"Lin Li, you've finally arrived!"
Professor Zhang strode forward and attached the X-ray film to the lightbox.
"Take a look at these three patients. We've been thinking about them for days, but we just can't find the key."
"Professor Zhang, Dr. Yu."
Lin Li placed the gift on the low cabinet by the door.
His gaze swept over the dregs on the table and he immediately recognized them as a mixture of mulberry bark and platycodon root.
"I bought some American ginseng in Hong Kong the other day, thinking that since you two stay up late seeing patients, it would be good for your health. Judging from this dregs, it seems to be for clearing the lungs and resolving phlegm?"
Dr. Yu nodded, his tone filled with admiration.
"Yes, we thought the patient had a lot of phlegm from coughing, so we tried this approach, but it didn't work. We all know your medical skills are better than ours, so please take a look quickly."
"Dr. Yu, you are too modest."
Lin Li walked to the table, picked up the pulse diagnosis record, and carefully looked through it.
“Look at this pulse. It is floating and rapid but has signs of deficiency. Although the patient coughs up a lot of phlegm, the phlegm is clear and thin, not hot phlegm. If we treat it according to the theory of febrile diseases and use cold and cooling medicines, it may damage the body’s vital energy and make it more difficult to expel the parasites.”
Professor Zhang slapped his thigh.
"Why didn't we think of that! You have a keen eye."
Dr. Yu pushed a thread-bound medical record over.
"The first patient was a cart puller who had fished on the frozen Yongding River before the onset of his illness; the second was a middle school teacher who had fallen while ice skating at the Summer Palace during winter vacation; the third is the most peculiar, a six-month-old baby whose family said he had never traveled far. I treated him for tuberculosis and also tried deworming remedies, but neither worked. Could you analyze this for me?"
Lin Li flipped through the medical record, pointed to the "tongue appearance: white and greasy coating" with her fingertip, and then touched the remaining medicine residue on the table.
"Dr. Yu, is the deworming prescription you used mainly based on attacking the pathogens? If the pathogens are in the lung meridians rather than the intestines, a strong attack may not be effective and could even cause the pathogens to spread and worsen the condition."
Doctor Yu nodded: "Indeed, I used strong-acting herbs like areca nut and morning glory seeds, but the effect was minimal. Your understanding of medicinal properties is much more thorough; we've known for a long time that you're better than us in this area."
“I’ve seen similar symptoms when I was in the countryside.”
Lin Li recalled.
"Locally, it's called 'waterworm invading the lungs,' which is mostly caused by contact with unclean water sources. Treatment should focus on strengthening the body's resistance and eliminating pathogens. First, use spleen-strengthening and phlegm-resolving medicines to protect the spleen and stomach, and then use mild and gentle anthelmintic medicines to slowly expel the pathogens. You can't just attack it aggressively."
She paused, then continued, "Have you tried using Torreya grandis and Quisqualis indica with Codonopsis pilosula and Atractylodes macrocephala? Torreya grandis expels parasites without harming the body's vital energy, and when combined with spleen-strengthening herbs, it might be effective."
Dr. Yu's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh.
"That's right! How come I didn't think of that! You're so clever. We were both stuck on the same thing, only thinking about deworming, but neglecting the patient's weak condition. Your approach is truly brilliant!"
"Could it be larval migration syndrome?"
Lin Li added, "In our village, someone used to get a strange illness after catching shrimp in the river. He coughed up blood. Later, the old doctor used this method to first treat the worms and then attack them, which helped him get rid of the worms."
Professor Zhang perked up: "That makes sense! Lin Li, you're so knowledgeable. We don't see this disease often in the north, only you could make this connection. Dr. Yu, quick, let's go to the ward to check the patient's sputum, and then try the prescription Lin Li mentioned!"
Doctor Yu also stood up, the hem of his long gown sweeping across the coal stove, almost tipping over the clay pot.
Lin Li quickly reached out to support him, the scent of artemisia lingering in her nostrils.
Two hours later, Professor Zhang and Dr. Yu returned through the snow, their faces beaming with barely suppressed excitement.
"Found it!"
Professor Zhang placed the test tube containing the sputum sample on the table, where several hair-thin larvae floated.
"Lin Li, you're amazing! Doctor Yu prescribed the medicine according to your instructions, adding Torreya grandis and Codonopsis pilosula. The patient coughed it up shortly after drinking it, and the fever subsided a bit! We knew you could do it!"
Dr. Yu took off his glasses and wiped away the fog; the ink in the inkstone was already ground.
"Lin Li, your skill in traditional Chinese medicine is something we can only dream of. This kind of insect-borne disease is very rare in the north. If it weren't for you, we don't know how long we would have been struggling with it."
He suddenly remembered something and took a document out of the camphor wood box.
"By the way, Lin Li, there's something I want to discuss with you. I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now, just waiting for you to have time."
The envelope was printed with the words "State Science and Technology Commission". Inside was a project proposal with the title written in calligraphy: "Research and Development of New Antiparasitic Drugs".
Professor Zhang sat by the stove warming his hands: "We want to start a biopharmaceutical project that combines traditional Chinese medicine's deworming formulas with Western medicine's extraction techniques to develop new drugs for these parasitic diseases."
He paused, then continued.
“But we both know that we need someone like you who is skilled in medicine and understands the market. You have business experience, are so good at traditional Chinese medicine, and have even been to Hong Kong. This project can’t do without you, so you have to come and help us.”
Lin Li's fingers traced the words "launched in 1987" on the document.
“Professor Zhang,” she said, looking up with her eyes reflecting the light of the fire.
"I am not an expert in the specific technology of pharmaceutical manufacturing, but I am confident in the prescription and diagnostic thinking of traditional Chinese medicine."
Lin Li lowered her head and thought for a moment before continuing.
“I know some herbal medicine dealers who might be able to help me get access to authentic herbs and extraction equipment, and also contribute to optimizing the prescription.”
Dr. Yu pulled out a copy of "Essential Compendium of Materia Medica" from the bookshelf.
“We want to extract the active ingredients from herbs like Dryopteris crassirhizoma and Quisqualis indica. The extraction equipment from abroad is too expensive, and the domestic equipment doesn't meet the required precision. Moreover, there are ancient formulas involved, so only someone with your superb medical skills can oversee the process. Otherwise, the extracted ingredients may not be effective. Do you have any connections in Gangcheng?”
Lin Li took the medicine book, her fingertips tracing the annotation "Guanzhong: kills three worms and removes the inch-white," and casually said.
"Although Dryopteris crassirhizoma can kill parasites, it is cold in nature. If the patient has a weak spleen and stomach, it needs to be combined with dried ginger and Atractylodes macrocephala to harmonize it, otherwise it is easy to damage the stomach."
He looked up and continued talking to the two of them.
“I’ve been to the herbal medicine shops in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. There are quite a few knowledgeable people there. I can try contacting them to see if I can find suitable equipment and herbs.”
The iron kettle on the coal stove started steaming, and Doctor Yu got up to make tea, only to find that the steamed cakes Lin Li had brought were still on the cabinet.
He smiled and took the pastries over, placing them on the table.
"You're so thoughtful, knowing I love this. Lin Li, with you on this project, we feel much more at ease. The development of this new drug is exactly what we need: someone like you who understands traditional Chinese medicine and has insight. We have complete confidence in your medical skills."
Looking at the project proposal on the table, Lin Li suddenly felt that her accumulated knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine over the years had finally found a place to be put to use.
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