Volume 1 Chapter 90

  Fang Mo Nan carefully observed Agnes for a while, then slowly spoke out her medical history in detail, including when she had severe abdominal pain and bloating, difficulty breathing, decreased appetite, nausea, and fever. Larger cysts can cause compression on surrounding areas, leading to frequent urination and difficulty urinating. Especially when these symptoms are more severe and bleeding is frequent.

  "You tell her about my medical history." Agnes's eyes widened in discontent as she glared at Jerry.

  "Agnis, you should trust my professionalism." Jerry said seriously and solemnly. "Your medical records don't have detailed symptoms starting from the month, some of which even you yourself can't figure out." He turned his head to Fang Moe Nan, "All of these are things you 'guessed'."

  Fang Mo Nan smiled and nodded slightly.

  Agnes then understood and sat down somewhat reluctantly, her mouth seeming to grant a favor, "Alright, I'll give you a chance."

  Fang Mo Nan didn't bother to argue with her, arguing was useless, and it would only make him angry. "Stretch out your hand." Agnes obediently stretched out her hand, and he placed three fingers on her wrist, closing his eyes for about two minutes before letting go of her hand. "Stretch out the other hand." After a while, Fang Mo Nan let go of her hand again and turned to Jerry: "You come try it, feel her pulse."

  "Alright." Jerry pulled over a chair and sat down, taking Agnes' pulse. She looked at the two of them blankly, completely bewildered as to what was going on.

  Jerry put down Agnes' hand, "She now has bloating and fullness, palpitations, shortness of breath, poor appetite, edema, nausea, muscle weakness, increased abdominal girth, irregular menstruation, difficulty urinating, urgency or incomplete defecation, lower abdominal or pelvic distension, and a feeling of downward pressure." He is an authority on neurosurgery and can tell her symptoms more or less just by taking her pulse.

  "Traditional Chinese medicine says that phlegm and blood stasis can lead to stagnation, which can cause damage from excessive thinking. When the body is weak, it can produce phlegm, which can accumulate and block the flow of qi. This can lead to blood stasis, phlegm accumulation, and the formation of lumps. Long-term accumulation of phlegm and blood stasis can also lead to cancer. Her internal organs are weak, her qi and blood are damaged from overwork, and she has been invaded by cold, damp winds. Blood stasis is blocking the flow of qi, causing kidney yang deficiency, cold congealment, and stagnation of qi. The yin fluids are scattered and lose their normal function, leading to phlegm accumulation, or phlegm and blood stasis, or even phlegm and qi stagnation. The yang qi is declining daily, and the yin is not transforming. It's getting bigger day by day."

  "Wait, what are you talking about... I don't understand." Agnes said with a tone of discontent.

  "To put it simply, it's because of your irregular lifestyle that has caused hormonal imbalance, weakened internal organs and loss of appetite. That's why you got sick." Fang Mo Nan said: "What kind of job do you have, with such great pressure?"

  Agnes now understood and had some confidence in them. "I work at the TV station as a behind-the-scenes planner."

  "No wonder, in pursuit of high ratings, the pressure is quite great, and life has no regularity to speak of." Fang Monan nodded.

  Agnes thought about her own life rushing by day and night, "It's really true, no day or night."

  "I've written you a prescription, following the principle of treating the root cause of the disease, to soothe the liver and regulate the flow of energy. The treatment plan is to tonify the body's energy, activate blood circulation, soften hardness and disperse stagnation, clear heat and detoxify. Since the vital energy and blood are the material foundation of the human body, and the internal organs are the source of their generation, control and circulation, by activating the liver and spleen, we can achieve a balance of vital energy and blood, comprehensively regulate the endocrine system, and ultimately cure ovarian cysts." Fang Mornan opened her medical box, picked up a brush, and began writing on paper. After finishing, she blew gently on it. "I estimate that after taking two doses of this medicine, you should start to see improvement." She handed the prescription to Agnes.

  "The purpose of treatment is to start by improving one's physical constitution, starving the variant cells from the source. Eating more alkaline foods can improve one's acidic physique and supplement the body with essential organic nutrients, which can restore one's immune function while starving the variant cells." Fang Mennan wrote another prescription, "This is a medicinal diet to improve one's constitution: stewed mountain yam, walnut kernel, and mother chicken soup."

  Agnes held the prescription and looked at the square characters on it, staring at her with a big head. "Are you deliberately making things difficult for me? This square character, is it useful to me?"

  Fang Mo Nan glanced at her and said lightly, "The ones on top are Chinese medicine..." Seeing the confusion on her face, "We'll have to go to Chinatown, there should be a pharmacy there."

  The three of them drove towards Philadelphia's Chinatown.

  Fang and others got off the bus and stood at the intersection, where a huge Chinese-style archway stood, with "Chinatown Philadelphia" written on it. The archway had a strong Chinese flavor, if not for saying that this was Philadelphia in the United States, she would have thought she was back home.

  Philadelphia's Chinatown is the fourth largest in the United States. It is located in Center City, Philadelphia, between 7th Street, 8th Street and 9th Street, close to Independence Mall. With a history of over 135 years, it is situated in the heart of Philadelphia, with various shops, supermarkets, grocery stores, restaurants and companies along the streets. It is the main gathering place for Chinese Americans in the Greater Philadelphia area.

  According to relevant statistics, there are approximately 150,000 Chinese people living in Philadelphia's Chinatown and surrounding areas, coming from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. In recent years, the number of new immigrants from mainland China has increased significantly, further contributing to the growth of the Chinese American population in the Greater Philadelphia area.

  Having been used to the skyscrapers of Philadelphia and those gray buildings, suddenly coming to the colorful Chinatown, there is always a kind of inexplicable excitement overflowing in my heart. Seeing people coming and going on the street with the same skin color as Chinese and Asians, my heart will suddenly become warm. Looking around, bookstores, restaurants, supermarkets, temples... everything is so familiar and warm, having one's own territory in a foreign land, giving wandering travelers a sense of home, probably only the Chinese can do it!

  As Fang and Mo walked, they looked for a pharmacy. Almost without exception, whenever someone mentions Chinatown, it brings to mind the hardships and struggles of the older generation of Chinese people. Due to historical reasons, Chinatown has become synonymous with "filth" and "crime". However, nowadays, the streets have not widened, nor have the buildings grown taller. Yet, it has changed - this change is reflected in people's hearts, whether they are Chinese or foreigners.

  Chinatown is also called Huafu. Philadelphia's Chinatown isn't very big, but it's clean and tidy, with tall gateways that are both majestic and warm.

  "One spoon stirs the world" -- a true portrayal of old Tang people's entrepreneurship. Chinese cuisine is renowned globally, Chinatown is a great place to eat Chinese food, as long as you want to eat.

  Based on the large Chinese population, Chinese medicine shops are not uncommon overseas. They soon found a pharmacy with a sign that had both an English name and a large character for "medicine" written in traditional script, which immediately brought them closer to the Chinese community. The ancient-style square characters also attracted many locals to stop and take a look. Upon entering, they could smell the pungent aroma of medicine. Inside the store, hundreds of types of Chinese herbal medicines were displayed on high shelves against the wall. They still used the commonly seen "bai zi gui" in China, but with the addition of Chinese characters and English names on the compartments, everything was clear at a glance. This conformed to the Western preference for being "straightforward". On the wall behind the reception desk hung a large diagram of human acupoints, also labeled in both Chinese and English. In addition, there were large Chinese calligraphy paintings, creating a rich atmosphere of traditional culture.

  The store was very quiet, there was a seat for the master doctor, but no master doctor was seen, and only one girl standing at the counter in the whole store.

  Fang Mo Nan and Jerry walked together to the counter, where Jerry handed over the prescription to a young girl who was preparing the medicine. The girl was eighteen or nineteen years old, with a round face like a goose egg, black eyes that shone brightly, rosy cheeks, and an aura of youthful vitality that infused the tranquil pharmacy with a hint of energy.

  She saw the prescription and couldn't help but exclaim, "Good handwriting!" She looked up at the white person in front of her, who had written such beautiful regular script that it made this Chinese person feel ashamed. The font was elegant and generous, with every stroke and dot perfectly executed from start to finish, square and upright, pleasing to the eye, and refined. It seemed a bit out of place with the white person in front of her, who looked kind and gentle, and curiously asked: "Excuse me, did you write this?"

  "Not her, she wrote it." Jerry pointed at Fang Mengnan.

  "Ah!" the girl exclaimed, "This is impossible! With this skill, it must have taken at least ten years or more!" The handwriting was neat and angular, with a comfortable spacing between lines, from top to bottom, from left to right, steady and firm. It's hard to imagine that it came from a little girl's hand, and the prescription was written so neatly, unlike the usual messy scribbles she had seen before.

  Fang Mo stood silently with a hint of a smile on her face. She seemed to have discerning eyes and didn't appear to be just an ordinary medicine collector.

  She saw the little girl didn't answer, and smiled awkwardly, lowering her head to examine the prescription, frowning tightly for a long time. Then she said: "This prescription, can I ask someone else to take a look?"

  Jerry's eyes drifted towards Fang Mo Nan, meaning you're in charge. Fang Mo Nan smiled and nodded, "Alright."

  The girl took the prescription and slipped in through a side door, only to hear the sound of footsteps going upstairs.

  Agnes looked at the departing girl in surprise, "She just took the prescription and left, is something wrong?" She turned her head, looking at Fang Mo Nan with a skeptical gaze.

  Before Fang Mo Nan could respond, a middle-aged man of average height and slightly plump build appeared before them, his eyes shining brightly as he asked urgently, "Who wrote the prescription?"

  "What's wrong with the medicine? I said she was too young..." Agnes muttered.

  "It's not that it's wrong, it's just too wonderful." The old man interrupted Agnes' words, and she was choked by the old man, her face as colorful as a palette.

  The old man grasped Agnes' hand tightly across the counter, "Did you write it?"

  "No, it was she who wrote it." Agnes awkwardly pointed at Fang Mernan.

  The girl also chased down from upstairs and stood beside the old man.

  Fang Mo Nan looked at the old man standing in front of the counter, dressed simply, with a square face, a head full of silver hair, and faint wrinkles on his face that didn't intersect. Although he didn't have the elegant demeanor of a white-bearded elder, he had an air of youthful energy about him, and by the looks of it, he should be the owner of this pharmacy.