Chapter Forty-Four: Bright Repairing the Road

  Ningyuan had been sizing up the old lady lying in bed since she entered the ward. The old lady was full of wrinkles, thin and frail, with a tired look on her face as she lay in bed. Although she wasn't unconscious, she looked listless.

  At this age, the elderly are fine if they don't get sick. Once they fall ill, no matter how big or small the illness is, it's always a headache. Even a minor cold can lead to many complications in older people.

  According to Tan Donglin's tone, he had already shown it to the old lady yesterday and prescribed a prescription, but the Xu family was not at ease with the prescription and did not want to use it. At this time, Tan Donglin still insisted on his own opinion, and the Xu family still did not want to give in. This kind of thing is really frustrating.

  Since he came, Ning Yuan didn't want to stand by and do nothing. When Tan Donglin asked him to take a look, he didn't hesitate and walked forward to examine the old lady's eyelids and tongue coating, then took her pulse. Only then did he frown and sink into thought.

  Ningyuan pondered for about a minute before looking up at Tan Donglin and saying, "Tan Lao, may I take a look at the prescription you wrote?"

  Tan Donglin smiled bitterly: "My prescription actually only has one medicine, which is rhubarb. However, neither Director Xu nor Old Lady Xu agree."

  "Got it!"

  Ningyuan finally understood the reason and realized why Tan Donglin was unwilling to come earlier.

  This old lady's symptoms appear to be a deficiency syndrome on the surface, with her being thin and frail like a piece of wood, physically weak, and spiritually exhausted. She should naturally be given tonics, but rhubarb is actually a purging medicine. The elderly woman is over 70 years old and has become so thin; using rhubarb might end up killing her. No wonder the Xu family disagreed, let alone the Xu family, even if it were another family, they would probably find it hard to agree too.

  Traditional Chinese medicine is not like Western medicine, many people actually do not trust traditional Chinese medicine very much, looking for traditional Chinese medicine treatment, holding a lucky psychology, in this way, such an incomprehensible prescription, it is naturally difficult to be accepted by patients and their families.

  However, in fact, the prescription written by Tan Donglin was not wrong at all, it was completely right, but the family members did not use it, and Tan Donglin had no way to do anything about it, which was also the reason why he did not want to come again.

  Mrs. Xue's illness appears to be a deficiency syndrome on the surface, but in reality it is an excess syndrome. The cause of her illness is that she was over-supplemented with tonics by her family. As Mrs. Xue is advanced in age and her bodily functions are originally poor, supplementation should be done in moderation. However, as Mr. Xue is wealthy and has a high standard of living, he naturally provided his wife with an excessive amount of nutrition, leading to severe bloating and emaciation. The more emaciated she became, the more tonics Mr. Xue gave her, resulting in an increasingly severe condition.

  In this case, it is natural to have a bowel movement. Tan Donglin's rhubarb is very effective for the symptoms, and one dose of medicine can take effect immediately. However, this prescription cannot be accepted by people.

  Those who know the cause of the disease understand that this is a real syndrome, and those who are unclear will determine that it is a virtual syndrome, which needs to be replenished. Even if Xu's family members don't understand medicine, they feel that rhubarb is not reliable. If it weren't for Tan Donglin's great reputation, he would have been driven away by the Xu family long ago, and there would be no chance for him to come again to diagnose and treat.

  Few people understand traditional Chinese medicine, even fewer are proficient in it, and there are even fewer masters of traditional Chinese medicine like Tan Donglin. In the entire city of Shangjiang, you can't find a few.

  After Tan Donglin's treatment, the Xu family did not find another Chinese doctor to come and take a look. However, how can a quack doctor distinguish between virtual and real? Naturally, it was another round of tonifying and replenishing, and the medicine had no effect. The old lady's condition worsened day by day, and the Xu family had no choice but to ask Tan Donglin again.

  Understood the cause and effect, Ningyuan could only bitterly smile at this situation which was indeed difficult to handle.

  Tan Donglin looked at Ningyuan with eager eyes, hoping that Ningyuan would say something fair. The Xu family also looked at Ningyuan, hoping that he could come up with some clever idea. Although they knew that Ningyuan was young and unreliable, they were desperate and willing to try anything as long as it wasn't obviously harmful.

  Seeing this situation, Ning Yuan hesitated again and said: "Mrs. Xu is a virtual evidence, it needs to be greatly replenished."

  As soon as Ningyuan said this, Tan Donglin's eyes widened, while the Xu family let out a deep sigh of relief. It was clear that Ningyuan's words were what they wanted to hear. If Ningyuan had said it was a real illness and Old Tan's prescription was correct, they would have been in trouble instead.

  "Ningyuan, be careful what you say. Diagnosing an illness is not a joke, it's related to the patient's life, it's not something to play with." Tan Donglin's eyes widened as he walked up to Ningyuan and scolded in a low voice: "It's obviously a real symptom, I don't believe you can't figure it out?"

  "Tan Lao, I have my own measure, you just watch." Ning Yuan said in a low voice to Tan Donglin, then looked at Xu Qifa and said: "Director Xu, the old lady's illness is not troublesome, one dose of medicine will do."

  Xu Qifah looked at Ning Yuan and hesitated for a moment before saying: "Mr. Ning, please speak freely."

  "Uh, it's actually simple. Just buy a catty of longan and decoct it for the old lady to drink." Ning Yuan nodded and said lightly.

  "Ningyuan, you're crazy!" Xu Qifahadn't spoken yet, but Tan Donglin pulled Ningyuan again and scolded: "Longan is a tonic for blood, using it now would be like sending Old Lady Xu to the afterlife!"

  Ning Yuan ignored Tan Donglin and continued to ask Xu Qifeng, "Xu, what do you mean?"

  "Longan?" Xu Qifahesitated for a moment and looked at Dean Tian, asking: "Dean Tian, what is this Longan medicine, what are its effects?"

  Dean Tian, although a versatile expert, also understood some pharmacology and replied: "Longan is a blood tonic, belonging to the category of nourishing tonics."

  Xu Qifah heard that it was a tonic for Qi and blood, and immediately felt at ease. Tonic medicine for Qi and blood, even if it's ineffective, shouldn't have any danger, right?

  After some thought, he nodded at Ning Yuan and said, "Well, in that case, I'll have someone go get the medicine."

  Seeing Xu Qifeng agree, Tan Donglin was so angry that he almost jumped up. Isn't this nonsense? The old lady's condition is already very serious. Yesterday, she delayed for a day and took a lot of nourishing medicine. If she takes it again today, someone might die.

  At this time, Tan Donglin's heart was filled with regret. Originally, he thought that bringing Ningyuan along would help him gain some weight in the eyes of the Xu family, but now it seemed that the opposite had happened.

  "He's still young." Tan Donglin couldn't help but sigh in his heart, feeling that he had overestimated Ning Yuan. Last time with Qin Lang, Ning Yuan was just lucky, and actually, he was only a half-baked goods. A twenty-year-old kid, how good could his medical skills be?

  "Miscalculation!"

  Tan Donglin was indignant and regretful, but he had no way to do anything. Looking at the Xu family's appearance, it was clear that they already believed Ningyuan, and whatever he said now would be in vain.

  But Ningyuan was after all summoned by him, if Xu Lao really took the medicine said by Ningyuan and something happened, how would he be responsible?

  Xu Lao Tai's situation, at this time Tan Dong Lin also couldn't care less, if something really happens, it would be his own fault. But Ning Yuan, after all, is young, if he didn't drag him into it, there wouldn't have been this incident.

  Tan Donglin was anxious and flustered, but Ning Yuan remained calm and composed, saying: "Director Xu, the old lady's condition is quite serious, so we must be cautious when selecting medicine. Currently, there are many counterfeit medicines on the market, and even genuine medicinal materials can be unreliable. Therefore, selecting medicine is crucial. I will personally go with Tan Lao to fetch this medicine."

  Xu Qifah thought for a moment and nodded: "Then I'll trouble Mr. Ning and Tan Lao, if the old lady recovers, I will definitely thank you again."

  "Thank you, Director Xue. We'll go now." Ning Yuan smiled and nodded at Xue Qifeng, then glanced at Tan Donglin, and the two of them left the hospital room together.

  As soon as he walked out of the ward, Tan Donglin scolded loudly: "Ning Xiaozi, do you really not know or pretend not to know? Is Xu's old lady's condition a false diagnosis?"

  "Hehe, I naturally know it's a real illness." Ning Yuan chuckled and said.

  "What about you then?" Tan Donglin almost burst out laughing, pointing at Ning Yuan: "If it's a real illness, how can dragon eye be used?"

  "Tan Lao, you're also an old Chinese doctor, how can you not be flexible? The Xu family obviously won't agree to your use of rhubarb. They themselves prefer tonics. Since that's the case, why don't we openly repair the bridge and secretly cross the river?" Ning Yuan reminded him.

  "What do you mean?" Tan Donglin's eyes lit up, staring tightly at Ning Yuan.

  "Hehe, longan has skin, we just need to process it a bit, use rhubarb to protect the longan, and decoct them together with the skin. The resulting medicinal soup will be rhubarb soup, without any medicinal properties of longan." Ning Yuan said with a smile.

  "Ah..." Tan Donglin's mouth was agape, his finger pointing at Ning Yuan as he shook with laughter and said: "You almost scared me to death."