"That's strange, Old Han. Haven't you noticed fewer patients coming in for shots today?"
Wang Xiulan muttered.
Han Weimin's expression was grim. He didn't say a word.
When Old Zhang came over the day before yesterday and said all that in front of the patients, he'd had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the number of patients had dropped significantly starting yesterday.
The once-crowded clinic had suddenly become sparse.
Today, there were even fewer people, and it was almost noon.
Fewer than five patients had come in for shots.
It didn't match the peak of flu season at all.
Meanwhile, he had been keeping a close eye on Li's Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, which wasn't far away.
Patients were streaming in and out of that clinic.
It was bustling with activity.
It was obvious that Li's Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic had snatched away all the patients from his clinic.
"How is that possible? It can't be!!!"
Han Weimin couldn't wrap his head around it.
Although his primary treatment method was administering IV drips, with twenty years of medical practice under his belt, he still knew a thing or two.
The flu was a self-limiting illness.
Generally speaking, you could recover on your own even without medication or injections.
But even with medication and shots, it was nearly impossible to be cured in just one or two days.
Not even Li Xu's father, who had previously run his clinic ragged, possessed such incredible skill.
Just then, an acquaintance walked past the clinic.
It was Xiao Yang from the barbershop next door.
He was carrying three packets of medicine.
"Xiao Yang, come over here."
Han Weimin hurried over and pulled Xiao Yang into the clinic.
"Uh..."
Xiao Yang looked a little awkward.
He had just been here for a shot yesterday.
But the effects hadn't been very good.
His fever broke during the day, but it returned at night.
So, he decided to give traditional Chinese medicine a try and had Li Xu prescribe him something.
When Han Weimin called out to him, he thought the doctor was going to make a few sarcastic remarks.
But instead, Han Weimin pointed to the medicine in his hand. "Can I take a look?"
"Oh, sure, sure."
Xiao Yang quickly opened one of the packets.
Inside were some poor-quality Daqing Leaf and Huang Qin.
Both were very common medicinal herbs.
Han Weimin could recognize them.
"That's it?"
Han Weimin was dumbfounded.
Although he was a practitioner of Western medicine, he knew that a TCM prescription required at least five or six herbs, sometimes even seven or eight.
It would usually be enough to fill a whole clay pot.
'Li Xu only prescribed two herbs?'
'And the quality of this Daqing Leaf is terrible!'
'Could this possibly work?'
Xiao Yang noticed his confusion and explained, "I asked Doctor Li. He's been prescribing these two herbs to a lot of people with the flu."
"Why?"
"He said these two herbs are particularly effective against this strain of flu."
"I see. Thanks."
After seeing Xiao Yang off, Han Weimin was lost in thought.
COUGH COUGH COUGH...
A fit of coughing interrupted his thoughts.
He recognized the sound. It was Song Sisi, the intern nurse who helped out at his clinic.
With the flu virus running rampant recently, Song Sisi had also caught it.
However, as a nurse, Song Sisi understood the medical basics.
For example, with a fever from a cold, you should avoid IV drips if at all possible.
Otherwise, it's easy to damage the body's natural immunity.
She had been toughing it out for the past two days.
But her condition wasn't improving, and her fever wouldn't break.
An idea struck Han Weimin. He said to Song Sisi, "Xiao Song, come here for a moment."
"Right away."
Song Sisi finished changing a patient's IV drip.
Then followed Han Weimin into the treatment room.
They were the only two people there.
Han Weimin said in a low voice, "Xiao Song, I have a task for you."
"What is it?"
"In a little bit, I want you to go to the TCM clinic next door. Have Li Xu take a look at you and prescribe something. I'll give you the day off. Go home, brew the medicine, and if it works, remember to give me a call."
"Huh? I don't know about that..."
Song Sisi was hesitant.
Even though she hadn't been at the clinic for long, she was aware of the "grudge" between the two clinics.
'If I go to his clinic for treatment, will he even see me?'
"Don't worry, that kid wouldn't dare do anything to you. This trip is also a chance to scout them out for our clinic. If this keeps up, we're all going to be starving..."
Han Weimin tried his best to persuade her.
"Alright."
In truth, Song Sisi was curious herself.
'Is the TCM clinic next door really that amazing?'
She returned to the break room, took off her nurse's uniform, changed into her regular clothes, and quietly slipped out of the clinic, heading for Li's Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.
Inside Li's Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, Li Xu was busy seeing patients.
There were even more patients in the clinic now.
But most of them had the flu, something Li Xu had long since mastered treating.
From taking their pulse and asking about symptoms to writing a prescription and dispensing the herbs, he could treat a patient in just a few minutes.
Song Sisi walked into the clinic, got in line at the back, and muttered to herself, 'I can't believe there are so many patients here...'
「About ten minutes later.」
It was finally her turn.
"Sit down. Hold out your hand... Huh?"
Li Xu froze for a second when he saw the pretty nurse in front of him.
Although he had never been to the Weimin Clinic, he had spent a fair bit of his free time the past couple of days looking outside.
He had even chatted with the neighbors at his door.
So naturally, he recognized the nurse who worked at the Weimin Clinic.
Before Li Xu could ask, Song Sisi quickly explained, "I'm a nurse from the clinic next door. I don't want to get a shot, and I heard the traditional medicine here is effective, so I came to give it a try."
Li Xu just smiled and didn't ask any more questions.
No matter what her real purpose was, as long as she was a patient, it was his duty to treat her.
"Hold out your hand."
"Oh."
"Open your mouth."
"Ahhh~"
Li Xu took her pulse, examined her tongue coating, and then said, "You have typical flu symptoms. There's heat-toxin in your body, so you need to clear the heat and detoxify, as well as suppress your cough and resolve the phlegm. I'll prescribe you three doses of medicine. Go home and take it as scheduled, and you should see results very quickly."
Watching Li Xu write down the three herbs "Daqing Leaf, Huang Qin, and almond" on the prescription slip, Song Sisi couldn't help but ask, "Doctor Li, can these three herbs really cure me?"
Li Xu explained, "Daqing Leaf clears heat and detoxifies, Huang Qin replenishes qi and secures the exterior, and almond suppresses coughs and resolves phlegm. These three herbs may be simple, but when properly combined, they are very effective. This is especially true for the current flu strain, which involves significant heat-toxin, making the combination of Daqing Leaf and Huang Qin particularly suitable."
Song Sisi mentally filed this away so she could repeat it to Han Weimin later.
"Thank you, Doctor."
Song Sisi took the prescription, paid, and left the clinic with the packets of medicine.
After returning home, Song Sisi followed Li Xu's instructions and put the herbs into a clay pot to brew.
The bitter smell of the medicinal soup soon filled the room. She frowned but braced herself and drank it down.
After drinking the medicine, Song Sisi felt a little warm, so she lay down on the sofa and started binge-watching a show to pass the time.
As she watched, a wave of drowsiness washed over her, and she fell asleep without realizing it.
By the time she woke up again, she had already missed lunch.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up, suddenly realizing that her whole body felt much lighter. Her forehead was no longer hot, and her stomach was growling—she was a little hungry.
She quickly took out a thermometer to check her temperature. Her fever was gone!
"My fever's gone... How..." Song Sisi cried out in pleasant surprise.