Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1278 "You're from the North, you don't understand Southern diseases!" (Bonus chapter for monthly votes)

Fang Yan arrived downstairs at the outpatient building and saw that there were about a hundred people there, including men and women, and families with children.

As per Director Liao's instructions, the first thing these people needed to do was have their blood drawn at the hospital to check for infectious diseases.

To facilitate their check-ups, the hospital, just like during the last free clinic, organized staff to guide everyone. They even prepared thermos flasks and water cups for them in case they were thirsty. The hospital's attention to them was a highlight.

Fang Yan noticed that Wei Guohao was among the people who came today.

As soon as he got off the bus, he saw Fang Yan and waved to her from a distance.

Fang Yan smiled and nodded at him.

"Who is this person?" Li Zhengji and Xiao Chengzhi, who were seeing patients with Fang Yan today, asked him curiously.

“He’s an overseas Chinese who returned from Vietnam. He used to run a traditional Chinese medicine hospital there,” Fang Yan replied.

Xiao Chengzhi said:
"A private hospital? They must be quite wealthy!"

Fang Yan shook his head and said:
"I don't know about that, I haven't asked him, but most of their assets have been confiscated."

"Most of the people here are in similar situations, except that some are slightly better off. They have saved money elsewhere and still have a chance to turn their lives around. What Director Liao and his team are doing now is to help them start a new life, and of course, it would be best if they could stay and contribute to the country's development."

Li Zhengji, who was standing to the side, said:
"Now I understand why you can't put all your eggs in one basket, and there's a reason why a cunning rabbit has three burrows."

Fang Yan smiled after hearing this, and suddenly remembered that Li Zhengji had gone abroad in his previous life. Could it be that his cunning and resourcefulness had also come into play?
"Director Fang, I'm here!" Wei Guohao arrived just as he was speaking.

He introduced himself to the people around him in his dialect:

"This is Dr. Wei Guohao, one of our fellow practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine."

Then he introduced the two people next to him to Wei Guohao:

"These two are my classmates, colleagues and friends. This one is Li Zhengji and this one is Xiao Chengzhi."

Since Wei Guohao is unaware of the situation of traditional Chinese medicine in China, Fang Yan will not introduce the background of these two individuals, as it would be pointless to do so.

After they greeted each other, Wei Guohao asked Fang Yan:

"Are all the people in your Traditional Chinese Medicine department so young?"

Nodding in dialect:

"Yes, our Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Peking Union Medical College Hospital is full of fresh blood."

Wei Guohao remarked with emotion:

"It's completely different from what I imagined... In our area, we believe that older TCM doctors are more experienced, but it's completely different here."

Fang Yan smiled and waved his hand, too lazy to explain, and said:

"Haha, alright, you go get your blood drawn for your physical exam first. After you're done, go straight upstairs to the Traditional Chinese Medicine department."

"Okay!" Wei Guohao nodded in agreement.

Then, like everyone else, I went to queue up for a blood test.

The blood draw itself doesn't take long, just a short while, but it takes time to get the results.

Fang Yan, Li Zhengji, and Xiao Chengzhi went upstairs. Today, the three of them were treating patients, which was a task assigned by Fang Yan. In the past, if they encountered such problems, he would come alone because the others came specifically for him. However, today these overseas Chinese businessmen did not have a clear target, so Fang Yan arranged for others to participate as well. Firstly, to reduce his own workload, and secondly, to give others a chance to shine.

It also helps leaders remember them.

Li Zhengji and Xiao Chengzhi were almost second only to him in status. Fang Yan had brought them to see the doctor, and he believed they could handle today's problems.

Soon after the Western medicine doctors finished drawing blood, some people who felt healthy went back to their cars outside to wait for their return trip.

Those with health problems were taken to the building where Fang Yan and the others were located.

Today, there are three people in three consultation rooms, and everyone who comes has been assigned to one of them.

Soon, the three of them were assigned their patients. Fang Yan didn't know what illness the other patients had, but this was the first time he had encountered this particular patient.

The patient's surname is Chen, and he is 26 years old this year.

He was accompanied by his wife and children. After introducing himself upon entering, the man kept his head down, occasionally glancing at Fang Yan, but avoiding eye contact the rest of the time.

It was clear this person was quite nervous. Fang Yan picked up the medical record folder on the table and asked:
"Hello Mr. Chen. I am the traditional Chinese medicine doctor who will be treating you today. Please don't be nervous and tell me about your situation slowly."

Mr. Chen seemed a little flustered. He took off his hat, unconsciously scratching his hair with both hands, revealing a large expanse of smooth scalp on top. His tone was clearly anxious:
"Dr. Fang, hello. I... I'm losing so much hair. Look, it's only been a few months and I've lost so much. I'm too ashamed to show my face to anyone now." As he spoke, he lowered his head slightly so that Fang Yan could see the balding area more clearly.

Fang Yan carefully observed Mr. Chen's hair loss, nodded gently, and continued to ask, "When did your hair loss begin? What was it like at the beginning? Did it fall out little by little, or did it suddenly fall out in large patches?"

“It was about three months ago,” Mr. Chen recalled, his brow furrowed. “At that time, I was in Vietnam, and all of my family’s businesses were confiscated at once. I was so anxious that I didn’t sleep for days and nights. Later, I noticed that I was losing a lot more hair than usual when I combed my hair. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to it, thinking that it was probably just because of the stress and that it would get better after a while. But who knew that it would fall out more and more, and slowly it became like this now, with patches of hair of different sizes.”

"Besides hair loss, do you have any other discomfort? For example, in terms of sleep or diet?" Fang Yan continued the consultation while taking notes in the medical record.

Mentioning these things made Mr. Chen even more depressed:
"I sleep very poorly. Every night I toss and turn in bed and can't fall asleep. Even if I manage to fall asleep, I have vivid dreams and wake up at the slightest noise. I also have no appetite. I used to be able to eat two bowls of rice in one meal, but now I can't even eat half a bowl. I always feel dizzy and my head feels very heavy. My memory has also deteriorated a lot. I forget what I just said or did in the blink of an eye. Sometimes my heart will suddenly beat very fast, and I feel weak all over. Even walking is difficult."

Fang Yan nodded, then said to him:
"Stick out your tongue so I can see it, and take my pulse with your left hand as well."

Mr. Chen obediently did as instructed.

His wife, standing beside him, said in dialect:

“I think what he’s really worried about is that he has nothing left at home. We’re still alive, but we have nothing else…”

Fang Yan looked up at Mr. Chen's wife and replied gently, "What you said makes sense. Emotional distress is indeed a major contributing factor. But let's not be too discouraged. As long as we find the root cause of physical problems, they can always improve with gradual conditioning." After saying that, he focused on taking Mr. Chen's pulse, feeling the subtle changes in the pulse with his fingertips, and carefully observed Mr. Chen's tongue coating. He saw that the tongue coating was thin and white, and the tip of the tongue was slightly red.

After a while, Fang Yan finished diagnosing his right hand as well. He withdrew his hand and explained to Mr. Chen and his wife, "Judging from the pulse and tongue coating, Mr. Chen is suffering from liver qi stagnation and deficiency of both the heart and spleen. The family had experienced a change in circumstances before, and the long-term anxiety and worry caused the liver qi to stagnate, which hindered the flow of qi and blood. Excessive thinking also damaged the heart and spleen, resulting in insufficient production of qi and blood. As a result, the hair does not receive enough nourishment and is prone to falling out. Problems with sleep and appetite are also caused by deficiency of both the heart and spleen, which fails to nourish the various organs of the body."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Chen's wife couldn't help but ask, "Dr. Fang, can his illness be cured? Can his hair grow back? We're not well-off right now. If the treatment is particularly troublesome or very expensive, we..." She didn't finish her sentence, but the worry in her tone was obvious.

Fang Yan quickly reassured him:
"Don't worry, the treatment plan mainly involves traditional Chinese medicine, and the cost won't be too high. In fact, we've already waived the fees for these treatments; they're free."

Upon hearing the dialect, Mr. Chen's wife happily said to him:
"I told you yesterday they said the medical fees would be waived! You still didn't believe me!"

Mr. Chen said somewhat awkwardly:
"I...I don't remember!"

Fang Yan discovered that his forgetfulness was quite serious.

Then, in dialect, he said:

"I prescribed Mr. Chen a formula to soothe the liver, regulate qi, strengthen the spleen, and nourish the heart. It contains Bupleurum and Cyperus to soothe the liver and relieve depression, Codonopsis and Astragalus to strengthen the spleen and replenish qi, and Ziziphus jujuba seed and Polygala tenuifolia to calm the mind. He should decoct and take it regularly every day. If he persists for a period of time, his liver qi will be smooth, his heart and spleen functions will be restored, his qi and blood will be sufficient, and his hair will naturally grow back slowly. His sleep and appetite will also improve."

He paused, then added, "Besides taking medication, Mr. Chen should also try to adjust his mindset. Now that you are safe, money can be earned back. Having your family around is the best thing, and you are both so young. Youth is your greatest asset. You can chat with your family more often, take walks, and don't keep things bottled up inside. In terms of diet, you can eat more foods that strengthen the spleen and stomach, such as yam, lotus seeds, and millet, which will also be beneficial for your recovery."

Mr. Chen's brows relaxed slightly upon hearing the dialect.

A long-lost sense of relief appeared on his face.

Mr. Chen's wife, who was standing nearby, also said, "Thank you, Dr. Fang. We will definitely do as you say. As long as we can get better, we will persevere no matter how difficult it is."

Mr. Chen nodded repeatedly.

Fang Yan smiled, picked up a pen, and carefully wrote the prescription on the medical record, saying as she wrote, "Don't worry, as long as we work together, things will definitely get better and better. After the prescription is written, go to the pharmacy to pick up the medicine. If you feel uncomfortable during the medication period, come and see me anytime."

After writing it down, I handed it to the patient's family member, and then let the next person in.

This time, a couple came in holding a child; the patient was the child.

As soon as they entered, they said to Fang Yan:

"Doctor, please help us! Our child fell ill on the way back and is now having epileptic seizures more than ten times a day!"

Just as they finished speaking, Wei Guohao walked in from behind them.

He added in dialect:
"I checked on this child on the way here, but he's a bit of a problem!"

“This is a minor epileptic seizure, which happens more than ten times a day, each lasting one to two minutes. It's probably because he injured his head on the way or was bitten by some insect. You're in the north and don't know the situation in the south, which is very troublesome.”

PS: After finishing this chapter, I still owe everyone a total of 36000 words.

That's all for today, I'll continue tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)