Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 893 I Don't Want to Give Him What I Don't Want, But I Want His Too; A Second Visit to He Puren Finally Relieves His Illness (Two Chapters Combined)
"So, this Otsuka Keisetsu was quite helpful to us last time we borrowed it?" Fang Yan asked Old Cheng.

Old Cheng pondered for a moment, then shook his head:

"You can't say that."

"Hmm?" Fang Yan looked at him curiously, waiting for his explanation.

Old Cheng said:
"It's more of a transaction than a help. Professor Tamagawa gave him a lot of medical information in exchange for his help. There's not much friendship involved in international exchanges like this. You can treat him as a transaction. You can treat Otsuka Keisetsu as a better transaction partner. At least he actually did his job after receiving the gifts."

Upon hearing this explanation, Fang Yan suddenly understood.

In international academic exchanges, Keisetsu Otsuka is not a "friendly force" towards China, but a pragmatic collaborator who follows the principle of mutual benefit.

"Understood." Fang Yan nodded.

At this point, Mr. Cheng began to analyze:

"He came here this time specifically for the prescription for treating idiopathic pulmonary interstitial fibrosis. I believe the higher-ups will definitely talk to you before you meet him about this prescription, and they probably won't let you share it, or at least not so easily."

“Otsuka Keisetsu must have been prepared for this, so he will probably offer a very tempting price.”

After pausing, he added:

"But ultimately, this prescription is still yours, so we will definitely respect your opinion when the time comes."

Dialect eyebrow raising:

"Really? The higher-ups respect my attitude so much?"

Old Cheng said:
"Of course, your attitude is very important. If your superiors don't respect you, it's like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs."

Mr. Ren also said:

"Don't underestimate yourself."

Fang Yan smiled; this analysis was indeed reasonable.

However, he doesn't want to give out the real prescription, but he does want the book from the Imperial Household Agency's Archives Department.

How to do this?
At this moment, Old Cheng said to Fang Yan:

"You can ask Otsuka Keisetsu for an exorbitant amount and see his response."

"We won't act until we see a clear benefit. That's how negotiations work. It was the same when we went to Japan last time. Most of the time we were just negotiating with the other side, seeing who would make concessions and who would get more concessions."

Mr. Ren also said:

"Yes, ask for the sky, then bargain down to the spot. If they really want it, they'll definitely consider it."

“It’s a very simple thing. You did a great job when you met Henry Heimlich in America last time.”

Fang Yan suddenly laughed when he heard this.

This left both Mr. Cheng and Mr. Ren completely bewildered.

Fang Yan said to them:

"The last time I met Henry Heimlich, everything I told them turned out to be wrong." (See Chapter 579)
The two of them were stunned.

The dialect continued to tell them:

"I told them that we had conducted corresponding research on traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions targeting similar causes of disease, and found that some traditional Chinese medicines can produce and inhibit multiple receptor tyrosine kinases involved in the process of pulmonary fibrosis under certain conditions, including platelet-derived growth factor receptor, fibroblast growth factor receptor, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor..."

Fang Yan repeated the same things he had told Heinrich Heimlich to the leaders.

Only then did they realize that during their previous meeting, Fang Yan had misled the American side through "friendly exchanges," fabricating theories of integrating traditional Chinese and Western medicine, such as herbal medicine inhibiting cytokines and receptor tyrosine kinases, which sounded plausible but were ultimately wrong.

Furthermore, he cleverly concealed some important information, so that even if the other party discovered the error, they would think it was their own problem.

"You're a rascal!" Ren Yingqiu was amused by Fang Yan's behavior.

He said in dialect:

"Hey, Mr. Ren, you can't say that. They never had good intentions. They just wanted to take it from me for free. They always tried to make me suffer because I'm young. If I weren't smart, this technology would already be theirs. They might even have registered a patent internationally. I would have to pay them to use it myself."

Mr. Ren waved his hand:

"No, we don't care about patents at all."

“Yes, we don’t recognize that law,” Old Cheng also said.

"..." Fang Yan was speechless; it's true that it's not recognized in China right now.

Then Mr. Cheng continued:

"We can't say for sure what will happen in a few years. If we want to develop internationally, we must abide by the patent law."

"But you're right too. This kind of secret recipe can't be handed over so easily. Even though the two countries have good relations now, we're still wary of each other to some extent."

Mr. Ren nodded in agreement:
"Yes, otherwise Henry Heimlich wouldn't have called you the Sputnik crisis of the Western medical community when he went back."

"The international bounty for you must be quite substantial now."

"A bounty?" Fang Yan was taken aback.

Mr. Ren said:
"Yes, just like some scientists, there are international bounties."

"They believe that the greater the influence, the higher the bounty."

Fang Yan suddenly realized that he had thought he was only on the assassination list, but he did not expect that there was also a bounty list.

he asked:
"How much will it cost me?"

Old Ren smiled and said:
"You've stumped my old man with that question. I'm not an expert in this area. If you want to know, you should ask Director Liao. He definitely knows more than I do. And as far as I know, the reward amount varies quite a bit. You're in the limelight lately, so it probably won't be too little."

Judging from the old man's tone, he really wasn't joking.

He said with emotion:

"I never imagined my situation would become so dangerous?"

Mr. Ren said:
"Don't worry about that. As long as you're in the country, you'll be safe."

"And since you're in our capital, you don't need to worry about safety at all."

Mr. Cheng also said:

"That's right, and you're not the only one offering a bounty; there are plenty of people offering higher prices than you."

"The Otsuka Keisetsu who requested to meet with you this time is a well-established figure and the director of a research institute. He is ranked ahead of you. He dares to travel abroad, so what are you afraid of?"

Fang Yan laughed when he heard this. He knew the principle, but it just felt a bit magical.

I never imagined in my past life that I would one day have a bounty on my head.

Are they putting on a One Piece movie here?

After chatting for a while longer, Fang Yan said goodbye to the two of them.

It's school time right now, and Fang Yan plans to talk to Lao Fan about the Tiangong Needle later.

Anyway, he spends his nights in the family compound of Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

I haven't been to Fangyan yet, so I can go and see their living environment.

I can read a book for a while when I get home.

However, as he was leaving, Old Cheng called Fang Yan back.

"Oh, right, I just remembered something."

"If you want to know whether the Heavenly Craft Needle jade can prevent illness, you should go directly to Professor He Puren. He has research in this area."

"Does he study pathogenic qi?" Fang Yan looked at Old Cheng curiously.

Old Cheng said:
"It's not about studying pathogenic factors, but about his master, Niu Zehua, who was once the most renowned acupuncturist in Beijing, known as one of the 'Four Little Famous Doctors of Beijing.' He must have done research in this area. Doctors from the Jianghu school know more than those from the academic school."

Fang Yan frowned and asked in surprise:

"You just mentioned the Four Little Famous Doctors? What's that nickname?"

Old Cheng said:
"You don't know this, do you? Dermatologist Zhao Bingnan, bone-setting doctor Xia Xiwu, acupuncturist He Puren's master Niu Zehua, and internist Yang Haoru."

"Although these people are a generation younger than the 'Four Famous Doctors' Xiao Longyou, Shi Jinmo, Kong Bohua and Wang Fengchun, they have superb medical skills and outstanding achievements in their respective fields, so they are called the Four Little Famous Doctors."

The dialect is both funny and exasperating; what kind of nicknames are these?

He had heard of the Four Famous Doctors, but he had never heard of the Four Little Famous Doctors until today, after returning to the city.

Besides, this title doesn't seem very classy.

It's as if saying it makes one inferior to the four famous doctors.

It's better to just call them by their names; the dialect is more acceptable that way.

On the contrary, these four famous doctors sound like the four lecherous heroes of Jiangnan who were as famous as the four great talents of Jiangnan in the movie "Flirting Scholar".

I don't know who came up with that name; the dialect is just ridiculous.

However, since Mr. Cheng has said so, we should definitely go and see the dialect.

The dialect from the Sugiyama-style acupuncture book on bronze figures will be left for Professor Cheng to study first.

Who knows, someday we might be able to publish a book that benefits the masses and allows more people to use a simplified version of acupuncture.

Even the dialect spoken by the bronze statue was left to Cheng.

The bronze figure has a meridian chart from the Sugiyama school, which is quite helpful.

Fang Yan then went to the parking lot, got in his car, and headed straight for He Puren's place.

Upon arriving at the family compound of the Capital Medical University Affiliated Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fang Yan informed the gatekeeper and then drove the car in.

This was my second time here. I had visited He Puren's house before, and Fang Yan found the place easily this time. He also brought the cigarettes, alcohol, and Tiangong needles from the car.

He Puren had just returned and hadn't been assigned any work yet. When Fang Yan knocked on the door, he was indeed still at home.

He Puren was a little surprised to see Fang Yan arrive.

"That arrives so fast?"

"Have you finished reading all the books I gave you?"

Fang Yan said with a smile:

"Haha, I haven't finished reading the book yet. I came here to ask you something."

After saying that, he stuffed the cigarettes and alcohol into He Puren's hand, and then took out the Tiangong weapon to demonstrate it to him.

As expected, He Puren knew his stuff and immediately recognized the Heavenly Craft Needle.

He hurriedly invited Fang Yan into the house.

Once inside, he asked Fang Yan curiously:

"How did you know I could repair the Heavenly Craft Needle?"

"Huh?" Fang Yan was taken aback.

He asked in surprise:
"You can even repair the Heavenly Needle?"

"You didn't know?" He Puren was also surprised.

He said in dialect:

"Of course I don't know. I just came here to ask you, how could the jade on the Heavenly Craft Needle have broken?"

He Puren did not answer his question, but instead asked: "Is it your own Heavenly Craft Needle or someone else's?"

Fang Yan thought for a moment and said:

"It's mine."

He Puren was puzzled:
"What does it mean?"

He said in dialect:

"I only realized it was mine after it broke."

Upon hearing this, He Puren said somewhat angrily:
"Someone gave you a bad one? Who's so heartless?!"

"..." Fang Yan opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

He changed his words and said:
"This one broke, and then they gave me the whole set."

Hearing this, He Puren's expression softened:
"Oh, that's okay."

Then he examined the four Heavenly Craftsmanship Needles that had cracked in Fang Yan's hair, and then he asked Fang Yan curiously:

"Did you treat a serious illness? You ruined four tubes at once?"

He asked in dialect:

How do you know? Is there any explanation for this?

He Puren said:
"The jade crafted by the heavens blocks the illness, it's so obvious."

"Dead jade?" This was the first time Fang Yan had ever heard this term.

He Puren took a book off the bookshelf and handed it to Fang Yan.

It is a book about jade.

He turned to a page for Fang Yan and pointed to it, saying:

"This is a term used in the jade industry to describe jade that is of poor quality, has poor color, lacks vitality, and is devoid of beauty."

"And the dead jade is divided into two types."

"The first type is congenital dead jade. During the formation of this type of jade, the geological environment is unstable, lacking sufficient high temperature and high pressure, or the mineral supply is insufficient or uneven, resulting in incomplete crystallization of the jade, affecting its texture and color, thus forming this type of dead jade."

"The second type is dead jade, which is jade that was originally of good quality but gradually becomes dead jade after being in a harsh environment for a long time."

"For example, if jade is exposed to high temperature and dry environment for a long time, the moisture inside the jade will gradually be lost, causing its texture to become dry and rough, and its color to become dull and lackluster. In addition, if it is corroded by strong acid, strong alkali and other chemical substances, the surface and internal structure of the jade will be damaged, and it will also lose its original quality."

Upon hearing the dialect, I suddenly understood and learned something new.

He asked He Puren:
"Then what kind of jade is used for this Heavenly Craftsmanship Needle? It can't be jade that has been artificially created, can it?"

He Puren laughed loudly:
"Haha, of course not, both are fine, but the first type, the innate dead jade, isn't very durable. Just like these few of yours, they'll break after one big incident."

"The second type is jade that was originally of good quality. After being subjected to a lot of turmoil, it becomes dead jade, which has a much stronger ability to withstand turmoil. However, most people are reluctant to handle this kind of jade, and naturally formed jade is not easy to distinguish, so very few people use it."

Fang Yan nodded and tentatively asked:
"Then...do you have a second type here?"

He Puren was taken aback, then shook his head:

"Of course not! I wouldn't want to waste a good piece of jade! Wouldn't it be better to sell it or make it a family heirloom?"

Fang Yan was speechless. He had been listening to He Puren talk for a long time and thought he had it in his possession.

However, to be fair, I do have some fine jade at home.

And there was more than one.

The best item, of course, is the jade pendant with a dragon-like creature in the iron birchwood box hanging from the roof beam. It's an antique from the Southern Song Dynasty, used by Shi Heng of the Ming Dynasty to ward off evil spirits and protect his home. (See Chapter 168)
There was also a "Peace and Safety" plaque that Zhou Zhaoqin took off his neck before leaving Beijing, but that was a gift for his wife, Zhu Lin. (See Chapter 618)
In addition, there were New Year's gifts that Lao Zhou sent back from Hong Kong before the Lunar New Year, including a jade ruyi ornament, which was originally used to weigh down "Tongzhenzi Supplement to Wang Shuhe's Pulse Diagnosis" and "Complete Collection of Blood Diseases," and is now placed on Fang Yan's desk in his study. (See Chapter 672)
Finally, there's the tortoiseshell box given by my Cuban friend José, with a jade carving of the Cuban national flower, the ginger flower, on the lid. (See Chapter 784)
Fang Yan thought about it and realized that none of these things were suitable to be wasted.

But then again... does such a thing as "sickness energy" really exist?
"You mean, there really is a sickness-like aura?" Fang Yan asked He Puren.

He Puren said:
"Of course, otherwise how would you explain the cracks in your jade?"

"..." Fang Yan opened his mouth but couldn't refute it.

At this moment, He Puren had already taken out his tools and begun to dismantle the jade on the Heavenly Craftsmanship Needle. He then said:

"Besides, you practice martial arts. Haven't you noticed, after all this time, a chilling, eerie feeling creeps up your head from the needles after someone inserts them?"

The dialect was puzzled:
"Can someone who practices martial arts sense it?"

He Puren thought for a moment and said:

"It's not just martial arts practitioners; anyone who is sensitive to qi can sense it."

As he spoke, he had already removed the jade from the Heavenly Craft Needle.

The jade stone, no longer restrained by the Heavenly Craftsmanship Needle, cracked open.

He Puren then removed the second needle, saying as he did so:

"Don't tell me you haven't encountered this yourself?"

Scratching his head in dialect:
"To be honest, this is the first time I've encountered this today."

He Puren paused, then made a judgment:

"That means you haven't used needles much, or if you have, you've mostly been treating patients with mild symptoms."

Fang Yan thought about it and realized that acupuncture at Tongrentang was indeed used to treat mild cases. He hadn't really used acupuncture much for the difficult and complicated cases at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Moreover, when he did use acupuncture, it was Lao Fan who did it for him. It was only now that he had learned the Thirteen Ghost Needles that he was able to use it himself.

He nodded and said:

"That's true... I usually have other people do the acupuncture when I need to insert needles."

"..." He Puren looked up at him, then silently mourned for two seconds for the old man who helped administer the acupuncture.

Then, after thinking for a moment, he said in dialect:

"Then you are very lucky, there are people to take care of this for you."

I'm speechless at the dialect; it makes it sound like I'm trying to scam someone.

Old Fan is a Taoist doctor, so how come he hasn't encountered any illness?

Isn't he still lively and energetic now?

At this moment, He Puren suddenly paused and said:

"Wait a minute! The person at Peking Union Medical College Hospital who can perform acupuncture on you must be a master of acupuncture, right?!"

"Or maybe he also has a good set of needles."

He said in dialect:

"This person is a friend of mine from when I was sent to the countryside in Sichuan. He has a family tradition of Taoist medicine and knows the Twelve Heavenly Star Needles."

He Puren said:
"No wonder! Then what kind of needles did he use? They weren't ordinary needles, were they?"

"Does Taoist medicine and acupuncture count?" Fang Yan asked.

He Puren slapped his thigh:
"That's a great deal!"

Then he said:

"I knew he was a master!"

"This theory of illness originated from Taoist medicine."

Fang Yan looked at He Puren, never expecting that this future master of traditional Chinese medicine would know so much about this field.

He Puren saw that Fang Yan seemed to have a strong thirst for knowledge.

So after dismantling the second Heavenly Craftsmanship Needle, he said to Fang Yan:

"Wait a minute, I have notes."

After saying that, he went to the bookshelf and started looking for things.

While searching for it, he muttered to himself:
"I remember it being here... Could you have thrown it away?"

"Do you need my help?" Fang Yan asked He Puren as he approached the bookshelf.

The other person waved their hand and continued searching with their head down.

After a while, he pulled out a palm-sized notebook that was covered in dust.

After dusting it off, he flipped it open, looked at it, and then said to Fang Yan:

"Found it, this is it! I made a note of it back then!"

He held up his notebook and spoke to Fang Yan:

“Ge Hong recorded in his book Baopuzi that ‘If gold and jade are placed in the nine orifices, the dead will not decay.’ This statement led to the saying that jade can absorb illness.”

Traditional Chinese medicine divides "qi" into "righteous qi" and "pathogenic qi".

"Righteous Qi is the normal physiological function of the human body. The Yunji Qiqian says: "When righteous Qi is stored inside, evil cannot invade." Pathogenic Qi refers to the six external evils: wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, and fire, and the seven internal emotions: joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fear, and fright.

The Suwen (Plain Questions) chapter on acupuncture states, "Where evil gathers, the qi must be deficient." This emphasizes that pathogenic qi can take advantage of weakness to enter the body. The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion also mentions that pathogenic qi can be expelled through acupuncture, but it does not describe its concrete transmission.

The ancient Taoist medical text, Huangtingjing, uses the phrase "yin turbidity enveloping the body" to describe seriously ill patients. In the Daoist Canon, Zhuyouke, Taoist doctors believe that the pathogenic qi in the body of seriously ill patients is "infectious" and needs to be resolved through talismans, incantations, and other techniques. The Ming Dynasty medical text, Pujifang, includes cases of Taoist medicine, which record that doctors need to wear cinnabar and realgar to "avoid filth" when treating plague. These are all examples of how Taoist doctors prevent the spread of pathogenic qi.

After he finished speaking, he closed his notebook and said to Fang Yan:

"However, Daoist medicine does not have a systematic theory of 'pathogenic energy transmission,' but only a metaphorical expression of pathogenic energy. Especially after the first ten years or so, they dared not talk about such things."

Fang Yan nodded in sudden realization.

He Puren said to the dialect:

"Hey, do you understand now?"

"I understand!" Fang Yan nodded.

Judging from this, it seems there really is such a thing.

He Puren sat back down at the table and began to disassemble the third broken Heavenly Craft Needle, saying as he did so:

"That's the annoying thing about this system of inheritance. As it's passed down, some important things are lost. These things are very important; they're for doctors to protect themselves. How could you not know that?"

Fang Yan said to He Puren:
"To be honest, I consulted with Mr. Cheng before I came here, but Mr. Cheng didn't know anything about it."

He Puren said:
“They are from the academic school, and they suffer the most when it comes to passing on traditions. If it involves being identified as feudal superstition, then they can basically forget about passing it down.”

After saying that, he sighed:
"Fortunately, the teacher intervened back then, otherwise the concept of human meridians would be considered superstition now. After all, according to some people's logic, anything that cannot be seen or proven is feudal superstition."

Fang Yan nodded; that was exactly what Yu Yunxiu and Wang Qizhang had planned back then.

"How can an ordinary doctor, using ordinary silver needles, isolate the pathogenic energy?"

He Puren said:
"Silver needles have the ability to isolate pathogenic qi. As long as the pathogenic qi is not too fierce, it can block it. Those who dare to insert needles when they encounter pathogenic qi that can rise upwards are not ordinary doctors."

Fang Yan nodded, then asked curiously:

"What if doctors like me and Dr. Cheng encounter such patients and only use ordinary silver needles?"

He Puren stopped what he was doing, thought for a moment, and said:
"Then... then we can only see if the birth chart is strong or not."

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

There will be an extra chapter later.

(End of this chapter)