Gao-Yuan walked briskly along the mountain path.

He wasn’t exaggerating when he said that people in the village weren’t as adept at walking in the dark as he was. For rural doctors of his era, this was a basic professional skill.

At this time, there was a severe shortage of doctors, so it was common for him to be woken up in the middle of the night to climb mountains and cross ridges to treat someone in an emergency.

In his previous life, after Gao-Yuan had matured in his medical skills, many people came knocking on the door of the commune health center in the middle of the night seeking his help. As a result, he often traveled these mountain paths at night, and by now, he could walk them with his eyes closed.

Today’s weather was good, so Gao-Yuan quickened his pace and arrived at the door of the joint clinic just before complete darkness fell.

He Yu was just closing the door.

"Xiao He," Gao-Yuan called out.

"It's you?" He Yu's eyes lit up, then she glanced inside.

Li Shengli happened to come out at that moment. When he saw Gao-Yuan, he was momentarily stunned.

Gao-Yuan said, "Don't close the door yet. I've come to fetch some medicine."

He Yu paused and put the door panel back, asking, "Didn't you go home? Why are you here again?"

"I came across someone with an acute illness in the village—quite a serious case, so I rushed over to get some medicine," Gao-Yuan replied.

He Yu clapped her hands in surprise. "Your village is dozens of miles away from here on mountain roads. That’s a long way to travel back and forth. Is the patient a relative of yours?"

Gao-Yuan walked inside. "No, just someone from the village."

The inside of the clinic was already quite dark. He Yu went to light an oil lamp and asked in confusion, "Someone from the village? You've already made one trip today. Now you're running back again for a second time at night. Aren't you tired?"

Gao-Yuan said, "An urgent illness is more important than anything else. Running one more trip doesn’t matter."

Hearing this, He Yu's expression towards Gao-Yuan changed.

Li Shengli, standing nearby, was also taken aback as he looked at Gao-Yuan.

Gao-Yuan handed his medical booklet to He Yu and said, "Give me a pen and paper so I can write out the prescription."

He had already thought it through on the way here.

Aunt Wei from the Wei family had become ill due to irregular eating habits. The thick white coating on her tongue indicated food stagnation in her body.

Her irritability and thirst showed signs of internal heat.

Dizziness and chills pointed to Taiyang surface syndrome.

Her rapid pulse and burning body indicated intense pathogenic heat.

Her lack of appetite and the urge to vomit were due to internal heat disrupting her stomach's harmony.

It was a typical case of a combination of Taiyang and Yangming syndromes, showing both the surface symptoms of Taiyang and the internal heat of Yangming.

According to the 33rd clause of the Treatise on Cold Damage, "In cases of combined Taiyang and Yangming without diarrhea but with vomiting, the Ge Gen Jia Ban Xia Tang (Kudzu Decoction with Pinellia) is the main prescription."

Considering her high body temperature, Gao-Yuan added one tael of raw gypsum to the original prescription to clear the internal heat.

After handing over the prescription to He Yu and collecting the medicine, Gao-Yuan was ready to leave.

“Hey!” Li Shengli suddenly called out to Gao-Yuan.

“What’s the matter?” Gao-Yuan looked at him.

Li Shengli stared at him. “I… I want to go back with you.”

“Hm?” Gao-Yuan looked puzzled.

“I want to check on Grandfather Yang,” Li Shengli explained.

Gao-Yuan had no objections. "Alright, but you’ll have to sleep in the village meeting hall tonight."

"No problem," Li Shengli replied. "When we’re out on night patrols, we often sleep in the meeting halls of different villages."

“Then let’s go.” Gao-Yuan waved.

As the two started walking, He Yu watched the strange duo leave, scratching her head in confusion.

...

The two walked quickly along the dark mountain path, neither saying a word, creating an eerie silence.

Halfway through the journey, Li Shengli suddenly asked, "Which year did you enlist?"

Gao-Yuan glanced at him. "1946."

"And when did you attend university?"

"After the liberation of Beiping."

Li Shengli abruptly stopped and stared at Gao-Yuan, demanding, "You came from a hard life, served in the military, and became a cadre! The organization nurtured and trusted you, so why did you betray them?"

Gao-Yuan also stopped, turned to face Li Shengli, and said, "In Chinese medicine, there are four diagnostic methods: observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation. Listening to the patient is only a small part. To uncover the true cause of an illness, the doctor must observe, listen, and feel it themselves."

With that, Gao-Yuan turned and continued walking.

Breathing heavily, Li Shengli stood there for a moment before catching up.

Back in the village, Gao-Yuan went to Uncle Wei's house and handed over the medicine.

Uncle Wei, blushing, asked, "Do you want to come in and eat?"

“No need,” Gao-Yuan replied. “I ate at the commune.”

Li Shengli, who had been following behind, stared blankly at him, realizing that Gao-Yuan hadn’t eaten yet.

Uncle Wei nervously fumbled for something in his pocket and pulled out two eggs, quickly stuffing them into Gao-Yuan’s hand as if he were doing something illegal, then hurried back inside.

Gao-Yuan looked at the eggs in his hand and smiled.

He turned around and handed one to the still-dazed Li Shengli.

Li Shengli was bewildered by this gesture.

Gao-Yuan pressed the egg into his hand and walked away.

Li Shengli stood there, feeling as if the egg in his hand was burning hot.

...

After returning home, Gao-Yuan found that his mother had left some dinner for him. After eating, he returned to his room, lit an oil lamp, and began writing his medical diary again.

"This morning, I traveled to the commune for medicine on behalf of the villagers. Lately, many have been suffering from colds, and I'm worried about the spread of disease. I believe prevention is necessary. In the afternoon, I returned to the village and encountered Aunt Wei's sudden illness. In a critical situation, I traveled dozens of miles again to fetch medicine for her."

"Two round trips, and my body feels as though it’s falling apart. The difficulty of obtaining medicine in rural areas is evident. If the locations for dispensing and storing medicine could be improved, treatment would be much easier. Facing severe illnesses, we could promptly administer the right medicines and save lives."

After finishing his writing, Gao-Yuan closed the notebook, a worried expression on his face.

It wasn't until the 626 directive that this issue of medicine supply in rural areas significantly improved. At that time, the three-tier healthcare system was fully established, with each village having its own barefoot doctor and medicine storage.

But for now, that wasn't possible.

The joint clinic’s medicine stock couldn’t cover every village, and the tangled accounting issues between the pharmaceutical company, the joint clinic, and the senior commune still hadn’t been sorted out.

Gao-Yuan rubbed his aching head.

It was indeed a troublesome matter, but it was one that had to be resolved. Otherwise, it would be difficult to win the upcoming battle against the flu. In Chinese medicine, herbs are like weapons in the doctor's hands; if the weapons can't be delivered to the frontline, how could they fight this war?

...

The next morning.

Li Shengli, with bloodshot eyes, approached Gao-Yuan and said, "I went to check on Grandfather Yang."

Gao-Yuan glanced at his red eyes. "Did he scold you?"

Li Shengli shook his head. "No, he told me not to take it to heart. He said sometimes medicine doesn’t work, and you just need to try another one."

“Then why…”

“Did my treatment make Grandfather Yang’s condition worse?” Li Shengli asked, his expression gloomy.

Gao-Yuan hesitated for a moment and then slowly nodded.

Li Shengli’s face turned sorrowful. "Even Uncle Zhou said the same thing yesterday. Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a doctor."

For a moment, Gao-Yuan didn't know how to respond.

At that moment, an elderly man hurried over, shouting, "Li Shengli! Li Shengli, you’re here!"

Li Shengli looked at the old man, puzzled.

The man grabbed him by the collar and demanded, "What kind of medicine did you prescribe for my grandson? He’s struggling to breathe now, worse than before!"

"Huh?" Li Shengli was stunned.

Seeing him not respond, the old man grew even angry. "Say something! Are you mute?"

Gao-Yuan quickly intervened. "Grandpa Zhang, what’s going on?"

The old man, spitting in anger, replied, "My Xiao Gou’er took his medicine and now can’t breathe. He hasn’t urinated all day—it's terrifying!"

Gao-Yuan quickly separated the two and stood between them. "Grandpa Zhang, treatment comes first. Let me help."