Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 178: The Efficacy of the Plaster

After tasting the Zither Fish Tea, Li Xu was very satisfied.

He put the remaining Zither Fish Tea into a jar, checked the time, and saw that it was already 11 p.m.

"Thanks."

He prepared to leave.

Fatty Chen bowed with a fawning smile, following close behind Li Xu. "Brother, can I discuss something with you?"

"If you want the Zither Fish Tea, just say so."

Li Xu bluntly called his bluff.

"Brother, I want the Zither Fish Tea. How much? Name your price."

"Heh, you're pretty direct."

"Hehe, I'm just listening to you."

"Fine..."

After all, he had borrowed the man's kitchen, so Li Xu decided to sell Fatty Chen a few fish.

"You saw for yourself, I only have a little over fifty in total. Hmm... I can only sell you three."

"Three is too few. How about five?"

"Just three."

"Alright, how much for one?"

"Hmm... one thousand."

Li Xu didn't know how much Qin Fish cost, only that they were very precious.

Besides, the Qin Fish he had caught were plumper and more delicious than ordinary ones due to their special growing environment. A thousand yuan was definitely not too much.

"Deal."

Fatty Chen knew a good thing when he saw it, so he didn't haggle this time.

Li Xu took out three fish and handed them to Fatty Chen.

Fatty Chen paid Li Xu three thousand yuan.

After subtracting the two hundred yuan kitchen usage fee, Li Xu had actually made two thousand eight hundred off Fatty Chen.

"Brother, it's late. Do you want to stay here for the night?"

Fatty Chen offered enthusiastically.

"No, thanks. I'll go to a hotel."

A hotel was more comfortable and, relatively speaking, safer.

...

While Li Xu was out catching the Qin Fish,

Lin Xiaoyu was experiencing the magic of the Musk Bone Strengthening Ointment.

She had applied one patch at the clinic and taken another one home.

Following Li Xu's instructions, she was lying on a hard-board bed.

The ointment was constantly working its magic—it was an indescribable warm sensation, not like the burning feeling of ordinary balms, but like holding a warm cup of ginger tea in winter, with the heat slowly seeping from the skin's surface deep into her muscles.

"Mmm..." She let out an involuntary sigh of comfort and touched the patch.

After resting for the afternoon, the area that had been stinging with pain now only had a slight, dull ache, as if someone were massaging it with just the right amount of pressure.

In the evening, Lin Xiaoyu carefully sat up and tentatively moved her waist.

To her pleasant surprise, the sharp, stabbing pain that had persisted for the past two days was gone.

She slowly stood up and did a simple side bend—there was only a slight pulling sensation, which was completely bearable.

'This is incredible...'

Facing the full-length mirror, she lifted the hem of her pajamas. The black patch was still stuck firmly to her skin, its edges slightly shiny.

She ate dinner and continued to rest in bed.

When she woke up the next day,

she felt completely recovered.

Bored at home,

she decided to go to work.

She washed up and ate breakfast.

Then she arrived at the magazine agency.

"Sister Xiao Yu?!" the receptionist asked in surprise. "Didn't you take three days off? You're back already?"

A faint smile touched Lin Xiaoyu's lips. "I used the patch. It healed me."

Back at her desk.

"Oh my god!" Wang Xiaojuan poked her head out from the next cubicle, a look of astonishment on her face. "You were in so much pain you couldn't get out of bed yesterday, and today you're wearing high heels?"

Lin Xiaoyu put down her bag, then deliberately stood up and twirled around, her skirt fanning out in a perfect circle. "It's all thanks to Doctor Li's ointment. It worked with just one patch."

"Doctor Li?" Wang Xiaojuan felt the name was familiar. "Is he that traditional Chinese medicine doctor you mentioned before? The one who cured the border patrol unit's severe insect bite problem?"

Lin Xiaoyu nodded. "That's him. Don't let his age fool you, his medical skills are incredible. He only uses high-quality medicine, so it's not cheap. The patch I bought cost a thousand."

"A thousand?!" Wang Xiaojuan gasped. "That expensive? Is it covered by insurance?"

"Completely out-of-pocket." Lin Xiaoyu shrugged. "But the results are obvious—yesterday I was hunched over like an old lady, and today I can wear high heels."

They were colleagues,

so Lin Xiaoyu knew Wang Xiaojuan had long been suffering from a herniated disc. "You could give it a try."

"Well..."

Wang Xiaojuan was tempted.

She had been suffering from a herniated lumbar disc for three years. Her doctor had recommended surgery, but she didn't dare go through with it.

She had read some reports about how risky spinal surgery was.

One mistake could lead to paralysis.

Besides, even her doctor advised against surgery unless it was absolutely necessary.

Wang Xiaojuan shifted in her seat. Her posture was unnatural—body leaning slightly forward, her lower back held stiffly away from the chair back. It was the typical posture of someone with a lumbar spine problem.

"How do you usually manage the pain?" Lin Xiaoyu asked curiously.

Wang Xiaojuan gave a bitter smile and began counting on her fingers: "Reverse hyperextensions, dead bugs, planks, swimming, acupuncture, massage..."

She sighed. "They work, but I can't stick with them. As soon as work gets busy, I stop, and then it relapses."

As she spoke, she took out her phone and pulled up an X-ray from her photo album. "Look, a herniation at the L4-L5 segment, compressing the nerve root. When it was at its worst, I couldn't even put on my own socks."

Looking at the image, Lin Xiaoyu couldn't help but recall her own pain from the past two days.

She recommended him again, emphatically, "You've already spent a lot of money on other treatments. You might as well go see Doctor Li. Even though one patch is expensive, it actually works. When you add it all up, you'll end up saving money."

"Okay, I'll go check it out this weekend."

Wang Xiaojuan said.

...

「Feng City, City Enforcement Bureau.」

Captain Jia faced the restroom mirror and carefully stuck out his tongue.

On the inside of his left cheek, a soybean-sized ulcer shone a ghastly white, surrounded by a glaring red halo.

He let out a soft HISS. Even breathing irritated the damned sore.

This was the third time this year.

The first time was during his shift for the Dragon Boat Festival; a combination of staying up late and the hot weather made the ulcer last for two weeks.

The second was during the "Civilized City" inspection last month. After eating boxed lunches for three days straight, the ulcer relapsed.

This time was even worse. It had been dragging on for almost a month, flaring up and subsiding, like a persistent enemy he couldn't shake.

"Captain! Quitting time! The guys are waiting for you to go drinking!"

A team member's voice called out from outside the office.

Captain Jia frowned as another sharp pain shot through the ulcer.

He pushed the door open and waved his hand dismissively. "You guys go ahead. My mouth..."

"There it is again!" The vice-captain rolled his eyes dramatically. "That canker sore of yours is like a messed-up period, shows up on schedule every month!"

The group burst into laughter.

Captain Jia gave a wry smile and rubbed the stubble on his chin.

As the captain of Enforcement Division One, he was usually a man of decisive action, yet he was utterly defeated by this tiny canker sore.

"I really can't go," he said, pointing to his mouth. "Eating hot pot yesterday made it worse. Now it even hurts to drink water."

His team members were relentless. "Captain, you've got to get that treated! Didn't that oral specialist give you a prescription last time?"

"I used it. Didn't work well." Captain Jia shook his head helplessly. "The doctor said it's a recurrent canker sore, related to my immune system. He suggested I quit smoking and drinking, maintain a regular schedule..."

"Well, in that case, you might as well just keep the ulcer!" Wang Qiang roared with laughter and led the others away.

The office fell silent.

Captain Jia sighed, picked up his thermos, and took a careful sip of warm water.

Even this small movement made him grimace in pain.