Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1227 My Wife Wants to Invest Her Royalties in Stocks, and She Meets an Old Classmate at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (Two Chapters Combined)
"If it's convenient for you, please bring Zeng Wanli's children over tomorrow as well!"

He paused in the dialect, then added:
"Including your entire family!"

"Huh?! Why are you taking care of the child?" Meng Jimin was a little confused.

He said in dialect:

“Their child had no one to play with when he first arrived here, so they brought him along. It also gives Zhengyi a playmate.”

Meng Jimin then realized what was happening and said:
"Oh... OK."

He then added:
"But my family's things are all at my wife's house, so I won't bring them over."

Fang Yan replied:
"Alright! Then come early tomorrow."

“Okay!” Meng Jimin agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Fang Yan told her family that Zhu Liangchun was coming.

Without a word, the family immediately started tidying up the room.

Zhu Liangchun was very helpful with the dialect, and since the person was a relative, he naturally had to treat him with great hospitality.

However, he didn't send a telegram here, but instead sent one to Meng Jimin.

I guess they were just a little embarrassed.

Last time they came, they were put in the outer courtyard. This time, the second sister took that room, so Fang Yan arranged for them to stay in the study. There is a partition in the study, so whatever is done outside will not affect the people in the bedroom inside the partition.

That's the advantage of having a big house; anyone who comes can settle down.

However, as the family grew, Fang Yan felt that the rooms were not enough. Buying a courtyard house was out of the question now. Given his status, the simplest solution was to get a villa for leaders in the Xiehe Villa District across the street.

It's just that it's useful when there are many people, but not when there are few people, so it seems a bit extravagant. No one goesssips about him occupying this courtyard house, but if he were to occupy a villa across the street, some people would probably feel uncomfortable.

Occupying a large courtyard is not enough; they also need to occupy a villa. Many people still live in houses of only 60 or 70 square meters.

With that in mind, Fang Yan had no choice but to put the idea aside for the time being.

Oh well, there will be fewer people in the family after summer vacation anyway, so building a house now would just give people something to talk about.

Fang Yan feels that he sometimes has a hoarding mentality.

He just feels more at ease having more houses; he probably has some kind of psychological trauma from his past life.

Because Zhu Liangchun is coming tomorrow, Fang Yan plans to cook lunch himself, so he also soaked some dried mountain delicacies and seafood.

Of course, you can also order food at the Yanjing Hotel, but that's just a different sentiment.

After finishing his meal, Fang Yan also planned to ask the old man if he had any experience in treating gliomas. Although he hadn't seen any of it in his notes, he thought he might be able to find out something.

If you're asking someone to take things out of their pocket, you should at least have the right attitude. Cooking for them yourself is the proper thing to do.

When it was time for bed that night, Zhu Lin asked Fang Yan:

"You said last time that you used the salary the Huo family gave you to buy stocks in Hong Kong for Le Miao?"

Fang Yan hadn't expected Her Majesty to bring this up. He nodded and asked:
"You want me to take it back?"

Zhu Lin said:

"Haha, the way you're saying that makes me sound like I'm jealous of her."

He didn't know what "wife" meant in the dialect, so he could only say:
"I didn't say that, and my relationship with her is completely innocent, why are you jealous!"

Zhu Lin smiled and asked Fang Yan:

"You remember I still have an account in Hong Kong, right?"

Nodding in dialect:

"I remember, it's the account for your royalties."

Zhu Lin said:

“I figured since we’re just sitting around doing nothing, why don’t we just transfer the money from this account to yours and let Le Miao continue trading stocks?”

Fang Yan said to her:
"She bought and sold stocks based on inside information revealed by her friend, Guo Zhen from the Guo family. She only mentioned making some money a while ago, but hasn't talked about stock trading since. I don't know if she lost or gained anything."

Zhu Lin said:

“It’s fine. There’s no point in keeping it in the Hong Kong account anyway. We’ve already bought a car for Dad, so we might as well use it to invest in stocks.”

Fang Yan thought about it and felt that made sense; in any case, the possibility of losing money on Le Miao was not high.

He then nodded in agreement:

"Alright! I'll send a telegram to Le Miao tomorrow."

The wife nodded.

Fang Yan asked her with some curiosity:
"How did you suddenly decide to invest in stocks?"

Zhu Lin said to Fang Yan:

"Huang Huijie gave me this idea. She said that the money needs to be put to use. Although it is safe to keep my money in the bank, it is not necessary. There are so many investment opportunities around me, so it is better to invest. Of course, my capital is relatively small, so it is definitely not possible to build a factory back home. Taking a stake is also necessary. The best thing would be to find someone to speculate in stocks in Hong Kong."

“She knew that Le Miao was buying stocks for you, so that’s why she suggested it to me.”

Fang Yan suddenly realized that it was Huang Huijie's idea.

Then Fang Yan and his wife started talking about the Hong Kong stock market in 1978.

I don't know much about dialects; I only know a little from the newspapers.
"The impact of the oil crisis two years ago has just subsided, and the Hang Seng Index is slowly climbing up recently."

Zhu Lin placed the pillow behind her lower back and asked curiously, "From what you're saying, now seems like a good time to buy?"

"It's hard to say." Fang Yan smiled.
"The Hong Kong stock market is closely tied to the international situation. This year, the global economy is recovering, but there are always all sorts of rumors and gossip stirring things up over there."

"However, the Guo family's daughter that Le Miao is on good terms with is quite something. The Guo family has a lot of influence in Hong Kong's real estate market, and their information channels should be reliable. In fact, they might even be the ones who can control the rise and fall of the stock market."

"By the way, last month's newspaper reported that Wharf Holdings' stock price was fluctuating wildly. That means several major families are secretly vying for power. At times like these, following inside information is always safer than buying blindly."

Zhu Lin blinked: "So Huang Huijie's statement about 'the money needing to be put to use' turned out to be a lucky coincidence?"

“It wasn’t all a lucky break.” Fang Yan reached out and tidied her hair. “Think about it, the money we have now can either be deposited in the bank to earn interest or used to buy physical goods. But if we’re talking about increasing value, the stock market is definitely a good option. Of course, the premise is not to be greedy.”

"Just like research institutes, which invest in technology and time, the stock market invests in vision and information. Essentially, both are about making 'capital' come alive."

"Then how many times will my little bit of royalties multiply?" Zhu Lin asked half-jokingly.

"It's hard to say how much we'll turn around, but we shouldn't lose money." Fang Yan recalled what Le Miao mentioned in her last letter, saying that the stocks she bought with Guo Zhen's help had already risen quite a bit. "Le Miao is shrewd. Besides, even if we do lose money, that little bit won't affect our lives. We can just consider it tuition."

Zhu Lin was amused by him: "You're quite open-minded. But Huang Huijie said that she recently asked someone to buy some Hutchison Whampoa shares in Hong Kong, saying that the company has many connections with the mainland and there's definitely hope for the future."

“Hutchison Whampoa?” Fang Yan raised an eyebrow. Isn’t that Old Li’s company?
This guy has a sharp eye. He bought a lot of properties when the market was down in the early years. Following him now is probably the right move. Huang Huijie is no simpleton either!

He slapped his thigh. "In tomorrow's telegram to Le Miao, I'll specifically mention this and tell her to ask Guo Zhen what he thinks."

"You can decide." Zhu Lin yawned. "My brain can't remember all of this, but I trust you anyway."

She leaned closer to Fang Yan and said, "Speaking of which, when we have more money in the future, should we buy a house in Hong Kong? It would be convenient for you to live there, and if the research institute needs to set up a branch there in the future, you'll have a place to stay."

Fang Yan's heart stirred; this was indeed a long-term plan. He looked down at Zhu Lin's tired profile and said softly, "Once the money from the stock market is in hand, we'll go take a look. But right now, the most important thing is for you to get some rest."

He turned off the bedside lamp, his voice sounding even gentler in the darkness, "Uncle is coming tomorrow, he'll be asking all sorts of questions, so don't tire yourself out."

Zhu Lin hummed in agreement, and her breathing quickly became steady.

……

Time flew by and it was already the next day. After morning exercise, Fang Yan had already started preparing the lunch dishes. Some of the dishes that needed to be stewed in advance were now being simmered on the stove.

Even those in the family who had never met Zhu Liangchun could tell that Fang Yan held this uncle in very high regard.

After breakfast, Fang Yan went to make his rounds. Just as he was about to leave to send a telegram, the people from the Western medicine department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital found him.

"Director Fang, Director Fang!" The person calling him was Zhou Yao, the deputy director of the nephrology department.

"Director Zhou? Is something the matter?" Fang Yan replied.

Western medicine practitioners rarely consult him anymore; everyone knows he's very busy, and people won't bother him unless there's a specific reason.

Zhou Yao said to Fang Yan:

"A patient wants to ask you for help."

"Oh? Is it tricky?" Fang Yan asked.

Zhou Yao said somewhat awkwardly:
"It's not that difficult... it's just that I've had several treatments, but the results haven't been ideal."

I've only managed to treat half of this myself, and the symptoms just don't seem to be completely gone.

Zhou Yao has been hospitalized several times and is fed up with it. He heard that other departments asked Fang Yan for help to clean up the mess and got it done in no time. He has no other choice but to try it now.

Fang Yan glanced at his watch, but didn't refuse, saying:
"Alright, let's go take a look."

They soon arrived at the nephrology ward floor, where some staff were making their rounds. Seeing Fang Yan and Zhou Yao arrive together, they all looked at them.

This was the first time Fang Yan had appeared in the nephrology department, and she even came with the deputy director.

Some medical staff greeted Fang Yan and Zhou Yao when they saw them, which made even more people aware that Fang Yan had arrived.

Zhou Yao wanted to speak but didn't know how, so he quickened his pace, speaking in dialect, and arrived at the ward.

This is different from the Traditional Chinese Medicine department. Here, there are three beds in one ward, and the facilities are not as advanced as in the Traditional Chinese Medicine department.

Fang Yan felt a little dazed for a moment, realizing that historically, Western medicine's inpatient wards were definitely much more advanced than those of traditional Chinese medicine.

In fact, before he came to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the hospital did not have a traditional Chinese medicine inpatient department.

The Peking Union Medical College Hospital's Traditional Chinese Medicine inpatient department is now the best-equipped place.

I didn't notice the difference until I went to other departments, but now that I see it, I realize that the difference is indeed quite significant.

I went to the bed near the window and saw the patient lying on it.

This is a patient in his early twenties.

Upon seeing Fang Yan and Zhou Yao arrive, he immediately greeted Zhou Yao:
"Dr. Zhou!"

Upon seeing the dialect, he hesitated for a moment and asked:

"Fang Yan?" Fang Yan was taken aback and looked at the other person's face.

The patient said to him:
"I am Zhang Shuming!"

"You forgot? We were deskmates in junior high!"

Fang Yan's memories surged, and then overlapped with a certain face in his memory.

"Hey, old classmate!" Fang Yan greeted him with a smile.

Since returning, Fang Yan has only had contact with his childhood friend Yuan Hongqi and Lin Rong when he first came back; he has basically not kept in touch with anyone else.

Even after he became famous, no one had ever sought him out; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

"What's wrong with you?" Fang Yan asked Zhang Shuming.

“I have nephritis and was discharged from medical leave at the end of March this year!” Zhang Shuming said to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan noticed that his face was dark, especially his neck, as if he hadn't washed properly.

Zhang Shuming said to Fang Yan:

"I heard about you before I came back, but they said you weren't seeing patients here, so I had to come here. I've been here several times, but you still haven't gotten better..."

After he finished speaking, he noticed Zhou Yao standing to the side and immediately corrected him:

"Dr. Zhou, well, I didn't mean you weren't... Didn't you treat this patient before..."

Zhou Yao scratched his head awkwardly and said:
"It's not my fault, it's just that we didn't cure it properly."

He said in dialect:

"Tell me what exactly happened."

“In February, when I was working in the countryside, I suddenly felt tightness in my face, then my lower back ached, and I started urinating more. At the time, I thought it was because I was tired, but after resting for a week, it didn’t get better, so I went to the local hospital. After the doctor examined me, he said that my urinalysis showed a problem, with three pluses of protein in my urine, and that I had nephritis.”

"I was quite happy at the time, so I applied for medical retirement and came back at the end of March."

"After returning to the city, I started seeing doctors, and I've been seeing doctors at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. As a result, the proteinuria treatment resulted in a positive result, but after a few days it turned into a positive result. It just wouldn't get better, and I also had foamy proteinuria when I urinated."

"Western medicine's physical and chemical tests show that my proteinuria fluctuates but cannot be eliminated, indicating that my kidney function has not recovered."
Recurrence often results in proteinuria.

"They say it's fine now, but it will get troublesome if it drags on."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan said to Zhou Yao:

"Director Zhou, what treatment methods did you use? Are there any medical records?"

Zhou Yao said:

"some!"

After he finished speaking, he handed a notebook to Fang Yan, which contained Zhang Shuming's medical records from previous treatments.

Fang Yan quickly flipped through the medical records, the pages filled with notes on various indicators: proteinuria +3, few red blood cells, erythrocyte sedimentation rate 35mm/h... In the medication records, the dosage of prednisone and cyclophosphamide was adjusted three times. Each time the medication was reduced, the proteinuria would rebound, like a piece of chewing gum stuck to the sole of a shoe, impossible to shake off or clean up.

“We’ve tried steroid pulse therapy and immunosuppressants,” Zhou Yao explained from the side, his tone tinged with helplessness. “Every time his indicators just come down, they immediately relapse if he gets tired or catches a cold. We originally planned to do a kidney biopsy this time, but the patient was a bit resistant.”

“It’s right not to do it,” Fang Yan said.

Fang Yan tapped lightly on the words "kidney biopsy": "Doing this now would do more harm than good."

Zhou Yao was stunned for a moment, and was about to ask why, when Fang Yan continued:

“From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, this condition is ‘deficiency of both spleen and kidney,’ meaning that qi and blood are already deficient. Kidney biopsy may seem like a minor procedure, but it does puncture the kidney, like making another hole in a leaky house. The most important thing now is to fix the leak, not to pry open the tiles to see how badly it has rotted inside.”

Fang Yan didn't actually say that he had seen many patients, especially cancer patients, who had problems after punctures.

In 2020, the West China Hospital treatment team published a paper on the increased risk of local recurrence of pleural puncture. They selected eight studies from a huge medical record database and conducted a special interpretation. They found that the vast majority of the medical records showed that this kind of puncture biopsy does indeed lead to a higher recurrence rate.

Moreover, this study was already conducted abroad in 2017 and published in a medical journal in July of that year. In this study, 392 cancer patients were included. One group underwent surgery directly, while the other group underwent a biopsy before surgery. It was found that the recurrence rate was higher in the biopsy group, around 9%, while it was 2% in the non-biopsy group. The local recurrence rate in the biopsy group was 19%, and the local recurrence rate in the non-biopsy group was 8%.

To put it simply, this thing is like stirring up a hornet's nest.

However, Western medicine requires a biopsy to perform gene testing, otherwise targeted drugs cannot be prescribed, which leaves patients who choose Western medicine feeling helpless.

Some people couldn't resist the doctor's assurance that the risk was very low, and then they went ahead with the procedure.

As for whether things will turn out well or badly, that depends on your luck.

Traditional Chinese medicine, in any case, does not recommend this kind of examination method that damages the body.

Zhou Yao wanted to say something, but remembering that he had asked Fang Yan to clean up his mess, he could only shut up and wait to see what Fang Yan would do.

Fang Yan put down the medical record and went to Zhang Shuming's bedside, first looking at the black marks on his body.

Then he asked:
"This only started after you got sick, right?"

Zhang Shuming nodded:
"Yes, it grew out gradually later."

"Okay, stick your tongue out so I can see." Fang Yan nodded and pointed to his mouth.

Zhang Shuming obediently stuck out his tongue. Fang Yan looked at it and found that the tongue was swollen, with obvious teeth marks on the edges, and the coating was white and greasy, like it was covered with a thin layer of frost.

"This is a typical case of 'dampness trapping the spleen.' The kidneys are the foundation of innate constitution, while the spleen is the source of acquired constitution. Now, the spleen is unable to transform and transport water and dampness, so the kidneys will naturally suffer as well. Performing a puncture at this time is like adding another wound to the already weakened body. The pathogenic factors will then seep in through the needle, making it difficult to repair later."

Fang Yan was speaking to Zhou Yao.

Upon hearing Fang Yan's words, Zhang Shuming felt fortunate for his choice.

Zhou Yao frowned even more: "But without knowing the pathology type, prescribing medication is like walking in the dark..."

"Walking in the dark is better than falling into a ditch," Fang Yan chimed in, then continued to Zhou Yao:

“The root cause of his illness is not the ‘organ’ of the kidneys, but the ‘function’ of Qi. Look at the dark ring around his neck, which is called ‘jaundice’ in traditional Chinese medicine. It is a sign of impaired kidney Qi and dampness and toxins accumulating in the skin. Using hormones to suppress the indicators is useless. We need to first raise the Qi of the spleen and kidneys.”

After speaking, Fang Yan checked his pulse again.

The pulse is deep and thready, and the radial pulse is weak.

Fang Yan withdrew his finger, took out paper and pen, and then realized that there was no ink.

This is a bit embarrassing.

He turned to Zhou Yao and said, "Director Zhou, may I borrow a pen?"

Zhou Yao quickly took a pen from his white coat pocket and handed it to him. Fang Yan walked to the bedside table, picked up a prescription sheet, and began to write:

"Astragalus membranaceus 30g, Codonopsis pilosula 15g, Atractylodes macrocephala 12g, Poria cocos 15g..."

Each time he reported a medicinal ingredient, he would look up at Zhang Shuming, as if confirming something:
"Your pulse is deep and thready, indicating qi deficiency; your radial pulse is weak, indicating kidney deficiency. Astragalus must be roasted to be effective in warming yang and replenishing qi; add some fox nuts to strengthen the kidneys and astringe essence, which is perfect for dealing with your proteinuria."

He paused when he wrote down the last ingredient, emphasizing it deliberately:

"Dioscorea hypoglauca must be stir-fried to have a stronger effect in removing dampness and turbidity."

After writing the prescription, he folded it and handed it to Zhou Yao:

"One dose per day, decocted twice in water, taken warm in the morning and evening. Remember, don't throw away the dregs; soak your feet in the hot dregs at night to help draw out the dampness."

Zhou Yao took the prescription.

At this moment, Zhang Shuming asked in a slightly trembling voice, "Fang Yan, my illness... can it be completely cured?"

"Don't worry." Fang Yan smiled, then saw the enamel mug on his bedside table, opened it, and found that it contained pickled vegetables.

"You're eating pickled vegetables with this illness?" Fang Yan asked in surprise.

Zhang Shuming blushed: "The food in the cafeteria is too bland..."

“From today onwards, you are not allowed to touch pickled vegetables, cured meat, or fermented bean curd.” Fang’s tone left no room for argument. “Your kidneys are like sieves now; eating too much salt is like throwing sand into the holes. If you want something flavorful, have your family bring you some fresh vegetables, something with a milder taste.”

After prescribing the medicine, Fang Yan said to Zhou Yao:

"Alright, I'll be going now. Please keep an eye on the treatment results."

Zhou Yao nodded after hearing this.

Fang Yan then said goodbye to Zhang Shuming and went home.

When they got home, Meng Jimin had already brought Zeng Wanli's child with him.

Zeng Wanli's wife was also accompanying him, and interestingly, she even knew her brother-in-law's family.

Now that everyone was familiar with them, the children and parents naturally relaxed.

The child I brought was named Zeng Yuxun, nine years old this year, born in 1969. I almost mistook his dialect for the name of a battery tycoon, and only after repeatedly confirming did I realize that I was overthinking it.

Next, Fang Yan started cooking, and Lao Meng came over to help. After all, his master was coming, so of course he had to show off.

He knew what the old man liked, and using the ingredients Fang Yan had, he named several dishes for Fang Yan. It wasn't difficult at all, and Fang Yan immediately started cooking.

At 10:30 a.m., Anton reminded Fang Yan from outside:

"Master, it's time. Let's go to the station to pick them up!"

Fang Yan glanced at his watch and said:

"Okay, right away!"

Then she went out with Lao Meng, leaving her older sister and younger sister-in-law to keep an eye on the fire in the kitchen.

Just as I was about to go out, my father-in-law arrived.

Said:

"I'll drive over there to pick him up too!"

I drive one car, and Anton drives another, that makes two cars. My father-in-law is also going.

Fang Yan laughed upon hearing this and said:

"Then let's just assemble a convoy to pick them up, that would be impressive!"

Upon hearing this, Lao Hu immediately agreed:

"Great! I'll go too!"

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words has been updated.

(End of this chapter)