Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âLet me take a look at him first. Where is he?â Wang Yao asked.
âHeâs just outside. Iâll bring him in,â the woman said.
She went out to bring her husband into the clinic with her sonâs help.
âMom, this is the doctor you mentioned?â her son asked with surprise.
âYeah, keep your voice down. You are too loud,â the woman said.
The facial expression on her sonâs face told Wang Yao that he didnât think Wang Yao was a reliable doctor given his age.
âIs this the first time he had a stroke?â Wang Yao asked.
The patient displayed impaired gait and hemiplegia, as well as facial paralysis. He was still drooling.
âNo, the second time. The first stroke was two years ago,â the woman said.
âYes,â the patient said.
âHelp him sit down,â Wang Yao said.
The problems associated with a stroke were in the brain. A thrombosis developed in the brain and stopped normal blood circulation. In traditional Chinese medicine, it was considered a condition caused by stagnancy of Qi and blood.
âThis is not his first stroke?â Wang Yao asked again.
âNo, his second one. The first stroke was over a year ago,â the woman said.
Wang Yao took a good look at the patient, especially his head. âYou want him to get treatment here?â
âYes,â the woman said.
Her son pouted to express disagreement. He thought, Of course we are here to seek treatment. You think we are here to buy pancakes?
His mother gave him a hard look as he was about to say something.
âOK, sit still,â Wang Yao said. He took out his acupuncture needles. âPlease do not move.â
He inserted the needles into the patientâs head. The patientâs condition was different from the last stroke patient he had treated. To be precise, this patientâs condition was worse. Therefore, Wang Yao stimulated his head, where he had problems of Qi and blood circulation.
âIs this gonna work? Sticking needles in his head?â The patientâs son was concerned about his father. He started at Wang Yaoâs hand.
His mother was also concerned. She was clutching her clothes and sweating. âHow do you feel? Let us know if you donât feel comfortable.â
âOK,â the patient said.
Wang Yao just smiled. After the acupuncture session, he gave the patient a massage. He started with the patientâs face. He was gentle at first and slowly increased strength. He pressed the acupoints first and followed the meridians with his hands.
The purpose of massage was to clear the thrombosis. Wang Yao used external force to remove obstructions from the blocked blood vessels. Qi and blood were like running rivers of water. If the flowed normally, they would nurture the plants on both sides of the river. If they didnât flow smoothly, they would cause a flood.
âHow do you feel?â the woman asked.
âI feel very comfortable,â the patient said.
Wang Yaoâs massage warmed up his whole head. The numbness and swelling had also disappeared. He felt much more comfortable.
âCan you lift your arm?â Wang Yao asked. âJust copy my movement.â
Wang Yao stopped the massage. âCan you squeeze my hand as hard as you can?â
The strength and range of movement of the patientâs arm were better than the last stroke patient, but the condition of his leg was worse.
After the patient had finished warming up, Wang Yao continued with treatment.
âLooks professional,â the patientâs son said. âDad, how do you feel?â
âI feel alright,â the patient said.
âI think your speech is less slurred,â the woman excitedly said. âCan you say something?â
âWhat do you want me to say?â the patient asked.
âHis speech is better, donât you think? Son?â the wife asked.
âYes, I think so.â Although the son doubted Wang Yaoâs ability at first, he now had to admit that he was a good doctor. His fatherâs speech had improved in a short period of time. And, his fatherâs face looked more normal. âYou are good.â His point view toward Wang Yao had started to change.
âWell, letâs call it a day. I also have some herbal pills here.â Wang Yao took out the pills he had made a few days ago. âAs for the fees, one session of acupuncture and massage therapy is $200. The pill is also $200.â
âWhat? Thatâs so expensive,â the son said in shock. All his favorable impressions about Wang Yao were gone.
âI donât think so,â Wang Yao calmly said.
All the herbs the pills contained were wild. Most of them were from his herbal field, which was nurtured by the Spirit Gathering Battle Array. The herbs had absorbed all the aura around them, so they were even better than the ones that grew in the mountains. In addition, the pills contained Ziyu soup. Ziyu was a licorice root, which couldnât be purchased with money.
âWeâll pay,â the woman said. âHow long does he need to take the pills for?â
âTake one pill daily. Start with 10 pills,â Wang Yao said.
âTen pills for 10 days. So, it will cost $2,000,â the woman said.
Her family had already spent over $10,000 in the hospital. With reimbursement, her out of pocket expense would be over $8,000. She was willing to pay Wang Yao $2,000 as long as he could cure her husband.
âMom!â Her son decided to stop his mother from being fooled. Otherwise, his mother would be used by others without being aware that she was fooled.
âLook, Dr. Wang, can we buy three to start with?â the son asked.
âSure,â Wang Yao said. He was confident about his herbs. Three pills would make a difference.
âWe just want to see whether the pills will work,â the son said. Are you trying to grab whatever you can grab?
In fact, Wang Yao didnât care about money. He just had to put a price on his herbs since he had spent a lot of time and effort on them. They were valuable.
The wife paid for three pills. She packed the pills with great care. âThank you, Dr. Wang.â
âYou are welcome. Please take this as well. Iâve written down some precautions for you. I think heâs got high blood pressure and high cholesterol,â said Wang Yao.
âYes,â the woman said.
âHe needs to be very mindful of his lifestyle from now on. Stroke is closely related to high cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar level. He needs to change his lifestyle. He needs to have a light diet and exercise regularly,â Wang Yao said.
âOK, I see.â The woman, her son, and her husband all left the clinic after the woman had expressed her gratitude.
âMom, heâs a fraud,â the son said as soon as they had left the clinic.
âWhat fraud? Keep your voice down. I donât want Dr. Wang to hear you. Havenât you noticed your fatherâs facial paralysis is much better? And, his speech is also better. That doctor is really good,â the woman said.
âI noticed, but $200 a pill is ridiculous. Maybe he was just lucky to hit the spot,â the son said.
âStop it! Even wild ginseng could cost over $10,000. Whatâs wrong with the cost of the pills? The imported medication the hospital gave us were $75 a pill. Why didnât you think that was expensive?â she asked.
âThat medication is from a proper hospital,â the son said.
âNo more complaining. Letâs go home,â the patient said. His speech was still slurred, but it was better than before.
âOK, letâs go home,â his wife said.
Meanwhile, in Sun Yunshengâs house, Zheng Weijun woke up.
âHmm, so strange, Weijun woke up so early this time,â Mr. Wu said. âWeijun, how are you feeling?â
Mr. Wu hoped there was nothing wrong with the young man since he woke up two days earlier than normal.
âNothing special. I feel better than the last time I woke up. I can feel pain this time,â Zheng Weijun said.
âWhere is the pain?â Mr. Wu asked with concern.
âEverywhere, but the pain is not too bad. Donât worry too much,â Zheng Weijun said with a smile.
âWait for me,â Zheng Shixiong said.
He went to Wang Yaoâs clinic to invite him to see Zheng Weijun
âHeâs awake? When?â Wang Yao asked.
âJust now,â Zheng Weijun said.
Wang Yao immediately went to Sun Yunshengâs house with Zheng Shixiong. He had a good look at Zheng Weijun.
âI think he woke up earlier because of the detox,â Wang Yao said.
His detox soup could act against the medication that put Zheng Weijun into deep sleep. It made the medication lose its effect earlier.
âWhat should we do about it?â Zheng Shixiong asked.
âItâs fine. Stop giving him the medication to make him sleep. Just give him the two decoctions from me,â Wang Yao said.
âOK,â Mr. Wu said.
Wang Yao looked up at the sky and said, âIâll come back here tomorrow about 9 a.m. to give him acupuncture. Feed him some decoction at about 8:30 a.m.â
âOK,â Mr. Wu said.
âHeâs going to have a hard time from now on,â Wang Yao said.
âWhy?â Mr. Wu asked.
âHis five senses will gradually recover. Heâll start to feel all sorts of pain. Be prepared,â Wang Yao said.