Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âWhy didnât the injection work?â the woman asked.
âDid he have fried chicken for breakfast?â Wang Yao asked.
âYeah, he loves fried chicken,â the woman replied.
âI think you should stop giving him fried food, which is hard to digest, especially when he is unwell,â Wang Yao said. âFried food will make his condition worse.â
Nowadays, a lot of parents spoiled their kids too much. They allowed their kids to do things they were not supposed to do as long as their kids liked it. Those children often lacked discipline. Their parents tended to look for excuses for their behaviors, such as that the kids were too young or would get better when they were older. Those excuses were ridiculous. Children needed to develop good lifestyles from when they are very young. It wouldnât be easy for them to change when they grew up.
âLook, Iâll prescribe a formula for your son,â Wang Yao said. âJust see how it goes. Make sure you give him a light diet all the time. Donât give him anything with a strong taste. You must remember that.â
âIâll make sure he wonât eat anything heâs not supposed to,â the woman said.
âIf you canât discipline him, donât bother to come back,â Wang Yao said.
âSure, Iâll follow your instructions,â the woman said.
She paid the fee, took the herbs with her, and left the clinic with her son.
âNext,â Wang Yao called out.
âHi, Dr. Wang, my daughter also suffers from coughing, a wet cough,â the girlâs mother said. âShe canât stop coughing day and night.â
The girl was around 7 or 8. She had similar symptoms as the boy he had just seen but slightly less severe. He prescribed the same formula.
âThank you,â the girlâs mother said.
The third patient was another child but much younger. He was less than 3 years old. He was wheezing and had difficulty breathing.
âHow old is the kid?â Wang Yao asked.
âHeâs 2 ½,â the childâs mother said.
Wang Yao could tell the child had sputum in his lungs by listening to his breathing. Such a young boy couldnât spit the sputum by himself. The boy also had diarrhea.
âHow long has he been unwell?â Wang Yao asked.
âOver a week,â the boyâs mother said. âThe doctor from the hospital prescribed some medication for him, but he started to have diarrhea four days after.â
âI see. Iâll try to stop the diarrhea first and then the cough,â Wang Yao said.
âMom, I want to go to the toilet,â the boy said.
âThe toilet is in the courtyard,â Wang Yao said.
The boyâs mother took her son out and came back a moment later.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âIâm sorry.â The woman apologized.
âNo worries,â Wang Yao said.
He gave the boy a massage. The boy kept passing gas that smelled awful. Wang Yao patted on the boyâs back. The boy suddenly started to fiercely cough. He soon spat out some yellow sputum.
Wang Yao prescribed him two different formulas. âOne is to treat his diarrhea, and the other is to treat his coughing. He should be on a light diet.â
âI see,â the boyâs mother said.
The woman left with her son after paying the fee.
The fourth patient was a woman in her 60s.
âHow can I help you, Maâam?â Wang Yao asked.
âI have pain in my legs,â the woman said. âThe pain started in autumn.â
âLet me take a look,â Wang Yao said.
He took a close look at the woman, whose issue was not too serious. The meridians in her legs were blocked due to the weather. The blockage caused the pain.
âYour condition is not too bad,â Wang Yao said.
He neither prescribed any medication for her nor gave her acupuncture treatment. He simply gave her a massage to unblock the meridians. Twenty minutes later, the old woman felt the pain had reduced significantly in her legs. She had a warm feeling in her legs and felt very comfortable.
âDr. Wang, you are such a fantastic doctor just as I was told,â the woman said.
âIâm flattered,â Wang Yao said with a smile.
The old woman left half an hour later.
Wang Yao saw 12 patients in the morning. There were still people waiting at lunchtime. He called his parents to tell them he wouldnât be home for lunch. He continued to see patients, most of whom were children.
This episode of the virus is really strong. The virus is still lingering around, Wang Yao thought.
He remembered parents had brought their kids to see him before he visited Dao. Most of those kids had a bad cough. It had almost been a month since his visit to Dao, but more and more children were sick.
Meanwhile, in Beijing, Su Zhixing wanted to get out of the hospital.
âDoctor, can I be discharged?â he asked.
âNo.â The registrar doctor declined without hesitation.
âI think Iâm fine now,â Su Zhixing said.
âNot really,â the doctor said. âYou still need therapy. Iâm your doctor. Iâm the person making decisions.â
âFine.â Su Zhixing laid back down.
Iâm spending too much time lying on the bed. My body is getting rusty. I must take a walk outside, he thought.
He left his room and went next door. Meng Wushuang, who was staying next door to Su Zhixing had been recovering well. He was doing sit-ups when Su Zhixing walked in.
âHi, Captain,â Meng Wushuang said.
âGood for you,â Su Zhixing said. âWhy you are recovering faster than me?â
âItâs thanks to Dr. Wang. Take a seat, Captain.â Meng Wushuang stood up. âThe doctor just came in to check on me. He said I can be discharged in a few days. How about you?â
âI guess pretty soon,â said Su Zhixing, who was not very sure about it. âCan you exercise even though you have just recovered a bit?â
âI think so. Iâm confident with my body,â Meng Wushuang replied. âI did a lot of practicing, including breathing exercises, when I was in Shaolin Temple. I recover faster than average people following an injury.â
âHmm, Shaolin Temple is the sacred place for kung fu,â Su Zhixing said.
âCaptain, is Dr. Wang really as good as you said?â Meng Wushuang asked.
âOf course. I contested him before,â Su Zhixing said. âYou can do the same after you have fully recovered.â
âNo, Dr. Wang saved my life,â Meng Wushuang said.
âJust practice with him,â Su Zhixing said.
He chatted with Meng Wushuang for a while before returning to his room. A moment later, he had a visitor.
The visitor was Guo Zhenghe. âHello, Zhixing.â
âHi, Zhenghe, please come in and take a seat,â Su Zhixing said with a smile. Although he didnât like Guo Zhenghe, he wanted to remain courteous.
âYou look well,â Guo Zhenghe said. âYou should be fine now.â
âYeah, I feel good,â Su Zhixing said. âI want to get out of the hospital, but my doctor doesnât agree.â
âYou have to listen to the doctor,â Guo Zhenghe said. âMake sure you are fine before you are discharged.â
âHow are you doing?â Su Zhixing asked. âAre you still working in southern Yunnan? You are a governor now, so I suppose you must be busy.â
âYeah, Iâve been busy,â Guo Zhenghe said âIâm on a business trip to Beijing discussing a project. The place I work at is very poor. The infrastructure there is bad. Not many people want to invest there. I tried my best to use all of my connections to attract investment. There has been an increase in tourists recently. Someone also built a medicine processing factory there. Things are getting better. Iâm here to apply for more government funding.â
âSounds like you are doing well,â Su Zhixing said. âHow is your funding application going?â
âNot too bad,â Guo Zhenghe replied. âI have approval. Although it isnât a lot of money, it will solve some urgent matters.â
âWhen will you go back?â Su Zhixing asked.
âTomorrow, so Iâm here to visit you today,â Guo Zhenghe said with a smile.
âThank you,â Su Zhixing said.
âYou are welcome,â Guo Zhenghe said. âYou are like a real brother to me.â
Seriously scheming, boy? Su Zhixing thought.
Guo Zhenghe didnât stay for long. He happened to bump into Su Xiaoxue in the elevator. âHey, Xiaoxue, have you finished your lectures?â
âYeah, did you come to visit my brother?â Su Xiaoxue asked.
âYes, I just saw him. He looks good,â Guo Zhenghe replied.
âYeah, thanks to Dr. Wang,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âHeâs a good doctor,â Guo Zhenghe said. âBy the way, are you available tonight?â
âSorry, Iâve got to stay with my brother tonight,â Su Xiaoxue replied.
âThatâs alright. Iâm leaving tomorrow,â Guo Zhenghe said.
âI see. I hope you have a good trip,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âThank you,â Guo Zhenghe said.
He entered the elevator after chatting with Su Xiaoxue for a short while. Although he had a big smile on his face, he was not happy at all. He thought, It seems both Su Xiaoxue and her brother want me to leave as soon as possible. Did I get on their nerves?
âWhat are you doing?â Su Xiaoxue was surprised to find her brother doing squats in the VIP room.
âI need to exercise or my body is going to get rusty,â Su Zhixing replied.
âTake it easy,â Su Xiaoxue said. âYour wound is not completely healed yet!â