Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 179: I’m Not Useless

When Captain Jia got home, his wife was in the kitchen stir-frying, the range hood rumbling loudly.

"You're back?" his wife asked without turning around. "Dinner's almost ready."

Captain Jia grunted in response and hung his uniform jacket on the back of the door.

Two dishes and a soup were already on the dining table. The shredded pork with green peppers was steaming, but he had no appetite at all—the mere thought of food touching his ulcer made his scalp tingle.

"Why aren't you eating?" Li Yufen asked, coming out with bowls of rice and seeing her husband staring blankly at the food.

Captain Jia pointed to his cheek. "It's gotten worse."

Li Yufen put down her bowl and chopsticks and sighed. "You've had this ulcer for almost half a year. It can't go on like this."

She suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right. Aunt Zhang from downstairs said that Doctor Li at Li's Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic on Construction Road is an amazing doctor. Why don't you go see him?"

"Traditional Chinese medicine?" Captain Jia raised his eyebrows.

His unit was responsible for this entire area, so of course he knew of Li's Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.

He'd even heard his squad members talking about it.

That Doctor Li at the clinic was incredible.

But he didn't really believe in traditional Chinese medicine.

He thought it was ineffective.

"He really is amazing. A lot of people from the neighborhood have been cured there. You should go take a look," his wife urged.

Captain Jia shook his head dismissively.

"You're just too stubborn," his wife said, ladling a bowl of soup for him. "You've seen a Western doctor and it didn't work. What's the harm in trying traditional Chinese medicine?"

Captain Jia didn't answer, lowering his head to take a sip of soup.

The hot liquid washed over the ulcer, and a throbbing pain shot through his temple.

...

「Late that night.」

Captain Jia lay in bed, tossing and turning. The pain from the ulcer was like a small file constantly scraping inside his mouth.

He fumbled for the oral spray in his nightstand and spritzed the affected area twice.

The cool liquid brought a moment of numbness, but it was quickly replaced by a searing pain.

"Still awake?" his wife asked groggily.

"Pain," Captain Jia replied with a single word.

His wife rolled over and turned on the table lamp. In its warm yellow light, her husband's deeply furrowed brow was especially noticeable.

She reached out and caressed Captain Jia's cheek. "Go see him tomorrow. Just do it for me. It hurts me to see you like this."

Captain Jia was silent for a long time before finally nodding. "After my patrol tomorrow, I'll go take a look."

At ten the next morning, Captain Jia finished his patrol and parked his law enforcement vehicle in front of Li's Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Through the glass door, he could see that the clinic was empty except for a young girl with a ponytail sitting behind the counter, looking down at something.

Another sharp pain lanced through his ulcer.

He hesitated no longer and pushed the door open.

Song Sisi looked up, and upon seeing Captain Jia, she grew a little nervous. "We haven't placed anything out front."

Captain Jia sucked in a breath of air and waved his hand. "I'm here to see a doctor."

He glanced around but didn't see Li Xu. "Is Doctor Li not in?"

Seeing that he wasn't there to cause trouble, Song Sisi breathed a sigh of relief and explained, "He's on a business trip and won't be back until tomorrow. What seems to be the problem?"

Captain Jia subconsciously touched his cheek. "A mouth ulcer..."

"A mouth ulcer?"

Song Sisi suddenly grew excited.

She couldn't treat other illnesses, but this one was simple.

The Watermelon Frost had just been produced.

She had overheard President Ding on the phone with Li Xu this morning.

President Ding had used it on his daughter, and the results were excellent.

'Hmph, the boss looks down on me and won't let me treat patients. I'll show him. I'm not useless!'

An idea formed in Song Sisi's mind.

She took out a bottle of Watermelon Frost and enthusiastically recommended it. "Captain Jia, this is our specially formulated Watermelon Frost. It's made specifically for mouth ulcers and works wonders!"

Captain Jia took the porcelain bottle and unscrewed the cap. Inside was a white powder that gave off a faint, herbal scent.

"This... how do I use it?" he asked doubtfully.

Song Sisi picked up a long, thin spoon. "Just use this to dab a little and gently apply it to the ulcer. Two or three times a day, and it should be better in about two days. Or you can have someone blow it into your mouth for you."

"Alright."

Captain Jia paid.

It was only a little over ten yuan, anyway.

He might as well give it a try.

If it didn't work, he wouldn't be out much money.

Besides, he could cross one clinic off his list.

He just wouldn't come back.

Back in his vehicle, he faced the rearview mirror, dabbed some of the white powder onto a bamboo stick, and carefully applied it to the ulcer.

The first sensation was coolness, followed by a slight sting, and then a strange numbness.

"Ngh..." To his surprise, he found that the searing pain had subsided by more than half.

He could still feel it, but it was now bearable.

Captain Jia tightened the cap and put the porcelain bottle in his uniform pocket. Whether it was a placebo effect or not, at least he could now speak normally.

He started the car, deciding to try it for two days. If this medicine was really that effective, he would have to thank that Doctor Li in person.

"Hehe."

Gleefully, Song Sisi dialed Li Xu's number. "Boss, when are you coming back?"

"Probably tomorrow."

Li Xu had caught the Qin Fish today and was heading to Bailingyu Village tomorrow.

"How were things today?"

Li Xu asked.

Song Sisi grew even more cheerful. 'Finally, you ask!' she thought. "I even treated a patient today!"

"Hm?"

Li Xu was puzzled. "You?"

Since officially starting at the clinic, Song Sisi's main duties were identifying and preparing medicinal herbs, as well as cleaning.

She hadn't even learned to identify the acupoints for massage yet.

'She has no real medical skills and no license to practice. How could she dare?'

"How did you treat them?" Li Xu asked, a little worried.

"Haha, it wasn't a serious treatment. It was Captain Jia from the city management bureau. He came in for his mouth ulcer, and since we just made that Watermelon Frost, I sold him a bottle to try," Song Sisi said, fishing for praise. "Our Watermelon Frost is so effective, it's sure to cure his ulcer."

"Er..."

Li Xu let out a sigh of relief.

That didn't count as reckless treatment.

However, without having examined the patient himself, he couldn't say for sure if it would be cured. He simply told Song Sisi not to carelessly prescribe medicine to people.

"Not even the Watermelon Frost?"

"No."

"Why not? It's the right medicine for the symptom."

"It depends on the situation. In a couple of days, you might find out why."

...

He hung up the phone.

「The next day.」

Li Xu left Jing County and took a bus to Qinling.

Half a day and several bus transfers later, he arrived at Bailingyu Village.

The last time he came, it had been the height of summer.

Now, autumn had set in.

The Qinling mountains are the dividing line between the north and south of Dragon Country.

The climate on the northern and southern sides of the mountains is markedly different.

Bailingyu Village was located on the northern slope,

so it had a northern climate.

He could already feel the chill in the air.

Wearing a windbreaker, Li Xu walked along the mountain path into the village.

The first thing he saw was the yellowed dogtail grass that covered the entire village.

The seeds planted over two months ago had grown to maturity and were now quickly reaching the end of their life cycle.

Judging by their massive stalks, he could tell they had grown well.

As for whether they had mutated in this special environment, that would require further examination back home.

Li Xu took a sickle from his backpack and began to harvest them.