After a moment of silence, he laughed. "It’s all right. As long as we know it’s safe and non-toxic, that’s good enough."

After hanging up, Professor Shen stared at the grain of unpolished rice, lost in thought.

’Perhaps this was the magic of traditional Chinese medicine—some of its healing effects simply couldn’t be fully explained by modern science.’

"Dad, what is it?" Ding Kaifang asked.

Ding Aiguo shook his head. "They couldn’t find anything. There’s no way to turn it into a commercial product."