Chapter 277 - There Was a Last-Minute Change to the Rules!

They walked out of the room.

Several staff members looked at each other, and they saw each other’s embarrassment and shock reflected on their faces and in their eyes.

“Was that kid some kind of freak?” one staff member asked.

“Have you ever come across such an incredibly talented junior?” the middle-aged man asked.

Everyone else shook their heads.

“That was simply amazing.”

“Yes, this is the first time I’ve seen someone who could use their hands to gather the ingredients for their prescription.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone within the field of Chinese Medicine who used their own hands to gather ingredients, let alone anyone from the juniors.”

“His hand is as accurate as the electronic scale.”

“I’ve truly witnessed a miracle today.”

The staff members chattered amongst themselves as they headed to the meeting room on the third floor.

The elderly men in the meeting room looked very calm and composed.

They didn’t seem as shocked as the staff members but they were merely pretending to be calm.

In fact, they had been even more astonished than the staff members when they saw how accurately Fang Qiu had gathered the ingredients, especially when Fang Qiu had claimed that he had gained this ability through experience.

They felt both shocked and disgruntled.

They were shocked to find out that Fang Qiu possessed such an incredible ability.

At the same time, they were disgruntled because they had spent a lifetime practicing Chinese Medicine, but they had failed to do what Fang Qiu could. Fang Qiu’s comment seemed to be made offhandedly, but it was a blow to their pride.

“We must admit the inevitable; that the young would replace the old. We’ve gotten on in age,” an elderly man said with a wry smile.

“Alas, indeed. We’re old now,” another elderly man agreed with a nod. “These young men will be the future pillars of Chinese Medicine.”

“This kid is truly extraordinary!” an elderly man with a round face said. “The kid’s performance from the very beginning has surpassed our expectations. First, he used both hands to read the patient’s pulses and quickly made a diagnosis, issued a prescription, and brewed the medicine; and now, he has shown that he could use his hands to collect ingredients. I wonder what other talents he has. How clever could he be?”

The other elderly men’s curiosity was piqued by his words.

“Fang Qiu and Yu Ziyuan seem to be complete opposites of each other. One is as sharp and accurate as a sharp sword while the other is as calm and steady as an impregnable shield,” an elderly man commented.

“A sword and a shield?” another elderly man muttered softly.

His eyes suddenly lit up as he said, “Since this is the case, should we tweak the rules?”

“How?” the others asked.

“As craftsman doctors, we belong to an unofficial organization, so we will be able to change the rules as long as we all agree unanimously to do so.”

The round-faced elderly man paused and chuckled before he added, “Shall we pit the ‘sword’ and ‘shield’ against each other?”

The moment he spoke, the others’ eyes lit up.

“Good idea.”

“These two kids are both talented in their own right. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to pit them against each other.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Ultimately, everyone looked at each other and chuckled before they agreed to change the rules.

Then, the arrangements were quickly cascaded down.

In the afternoon at 3:40, a staff member suddenly entered his room after Fang Qiu had finished seeing his 24th patient and was about to call in the next patient.

“The higher-ups have decided to change the rules. Please follow me,” the staff member said.

Fang Qiu frowned the moment he spoke.

What kind of new plan were they cooking up?

He was about to see the final patient, and after he finished seeing the patient and brewing the medicine for his last patient, he could leave this place. Why was there a sudden change in the rules?

He was very confused, but he did not pose any further questions but instead left with the staff member.

In the other room, Yu Ziyuan had just finished seeing his tenth patient.

He would probably have to stay behind tonight at the rate he was going.

However, he did not grow impatient, and he continued plowing ahead steadily.

He finished with his tenth patient and was about to call in his eleventh patient when a staff member walked in and said, “There’s been a last-minute change to the rules of the examination. Please come with me.”

“What kind of change?” Yu Ziyuan asked as he looked at the staff member in surprise.

“I’m not sure either. You’ll find out,” the staff member said and strode out of the room.

Yu Ziyuan quickly followed after him without further hesitation.

Soon, the staff members led them both to a meeting room on the third floor.

As soon as he entered the room, Fang Qiu saw several elderly men sitting around a rectangular table. The screen on the wall showed the situation in both examination rooms.

Fang Qiu looked at these elderly men in confusion.

He was just about to voice his confusion when someone else walked in.

He turned and suddenly saw another staff member and Yu Ziyuan enter the room.

“Alright,” the round-faced elderly man said with a smile. “There are very few examinations held to select craftsman doctors. Normally, only one person would come forward to do the examination in a week or even a month. However, we have two applicants today.”

“We were already aware that we had two candidates, but no matter how hard we tried, we weren’t able to gather 50 patients today and only managed to find 49 patients. Thus, we have decided to tweak the rules at the last moment.”

The elderly men seemed very composed, and no one seemed to be uncomfortable.

Fang Qiu immediately understood what was going on after the round-faced elderly man spoke.

However, Yu Ziyuan only became more confused.

How could the rules change without any warning? And what did he mean by the very last moment?

What was going on?

Yu Ziyuan was still feeling very baffled when the round-faced elderly man said as he looked at Fang Qiu, “We had assumed that the both of you would have finished seeing 24 patients at the same time, but to our surprise, this candidate saw patients at a rate much faster than we expected. He has already seen his 24th patient, so there is only one left, the 25th patient.”

Yu Ziyuan froze in surprise and turned to look at Fang Qiu in astonishment.

This kid looked younger than him and seemed to be only 17 or 18 years of age, so how could he have already seen his 24th patient?

How could he be so quick?

It was only 3:40 PM!

He had meticulously and painstakingly seen and diagnosed his patients from 8:30 in the morning, but he had only seen his tenth patient at this point. How could Fang Qiu have seen so many patients?

Could he be deliberately accelerating his speed of seeing patients because his skills were subpar?

“This candidate’s speed has surpassed our expectations, so we have decided to let both of you see the final patient,” the round-faced elderly man said. “This time, we will require both of you to write down your observations from your four methods of diagnosis since you will both be seeing the patient at the same time. This is no longer just about writing down your prescription, do you understand?”

Fang Qiu and Yu Ziyuan both nodded and expressed that they had no further questions.

“Very well. Who would like to go first?” the round-faced elderly man asked.

“I’ll go first,” Fang Qiu said and pursed his lips.

He was rushing for time.

More importantly, he felt as though the examination was conducted in a very disorganized manner.

How was inviting 49 patients related to both of them undergoing the examination at the same time?

Why couldn’t they select one of the 25 patients that Fan Qiu had seen after he had finished seeing them all for Yu Ziyuan to diagnose as well?

He already thought that it was odd how the examiners were only requesting them to write a prescription without observing its effects on the patients, and now, they had even summoned them to the meeting room?

More importantly, even after they announced the change in rules, the examiners were still requesting them to see the sole patient one by one. Hence, how was this any different from them seeing the patient in their own separate examination rooms? In any case, one patient couldn’t possibly eat two types of medicine.

Fang Qiu had already figured out what was going on.

He guessed that these elderly men must have suddenly decided to change the rules in order to test them both.

However, he didn’t have any time to waste arguing with them, for he still had to attend the gathering at the manor.

“Go ahead,” the round-faced elderly man said with a nod.

Then, the middle-aged man walked up to them and led them to a room on the second floor.

The windows of this room were covered with black cloth.

“Go in,” the middle-aged man said to Fang Qiu after he opened the door.

Then, he told Yu Ziyuan, “There are benches over there. You may sit there while waiting for your turn.”

The middle-aged man then went to call for the patient.

Soon, the middle-aged man led the patient into the room.

At the moment, Fang Qiu was already seated at the desk and was ready to see the patient.

Fang Qiu immediately started observing his patient the moment the patient entered the room.

He saw a woman who seemed to be in her forties; she was a medium-sized woman, and her complexion seemed ruddier than usual.

The patient took her seat.

Fang Qiu asked, “May I know if you’re experiencing any discomfort?”

“The right side of my waist hurts,” the woman said as she pinched her right waist. “It has been hurting for almost two years. Moreover, I have a poor digestive system and have chronic constipation. I feel numbness in my fingers occasionally, and sometimes my legs cramp, but it doesn’t happen as often.”

“Do you have a regular period cycle?” he asked.

“No,” the middle-aged woman said as she shook her head.

“Are you taking any forms of medication at the moment?” he asked.

“I’m taking contraceptive pills because it can regulate my period,” she said.

“Do you sleep well?” Fang Qiu asked as he wrote his observations down.

“Not, not well,” the woman replied. “I’m able to fall asleep, but I’m easily awakened, and once I wake up, I find it hard to fall back asleep.”

“How long have you been constipating for? Do you pass out gas?” Fang Qiu asked.

“No, I haven’t. Not for a while,” she answered.

“What’s the color of your urine?” he asked.

“Dark yellow,” she answered.

“Does your stomach give you any discomfort?” he asked.

“I burp very often, and sometimes, I do get acid reflux,” she answered.

“How is your appetite?” he asked.

“It’s pretty good. It is much better, and I find myself eating more than before as well,” she said.

“You mentioned that you feel numbness in your fingers. Could you elaborate a little more?” he asked.

“I would feel a sudden numbness in my fingers and legs, and my legs will go cold,” she answered.

“Do you feel thirsty often?” he asked.

“No. In fact, I often forget to drink water.”

Fang Qiu continued to take notes as he made queries.

Soon, he had already noted down all the information he gathered during the interrogation part of the four diagnostic methods.

“Please open your mouth,” he said.

He concluded the interrogation portion and continued with the observation part of the four diagnostic methods.

Soon, he noticed that the patient’s tongue had a yellow tinge and was thicker than usual.

He concluded his observation and took the patient’s pulse.

One minute later.

Her pulse was slow and weak.

He recorded his observations.

Fang Qiu continued to speak as he took down notes.

His diagnosis: there is a deficiency of the patient’s bladder meridian and there is extra heat in her stomach meridian. Thus, her urine is dark yellow in color and she can’t pass gas. Her appetite is stronger than usual because of the heat in her stomach meridian. However, the patient does not feel thirsty which shows that she has an interior cold syndrome. She is losing sleep because of the lack of new blood.

This patient had an internal stasis of heat and cold.

His recommendation for treatment: acupuncture of the Yingu and Weizhong points on her left foot and the lumbar-leg point. It would be a treatment by targeting symmetrical acupunctural points.

He finished writing his diagnosis and conclusion.

He thought for a moment before he started to write his prescription.