The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

Yang Shuisheng placed Xiaobao on a stool in the main room and told him to sit obediently before following Liu Dashan inside.

The inner room was smaller and darker than the main room, with only a small window letting in some light.

Against the wall was a simple earthen bed, covered with an old mattress covered with patches.

A woman in her thirties, with a sallow complexion, sunken cheeks, and dry, disheveled hair, lay there listlessly, covered with a thin blanket.

She opened her eyes with difficulty when she heard the noise, her eyes dull and lifeless, filled with the exhaustion and numbness brought on by her illness.

When she saw the stranger come in, a hint of panic flashed in her eyes. She instinctively tried to pull the blanket over herself, but she didn't even seem to have the strength to lift her hand.

"Honey, this is Dr. Yang from Taohua'ao. He's kind enough to ask you to take a look," Liu Dashan said softly as he walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his tone reassuring.

Looking at Yang Shuisheng and then at her husband, Liu's wife seemed to understand something. She nodded gently without saying a word, but slowly stretched out her thin, dark-skinned wrist from under the thin quilt and placed it on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Yang Shuisheng walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), ignoring the smell and environment in the room, his gaze focused intently on Liu's face and her outstretched wrist.

He first carefully observed her complexion, eyes, and tongue coating before sitting down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and gently placing three fingers on her pulse.

The pulse is deep, thready, and weak, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, with an irregular rhythm and a slippery quality.

It is indeed a case of damaged heart vessels, deficiency of both qi and blood, and internal obstruction of dampness and turbidity.

It's more complicated than simple myocarditis; prolonged illness leads to general weakness and damages the body's foundation.

No wonder the previous doctors didn't have much effect. They either only focused on treating the heart and didn't consider the whole body, or they used too strong medicine, which the patient couldn't handle, or they simply didn't find the root cause of the disease.

After taking his pulse and asking a few simple questions, Yang Shuisheng already had a good idea of ​​what was going on.

"Brother Liu, sister-in-law, don't worry too much."

He withdrew his hand, a gentle smile on his face, and said to Liu Dashan and his wife, who were looking at him expectantly, "Sister-in-law's illness has been dragging on for a while, which has damaged her vital energy and blood, weakened her heart meridian, and caused some dampness to get trapped inside."

"But it's not a big problem, it can be adjusted."

"You can treat it?" Liu Dashan's eyes widened suddenly, his voice trembling slightly. "Dr. Yang... Dr. Yang, you mean you really can cure it? You're not kidding us, are you?"

Liu's wife also struggled to raise her head, and hope ignited in her dim eyes.

"Of course it can be cured."

Yang Shuisheng nodded affirmatively: "I'll first use acupuncture to unblock your heart meridian and related meridians, improve blood circulation, and regulate your Qi."

"Then I'll prescribe a formula for you to follow, get the medicine, and decoct and take it on time."

"It mainly benefits qi and blood, strengthens the heart and calms the mind, and also eliminates dampness and turbidity."

"Take it slow, replenish the lost qi and blood, strengthen the heart meridian, and expel the dampness, and you will naturally get better."

His tone was calm and confident, carrying a convincing power: "At most half a month, your sister-in-law should feel much better and should be able to walk around without any problems."

"After another month or two of recuperation, I should be able to recover about 70-80% and won't have much trouble with daily housework and taking care of Yaya."

"Can he get out of bed in half a month?"

"It can be 70-80% recovered in a month or two?"

Liu Dashan could hardly believe his ears. The sudden surprise left him stunned. He looked at his wife, then at Yang Shuisheng, his lips trembling with excitement. "Dr. Yang! You...you're telling the truth? You're not lying to us?"

"Absolutely true." Yang Shuisheng smiled, took out his needle kit, and said, "I'm going to give your sister-in-law acupuncture now. You might feel a little soreness, numbness, or swelling during the process, but don't be afraid."

Sister Liu nodded vigorously, her eyes already brimming with tears—the excitement of escaping a desperate situation.

Yang Shuisheng didn't delay any longer. He disinfected the silver needles and his fingers with an alcohol swab, then focused his mind and made a steady and accurate move.

He first selected acupoints such as Neiguan, Shenmen, and Tanzhong to calm the mind and soothe the nerves, and then selected acupoints such as Zusanli, Sanyinjiao, and Guanyuan to invigorate qi and nourish blood, and regulate the spleen and stomach.

When the needle is inserted, a faint trace of true energy is quietly introduced into the fingertip, enhancing the needling sensation, stimulating the vitality of the acupoint itself, and guiding the faint flow of qi and blood in her body to begin to circulate in an orderly manner.

Liu's sister-in-law felt a tingling, numb, and swollen sensation where she was pricked by the needle. It wasn't painful; instead, it was a strange feeling of comfort, as if a long-blocked water pipe was being slowly cleared.

As Yang Shuisheng manipulated the needles, a faint trace of color appeared on her sallow face at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The previously rapid and shallow breathing gradually became more steady and deeper.

Most importantly, the feeling of suffocation, palpitations, and helplessness that had been lingering in my mind seemed to have lessened a little bit?

"How are you feeling, my wife?" Liu Dashan asked anxiously.

"I feel a bit better, my chest doesn't feel so tight anymore." Aunt Liu's voice was weak, but it carried a long-lost sense of relief.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Looking at the subtle yet real change in his wife's face, and then at Yang Shuisheng's focused and composed profile, Liu Dashan's eyes welled up with tears. He kept rubbing his hands together, repeatedly saying, "Dr. Yang, you are truly a miracle doctor, a living bodhisattva!"

Twenty minutes later, Yang Shuisheng removed the needles.

Aunt Liu's complexion was better than before, and her eyes were clearer. Although she was still very weak, the lifeless and gloomy aura had dissipated considerably.

"How are you feeling?" Yang Shuisheng asked while disinfecting the silver needles.

"I feel much better, really. My heart isn't racing anymore, and my head isn't so dizzy." Aunt Liu struggled to sit up a little, and tears finally streamed down her face as she looked at Yang Shuisheng. "Dr. Yang, thank you... thank you so much."

"Don't mention it, it's my pleasure." Yang Shuisheng waved his hand and said to Liu Dashan, "Brother Liu, do you have paper and pen? I'll write you a prescription."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Liu Dashan hurriedly rummaged through a corner of a broken cabinet in the main room and pulled out half a pencil and a crumpled piece of exercise paper, handing them to Yang Shuisheng with both hands.

In the dim light, Yang Shuisheng quickly wrote down a prescription on the paper.

The medicinal materials are all common Chinese herbs that invigorate qi and blood, calm the mind and soothe the nerves, and strengthen the spleen and eliminate dampness, such as astragalus, codonopsis, angelica, poria, jujube seed, polygala, tangerine peel, and prepared licorice. The dosage and combination are carefully considered, and the principal, assistant, adjuvant, and guide herbs are clearly distinguished.

"Get the medicine according to this prescription, seven doses first."

"Take one dose a day, boil three bowls of water down to one bowl, and drink it twice a day, morning and evening."

"After you finish these seven doses, we'll adjust the prescription as needed." Yang Shuisheng handed the prescription to Liu Dashan.

"Okay! I've got it."

Liu Dashan took it as if it were a treasure, holding it carefully and squinting to look at the words on it. Although he couldn't recognize them all, he nodded repeatedly: "There are a few things in here, like Poria cocos and dried tangerine peel. I can find them on the hill behind my house. I recognize them and can pick them myself."

"I'll go to the mountains first thing tomorrow morning to look for the missing items. Maybe I can find them there. If not, I'll just go to the pharmacy in town to buy them. It's worth the money."

"Yes, you can buy it in town. They're not expensive herbs, so it won't cost too much." Yang Shuisheng nodded and gave some instructions on how to decoct and take the medicine, as well as Liu's dietary restrictions during this period.

"Dr. Yang, you've saved our whole family."

Liu Dashan noted everything down, looking at Yang Shuisheng with overwhelming gratitude. He rubbed his hands together, his dark face full of sincerity: "I don't know how to thank you enough. Oh, by the way, the consultation fee... how much is it? Just name a number, and I..."

"Brother Liu, please don't say that."

Yang Shuisheng interrupted him with a smile: "I just mistook you for a bad guy and almost got into a fight with you."

"Forget about the consultation fee; consider it my way of apologizing to you."

"That won't do!" Upon hearing this, Liu Dashan shook his head vigorously. "One thing at a time! You cured my wife's illness, that's an immense favor. The matter of apologizing is long gone. I must give you this thank-you gift."

He frowned and scratched his head, seemingly racking his brains to think of something presentable in his home.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh: "That's it! Wait a minute!"

As he spoke, he turned and slipped into a dark, cluttered compartment further inside the room, where he began rummaging through things.