Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1321 The Unnoticed Doctor Fang Suffers Sudden Deafness (Two Chapters Combined)
“We notified the commune we were working with several days in advance. The brigades under their jurisdiction have been playing the time, location, and project information on a loop these past few days. The place we’re going to this time is outside the commune’s grain station. It’s a big place, so it’s easy to park and queue.” Sitting in the car, Professor Yue Meizhong explained the arrangements to Fang Yan.

Today, Fang Yan still went out in his own car, with An Dong driving and him, Wang Yuchuan, and Yue Meizhong sitting in the car.

As soon as the truck left the city, the smooth asphalt road became a thing of the past. The wheels rolled over the simple road paved with gravel, and the truck immediately began to bump. However, the Mercedes-Benz van had better shock absorption, so the bumps were not so noticeable. The truck in front of them was not so good. The boxes of medicine in the cargo compartment occasionally collided and made a soft "clunk" sound. The students sitting in the back quickly reached out to hold them.

They sat in the car and peered out. The red brick buildings on the edge of the city gradually thinned out, replaced by low gray-tiled bungalows.

The further we went into the suburbs, the more rugged the road became. The gravel road gradually turned into a dirt road, and the wheels kicked up clouds of yellow dust as they drove by. The taillights of the car in front were only a blurry red dot in the dust and fog.

To avoid eating dirt, Fang Yan had Anton slowly hang at the back of the convoy.

Looking at the billowing dust, Anton complained:

"There's so much dust!"

Professor Tamagawa said to him:

"Fortunately, it hasn't rained these past few days, otherwise it would be even more difficult to drive. In this environment, a car is less useful than a tractor."

Anton had never been to these places before. Upon hearing Professor Tamagawa's words, he said:
"I should have driven the Jeep. It's fine in the city, but I'm afraid I'll scrape the undercarriage on the road here."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan pointed outside and said:
"These places are all planning to build factories, and the roads will be rebuilt then. It should be different when we come back next year."

Anton said:

"It can't be that fast, can it?"

Professor Tamagawa, who was standing nearby, said:

"With the policy in place, road construction will only proceed faster."

Professor Yue Meizhong also said:

"Yes, I've already heard about the meetings being prepared, and they're related to these increasing investments."

Fang Yan also confirmed the news, saying:

"Yes, a large number of overseas Chinese businessmen will be returning for the National Day holiday in a few days."

The group chatted as the car slowly drove along.

The outline of the commune in the distance gradually became clear.

The most conspicuous place is the commune compound, which sits on a slightly elevated flat area. The courtyard wall made of blue bricks is not very high, and a few withered morning glory vines climb on the top of the wall. There are two wooden pillars painted red at the entrance, with a wooden sign that reads "People's Commune Management Committee" hanging on the pillars. The lettering has been darkened by sun and rain.

There was a two-story red brick building in the courtyard, which was the commune's office building. It was considered a "grand building" among the surrounding mud-brick houses. A tall wooden pole stood in the open space in front of the building, and a large loudspeaker with wired broadcasting was hanging on the top of the pole. At this moment, it was still broadcasting the notice of free clinics intermittently. The sound had the hoarse echo unique to old-fashioned loudspeakers and carried far away.

Next to the commune compound was the grain station, which, like the compound, had walls made of blue bricks, but the walls were higher. The gate was a heavy wooden door, which was open at the moment, and you could see the neatly stacked grain bins inside, covered with rainproof tarpaulins, and several weighing scales piled up in the corner.

A crowd had gathered at the base of the grain station’s outer wall. The villagers were waiting for the free medical consultation. Some were sitting, some were standing, and most of them were clutching slips of paper issued by the brigade. Children ran and played around the crowd, and were occasionally scolded by the adults.

Across from the grain station was the commune's supply and marketing cooperative, which was the central place for the villagers to purchase daily necessities.

The adobe walls were whitewashed, but the paint still couldn't hide the mottled paint. There was a simple awning at the entrance, under which were two wooden shelves with soap, needles and thread, enamel mugs, and a few packets of salt and sugar wrapped in paper. Next to the shelves was a blackboard with the words "Soap: 0.35 yuan/bar, supplied with ration coupon" written in chalk.

The glass counters of the supply and marketing cooperative were polished to a shine. Inside, the sales clerks were busy taking inventory. Hearing the sound of cars outside, they looked up at the door and saw the convoy arriving. They put down their work and came outside to watch the excitement.

Fang Yan and his convoy drove in one after another. Fang Yan's car, which was at the very back, waited outside for the convoy to park.

This is the first time Fang Yan has been to a place like this, and it feels completely different from the city.

This is probably the most bustling area around here.

The area surrounding the grain depot and supply and marketing cooperative should be the residential area for the cooperative members.

Rows of adobe houses stretch along the dirt road, most of their roofs covered with straw or tiles. Some houses have dried corncobs and strings of red peppers hanging under the eaves, and a few potted cacti on the windowsill, which are rare decorations.

The fences in the courtyard were mostly made of jujube branches, some of them were chipped, revealing the small courtyard where chickens and ducks were fed. Occasionally, you could see women wearing blue cloth jackets and aprons coming out of the courtyard, carrying chipped rough porcelain bowls in their hands.

Their car attracted a lot of attention, even though it was the last one on the list. Nobody had ever seen a car like it before, and everyone pointed at it.

At this moment, the commune leader arrived. He was a man of about fifty years old, of medium height, with broad shoulders, and looked like someone who spent his days working on the ridges of the fields.

He was wearing a faded blue khaki cadre uniform, with the collar buttoned up tightly, but the cuffs rolled up to his forearms, revealing his rough, dark wrists.

This guy was quite observant; he ignored the trucks in front and went straight for the car behind him.

"Are you a professor from a university of traditional Chinese medicine?"

"Oh, I've been waiting for you!" He strode over, his voice booming like a gong, his face beaming with smiles, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling together.

Seeing that people had arrived, Fang Yan and the others got out of the car. Professor Yue Meizhong was at the front and responded:

"Yes, it's me, Yue Meizhong. I'm the one who contacted you!"

"Hello, Professor Yue! I'm the secretary of this commune, my surname is Zhou, Zhou Dahai. I contacted all the production brigades three days in advance, and the villagers have been coming to the grain station every day to ask about you, just waiting for you to come!"

The two people came up and shook hands warmly.

Before Yue Meizhong could introduce Fang Yan and the others, two more people followed behind him as he spoke.

A young man in his thirties, wearing black-rimmed glasses with slightly blurry lenses, dressed in the same cadre uniform but more neatly than Secretary Zhou, was holding a worn-out leather notebook.

Zhou Dahai introduced:
"This is the commune's clerk, Xiao Yang! Yang Yuanchao!"

This name really reflects the era; you can tell what year someone was born just by hearing it.

This clerk, Yang, would smile shyly when he saw people and say:

"Secretary Zhou specifically instructed that all the long tables in the grain station be brought out, and that boiling water be prepared, just in case the doctors were thirsty."

The other was a woman in her forties with short hair tied up with a black rubber band. She wore a patched blue cotton jacket and an apron around her waist.

"This is Comrade Li Ping from our commune health center. She studied medicine in the city for half a year and came here specifically to assist everyone," Zhou Dahai introduced them.

Li Ping was carrying a tin medicine box with dents on the corners. She smiled and said, "Secretary Zhou asked me to lend a hand. I can hand out cotton swabs and pour water for everyone. I can also help with any physical work."

Secretary Zhou rubbed the mud off his hands, quickly stepped aside, and pointed in the direction of the grain station:

"Shall we go inside? The tents are all set up! The announcement was just made over the loudspeaker, and the villagers are all lining up. They're just trying to keep things organized so that the different brigades can come in order. The elderly, weak, sick, and disabled have all moved to the front."

As he spoke, he glanced again at the car with the dialect accent, and when he saw that the driver was actually a Russian, his eyes lit up with a hint of curiosity. However, he didn't ask any questions, but simply turned to the clerk and said:

"Hey Xiao Yang, hurry up and move the car to the open space behind the grain station. It's flat there, so don't damage the chassis."

"Okay!" Yang Yuanchao quickly replied after hearing this.

Then he opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he changed it to a gesture of invitation to Anton.

Anton nodded, and then followed Yang Yuanchao's guidance as they drove inside.

"Gentlemen, please come inside?" Zhou Dahai greeted everyone, leading Yue Meizhong, Fang Yan, and Wang Yuchuan toward the grain station.

The dirt road underfoot must have been swept that morning, as broom marks could still be seen on it.

At this moment, the students and professors who had parked their cars also got out of their cars. Fang Yaozhong, Liu Duzhou and others directed the students to start moving things downstairs.

"Don't move everything, only move the ones that are marked. Some people will be going to another commune later," Old Fang instructed the students.

Then boxes of medicinal herbs, along with complimentary enamel mugs and tables and chairs prepared by Fang Yan and his friends, were all moved down.

These were all provided by the Qihuang Foundation, Lao Hu, and Fang Yan's company.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Dahai quickly called for help. Men, women, and children who were watching the commotion all rushed over, and in no time, they had moved and placed the items.

Next, the people who were going to another commune got back on the bus. Yue Meizhong, Liu Duzhou, and several other professors also went on the bus. Only half of Fang Yan's class, Wang Yuchuan, Fang Yaozhong, and several professors remained on site.

Fang Yan and his group had already arrived at the makeshift clinic that had been set up.

The shed was made of bamboo poles and canvas. Although simple, the canvas was made of thick, waterproof material, and dry grass was laid underneath to prevent moisture. The long table was polished to a shine, showing that it had been specially maintained, and a rough porcelain teacup was placed on the edge of the table.

However, the place was clearly not big enough for many people to see patients at the same time. Fang Yan and the others set up the tables, chairs and benches they had brought, and then asked Zhou Dahai to organize people to start queuing up for orderly consultations.

Zhou Dahai shouted at the top of his lungs to the leaders of the following brigades:

"Each brigade, please direct your respective personnel and proceed in order. The elderly, weak, sick, and disabled do not need to wait in line. Please line up properly and do not push..."

As soon as he finished speaking, several voices echoed from the crowd. Several men wearing the same blue cloth jackets and with tobacco pouches at their waists stepped forward and called out to their respective groups. The previously loose crowd instantly became orderly, and the children were pulled aside by the adults, curiously peeking inside through the bamboo poles of the tent.

Fang Yan felt a strong sense of familiarity watching this scene. Although there were no communes in her previous life, the scene was still quite similar.

The person in charge always has a loud voice, and if he sees someone not following the rules, he'll just hurl a string of profanities at them.

"For difficult and unusual cases, those strange problems, come to one of our doctors! For other symptoms, go to one of our younger doctors!" Professor Wang Yuchuan reminded Zhou Dahai.

Zhou Dahai glanced at the several older people present and nodded. Then, noticing Fang Yan there, he pointed at Fang Yan and asked:

"This...this comrade is also?"

“Yes, so is he.” Wang Yuchuan nodded.

Then Zhou Dahai went to make arrangements, and soon people began to arrive at the various consultation tables one after another.

Then Fang Yan received completely different treatment than he did in the city—no one came to his place.

Fang Yan's wooden table stood alone, the water in his rough porcelain teacup still full, while long queues had already formed at the consultation tables of Professors Wang Yuchuan and Fang Yaozhong, and students were also having their fellow villagers consulted at their tables. Only his place was deserted.

A woman holding a child hesitated for a moment in front of the table, her gaze sweeping over Fang Yan's young face, then glancing at Fang Yaozhong, whose hair was gray next door. In the end, she moved over and muttered to herself, "It's still safer to see the old doctor."

Upon seeing Fang Yan's situation, Fang Yaozhong couldn't help but grin.
"I should have grown a beard earlier."

Fang Yan was taken aback, but then realized that this meant he was too young and seemed unreliable.

At this moment, Li Ping walked over and said to Fang Yan:

"Young man, why are you sitting with these old professors?"

Fang Yan scratched his head after hearing the question, unsure how to answer it. "I'm better at treating difficult and complicated diseases," he replied to Li Ping after a moment's thought.

Li Ping glanced at the people queuing around her, then nodded thoughtfully and said:
"Then I'll find someone for you... If someone suddenly goes deaf, do you know how to treat it?"

He said in dialect:

"We'll have to see it to know."

Li Ping said:

"Okay, I'll go get them."

She went to call for help, while Fang Yan continued to wait in the same spot.

Zhou Dahai, sensing something was amiss, whispered to Yang Yuanchao beside him:
"Quickly arrange a few people for us."

Yang Yuanchao asked:
What kind of arrangements are there?

"What...what kind of?" Zhou Dahai asked, bewildered.

"It's about whether it's difficult or easy," Yang Yuanchao said.

Zhou Dahai considered it for a moment and said:
"Simple, right... This young man isn't much older than my son. He arrived in a car, so we're probably quite close..."

Yang Yuanchao nodded. Just then, he suddenly saw Li Ping arrive with someone and quickly said to Zhou Dahai:
"Secretary, look! Dr. Li has called Wei Laosi over."

Seeing this, Zhou Dahai slapped his thigh:
"Oh dear, this child is so insensible..."

He quickly shouted to Li Ping:

"that……"

Zhou Dahai stopped halfway through his shout, then rushed over in three quick steps, grabbed Li Ping's arm, and his smile became somewhat stiff.

"This Wei Laosi has a very strange problem. It would be best to let the old professor take a look first!"

Li Ping was startled by his tugging and frowned in confusion:

"Secretary Zhou, that Dr. Fang said he can treat difficult and complicated diseases. Wei Laosi suddenly lost his hearing a few days ago, but they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Why don't we let him give it a try?"

The man behind her, Wei Laosi, was about forty years old. He was wearing a patched gray cloth jacket, his hair was messy, but he was very strong, with ruddy cheeks. His left ear was stuffed with a crumpled wad of cotton, and he just turned his head blankly when he heard the noise.

Zhou Dahai stamped his feet anxiously and said to Li Ping in a low voice:

“What do you know! This young man looks so young, and he came in a car. He might be a cadre’s son who’s here to experience life. If we can’t cure Wei Laosi’s illness, the villagers will say we’re fooling people!” As he spoke, he winked at Yang Yuanchao, signaling him to quickly lead Wei Laosi toward Wang Yuchuan.

Just then, Fang Yan walked over.

"Comrade Li, Secretary Zhou, what's wrong?" Fang Yan asked them.

"..." The two remained silent in awkward silence.

Fang Yan looked at Wei Laosi, then asked Li Ping:

"Is this the patient?"

Li Ping stammered:
"Oh right... his surname is Wei, and he suddenly lost hearing in his left ear five days ago..."

Zhou Dahai closed his eyes... Fine, whatever, let's get him treated!
If it can't be cured, just give them a way out.

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan asked Wei Lao Si:

Can you still hear me on the right?

Old Wei nodded in a deep, muffled voice:

"Hmm! I can hear you, little doctor, are you here to treat me?"

"It's me," Fang Yan nodded in response, pretending not to understand what the other person meant.

Then he pointed to the bench in front of him and said, "Sit down first. Before you lost your hearing, did you get chilled? For example, were you caught in the rain, took a cold shower, or drank cold water?"

"No." Old Wei shook his head.

Fang Yan looked at the cotton stuffed in his ears and asked:
Why are you stuffing cotton in there?

Upon hearing this, Wei Laosi tore off the cotton and placed it in front of Fang Yan.

Only then did Fang Yan notice that the cotton was wet and had a foul smell.

At this moment, he said to the dialect:

"After I lost my hearing, clear water started flowing out of my ears, and I also felt a little dizzy."

Fang Yan was also observing him at this time and found that his cheeks were flushed as if he had been drinking, his eyes were red, and he was obviously a little stuffy when he spoke.

Fang Yan asked him:
"you've been drinking?"

Old Wei shook his head:

"No."

Fang Yan then asked him:
When did you catch a cold?

“It’s been several days already. I caught a cold before I went deaf,” Wei Laosi said.

Fang Yan nodded and said to him:
"Stick out your tongue so I can see it, and stretch out your hand so I can take your pulse."

Wei Laosi obediently stuck out his tongue and stretched out his hand to diagnose Fang Yan.

According to the dialect, Wei Laosi's tongue appeared light red, with a thin, slightly yellow, and sticky coating.

Then, while taking Wei Laosi's pulse, he asked:

Do you have a dry or bitter mouth?

"Hey! Yes!" Old Wei was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

Fang Yan asked again:
"Then your urine should be yellow, and you should also be constipated?"

Old Wei's eyes lit up and he said:
"Of course, Doctor, you're absolutely right!"

Fang Yan asked him:
Are there any other symptoms?

Old Wei frowned and thought for a long time, rubbing his palm on his thigh: "Also... I always sweat at night, my pillow gets soaked, and my head is buzzing, like I have a beehive inside."

As he spoke, he reached into his ear again, as if afraid that more water would leak out.

After checking Fang Yan's pulse on the left, he checked her pulse on the right. Wei Laosi continued, saying to Fang Yan:

“I saw them at the commune, and they said I have sudden deafness.”

“Sudden deafness is one explanation, but we need to find the root cause,” Fang Yan said to him.

Wei Laosi glanced at Li Ping and said:

"They said I was just tired and told me to go back and rest so I might suddenly feel better."

Li Ping said somewhat awkwardly:
"That's what's written in the book."

Nodding in dialect:

"This isn't just hearsay; there is indeed a certain possibility of spontaneous recovery from sudden deafness. Some patients, due to milder inner ear damage, may have their hearing restored to varying degrees, or even completely, within a certain period of time, thanks to the body's self-repair mechanism."

"However, if possible, it's not advisable to wait, as it might get worse."

After saying that, Fang Yan asked again:
"Does your commune clinic practice traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine?"

Li Ping said:

"They have both, but the Western medicine doctors have received unified training in the city, while the traditional Chinese medicine doctors are members who have been taught a few tricks by experienced doctors and have also learned some medical skills on their own. They don't have formal employment status."

Zhou Dahai, who was standing nearby, added at this moment:

"Hey, the doctors here are all local commune members! They're called Western doctors, but they've only received short-term training organized by the higher-ups before they started working. They don't have your proper medical qualifications."

"The training was all very practical, covering things like how to treat colds and fevers, diarrhea, and bandage up bumps and bruises. It also taught how to deliver babies and how to give them vaccinations—all things that can be used in daily life."

"They are doctors and farmers at the same time. They work in the fields during the busy farming season and only see patients when they have free time. They know exactly which villagers have chronic illnesses and what medicines they are allergic to! But when they encounter strange, inexplicable ailments, they are helpless and completely clueless!"

Fang Yan nodded. He had finished taking the pulses, and the pulses in both hands were strong and slippery.

Seeing him withdraw his hand, Li Ping asked Fang Yan:

"Doctor, have you figured anything out?"

She's nervous now too. If Fang Yan can't tell, then she'll have to take the initiative to find a way to save face for him.

Hearing this, Zhou Dahai quickly came over as well, already prepared for the situation.

Fang Yan smiled and said:
"I've figured it out. The root cause of this sudden deafness isn't 'being overworked.' Actually, it's quite simple: it's just that the cold wasn't fully cured, and the pathogenic factors got trapped inside and turned into heat."

"Evil qi transforming into heat?" Li Ping frowned. She had mostly learned Western medical terms during her training in the city, so she was somewhat unfamiliar with this concept.

Zhou Dahai was completely confused. Did that mean he went deaf just because he had a cold? He couldn't help but interject, "Doctor, what is this 'evil energy'? What does it have to do with a cold and hearing loss?"

Explain the dialect patiently:

"His initial cold should have been wind-cold, but his symptoms of yellow, sticky tongue coating, dry mouth, bitter taste, night sweats, dark urine, and constipation indicate that the wind-cold has turned into wind-heat. This heat evil rises and blocks the meridians in the ears, just like a canal blocked by silt, so the ears naturally can't hear clearly. Clear, foul-smelling water coming out of the ears is also due to the heat evil steaming away the body fluids; a buzzing head and red eyes are all manifestations of the heat evil disturbing the upper body."

He pointed to Wei Laosi's ear: "What Western medicine calls sudden deafness is caused by heat obstructing the ear orifices in this case."

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words is now complete. There will be an extra chapter later.

(End of this chapter)