Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 52: Mannequin

Ticks are a type of parasite.

They get their nutrients by sucking blood and can live on many animals, including dogs.

And when they’re found on dogs, they go by an even more common name: dog beans.

When a tick bites a dog, it not only sucks its blood but can also secrete neurotoxins. These can cause symptoms like weakness in the limbs, ataxia, and restlessness. In severe cases, it can even lead to paralysis.

Previously, Li Xu had thought Wang the Third was bitten by a wild tick while farming.

Now, it seemed the source was at home.

"What’s wrong?"

Wang the Third looked back at his scrawny dog. "Is there something wrong with my dog?"

Li Xu didn’t explain, simply instructing, "Uncle Wang, hold him down."

Uncle Wang didn’t understand, but he did as Li Xu said and held the skinny dog down.

Li Xu went over and parted the dog’s fur.

He quickly found a tick.

Its head was the size of a black grain of rice, but its body was huge, like a large soybean.

It was engorged with the dog’s blood.

"Oh my, it’s a dog bean."

Wang the Third looked astonished. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"There are more here..."

Li Xu found five or six more on the skinny dog’s belly, behind its ears, and at the base of its thighs.

No wonder the dog was so thin.

With so many ticks sucking its blood and poisoning it day and night, it was lethargic and had no appetite.

How could it not be skinny?

"Uncle Wang, this dog is why you were bitten by a tick."

Li Xu advised, "If you’re going to keep a dog, you need to put some effort into caring for it. Otherwise, if it gets parasites, you’ll suffer too."

Uncle Wang looked regretful. "Yes, yes, you’re right, Doctor Li. Sigh, it’s just that the herbs in the fields haven’t been growing well lately, so I haven’t had the extra energy. My dog used to be perfectly fine."

As he spoke, he reached to pull the "dog beans" off the dog.

"Don’t."

Song Sisi, who had been staying quietly in the background, stopped Wang the Third. "You can’t just yank them out."

"Huh?"

Wang the Third was confused.

’It’s just a bug. What’s the big deal?’

Li Xu smiled. "She’s studying nursing. She’s more of an expert in this area."

Song Sisi explained, "If you just ’yank’ a tick out after it bites, its mouthparts and head can easily break off and remain in the skin, leading to infection. Also, if you accidentally crush the tick while pulling it, you could get infected if its bodily fluids touch your skin."

"Ah."

Wang the Third quickly pulled his hand back, terrified of getting infected again.

"Uncle Wang, do you have any alcohol at home?"

"No, do you need some? I can go borrow some from the village clinic."

"Yes."

"Wait a moment."

"And tweezers and cotton swabs."

Wang the Third rode his bike to the clinic to borrow the tools.

Song Sisi first used a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to dab the ticks and the surrounding skin.

Once the ticks were stunned, she quickly removed them with the tweezers.

The skinny dog seemed to understand people.

It knew they were helping it, so it didn’t struggle.

The process of removing the ticks went smoothly.

A little over ten minutes later,

all the ticks had been removed.

Nine in total.

"Oh, Doctor Li, Doctor Song, thank you so much for today. If it weren’t for you, we might have gotten bitten by ticks again."

Wang the Third thanked them profusely.

WOOF WOOF~

The skinny dog stood up and wagged its tail beside Song Sisi.

It was acting very affectionate.

Clearly, it approved of Song Sisi for treating it.

The lunch was lavish.

And because Li Xu had helped solve the "dog bean" problem,

Wang the Third was even more enthusiastic.

Everyone had a wonderful time at the meal.

"Youhe, drive Doctor Li and Doctor Song back to the city."

"Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll make sure they get there safely."

Wang Youhe drove Li Xu and Song Sisi back to the clinic.

Business was open as usual in the afternoon.

"Mr. Li, you have a package."

A delivery guy parked his vehicle.

He hauled a large cardboard box from his vehicle.

"Boss, what did you buy? It’s huge!"

Song Sisi went forward to help sign for the package and carried the large box inside. "It’s pretty heavy, too."

"I don’t really remember."

Li Xu had been so busy with the tick cases and writing a paper these past two days that he’d genuinely forgotten what he bought.

"Well, let’s open it and find out."

Song Sisi grabbed a small knife and deftly sliced through the packing tape.

’What did I buy...?’

Li Xu was still trying to remember.

Suddenly,

he remembered.

His expression changed, and he hurriedly tried to stop her. "Don’t open—"

But it was too late.

Song Sisi had opened the cardboard box and removed the styrofoam packing inside.

She blinked, staring at the contents of the box.

It was as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

She even rubbed them with her hand.

Only then was she sure she wasn’t mistaken.

Lying in the box was an extremely realistic female silicone model.

The model was lifelike, with delicate skin texture. Even its eyelashes and strands of hair were clearly visible.

Song Sisi’s eyes widened, her cheeks instantly flushing crimson. Her hand trembled, and the styrofoam box fell to the ground with a THUD.

"B-Boss... you..."

She stammered, pointing at the box, her gaze flickering about, unable to look directly at Li Xu.

Li Xu facepalmed and quickly explained, "Don’t get the wrong idea! It’s a model for practicing Chinese medicine massage!"

"M-Massage?" Song Sisi glanced suspiciously at the model, then quickly looked away, the tips of her ears burning. "Why do you need such a... realistic one to practice massage? And you could just find a real person..."

Li Xu sighed helplessly. "I’ve been studying gynecological massage techniques recently. I can’t just grab a real person to practice on, can I?"

Song Sisi froze. "Gynecological massage?"

"Yes." Li Xu rubbed his temples. "I’ve been reading a book on Chinese Massage. Massage is all about acupoints and applying the right pressure, especially for gynecological treatments where the technique must be precise. This model was custom-made according to the human body’s meridians and muscle structure to simulate a realistic touch."

Song Sisi was a nurse, after all, so she quickly calmed down. Still, she couldn’t help but mutter, "Then why not just practice on a patient..."

Li Xu gave her a half-smiling glance. "Would you be willing to let me practice on you?"

"Me?!" Song Sisi instantly bristled, her whole face flushing bright red. "N-No way!"

Li Xu spread his hands. "So, you see, I have to use a model."

Only then did Song Sisi realize what a dumb question she’d asked. She coughed awkwardly twice and pretended to be busy organizing the medical records on the table.

But out of the corner of her eye, she couldn’t help sneaking another peek into the box. ’This model is just too realistic!’

’Even the fingernails are neatly trimmed. I secretly touched it just a moment ago, and the skin texture felt practically identical to a real person’s...’

Seeing her still stealing glances, Li Xu deliberately teased her, "What, curious? Want to touch it again?"

"Who wants to touch it!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Song Sisi instantly leaped two meters away. "I-I’m going to organize the medicine cabinet!"

Watching her flee in disarray, Li Xu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

He shook his head, lifted the model out of the box, and inspected it carefully.

’Hmm, the joint mobility is good, but the acupoints aren’t marked. I’ll have to mark them myself. Otherwise, if someone else sees this, there’s bound to be another misunderstanding...’

He pinched the model’s fingertips to feel their elasticity. ’The material is also quite close to real human skin.’

Just as he was engrossed in his examination, Song Sisi quietly poked her head back in and asked in a low voice, "Boss, this model... was it expensive?"

Without looking up, Li Xu replied, "It’s a custom model. Over thirty thousand."

"Over thirty thousand?!" Song Sisi sucked in a sharp breath. "Just to practice massage?"

"Professional tools are worth the investment," Li Xu said calmly. "It’s better than making a mistake in practice and having to pay for it later."

"A patient’s here. Quick, help me put this away."

Li Xu called to Song Sisi.

"Oh."

Song Sisi hurriedly dragged the cardboard box into the courtyard.

"Xiao Xu."

Zhang He’s mother, Wang Qin, walked in.

"Aunt Wang, are you here to ask about Zhang He’s eyes?"

Li Xu gestured for Wang Qin to sit down.

"Yes, I came to ask if the foxtail grass is actually working."

Wang Qin mumbled, "I looked it up online. Some people say it’s effective, and others say it isn’t. I’m so confused about what to do."

...