Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 163: Old in Body, Young at Heart

Hu Qiming and a nurse from the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine took blood pressure readings and gave health consultations to the local residents, then snapped a photo for the record.

"You can head back first."

Hu Qiming told the nurse to go back, then walked into the consultation room. "Li Xu, teach me massage."

Li Xu glanced at him. "Why?"

"For..." Hu Qiming’s eyes darted around. "For the flourishing development of the medical field!"

Song Sisi, who was standing by, burst out laughing.

Hu Qiming grew embarrassed and could only tell the truth. "Massage is great. You get to be in contact with more beautiful women."

Li Xu shook his head. "But you’re more likely to get middle-aged women and old ladies."

"Huh?"

Hu Qiming’s enthusiasm faded as he realized Li Xu was right.

Although there had been a trend of younger people experiencing back, shoulder, and leg pain in recent years, the majority of patients were still elderly.

The proportion of old men and women with back and leg pain was even higher.

Young, female, and beautiful... those who met all three criteria were few and far between.

He might not encounter a single one for months.

And learning massage was no easy task.

"What if I only give massages to Lin Xiaoyu?"

Hu Qiming hadn’t given up.

"Heh..."

Li Xu scoffed, "You have a job. You can’t practice massage every day, and you’re no genius. By the time you get the hang of it in a few months, I’ll have already cured Lin Xiaoyu’s back pain. What would she need you for?"

"Er..."

Hu Qiming was speechless. He gave Li Xu a resentful look. "How do you know how to do everything?"

...

「Kangning Pharmacy.」

The shop owner, Zhang Zhigang, was bored and scrolling through short video dramas, laughing his head off.

"Boss, do you have any True Martial Pills here?"

A portly old man walked into the store.

"Yes, yes..."

Zhang Zhigang put down his phone and stood up. "Do you have a prescription?"

The old man pulled a crumpled prescription from his pocket and handed it over. "It’s an old problem of mine. My legs and feet are always swollen. The doctor at the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine said it’s something called ’yang deficiency with fluid retention’ and told me to take True Martial Pills."

Zhang Zhigang took the prescription and glanced at it. The flamboyant scrawl read, "True Martial Pill, 3 boxes."

He turned toward the traditional Chinese medicine counter and took a beautifully packaged box of pills from the most prominent spot. "You should try this. It’s the new True Martial Pill from Ding’s Pharmaceutical."

The old man took the box and squinted at the price tag. "Seventy? So expensive?"

He frowned. "The one I usually buy is only a little over thirty."

"Oh, come on, sir, how can you compare them?" Zhang Zhigang smoothly switched into sales mode. "This is a genuine product from Ding’s Pharmaceutical. Their medicine has always been very effective. Have you heard of Mao Duddu Eye Drops? People have been going crazy for them recently."

The old man shook his head. He didn’t usually use eye drops, so naturally, he had never heard of Mao Dudu.

But he was still tempted.

Because he had been taking True Martial Pills from other manufacturers for a while, and the effect was mediocre.

When he went to other hospitals, the doctors also prescribed True Martial Pills. He had no choice but to keep taking them.

"Trust me, you can’t go wrong!" Zhang Zhigang patted his chest. "This medicine uses top-grade Aconite, and the processing method is a patented technology."

These were all things the sales representative had told him, and he had committed them to memory.

The old man hesitated for a moment before finally sighing. "Fine, I’ll take one box to try." He took out his wallet. "If it doesn’t work, I’m not buying my medicine from you next time."

"Don’t worry!" Zhang Zhigang deftly put the box into a plastic bag and handed it to him. "We’re neighbors on the same street. I wouldn’t cheat you."

The old man left slowly, carrying the bag of medicine.

Zhang Zhigang pulled out his phone again and resumed watching his short video dramas.

He hadn’t been watching for more than a few minutes when his phone suddenly buzzed—it was a message from Wang Lei, the sales rep for Ding’s Pharmaceutical:

"Boss Zhang, how are the True Martial Pills selling?"

Zhang Zhigang replied, "I’ve only sold three boxes in the past few days. Everyone thinks they’re too expensive."

Wang Lei encouraged him, "The price is a bit high, but the effects are great! I’m sure once they see the results, they’ll come back for more."

"I hope so,"

Zhang Zhigang replied.

...

The old man returned home and, putting on his reading glasses, carefully read the instructions for the True Martial Pill.

After studying it for a long time, he found that the ingredients were the same as the other True Martial Pills he had bought before.

He poured out some of the black pills.

He sniffed them carefully.

"...The smell is a bit stronger... and they look rounder."

The old man felt a little more at ease.

At least they didn’t look bad.

They seemed worthy of the higher price.

"I just hope it works this time..." the old man muttered, pouring out a few pills.

He picked up a glass of warm water and popped the pills into his mouth.

Unexpectedly, they weren’t as bitter as he had imagined. Instead, they had a faintly sweet aftertaste.

This made him a little hopeful.

...

「A few days later, in the morning」 Just as Kangning Pharmacy opened, the portly old man burst in.

Zhang Zhigang was organizing the shelves and jumped at the commotion, thinking something was wrong.

"Boss! Two more boxes!" The old man’s face was glowing with health, and his voice was booming. "This medicine is a miracle!"

Zhang Zhigang took a closer look and recognized the customer who had been hesitant to buy the expensive True Martial Pills just last week.

Today, the old man was full of energy and walked with a spring in his step. He didn’t look the least bit sickly like he had before.

"Slow down, what happened?" Zhang Zhigang didn’t rush to get the medicine, wanting to hear the story first.

The old man yanked up his pant leg, revealing his calf. "Look!"

He pressed firmly on the spot that used to be swollen. The skin immediately bounced back without leaving any indentation. "It started working after just three days. It’s not swollen at all now!"

Zhang Zhigang crouched down to get a better look. Indeed, the skin on the old man’s calf was firm, the veins were clearly visible, and there was no sign of swelling.

He stood up, a look of amazement on his face. Although he had suspected the True Martial Pill from Ding’s Pharmaceutical would be effective, he hadn’t expected it to work this well.

He couldn’t help but ask, "Did the True Martial Pills you took before really have no effect?"

"Don’t even mention it!" The old man waved his hand dismissively. "I took those for over a month. It was like eating candy."

He slapped the counter. "This one from your store really works!"

Zhang Zhigang turned to get the medicine from the shelf, inwardly surprised.

"Here you are, two boxes." Zhang Zhigang bagged the medicine and asked another question, "Besides reducing the swelling, are there any other effects?"

The old man said as he took out his wallet, "I’m not getting up as much at night, and I have more energy all over."

Then, he looked around. They were the only two in the store.

The old man then lowered his voice. "Besides that, I feel like I’ve gotten stronger... Sometimes, I can even get it up... It’s a shame my wife’s gotten too old for it."

Zhang Zhigang understood some of the principles and explained, "The True Martial Pill has a yang-replenishing effect, so that makes sense."

The old man asked secretively, "So can it replace... that other medicine?"

"Definitely not."

Zhang Zhigang said hurriedly, "The reason the True Martial Pill is a prescription drug is because it contains toxic components. You can’t just take it carelessly. Now that your swelling is gone, you should go back to the hospital for a follow-up and see if the doctor says you should continue taking it."

"Alright."

The old man left, looking a little disappointed.