All these years, she had been racking her brains to make money, believing that wealth alone would allow her to find better doctors for her child and cure her son. Never had she expected that she herself had caused all of this, and that the solution still lay within her own hands!
"The herbs are here. I bought three portions."
Just then, Zhang Liang rushed in, drenched in sweat and carrying several packages of medicine.
"Just one portion is enough."
Doctor Lu immediately spoke up, reaching out to take one of the packages. He extracted the Ejiao from it and said to Qin Yi, "Boil it with five bowls of water down to two bowls. Strain out the residue, then simmer it over a very low heat. After that, put this Ejiao in and stir until it is completely melted. Turn off the heat and bring it over."
Qin Yi hurriedly instructed the nanny to go and brew the medicine.
Standing to the side, Lin Weimin frowned once again as he looked at the Ejiao in Doctor Lu's hand.
This stuff was made from donkey hide, and in traditional Chinese medicine, it was believed to enrich the blood.
From a Western medicine perspective, this was merely something containing collagen and could not possibly replenish blood.
He was just about to voice his doubt when he suddenly thought of the rhinoceros horn from earlier, and immediately swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.
Half an hour later, a large bowl of hot herbal decoction was brought over, with a ceramic soup spoon placed inside it.
Everyone looked at Doctor Lu. What was to be done next?
"I need two eggs,"
Doctor Lu said, "And two bowls as well."
Chapter 14: Egg Yolks Are Also Chinese Medicine
Eggs? Bowls?
The people present wore suspicious expressions. What were these for?
Prompted by Qin Yi, the nanny quickly brought two wild chicken eggs and two bowls from the kitchen.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Doctor Lu took an egg, tapped it directly against the rim of one of the bowls, and cracked it open with a single hand, letting all the egg whites flow into one bowl.
Once the egg whites had completely drained out, he poured the egg yolk from the shell into the other bowl.
His movements were smooth and practiced—a clear sign of someone experienced in the kitchen.
Repeating the process, Doctor Lu extracted the second egg yolk as well.
No one in the room spoke; they all exchanged glances.
After a brief silence, Doctor Lu reached out and touched the medicinal bowl. Finding it lukewarm, he nodded. It was ready.
He picked up the bowl containing the two egg yolks, poured both yolks directly into the herbal decoction, and then slowly stirred them in with the spoon.
This scene left everyone present dumbfounded.
What on earth was this?
Putting egg yolks into medicine?
Since when were egg yolks considered traditional Chinese medicine?
"Doctor Lu, this egg yolk..."
Lin Chuqing hesitated, unable to contain her curiosity, and asked the question.
The others also cast puzzled gazes at Doctor Lu.
Stirring the mixture evenly, Doctor Lu explained, "As I said earlier, the child has a void of a single drop of blood in the very center of his heart, and we need to nourish his blood. Ejiao is used to enrich the blood, but Ejiao nourishes the blood of the entire body. How can it be directed specifically to the center of the heart?"
"That requires the egg yolk for targeting."
"Look at how the egg yolk floats right in the exact center of the egg. Doesn't it look just like the heart floating in the middle of the human body? Using the egg yolk allows us to direct this blood straight to the center of the heart."
"This is a famous classic formula from the ancient Chinese medical text *Shanghan Lun*—the Huanglian Ejiao Decoction. However, you must use raw egg yolks; if you drop them in while the medicine is still hot, it turns into egg drop soup, and it won't work."
Using an egg yolk for targeting?
Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay. Why did this sound so mystical?
By this time, the egg yolks had been thoroughly stirred into the mixture.
Doctor Lu was about to feed it to the boy when Qin Yi snatched the bowl away, saying, "I'll do it!"
Doctor Lu nodded, handed the medicinal broth over, and said, "The portion is large, so it can be taken in three doses, but a single dose should be just about enough to cure him."
Qin Yi nodded gratefully, hurried to the side of the little boy, and offered him the medicine: "Tiantian, come and drink some medicine. Once you drink this, you'll be able to sleep."
The little boy glanced at his mother, then at Doctor Lu, and began to drink it spoonful by spoonful.
Doctor Lu walked over to the boy, feigned taking his pulse, and channeled a stream of true qi into the child's stomach to help him absorb the medicine rapidly.
As he drank, the little boy's eyelids began to droop. Although he was still trying hard to stay awake, it was obvious he was extremely drowsy.
Overjoyed, Qin Yi hurriedly fed him a few more spoonfuls.
After a few more bites, the little boy's eyelids could no longer hold out, and he collapsed onto the bed, falling fast asleep. For one so young, he actually began to emit faint snores.
Tears of joy welled up in Qin Yi's eyes. It was only nine o'clock in the evening, and he was already able to fall asleep!
He was truly asleep!
Lin Weimin looked at Doctor Lu in astonishment. Ejiao could actually nourish the blood, and an egg yolk could really, dammit, target it?!
"This is a medicinal formula for treating depression."
Doctor Lu wrote down another prescription on a piece of paper: "When he wakes up tomorrow, you can boil this for him to consume, and continue for three consecutive days."
At that moment, a second trace of gray illness-qi overflowed from the child's body, somewhat denser than the one from the high fever.
It then dissipated and transformed into a wisp of true qi that entered his body.
"Thank you!"
Qin Yi wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, accepted the prescription, and expressed her heartfelt gratitude.
Finally, it was time for the depression!
Lin Chuqing hurried over, staring curiously at the prescription in her aunt's hand. She was immensely fascinated by the traditional Chinese medicine approach to treating depression.
If any other practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine had handed her a prescription and claimed it could cure depression, she would have been skeptical. But having witnessed the events of tonight, she felt that the formulas prescribed by Doctor Lu held immense research value.
Angelica sinensis, Poria with Hostwood, Cimicifuga, Chuanxiong, Atractylodes... they were all standard traditional Chinese herbs.
Then she saw the final item: "To be used in conjunction with running for half an hour every day."
"Traditional Chinese medicine places importance on exercise therapy as well?"
Lin Chuqing asked in surprise.
"Why wouldn't it?"
Doctor Lu said with a puzzled look, "The boy's depression is a matter of emotional disposition, not a disease of the internal organs. It's simply that worry and dejection have led to a disharmony between the liver and the spleen, and as long as those two are balanced, it will resolve. This prescription is merely herbs to soothe the liver and strengthen the spleen; if you truly want to achieve balance, physical exercise is necessary."
"Oh? Then how do you practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine explain why exercise is effective against depression?"
Lin Chuqing pressed further.
"It's very simple. Exercise can increase the pressure on the lungs, causing the diaphragm to descend forcefully and generate a compressive force. This compels the spleen and liver to release a large amount of energy to supply the muscles and tendons of the entire body."
Doctor Lu explained:
"Then, when exhaling, the diaphragm rises back up, creating a suction force in both the liver and spleen organs. This enables the spleen to draw nutrients from the small intestine and allows the liver to extract the essential nutrients it needs from the spleen. In this way, the liver and spleen achieve a true balance."
What?
Lin Chuqing was utterly dumbfounded.
Is this how traditional Chinese medicine explains exercise?
Lin Weimin, who had been eavesdropping from the side all along, was equally stunned. It was his first time hearing exercise explained in this manner.
He couldn't help but look at Doctor Lu in a completely new light.
Being able to cure illnesses was one thing, but being able to articulate the underlying theory clearly was entirely another.
One had to thoroughly digest and fully master the subject to achieve that.
The practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine he usually encountered in hospitals were full of talk about yin and yang, deficiency and excess, cold and heat, exterior and interior, or the five phases generating and restricting one another—leaving people dizzy and their heads spinning.
Never had anyone explained things as clearly and straightforwardly as this young man before him, not only making it obvious why the prescription was formulated that way, but—crucially—making it effective as well!
What a talent!
Recalling Doctor Lu's performance tonight, Lin Weimin couldn't help but sigh with emotion inwardly. Then, with a light cough, he issued a serious invitation:
"Doctor Lu, would you be interested in coming to practice at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of the People's Hospital?"
Go to the People's Hospital?
Doctor Lu's eyes brightened as he asked directly, "Can you give me a bonus of five hundred thousand yuan for three months?"
If they gave him that, he wouldn't have to take any more flak from those colleagues at the Community Hospital!
What?
Lin Weimin froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head. "We can't offer that."
"Then I suppose I'll stay at the Community Hospital."
Doctor Lu said with a desolate expression.
Lin Weimin was somewhat startled and suspicious. Could Zhao Jinliang possibly give you a bonus of five hundred thousand? Is he going to pluck out every hair on his head for you?
Soon, amidst expressions of gratitude, Doctor Lu prepared to leave.
Just as Zhang Liang escorted him to the villa's entrance, a voice rang out from the courtyard.
"Wait!"
Lin Chuqing trotted out from the villa, the silvery moonlight spilling over her fair skin as if her entire body were glowing. Bathed in the faint light, her breathtaking face appeared all the more stunning.
At that exact instant, the ice-hard pupils in Doctor Lu's eyes flickered before returning to normal.
"I'll drive him."
Lin Chuqing jangled the car keys in her hand and walked directly to the garage to fetch the car.
"For the consultation fee, thank you truly!"
Zhang Liang cupped his fists, handed the envelope back to Doctor Lu, and—avoiding Doctor Lu's hand—pushed it directly into Doctor Lu's pocket.
Doctor Lu did not refuse.
"I'll just have to treat you to a meal another time."
A red sports car had already emerged from not far away. Zhang Liang smiled, pointed at Lin Chuqing's car, gave Doctor Lu a meaningful look, and chuckled as he turned and walked back inside.
"This is for you."
No sooner had Doctor Lu gotten into the car than Lin Chuqing handed over a cloth parcel.
After opening it, Doctor Lu paused in slight surprise. It was unmistakably the rhinoceros horn cup from earlier, from which he had scraped off a piece.
"My aunt asked me to give it to you."
Lin Chuqing said with a grin, "In our country, this item is contraband, and you certainly can't find it on the market anymore. But it's completely useless in our hands, whereas in yours, it can save lives."
"So my aunt told you to keep it. Consider it a small token of her appreciation."
"Thank you."
With that, Doctor Lu neatly packed the rhinoceros horn cup back into the cloth parcel and stuffed it into his pocket. This thing might genuinely come in handy for emergency treatment.
"Address."
Lin Chuqing was momentarily taken aback by Doctor Lu's unceremonious action, but then asked with a smile.
"Qingyun Gardens, that one."
Doctor Lu looked at the steering wheel in Lin Chuqing's hands, his mouth practically watering with envy. He asked cautiously, "Do you think I could drive for a bit?"
You drive?
Looking at Doctor Lu's excited expression and figuring that a burst of speed was a great way to vent mental stress, Lin Chuqing smiled faintly and said, "Alright."
The moment the words left her mouth, Doctor Lu had already pushed open the door and jogged over to the driver's side.
He pulled the door open for Lin Chuqing.
The two of them swapped seats. Just as Lin Chuqing was about to tell him how to operate it, she saw Doctor Lu glance over everything, step heavily on the accelerator, and shoot forward like a red flash of lightning!
Chapter 15: Once a Graduate Student Too
On the streets of Qingshan County.
A red sports car sped past.
Lin Chuqing gripped her seatbelt with both hands, pressing her back tightly against the seat as she desperately fought to control her rising panic.
Turning her head to look at Doctor Lu, who was driving with intense focus and excitement, she suddenly asked, "With medical skills as good as yours—you can even cure depression—why didn't you treat your own psychological issues instead of coming to me?"
"I figured that seeking treatment from a beautiful woman is much more conducive to improving my mental state."
Doctor Lu kept his eyes fixed ahead, stepped down on the gas a little harder out of excitement, and replied.
"You're evading the question."
A trace of confident a smile played at the corner of Lin Chuqing's lips. "This shows that you are very clear about the cause of your psychological trouble, and yet you are dodging the subject. It seems it has placed a great deal of pressure on you, and I'm quite curious about what the reason is."
Doctor Lu was momentarily stunned, not expecting Lin Chuqing's insight to be so sharp.
"You can talk to me. I'm your psychotherapist," Lin Chuqing lowered her voice, coaxing him.
"Revitalizing traditional Chinese medicine—does that count?"
Scenes from his past flashed through Doctor Lu's mind. His previously tranquil expression grew complicated as he stared straight ahead.
Looking at the bustling traffic and the myriad lights of the distant homes,
in a trance, he seemed to see himself from six years ago—that high-spirited genius of traditional Chinese medicine who had just entered university, standing on the podium and boldly declaring the greatest vow of his life: to revitalize traditional Chinese medicine!
He saw that figure in the dormitory, diligently studying late into the night beneath the lamplight!
And he saw that face, filled with disbelief, holding an expulsion notice amidst a torrential downpour!
Immediately afterward, a benevolent, smiling face flashed across his mind, instantly snapping his dazed gaze back to absolute clarity. It turned icy cold, and a chilling smile crept onto the corners of his lips.
The reason he had been expelled from school half a year ago was very simple.
His research achievements had been usurped by his own graduate advisor!
While reading ancient texts of traditional Chinese medicine and studying the differentiation of yin and yang in traditional medicine, he had been shocked to discover that the methodology behind all traditional Chinese medicine experiments conducted on mice in the country was fundamentally flawed!
Because from the perspective of yin and yang, mice were subterranean dwelling animals that lived beneath the earth, belonging to "yin" entities whose natural constitution was heavy in yin and deficient in yang!
They were only suited for testing medicines that treated conditions of excessive yin and deficient yang. Humans, on the other hand, were different—they were "yang" entities born of heavenly yang, and the physical constitutions of the two were completely distinct!
To verify whether traditional Chinese medicine was effective for humans by using mice—which had an excessive-yin and deficient-yang constitution—was a massive, fundamental error!
Having discovered this, he immediately conducted a series of comparative experiments using rabbits, chickens, and geese, verifying that his findings were entirely correct!
Then he suddenly thought of the experiments his advisor had previously had him conduct—those traditional Chinese herbs that fundamentally could not possibly take full effect on mice had shown excellent therapeutic efficacy in his advisor's previous experimental data...
When he implicitly shared his discovery with his advisor, the man's expression turned extremely ugly, telling him that this was utter nonsense and instructing him to focus peacefully on his experiments.
Three days later, the school's notice of his expulsion suddenly came down.
Reason for expulsion: bad moral character, and fabricating previous experimental data!
Worse still, the money he had borrowed to pay in advance for experimental consumables on behalf of his advisor was directly denied reimbursement, saddling him with a huge debt of 500,000 yuan!
At that very moment, his path in traditional Chinese medicine was severed, and revitalizing traditional Chinese medicine seemed to have become a joke!
What was even more laughable was that a month later, he saw a speech delivered by his advisor at an international traditional Chinese medicine forum—it was precisely his own discovery regarding mice.
"Can you talk about it?"
Sensing the emotional fluctuation and strange expression on Doctor Lu's face, Lin Chuqing pressed her back even more firmly against her seat.
"It's all in the past."
Doctor Lu's expression returned to calm, his eyes regaining their clarity. His grip on the steering wheel tightened. For him now, the path of traditional Chinese medicine had not been severed, and revitalizing it was no longer a joke!
Seeing that Doctor Lu had no desire to speak and realizing that the timing today wasn't right, Lin Chuqing did not press further.
Doctor Lu drove all the way to the downstairs of the Qingyun residential complex.
Lin Chuqing slid back into the driver's seat, let out a long sigh of relief, rolled down the window, and pulled out her phone to bring up a QR code.
"Let's add each other on WeChat. You're my patient; if you have any psychological issues in the future, you can reach out to me directly on WeChat."
"Alright."
Doctor Lu took out his phone, scanned the code to add her as a friend, and then leaned over the car window. Adjusting the arc of his smile to make himself look deliberately dissolute, he teased, "Coming upstairs for a sit-down? I'm the only one up there."
Looking at Doctor Lu's feigned vulgar expression, Lin Chuqing offered him a sweet smile:
"You don't need to try and act relaxed and carefree in front of me—there's no need. I've studied micro-expressions; fully being yourself is what true nonchalance is."
With that, she let out a hearty laugh, leaving a rather embarrassed-looking Doctor Lu behind as she sped away in her sports car.
"Micro-expressions? Does that mean she can't lie in front of her future husband? Her husband is going to have a miserable time."
Doctor Lu muttered with a sigh.
Through the rearview mirror, seeing Doctor Lu's awkward figure, Lin Chuqing smiled mischievously.
"Using traditional Chinese medicine to treat psychological disorders—not a bad postdoctoral research topic."
The Qingyun complex was an old-style residential area without elevators, and the apartment Doctor Lu rented was on the sixth floor.
The reason he chose the sixth floor was very simple: it was cheap!
Doctor Lu took out his key and opened the front door. The floor of the entire living room was piled high with various traditional Chinese medicine books he had been reading.
He went to his bedroom, sat down on the bed—which had books stacked halfway across it—and pulled out the rhinoceros horn cup and the red envelope from his pocket. A quick count revealed ten thousand yuan.
"Still short by 490,000."
Just as Doctor Lu thought this to himself and prepared to put the money away, his phone screen suddenly lit up.
A familiar yet unfamiliar group message popped up, causing his gaze to narrow slightly.
[Traditional Medicine Fanatics Graduate Student Group]
"How is everyone progressing with their graduate thesis proposal topics?"
Hesitating for a moment, Doctor Lu tapped open the group chat. This was the first time in half a year that he had seen a message here.
"I'm tearing my hair out. Why do we all have to do integrated bachelor's-master's-doctorate programs? Wouldn't it be great if we could just go straight from a master's to a doctor's degree without having to write a master's thesis?"
"You have to pass the master's stage to do a doctorate. Our university is different; we still have to write papers. They call it an integrated program, but in reality, you write your thesis and publish your papers just the same—not a single one gets skipped."
"Heavens, please let my inspiration flow like a gushing stream of pee!"
With that single, simple remark, all ten members in the group were brought out of silence, and the screen was instantly flooded with complaints.
"Discussing graduation theses in this group—aren't you considering the feelings of our former classmate, Lu Yi, who got expelled? He's still in this group, you know."
At that moment, a sudden message appeared on the screen, bringing the entire group to an abrupt halt.
Immediately following it was a voice message full of mockery.
"He used to talk a big game about revitalizing traditional Chinese medicine, but in the end, he was the first one to be kicked out—and for bad moral character, no less. It's honestly quite laughable."
Seemingly unsatisfied after saying that, another message followed:
"I wonder where our former classmate is now. Is he still studying medicine? Who knows, maybe his medical skills have already caught up to ours!"
Gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar name "Xu Kang," Doctor Lu gave a cold chuckle, reached out, and typed a reply tagging him:
"Instead of having the time to worry about me, you'd better worry more about your kidneys."
At that moment, Xu Kang, who was eating skewers with a cheerful smile while checking his phone, saw the text appearing on his screen. The smile vanished from his face instantly, replaced by utter astonishment.
How do you know there's something wrong with my kidneys?
Meanwhile, in the graduate dormitory of the Provincial University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, several people stared at the screen with puzzled expressions.
How do you know Xu Kang's kidneys are acting up?
No wait—how on earth could you tell Xu Kang's kidneys were failing just from that?
"The ending notes of your voice were lingering and soft, sounding almost like a groan. Deficient kidney qi. Worry less about others and more about yourself."
Another message popped up on the screen.
The people in front of their screens stared fixedly at the text that had appeared, stunned into silence.
You could tell just by listening to his voice??
Has Lu Yi reached that kind of level?
Wait, no!
Is Xu Kang actually suffering from kidney deficiency?
Someone hurriedly asked in the group chat: "@Xu Kang, are you really deficient in kidney qi?"
Xu Kang was shaken to his core as well. Lu Yi figured out he had kidney deficiency just by hearing his voice?
He hurriedly replied: "Kidney deficiency your grandpa! I am definitely not deficient!"
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. They had actually almost believed that Lu Yi had reached that legendary level of diagnosing diseases purely through sound.
Hiding one's illness from the doctor out of fear of treatment!
Doctor Lu turned his phone straight off and sat down in a cross-legged position.
In the distance, several streams of true qi flew toward him.
The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning, feeling the surging power within his dantian and refreshed in body and spirit, Doctor Lu arrived at the Community Hospital.