The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

Su Danian shook his head, his face apologetic: "Young man, although my place is called a general store, it mainly sells daily necessities such as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, needles and thread. Medicinal herbs... I really don't sell them."

"If you want to buy proper medicinal herbs, you should go to the pharmacy at the east end of town and ask."

Yang Shuisheng frowned slightly. The prices at the pharmacy were definitely not cheap, and they might not even have genuine wild ginseng.

"Young man, do you need wild ginseng urgently?"

Huang Yongxiang, standing to the side, watched Yang Shuisheng with great interest.

Are there any specific requirements regarding the year or size?

"It's for urgent use. I'll prepare the medicine myself to regulate my body." Yang Shuisheng nodded and said, "The age doesn't need to be too high, three to five years old is fine. It doesn't need to be a whole root, a few decent ginseng rootlets will be enough."

"Oh? You're preparing your own medicine?"

A glint flashed in Huang Yongxiang's eyes as he sized up Yang Shuisheng.

It seems they are reassessing this poorly dressed young man.

"What a coincidence, I do have a little bit here."

"Mr. Huang, do you have any?"

Yang Shuisheng's eyes lit up. "Can...can you resell it to me? How much would it cost approximately?"

Huang Yongxiang smiled and waved his hand, "No, I'm not selling. I came to the countryside specifically to collect medicinal herbs. What's the point of selling what I've collected?"

Yang Shuisheng's heart sank; the hope that had just risen was dashed once again.

"However," Huang Yongxiang changed the subject, stroking his beard, "you don't need much, so giving you a few strands of your beard won't hurt."

What a twist of fate!

Yang Shuisheng was overjoyed and immediately stood up, bowing deeply to Huang Yongxiang.

"Thank you, Mr. Huang."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, it's just a small favor."

Huang Yongxiang waved his hand, got up and went into the east wing room he had just come out of.

A short while later, he came out with a palm-sized flat wooden box and opened it.

Inside, lined with red silk, lay a wild ginseng root about the thickness of a thumb, with distinct rootlets and clear stems.

He carefully picked out four or five of the longest and thickest ginseng roots from a small cloth bag next to him, wrapped them in a small piece of clean oil paper, and handed them to Yang Shuisheng.

"Here, these are all you need."

Yang Shuisheng accepted the gift with both hands, thanked them repeatedly, and finally felt a great weight lifted from his heart.

Now all the medicinal herbs for regulating the body are ready.

"Old Master Huang, how much is this ginseng root...? I..."

Yang Shuisheng realized he hadn't asked the price yet.

"I said I'd give it to you, so I meant it. Why bring up money?" Huang Yongxiang interrupted him, his tone straightforward. "I think you're an honest kid who knows a bit about medicinal herbs. If you find any good mountain products in the future, don't forget to send them here first."

"I'm going back to the county tomorrow. Please keep an eye out for me during the New Year."

Yang Shuisheng nodded vigorously: "Definitely! Thank you, Elder Huang!"

After exchanging a few more polite words, Yang Shuisheng took his leave.

Su Danian personally escorted him to the shop entrance, watched him walk away, and then turned back to the backyard.

Huang Yongxiang slowly sipped his tea at the tea table in the backyard.

Su Danian walked back and said respectfully, "Old Huang, don't worry, if this young man brings medicinal herbs again, I will definitely keep them safe for you."

"Yes, thank you for your trouble, Da Nian." Huang Yongxiang nodded, his gaze still fixed on the direction Yang Shuisheng had left, lost in thought. "That kid is quite interesting."

"He was dressed in shabby clothes, but his eyes were bright, he spoke logically, recognized medicinal herbs, and knew how to prepare medicine... He's not simple."

"Yes, he doesn't look like an ordinary mountain boy," Su Danian chimed in. "Old Huang, you're going back to the county tomorrow. Have you gathered all the medicinal herbs the patients need?"

"That's about it."

Mentioning this, Huang Yongxiang's relaxed expression faded, and he sighed, "We've tried everything we could, and we've looked for all the medicines we could, but this illness..."

"Well, whether it works or not depends on the patient's own fate."

"As doctors, all we can do is our best and leave the rest to fate."

Upon hearing this, Su Danian's face also showed a look of emotion.

He hesitated for a moment, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "Mr. Huang, you're leaving tomorrow, could you perhaps prescribe a little more leg medicine for me?"

"My dad has been in a lot of pain at night lately, and he's been crying out in pain more and more often."

"The ointment you prescribed has the best pain-relieving effect."

Huang Yongxiang looked at Su Danian, his gaze softening slightly: "Alright, before I leave, I'll prepare some more for you. This time, I'll increase the dosage of the painkillers a little, but..."

He paused, his tone tinged with helplessness and regret: "My medicine only treats the symptoms, not the root cause; it can only temporarily relieve the pain."

"Your father's leg is because he fell too hard back then, the bone fragments didn't set properly, and it's been delayed for so many years. Plus, he's old, several years older than me, so his blood and energy have declined, and his meridians are severely blocked."

"The surgery is too risky; even the county hospitals don't dare to take the case."

"Maintaining the status quo is already the best possible outcome."

Su Danian's eyes were a little red, and his voice choked: "Old Huang, you've practiced medicine for decades and seen so much, really... is there absolutely no other way?"

"As long as there's a glimmer of hope, I'll sell everything I own and go bankrupt to get my father treated."

Huang Yongxiang remained silent for a while.

"There is a way...it's not entirely impossible."

"Traditional Chinese medicine is profound and extensive; my medical skills are merely superficial."

"Especially in acupuncture, I'm still far from being proficient."

"If your father's old injury can be treated by a true acupuncturist who can clear the stiff meridians in his leg and supplement it with medicinal herbs to strengthen his body, there may be a glimmer of hope that he can stand up again."

He shook his head as he spoke.

"Unfortunately, such acupuncture masters are rare and hard to find."

"Let alone this Daliang Town, I haven't heard of anyone in the entire county who has this ability."

"When I go back this time, I will ask my friends in the county to inquire again and see if there are any such capable people in the provincial capital or even further away."

"Don't be too discouraged. Keep looking, there's always hope."

As Su Danian listened, the glimmer of light that had just appeared in his eyes dimmed again.

But she still mustered her spirits and bowed deeply to Huang Yongxiang, saying, "Thank you so much, Mr. Huang, for your trouble."

"I'll leave the matter of inquiring to you."

……

the other side.

Yang Shuisheng left Su's grocery store, carrying the hundred-odd yuan he had just received and the few precious ginseng roots, feeling much more at ease.

The medicinal herbs for conditioning the body are all there, but the formula passed down from memory not only needs to be taken internally, but also needs to be combined with acupuncture to unblock the meridians in order to maximize the absorption of the medicinal power and solidify the foundation.

So he had to get a set of silver needles.

There is only one clinic in the town, which is a converted old health center, located at the other end of the main street.

Yang Shuisheng turned the corner and hadn't walked far when he saw a large crowd gathered outside the whitewashed bungalow of the clinic, making a ruckus, pointing and gesturing, blocking half of the entrance.

"What happened?" Yang Shuisheng wondered to himself as he squeezed into the crowd.

Inside the clinic, a middle-aged man with a burly face and wearing a t-shirt was yelling at a young female nurse in a white coat and an elderly doctor wearing glasses next to her, his face red and neck bulging.

"Ouch~~ Ouch~~"

A woman in her forties was lying on the long wooden bench next to him.

His face was sallow, his eyes were closed, he was clutching his stomach, and he was groaning in pain from time to time. His forehead was covered with a layer of cold sweat, whether real or not.

"What kind of lousy clinic is this? Huh?" The man spat as he spoke, his finger almost poking the nurse's face. "My wife just had diarrhea and came in to get some medicine, but you, you stinking woman, even gave me the wrong medicine."

"Look! Look at what my wife has become!"

"I'm vomiting and having diarrhea, my stomach is hurting so badly I'm writhing in pain, I'm almost dying. I need an explanation today."

The nurse looked to be in her early twenties, tall, with fair skin and delicate features.

At this moment, he was so frightened that his face turned pale and his eyes turned red.

Even the slightly oversized white coat she wore couldn't hide her slender figure.

"I...I didn't..."

She lowered her head, trying to explain, but her voice was drowned out by the man's roar, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Liu Laosi, don't be anxious, don't be anxious."

"We will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly. Xiao Xu is a newly assigned intern nurse from the nursing school. She may have made a mistake when picking up the medicine."

The bespectacled old doctor was sweating profusely and said repeatedly, "Let me take a look at your wife first and check what's wrong."

"Check my ass!" Liu Laosi interrupted, blocking the woman lying on the ground, and waved his hand, "Check? She's like this because she took your wrong medicine."

"If I show it to you again, who will be responsible if you discover something harmful?"

"This is supposed to be a job assignment from a nursing school? They must have gotten it through connections, right?"

"That's impossible..."

The old doctor was still trying to explain, but before he could finish speaking, Liu Laosi interrupted him.

"Stop talking nonsense and pay up!"

"This matter isn't over until you pay compensation, or I'll carry this person to the county and sue you."

"Ouch...it hurts so much..."

The woman lying on the chair cooperated by groaning loudly again, weakly patting the armrest of the chair: "Heartless nurse...you're killing me..."

"Liu Laosi, this is unreasonable!"

The old doctor was both anxious and angry: "How can we determine the cause of the illness without examination?"

"How can we treat the symptoms effectively? What if we delay treatment...?"

"It's your fault for causing this delay," Liu Laosi said, his neck stiff and spitting as he spoke. "My wife was perfectly fine this morning, but she became like this after taking your medicine. It's all your fault."

"If we don't lose money today, nobody's going to have an easy time."

The onlookers pointed and whispered among themselves.

"Oh dear, this looks quite serious; your face has turned yellow."

"Taking the wrong medicine is a serious matter; it could be fatal."

"What's wrong with this clinic? Even interns can't be this careless."

"Pay up the money, otherwise they might really sue you, and the clinic won't be able to stay open anymore."

The young nurse lowered her head, her shoulders trembled slightly, and tears finally rolled down her cheeks, landing on her white coat.

She looked to the old doctor for help, but the old doctor also looked extremely worried and had no idea what to do.

Yang Shuisheng stood on the edge of the crowd, watching the farce with a cold eye.

He possesses a keen sense of Qi and has exceptional observational skills.

He noticed the couple exchanging glances and subtle communication.

So they're putting on a show together.

One is faking illness, the other is demanding money?