Everyone here was mindful of Mu Jingchen’s behavior, to which Song Wenfu came to Ni Jingqiu with a bitter smile. “This Mu Jingchen is harder to deal with than we’ve imagined. I’m afraid that it won’t be easy to resolve your matter.”
Ni Jingqiu also helplessly sighed. Mu Jingchen was too experienced, and he would avoid any topic that had any link to the project. Hence, she was getting a little anxious.
Since there were many familiar customers in the restaurant, Gu Yin left midway to greet the other customers before bringing two people over. All of them were members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, so Mi Jingchen also stood up and greeted the two of them as well.
One of their names was Chen Zhang, while the other was Huanhai Qiang.
Chen Zhang circled around the room, toasting his cup with everyone, and when he came to Su Tao, he smiled. “I heard from Mr. Gu that there’s a young physician here today, and you must be him, right?”
“My name is Su Tao!” Su Tao humbly smiled.
Chen Zhang knitted his brows before he asked with a playful smile, “TCM emphasises on their four methods of diagnosis. Why don’t you take a look at me and see if there’s anything wrong with my health?”
If Su Tao met someone with such an arrogant tone during other occasions, he would have ignored that person. But since Chen Zhang had asked him this question during this occasion, he’s clearly trying to raise his position, to which Su Tao pondered if it was something planned by Ni Jingqiu. Indeed, it was just as he had speculated. When he looked at Ni Jingqiu, he saw a smile on her face as she looked at him with encouragement.
Ni Jingqiu did not purposely arrange this situation, but she had shared Su Tao’s history and achievements with Gu Yin. At the same time, Gu Yin also had some favorable opinions of Su Tao due to the calligraphy from before, so he was filled with curiosity after Ni Jingqiu’s emphasis. Hence, he had specially mentioned Su Tao when he brought Chen Zhang over.
The motive of Ni Jingqiu bringing Su Tao over was apparent. Gu Yin was a smart person, and he naturally knew that Ni Jingqiu was trying to win Mu Jingchen’s favor with Su Tao by having the latter to treat Mu Jingchen, and her objective was to get Mu Jingchen to be lenient with his evaluation to the Fuji Group.
As a good friend of Mu Jingchen, Gu Yin also wished that Su Tao could pass Chen Zhang’s test to see his ability. After all, it’s a piece of good news if Su Tao can treat Mu Jingchen.
Everyone immediately directed their attention to Su Tao. Su Tao might not be the protagonist here, but everyone here knew that he’s the key to resolving the problem.
As for Mu Jingchen, he was also looking at Su Tao. When Su Tao used that poem by Du Fu to encourage him, he had left a deep impression in Mu Jingchen’s heart. No one wanted to die, so why would he give up on any opportunity to get himself treated?
However, he received his higher education from the west, so he had a rejection for TCM by instinct. He felt that TCM was unscientific, and it’s meant to fool others. As a wise person, he naturally wouldn’t allow himself to be deceived by superstitions.
Looking at Chen Zhang with a serious gaze, Su Tao asked, “Mr. Chen, correct me if I’m wrong, but you must have suffered hardships when you were trying to start your own business when you were young, in which you caught a cold and was seriously ill for a period. At the very least, you must have been bedridden for a month. Even after you’ve recovered, the root of your illness wasn’t treated, and you would suffer serious frostbite on your ears during winter.”
“Holy crap!” Chen Zhang exclaimed as he widened his eyes, looking at Su Tao with disbelief.
If it’s winter, it’s nothing surprising for anyone to see that his ears were suffering from frostbite, but it’s summer right now! His ears weren’t any different from an ordinary person’s, so how did Su Tao manage to see it?
“Your frostbite is a skin disease caused by the cold invading your body, and it’s also called Frozen Chill. It generally occurs in women and children, but the reason why you’re suffering from it is due to your unique constitution, it belongs to the category of Icy Heat Poison. During the changing of seasons, your constitution won’t change along to adapt. Furthermore, your ears might not suffer from frostbite during summer, but there will be purple spots left behind. So unless it’s a doctor specialised in skin conditions, it’s hard to determine that they’re scars left behind by frostbite.
“Moreover, during rainy days, you would suffer from aching joints, coughing with phlegm, and an itchy throat that won’t go away even after you’ve taken flu medication.” Su Tao smiled. His diagnosis was accurate, and he wasn't just making things up. All of his words were backed with evidence.
Chen Zhang drank quite a bit, but he immediately sobered up upon hearing Su Tao’s words.
Su Tao’s diagnosis was accurate. He wouldn’t dare to leave his home during winter due to the frostbite. Furthermore, whenever the weather was moist, he would easily catch the flu. Even despite the fact that he had seen a doctor, those flu medicines weren’t effective to him.
Initially, Chen Zhang did not believe in TCM, but after Su Tao had accurately pointed out his condition, he instantly changed his prejudice and asked, “Physician Su, may I ask if there’s any method to treat my condition?”
The moment Chen Zhang spoke out, everyone sighed since they knew that Su Tao had accurately pointed out Chen Zhang’s condition.
“It’s no wonder why you would always wear furry earmuffs during winter. There was even one time where you wore pink ones that made you look like a lady, which I thought you were chasing after fashion!” Gu Yin teased.
Waving his hand in embarrassment, Chen Zhang smiled. “I worked in a fish farm in Hokkaido when I was young. There was this one time where I nearly lost my life after falling into the water when I was catching fishes. But fortunately, the daughter of that fish farm was pretty good to me, and she had taken care of me for a month, and we even got married in the end.”
Everyone burst out in laughter since they never imagined that they would hear such an entertaining story.
“Isn’t it a blessing in disguise?” Gu Yin replied.
After the incident, Chen Zhang married the daughter of the fish farm’s owner. With the support of his father-in-law, he expanded the seafood business. He first monopolised the entire Hokkaido market before he established a channel to China’s market. His decades of hard work had successfully changed him from a young worker to a great winner.
Waving his hand, Chen Zhang faintly smiled. “Stop teasing me. I have to ask Physician Su if it can be treated!”
“The method for it to be treated is simple. Just eat dumplings during winter!” Su Tao smiled as he pointed at the dumpling on the table.
Hearing his words, everyone burst into laughter as they thought that Su Tao was joking around.
“Little Su, stop teasing him anymore. If dumplings can be used to treat frostbite, wouldn’t it be a legend?” Although Gu Yin felt that Su Tao’s words were somewhat unreliable, his words had also made this meal more enjoyable.
Picking up a dumpling and placing it beside his face, Su Tao outlined his ears and smiled. “I wasn’t the one who invented that dumplings can be used to treat frostbite. There’s this proverb in Northeast China, there’s nothing more comfortable than lying down, and there’s nothing more delicious than dumplings. During the later Han Dynasty, there was a medical saint, Zhang Zhongjing. When he retired from his duties and returned to his hometown, it was the winter season back then with snow drifting in the sky. By the lakeside, he saw many homeless people who were malnourished and sickly. When he saw that they were suffering from frostbite on their ears, he felt awful in his heart. Thus, he developed a medicinal cuisine to treat frostbitten ears, the Cold Dispelling Ears Soup, when he returned home. Since TCM emphasises on nourishing the shape with a similar shape, this became the reason why dumplings were wrapped in a manner that it resembles the ears. This is actually a method to treat frostbite on the ears.”
When everyone heard Su Tao’s explanation, all of them sighed at Su Tao’s knowledge.
Then again, it’s mainly because they’re on foreign land, and listening to the wisdom of their ancestors made them feel proud.
Slapping his thighs, Chan Zhang smiled. “Alright! Just for those words of yours, I’ll eat dumplings every day!”
“But the dumplings now are different from what Zhang Zhongjing had invented back then, and it’s mainly due to the difference in ingredients. The dumplings these days have all sorts of fillings like cabbage, chives, and shrimps. The dumplings invented by Zhang Zhongjing was a unique recipe, so you can’t just eat them randomly.” Su Tao immediately smiled and waved his hand.
After that, Su Tao squatted down to retrieve a paper from his medical box before he wrote down a recipe, along with adding a few cold-dispelling herbs. Chen Zhang’s circumstances weren't as poor as those people back then, nor was he malnourished. It’s mainly because his stomach couldn’t take in the nourishment, and there wouldn’t be too much of an effect even if he ate food that nourished his Yang energy.
“Follow this recipe and eat it once a week during winter. It can practically ensure that you will never suffer frostbite on your ears again.” Su Tao patiently instructed.
“Thank you!” Chen Zhang smiled as he continued, “That toast from before was totally worth it!”
Chen Zhang carefully placed the recipe in his pocket. Just from the fact that Su Tao could see through his ailment that had troubled him for years, he was thoroughly convinced by Su Tao.
Frostbite wasn’t a significant problem, but it’s troublesome since Chen Zhang had repeatedly failed to get it treated. Although he had no idea if this recipe was useful, it was worth a try just because of Su Tao’s words today.
Furthermore, this recipe could be traced back to medical books, and it’s also a medicinal cuisine, so it was naturally easy for Chen Zhang to accept it.
Su Tao felt somewhat admirable about Chen Zhang’s personality. Judging from the latter’s physique and tone, his lineage seemed to be from the northeast of China. He’s a straightforward person, and if it’s someone else in his shoes, it wouldn’t be easy for him to publicly reveal his hidden ailment.
Sitting to the side, Mu Jingchen wore a grave expression. Truth be told, he had previously investigated Su Tao, to which he was surprised. He never expected that Su Tao’s background would be so huge. Not only did he have several pharmacies, but he’s also a member of the Central Healthcare Committee. In ancient times, Su Tao was practically an Imperial Physician!
However, he still had his doubts. After all, many things from China were packaged nowadays, and he was worried that Su Tao might not have the ability to back up his status. But after witnessing the whole event, and since Chen Zhang did not seem to be acting, his heart wavered.
Thinking back to that encouraging poem, he suddenly felt an urge to see if he should request help from Su Tao.
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