Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2022 High-Level Academic Discussion

Chu Fang has a pair of expressive eyes that occasionally reveal a keen and insightful understanding.

"He can't compare to you. His skills aren't up to par, and he's just unlucky because he's not strong enough! Hey! It's all the talk in the industry. I've witnessed it twice myself, and wow! It turns out that 'remote diagnosis' really exists! I admire him!" Chu Fang praised Bian Mu sincerely.

Bian Mu, the 87-year-old patient with ulcerative colitis, had her diagnosis remotely, with Chu Fang being the primary witness. Today, Teng Daili's close relatives gave her another opportunity to witness it.
"Not at all, not at all! The percentage of cases you stumbled upon is not low either! The two cases you happened to encounter were ultimately due to their overly obvious symptoms. Considering all the logical details involved, anyone would have been in the same boat!" Bian Mu said modestly with a smile.

"Dr. Bian, you're too modest! Haha... In your opinion, what exactly is the underlying logic of that recently retired old man in Nanjin?! I suspect that male doctor hasn't fully figured it out yet!"

"From what you just said... I can only guess. After all, I haven't seen any medical records or anything. When the old man was younger, he probably got into fights, like some less-than-honorable brawls, or even fights over a woman. Men fight... the chest cavity is a major area affected. Of course, we can't rule out accidents like car crashes or workplace injuries, but... there's a suspicion of something less than honorable. He was young then! Young and strong, he probably didn't find the right hospital or doctor, and the treatment was somewhat rushed. At least the old man didn't fully recover when he was younger, and there's a certain amount of fluid accumulation in that area over time. In traditional Chinese medicine, we consider this 'waste fluid,' which accumulates and causes problems. The old man probably has a long-term habit of smoking or enjoying cooking. With the fluid accumulating for so long, he definitely had to find a way out. In principle, it goes where it's weak. That kind of fluid is yin in nature, flowing through the Taiyin meridian. The old man's lifestyle wasn't very good, was it? His lung qi was damaged first, so the lung meridian naturally gradually..." "Isn't it common for elderly people to conceal their illnesses when seeking medical help? I suspect his personality is somewhat yin-leaning, the kind of person who's a bit cunning. Hence, his lung meridian is yin-leaning. If conditions allow, we might as well inquire further. I guess the old man has had relatively little phlegm for many years, experiencing fatigue, dry cough with little phlegm, and easy sweating, especially 'post-meal sweating.' After eating, especially hot pot, his back is covered in sweat. So, yin seeks yin, yin meets yin, and finally settles in the lung meridian. Then, due to other reasons, it eventually spread to the heart meridian. As for why it has remained hidden for so many years, we need to carefully review as many relevant medical records as possible. At the same time, we also need to meet his family and learn about the old man's life over the past twenty years from the sidelines." Bian Mu patiently and meticulously speculated for a long time. He had a good impression of Chu Fang, and also for the sake of high-level medical discussion, he casually took out a ballpoint pen and drew a few sketches on a napkin.

Chu Fang couldn't help but clap her hands softly a few times.

"You're amazing! I forgot to mention earlier that the old man has been weak, thin, and has a dry cough with little phlegm for many years... No wonder you became famous at a young age and became a powerful figure in the region before you even turned thirty. That's incredible!"

"You're joking. You should have heard that there's a common understanding in our TCM practice: when the lung meridian is affected by cold, one coughs and spits phlegm! Folk sayings like this are fine in the general public, but in actual clinical practice, it's a bit of a joke. When any of the body's seven meridians and eight extraordinary organs have a problem that doesn't fully heal within ten years, it will cause a dry cough. The heart meridian is no exception! To put it simply, if someone has a persistent mild cough, it doesn't necessarily mean that their lung qi is not circulating properly. Their heart or other vital organs could also be having problems. Now that you mention it, the old man's so-called mild cough is a sign of poor heart meridian circulation." Bian Mu explained with a serious expression.

Just then, the two waiters began to serve the dishes.

Bian Mu was just about to give a tip when Chu Fang had already paid on her behalf—one hundred for each waiter; they were quite in sync.

The two ate and chatted.

"Don't laugh at me, but when I have some free time, I do some research on traditional Chinese medicine. This is the first time I've heard that problems with any of the organs can cause a cough! I've really learned something new."

"So... every evening after get off work, I sometimes feel a void in my back... a feeling of being completely alone... there's nothing you can do about it. If you don't think about it, some patient might just detonate a landmine on you in the near future. Getting injured is fine, dying is also a relief, but if you're left crippled instead of dead, that would be terrible!" Bian Mu gave a vivid analogy.

"Who says otherwise! My situation wasn't much better. One phone call from our hospital director and I had to rush over from home immediately. Thankfully, you alerted me in time and considered everything so thoroughly, which allowed me to successfully isolate the old man's two large lesions. You wouldn't believe it! Our director mobilized five department heads to help me, just in case anything went wrong. Afterwards, we were saying, 'This head doctor here is not only incredibly skilled, he can even mobilize our director so easily! Is he about to become a legend in the medical field?!'" "Hehe...you're joking! That's all thanks to Director Chen of the 7th Hospital. Who am I to you!"

"Then you're quite remarkable! I can't speak for others, but at least in the last twenty years... roughly that time, I've never truly seen any young TCM doctor possess such astonishing abilities. Besides, I heard you don't have any connections?! No, no! Some people are saying privately that your connections are so deep that people can't even touch you anymore?!"

"Hahaha... You believe that?!" Bian Mu was immediately amused.

"Of course I believe you! Hahaha..."

As they chatted and laughed, the two felt an instant connection.

"Hey! I have a question. I felt that the doctor at the clinic surnamed Han was pretty skilled, so how come he didn't notice such an obvious deep infection in the fistula?! Was it just because the small clinic had limited medical resources?"

"Well... this time it really has little to do with the clinic's poor conditions. The main thing is... if I said I've established a new school of traditional Chinese medicine, you wouldn't laugh at me, would you?" Given that Chu Fang is a genuinely capable person, Bian Mu naturally spoke with much more humility.

Bian Mu had already heard about Chu Fang's standing in the local medical community when he attended lectures at Xiaobailou.

Never act pretentious in front of real people. It's a small matter if you lose face; the real loss is missing out on friends and colleagues.

"How could that be? The founder of the Digital Medicine School! We've heard so much about him! Tell me, I'm really curious!" Chu Fang urged sincerely.

“Then I’ll venture a few words, hehe… Our school of medicine now habitually divides patients into two categories: ‘old people’ and ‘new people.’ That 87-year-old patient, although he is quite old, his lifestyle in all aspects determines that he is actually a ‘new person’ patient. Some young patients are no more than thirty years old, but their lifestyles are extremely outdated. To exaggerate a bit, they are not fundamentally different from patients from the late Tang Dynasty… That Dr. Han seems to have some lack of understanding in this regard… and in the end, he suffered a hidden loss.” Bian Mu explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Chu Fang seemed to be deep in thought, as if she had remembered something...