Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 66: An Unexpected Invitation

There are many causes of eye fatigue.

Some cases are due to overuse, some to liver qi stagnation, and others to issues with the eyes themselves.

Previously, Zhang He’s eye redness had persisted for half a year.

It had caused damage to his eyes.

Therefore, using foxtail grass to treat him—to brighten his vision and relieve fatigue—was a symptomatic treatment.

However, Wang Zhibao’s eye fatigue was caused by a kidney essence deficiency, which left his eyes unnourished.

His clinical symptoms were dry eyes with few tears, accompanied by soreness in his lower back and knees, mental exhaustion, insomnia, and forgetfulness.

"Open your mouth and stick out your tongue."

"Ah~"

His tongue was pale with a thin coating.

Then, he checked his pulse.

The pulse was faint and weak.

Under these circumstances, foxtail grass couldn’t be used.

Li Xu adjusted the prescription he had just written for Wang Zhibao.

He used a modified version of the Golden Cabinet Kidney Qi Pill formula.

12g of dried rehmannia root, 12g of Mountain Yam, 10g of cornus fruit, 10g of alisma, 10g of Poria Cocos, 10g of moutan peony root bark, 6g of Cinnamon Bark, and 3g of Aconite.

This formula had the effect of warming and tonifying the kidney yang.

The eye fatigue, caused by insufficient kidney yang and a deficiency of kidney essence, would naturally be cured.

"This prescription can only treat eye fatigue. If you’re already nearsighted, you should get glasses as soon as possible. Pay attention to how you use your eyes, especially when looking at your phone. After a while, you need to look into the distance and rest them."

Li Xu instructed.

"Thank you, Doctor."

After Wang Zhibao and his mother left,

the clinic returned to its usual quiet.

"I’m done taking pictures. I’m heading out. I’ll come back over the weekend."

Hu Qiming and the nurse from the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine left.

Song Sisi was bored, scrolling through her phone. When she saw a funny video, she broke into a silly grin.

"Stop laughing. Let me calculate your wages. We agreed on a hundred yuan a day, and you’ve been here for 26 days..."

Li Xu took out his phone and transferred 2,600 yuan to Song Sisi.

Song Sisi felt a little embarrassed.

Ever since she started at Li Xu’s clinic, she had only been busy for a few days.

Most of the remaining time was spent slacking off.

Besides, she got days off all the time.

"Boss, how about I treat you to dinner tonight?"

"Sure. Songjiang Noodle House again."

"No problem."

Song Sisi said magnanimously, "We’ll get their signature dishes."

"Oh, right, my internship certificate."

Song Sisi found the digital version of her internship certificate on her phone, sent it to the computer, and printed out a copy.

She pointed to the spot for the official seal. "Boss, you still need to stamp it."

Li Xu naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for her.

After he took out the clinic’s official seal and stamped the document, Song Sisi looked reluctant to part. "Sigh, I have to go back to school tomorrow. Next month I’ll be applying for hospital jobs. I hope I pass."

"If you want to pass, stop watching random videos and actually study."

RING RING RING~

His phone rang.

Li Xu looked at the screen; the caller was unexpected.

It was his medical school professor, Xue Shuheng.

A while ago, Li Xu had even sent him a message on WeChat about publishing a proposed treatment for the tick-borne disease.

But he never replied.

’Did he only just see it now?’

He quickly answered the call. "Hello, Teacher Xue. How have you been?"

"I’ve been busy with a medical research project lately, spending all day in the lab. I didn’t notice the message you sent me earlier. You’re not mad at me, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Sigh, I still feel bad about it. Are you free tonight? Let me treat you to dinner to apologize."

"How could I let you do that? I should be the one treating you."

"Don’t be so polite with your old teacher. Six p.m. at Feng City Restaurant, room 302. Don’t forget."

"Okay, Teacher Xue."

He hung up the phone.

Li Xu spread his hands and said to Song Sisi, "Sorry, my professor wants to see me tonight, so I can’t have dinner with you."

Song Sisi huffed. "Well, then I’ll consider my offer to treat you fulfilled. It’s just that you’re the one who can’t make it."

Li Xu smiled. "Alright, I’ll count it as you having treated me."

Song Sisi put on a gossipy expression. "Why did your professor suddenly contact you?"

"He said it was to apologize, but I don’t think it’s that simple."

"Definitely! Why would a medical school professor go out of his way to treat you to dinner just to apologize? There’s definitely something fishy going on. Be careful you don’t get tricked."

"Don’t worry. I’m just a doctor at a small clinic. I don’t have anything worth scheming over."

...

The afternoon passed quickly.

It was just after five o’clock.

The clinic closed for the day.

Song Sisi gathered her things, took one last, lingering look at the clinic, and left reluctantly.

Li Xu, on the other hand, hailed a cab to Feng City Restaurant.

Feng City Restaurant was a high-end establishment located in the most bustling area of the city center. It was a quaint, traditional Chinese-style building with two stone lions standing guard at the entrance and a gilded plaque hanging on the mahogany door.

As soon as Li Xu reached the entrance, a hostess in a cheongsam greeted him with a smile. "Do you have a reservation, sir?"

"A private room, 302."

"Please follow me."

Passing through a carved screen and walking on a soft carpet, Li Xu was led to the third floor.

The moment the private room door opened, the rich aroma of tea wafted out to greet him.

Xue Shuheng was sitting in the host’s seat, brewing tea. Seeing him enter, he beckoned him over. "Li Xu, come in, come in! Sit down!"

"Teacher Xue, you’re too kind." Li Xu sat down gracefully and glanced around the room.

The private room was exquisitely decorated. Calligraphy and paintings by famous artists hung on the walls, the dining table was carved from a single piece of mahogany, and even the tableware was fine bone china.

Xue Shuheng poured Li Xu a cup of tea and said with a smile, "The Dragon Well tea here is a special reserve. Try some."

Li Xu accepted it with both hands and took a sip. It was indeed fragrant with a sweet aftertaste.

But he only grew more suspicious. ’Teacher Xue never paid much attention to me back in school, so why is he being so enthusiastic all of a sudden?’

The dishes soon arrived: steamed leopard coral grouper, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, matsutake stewed with imperial bird’s nest... Each dish was as exquisite as a work of art.

Xue Shuheng even opened a bottle of Maotai and personally poured a glass for Li Xu.

"I remember you being so diligent back in school," Xue Shuheng said, raising his glass. "I saw your potential even back then."

Li Xu nearly choked on his drink. ’I was practically invisible in his class. My participation grade was average, so even though my final exam scores were high, my overall grade was only mediocre. Where did this "saw your potential" come from?’

Still, he politely clinked glasses with him. "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher."

After three rounds of drinks, Xue Shuheng became more and more talkative. He went from amusing stories about the school to the latest developments in the medical world, finally steering the conversation toward the tick-borne disease.

"That paper of yours about Apigenin was truly eye-opening!" Xue Shuheng patted Li Xu’s shoulder. "Even our dean called me personally to say what an incredible student you are!"

Li Xu’s heart skipped a beat. He had a vague idea of what was coming, but he played along. "I was just lucky. I happened to have a few ideas."

"Nonsense, you’re too modest!" Xue Shuheng refilled Li Xu’s glass. "But speaking of which, your clinic... how’s business?"

"It’s alright. Enough to get by."

"What a shame!" Xue Shuheng shook his head and sighed. "For a promising talent like you to be cooped up in a small clinic... it’s such a waste."

The atmosphere suddenly turned delicate.

Xue Shuheng put down his glass and leaned forward slightly. "Li Xu, the real reason I asked you here today is for a win-win opportunity."

"Go on," Li Xu said, putting down his chopsticks. ’Here it comes,’ he thought.

From the moment he’d walked in, this meal had felt incredibly awkward.

It hardly felt like a meal at all.

It was more like torture.

Figuring out the reason sooner would let him eat in peace.

"It’s like this," Xue Shuheng said, lowering his voice. "A friend of mine... his daughter is currently doing her residency training at the affiliated hospital. If she could get a paper published in *Dragon Country Virology*, she’d be a shoo-in for attending physician next year."