Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
No one wanted to break the peace.
âItâs so quiet!â A man was looking through the window at the moon while he was lying on the bed. âWhat a beautiful night. I really want to sing.â
He opened his mouth but didnât make any sound.
âWhat am I thinking? Given my current condition, of course, I canât sing,â the man murmured. âWhen is this going to end?â
The sun rose, as usual, the next morning. It was the hottest time of the year.
âItâs so hot today!â The villagers were complaining. Most of them wouldnât go out on such a hot day. They either stayed at home or sat under the big tree outside the village.
...
Meanwhile, in a small village in southern Yunnan, many people came to see the King Pharmacist.
The roads were muddy. Most of the houses in the village were made of bamboo. The village looked shabby and old.
What was unbelievable was that cars were parked everywhere outside the village. All kinds of vehicles came to the village, including those luxurious and expensive ones.
âIs this the right place?â A car stopped outside the village.
âItâs so hard to find this place. There are so many cars around here,â a middle-aged man inside the car said.
He got out of the car and walked into the village. He stopped an elderly villager to ask about the King Pharmacist. The elderly villager told him that the King Pharmacist had a lot of rules. All the cars parked outside the village carried patients wanting to see the King Pharmacist. Some of them had waited for a month.
They needed to get a number to be put on a waiting list. The King Pharmacist wouldnât see anyone when he was not in a good mood. He also didnât want to see anyone he didnât like.
âThese rules are so strange,â the middle-aged man said. âWhat a difficult person!â
âHe is,â the villager said.
The King Pharmacist rarely made a house visit unless the patient offered him rare and precious herbs or poison, excluding Western medicine.
He knew if his boss came here, she would piss him off. She was too proud to follow anyoneâs rules. He presumed that King Pharmacist probably wouldnât visit Beijing to treat her son.
Should I invite him to Beijing? the middle-aged man thought.
It would almost be a mission impossible. He was told that the King Pharmacist gained his fame decades ago. He had seen almost all kinds of herbs. The middle-aged man couldnât think of any herbs that could impress the King Pharmacist.
Nothingâs going to work! He scratched his head. How can I report back to Ms. Li? Wait! I heard he has several students. Maybe I can approach them first.
He immediately took action as he started to ask about the King Pharmacistâs students. The King Pharmacist had two students, but they had only learned about 30% of their teacherâs knowledge. Even with 30% of his knowledge, they were good doctors and had good reputations. Both of them had a long waiting list. Apparently, they didnât have as many rules as their teacher. Their patients were first in first served. They were also happy to do home visits under certain circumstances.
Thatâs good! the middle-aged man thought.
He went to see one of the King Pharmacistâs students. He waited the whole morning.
âHow can I help you?â The King Pharmacistâs student was a man in his 40s. He was slightly overweight.
âIâm fine. I came here on behalf of someone,â the middle-aged man said.
âOn behalf of someone?â the doctor asked with surprise.
âYes. I have his medical notes. Could you please take a look?â The middle-aged man showed the doctor Hou Shidaâs medical notes.
âHmm!â The doctor frowned after reading the notes. âWhere is the patient?â
âIn Beijing. I came from Beijing,â the middle-aged man replied.
âBeijing?â the doctor asked with surprise.
Beijing was located in the northern part of China while southern Yunnan was pretty much the southernmost place of China. Beijing also had the best medical recourse in China, including medical staff and equipment. The doctor never had any patients from Beijing, but he knew a lot of people went to the hospital in Beijing.
âSorry, I donât think I can help him by reading the notes,â the doctor said.
âWould you be able to do a home visit?â the middle-aged man asked.
âI do a home visit once a month. Iâve done one this month, sorry,â the doctor said.
âHow about next month?â the middle-aged man asked.
âIâm fully booked next month,â the doctor said.
âOh!â The middle-aged man realized this doctor also had rules. They were just less weird. âCanât you make an exception?â
The doctor shook his head with a smile.
The middle-aged man wasnât sure what to do. He thought, It will be even more difficult to find the King Pharmacistâs other student. I heard the other student travels around all the time. No one knows when and where heâs going to show up.
He didnât immediately leave. He decided to wait until the doctor had seen all the patients for the day. He wanted to have another chat with him. The doctor didnât close his clinic until 9 p.m. As he was about to go home, he saw the middle-aged man waiting outside his clinic.
âHello, Dr. Wu,â the middle-aged man said.
âYou are still here!â Dr. Wu was surprised to see him.
âHave you had dinner? How about I treat you to dinner?â the middle-aged man asked.
âNo, thanks. Just tell me what you want,â Dr. Wu said.
âLook, it was not an easy trip for me to come all the way from Beijing,â the middle-aged man said. He was basically begging the doctor. âCan you please make an exception? Iâm happy to pay anything you ask. Actually, Iâm happy to pay three times more than the normal fee.â
âWell, itâs not about money,â Dr. Wu said.
âFive times more,â the middle-aged man said without hesitation.
Dr. Wu didnât immediately reply.
âTen times more.â The middle-aged man increased the payment again.
âDo you have any idea how much I charge for an initial consultation?â Dr. Wu asked.
âHow much?â the middle-aged man asked.
Dr. Wu opened his palm. â$50,000.â
âIâm happy to pay $500,000,â the middle-aged man said.
âHa-ha.â Dr. Wu laughed. âFine.â
âGreat!â The middle-aged man clapped his hands. âWhen will you available?â
âThe day after tomorrow,â Dr. Wu said.
âGreat. Iâll arrange the trip for you,â the middle-aged man happily said. He also paid the deposit.
The middle-aged man thought, Fortunately, the King Pharmacistâs student is easier. At least I can use money to deal with him.
Although the fee sounded ridiculous to most people, it was acceptable to the Hou family. The middle-aged man reported to Ms. Li the next morning about his achievement.
âFine. Since itâs too hard to get the King Pharmacist, let his student take a look at my son,â she said. âI hope he can help my boy.â
...
Meanwhile, Wang Yao had four patients in the morning. Three of them were from his village. All of them had bad diarrhea.
âYao, Iâve been having a stomachache and diarrhea,â one of the three patients said.
âYou ate something you were not supposed to eat. Your stomach is damaged,â Wang Yao said.
He gave the patient an acupuncture treatment. He inserted needles in the stomach acupoints and prescribed him two formulas.
âStop eating anything cold, raw, or spicy,â Wang Yao said, âTake the herbal decoction twice a day, in the morning and at night. Youâll be fine after two days.â
âOK, thank you, Yao,â the patient said.
Wang Yao didnât want to see the next patient, who was a well-known alcoholic in the village. For him, alcohol was more important than anything else. He would skip meals because he drank too much. It wasnât his first time to come to the clinic because he had drunk too much.
âYao, can you take a look at me?â the man asked. âI canât tolerate the stomach pain anymore, and Iâve been having diarrhea no matter what I eat. I didnât drink. Iâm telling you the truth.â
A gust of unpleasant smell came out of his mouth when he was talking.
âI can prescribe you a formula.â Wang Yao tried to be nice to him because he was from the neighborhood. âMy advice stays the same. You must not drink alcohol or smoke. Donât come back here if you canât commit.â
âOK, I see.â The patient left after paying the fee.
The third patient was a man in his 30s. His face was a sickly yellow, and he was very unsteady.
âHello, Doctor, I have a stomachache too,â he said.
âShow me your tongue,â Wang Yao said.
The patient stuck out his tongue.
âHmm, you suffer from severe heat and damp poison,â Wang Yao said.
People were easily affected by heat poison during summer. However, summer was the best time of the year to get rid of the damp inside the body.
âYour body needs regulation,â Wang Yao said.
âWait, doctor, I just have stomach pain,â the patient said. âCan you prescribe something to stop diarrhea? Why does my body need regulation?â
âSince you know so much about your condition, what do you need me for?â Wang Yao asked.
âI donât...â The person didnât know what to say. âLook, Doctor, I didnât mean that. How should I regulate my body?â
âI need to remove the heat poison from your body and try to remove the damp,â Wang Yao said. âIâll give you two prescriptions. Take one prescription at a time.â
âHow long will the treatment last?â the patient asked.
âTen days,â Wang Yao replied.
âOK, thatâs fine,â the patient said.