Chapter 17: The charlatan's baseless speculation is the most hurtful

The vitality of the back mountain is surprising, and the types of herbs here are very different from those in the front.

Shen Jiang didn't expect that he would see the medicinal herbs listed on the list after just taking a few steps.

On the left side near the dragon's xue is a small piece of leafless grass, which is ephedra. The rhizome can be used as medicine, which has the effect of inducing sweat and relieving exterior symptoms.

The best time to pick ephedra is after the Cold Dew or Frost Descent. Now Shen Jiang feels neither hot nor cold. The season here should be similar to hers, towards the transition between spring and summer. Logically, it is not the picking season.

Shen Jiang couldn't help but think of the Panax notoginseng with amazing medicinal effects last time.

You should know that there is an optimal time limit for picking medicinal herbs.

Generally, herbal farmers will pick the flower buds of Panax notoginseng during the bud stage, leaving all the nutrients to the roots. What is dug out at that time is spring Panax notoginseng.

The wild Panax notoginseng on this hilltop had already grown plump and large red Panax notoginseng seeds, which had robbed the roots of a large amount of nutrients. What she picked could only be considered winter Panax notoginseng at best.

Spring Panax notoginseng, whose entire plant's nutrients are supplied to the roots, is absolutely incomparable to winter Panax notoginseng. It is far superior to winter Panax notoginseng in terms of quality and medicinal efficacy.

But that Panax notoginseng still has very significant medicinal effects!

If she could remove the Panax notoginseng buds in advance and pick them at the right time, wouldn't the medicinal effects of the spring Panax notoginseng be even more amazing?! Shen Jiang's breathing became rapid.

In fact, Shen Jiang was not sure whether the knowledge of medicinal materials she had mastered in the past was still applicable in this Longshan.

After all, according to her knowledge, local medicinal herbs all have their own suitable growing environments. For example, Panax notoginseng should grow in deep mountain forests where it's warm in winter and cool in summer, Cistanche should grow in sandy areas, and Coptis chinensis should grow in the shade of cold and humid high mountain forests...

But now, they were all crowded together on this dragon mountain, growing wildly, telling her with their actions that they had adapted well here. The medicinal herbs produced on this mountain, even the slightly less potent winter Panax notoginseng, were far superior to the authentic Panax notoginseng from her world.

Shen Jiang didn't delve into this issue too deeply. As for whether the efficacy of the medicinal materials could be further improved, she only needed to compare them a few times to find out.

Shen Jiang couldn't wait to record this new discovery on his mobile phone.

1. Clean the Panax notoginseng buds in July and pick the Panax notoginseng in September.

2. Pick ephedra after the frost.

Even Shen Jiang, with her excellent memory, didn't dare overdo it. The herbs here were numerous and varied, and relying solely on memory was a massive undertaking, and it was easy to miss something over a long period of time. As the saying goes, a good memory is worse than a bad pen, and she was prone to slacking off.

After all, she only has one person working for her, so if she wants to get twice the result with half the effort, she has to plan ahead. All she needs to do is input this data into the computer in advance, and it will automatically remind her when the time comes.

While looking for the medicinal herbs needed by Grandma and Zining, Shen Jiang also made a general summary of the herbs on this mountain.

Rubbing her hands, Shen Jiang became a little excited. If the picking time really had an impact on the medicinal materials, she couldn't imagine how effective the herbs here would be.

While picking ephedra, Shen Jiang noticed a lush green patch of Aconitum not far from them. Aconitum gets its name from the dark, central root at the center of the rhizome. Only the root is considered Aconitum; the lateral roots surrounding it are Aconite. Aconitum is far more toxic than Aconite, and their effects are also quite different. Aconite primarily restores yang and relieves adverse reactions, while Aconitum is commonly used to dispel cold and dampness.

This was when Shen Jiang was ten years old and insisted on following her grandmother to the mountains to collect herbs. Her grandmother taught her pharmacology on the spot.

At that time, she opened her eyes wide and asked, "So their relationship is like that between me and my mother?"

"Yes, our Xiaogu is really smart. He memorized their characteristics right away."

She remembers every word her grandmother said to her.

I even remember the wind, sunshine, and the scent of soapberries on my grandmother's body.

Shen Jiang closed his eyes to calm himself down, and when he opened them again, there was only determination in his eyes.

*

When Chen Quan appeared at the door of the cafeteria with panda eyes, Zi Ning stopped chewing and was almost frightened by his soul-sucking look.

"What's wrong with you? Did you go out to steal last night?" She was not as depressed as him even though she edited videos all night last night.

Chen Quan's eyes were dull. He sat down across from her, rubbing his hands under the table. He asked casually, "You think there's nothing wrong with me? My neck doesn't look like it has any nodules."

As he said this, he couldn't help but touch his smooth neck again.

"Don't tell me you don't want to get checked?" Zi Ning glanced at him sideways, as if mocking him for being a coward.

Chen Quan hesitated with an unnatural expression, "How is that possible?"

Zi Ning ate an omelet and mumbled, "That's fine, sit down and eat something, we'll set off on time later!"

Chen Quan weakly pulled out his phone and began to check. "Do I usually need to be on an empty stomach before a checkup? Oh, the internet says I can eat. Alas, I have no appetite."

Seeing him half dead, Zi Ning couldn't help but put down her chopsticks. She suddenly came to her senses and said, "Hey, are you scared?"

Chen Quan avoided her gaze guiltily: "...How is that possible."

Chen Quan didn't know what was wrong with him. Yesterday, he kept thinking about what he would do if he was diagnosed today. In the middle of the night, he searched for neck nodules on Baidu, and found a bunch of thyroid nodules that were very likely to be thyroid cancer, and a bunch of cases of metastasis to the lungs. Chen Quan felt cold all over.

This was the first time in Chen Quan’s life that he was so close to the dreaded cancer.

He is still so young and has never even been in love... The more Chen Quan searched, the more sober he became, and in the end he watched the daybreak.

After seeing what was on Zining's plate, Chen Quan couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"Hey, you're eating so deliciously!"

He knew that Zi Ning only had brotherly feelings for him, not the vague feelings between men and women, but even though he was so miserable, she still had the mind to buy the egg pancakes that had the longest queue in the cafeteria. The batter was hand-mixed by the cafeteria chef, and then covered with fresh eggs and fried. Only a little oil and salt were needed to bring out their most original flavor.

It smelled so good, it was the most ironic mockery of his sleepless night.

Zi Ning swallowed the egg pancake in his mouth: "Yes, to cheer you up, I got up early and came here to buy it. I waited in line for a long time before I could buy it."

Chen Pian's face was grim as he picked up a piece of egg pancake and took a vicious bite. "Then I have to eat more. I can't eat it normally even if I want to."

Zi Ning: “…”

Brother, didn’t you just say you had no appetite?

*

The two of them rushed to a Grade A hospital in the city, and spent most of the day just trying to register.

By the time I finally got in line to see the doctor, it was already noon.

Coming out of the doctor's office, Chen Quan's face was a little red.

Zi Ning looked at his companion with an ambiguous expression: "Oh, it turns out it's not a CT scan, it's an ultrasound~"

Last time, Chen Quan mocked Dr. Shen, saying something like "Do you think you are a CT machine?" Dr. Shen had to be very patient to not laugh.

I guess they saw that he was medically illiterate and didn't bother to argue with him.

Chen Quan's face turned even redder at her sarcastic tone, "I'm just inexperienced."

After finally getting a number in the ultrasound room, the nurse told them to come back at 4:30 p.m. Chen Quan was a little dumbfounded: "Can't we do it earlier?"

"Everyone is queuing up. If you want to get the surgery earlier, come earlier next time. It's almost time for lunch and you're just here. You're lucky you can get the surgery today." The nurse said bluntly.

Zi Ning didn't expect that just a check-up would require a day trip to the hospital. He and Chen Quan looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to do.

If she had known this earlier, she would have brought her computer to the hospital to edit the rest of the video.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Chen Quan finally entered the ultrasound room.

Zi Ning went in with her phone to take some photos. The doctor was surprised to see her taking photos of even this. "What are you doing? You're not accompanying a pregnant woman to take photos of the baby. This is the first time I've seen a girlfriend taking photos of her boyfriend's thyroid gland."

Zi Ning smiled and said, "I'm just recording my life. You can do whatever you want and don't worry about me."

The doctor really didn't care about her. Nowadays, there are all kinds of internet celebrities shooting vlogs. This girl is pretty, and she is probably doing this too.

The doctor turned his attention to the computer, and his expression gradually became serious as the probe continued to move.

"Young man, you're not in good condition."

Zi Ning held up the phone: "Doctor, does he have a nodule on his neck?"

"Have you already had examinations in other hospitals?" The doctor stared at the image feedback on the computer without raising his head.

"No, a Chinese doctor told me I have a nodule here." Chen Quan pointed to his neck and asked with a pale face, "Is it thyroid cancer? It's okay, just tell me, I can handle it."

The ultrasound doctor was a little surprised and asked, "You said this is a nodule that a Chinese doctor found by taking your pulse?"

When Chen Quan saw that the doctor avoided his questions, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

When facing the Chinese medicine doctor, he had the confidence to say that she was talking nonsense and lying, but here, he didn't even dare to ask another question.

When Zi Ning saw Chen Quan fall silent, she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. She couldn't bear to see him looking so helpless.

"Yes." She asked the doctor, "How is my friend?"

"Which Chinese medicine practitioner is this? Is he any good? He does have a nodule."

Zi Ning was a little proud. Finally, someone shared her belief that Dr. Shen was amazing. "It's Dr. Shen Jiang from Mingxin Hall. Doctor, is my friend's nodule good or bad?"

The patient waiting behind the curtain was a woman, sitting in a wheelchair. She looked haggard and listened to their conversation silently. When she heard the doctor's name, she couldn't help but recite a few words in her heart.

Mingxintang, Doctor Ginger. Doctor Ginger?

What a strange name.

The ultrasound doctor, who had been somewhat curious, suddenly became stunned. He looked up from his computer and said, "Are you talking about that... Mingxin Hall, the famous one that's been making a lot of noise lately?"

"Isn't that one?" he added.

Zi Ning smiled and shook his head, speaking with unconscious pride: "It's that Mingxin Hall! The Chinese medicine practitioners there are very good."

How many Mingxin Halls are there in Nanze City?

The female patients waiting in line behind the curtain were completely confused by their riddles.

Then I heard that the doctor who was chatting happily with the patient suddenly became cold.

The doctor's cold voice carried a hint of impatience. "Go outside and get the report. There are patients waiting. Based on my experience, this isn't a good sign. To confirm whether it's a malignant nodule, we need to puncture and take samples for testing. We can't do that right now. Come back and see me when you've made up your mind."

Zi Ning choked and opened his eyes wide in disbelief. How could the doctor who had been so friendly just now suddenly turn hostile?

The doctor called out to the curtain, "Is Lin Yunqing here? Come over for the checkup."

Chen Quan wiped the remaining gel on his neck with straw paper in a daze, as if he had been sentenced and looked distraught.

Zi Ning deliberately said loudly: "Let's go find Doctor Shen."

Chen Quan didn't react and spoke a little late: "Huh?"

"You're stupid! Since Dr. Shen can diagnose that you have nodules, she must be able to treat it. Let's go see her now."

"You're right!" A light of hope suddenly appeared in Chen Quan's eyes.

The ultrasound doctor couldn't help but remind the two young people: "Don't just go to some quack doctor or some folk remedy. You'll regret it later!"

Zi Ning's eyelids twitched, and she retorted, "Doctor Shen is not a quack. She graduated from a legitimate university and has a medical license."

"Hehe, if you are not afraid of developing kidney failure from overeating, then just go ahead." The doctor sneered, with the tone of an experienced person, and his words were full of disdain for this Chinese medicine clinic.

Chen Quan looked at the doctor helplessly. Seeing him like this, the doctor felt sorry for him and said, "Don't be afraid. Benign nodules don't need to be treated. Even if it's thyroid cancer, you can find an experienced doctor to perform surgery to remove the thyroid gland and you'll be fine. But if you take medication that irritates the nodules, it's hard to say what will happen next."

That makes sense.

Chen Quan turned to Zi Ning and said hesitantly, "How about... I should go see what the Western doctor says first."

Zi Ning sneered, "Chen Quan, I didn't expect you to be so cowardly. If it weren't for Dr. Shen, you wouldn't have discovered you had a nodule at all. And yet you're not grateful to her and said such offensive things. Now people are calling her a quack, and you can stand it, but I can't."

She turned to the ultrasound doctor and said, "We are all doctors, so why are those outside the hospital not doctors? Are they quacks? I wonder if your hospital has never had any medical disputes."

The doctor frowned and said dissatisfiedly, "Little girl, you should know that it takes two to tango. I am doing this for your friend's sake. Don't be so rude..."

You are the dog!

Zi Ning sneered, "The matter has not been concluded yet. You just read the news online and think it's the doctor's fault. This kind of groundless speculation is the most hurtful. I can tell you that there is a hidden story behind the medical dispute at Mingxin Hall. They are completely the victims."

The doctor's face flashed with displeasure, and he became impatient. "Are you finished? I still have patients here. If you make trouble again, I will call security."

Zi Ning was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. She looked at Chen Quan expressionlessly: "This doctor can't tell, but I do know the condition of your nodule. Doctor Shen told me the other day that your nodule is benign. Since she can diagnose what's wrong with you, she must be very sure to say it's benign. Put your cowardly heart back in your stomach. However, I still want to thank you for providing me with the material. After all, I don't like to owe others. I paid for your examination today, so you don't have to pay me."

After saying this, Zi Ning turned around and left.

She actually regarded such a coward as a good friend. She is so blind.

The ultrasound doctor couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up and said, "Young man, don't leave! I'll finish taking the ultrasound of this patient and then I'll give you a good look!"