The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 404 Worry
The most comfortable and relaxing place at the new Easy Walk is now a huge lounge exclusively for the technicians, converted from the original office area.

The place is sunny, furnished with soft beanbag chairs and green plants, and filled with a faint, calming aroma of essential oils.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaochui was nestled in the sofa by the window, intently watching the tablet in his hand.

What was displayed on the screen was a document that embodied the hard work of all the technicians—"Standardized Program for Comprehensive Physiotherapy of Cervical Spondylosis (Trial Version)".

This plan was finalized after he led the store's senior technicians and master technicians through countless practices, data recording, and repeated deliberations.

From the precise entry point of tiered diagnosis and treatment, to the meticulous quantification of every step of the technique, treatment course, and essential oil dosage, and then to the management of effect evaluation and feedback, Zhao Xiaochui managed to frame this massage parlor, which was full of metaphysics, with a set of rigorous standards.

Even if his skills and that mysterious heat flow are inexplicable, he still insists on adding scientific nails and welding a standard framework to the execution process.

The new, relaxed, and slow-paced technician system, excluding the shop manager Zhao Xiaochui, actually only has three levels:

Trainee technician: Just got to the basics of traditional Chinese medicine internal skills and can apply them in a preliminary way.

Senior technician: Calm and composed, able to practice safely on customers, with precise techniques.

Master technician: With consummate skill, able to guide customers to follow their own rhythm and achieve deep conditioning.

The massage effect increases tenfold with each level. The effect of a top-level technician is already exaggerated compared to the massage clinic of an ordinary top-tier hospital, but it is still far inferior to Zhao Xiaochui, who has the vitality supported by heat flow and can use traditional Chinese medicine internal energy massage on customers.

However, he has a golden touch that others don't, so for the highest level of professional title, Zhao Xiaochui established an ironclad rule: it is strictly forbidden for any top-level technician to use real internal energy massage on customers.

This system is actually similar to the training path of internal martial arts: practice on your own, practice with others, and practice with others.

The only difference is the effect when applied to others: internal martial arts aim to kill others, while traditional Chinese medicine internal energy aims to kill oneself.

Therefore, this ancient craft, which was brought back to life because of Zhao Xiaochui, is destined to be lost again due to his disappearance. Without his backing, these highly skilled but helpless master craftsmen will sooner or later be coveted and divided up by various forces, and eventually disappear from the world silently.

Then, no one will be willing to learn a skill that could cost them their life.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xiaochui felt a surge of gratitude towards the plump receptionist, Chen Guifen.

Without her initial protection and the development path she painstakingly paved, he would probably have been torn to pieces and dismantled for research long ago before he fully grasped the mysteries of the internal heat flow.

Zhao Xiaochui put down his tablet and glanced at the well-rested and energetic technicians.

"From now on, when receiving guests with cervical spondylosis, we will strictly follow this new plan." He made the decision succinctly, and then his expression became more serious.

"The next area we will explore is chronic fatigue syndrome, which is taking up an increasingly large proportion of our customer base."

He paused, his voice low:
"There is no official data in China, but based on the median estimate from global surveys... there are at least 420 million CFS patients among the working population aged 30 to 50 in China."

The technicians gasped. They keenly observed the demographics of "working class" and "30 to 50 years old"—behind these were the pillars of countless families. 420 million patients—how many families were on the verge of collapse?
“This is just a conservative figure,” Zhao Xiaochui said in a heavy tone. “Many more people are misdiagnosed with neurasthenia, anxiety, or simply labeled as ‘sub-healthy’.”

"The diagnosis of CFS is theoretically clear, but in practice it is fraught with difficulties. Doctors are generally cautious, and patients are often referred away. It requires a medical history of more than 6 months, a large number of exclusionary tests, and 3-6 months of follow-up. Ultimately, only a few top hospitals dare to make a definitive diagnosis."

He looked down at the tablet, which displayed a complex diagram of disease mechanisms:
"This disease is not caused by a single mutation like sickle cell anemia. It involves multiple gene micro-effects and is related to deep mechanisms such as mitochondrial function, ion channels, and interferon signaling—even scientists are still exploring it."

The technicians watched him in silence. Zhao Xiaochui put away his tablet and slowly raised his head. "'Work fatigue' is not just a subjective feeling for CFS patients," Zhao Xiaochui said softly. "Behind it is a clear pathological path: overtime work, chronic stress, and collective disorder of the immune, metabolic, and nervous systems."

"When a person's condition meets three conditions simultaneously: working more than 50-55 hours per week, staying up late becoming the norm, and being unable to completely disconnect from work-related information, the risk of developing CFS will skyrocket!"

Zhao Xiaochui's gaze swept over each of the technicians present:
"Modern medicine is still exploring its understanding of CFS, but it has already determined one thing: because the patient's multiple immune cells are in an abnormal state, the body is in a state of chronic inflammation for a long time."

He changed the subject, his expression relaxing as he said:
"This is actually good news for us to take it easy and slow!"

"This means that we can directly target inflammation by following the treatment plan of 'excessive sexual activity, physical strain, and mental strain' in traditional Chinese medicine massage textbooks."

Zhao Xiaochui increased the volume:

"I need everyone to see for themselves!"

"Those of you here can now clearly perceive the efficiency and depth of customer absorption of anti-inflammatory essential oils. We need to leverage this advantage to optimize the theoretical solutions in textbooks into a set of replicable and scalable practical techniques!"

"Although we can't cure the root cause, as long as we can explore a stable and effective relief plan, it can benefit millions of people suffering from illness. And only by taking a relaxed and slow approach can we achieve this!"

Zhao Xiaochui's words excited all the technicians. They hadn't expected that a massage therapist could not only relieve customers' symptoms but also do something meaningful for society.

However, after their initial excitement, they gradually calmed down as they looked at Zhao Xiaochui's expression.

"The economy is sluggish now, but look at people these days, what have they become? They treat overtime as a blessing, their own labor rights are trampled underfoot and they don't dare to utter a sound, and some people are even smugly thinking that it hasn't affected them!"

"Tch, it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Now look what happened, karma has come back to bite you. 420 million people is an understatement."

“Every concession we make to our rights now is an oppression of our children and grandchildren.”

At this point, Zhao Xiaochui paused for a moment, looked at the silent technicians, and said softly:
"I don't want my child to get this disease too."

In the break room, the blind technicians listened intently, the young women looked at Zhao Xiaochui with bright eyes, and the new technicians were also deeply moved.

"Guoguo's science popularization this time will definitely cause a big stir. I will be at the forefront to take the lead, but it will inevitably cause some trouble for everyone. I apologize to everyone in advance."

"Now, get to work. All the customers tonight are chronic fatigue syndrome patients. I will personally guide them."

Zhao Xiaochui watched the technicians' departing figures and let out a soft breath.

There's one more thing Zhao Xiaochui didn't mention, and that's the last piece of advice the chubby receptionist gave him privately before leaving for her new job:
"Little Hammer, if you want to protect the girls, you have to remember one thing: never let yourself be quiet! You have to make a fuss from time to time and attract everyone's attention to you."

"Know that death is not scary, what is scary is waiting for death."

"Your skills are extraordinary, but there's never a shortage of desperate fugitives in this world."

"If those people knew that the girls could really prolong life..."

(End of this chapter)