Lihoumen

Chapter 58 What a pity

The people in the clinic gradually dispersed. At noon, it was finally Qingqing's turn. When Doctor Xiaorong heard that Qingqing came to ask for her master, she smiled good-naturedly and said crisply, "Master is not back yet. I heard you say that your old lady just sprained her ankle. It's not a big deal. The immortal master is old. Even if he is at home, he will not go to see you in a situation like yours."

In the eyes of doctors, the old lady's external injuries are really nothing, but since Qingqing has been given this task, she can only do her best.

"Doctor Xiaorong, I can pay more for the consultation. When the Immortal Hua Yi returns, please speak for us in front of my master."

Doctor Xiao Rong smiled slightly, revealing two dimples on his round face. "From your accent, you should not be from the capital. You don't know my master's temper. Not to mention adding more consultation fees, even when nobles from the palace come to invite him, he is often turned away."

"Besides, I don't know when my master will return. Even if he returns in the next two days, your old lady just sprained her ankle, which is not a life-threatening disease. He will definitely not come to visit." As she said this, she made a 'please' gesture to Qingqing: "I think Madam should go back."

Qingqing was about to return empty-handed when a man came in, supporting a woman. He shouted at the top of his voice, "Doctor Xiaorong, please take a look. My wife has diarrhea. She didn't get better after taking the medicine you prescribed. She had even worse diarrhea this morning. She's almost fainted."

"How could this be? Come over here and let me take another look."

The man helped the patient sit on the examination chair. Doctor Xiaorong raised his hand and carefully felt her pulse. He then looked at the prescription he had written for her before, frowned and murmured, "This is caused by damp-heat stagnation. Pueraria root, Scutellaria baicalensis, Coptis chinensis, and Magnolia officinalis are the right medicine for the condition."

"Could it be dysentery? That, that can kill people." Seeing Doctor Xiaorong at a loss, the man panicked and even cried in his tone: "Doctor Xiaorong, we still have three cubs at home, please save my wife."

Doctor Xiao Rong frowned and said, "It's not that I don't want to save people, but judging from her pulse, this lady has damp-heat syndrome, and the prescription I prescribed is for her."

Although Qingqing didn't feel the pulse, she was sure that Doctor Xiaorong's diagnosis was correct based on the woman's complexion. Seeing the woman's distress, Qingqing couldn't help but step forward and ask, "Brother, do you have the medicine my sister-in-law is taking with you?"

The man was stunned for a long time when he saw the fairy-like lady asking him questions. After he reacted, he said hurriedly, "I brought it, I brought it." Then he took out a few small paper packages from his bag, took out one and opened it, saying, "Look, I got the medicine according to Doctor Xiaorong's prescription."

Qingqing took the medicine bag, put it under his nose and sniffed it, then said to Doctor Xiaorong, "There's nothing wrong with the prescription." As he spoke, he picked out two herbs from the herbs: "This Pueraria root has been around for too long, it's been damp, and has lost its medicinal effect. And this Magnolia officinalis has something else mixed in it, so the dosage is insufficient and naturally it can't cure the disease."

After hearing what Qingqing said, Doctor Xiaorong hurriedly took the medicine package and carefully examined it, saying, "What the lady said is right. There is indeed something wrong with this medicine." As she spoke, she secretly rolled her eyes and said bitterly, "These unscrupulous drug dealers are making dirty money."

When the man heard this, he said with a sad face, "I bought this medicine from the Universal Pharmacy on West Street. It cost me one hundred coins. I only have sixty copper coins at home. The rest was borrowed from my relatives. I never thought that they would sell me fake medicine."

"What a black-hearted person they are." The sick elder sister saw her husband in distress and started crying and cursing.

In the past, when Qingqing followed her father to practice medicine, she often encountered poor people who were sick and could not afford medicine. Unexpectedly, there was no shortage of such poor people in this beautiful capital.

Qingqing saw that the couple was sad, so she took out a handful of silver from her sleeve pocket and stuffed it into the eldest sister's hand: "Doctor Xiaorong's prescription is correct, you can follow the prescription and go to another pharmacy to get the medicine."

The elder sister initially refused to accept the money, but seeing that Qingqing insisted on seeing her off, and that they really couldn't afford to buy medicine anymore, she finally accepted the money with many thanks. "Madam, do you also know the art of medicine?"

After all the patients had left, Doctor Xiaorong looked at Qingqing with sparkling stars in her eyes and asked.

Qingqing said modestly: "I am from Shuzhong. My father was a doctor. I followed him and learned a little bit."

"Sister, you can tell the difference between the herbs with just a sniff. This shows that you are well versed in pharmacology. Sister is also flexible, which is exactly what Master often criticizes me for."

Nowadays, women who are proficient in medicine are rare. In the past, Doctor Xiaorong already felt that she was the best among women. When she met Qingqing today, she suddenly developed a feeling of mutual admiration.

"Sister, please sit down."

The little girl was so excited that she even changed the way she addressed Qingqing and called her "sister" all the time.

Qingqing smiled and said to Doctor Xiaorong: "You seem to have just come of age, but you can come out to see patients on your own. It shows that you are already very proficient in medical skills."

Doctor Xiao Rong was a straightforward person. After hearing Qingqing's words, she smiled and replied, "My skills are still far from perfect. But now my master is old and the young master is not at home all year round. My cousin..."

When mentioning this, Doctor Xiao Rong paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "It's just that there is no one in this clinic right now. My master is a decent person, and the consultation fee he charges is always lower than that of other people. Therefore, ordinary people always like to come here to see a doctor, so I just sit here to fill the gap."

As she spoke, she stuck out her tongue at Qingqing, revealing the cuteness of a young girl: "I can only treat minor illnesses. For those difficult and serious illnesses, the master has to treat them himself."

After hearing this, Qingqing smiled and sighed sincerely, "It's great that you can do this at such a young age. When I was your age, I was just helping my father when he was seeing patients. Sometimes I made mistakes and got scolded by my father."

"Master also often comes to me and says that I am careless." Then, Doctor Xiaorong asked Qingqing, "Sister, are you still practicing medicine now?"

The smile on Qingqing's face faded, and she shook her head and said, "I haven't been a doctor for several years?"

"Why is this?" Doctor Xiao Rong asked puzzledly.

"I'm married." Qingqing said.

Doctor Xiao Rong showed a regretful expression on his face, and then sighed and said: "Looking at your sister's clothes, she must have married into a wealthy family. Such families have strict rules, so they naturally won't allow you to practice medicine again. Alas! What a pity."

(End of this chapter)