Chapter 156 Regrettable and Sad

Words : 1510 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

A long sigh signaled that the patient was no longer in danger. Seeing the patient’s eyes moving slightly, showing signs of waking up, Du Heng instructed Wu Buwei, "Buwei, you can remove the needle now. Be careful, it was inserted quite deep." "Understood, Senior Brother." Wu Buwei gently twisted the needle and slowly withdrew it from the GV-26 acupoint. Coincidentally, just as Wu Buwei removed the needle, Li Genmao slowly opened his eyes. However, his gaze was full of confusion and puzzlement. Especially when looking at the two people in white gowns in front of him, he couldn’t quite process the situation for a moment. But his wife threw herself onto him, crying her heart out. Du Heng and Wu Buwei took a couple of steps back. Du Heng handed the long needle to Wu Buwei, instructing him to give it a preliminary disinfection with an alcohol cotton ball and put it away. They would do a complete sterilization back at the clinic. The village doctor also walked over. The man, in his fifties, looked at the young men in their twenties, his eyes filled with admiration and appreciation. If he hadn’t called Du Heng today, honestly, Li Genmao would have had an eighty percent chance of being buried alive. Such things had happened before, twice in Zhonghu Town. Once, a person died. While the family was keeping vigil over the body, the deceased suddenly sat up in the middle of the night, asking for food and drink. The shock caused his daughter to have an epileptic seizure on the spot. The other case owed its outcome to Jinzhou’s local burial customs. According to Jinzhou’s burial customs, after the coffin is lowered into the grave pit, it’s opened one last time for someone to tidy the deceased’s appearance. It was at this very moment, when the person assigned to the task opened the coffin lid, that he saw the ’deceased’ inside staring straight at him. The figure even reached out and grabbed the corner of his clothes. Now, this man was brave enough to go down and attend to a deceased person, but even he couldn’t handle such a shock. He collapsed right there, slumping down inside the coffin. The others above the grave pit were also terrified, but they soon realized the person was alive—not dead, nor a reanimated corpse. Of course, both of those individuals were incredibly lucky; one woke up early, and the other regained consciousness just in time. However, by this logic, there must have been others who weren’t so fortunate, waking up too late and being buried alive. Li Genmao’s wife, still crying, recounted to him what had just happened. Du Heng, Wu Buwei, and the village doctor didn’t disturb them, quietly opening the door and stepping out. Everyone in the yard had been drawn by the sounds of crying from inside the house. They were all craning their necks, peering at the doorway. As soon as Du Heng and the other two emerged, the crowd swarmed around them. "Dr. Li, how is he? What’s the situation?" "I heard Genmao’s wife wailing so loudly. Did Genmao... pass away?" "Li’s kid just brought a coffin home yesterday. Should I go ask if it’s available for Genmao?" Dr. Li, overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, quickly waved his hands to silence them. "He’s not dead! He’s not dead, he’s alive! President Du saved him!" "Saved him?" "Not dead?" "Dr. Li, you wouldn’t lie to us, would you?" "Exactly! This is no joking matter." "Genmao’s wife was crying so desperately! You can’t be just saying that!" Dr. Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He could only explain again, "It’s true! He’s already woken up, and he’s fine. We’re all from the same village; why would I lie to you?" "Oh my! Quick, clear out the straw from the yard!" "I’ll call his son! I just told his son to hurry back!" The crowd, bustling and noisy, sprang into action again. In that short span of time, they had already gathered all the necessities for a mourning shed. Dr. Li paid them no mind, instead leading Du Heng and Wu Buwei to the main hall in the adjacent building. After inviting the two to sit, he asked, "President Du, Genmao is really out of danger now, right?" "The critical danger has passed. He’ll make a full recovery after a few more courses of medicine." "Then, please write a prescription." Du Heng thought for a moment before explaining, "Typically, for dampness conditions, inducing sweat allows the pathogenic dampness to be expelled. However, this patient is suffering from both dampness and summer-heat. Sweating can alleviate the summer-heat, but it won’t resolve the dampness." He stroked his chin thoughtfully and continued, "The summer-heat is floating in the upper body, while pathogenic dampness has settled in the lower body. Sweating releases from the Yang aspects but not from the Yin aspects. Therefore, the treatment must focus on promoting urination to clear the dampness and expelling pathogenic heat to resolve the summer-heat. This will allow the Qi of the upper and lower body to flow smoothly, completely dispersing both the dampness and the summer-heat." He then clapped his hands lightly. "If the summer-heat aggravating the dampness isn’t expelled, the dampness itself will be difficult to resolve. Thus, we should use a combination of Poria Five Powder and White Tiger Decoction. This will simultaneously clear summer-heat and drain dampness. Ten doses should be sufficient for a full recovery." "President Du, should we get the medicine from the Health Clinic, or can I provide it from my clinic here?" "Your clinic was quite well-stocked when I visited your village in March. Let’s get it from you; it’s not worth a trip to the Health Clinic." "That works. President Du, please write down the prescription, and I’ll prepare the medicine." Wu Buwei took out paper and a pen from the medicine box and handed them to Du Heng, who began to write swiftly. Just as Du Heng was writing the prescription, Li Genmao’s wife walked in, her eyes red from crying. She immediately started bustling about, looking for cups and then for tea leaves. Du Heng quickly stopped her. "Auntie, please don’t trouble yourself. Come over here; I need to explain a few things. I’m writing a prescription now. Afterward, you can take it to the village clinic to get the medicine. He should take three doses a day for three days, and he’ll be fine." "Thank you! Thank you so much, President Du!" she exclaimed, grabbing Du Heng’s hand, tears streaming down her face. Du Heng was taken aback but gently comforted her, "It’s alright, he’s really alright now. In the future, no matter the illness, please make sure to take him to a hospital. If that’s difficult, you can always call our Health Clinic." Li Genmao’s wife let go of his hand, still sniffling. She opened a drawer, took out a few hundred yuan, and tried to press it into Du Heng’s hand. Du Heng hurriedly stopped her again. "Auntie, what are you doing?" "You came all this way to treat him; we must pay you!" Du Heng couldn’t help but smile. He carefully extracted a fifty-yuan note from the money she was thrusting at him. "Auntie, we have regulated fees; it’s not this much. The total for the house call and treatment is just fifty yuan. As for the medicine, once it’s prescribed, you can get it from your village clinic." Li Genmao’s wife tried to give him more, but Du Heng firmly refused. "Just fifty. If I accept more, I’ll be disciplined." At this point, the village doctor also chimed in to gently dissuade her, and Li Genmao’s wife finally relented. She tucked the remaining money into her pocket and then, once again, busied herself with trying to pour them tea. Du Heng handed the fifty yuan to Wu Buwei, telling him to keep it safe to give to Wang Zhenzhen for the accounts later. He then gently stopped Li Genmao’s wife, who was still bustling about. "Auntie, there’s nothing else. We should be heading back now." "Since you won’t accept more money, at least have some water before you leave." "We really can’t. There are still patients waiting at the Health Clinic. We need to hurry back." With that, Du Heng handed the written prescription to the village doctor. "Just dispense the medicine according to this. Ten doses should be sufficient, then he can stop. We’ll head back now. Please keep a close eye on him here. If any issues arise, give us a call." The village doctor nodded in agreement. As he walked them to the door, he suddenly asked, "President Du, when you said Genmao could be up and working in the fields tomorrow, were you serious?" "It wasn’t a major illness, so technically, yes, he could work in the fields tomorrow. However, it would be best if he didn’t. He should rest for three days. Once he’s fully recovered, he can do whatever work he likes."

Chapter 156 Regrettable and Sad

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