The Sweetest Medicine

A mature and firm voice sounded. Yu Gangan turned her head and saw Elder Huang touching his beard as he approached.

As soon as the doctor saw Elder Huang, a look of reverence appeared in her eyes and she greeted him with respect, “Elder Huang.”

Elder Jiang nodded at the doctor and smiled at Yu Gangan, “Sorry for making you wait.”

Yu Gangan smiled and replied, “I only just arrived. I didn’t even finish talking to this patient before you came.”

Seeing the dialogue between the two, a shocked expression appeared on the doctor’s face. Who was this woman? She said earlier that she was waiting for someone. Was that person Elder Huang?

Beside them, another patient also recognized Elder Huang. “Isn’t that Elder Huang?” they whispered. “He is an authoritative figure in Chinese medicine. It’s impossible to get an appointment with him.”

The young woman noticed the white-bearded man that had just arrived. He appeared to be an expert from the hospital. After hearing what the patients next to her said, she immediately said, “Hello, Elder Huang, this young woman diagnosed my mother and prescribed her some bupleurum granules.”

Elder Huang gave a gentle, “En”, but did not say anything else.

Obviously, he had a lot of trust in Yu Gangan.

The young woman quickly added, “But, my mother’s illness is a little serious. The doctors said she had food poisoning but they couldn’t find the cause. She stayed in the hospital for a month, but her fever persisted and fluctuated until now.”

Elder Huang looked at Yu Gangan. Yu Gangan’s eyes curved and she said with a smile, “I thought you were going to take a while, so I took a look at her. But…why don’t you have a look at her pulse.”

Her words were obvious. She was trying to say that these two people didn’t believe in her and needed him to double-check.

Elder Huang touched his beard and nodded his head.

Someone next to the woman immediately made space for Elder Huang and Elder Huang started checking her pulse. A moment later, he retrieved his hand and looked at Yu Gangan, “How did you come to the conclusion of bupleurum granules?”

“The patient is not suffering from food poisoning. She had dinner with the entire family; she couldn’t be the only one that was affected. While chatting to her, I discovered she was busy in the kitchen all day. The kitchen was warm but the weather was cold. This mixture of warm and cold likely made her catch a cold. But, a cold is just a surface condition that will go away with some sweat. Yet, she spent all that time in the clinic with a drip, pumping one bag after another of cold liquid into her body, so not only did that not control her cold, it also pushed it further into her body. Moreover, the doctor prescribed her traditional Chinese medicine that is high in yin. The main components are dwarf lilyturf and root of Rehmannia glutinosa. These two herbs are not correct.”

Elder Huang smiled with satisfaction, “A persistent cold of 5-6 days with nausea and fever is proof of Shaoyang Syndrome. If another medicine is taken and Shaoyang Syndrome is still present, one must take bupleurum decoction. It will not have adverse effects with other medicine and must be drunk while warm to promote sweating for recovery.”

“The patient has a bitter mouth, a dry throat, nausea, dizziness, and a fluctuating fever. This is Shaoyang Syndrome. Bupleurum granules are processed Chinese medicine and the dosage is low, so I told her to take 5 bags at a time,” Yu Gangan explained.

Elder Huang stood up, looked at Yu Gangan, and said, “Let’s go.”

Yu Gangan placed her fist in her hand respectfully and gestured for the man to lead the way. Beside them, someone said, “Elder Huang, why don’t you check us too.”

The young woman immediately followed and said anxiously, “Doctor, you didn’t prescribe any medicine yet.”

Elder Huang looked at her and said, “Didn’t you already receive a prescription?”

Already? Only after the two left did the young woman realize what he meant: the bupleurum granules.