Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1388 The Story of Shen Zhanyao, a Doctor in the County Town (Two Chapters Combined)
The guesthouses at Peking Union Medical College Hospital are actually of a very high standard.

The vast majority of these were state-owned hotels and guesthouses, and the conditions were generally quite basic. The rooms were furnished with old-fashioned iron bunk beds and wooden window frames with wooden bars. Although the conditions were somewhat better than before 1977, they were still quite simple overall.

Only at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, due to its Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, did some overseas Chinese businessmen make donations and renovations. In fact, they shouldn't have had access to places like guesthouses, but when Fangyan Hospital started treating ordinary patients, some hospitalized patients mentioned guesthouses. So, the overseas Chinese businessmen, who couldn't think of anything else to donate, found a place to donate and renovate.

The current guesthouse's conditions, if not matching the standards of the Beijing Hotel, are at least far superior to those of similar guesthouses.

When Fang Yan arrived at the guesthouse, Shen Zhanyao and Ma Xinghua were inside setting up a tape recorder. There were many tapes there, and although there were no popular songs from abroad, there were quite a few dramas, storytelling performances, and the like.

That's enough to make people of this age feel quite surprised.

They weren't playing tapes right now; instead, they were testing the radio receiver. There weren't many broadcasts to listen to that morning, but this new gadget made the two men, whose combined age was over a hundred, light up.

Regardless of the era, technological creations always attract men's interest.

"Hey, busy?" Fang Yan looked out the window for several seconds, but neither of them noticed, so he called out loudly.

The two people inside were startled and looked up to see someone standing by the window.

"Director Fang!" Shen Zhanyao was taken aback for a moment, then quickly greeted Fang Yan and opened the door to welcome him in.

Upon seeing Fang Yan, a stranger, Ma Xinghua became reserved again.

The room now resembled a standard hotel room from later times, with two beds, white bedding, a desk, a coffee table, and even a sofa and slippers provided, except for the lack of a bathroom.

Although it might not seem like much in later generations, it was considered a fairly high standard in this era, especially compared to ordinary guesthouses.

"How are things? Are you comfortable staying at our guesthouse?" Fang Yan asked Shen Zhanyao and Ma Xinghua.

Shen Zhanyao and Ma Xinghua nodded at the same time.

"I'm used to the accommodations here; it's even better than the Ministry of Health's guesthouse!" Shen Zhanyao said frankly, then paused and added with a sigh:

"There are even radios and so many cassette tapes here. It's no wonder this place treats overseas Chinese businessmen who have returned from abroad."

It's clear that Shen Zhanyao and Ma Xinghua are both very interested in that tape recorder.

Fang Yan said to them:

"Once the publicity work here is finished, I'll give each of you one before you go home."

Upon hearing Fang Yan say this, Shen Zhanyao and Ma Xinghua were both stunned, thinking they had misheard.

"Director Fang, what... what did you say? You're giving each of us a tape recorder? This... this is unacceptable!" Shen Zhanyao stammered as he spoke.

Ma Xinghua nodded in agreement, waving his hands in front of him, his reserved face full of disbelief: "Yes, Director Fang, a radio is a rare item among the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a type of radio, a sewing machine, a watch, and a radio), much more valuable than a regular radio. We just find it novel, but we wouldn't dare accept something so precious from you."

Fang Yan smiled and walked to the sofa to sit down. He picked up the cassette tapes on the coffee table and flipped through them. There were excerpts from the Peking Opera "The Drunken Beauty" and Yuan Kuocheng's storytelling of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," all of which were popular tracks on the market at the time.

He looked up at the two of them and said with a smile, "It's nothing. You've been running around helping to promote traditional Chinese medicine and have worked very hard. This tape recorder is just a small token of our appreciation."

People have come all this way, so their dialect can't be bad either.

Fang Yan has always believed in the principle that if someone does something for you without any problems, then you should pay them. This time, Shen Zhanyao not only came for the publicity, but also brought his own living medical record.

In situations like this, saying nice things is less effective than giving something in return.

Since they seemed to really like the tape recorder, Fangyan simply gave it to them.

“This is too expensive. I asked at the supply and marketing cooperative last time, and an ordinary radio cassette player costs more than 180 yuan, and you need a ration coupon. Our average monthly salary is only 30 or 40 yuan, so it would take us half a year to save up to afford this!” Shen Zhanyao said.

Fang Yan picked up the conversation and said:

"It is precisely because it is valuable that it should be given to you. After this publicity, more people will know that traditional Chinese medicine can cure rabies. This achievement is much greater than that of a radio cassette player."

Upon hearing Fang Yan's words, Shen Zhanyao immediately said:
"Well... then we'll thank Director Fang in advance!"

"Rest assured, we will handle this publicity matter perfectly and will definitely live up to your expectations!"

Ma Xinghua nodded in agreement, his initial nervousness lessening and replaced by anticipation.

After finishing this, Fang Yan said to them:

"Alright, it's settled then. Let's go see the patient now."

This is the important thing to do today.

Knowing the benefits of the dialect's promise, Shen Zhanyao knew he would have to prove himself.

He quickly agreed and said to Ma Xinghua:
"You stay here. Director Fang and I will go to the ward to see the patients."

Ma Xinghua nodded in agreement.

Fang Yan then said:
“Let’s go together. He’s also a patient who has been cured, and he can talk about how he felt back then.”

Ma Xinghua was taken aback, then looked at Shen Zhanyao.

Shen Zhanyao thought the request for dialect was quite reasonable, so he nodded in agreement.

“Then let’s do as Director Fang says and go together,” Shen Zhanyao said.

Then Shen Zhanyao took out a medical record from his luggage and handed it to Fang Yan, saying:

"These are detailed medical records that I compiled earlier. They are much more detailed than the published medical records. There are a total of forty-five cases."

Fang Yan took it and looked it over, confirming that it was indeed the detailed version.

As the three walked out of the guesthouse, they talked about Shen Zhanyao's use of the blood-stasis-removing decoction. Fang Yan wondered how he came up with the idea of ​​using this medicine to save people.

"At first, it wasn't about saving people, it was about saving the cows in my wife's production team."

"It was similar to the case of the mad dog biting the cow recorded by Zhang Xichun. The cow in the production team was bitten. My father-in-law was in charge of these cows at the time. I happened to have read that medical case, so I thought I would try to save the cow with the blood stasis decoction. Unexpectedly, it actually saved the cow."

Fang Yan asked him:
"So when did you start rescuing people?"

Shen Zhanyao said:
"Half a month after the cattle were rescued, someone was bitten by the rabid dog that had bitten the cattle. At the time, the child did not know the seriousness of rabies. After being bitten, he was afraid of being beaten when he went home, so he did not dare to tell his family. He was sent to the epidemic prevention station only after he developed symptoms."

"By then, word had spread that I had cured the cow, so people from the neighborhood came to me, saying they wanted me to help them."

"Then I got the medicine according to the prescription for the blood stasis decoction and gave it to the child. On the first day, he started to bleed, which scared me. But fortunately, his mental state improved day by day. After drinking it for five days, he was behaving like a normal person. We even took him for a check-up, but they couldn't detect the virus then."

"I cured this first patient."

"Then I started treating patients one after another, and over the years I have cured more than a hundred people."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan couldn't help but frown and ask:

"How come only forty-five cases were recorded there?"

As he spoke, he waved the medical records in his hand.

"It was recorded, but it was destroyed," Shen Zhanyao said helplessly.

"Destroyed? What happened?" Fang Yan asked, somewhat puzzled.

It's important to understand that there's a significant difference between having over a hundred medical cases and having only forty-five.

Shen Zhanyao said:
“It happened almost ten years ago. I don’t know how it is in other places, but in my hometown, people like me are considered ‘feudal dregs’.”

"A work team from the county came and said I was promoting feudal superstition and harming people." Shen Zhanyao's Adam's apple bobbed, and he still looked somewhat shaken. He lowered his voice and said:
“They dug out my medical records that I had hidden under the bed, three whole volumes. The leader said it was ‘pseudo-scientific evidence’ and set it on fire in the yard on the spot.”

"And then?" Fang Yan pressed.

"Later, the work group wanted to send me to a training class," Shen Zhanyao said with a wry smile. "It was only because a few villagers I had cured before pooled together eggs and grain and asked someone to deliver them to the work group, saying that I had really saved people, that the matter was suppressed. But from then on, I dared not record things openly anymore. Every time I cured a patient, I would secretly write their name and symptoms on a cigarette box and hide it in a crack in the wall."

He pointed to the messy handwriting on the last few pages of the medical record:

“These 45 cases were secretly dug out from the cracks in the wall and copied again. There are more than 60 other cases, which were either burned or rotted when they were hidden. There was a little girl who was bitten by a rabid dog and was in a coma for three days. I saved her by adding safflower and peach kernel to her blood-stasis decoction. Her records were rotted into mud along with the cigarette box paper.”

"It was only after they stopped watching me that I managed to get the prescription published in the magazine."

"At the time, I was still afraid that they would come after me, so I didn't dare to write it in too much detail. I just thought that whoever saw it could help as many people as possible. After all, it was written very clearly, and even people who don't understand traditional Chinese medicine can understand it."

Fang Yan was somewhat moved upon hearing this, realizing there was indeed a story behind it.

"Among those destroyed records, were there any special cases? For example, cases with symptoms different from ordinary rabies?" Fang Yan pressed, knowing that the application of the Blood Stasis Relief Decoction relied entirely on syndrome differentiation, and records of special cases were the most valuable.

"Yes!" Shen Zhanyao nodded.

He paused and said:

“There was an elderly man who was bitten by a rabid dog. He was not only afraid of water, but also had convulsions all over his body. I added gastrodia elata and scorpion to the prescription to stabilize him. There was also a pregnant woman. At that time, I dared not use strong medicine, so I reduced the amount of rhubarb and added donkey-hide gelatin to protect the pregnancy. Both mother and child were safe. These details... I can only remember the general outline now.”

Fang Yan nodded and said to him:
"It's alright, having 45 cases is already quite an achievement."

Just by listening, you can tell that Shen Zhanyao must have had a very difficult time back then. Speaking of which, we haven't even asked about Shen Zhanyao's current workplace yet.

Fang Yan asked Shen Zhanyao:
"By the way, Comrade Shen, what unit do you currently work for?"

Shen Zhanyao was taken aback:
"Huh? Didn't you send a letter to my workplace?"

Fang Yan said, "No, that's not it at all. Inviting you to Beijing was Director Liao's idea from the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. Of course, I agreed to it. He contacted the Ministry of Health directly and had them send the invitation to Zhejiang."

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhanyao suddenly realized that his trip to Beijing had actually gone through so many departments.

He quickly spoke into dialect:

"I currently work at Xiangshan County Hospital, where I am a traditional Chinese medicine doctor."

"I see." Fang Yan nodded.

It's Xiangshan County again; this place really seems to be embroiled in a rabies outbreak.

However, it's true that only locals are willing to give it a try. Others might not even think of it, since communication wasn't as advanced as it is now, and it's not the internet age. People like Master Lu Donghua, who travel all over the country, are very rare.

What's more, people who have the time and inclination to buy local magazines are even rarer.

It is safe to say that the fact that Fang Yan was able to come up with this prescription to cure Zhang Fu's rabies was an extremely low probability event.

A more superstitious explanation is that Zhang Fuming was not meant to die.

Otherwise, he would have encountered such a thing. He just happened to fall ill and go to the hospital, and he just happened to meet Lu Donghua, who knew about this. It was as if many coincidences were for this moment.

Fang Yan then inquired about Ma Xinghua's job. He had assumed Ma was a farmer, but to his surprise, Ma was also a teacher in the village.

"So, now that you've come to the city, there are no teachers left at the school?" Fang Yan asked Ma Xinghua.

Fang Yan knew that the scale of village primary schools these days could not be too large, and the number of teachers was also very small, often only one or two teachers.

"No, no, our school has six teachers. Even if I leave, the other teachers can still teach," Ma Xinghua said.

Surprisingly, there are quite a few village school teachers in Xiangshan. It's no wonder that the educational resources here are so different in the Jiangzhe region.

“Actually, ours isn’t really a village school. It was set up by two communes two years ago, and many children from different villages go to school there,” Ma Xinghua explained to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan suddenly realized why there were six teachers; it turned out that the two communes had joined forces, so the number of teachers was actually quite small.

As they chatted, they arrived at the inpatient building. The inpatient building of Peking Union Medical College Hospital was quite impressive for that era, after all, it was built by the Americans, so the style was there. The style was completely different from many Soviet-style buildings of that time.

Shen Zhanyao followed Fang Yan, curiously looking around. He saw that the patients and their families coming in and out, the medical staff, and the decor were all very different from the style of their county hospital.

As soon as Fang Yan entered, someone greeted him.

Especially for nurses, everyone knows that the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Peking Union Medical College Hospital is currently the highest-earning department there. Moreover, once the two buildings are completed, they will be dedicated to the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and they will definitely recruit more staff. If they can get acquainted with Director Fang Yan now, they might be able to find a way to switch departments.

Even if the salary doesn't increase, working in the new building is better than the current department. When Lao Zhou was building the building, he said he would donate a place specifically for medical staff to rest and eat, and provide special meals, all funded by Lao Zhou's family.

Just thinking about it makes me envious.

Even many Western doctors are thinking that learning traditional Chinese medicine might help them skip this stage, let alone nurses.

So now, as soon as Fang Yan came over, everyone greeted him with smiles and warm greetings, which made Shen Zhanyao wonder, "Is Fang Yan really that popular?"

Is it just because he's handsome that these nurses are so enthusiastic?
It's simply incomprehensible.

However, he didn't dare to ask and followed Fang Yan to the floor of the Traditional Chinese Medicine ward.

Here, he saw the most luxurious facilities in hospitals open to the public in China.

Although it looks the same from the outside, the inside of the hospital ward is a completely different story. It's even more luxurious than their guesthouse, and there's even a television inside.

It wasn't just one ward, but all the wards. You could see the scene inside through the glass door. Shen Zhanyao was completely dumbfounded.

No wonder this is the Imperial Hospital; it's incredibly luxurious.

The hospitals in Beijing felt completely different from those in other places he had seen.

“This place is different…there’s even a TV…” Ma Xinghua exclaimed softly.

After hearing this, Fang Yan explained to them:
"At first, this place was just a simple bed and a cabinet, nothing else. Later, as more overseas Chinese businessmen were admitted, they gradually started to put things in. They brought them back from abroad. They didn't just put things in their own ward, they put things in all the wards of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department. That's why you can see things like TVs, refrigerators, and microwave ovens."

"Huh? There's a refrigerator too?" Shen Zhanyao asked in surprise.

"What is a microwave oven?" Ma Xinghua asked, puzzled.

Fang Yan smiled at them and said:

"Come on, you'll see when you get to the patient's ward."

Fang Yan then went to the nurses' station, first asked the head nurse about the five people admitted today, and then took Zhang Fu's clinical records before leading them to Zhang Fu's ward.

Fang Yan pushed open the door and led the two of them inside.

Zhang Fu and his brother were chatting while looking out the window when they heard the door open. They turned around and saw Fang Yan bringing people in. They quickly greeted Fang Yan.

"Dr. Fang! You've arrived!" Zhang Fu greeted Fang Yan first, and stood up to offer his chair to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan responded with a smile:
"Okay, how is Zhang Fu feeling right now?"

Before Zhang Fu's brother could answer, Zhang Fu himself said:
"Dr. Fang, I feel great, I've never felt so good before, I feel like I've come back to life."

Fang Yan glanced at Shen Zhanyao and said to him:
"Why don't you go and have your pulse checked?"

Shen Zhanyao nodded immediately.

Zhang Fu was still a bit confused, not knowing who Fang Yan had brought. Before he could even ask, Shen Zhanyao had already reached out and touched Zhang Fu's hand.

Fang Yan said to Zhang Fu:

"This is Dr. Shen from Zhejiang. He has more than ten years of experience in treating rabies and has cured more than 100 cases."

"We came here to help promote traditional Chinese medicine treatment for rabies."

Upon hearing the dialect, Zhang Fucai understood and quickly greeted Shen Zhanyao.

However, Shen Zhanyao said with a serious expression:

"Don't speak, or I won't be able to figure it out."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fu quickly shut up and obediently waited for Shen Zhanyao to take his pulse.

However, he was also a little puzzled as to why he could speak while taking a pulse in a dialect.
He didn't know that there were no absolute taboos about whether or not one could speak while taking a pulse.

The core of pulse diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine is to judge the state of Qi, blood, and internal organs by feeling the pulse with the fingers, noting its depth, speed, strength, and smoothness.

Some people just can't multitask; once their attention is diverted, they lose their bearings.

After Shen Zhanyao had taken the patient's pulse for a while, he asked the patient:
Is your urine still red?

“It was red before, but it’s not this morning,” Zhang Fu replied.

Shen Zhanyao then asked:
Is the stool still sticky and translucent?

Zhang Fu said:

"It was there before, but it's been normal since the day before yesterday."

Shen Zhanyao saw the thermos next to him and said to Zhang Fu:

"Try pouring a glass of water!"

Zhang Fu, who was standing nearby, immediately went to pour water, but Shen Zhanyao said:

"Let the patient pour their own water."

Only then did Zhang Fu's brother stop and let Zhang Fu do it himself.

Zhang Fu glanced at Fang Yan, and only after Fang Yan nodded did he get out of bed, put on his slippers, and start pouring water from the water bottle. He lifted the water bottle with one hand, pulled out the cork, and then picked up his own enamel cup and poured half a cup of water into it.

Then, facing Shen Zhanyao, he held it up to his own eyes and took a sip.

"Is the doctor alright?" Zhang Fu asked Shen Zhanyao.

"Try walking around the room on your tiptoes now," Shen Zhanyao said to Zhang Fu.

Fang Yan was a little puzzled. What was this for?
Shen Zhanyao seemed to already know that Fang Yan was going to ask questions, and he said:

"This is my experience that I didn't write down. Generally, after the onset of rabies, patients often have 'limb contractures' and even tremble when walking. You can make a judgment by observing whether there is stiffness, swaying or trembling when he walks on tiptoe."

I suddenly realized I'd learned something new from the dialect.

At this moment, Zhang Fu, wearing slippers, tiptoed and started walking around the room, and it turned out that his movements were indeed slightly stiff.

After seeing this, Shen Zhanyao said to Fang Yan:

"It's alright, the recovery is going well. The pulse is calm, without the tightness and agitation of rabies. The urine has become clear and the stool is formed. Even the action of lifting a water bottle to drink water is steady. This shows that the blood stasis in the body has been almost completely dissipated. There are still some problems when walking. After that, we will use three more doses of the reduced-dosage Decoction for Blood Stasis Removal to consolidate the treatment and regulate the Qi and blood. Then it can be considered completely cured."

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

(End of this chapter)