The Martial Doctor-Chapter 108 - 106: The Lin Clan’s First Consultation
On the first day of opening, there were many onlookers at the door, but few came in for consultation.
A sixteen or seventeen-year-old young boy sits for consultations, not even fully grown, who would believe him?
Only those naive or desperate enough would come in, right? Anyway, anyone with a bit of common sense wouldn’t believe it.
This physician relies on experience for his consultations. If Lin Miao had sat in a medical hall for a few years before starting out on his own, maybe someone would believe him.
But he doesn’t have a single day’s consultation experience. Who would dare entrust their life to someone like that?
Even for minor illnesses, no one would easily trust a physician with no consultation experience.
Lin Miao was already mentally prepared for this. It’s just sitting on a cold bench for a few days; it’s all normal. But as long as one person comes in and gets properly treated, things will be easier afterward.
That’s creating a demonstration effect, one person leads to another, and patients naturally increase.
It’s always hard at the beginning.
He’s very confident in his medical skills. Common ailments pose no difficulty to him. There aren’t so many rare disorders in the world, and it’s unlikely he’ll encounter them right away.
If he does encounter one and it’s beyond his capability, he will simply admit he can’t cure it.
Which medical student isn’t smart? It all comes down to integrity and personality.
In a typical medical hall, during summer, they usually close when night begins unless there are patients or emergencies.
In winter, if there are no patients, they close at nightfall.
But since Lin Miao’s diagnosis point is close to home, it’s just a short walk back that takes less than half the time of burning incense. He only needs to go back before dinner.
So, he let Xia Zhu accompany Sun Youwei back first, while he stayed alone at the diagnosis point, waiting until dark before returning.
When he’s free, Lin Miao gives private lessons to the two girls, covering whatever topics come up.
Cui Wanquan was in the opposite room, sitting idly all day. It was clear he wanted to join the excitement, but duty-bound, he could only leave for meals, water, and toilet breaks.
According to the agreement between the three of them, each person takes a turn supervising Lin Miao’s consultations at the diagnosis point to handle fraudulent or irregular situations, without interfering with the normal consultation process. If there’s deliberate obstruction, Lin Miao has the right to appeal.
On the second day, it was Guan Biyun’s turn. She was much simpler, stopping by briefly before letting her apprentice Xiaorou take over.
Despite some irresponsibility accusations, as long as someone is there, the work wasn’t cut short, and there wasn’t much to say, as long as no one caught any flaws.
Guan Biyun promptly went to the back to fiddle with her herbs.
On the third day, it was Mr. Jia’s turn.
He took it to the extreme and didn’t come himself but sent his servant "Hui," who was actually a licensed physician, though it was unclear how he passed the exam. Nonetheless, with him standing in for the master, no one found it improper.
As for Cui Wanquan, with two days of free activity, he ran off wildly somewhere, heaven knows where.
Lin Miao didn’t need to be responsible for his safety, so he had no interest in meddling.
But for three consecutive days, not a single patient came for consultation, which was somewhat embarrassing, even Xia Zhu was feeling uneasy.
At such a rate, it would be impossible to complete the annual target of ten thousand consultations!
Yet, Lin Miao was not in the least bit impatient.
Some things simply cannot be rushed. The more you push, the less effective it is. The rules are set: no cheating, and if caught, disqualification is immediate.
Not only are the three royal supervisors watching, but all of Dongshan City’s medical halls are keeping an eye on it, especially Song Yunzhong from Anning Hall, who has even assigned his store staff to watch the place daily.
Seeing the Convenient Medical Diagnosis Point barely receiving any visitors, surely his heart was filled with a sense of satisfaction.
This immature fellow, thinking he can compete for business, trying to swallow up my medical hall and pharmacy – dream on!
Lin Miao kept his ears from the outside world, focusing solely on writing his books.
At the diagnosis point, he could quiet down, undisturbed, his mind sharp, understanding deepened through recollection of rote memorization from a past life.
The ancients were wise, saying that copying a text a hundred times reveals its meaning.
He only copied once and gained so much; copying a few more times wouldn’t be even more amazing.
On the fourth day, someone came in to inquire briefly but hesitated and then turned away. Due to rules, Xia Zhu could only watch them leave.
If it were at a medical hall, someone would’ve already grabbed them, but at the diagnosis point, this rule doesn’t apply because it would constitute cheating.
This day was yet more futile effort.
"Xia Zhu, don’t get discouraged. Remember, as physicians, there’s a principle: we don’t knock at the door. Practitioners mustn’t beg the patients to be treated by them. If they don’t trust you, even if cured, they may not believe you did it, understand?" Right before closing, Lin Miao softly pat Xia Zhu’s shoulder and said.
"Mr. Lin, there’s just one more day before closing for a day, and we’ve had no patients for these five days?" Xia Zhu was despondent, lamenting Mr. Lin’s extraordinary skills, yet no one believed him. They’d rather go to Anning Hall to see Song Yunzhong, or to Mr. Jia of Jia’s Medical Hall, refusing to visit this convenient and good diagnosis point.
"Is this one day closure a royal mandate?"
"It’s not. It’s a convention, after all, doctors need rest. Sitting for consultations daily is exhausting."
"Fixed day?"
"No fixed day, usually each medical hall arranges it. In fact, the consulting physicians themselves rotate rest, unless there’s only one physician, then they’d close for a day, but the pharmacy generally stays open," Xia Zhu replied.
"I don’t need rest; the diagnosis point stays open unless I’m busy or unavailable."
Joking aside, working for five days, resting one day, that’s sixty days off annually, being two months.
What about the ten thousand consultations!
"Mr. Lin, can you handle this?"
"The way things are now, what’s there that I can’t handle?" Lin Miao chuckled, "Just teasing you, don’t worry. I don’t take this ’Path to Sainthood’ challenge to heart. Even if it doesn’t pass, it doesn’t matter. Xia Zhu, as healers, never let personal gains weigh too heavily, else you stray from the original intent of medical study."
"Thank you, Mr. Lin, for the guidance." Xia Zhu said, moved.
"Alright, stop with the schmaltz and get home for dinner. Didn’t Mrs. Luu buy pork knuckles today? Tonight, it’ll surely be braised pork knuckles, just thinking about it makes my mouth water..."
Xia Zhu couldn’t help but smile; this is how the youth should be.
...
"Gurgle gurgle..."
The water in the copper pot had boiled.
A cup of tea was brewed, and after two trips to the privy, another morning had passed. Sun Youwei brought Yuzhu to deliver lunch for Lin Miao and Xia Zhu.
A few simple side dishes, a bowl of rice, Sun Youwei watched Lin Miao eat with great relish.
After the meal, Yuzhu tidied up the bowls and chopsticks and took them back, while Sun Youwei stayed to accompany Lin Miao, as she had agreed with Xia Zhu.
One would be in the consultation room in the morning, while the other was outside distributing number tokens.
The two took turns.
...
"Master, this Lin kid is quite lucky, having both a student and a senior sister take turns serving him."
"Xiaorou, don’t gossip about others," Guan Biyun scolded her apprentice, Lien Yurou.
"I’m just speaking the truth. It’s been five days, and he hasn’t had a single patient. I think he’s just trying to attract attention without any real skills, and it’s showing."
"That physician started off with patients coming to his door voluntarily, and besides, he hasn’t had any consultation experience before. Give him some time," Guan Biyun knew how challenging this ’Path to Sainthood’ test was, especially for someone like Lin Miao without connections and any previous reputation. It was even more difficult.
"If there are again no patients today, they’ll have to suspend consultations tomorrow. Let’s see what he’ll do then!" Lien Yurou appeared doubtful.
Guan Biyun understood her apprentice well, talented and hailing from the big place of Li Jing, inevitably carrying a sense of superiority.
This time she brought her out, partly to let her see how vast the world is, filled with remarkable people, so as not to remain self-important, and to correct her mindset.
After lunch, there was a half-hour rest.
Lin Miao closed the consultation room to give the two women lessons. These were private small classes that outsiders couldn’t hear.
This was a privilege for his fiancée and student.
Of course, there were also lessons in the evening when they returned, but only within the Lin estate. Those were big classes, sometimes lasting half an hour, sometimes an hour.
Because Lin Miao had to allocate time for practicing martial arts and meditation.
Actually, he slept just about an hour a day. Meditation served as a mental rest, followed by an hour of deep sleep, which was sufficient.
If Si Miaoxue didn’t show up, his routine was quite regular.
At the consultation point, Lin Miao mainly lectured on the "Four Diagnostics," which were essential medical consultation skills that the senior sister and Xia Zhu urgently needed to master.
Of course, the theoretical stuff was dull. It was best combined with actual cases, but since no cases were available now, they could only force-feed the theory.
The two women were very smart and quite gifted, catching on immediately, making it easy for Lin Miao to explain.
Therefore, their progress in consultation was swift, although pulse diagnosis lacked practice the most.
They were just waiting for the first case to arrive.
Time ticked by slowly, as the red glow appeared on the western horizon. This fifth day seemed to end without results.
Xia Zhu was getting ready to close up and head home.
Just then, a man suddenly dashed in, drenched in sweat, carrying a boy who was convulsing and foaming at the mouth!
"Mr. Lin, save us!"
Inside the consultation room, Lin Miao heard the commotion outside and immediately perked up, leaping from his chair and rushing out.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the main hall!
Guan Biyun and her apprentice Lien Yurou were also taken aback; Mr. Lin had been waiting for five days, and now it was finally happening. They too got up and headed out.
"Brother, what’s happening with the child?"
"He had a fever a few days ago, and today suddenly convulsed, shuddered, and became light-sensitive and cold-sensitive..." The child’s father described anxiously.
On hearing "light-sensitive," Lin Miao’s heart skipped a beat; was this really his first diagnosis, a high-difficulty one like this? 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
"Don’t worry, lay the child down flat so I can take a look." Lin Miao knew that whatever his speculation might be, he needed to accurately diagnose first.
The child was lain flat on the ground.
Lin Miao approached to examine the boy’s complexion, lips, tongue, and finally felt his pulse.
The lips were cyanotic, tongue coat was pale purple, and the pulse was large and pounding.
Lin Miao’s heart sank.
"Brother, did this child get bitten by a dog some time ago?"
"How did you know?" The child’s father blurted out in surprise, looking at Lin Miao, as he hadn’t mentioned it at all.
"Did you consult with other physicians before?"
"Mr. Lin, please save my son. He’s our only child..." The father wiped his tears and then knelt down with a thud before Lin Miao.
At this moment, the doorway was crowded with people craning their necks to look inside.
No need to guess, the child’s father must have taken him to many medical halls. Any physician with experience would realize what the child was suffering from and wouldn’t accept the case.
This was a case of a child bitten by a dog, presenting with fever, light sensitivity, cold sensitivity, fear of noise, convulsions, and strange throaty sounds, symptoms typical of rabies.
