Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 84: To the Herb Market Again
Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
As soon as Guo Yu returned, he immediately contacted the patient.
The patient was still seeking treatment everywhere. After hearing that Guo Yu had a solution, they rushed over the very same day.
Guo Yu prescribed the medicine. "Take this according to the prescription. Remember to come back for a follow-up in three days, and I’ll adjust the dosage based on your condition then."
After seeing the patient off,
Miaoli asked worriedly from the side, "Director Guo, you just prescribed a very large dose. Will that be okay?"
Guo Yu said confidently, "Of course. I’m only now truly understanding the meaning of treating major illnesses with major measures. A light dose for a heavy illness is like trying to put out a blazing cart with a cup of water, but with a heavy dose for a heavy illness, the disease will yield. Sometimes you have to use strong medicine, or you won’t see any effect at all."
Then, he added with emotion, "Li Xu is a true genius. He’s wasting his talent at that small clinic. No... I have to propose it to the dean again. We have to recruit him for our hospital before he gets famous."
"Didn’t you say a special recruitment wasn’t possible?"
"It doesn’t have to be a tenured position. A contract would work too."
If a private practitioner has passed the national medical qualification exam and is registered, a hospital can hire them through the normal process by signing an employment contract, with no extra procedures needed.
Li Xu possessed both a Medical Practitioner Qualification Certificate and a Medical Practitioner License. As long as the hospital extended an invitation and Li Xu agreed, they could sign a contract.
Of course, the hospital would need to file a record with the District Health Commission and clarify Li Xu’s scope of practice.
But none of that was a problem.
Guo Yu immediately headed for the dean’s office.
"...Hmm, from what you’re saying, this Li Xu really is quite skilled."
Dean Sun nodded.
Guo Yu’s spirits lifted, and he made his pitch again. "Dean, the city has General Hospital No. 1, General Hospital No. 2, and the Affiliated Hospital, as well as specialized hospitals like the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Maternity and Childcare Hospital... Our District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has no influence among them. That’s why we need to attract talent. Li Xu’s medical skills are far superior to mine. If we bring him in, we could at least go head-to-head with Hospital No. 1, Hospital No. 2, and the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in internal medicine."
"Are his skills even better than the experts at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine?"
"I’m not sure if he’s better, but even if he isn’t, he can’t be far off."
"Well..."
Dean Sun considered for a moment, but still shook his head. "But he’s too young, and he doesn’t have any advanced certifications. Let’s wait a bit longer."
"Dean..."
Guo Yu wanted to say more.
A commotion erupted outside.
An assistant rushed in to report, "Dean, that family is here causing trouble again."
Dean Sun’s face fell. He pressed a hand to his forehead. "Sigh, what a mess. They’ve latched onto us. Director Guo, you go deal with it."
"Huh?"
Guo Yu was a little scared. He muttered, "Dean, they want compensation. If you don’t authorize it, how am I supposed to handle this...?"
Dean Sun glared at him. "If you had been more careful back then, would we be in this mess? You caused this problem, so who else is going to solve it but you?"
"Fine."
Guo Yu had no choice but to leave resentfully.
...
Weimin Clinic.
It was another difficult day.
Han Weimin sighed.
Today was a little better than the past two days. A few patients with colds came to buy medicine.
He’d made a few dozen yuan.
But it was a far cry from before, when the clinic was packed and he’d earn several thousand yuan a day.
As he was spacing out,
he suddenly glimpsed a familiar figure passing by the door—it was Zhang Shufen!
What shocked him even more was that this regular, who had been bundled up in a down jacket for the past three months, was now wearing only a light-blue, short-sleeved shirt, walking briskly down the street.
"Sister Zhang!" Han Weimin shot out the door and blocked her path. "You... Your illness is cured?"
Zhang Shufen stopped, a long-absent smile gracing her face. "Yes, Dr. Han. It’s all thanks to Doctor Li’s medicine."
"Li Xu?" Han Weimin’s throat tightened. "How... how did he treat you?"
"I can’t really say." Zhang Shufen wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead, a gesture she wouldn’t have dared to make before. "He just prescribed me a few courses of medicine, and I felt much better after taking them. Now I can eat and sleep well, and I can even stand in front of a fan!"
"That’s... that’s wonderful." He forced a smile. "Take care now."
Back in the clinic, Han Weimin collapsed into his chair, a cold sweat beading on his forehead.
’An illness that even the hospital couldn’t cure, Li Xu solved with just a few doses of Chinese medicine?’
’If this news gets out, the few patients I have left will probably all disappear.’
Outside the window, a few old neighbors were gathered in the shade of a tree, enjoying the cool air.
Han Weimin pricked up his ears and vaguely heard words like "Li Xu," "Divine Physician," and "it really works."
’It’s over...’
Han Weimin looked at his empty clinic and wondered if he should move.
... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
[Today’s Intel: The weekend grand market at the medicinal materials trading market has wild toad skin...]
"What a coincidence."
Li Xu looked at the day’s intel, a satisfied expression on his face.
He was just planning to go to the medicinal materials market to stock up today.
Normally, the shops inside the medicinal materials market were the ones selling herbs.
But every weekend, there was a grand market, and many traveling merchants would come to sell their medicinal herbs. It was very lively.
Even some hospitals would take the opportunity to stock up.
After breakfast, just as Li Xu was about to leave, Hu Qiming arrived.
Li Xu then remembered that weekends were also the days Hu Qiming came over for his support visit.
"I have something to do today. You can just take a few pictures and head back."
"Where are you going?"
"To the medicinal materials market to stock up."
"I don’t have anything to do back at the office anyway. How about I go with you?"
"Of course. Let’s go."
...
The weekend grand market.
By a little after eight in the morning, the medicinal materials trading market was already buzzing with activity.
The moment Li Xu and Hu Qiming stepped through the market’s main gate, they were enveloped by an oncoming wave of herbal aromas—a bittersweet blend of plant scents, the sharp and pungent smell of roots, and all sorts of other strange, indescribable fragrances, all mixing into the unique atmosphere of a Chinese medicine market.
"It’s so much livelier on the weekend than usual!" Hu Qiming exclaimed.
He had been here a few times before, but always on weekdays. This was the first time he had seen it so bustling.
Li Xu smiled and pulled two masks from his bag. "Put this on. The dust from some of the herbs can irritate your respiratory tract."
The market was teeming with people, and the shouts of vendors rose and fell in waves.
Stalls were packed one after another. Some were laid out on red-and-blue plastic tarps, some simply had a few bamboo baskets placed on the ground, and others were selling their wares from the back of three-wheeled carts.
The array of medicinal herbs was dazzling, with everything from common Astragalus Root and Danggui to rare Musk and Bezoar.
"Come take a look! Wild Ginseng from Changbai Mountain!"
"Authentic Zhongning Goji Berries! No charge if they’re not sweet!"
"Yun Gui Notoginseng, ground fresh to order!"
Hu Qiming looked around. "Li Xu, how much of this stuff do you think is real?"
Li Xu lowered his voice. "There are a lot of fakes even on a normal day. Right now, it’s more like nine out of ten stalls are selling fakes."
As they spoke, the two arrived at a stall covered with all sorts of ginseng.
The vendor, a middle-aged man in a straw hat, saw Li Xu stop and immediately greeted him enthusiastically. "Buying some ginseng, young man? This is all freshly dug Wild Ginseng. Look at this rhizome head, these rootlets—at least fifty years old!"
