Chapter 112 The Eighth Master Grants Prescriptions
As we walked, I reminded Director Ming, "Don't introduce me as a fortune teller."
Director Ming smiled and said, "That's okay. He often reads fortunes for others."
When we entered, Mr. Ba was treating a patient, looking rather indifferent. Director Ming and I could only sit aside and wait for him to finish treating the patient.
After the patient left, Director Ming said, "Master Ba, I have a friend who wants to visit you."
He asked, "Where are your friends?"
Director Ming said, "The vice president of the Municipal Prose Society is Wan Shanhong. You can just call him Xiao Wan."
Just as Mr. Ba was about to stand up, his little grandson came in, pointed at me and said, "This is the uncle who gave me the fish."
The Eighth Master said, "Why don't you go get some food?"
Director Ming said, "Let me make you some tea."
Only then did Mr. Ba begin to look at me seriously.
I felt a little embarrassed. After he looked away, I said, "Director Ming recommended you as a skilled doctor. Although I'm not a medical student and run a rice noodle shop, I enjoy reading about Chinese medicine theory, so I took the liberty to bother you."
Mr. Ba nodded and said, "Traditional Chinese Medicine is extensive and profound. If you don't learn it, stop. If you learn it, you must learn it thoroughly, otherwise it will harm others."
At this time, Du Xinyue brought me some sunflower seeds and peanuts. The Eighth Master pointed to the plate and said, "Have some food."
I complimented him, "Director Ming told me that you often criticize quack doctors for only seeking quick results, ignoring the underlying cause, and prescribing medication recklessly without understanding the underlying cause."
Director Ming continued, "There are many difficult diseases that Master Ba has. They can be treated simply."
As he was speaking, another patient arrived. He said his surname was Rao and he was from another county. He had suffered from a skin disease for over ten years and had never been able to get a cure. He couldn't sleep all night and was almost suicidal. After asking around and hearing about Mr. Du's superb medical skills, he drove for several hours before finally finding his place.
Mr. Rao's face was full of excitement: "Finally found you."
The Eighth Master said nothing more and took his pulse. After taking both pulses, he asked Lao Rao to stick out his tongue. He looked at it and said:
"I'm a bit thin, but I can eat a lot. Every meal I take is at least two bowls of rice, and three bowls of vegetables."
Lao Rao nodded: "Yes, yes, I'll be hungry if I have less."
"I like bitter melon and pickled vegetables."
Lao Rao kept saying yes, yes, yes.
"Burial and bowel movements are smooth."
Lao Rao said, "It is not only smooth, but also on time."
Mr. Ba smiled and said to Lao Rao, "Most doctors tell you to detoxify, saying that you have too many toxins in your body and that you have caught a cold. You must get rid of the toxins."
Lao Rao nodded repeatedly: "That's absolutely right, that's basically what it says."
Mr. Ba said seriously, "This is how they treat you, making you worse and worse. If you continue to detoxify, you will become nothing but dregs."
Lao Rao was shocked: "Is detoxification wrong?"
Mr. Ba said, "On the surface, it seems a little better, but soon it's back to the same state. Your physical condition is getting worse and worse. Let me draw a picture for you."
Master Ba finished the painting in just a few strokes and pointed at the picture to explain, "Your illness is caused by excessive stomach fire. You eat too much, and your heart fire can't be reduced. That's why you start itching in the fall and it lasts all the way to winter. It's not so obvious in the spring and summer."
Lao Rao said, "That's right, it's the beginning of autumn, and winter is difficult."
Eighth Master ignored him and called Xinyue. Xinyue came running in a moment later, and Eighth Master said, "Write a prescription."
Besides Director Ming, Lao Rao and I were shocked. A ten-year-old could write a prescription?
Seeing Lao Rao's panic, Mr. Ba said, "He doesn't know how to give drugs, but he can write."
Eighth Master read, and Xinyue wrote on the prescription paper. We all leaned over to check, and surprisingly, there wasn't a single mistake. Eighth Master took it and added the weight in grams. Old Rao took the prescription, counted the money, and left with many thanks.
I smiled and said, "Are you planning to train Xinyue to be your successor?"
The Eighth Master smiled and said, "Let him memorize the name of the medicine first."
Mr. Ba and I started chatting slowly. Seeing that we were having a pleasant chat, Director Ming found an excuse and went back first.
In reality, Mr. Ba is not as difficult to get along with as Director Ming says. When talking about medicine, he laments a lot. He says that Traditional Chinese Medicine is currently in a difficult situation, but in fact, Traditional Chinese Medicine has its strengths.
He said: "Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, the way of treating diseases, are each established within their own cultural system. Traditional Chinese medicine advocates the unity of man and nature, connecting the human body with the universe and viewing it as a whole.
Western medicine treats the symptoms. For example, Western medicine treats nephritis with anti-inflammatory drugs, and when the anti-inflammatory drugs are no longer effective, they remove the kidney. Traditional Chinese medicine is different. In traditional Chinese medicine, when there is a problem with the kidneys, they don't necessarily treat the kidneys.
After all, I have read so many medical books, so I continued:
"For example, in war, the Western medical approach is to concentrate forces to eliminate the enemy in one area, while the Chinese medical approach considers the overall situation. When concentrating forces is unable to deal with the enemy, it adopts the tactic of 'encircling Wei to save Zhao', forcing your troops to rush back to rescue you, and then setting an ambush on the way to eliminate you.
This kind of 'making a feint to the east and attacking in the west' or 'encircling without attacking' means burning your granaries and cutting off your water supply, forcing you to surrender without a fight. Another approach is to employ 'counter-espionage tactics', cultivating anti-spy cells within your body to disintegrate you from within."
After hearing what I said, Mr. Ba looked at me straight in the eye and said, "Do you read medical books sometimes?"
I immediately revealed my identity: "Director Ming introduced me as the owner of a rice noodle shop, which is indeed true, but later I learned fortune-telling from Taoist Master Hongyi to make a living."
Mr. Ba smiled and said, "I understand. The saying 'medicine and witchcraft are one' has existed in China since ancient times. Especially in Taoism, many Taoists have high attainments in medicine."
I found a breakthrough and continued his words: "Yes, many people come to our You Ran Residence and ask me or my master to make a talisman for them to drink. I feel very ashamed."
"Why are you ashamed?"
It took me a long time to answer: "Giving him a talisman is just a kind of spiritual comfort. If he is as skilled as you in medicine, it would be great if he could just give him a prescription."
Mr. Ba smiled and said, "That's true. Please help me predict the fortune first. If you predict it correctly, I'll give you a prescription for treating children's coughs."
It was time to show off. I said, "Write it."
He wrote down the word "move" and asked, "Is there any hope of transfer?"
I glanced at it and said, "This is a woman's transfer issue. The procedures are currently being processed and it will be completed in September."
He asked me expressionlessly, "Why a woman? And why must it be in September?"
I said, "The so-called fortune-telling is that the writer determines the entire message the moment he puts pen to paper. The character 'qian' you wrote, first, reminds me of a rich young lady. Second, it was originally October, but the moment you picked up the pen, you started before October, so it was September."
This time, it was Mr. Ba's turn to be curious about me. So, I took the initiative and said:
"That's not surprising. You would never write anything, but the word 'qian'. All the information was conveyed to me.
To use an analogy: You are at home and your daughter-in-law gives birth to a baby. Whether you know it or not, and whether you admit it or not, the moment the baby is born, you become a grandfather. This is called quantum entanglement between things.
Mr. Ba pondered for a moment and said with a smile, "Whether your theory is right or not, the word 'qian' is quite reliable. How about this? I'll give you a prescription for treating children's coughs."
He wrote down two prescriptions and told me how to distinguish between yin and yang, deficiency and excess, whether it was real heat or false heat, heart fire or liver fire, and then prescribe the right medicine.
We chatted until ten that night, then I said goodbye. Coming out of Mr. Ba's house, there was a bright moon and pine trees on the hillside.
Back at Director Ming's house, I asked, "What is Mr. Eighth's best skill?"
Director Ming said, "Pediatrics."
I nodded.
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