Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 94: Failed the Exam

"Xiao Xu, you’ve become a special consultant for the District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine."

Aunt Li had come over for a visit.

"Mhm."

Li Xu nodded.

The signing ceremony yesterday had been very formal. The Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine had even hung a banner at the hospital entrance.

Everyone in the neighborhood knew about it.

Aunt Li said happily, "If your father could see this from the afterlife, he would be so proud..."

After sharing a few heartfelt words, Aunt Li left.

Li Xu went back to seeing patients.

After all this publicity,

the clinic got a bit busier.

He saw not only patients with common ailments but also some with complex cases, and the intelligence he received each day was limited.

He had to rely on himself for most of them.

He was swamped with work.

For cases he wasn’t confident in diagnosing, he would recommend the patient go to a larger hospital. That was how he managed to get by.

However, during this time, by combining hands-on practice with his textbook knowledge, he was learning and improving at a rapid pace.

BRRRING~

The caller ID showed Gu Xiaoya.

"Dr. Gu, do you have some good news for me?"

A while ago, Li Xu had asked Gu Xiaoya to help him prepare the materials for a patent application.

The experimental data was easy; that was all done in a day.

However, the safety testing required finding test subjects, also known as clinical trial participants.

Human testing was more troublesome.

It had already been almost half a month.

"Dr. Li, the clinical trials are finished. The results were excellent. None of the participants experienced any side effects. I’ve already compiled the data. When are you going to apply for the patent?"

"Thank you so much. I’ll come by this afternoon to pick up the files,"

Li Xu said, pleasantly surprised.

Once the patent was approved, he could officially start production and sales after planting the mutated foxtail grass next year.

’Should I do it myself?’

Li Xu shook his head. He didn’t have that much energy to spare.

The best way was to partner with a pharmaceutical company. He would provide the patented technology and then just wait for his cut of the profits.

...

Li Xu’s footsteps were light and brisk as he walked down the hallway of the City First Hospital’s ophthalmology department.

Reaching the door, he knocked gently.

"Come in."

Gu Xiaoya’s voice, tinged with a bit of fatigue, came from inside.

Li Xu pushed the door open and saw her hunched over her desk, writing. The lines of her shoulders were tense beneath her white coat, her hair bun was a little loose, and a few strands had fallen beside her ears.

"Dr. Gu," Li Xu greeted with a smile.

Gu Xiaoya looked up and said with a smile, "Dr. Li!"

She turned and took a thick folder from the file cabinet.

"The data for all twenty test subjects is in here." She opened the file, her fingertip tapping on the various metrics. "The average vision improvement rate reached 37%, and the dry eye symptom relief rate was 89%. But most importantly..."

She looked up at Li Xu, her eyes sparkling. "Zero side effects."

Li Xu took the file and carefully looked over the precise data charts.

"This is perfect," he said sincerely. "This patent wouldn’t have been possible without your help."

Gu Xiaoya shook her head, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. "We helped each other. If these eye drops really make it to market, it’ll be a godsend for us ophthalmologists, too."

She paused. "Oh, right. You’ll need an agency for the patent application. I have a classmate who can help with that..."

"That’s great."

Li Xu had just been worrying about that.

He had looked it up online on his way over.

While he could apply himself, it was troublesome and time-consuming. There was even a chance it would be rejected partway through.

Letting a professional agency handle it would save him a lot of trouble.

The two of them talked for a while.

Li Xu learned that Gu Xiaoya had officially divorced.

"Congratulations."

After staying for a little while longer,

Li Xu returned to his clinic.

Only to find a familiar figure leaning against a tree on the sidewalk by his door, head down, playing on her phone.

"Song Sisi, what are you doing here?"

Li Xu asked curiously, "You didn’t even call me beforehand."

Hearing his voice, Song Sisi snapped her head up. When she saw Li Xu, she looked like a wronged child who had finally found someone to rely on, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Li Xu was taken aback and hurried forward. "What’s wrong? What happened?"

Song Sisi bit her lip, her voice choked with sobs. "I... I didn’t get in."

"You didn’t get in?" Li Xu frowned. "City First Hospital or the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine?"

"Neither." She lowered her head, her voice growing quieter. "Even though they hired more people than usual this year, even more people applied... I passed the written exam, but I was cut after the interview..."

Her shoulders trembled slightly, and she finally couldn’t hold back her tears, which splattered onto the ground.

Li Xu sighed and took out his keys to open the door. "Come inside first. We’ll talk in there."

The light in the clinic was soft. Song Sisi sat in a chair and pulled out a tissue to wipe her tears.

Li Xu poured her a glass of warm water and sat down across from her. "So, what’s your plan now?"

Song Sisi looked up, staring at him pitifully. "Boss, you promised you’d take me in."

Li Xu was taken aback. "When did I say that?"

"You did so!" she said anxiously. "Last time, you said, ’If you can’t find a job, just come back’!"

Li Xu thought back. He seemed to recall mentioning it offhandedly, but he never expected her to remember it all this time.

He gave a helpless smile. "Alright, you can help me out here for now. The clinic’s been busy lately, and I can’t handle it all by myself."

Song Sisi’s eyes lit up, and her tears stopped instantly. "Really?"

"Would I lie to you?" Li Xu nodded.

He was the only one at the clinic, and sometimes he really couldn’t keep up.

With Song Sisi here, she could help him prepare prescriptions and clean up.

It would save him a lot of trouble.

Song Sisi wiped her face and broke into a smile. "So... when can I start?"

"You can start right now." Li Xu stood up. "You’re already familiar with this place. But you never seriously familiarized yourself with the medicinal herbs before. Starting today, you need to study hard so you don’t make any mistakes when preparing prescriptions for patients."

"Don’t worry, Boss. I’ll definitely study hard."

Song Sisi promised.

...

Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

An ambulance pulled up, and two nurses wheeled a patient out of the vehicle, followed by a young woman.

After being processed through the emergency room,

the patient was admitted to a ward.

After examining the patient, Guo Yu, the head of the internal medicine department, shook his head and said to the young woman, "The patient’s condition isn’t good. I suggest you transfer him to another hospital, either the City First Hospital or the City Mental Hospital."

The young woman, whose name was Bai Qingqing, heard this and said bitterly, "My father has been sick for a while now. We’ve been to the City First Hospital before, and he also stayed at the City Mental Hospital for a time, but the treatments didn’t work... They said..."

Seeing that the patient’s family understood the situation, Guo Yu said, "They said his body is failing rapidly, and that his time is near?"

Bai Qingqing nodded. "That’s right. My dad is only in his sixties, but his mental state has always been poor... and his body is ruined. Since that’s the case, there’s no point in going to another hospital."

"This place is close to home, so I can still pick up my kids. If we go to the City First Hospital, I won’t be able to manage everything."

"I’m not expecting you to cure my dad. Just... please don’t let him suffer."

Guo Yu nodded. "Alright."

Just then,

the patient, who had been quiet and seemed rather gentle, suddenly opened his eyes and began shouting, "Where am I going? Where am I going?"

"Dad."

Bai Qingqing hurriedly grabbed her father’s hand. "Dad, do you want to go home? We’ll go home as soon as you’re better."

The patient didn’t seem to hear her, just kept repeating, "Where am I going? Where am I going?"