Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 89 - 85 Strange Patients, Strange Symptoms

Cai Qiong immediately retorted, "We weren’t talking about anything."

Xu Qian also gave Wang Jian a dismissive look, her expression clearly conveying, "This is a chat between sisters; why would a man like you need to know?"

Since Cai Qiong wasn’t interested in men, Xu Qian’s wariness eased considerably. Her guard wasn’t completely down, but it was significantly lower than when they first met.

Xu Qian stood up, pulling Cai Qiong with her. "Come on, I’ll show you to your room."

"You two go ahead. I need to head to the clinic," Wang Jian said. "The village chief just called me about a strange patient. It sounds like it might not be a simple case."

"Going to see a patient?" Cai Qiong stopped. "Wait for me."

"What’s wrong?" Xu Qian and Wang Jian were both startled as Cai Qiong suddenly bolted for the door.

"I’m going to grab my camera from the car. I didn’t get to record your treatment this morning." Halfway through her sentence, Cai Qiong spun around and asked Wang Jian, "Is it okay if I film your treatment process?"

This was a potential issue. A doctor’s treatment process could involve proprietary techniques they might not want others to see. However, Wang Jian simply raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t really a concern in Chinese medicine. If his techniques could be learned just by watching a video, it would be a true blessing for the field.

"Sure, film away, but we’ll still have to ask the patient for permission," Wang Jian said with a smile. "Your car is parked at the village entrance, right? You can just come with me." He then turned to Xu Qian. "She can see her room tonight; there’s no rush. The patient is waiting, and we shouldn’t keep them too long. Let’s head over first." With his back to Cai Qiong as he spoke, he gave Xu Qian a playful look, his expression carrying a secret meaning only the two of them understood.

That one look was all it took. Xu Qian felt as if she had heard his earlier words all over again: "I’ll come find you tonight." Instantly, her face flushed red. Such a blatant gesture was incredibly thrilling. Even for a married woman like Xu Qian, it was almost too much to handle. Who would have thought Wang Jian could be this kind of man? Xu Qian certainly never had, and she suspected Li Liping hadn’t either. Perhaps she was the only one who had ever seen this side of him. The thought that she was the reason Wang Jian had become so amorous didn’t make her feel uncomfortable in the slightest; instead, she felt a strange sense of pride.

"Be quick and come back soon," Xu Qian murmured with a blush as she watched Wang Jian and Cai Qiong leave. She wasn’t sure if he’d even heard her. Her mind was already fixated on his promise, and she found herself eagerly anticipating the arrival of night.

Like Xu Qian, Wang Jian was also filled with anticipation. However, he was looking forward to seeing this patient. In all the time his clinic had been open, this was the first instance of someone calling the number posted on the door, and they had specifically mentioned it was a strange case.

Cai Qiong’s car was parked at the village entrance, which wasn’t far from the clinic. The layout of Paigou Village featured steep, narrow roads, making it impossible for some homes to have parking. The Wang family residence was one such place, and there were many others like it. As more villagers bought cars, a parking lot had been built right at the entrance.

By the time Wang Jian and Cai Qiong neared the clinic, its doors were already open. Li Dayu was standing at the entrance, clearly greeting someone, though his words weren’t particularly pleasant.

"Brother Zhao, Wang Jian is on his way," Li Dayu said with a chuckle. "He should be here soon. But... why didn’t you go to the city? If the problem is serious, wouldn’t that be a better option?"

"That’s true," a man replied, his voice much deeper than Li Dayu’s. It was an unfamiliar voice, not belonging to anyone from the village. However, Li Dayu clearly knew him, so he must have been from a neighboring village. The man continued, "But I pulled some strings to see a doctor at Cai Hospital. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong either. When he learned I was from these mountains, he recommended I come here to see Doctor Wang."

"He recommended you come here?" Li Dayu was visibly surprised. "Which doctor was it?"

"A highly skilled specialist who just returned from Beijing."

"Highly skilled?" Li Dayu pursed his lips. What did he know about doctors? Deep down, he didn’t think Wang Jian was all that great. This specialist probably wasn’t much either; otherwise, why would he recommend Wang Jian? The more the stories about Wang Jian spread through the village, the more he scoffed at them internally. In his opinion, none of the ailments treated so far had been serious. A truly difficult case would definitely stump Wang Jian. But Li Dayu was a man driven by profit. He didn’t care whether Wang Jian had genuine skills or not; Wang Jian’s fame brought only benefits to their village. So, despite his private thoughts, he was always actively helping Wang Jian out.

When he saw Wang Jian walk in, Li Dayu immediately went up to him. "Xiao Jian, you’re finally here!"

"Uncle Li, is this your friend?" As Wang Jian entered, he saw a man about Li Dayu’s age sitting inside. Judging by the wrinkles on his face, he was likely older than Li Dayu—a fact confirmed by how Li Dayu had addressed him. There was no one else in the clinic, so this had to be the patient Li Dayu mentioned on the phone.

Wang Jian’s gaze immediately fixed on the man’s face, beginning the first step of Chinese medical diagnosis: observation. Of course, he started with the complexion. In Chinese medicine, a person’s complexion is correlated with the five elements and categorized into five colors: red, green, yellow, white, and black. A healthy complexion is described as having a subtly ruddy and yellowish hue, as this is the typical skin tone for people of Chinese descent. On this basis, when the skin clearly leans toward one of the other colors, it often indicates specific health issues. A complexion that is dull and withered, shows one color too prominently, or displays a color in an inappropriate area is a clear sign that something is wrong.

The man before him was quite interesting. Aside from wrinkles and other signs of age, his face was a rich palette of colors. Green, yellow, white, black, red—it had hints of them all. The colors weren’t pure but were subtle inclinations. An ordinary person would only find the man’s complexion odd, likely unable to distinguish the specific shades. Wang Jian could discern the nuances because of his deep understanding of a person’s qi; his observation of the man’s vital energy and color was far more thorough.

This kind of phenomenon would only occur if all of a person’s major internal organs were afflicted. But anyone in such a state would surely be near death, not sitting here chatting cheerfully with Li Dayu. Yet this man defied convention, sitting there as if nothing was wrong. Interesting. It’s truly a peculiar illness.

"Ahem, let me introduce you," Li Dayu said, leading Wang Jian over to the man with a smile. "This is Secretary Zhao Chunyang from the Erfen Farm Division, a veteran figure in our town. If I remember correctly, your father even brought you to his home for a wedding feast when you were little."

Wang Jian kept a smile on his face, his mood unperturbed by Li Dayu’s words. After all, it seemed like every stranger he met in his hometown claimed to have held him as a child.

Sure enough, Zhao Chunyang began, "Time really flies. I held you when you were just a boy, and in the blink of an eye, you’re all grown up."

Unsurprised, Wang Jian bypassed the pleasantries and got straight to the point. "Secretary Zhao, where are you feeling discomfort?" With anyone else, Wang Jian might have spotted the issue at a glance. Zhao Chunyang, however, was a special case. Wang Jian couldn’t tell what was wrong just by looking, so he had to resort to questioning.

"Actually, it’s not a major issue." Zhao Chunyang moved to sit at the consultation desk and continued to explain, "Lately, I’ve been feeling some tightness in my chest, and I haven’t been sleeping well. I keep having nightmares, and I wake up drenched in sweat. That’s why I decided to go to the hospital."

Wang Jian had overheard part of their conversation at the door and knew Zhao Chunyang had already been to a hospital. "What did the tests show?" he asked directly.

Just as Wang Jian finished his question, Cai Qiong walked in through the doorway, raising a mirrorless camera.