Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2084 A Heart in Poverty Cannot Be at Peace
The next morning, Bian Mu made a point of arriving early at the "New Concept" branch of the Chinese Medicine Clinic. Together with Liang Xiangyin, Dr. Ning, Nurse Ye, and several others, including Sun Zhengting, they held a simple yet lively "opening ceremony" for Dian Shuhua.

In front of everyone, Bian Mu officially appointed Dian Shuhua as the branch director.

Sun Zhengting and his companions were filled with mixed feelings at that moment!

……

I rushed back to the clinic's headquarters and saw Ji Xiaofang with her parents looking around at the hospital entrance.

“Something came up at the branch office, so I went to say hello. Uncle and Aunt, please come in! Sister Ji, you don’t need to come with me! It’s more convenient to talk about some things separately, understand? Go do what you need to do!” With that, Bian Mu sent Ji Xiaofang away.

Mr. Ji was not tall, probably no more than 1.7 meters, while Mrs. Ji was a little taller than the average woman, definitely over 1.65 meters. Seeing that the clinic was decorated quite nicely, the two elders spoke somewhat timidly, clearly the kind of honest and hardworking craftsmen.

Bian Mu was very polite, and took the opportunity to check their pulses, but the main focus was still on the dental examination.

Ji Xiaofang's mother has a good set of teeth. According to her, she only uses salt to brush her teeth and almost never uses toothpaste. Ji's father has some cavities, but his teeth are still relatively young overall, and his periodontal strength is much better than that of his peers. In other words, Ji Xiaofang's dental problems are most likely caused by herself later in life.

After repeated questioning by Bian Mu, the basic facts about Ji Xiaofang's dental history were investigated.

"Now it seems that Sister Ji's gums were damaged by herself. Our school of thought calls it 'lost teeth,' which means that since she moved to the big city, she has blindly followed the pace of the so-called new lifestyle without considering whether it is truly suitable for her. Sometimes, in order to completely imitate the local lifestyle, the couple didn't have enough money. What to do? If there were no good ones, they would just pick the cheaper ones! In the end, they made their normal life poorer and poorer! I'm talking about real poverty in the sense of traditional Chinese medicine. In layman's terms, it means that the dental cavity, especially the gum area, has not received the corresponding nutritional supply for many years, becoming more and more 'barren' year by year, which eventually directly caused the gums to recede rapidly. In other words, Sister Ji's deep-seated worldly desires directly turned her gums and dental environment into a salty wasteland. Gradually, the teeth lost their foundation, and it goes without saying how it will develop in the future!" As she spoke, worried that the two elders might not understand, Bian Mu even drew a simple diagram on the blank medical record paper with different colored pencils.

Seeing that Ji's father and mother looked somewhat embarrassed, they exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

With a smile, Bian Mu continued, "Every region has its own unique way of life. Take cooking, for example. After leaving her hometown, Sister Ji felt ashamed of the simple lifestyle of her hometown, which sowed the seeds for many negative consequences. Every special dietary habit and cooking method actually implies a unique corresponding nutritional supply method. It's not that you can't change anything, stick to dogma, or even be proud of being backward. That's not what I mean. New lifestyles have their own advantages, that's undeniable! But you have to be able to adapt to the new lifestyle quickly! As a result, many people, even after their living environment has changed drastically, still retain some very 'core' lifestyles from their hometowns to a large extent. For example, there was a man who, after leaving his hometown, would eat some sweet potatoes and potatoes from his hometown whenever he felt unwell, and he would be fine very quickly. During the Republic of China era, many wealthy and famous people retained many customs from their hometowns in terms of diet and daily life until their deaths. The proportion was quite high. You can easily find a lot of examples online! They were smart!" “Oh…that makes sense! Take me for example. After moving to the city, I really couldn’t get used to the water here. I would get an upset stomach all the time. Later, I instinctively thought of pickling some old salted vegetables. As a result, after eating a few bites, I was fine. Now that you mention it, I understand. But…she’s married and has two children. We don’t live together usually, and she doesn’t really listen to us when we talk…” Mother Ji truly understood now.

"It's alright! I'm not much younger than her, we're the same age! Saying some things to her face is really...right? That's the point. From tomorrow on, she needs to truly live a life that suits her for a few years. I see cases like this almost every day. On the surface, your daughter has dental problems, but the patients I've treated have issues with their stomachs, brains, or bones... Actually, the root cause is always the same: a long-term inability to find a truly suitable, systematic nutritional intake pattern. For example, there's a man whose family isn't well-off. To save money, he almost never eats out. Whenever time allows, he insists on cooking for himself in his small rented room, and he pays attention to nutritional balance." He didn't dare to spend money recklessly, eating only vegetables and tofu every day. However, his nutritional intake pattern suited him, and the amount was almost sufficient, so he naturally didn't get sick. Another man, whose situation was similar in many ways, was lazy but always wanted to experience the cheap life of a big city. He couldn't afford a proper roast duck costing over 200 yuan, and besides, one person couldn't eat it all. So, he bought small roast ducks from street vendors for around 30 yuan each and divided them into several meals. He also ate plenty of cheap vegetables and fruits. However, his nutritional intake was problematic. While he seemed to be living a more fulfilling life than the first man, his nutritional system was actually close to collapse! His physical condition declined year by year, and he finally had to seek help from a traditional Chinese medicine clinic.” Bian Mu patiently explained for a long time.

"The highest principle of nutritional intake is this: as long as a person lives a life that suits them, there is naturally no distinction between good and bad. On the contrary, it is easy to accumulate illnesses, and the longer it is delayed, the more difficult it is to treat! In addition... I will be frank with you two in front of you. Sister Ji is particularly sensitive to the word 'poverty' at heart. To put it bluntly, even if she earns a million a year after tax in the future, she will still be poor at heart with the kind of lifestyle she has chosen?! In the future, she will only make herself malnourished, and her nutritional intake will get worse year by year. Once she is over 50, it will be difficult to arrange her life." Bian Mu explained a few words with a serious expression.

Upon hearing this, a look of great anxiety naturally appeared on Ji's mother's face.

"Then... can it be cured?"

“It can be done in stages, but it can’t be done all at once!” Bian Mu replied truthfully.

"So that means... to gradually recuperate in several steps? I don't know if my understanding is correct?" Father Ji finally spoke.

"Yes, she needs to recover gradually in stages. After all, she's our own daughter, right? We can't just watch her make her life harder and harder. I've drafted a recipe for her, and I hope she'll take a look at it carefully! Also, please tell Sister Ji for me that she and her husband have to find a job on their own, and I really can't help her much," Bian Mu replied with a smile.

Alright! Bian Mu directly rejected Ji Xiaofang's wishful thinking of using the clinic's connections to find an easy and well-paying decent job!
After a moment of silence, Mr. and Mrs. Ji nodded slightly in unison, said nothing more, and prepared to swipe their QR codes to pay and leave.

Bian Mu insisted on providing free consultations, refusing to charge a penny for examinations or treatments, and politely saw the elderly couple off to the door with the intern, Xiao Shang.