Liu Sanquan emerged with a tearful face, and now he was absolutely certain—there was no doubt at all. The old lady had even snatched his lunchbox; what else could there be to confirm?

This was his lunch!

His wife had specially made him a jujube-flower mixed-grain bun to improve his meal for once. Normally, he either ate potatoes and sweet potatoes or had cornbread made from coarse grains. It was rare to have jujube in his meal, but the old lady had taken it.

Liu Sanquan hugged the lunchbox to his chest, lowering his head in grief, his mouth hanging open, with drool dripping out.

"What happened to you?"

A voice rang out suddenly, and Liu Sanquan looked up to see it was Gao-Yuan.

Immediately Liu Sanquan was furious. If it weren't for Gao-Yuan, he wouldn't have gone to check on that old lady in the first place, and if he hadn't gone to check on her, his jujube-patterned bun wouldn't have been confiscated.

But then his anger deflated. He shook his head and said, "Nothing."

He stood up, and his stomach growled loudly.

Gao-Yuan glanced at his empty lunchbox and asked, "Did you eat enough or not?"

Liu Sanquan complained, "It's all your fault! I went to check on Old Lady Zhang's recovery, and she thought I brought food for her and took all the buns in my lunchbox!"

Gao-Yuan asked, "So, is the old lady fine now?"

Liu Sanquan exclaimed, "Is that the point?"

Gao-Yuan countered, "What else would it be?"

Liu Sanquan sighed, "I have no lunch left!"

Gao-Yuan asked, "Did you tell her it was your lunch?"

Liu Sanquan's face flashed with embarrassment. "How could I say that?"

Gao-Yuan shook his head. This guy never changed—always so concerned about saving face.

"Let's go," Gao-Yuan beckoned.

"Where to?" Liu Sanquan asked.

"To the Zhangs' house," Gao-Yuan said.

"Are you going to ask for the food back? I’d rather go hungry than face that humiliation," Liu Sanquan said despondently.

Gao-Yuan explained, "No, I promised I'd do a follow-up visit today."

"But what's the point? The old lady is full of energy now; just look at me," Liu Sanquan protested, shaking his empty lunchbox.

"Enough talking. Let's go." Gao-Yuan pushed him forward.

Liu Sanquan, somehow persuaded, followed Gao-Yuan to the Zhang family's house.

Upon arrival, they found the old lady sunbathing.

Gao-Yuan greeted her, "Old lady, how's your health now?"

Old Lady Zhang looked at Gao-Yuan, stunned for a few seconds, then quickly stood up and grabbed his hand, saying, "Oh, it’s the miracle doctor from yesterday! Doctor, please come in, come in!"

She pulled Gao-Yuan inside, calling out, "Yan’er, the miracle doctor is here! Quickly, make him some tea, cut some meat, get some wine, and prepare a meal with some dishes!"

Liu Sanquan, following behind, looked at his empty lunchbox and then at Gao-Yuan’s back, feeling a profound sense of unfairness. The difference in treatment was just too great!

"No need to bother," Gao-Yuan said.

"It's necessary! Without you, I would have been done for! You're my Savior, and you even came back to check on me," the old lady insisted.

Gao-Yuan explained, "Actually, it was Doctor Liu Sanquan who brought me here today to check on your recovery."

Liu Sanquan looked up in surprise.

The old lady turned to him, visibly moving. "Sanquan, I don’t even know what to say to you. First, you brought jujube-patterned buns for me, and now you brought the miracle doctor as well. You really are..."

Forcing a smile that looked more like crying, Liu Sanquan could only manage a weak expression.

The old lady instructed her daughter-in-law, "Yan'er, make some dumplings. I remember Sanquan loves dumplings."

"No, no, no," Liu Sanquan quickly waved his hands, feeling embarrassed.

The old lady asked, "You’ve eaten already, right?"

Liu Sanquan’s stomach rumbled, but he didn’t know how to respond.

Gao-Yuan interjected, "No need to fuss over food. Let’s check your health first."

Nodding eagerly, the old lady led Gao-Yuan inside.

Following behind, Liu Sanquan asked, "By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask—how did the old lady recover so quickly?"

"Why is that? surprising?" Gao-Yuan asked.

Liu Sanquan's eyes widened. "Isn't it obvious?"

Gao-Yuan shook his head.

Liu Sanquan grabbed Gao-Yuan’s arm and pressed, "Is the Gualou Xiebai Baijiu decree really that effective?"

"I used three formulas yesterday: Gualou Xiebai Baijiu Decoction, Danshen Decoction, and Qianjin Reed stem Decoction," Gao-Yuan replied.

"But Qianjin Reed stem Decoction is usually for lung abscesses, isn’t it?" Liu Sanquan asked in confusion.

"Yes, but lung abscesses often result from external pathogens invading through the mouth and nose, with the lungs being the first to be affected," Gao-Yuan explained. "This is also the reason why the old lady has pleural effusion. The effusion is retained in the chest. Since Qianjin Reed Stem Decoction can expel phlegm, it can also expel the fluid."

Liu Sanquan was amazed by this unconventional application. "Amazing, it works like that?"

Gao-Yuan nodded.

"But isn’t Qianjin Reed Stem Decoction rather cooling? Wouldn't it have an adverse effect on pleural effusion patient?" Liu Sanquan questioned.

"I added cassia twig to it," Gao-Yuan answered.

"To activate the yang..." Liu Sanquan murmured as if he’d just seen the light.

He still wasn’t done with his questions. "But still, how did she get better so fast?"

"There are two reasons," Gao-Yuan said, raising two fingers. "First, I used fairly large dosages. Second, I had her take three doses every two hours. We attacked the problem aggressively to expel the fluid all at once."

"But most importantly, the patient’s overall condition was quite good. Although she’s been ill for over a month, she could still run a fever yesterday, which means she still had the strength to fight the illness. If she couldn't even manage a fever, that would have been much more concerning."

After a moment's silence, Liu Sanquan suddenly asked, "You’re not actually more skilled than Zhao Huanzhang, are you?"

Gao-Yuan gave a polite smile and turned to enter the house.

Liu Sanquan thought back to the confident way Gao-Yuan had said he was sure of his approach yesterday. He had assumed the young man was just boasting.

But now…

Liu Sanquan smacked his lips in disbelief and quickly followed him inside.

The old lady’s condition was stable. After taking the three prescribed doses, her fever had subsided, and the chest pain, rib pain, frequent coughing, and shortness of breath had all eased. Her appetite had improved, and she could walk around. However, she still experienced night sweats, and the cough hadn’t completely disappeared. Her tongue was red and smooth without a coating.

Recognizing this as a sign of qi and yin deficiency, Gao-Yuan added one teaspoon of Prince Ginseng and five maces of Chi Shao to the original prescription and prepared another three doses.

The old lady eagerly invited Gao-Yuan and Liu Sanquan to stay for a meal. Just then, her son, Zhang Yuancai, rushed back home after hearing the news.

Seeing Zhang Yuancai’s anxious look, Gao-Yuan said to the old lady, "I’ve already had lunch. I won’t impose any longer; I have other matters to attend to."

The old lady pleaded, "So soon? At least stay for a drink."

"No, thank you," Gao-Yuan declined, turning to leave.

As he passed by, Zhang Yuancai said, "I left the prescription for the second round on the table. Just follow it. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out."

"Hey!" Zhang Yuancai suddenly called out.

Gao-Yuan turned around.

Looking moved, Zhang Yuancai forced a smile and said, "Doctor Gao, please stay and have a meal."

Gao-Yuan shook his head. "I don’t want to impose."

"You saved my mother’s life, and you’ve come twice now without asking for any payment. It would be wrong not to offer you a meal," Zhang Yuancai insisted.

Gao-Yuan glanced at Zhang Yuancai, then at the old lady nodding vigorously, and finally at Liu Sanquan, who was licking his lips eagerly.

With a smile, Gao-Yuan nodded.

…

After the meal, Gao Yuan didn’t linger. He stood up and said, "The meal was excellent. Thank you for your hospitality, but I must be going."

Without waiting for them to try and stop him, Gao-Yuan left the house.

Still chewing on his dumplings, Liu Sanquan quickly stuffed a couple more into his mouth and ran out after him.

Watching them leave, the old lady said, "Doctor Gao is so young yet so skilled, polite, and kind. I wonder if he’s married."

Zhang Yuancai replied impatiently, "Mother, you'd better not get involved with him anymore."

"Why?" she asked, puzzled.

"His name is Gao Yuan. Don't you remember? He's the only university graduate from our village—the one who became a government official but then'rebelled'!" Zhang Yuancai said.

"Huh?" Old Lady Zhang looked at her daughter-in-law in shock.

Her daughter-in-law nodded helplessly.

"No way," the old lady said anxiously. "He doesn't seem like a bad person. Such a promising young man, how could he possibly be a bad person? Maybe there's some mistake? Yuancai, are you sure it’s not a misunderstanding?"

Zhang Yuancai became irritated with her persistent questions and said, "Why are you asking me? How could I find out?"

Stunned for a moment, Old Lady Zhang then retorted angrily, "Why are you yelling so loudly?"