Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1282 I Bet He Can't Be Cured! You're All Too Pretentious! (Two Chapters Combined)
Wei Guohao stood in the corner of the consultation room, still clutching the half-finished cup of tea in his hand, his eyes fixed on the blueprints spread out on the table, his ears filled with unfamiliar and professional terms such as "ratchet mechanism," "dustproof sealing ring," and "Velcro fastener," his mind feeling like it was stuffed into a tangled mess.

Having practiced medicine in Vietnam for many years, he was used to seeing traditional Chinese medicine practitioners observe, listen, inquire, and palpate, and prepare medicines and decoctions. Even when it came to emergency care, it was nothing more than acupuncture to stop bleeding and external application of herbal medicine. But the scene before him, where a traditional Chinese medicine doctor and a soldier were discussing mechanical structures around blueprints and talking eloquently, completely overturned his understanding of "traditional Chinese medicine".

There's something else involved in designating a dialect!
Especially when he heard the dialect saying, "If the canvas is torn, the soldiers can find a sturdy piece of cloth on the front line and sew a cloth cover to change into," Wei Guohao couldn't help but take two steps closer.

He peered at the details of the folding stretcher on the drawing, his fingers unconsciously touching the table. He muttered to himself: This design looks simple, but it's full of thoughtful consideration. Many of the details are beyond what an ordinary person could come up with. It's as if Fang Yan had gone to the battlefield to fight and save many people before he came up with the idea.

It feels a bit outrageous. How could someone as young as Fang Yan have considered so many things?

He's in his twenties, how could he possibly spend so many years fighting on the battlefield?

The key point is that even every part of the stretcher was made to meet the needs of the front lines.

While she was still in a daze, Fang Yan looked up and glanced at Wei Guohao, who was watching the drama unfold.

This guy has been watching for so long. He's going to Hong Kong soon, so Fang Yan isn't worried about him leaking these things. Fang Yan's design drafts are divided into many pages, with a lot of details. They're only discussing a part of it. Even if Wei Guohao has a photographic memory, he can't see it all. But the main thing is that he's watching from the sidelines today. If the military doesn't let him leave, then things will get really interesting.

Fang Yan said to Wei Guohao:
"Dr. Wei, why don't you go stay over there?"

Speaking in his dialect, he pointed to the seats not far away.

Wei Guohao glanced in the direction Fang Yan was pointing and immediately realized that he had been standing next to the blueprints for too long and was probably interfering with their serious conversation. After all, these designs were for the military and there were bound to be confidentiality requirements.

He quickly looked away, tightened his grip on the teacup, and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Okay, I'll move it now, you guys talk, you guys talk."

He then quickly walked to a corner seat and sat down, deliberately moving the chair closer to the wall to keep it as far away from the blueprints as possible.

They continued chatting in their dialect.

Finally, around 12:10 PM, we finished discussing everything that needed to be discussed.

"We'll be leaving now. We'll make a sample as soon as possible in the next few days and then we'll come back to see you. We'll ask Director Fang to help us with the revisions then," Zhao Zhe said to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan smiled and said:

"Okay! But it's already noon, why don't you stay for lunch?"

Zhao Zhe waved his hand, his tone tinged with urgency: "No, Director Fang, we need to rush back and communicate the details to the factory so we can adjust the production plan today and get the samples out sooner, which will provide more security for the front line. There's no rush for dinner; we can get together later when the samples are ready."

As he spoke, he, Wu Shulang, and Xiao Long packed up the blueprints and notebooks, and then gave Fang Yan a standard military salute. Before leaving, Xiao Long specifically instructed, "Director Fang, if you suddenly remember any additional details, please call us anytime. Someone will answer 24 hours a day."

Fang Yan nodded in agreement and saw the three of them to the door of the clinic. Watching their departing figures, he turned and went back inside.

As soon as he sat down, Wei Guohao came over with two freshly brewed cups of hot tea and handed him one: "Director Fang, these comrades are really in a hurry; they won't even eat a bite of food."

"Military matters can't be delayed." Fang Yan took the teacup.

"If they work a little longer, they might be able to produce a few more sets of emergency medical equipment. When it's time to use them, these things can save a few more lives."

Wei Guohao asked:
"Is war about to break out?"

He said in dialect:

"I didn't say we were going to war, but it's better to be prepared, you know our surroundings aren't peaceful."

Wei Guohao nodded.

Then Fang Yan stopped talking to him about this and directly invited him and Anton Zhengyi to have dinner.

I'm not going home today; I'll eat at the cafeteria.

After leaving the consultation room, Li Zhengji and Xiao Chengzhi in the next room had also finished their consultations.

They were invited to join in the conversation using their local dialect.

After locking the door, the two followed Fang Yan toward the cafeteria.

"Your hospital has a cafeteria?" Wei Guohao asked, somewhat surprised.

The people around were a little confused for a moment. What kind of workplace in China doesn't have a canteen?
This person seemed to be making conversation out of nothing.

"Doesn't your hospital have a cafeteria?" Xiao Chengzhi asked.

“No…we bring our own food where we’re from,” Wei Guohao said.

Fang Yan said to them:

"Different eating habits."

Wei Guohao runs a private hospital, so how could he possibly run a canteen? He'd rather use that spare money for something else. If he built a canteen, he might not have the money to start a new business in Hong Kong.

Xiao Chengzhi said "oh" and didn't ask any more questions, but there was still a hint of curiosity in his eyes. In China, whether it's a factory, a school, or a hospital, a canteen is a standard feature. Even if the conditions are poor, at least everyone can have a hot meal. Bringing your own lunch seems like something from decades ago.

The group walked down the corridor toward the cafeteria, with Wei Guohao lagging behind by half a step, his eyes darting to both sides.

The corridor walls were spotless, and every few steps there was a bulletin board with the duty roster of medical staff and health tips. The floor was covered with light-colored tiles, and not a speck of dust could be seen in the crevices. Occasionally, a nurse would push a treatment cart past, and the wheels would glide across the ground without making a sound.

This scene reminded him of the hospital in Vietnam: a courtyard surrounded by bamboo fences, a roof that leaked when it rained, and a muddy, uneven corridor that was flooded during the rainy season, making it difficult to even find a place to step.

Back then, let alone bulletin boards, even a decent doorplate was handwritten on a wooden board, swaying precariously in the wind.

However, he was glad that he hadn't invested too much money in it, otherwise the people there would have gotten it all for free.

The less I invested in the past, the more fortunate I am now.

However, seeing the conditions at Peking Union Medical College Hospital made him realize the gap even more. He had been to good hospitals in Vietnam before, but the conditions there were not as good as those here.

As you approach the cafeteria entrance, a wave of steam, a mixture of the aromas of rice, meat, and vegetables, hits you.

The cafeteria was quite large, even larger than his private hospital.

This place is big enough to host a major conference.

Rows of blue tables and chairs were arranged in a straight line, and a short queue had already formed in front of the window. The cooks, dressed in white uniforms, clattered their spoons against the rice bowls.

Many people greeted him when they saw his dialect.

"Director Fang, aren't you going home for dinner today?"

Nodding in dialect:

"Yeah, I heard the cafeteria food was good today, so I came here specifically..."

"Haha..." The people around burst into laughter.

While they were queuing, some people were talking in dialect about recent events in Western medical journals.

Let's talk about the analysis of treatment optimization in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The latest issue of the journal *Obstetrics and Gynecology* discusses a study on abnormal nuclear DNA in cervical squamous cells. Through analysis of offspring exposed to DES, the study attempts to reveal the potential mechanisms of related diseases.

There was also a discussion about the refinement of diagnostic criteria for mental illnesses in the *American Journal of Psychiatry*, such as the reassessment of diagnoses for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, combining the latest research findings to explore the accuracy of previously known "schizophrenia-specific symptoms" in order to improve the scientific rigor of mental illness diagnosis.

They can have lively conversations even in dialects.

The discussion of top-level issues in Western medicine was presented in a completely clear and distinct dialect, leaving Wei Guohao utterly bewildered.

Even at the end, a doctor talked about a major report published in The New Jersey Monthly about Einstein's brain.

At the time, editor Aron, through Levy's efforts, successfully persuaded Dr. Harvey, who was in charge of Einstein's brain, to grant an interview.

This report describes how Marianne Diamond, a neuroanatomist at the University of California, Berkeley, obtained four sugar cube-sized samples of Einstein's brain for research.

Even the dialect knew about this.

Hearing Fang Yan and the others talking so fluently, Wei Guohao was momentarily unsure whether Fang Yan was a Western doctor or a traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

These Western doctors at Peking Union Medical College Hospital seem to really enjoy chatting with people in dialects. They even diligently write down what's said in dialects, making it seem like students are asking their teachers questions.

They chatted all the way to the food window, and some people were still speaking in their local dialect.

After Fang Yan finished serving the food, everyone dispersed.

It seems that quite a few people still want more.

After Fang Yan and the others found their seats, Wei Guohao finally had a chance to ask Fang Yan a question.

"Director Fang, you do know something about Western medicine, huh?"

"Is this what you call the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine?"

Fang Yan waved his hand and said:
"First of all, I do not support the so-called integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. This is my attitude. These two systems are different. At most, they can only assist in treatment. They cannot be combined."

"Then, this knowledge of Western medicine is available in the latest medical journals. It is basically something that has not yet been implemented and is still in the theoretical stage. I talk to them about these things mainly so that I can understand the trends in Western medicine."

"I enjoy studying and reading, so I can chat with them for a bit."

Xiao Chengzhi, standing to the side, said:
"Actually, he's just very smart and learns everything quickly...that's why he can chat with these Western doctors."

"I'm not so good at it. Even though I've learned about Western medicine, it's only superficial..."

Li Zhengji said calmly:

"Right now, all I want to do is master traditional Chinese medicine. I don't have the energy to learn Western medicine."

When Wei Guohao heard what the two people were saying, he felt like they were looking at monsters. These two were not much different from each other in terms of dialect, were they?

So you're being humble now?
At this point, Fang Yan changed the subject and asked Wei Guohao:
"Dr. Wei, you've practiced medicine in Vietnam for many years. Have you encountered any difficult or rare diseases? You mean, the kind that are extremely rare and difficult to treat?"

“Of course there are! There are plenty!” Wei Guohao said.

“Then tell me!” Fang Yan said to him with a smile.

As soon as he began to speak, Wei Guohao noticed that Li Zhengji, Xiao Chengzhi, and even Fang Yan's two apprentices were all looking at him, just like when Fang Yan was talking to the Western doctor earlier.

Wei Guohao immediately felt valued. He took a bite of his steamed bun and then said:

"That was four years ago..." "At that time, Vietnam had just finished the rainy season, and the air was so humid you could wring water out of it. There was an overseas Chinese, about fifty years old, who came to see me with his family. He said he had a 'strange disease'. Every morning when he woke up, his skin was tight all over, as if it was wrapped in something. He couldn't even bend his fingers. He had to soak them in hot water for half an hour to slowly relax them."

He paused, his fingers gesturing unconsciously:

"At first, I thought it was rheumatism. I took his pulse, and it was deep and slow. His tongue coating was white and greasy, which looked like cold-dampness arthralgia. So I prescribed Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang for him to boil and drink. But after drinking it for half a month, it didn't help at all. Instead, it got worse. Later, not only did he feel tightness in the morning, but if he was in the sun for a while at noon, his skin would turn red and leave a pit when pressed, like it was swollen. But it would go away on its own after two hours."

Li Zhengji frowned: "It's tight and red and swollen, and it can go away on its own? This doesn't seem like ordinary rheumatism. Could it be dermatophyte?"

“I also suspected skin paralysis!” Wei Guohao nodded, his tone tinged with frustration. “Skin paralysis is caused by ‘stagnation of qi and blood, resulting in malnourishment of the skin.’ I added angelica and chuanxiong to try to improve the flow of qi and blood, but it didn’t work. Later, that villager dared not sunbathe or touch cold water. If he touched cold water, his skin would break out in a layer of small rashes that were unbearably itchy. If he scratched them, they would ooze yellow fluid. But strangely, after the yellow fluid dried, his skin would return to normal without leaving any scars.”

Xiao Chengzhi was surprised to hear this:
"I'm sensitive to both heat and cold, and I also have a rash with yellow discharge? These symptoms are too varied!"

Wei Guohao sighed:
"That's right! I tried several different prescriptions for him, from Guizhi Tang to Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Tang, but none of them worked. In the end, the fellow villager had no choice but to say that he wanted to go back to China for treatment. After he left, we lost contact with him and don't know what happened to him."

"So, in the end, it still wasn't cured?" Li Zhengji asked.

Wei Guohao nodded:
"Of course, it's normal that you can't cure these weird and wonderful diseases..."

After he finished speaking, the others all looked at Fang Yan.

This guy has a 100% cure rate; things would definitely be different if it were him.

Fang Yan finished the steamed bun in two bites and then said:
Why are you all staring at me?

"Dr. Wei is sharing his medical cases..."

Wei Guohao said somewhat embarrassedly:

"If this wasn't cured, it doesn't count as experience."

"Now that I've brought this up today, I wonder if you have any other opinions?"

Xiao Chengzhi was the first to ask Fang Yan:

"Brother Fang, do you have any thoughts?"

Fang Yan smacked his lips and said:

"Based on what Dr. Wei just described and his condition after treatment, it doesn't seem like ordinary cold and dampness..."

"Of course, the patient isn't here now, so we can only make a deduction. We have no way of knowing what the real situation is... I think it should be an insect-borne pathogen!"

Upon hearing the dialect, Wei Guohao was taken aback.

Then he shook his head:
"But he didn't mention being bitten by insects. And there were no insects in the yellow fluid that came out."

Li Zhengji said:
"It may not necessarily be a bite; it could be insect venom seeping into the skin."

Xiao Chengzhi seemed to have a sudden realization. His eyes changed, and he stroked his chin, nodding as he said:

"Yes, Vietnam is humid during the rainy season, and there are many small insects such as rove beetles and chiggers in the bamboo forests. If their venom gets on the skin, it may not cause an immediate reaction. It may lie dormant in the skin texture and only take effect when exposed to stimuli such as heat, cold, or water."

He then went on to analyze:

"The skin feels tight in the morning because the yin energy is strong at night, and the insect venom congeals when it encounters yin, blocking the skin's texture, so you can't bend your fingers; the skin becomes red and swollen after sun exposure at noon because the insect venom disperses when it encounters heat, spreading to the surface of the skin and causing inflammation; the skin develops rashes when it comes into contact with cold water because the insect venom shrinks when it encounters cold, stimulating the skin to produce moisture, so it oozes yellow fluid. After the yellow fluid dries, the skin returns to normal because the insect venom shrinks back into the deeper layers of the skin, and the surface symptoms disappear."

Fang Yan snapped his fingers and said:

"Brilliant! No wonder you're Deng Lao's top student! That's exactly what I wanted to say."

Wei Guohao listened in a daze, his mouth agape as he belatedly recalled the details and realized that they actually matched up.

He slapped his forehead:

"Hiss... Why didn't I think of the insect demon back then?"

Oh no, I was just patting myself on the back for having spent so much time in Vietnam, and now I've fallen into that trap of preconceived notions.

Fang Yan shook his head and said:
"It's not your fault. This insect-borne evil is too 'hidden' and has complicated symptoms, making it easy to confuse with rheumatism and skin numbness."

When Wei Guohao heard Fang Yan say that, he became even more annoyed.

At this moment, Li Zhengji said from the side:
"If we had used a prescription that 'expels parasites and detoxifies, and expels evil spirits' back then, such as adding herbs that can kill parasites, like Sophora flavescens, Stemona japonica, and Cnidium monnieri, and then using cicada molting and duckweed to expel evil spirits, it might have worked. Moreover, it can't just be taken internally; we also have to boil herbs in water for external washing to clear away the surface parasite toxins first. Only by combining internal and external treatments can it be effective."

Wei Guohao slapped his thigh hard: "That's right! I was only thinking about internal administration at the time, not external washing! If I had thought of that earlier, I might have been able to cure him."

By now he was convinced that it must be the insect-related problem that the dialect was referring to.

The more I think about it now, the more I regret it. How come I didn't realize it?

How can you be so accurate in identifying dialects?
Seeing Wei Guohao's pained expression, Fang Yan was both amused and exasperated, and comforted him:

"It's alright, it's alright. At least we've figured out the possible causes now. If we encounter similar cases in the future, we'll know where to start. You've seen a lot of parasitic diseases in the south in Vietnam. If you encounter similar patients again, you might as well think about 'parasitic invasion'. Maybe that will give you a new idea."

Wei Guohao nodded, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

Then he lost interest in talking about himself and instead started asking questions about the dialect.

"Has Dr. Fang encountered any difficult or complicated cases, the kind that couldn't be cured and the patients had to be transferred to other hospitals?"

He decided he would turn the tables on himself!
He was waiting for Fang Yan to speak so he could make a judgment that would make Fang Yan slap his thigh in frustration!
Fang Yan was taken aback, then pointed to himself:

"I?"

"That's right!" Wei Guohao's eyes lit up, eager to try.

The result was that Fang Yan shook his head:

"No!"

Wei Guohao: "..."

No... there isn't?
How can it be!

You're really good at bragging! So you think I'm the one who's outsmarting you?
Wei Guohao, with a pained expression, said to Fang Yan:

"Director Fang, don't be shy about asking. Maybe I can offer you some advice!"

Fang Yan said with a smile:

"I was young and didn't see many patients! I really didn't encounter any."

Wei Guohao was speechless. Well, what he said made a lot of sense, and he couldn't find a point to refute it.

Li Zhengji and Xiao Chengzhi, who were standing around, could barely suppress their smiles. This guy was really something else; he didn't even know about Fang Yan.

"I'll go get some more rice. The steamed buns are pretty good today. Doctor Wei, you usually eat rice, but you're used to eating steamed buns, right?" Fang Yan stood up to get the steamed buns.

Wei Guohao assumed it was just a dialectal change of topic, so he could only say:

"I can eat it, I can eat it, the food here is really good..."

Although I was annoyed by the dialect, I have to admit that the lunch was really good.

After Fang Yan left, he turned to the other two and asked:
"Have you encountered any difficult or complicated cases?"

"Yes!" Li Zhengji and Xiao Chengzhi both nodded.

Upon hearing this, Wei Guohao immediately perked up and said:
"Tell me everything, maybe I can find a solution!"

The two looked at each other, then pointed to the dialect in the distance:

"He helped solve them all."

"Yes, it's just that... Director Fang has a talent for this. He solved the problem right away when we contacted him."

Wei Guohao; "..."

"Then tell me some problems that haven't been solved yet?" Wei Guohao was still unwilling to give up.

Both of them shook their heads in unison.

"Even if we encounter difficult problems that we can't solve, we can ask our senior brothers or our master for help. So far, we haven't encountered any problems that we can't solve."

One of their mentors was the leading figure in Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the other was one of several bigwigs in the Central Health Care Group. No matter how difficult the problems they encountered were, there were always people to help them solve them.

They've always solved problems this way before encountering dialects.

Looking at Li Zhengji and Xiao Chengzhi's "taken-for-granted" expressions, Wei Guohao almost dropped his chopsticks—so he was just a "sidekick in the medical field," right?
While Vietnam was battling intractable diseases, this side couldn't even find a single "unresolved case." This blow came too suddenly and unexpectedly.

He swallowed a mouthful of steamed bun, trying to save face: "Well... there must be things even your master isn't sure about, right? Like those strange diseases that aren't recorded in ancient books?"

Xiao Chengzhi thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "There really was one time! Last year I met a patient who vomited everything he ate, even water. Traditional Chinese medicine called it 'nausea,' but Western medicine doctors couldn't find anything wrong with the gastroscopy. My master used Dingxiang Shidi San and Xuanfu Daizhe Tang, but neither worked. Later, we found Director Fang, and guess what he did?"

Wei Guohao's eyes lit up: "What's wrong? You're out of ideas too?"

"No other way?" Xiao Chengzhi almost laughed out loud. "Director Fang asked the patient to open his mouth, looked at his tongue, touched his stomach, and then asked the nurse to take a cotton swab and stick it into the patient's throat—guess what?"

"What's wrong?" Wei Guohao asked.

Xiao Chengzhi said:
"The patient coughed up half a fish bone!"

"It turns out the fishbone was stuck deep inside, not in the throat, but on the mucous membrane at the entrance of the esophagus, causing constant nausea. Nobody had ever thought of that before!"

Wei Guohao: "..."

Are you kidding me?!
He was expecting to hear a "problem of the century," but it turned out to be a fishbone.

Compared to his own "insect-related illness," this was like child's play.

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

There will be an extra chapter later.

(End of this chapter)