Zhang Yuancai and Liu Sanquan both looked at Gao-Yuan.

Gao-Yuan calmly met their gaze. He wasn't bluffing. Although the situation seemed urgent, Gao-Yuan had experienced many critical moments in his past life, and this one wasn’t that severe in comparison. Moreover, the patient was still running a fever, which meant the situation hadn't reached the worst stage yet.

Zhang Yuancai glanced at Liu Sanquan, then at Gao-Yuan.

Liu Sanquan had already admitted that he couldn't handle it. Although this young fellow claimed he could, Zhang Yuancai couldn't fully trust him; he seemed way too young.

But there were no other doctors around here, and his mother was already in such a critical state. She couldn't be taken to a hospital anymore; it was simply too much trouble.

Liu Sanquan clicked his tongue at Gao-Yuan and said, "Young man, you talk even bigger than Zhao Huanzhang."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yuancai decided to ask, "So, what medicine do you plan to use?"

Gao-Yuan replied, "Gualou Xiebai Baijiu Tang..."

Before he could finish, Liu Sanquan frowned and interrupted, "Isn't that for treating chest bi syndrome?"

Zhang Yuancai asked, "What is chest bi syndrome?"

Liu Sanquan explained, "It's pain in the chest and back area, mainly because of heart problems—heart disease, similar to coronary heart disease in Western medicine."

Zhang Yuancai turned to Gao-Yuan and asked, "But my mother doesn't have heart disease."

Hearing this, Gao-Yuan frowned slightly. He was quite familiar with Liu Sanquan, who was just an ordinary doctor capable of treating common ailments. When it came to difficult and critical cases, he was out of his depth. Moreover, his thinking was quite rigid; he was someone who only read books by rote.

Gao-Yuan looked at Liu Sanquan and asked, "Then what’s the pathological mechanism of chest bi syndrome?"

After some thought, Liu Sanquan answered, "The mechanism... it should be that chest Yang is weak, and Yin-cold is congealed."

After saying this, he regretted it—why was he even responding to this young man?

Gao-Yuan nodded. "That's correct. In the chest area, because the Yang energy is weak, Yin-cold gathers. At this point, Gualou Xiebai Baijiu Tang is needed. Once the chest Yang is unblocked, the Yin-cold dissipates, right?"

This time, Liu Sanquan ignored Gao-Yuan.

Zhang Yuancai anxiously asked, "But what does this have to do with my mother's condition?"

Gao-Yuan pointed to the old lady, then touched his own chest. "The old lady's illness is pleural effusion; there's fluid accumulating in her chest cavity. Fluid belongs to Yin, so isn’t this Yin-cold gathering in the chest? And why is it gathering there? Because the chest Yang is weak. So, do you think this medicine should be used or not?"

"Oh!" This time, even Zhang Yuancai understood.

Liu Sanquan's eyes suddenly widened. He might have had rigid thinking, but he wasn't stupid. Hearing Gao-Yuan's explanation, he felt as if a light bulb had gone off in his head. He muttered, "It can be understood this way?"

It was like a thin layer of paper had been pierced, and Liu Sanquan’s eyes brightened.

Seeing Liu Sanquan’s expression, Zhang Yuancai had a sense of clarity.

He asked specifically, "Dr. Liu, do you think this prescription is suitable?"

Liu Sanquan was momentarily stuck. Although he understood, he still looked a bit resentful. He replied, "Since you specially invited a skilled doctor from afar, why ask me?"

Zhang Yuancai was also at a loss for words—who could have predicted this?

"I still have to make rounds in the village, so I'll be going now." With that, Liu Sanquan quickly left. The old lady's illness was so severe that he was somewhat frightened. Now that someone else was willing to take over, he preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble.

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Zhang Yuancai finally understood that this young man he had met by chance on the train had medical skills far superior to Liu Sanquan's. He said to Gao-Yuan, "Young man—no, Doctor, please quickly prescribe medicine for my mother."

"Okay." Gao-Yuan glanced at Liu Sanquan's departing figure and let out a slow breath.

Gao-Yuan wrote the prescription: Gualou Xiebai Baijiu Tang to invigorate chest Yang, treating the root cause. He combined it with Danshen Yin to eliminate stasis and then added Qianjin Weijing Tang. This was Gao-Yuan's personal experience; Qianjin Weijing Tang is usually used to treat lung abscesses, but he borrowed its properties to expel the water from the pleural effusion, with excellent results.

On this basis, he adjusted a few ingredients and then handed the prescription to Zhang Yuancai.

Soon, Zhang Yuancai went to the nearby pharmacy and bought the medicinal herbs, and his wife hurriedly started boiling them.

Gao-Yuan didn't leave. The patient was in critical condition, and he had to stay by the bedside until she was out of danger. It was his habit and a principle he always followed.

Once the medicine was ready, they fed it to the old lady.

After a while, Gao-Yuan said, "Bring a chamber pot."

Zhang Yuancai was stunned. "What?"

Gao-Yuan said, "The water will soon be expelled."

Just as he finished speaking, Zhang Yuancai’s wife called out from inside, "Yuancai, hurry up and bring a chamber pot; Mom can’t hold it anymore!"

"Oh!" Zhang Yuancai quickly sprang into action, grabbing the chamber pot as he ran, exclaiming, "Is this medicine really that effective?"

Gao-Yuan knew this was thanks to the Qianjin Weijing Tang. It treats the symptoms quickly.

Within two hours after taking the medicine, the old lady urinated four times, and each time it wasn’t a small amount. Although they didn't have a measuring cup, they could see that the old lady’s discomfort had eased considerably.

Earlier, it was as if an invisible hand was gripping her throat, making it extremely difficult to breathe.

Now, she could breathe a little, although still rapidly, but it wasn’t as terrifying as before, and her improvement was evident.

Zhang Yuancai’s wife excitedly came out to report the situation.

Hearing this, Zhang Yuancai was overjoyed.

Gao-Yuan nodded slightly. "Two hours have passed; continue administering the medicine. Follow my instructions; don’t stop. Take it every two hours, and keep taking all three doses in one go. By tomorrow, she should be completely out of danger."

"Okay, okay, I’ll get the medicine!" Zhang Yuancai’s wife was now thoroughly convinced by Gao-Yuan.

Zhang Yuancai looked at Gao-Yuan in amazement. Even the city's big hospital couldn’t help, and after using streptomycin at home for over half a month, his mother’s condition worsened. But with one treatment from this young man, the improvement was immediate, and she would be fine by the next day.

That was incredible!

Zhang Yuancai was overjoyed, hardly daring to believe it.

Gao-Yuan, however, remained calm. Although the old lady's illness seemed severe, it wasn’t much to him.

He was relieved that he had finally helped the joint clinic through this tough time. Otherwise, in the coming months, the people in the clinic would either have to rely on their parents or their wives.

Eager to express his gratitude, Zhang Yuancai hurriedly urged his wife to prepare wine and meat, intending to thank and entertain Gao-Yuan properly.

Gao-Yuan replied, "No need for that. Since the old lady’s condition is stable now, I’ll head home."

"No, no, no!" Zhang Yuancai quickly pulled on Gao-Yuan. "No way, today you must stay and eat. You’re a great benefactor to our family, and if you just leave like this, people will gossip about me! Today, you must drink and eat your fill."

Gao-Yuan said, "Next time, I promise."

But Zhang Yuancai held on even tighter, fearing Gao-Yuan would leave. "No, Dr. Gao, you're an educated person, and you should be reasonable. You might go to university one day and become an intellectual, but you shouldn’t alienate us working folks so soon."

Gao-Yuan replied, "I've already attended university."

Zhang Yuancai laughed, "Dr. Gao, you can fool me about other things, but not about this. You're from our township, right? In our township, there's only been one university graduate so far. His name is... Gao... Gao-Yuan."

Zhang Yuancai slowly turned his head toward Gao-Yuan, his pupils shrinking. He released Gao-Yuan's hand as if shocked, took several steps back, and stared at him in disbelief, "You... Gao-Yuan? Weren’t you arrested as a spy?"

Gao-Yuan looked at him calmly and said nothing. In his past life, he had explained himself for over a decade, but what good did it do?

Instinctively, Zhang Yuancai glanced in the direction of the militia and then looked at Gao-Yuan warily, "You... you escaped?"

"Or were you released?" he cautiously asked.

Gao-Yuan didn’t say much. He just replied, "Finish taking the medicine, and I’ll come back to the township tomorrow."

After that, Gao-Yuan turned around and left.

"Hey!" Zhang Yuancai called out to Gao-Yuan.

Gao-Yuan turned around to look at him.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuancai didn’t know what to say. His face reddened a bit. The young man in front of him was his mother's savior, but now he didn’t dare say anything about inviting him to stay for a meal. He said, "Wait a moment."

After saying this, he quickly ran back into the house.

Soon, he came running out again, sneaking something into Gao-Yuan's hand. He didn't dare look at Gao-Yuan and awkwardly said, "Thank you."

Zhang Yuancai ran back into the house.

Gao-Yuan looked down and saw a box of cigarettes and a crumpled three-yuan banknote in his hand. The corner of his mouth twitched. Without hesitation, he placed both items behind the threshold of the Zhang family’s door.

Looking into the house, he said, "How can I accept money for serving the people?"

Zhang Yuancai quickly rushed out again, but Gao-Yuan was already out of sight. His expression was complicated as he stared at the untouched cigarettes and money.