Taoist Doctor - Chapter 8

The largest collective Zhou Jinyuan had ever encountered was the Taoist temple, and he didn’t know if all units were like the Third Hospital, permeated with strange gossip and a strong sense of the times, definitely spread by young people.

 

If the rumors kept spreading like this, he was afraid he’d ascend on the spot.

 

He glanced at Liu Qi, who silently looked up at the ceiling. As the source of gossip, he didn’t expect it to spread like this…

 

The patients’ families were a bit confused. Previously, Vice President Xiao had whispered a few words in Director Huang’s ear, mainly introducing the matter of his mother being cured by Zhou Jinyuan, without mentioning anything about “cultivation”.

 

When that doctor mentioned it, everyone else remembered. Yes, recently a new physician had joined the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and his deeds were being widely spread within the hospital.

 

“It’s him, right? He hardly has any patients; does he meditate in his consultation room?”

 

“Is he the one drawing talismans?”

 

“It must be him. There’s no second Taoist in the entire hospital…”

 

It’s not that they disrespect leaders and families, but using patients’ conditions as a joke isn’t quite right.

 

Director Huang initially trusted Vice President Xiao, but as he heard the whispered conversations, he hesitated.

 

He’s never been superstitious. He can trust Chinese medicine, but a Taoist? He needed to think about it!

 

A doctor practicing cultivation in the office doesn’t sound reliable at all.

 

Zhou Jinyuan was also helpless that he had become so famous in his new position. Of course, it seemed like it wasn’t a good reputation. He repeatedly pleaded innocence, “Director Xie, I just meditated for two weeks, and then it stopped. I didn’t draw talismans during work hours; I drew them in my spare time.”

 

Everyone: …So you still drew talismans!

 

“Vice President Xiao, what’s going on in your hospital?” Director Huang’s face turned green.

 

“Xiao Zhou is indeed a Taoist, but his medical skills are inherited from his family, and these two are not contradictory!” Vice President Xiao didn’t want to bear any black pot and immediately clarified.

 

“May I say something?” Suddenly, Xie Min spoke up.

 

She had been in the hospital for over thirty years, often collaborating with colleagues from other departments during consultations. Her character and medical skills were trusted by everyone.

 

Seeing everyone quiet down, including Director Huang staring at her, Xie Min said, “Let’s put aside Dr. Zhou’s personal situation. Whether it’s his diagnosis or treatment approach, I don’t see any problems. It’s even apt! And he’s qualified. If he prescribes a formula, I don’t see any issues. I’ll also carefully review the prescription!”

 

She had been thinking all along that if biases were completely removed, Little Zhou was likely the “senior” physician she had secretly pondered for a long time, with at least an eighty percent certainty.

 

Xie Min even felt a bit hopeful. She had thoroughly evaluated Little Zhou’s diagnosis and treatment, which was impeccable. But whether he could reproduce the marvelous use of medicine like the previous time, she dared not say he could cure with just one dose.

 

So, if Little Zhou was indeed that “senior,” could he replicate the miraculous use of medicine this time?

 

Using medicine is like using troops; there are endless possibilities in the arrangement of prescriptions!

 

There was silence in the ward.

 

With Xie Min vouching for him, everyone fell silent.

 

A Taoist coming to be a doctor indeed made people uneasy, but he wasn’t an intern after all. With Xie Min guaranteeing his competence, Vice President Xiao and the families also agreed. What else could be said?

 

Even if he seemed excessively young, there have been talented youngsters in the history of both Chinese and Western medicine.

 

“Is the prescription ready?” After a while, Xie Min broke the silence.

 

“It’s ready.” Zhou Jinyuan handed the prescription to Xie Min.

 

After reviewing it and confirming that there were no issues with the compatibility and dosage, Xie Min asked Liu Qi to fetch the medicine and oversee the decoction. Then she pondered the subtle connection between the medication and the treatment.

 

Astragalus, Salvia miltiorrhiza, nourish blood and invigorate qi; tangerine peel, pinellia, warm the stomach…

 

This prescription couldn’t be said to be anything less than meticulous. Its style was consistent with the prescription style seen in Mrs. Xiao’s medical case. What was an eighty percent certainty had now become a hundred percent, much to Xie Min’s amazement.

 

Who could have imagined that the steady and experienced healer she had envisioned would be such a young person? Still, as the saying goes, history of Chinese medicine is not without tales of young prodigies. But Zhou Jinyuan’s other identity was too confusing.

 

But thinking carefully, Zhou Jinyuan inherited medical skills from his family, which fits the identity of a hereditary doctor who learned medicine from a young age. It’s just that everyone misunderstood him before.

 

Before the medicine was decocted, some doctors were called away to attend to other matters. As a tertiary hospital, there were still many patients.

 

Zhou Jinyuan didn’t have much to do. Traditional Chinese Medicine wasn’t popular, and he didn’t have many patients himself.

 

Director Huang remained silent for a moment, then asked him, “Are you really a Taoist? How come at such a young age, you became a Taoist…”

 

“My dad is a Taoist, my grandfather is a Taoist, my family has been Taoists for generations.” Zhou Jinyuan felt as if he had strayed from the path when he heard himself speak, or as if he was despairing at his young age, and immediately said, “Sun Simiao, Tao Hongjing, weren’t they Taoists too? Sun Simiao, one of the four great female sects in the Chinese medicine community in Beijing, also inherited from a Taoist temple!”

 

Director Huang really didn’t know about this. Upon hearing him say that, he immediately checked on his phone, and it turned out to be true, which greatly relieved him.

 

…

 

When the medicine was decocted and brought to the ward, the old man was helped up, and slowly drank the medicinal soup. Because he had been nauseous and retching these days, it took about ten minutes to slowly finish it in several sips.

 

After finishing it, Grandpa Huang continued to rest in bed. After a while, it was time for him to eat. In the days following the heart attack, he needed continuous electrocardiogram monitoring and small, frequent meals.

 

Because of the issues like retching, nausea, and loss of appetite, Grandpa Huang hadn’t been able to eat much. When the meal was brought to his bedside this time, his expression changed, and his throat made a sound.

 

The nurse immediately brought over a basin, thinking he was nauseous again.

 

Unexpectedly, Grandpa Huang tilted his head, opened his mouth, and let out a long burp, “Hiccup—”

 

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

 

Everyone stared at him.

 

Nothing happened. Not only did he not vomit, the continuous retching sound didn’t resound again!

 

The painful expression on Grandpa Huang’s face disappeared completely, and after smacking his lips a few times, he weakly said, “I’m hungry.”

 

Director Huang was so excited that he jumped up in place and clapped his hands.

 

Great, great, the hiccuping stopped, and even his appetite returned!

 

“Retching stopped, appetite restored.” The attending physician’s face lit up with joy, but after the joy came a sigh. It turned out that this young doctor had cured it with just one dose of medicine.

 

But thinking that he had just participated in gossiping about him drawing talismans, he felt embarrassed.

 

“Cough, thanks to Dr. Zhou, the medication was truly ingenious.” The attending physician changed his address this time, no longer calling him a Taoist, and shook hands with Zhou Jinyuan.

 

Zhou Jinyuan reached out his hand and said casually, “You’re welcome, it’s mainly because I’ve been chanting and praying just now.”

 

The attending physician: ???

 

Everyone: ???

 

Zhou Jinyuan was startled by their serious expressions, “What’s wrong? I was just kidding.”

 

Everyone wiped their sweat. With his identity, making such jokes was indeed scary…

 

“Young man, thank you.” At this moment, Director Huang’s father also whispered.

 

“Don’t mention it, it’s my duty.” Zhou Jinyuan nodded, “If there’s nothing else, we won’t disturb the old man’s rest.”

 

“Mm, thank you very much.” Director Huang also shook hands with him, and then pleaded and thanked the attending physician again. They couldn’t relax just yet.

 

Everyone walked out of the ward.

 

Vice President Xiao, because of his mother’s situation, had also gained some understanding of Chinese medicine. At this moment, he started lecturing on it, “There’s a common term in Chinese medicine called ‘effect like striking a drum’, which describes the treatment effect as if you’re striking a drum and it immediately resonates, very fast in efficacy.”

 

“Exactly! It’s just like ‘effect like striking a drum’!” Director Huang praised.

 

Xie Min also confirmed what she had thought in her heart, and sighed in relief. Cured with just one dose, again cured with just one dose.

 

If using medicine is like using troops, then Zhou Jinyuan is undoubtedly a famous general, managing with skill, breaking through the disease like capturing a fortress, unstoppable.

 

…

 

On the way back to the office, Liu Qi had been wanting to speak, but because Director Xie was still there and no one else had asked, he felt embarrassed to do so.

 

Anyway, Liu Qi felt completely convinced now that Zhou Jinyuan could perform the “Mountain Fire Acupuncture” technique. The speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness of his diagnosis just now were simply eye-opening. When he diagnosed patients himself, he was relatively vague, but after listening to Zhou Jinyuan’s train of thought, it was like seeing the light after dispelling the clouds!

 

“Dr. Zhou, I really admire you today, using dried ginger to resolve the retching so ingeniously.” It wasn’t until they were close to the office that Xie Min said this meaningful sentence.

 

Liu Qi was a bit confused. Wait, didn’t the prescription pass through his hands just now? When was dried ginger the main ingredient? There was no dried ginger in the entire prescription, right? Did Director Xie make a mistake?

 

Zhou Jinyuan was also momentarily stunned before realizing that Xie Min was possibly referring to the main ingredient he used in Vice President Xiao’s mother’s case. He knew that Vice President Xiao had anonymously taken the medical records to the Chinese medicine department, but he didn’t know who had seen them.

 

He casually admitted, “It wasn’t really ingenuity, just targeted treatment.”

 

Xie Min smiled slightly.

 

She was a very practical person. She had previously lamented Zhou Jinyuan’s lack of learning due to his young age, but now her perspective had been overturned, immediately turning into admiration and appreciation. If they could have more doctors like him in their department, why worry about the patient volume not picking up?

 

—Although she seemed to have forgotten that Zhou Jinyuan’s patient volume was currently only in single digits.

 

…

 

When they returned to the office, it was already lunchtime, and many people had already gone to the cafeteria.

 

Liu Qi felt a bit disappointed. He had just witnessed a brilliant and amazing reversal firsthand. If he were to share the deeds of this great god, it would surely shock everyone and make them think of Zhou Jinyuan as an extraordinary colleague, just like he did before.

 

Ah, he really wanted to gossip.

 

“Great God, let’s go to the cafeteria together.” Liu Qi’s tone when calling him “Great God” now carried a bit more respect.

 

Zhou Jinyuan took out his lunch box. “No, my younger brother made me lunch today.”

 

“Okay.” Liu Qi felt reluctant, “Um, Great God, can I observe next time you use the Mountain Fire technique?”

 

Zhou Jinyuan: “Observe for what?”

 

Liu Qi’s heart dimmed a bit. Well, after all, this was a rare skill. Even if he understood it, not everyone could comprehend it.

 

Before Zhou Jinyuan could finish speaking, he continued, “Anyway, there aren’t many patients right now. If you want to learn, just find some time, and I’ll teach you.”

 

Liu Qi almost thought he had misheard. Stammering, he said, “Really, really…? I mean… you really want to teach me?”

 

“Why wouldn’t I? But whether you learn it or not depends on your own understanding and practice.” Zhou Jinyuan said casually. For him, medical skills were a way of spreading Taoist teachings, and Taoist philosophy had also shaped his attitude towards studying medicine, and even his life.

 

In today’s declining era for both Taoism and Chinese medicine, cherishing one’s own skills was actually meaningless.

 

Liu Qi was willing to learn, and he was willing to teach.

 

On this point, that Dr. Mao may not have particularly good skills, but his attitude was actually the same, which was why he allowed students to consult him.

 

“Well, if you feel embarrassed about it…” Zhou Jinyuan rubbed his chin.

 

Here it comes. Liu Qi felt relieved. As long as it wasn’t too expensive, he would grit his teeth and accept it. At this level of Mountain Fire Acupuncture, it was a chance encounter that couldn’t be sought after. Even if you waved money, others might not teach you.

 

Zhou Jinyuan waved to Liu Qi and, as he approached, put his hand on his shoulder. “Brother Liu, do you understand Taoism? Have you heard of the ‘Pure and Clear Scripture’?”

 

Liu Qi: “…………”

 

Can’t just let you guys spread rumors. Zhou Jinyuan smiled and said, “Do you want to cultivate the foundation in three days and refine the Golden Pill in ten days?”

 

Liu Qi: “……………………”