Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 69: Improvement

According to the information, the eye drop formula, besides foxtail grass, also included Pearl Powder, Shi Jueming, and natural Camphor.

Pearl Powder is made by grinding solid particles from the shells or pearl sacs of pearl-producing mollusks. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is considered "cold" in nature, has a sweet and salty taste, and targets the Heart and Liver meridians. It is widely used for its many clinical effects, including calming the spirit, easing tremors, brightening the eyes, clearing away corneal opacity, detoxifying the body, and promoting tissue regeneration.

Shi Jueming consists of the shells from various abalone species, such as the variegated abalone, wrinkled-disk abalone, sheep’s ear abalone, Australian abalone, ear-shell abalone, or white abalone.

Its primary function is to clear the Liver and improve vision.

Natural Camphor is not what most people think of as ice.

Instead, it is a natural crystalline substance extracted from the resin of the Dragon Brain tree or plants of the laurel family. Its main component is dextrorotatory Dragon Brain.

All of these are common medicinal ingredients known for improving vision.

They could be purchased on the market.

The only exception was the mutated foxtail grass...

Li Xu had over thirty of the plants on hand,

and there were more than two hundred more on the cliffs of Bailingyu Village.

Foxtail grass propagates through seeds. As the ancestor of millet, its tiny seeds are very similar to millet grains.

A single plant could produce tens of thousands of seeds.

That meant over two hundred plants would yield one to two million seeds.

Once the seeds were collected and planted next year, he could start thinking about producing the eye drops.

’I should register the patent this year...’

Li Xu’s mind began to wander.

However, registering a medical patent wasn’t simple.

There were three types of patents: invention, utility model, and design.

An application had to meet three conditions. First was novelty, meaning the formula hadn’t been publicly disclosed.

Second was inventiveness, representing a significant improvement over existing technology, such as enhanced efficacy or reduced toxicity.

Third was utility, meaning it could be mass-produced or applied in a practical setting.

After meeting these three conditions, he would also need to provide relevant trial data to prove the formula’s efficacy and safety.

He would need to conduct not only pharmacodynamic studies, like in vivo and in vitro experiments,

but also toxicological studies to prove its safety.

Most importantly, he would also need data from clinical trials.

He couldn’t possibly gather all of this data on his own.

He would need a professional laboratory.

He would also have to recruit test subjects.

’I’ll have to find someone to partner with...’

Who should he partner with?

’A medical expert? A hospital? Or a pharmaceutical company?’

’It’s too early to be thinking about all this. I’ll worry about it after I’ve collected the mutated foxtail grass seeds.’

Li Xu’s thoughts returned to the patch of foxtail grass on the cliffs of Bailingyu Village.

He would have to make another trip there soon.

He needed to collect both the seeds and the grass itself. He could brew a decoction from the grass and formulate some eye drops to test the effects for himself.

And also...

The image of a big yellow dog, Da Huang, flashed through Li Xu’s mind.

’I should check on Da Huang and see how he’s doing.’

...

In Wang Ruiying’s kitchen, a clay pot simmered, sending up puffs of steam. The rich aroma of Chinese medicine filled the air.

She carefully lifted the lid and stirred the contents with a spoon. The amber-colored decoction had thickened, and fine bubbles frothed on its surface.

"Mom, it’s so bitter!"

Her son was peeking in from the kitchen doorway, wrinkling his little nose.

Then he scurried away.

Wang Ruiying poured a bowl, took it to the living room, and let it cool a bit before calling her son. "Haoyu, it’s time for your medicine."

"It’s bitter. I’m not drinking it."

Liu Haoyu hid behind the sofa, stubbornly refusing to come out.

"If you don’t drink this, you’ll keep coughing. Be a good boy, listen to Mommy..."

But no matter how much she coaxed him, Liu Haoyu wouldn’t drink the medicine.

"How about this? If you’re a good boy and drink your medicine, I’ll buy you a bottle of almond drink."

"Two bottles! No, three!"

"Alright, alright. Three bottles it is."

The little guy emerged from behind the sofa, wrinkled his brow, and downed the medicine in one gulp.

Then he held out his hand. "My almond drink?"

"Mommy’s going to buy it for you right now."

Wang Ruiying went downstairs and bought three bottles of the almond drink.

That evening, Wang Ruiying kept a close eye on her son’s condition.

He had taken one dose that morning and another in the evening.

Her son hadn’t even coughed slightly.

He slept soundly through the entire night.

When Wang Ruiying woke in the middle of the night, she instinctively reached over to feel her son’s back. It was dry and warm, free from the night sweats that used to plague him.

The next morning, when her son went to the bathroom, he passed a soft, well-formed stool instead of the hard, dry pellets he usually did.

’He’s had a bowel movement two days in a row now.’

Wang Ruiying was overjoyed.

For more than half a month before this, her son had only been going every two days.

Now, he was finally regular again.

"Mom, I’m hungry!" At the breakfast table, the little guy uncharacteristically ate two small soup dumplings and drank a large bowl of soy milk.

The sickly look was gone from his rosy little face, and even his eyes seemed much brighter than before.

Watching her son bouncing with energy, Wang Ruiying’s heart was finally at ease.

’Doctor Li is truly skilled.’

She decided that from now on, she would go to Li Xu for any future aches and fevers.

...

Meanwhile, the scent of medicine also wafted from Wang Qin’s kitchen.

"Xiao He, drink your medicine before you do your homework," Wang Qin said, placing a bowl of pale green foxtail grass water in front of her son.

Zhang He wrinkled his nose. "Why do I have to drink more?"

"This foxtail grass is from your Brother Xiao Xu. It’s different from the other kind."

When Zhang He heard it was from Li Xu, he stopped resisting, picked up the bowl, and took a sip. "Huh? It’s not as bitter as last time."

Wang Qin stroked her son’s head. "Drink it while it’s warm. We’ll see if it has any effect in a few days."

The next morning, Zhang He walked out of his bedroom, rubbing his eyes.

He went to the sink.

He groggily washed his face.

As he looked up, he saw the mirror on the wall.

It was speckled with a few water spots.

But his reflection was perfectly clear.

"Huh?"

Zhang He froze.

’How long has it been since I’ve seen myself this clearly?’

He scrambled closer to the mirror for a better look.

Wang Qin was in the middle of preparing breakfast.

Seeing her son still at the sink, she grumbled, "Stop staring and come eat."

"Mom, look at my eyes!"

Zhang He turned his head and shouted in delight.

"What’s wrong with your eyes?"

Wang Qin put down the bowl in her hand and walked over. She stopped short, stunned. Her son’s eyes were unusually bright, the whites clear and distinct. The bloodshot veins that usually filled them were more than halfway gone.

"Mom, do you see it?" Zhang He asked eagerly.

Wang Qin nodded vigorously. "The red veins in your eyes... there are fewer of them. No, they’re almost completely gone!"

Just the day before, Zhang He’s eyes had been full of them.

"Xiao He, can you... can you read the calendar on the wall?" Wang Qin asked, pointing to it about ten feet away.

Zhang He squinted. "Year 202X, Month X... the 15th?"

Before, it had been a blur, but now he could clearly make out the small print.

"Haha...!"

Wang Qin pulled her son into a hug and said excitedly, "Son, your eyes are getting better! I told you, didn’t I? That foxtail grass water is good for your eyes."

Zhang He corrected her, "It’s because the foxtail grass Brother Xu found is amazing."

"You’re right, you’re right."

Wang Qin nodded. "It’s Xiao Xu who’s amazing. You drank that other foxtail grass water for days with no results, but the kind Xiao Xu found worked after just one dose."

...

When Wang Jun returned home from the provincial capital, he was still coughing intermittently.

"Is your cold still not better?"

His wife said, "You should go to Li’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic and get that checked out. Doctor Li is incredibly skilled. Xiao Bao is so much healthier now. He even prescribed an herbal remedy for eye fatigue, and it’s been working wonders for Xiao Bao."

...

PS: Thank you to ’Book Friend 20200828225852816’ for the 500-coin tip, and thank you to ’kyouko Anzu’ for the 500-coin tip.

Thank you all for your support. I’ll be releasing two Chapters a day for now while I finish up my other book on a different platform. Once that’s done, I’ll focus solely on this one and release more Chapters in a couple of days.