Chapter 2: Whose Reputation?
Late at night, 11:57 PM.
[Time remaining until next intelligence refresh: 3 minutes]
As a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Li Xu hadn’t stayed up this late in a long time.
He usually went to bed before 11 PM.
The novelty of binding with the system hadn’t worn off yet.
He wanted to see what tomorrow’s intelligence would be.
「Three minutes later.」
The intelligence refreshed.
[Today’s Intelligence: The patient Zhang He has red, blurry eyes. He was diagnosed with chronic conjunctivitis by Western medicine and as having Yang excess by Traditional Chinese Medicine. In truth, his pulse is slightly deep, and his tongue is pale with a white coating, which are symptoms of Yang deficiency. He can be cured with True Martial Soup and the addition of Asarum.]
"Aiyah!"
Li Xu slapped his thigh. "Of course! Morning is when Yang Qi is most active. For his symptoms to flare up at that time, if it’s not Yang excess, it must be Yang deficiency. How did I not think of that before!"
During his previous diagnosis, he had noted that Zhang He’s pulse was slightly deep and his tongue was pale with a white coating, but he had subconsciously assumed it was Yang excess.
Besides, Zhang He had also mentioned that other TCM doctors had diagnosed him with Yang excess as well.
So Li Xu hadn’t given it a second thought.
He prescribed medicine for Yang excess.
He prescribed things like Longdan Xiegan, Jing Fang, Sang Ju, and Dong Di.
Not only would this medicine fail to treat the actual symptoms, it would cause gastrointestinal discomfort, dizziness, and vertigo.
"No wonder..."
Li Xu recalled that when Zhang He was at the clinic, he had mentioned symptoms of dizziness and vertigo.
He had assumed it was due to the eye condition.
Now it was clear the treatment wasn’t addressing the root cause.
’This intelligence system is really something else.’
Li Xu was excited.
Not only could it help him distinguish real medicinal herbs from fakes, but it could also provide treatment advice.
Its only drawback was the scarcity of intelligence.
’Maybe when it upgrades in the future, I’ll get more intelligence.’
He wasn’t an idiot.
He could learn from the system’s experience.
Perhaps in a few years, he could become a truly skilled and knowledgeable old-school TCM doctor.
He’d be able to diagnose and treat illnesses accurately even without relying on the system.
Additionally, Li Xu had figured out the scope of the intelligence provided by the system.
’It seems to be related to my profession, my immediate surroundings, and things I’m about to encounter.’
That was a good thing.
It made the information highly relevant.
Otherwise, getting intelligence he couldn’t use would just be a waste of an opportunity.
"Time for bed."
He woke up the next day.
After breakfast,
Li Xu began to mull over how to treat Zhang He.
He had the treatment method.
The problem now was that Zhang He’s mother didn’t trust him.
If she was unwilling to bring him over, he couldn’t just force a consultation on Zhang He.
As for just letting it be...
Never mind that their two families were neighbors.
Even without that connection, as a doctor, he couldn’t just ignore it.
"What should I do... I’ve got it!"
Li Xu thought of a plan.
His own reputation was poor.
But his deceased father’s reputation was excellent.
He took out his phone and found his neighbor Wang Qin’s number.
"Aunt Wang, are you on your way to work?"
"I was just about to leave."
"Don’t rush off. Bring Zhang He to my clinic."
"What for?"
"I was looking through my dad’s old diagnostic records these past couple of days. Many years ago, there was a patient with the exact same condition as Zhang He. After my dad prescribed some medicine, the patient got better."
"Really?" Wang Qin’s voice was filled with pleasant surprise.
"Would I lie to you? Just hurry and bring Zhang He over."
"Okay, okay, we’ll be right there."
He hung up the phone.
Li Xu sighed.
This was the power of a good reputation.
By using his father’s name, he could easily convince her to come.
If it were just him, Aunt Wang would never have trusted him.
「A short while later.」
Wang Qin arrived at the clinic with Zhang He.
The moment she stepped inside, she asked impatiently, "Li Xu, can you really cure him?"
Li Xu gestured for them to sit. "I can’t say with one hundred percent certainty, but I’m at least eighty or ninety percent sure."
Wang Qin breathed a sigh of relief and began to ramble, "That’s wonderful. His dad is working out of town and can’t come back right now. I’ve been worried sick every day, afraid that if this drags on too long, even if he gets better, he’ll fall behind in his studies..."
Li Xu had Zhang He sit closer.
He first took his pulse and examined his tongue coating.
It was just as the [Daily Intelligence] had described.
"Are you still taking the other medicine?"
"Yes, I am."
"And how do you feel after taking it?"
"Uhh... not much, really. I just feel bloated."
"Are you dizzy?"
"A little."
Li Xu knew what was going on.
It was Yang deficiency.
He prescribed three doses of medicine based on Zhang He’s condition.
Specifically, True Martial Soup with added Asarum.
True Martial Soup is made from five herbs: Poria Cocos, Peony, ginger, Aconite, and Atractylodes.
It primarily treats symptoms of Yang deficiency with water retention.
It’s also effective for aversion to cold, cold limbs, difficulty urinating, dizziness, vertigo, and a heavy, swollen feeling in the limbs.
He also added some Asarum.
Asarum is a warming medicinal herb. After consumption, it can restore Yang.
It can effectively supplement Yang Qi.
"These are three doses, one for each day. First, soak the herbs in cold water for half an hour, then boil for half an hour until you have one bowl left to drink. Don’t throw away the dregs just yet. Add more water and boil them again for a second serving..."
Li Xu explained the instructions carefully.
"Xiao Xu, thank you so much. How much is it?"
"It’s 15 yuan per dose, so 45 in total."
"I’ve sent the payment via QR code."
"Okay. Take care, Aunt Wang. And Zhang He, don’t worry, you’ll definitely get better."
...
After seeing them off,
The clinic fell quiet once again.
This situation wasn’t going to change overnight.
Li Xu could only pick up his medical books and continue reading.
In truth, no amount of reading could compare to real-world practice.
Only by seeing more patients and handling more cases
could he truly understand the knowledge in the books.
But patients didn’t trust him, so they didn’t come to him for treatment.
This left Li Xu with no way to improve his medical skills.
It was a vicious cycle.
’I can only take it slow.’
Li Xu pinned all his hopes on the Daily Intelligence.
For the rest of the day, no other patients came.
That night, Li Xu went to bed at his usual time.
The first thing he did after waking up
was check the system.
[Today’s Intelligence: The patient Liu Zhuzi is infected with the H3N2 influenza A virus. He is experiencing dizziness, vertigo, a persistent high fever, and a sore, swollen throat. He can be treated with Pudi Lan Oral Liquid or Antiviral Granules.]
Li Xu knew Liu Zhuzi.
He ran a bun shop on the same street, about 100 meters from the clinic.
Li Xu went there to buy buns every few days.
He had even gone there yesterday.
But the shop was closed.
’So he caught the flu...’
With the current strain of flu, fever, coughing, and a sore throat were mild symptoms. A severe case could be fatal.
’Should I give him a call?’ Li Xu wondered.
The treatment methods suggested by today’s intelligence were quite common.
Li Xu was skeptical about their effectiveness.
Besides, what excuse could he use to get him to come over?
Should he use his father’s reputation again?
But the flu was a common illness.
It wasn’t like Zhang He’s condition.
Zhang He’s illness was relatively rare, and even a visit to the City People’s Hospital hadn’t helped.
That was why he could so easily use his father’s old diagnostic records to persuade Wang Qin.
It would be much harder to "trick" someone with an old record for something as common as the flu.
Just as he was pondering this,
Li Xu saw Liu Zhuzi walking over from a distance through the clinic’s glass door.
He hurried outside and greeted him, "Uncle Liu, I went to buy buns this morning. Why was your shop closed?"
"Aiyah, don’t ask. I don’t know how, but I caught a cold," Liu Zhuzi said weakly.
Li Xu immediately invited him in. "Uncle Liu, come inside quickly. Let me take your pulse."