Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor Gao-Yuan

Back home, Gao-Yuan couldn't sleep. He leaned on his bed, thinking for half the night.

Suddenly, he got up, lit the sesame oil lamp on the table, and the tiny flame dispelled the darkness around him.

Holding the lamp, Gao-Yuan searched around his room until he found the backpack he had brought with him. He took out a blank notebook and a fountain pen from inside.

On the cover, he wrote "Medical Practice Journal."

Then he opened the notebook and started writing.

"Today, I returned home and unexpectedly met Zhang Yuancai from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative’s Herb Company on the train. I learned that his mother was gravely ill."

Gao-Yuan wrote down everything he encountered today, the illnesses he treated, and his rejection of any form of gratitude, emphasizing his belief in serving the people.

After finishing, Gao-Yuan put away his pen and carefully hid the diary.

He let out a light sigh, his eyes deep with thought.

There were many things that he couldn’t openly say. Even if he did, no one would believe him.

All he could do was record his pure heart and life's hard work on paper.

Hopefully, there would never be a day when it would be needed.

…

The next morning.

Gao-Yuan woke up early to find that his family had already gone to work. He made some sweet potato soup, added a few handfuls of coarse cornmeal, and a few scoops of salt, cooking it into a thick porridge—this was their family's breakfast.

After breakfast, Gao-Yuan headed to the Yang family's house.

As soon as he arrived, he saw Yang Degui washing blankets, while Yang's father squatted at the doorway smoking a pipe.

"Good morning, Uncle Yang," Gao-Yuan greeted him.

Yang's father looked up at Gao-Yuan and, for a moment, seemed to see the energetic young man from years ago. He instinctively replied, "Morning."

Gao-Yuan glanced inside and asked, "How's Grandpa?"

Yang's father quickly stood up. "After you left last night, he urinated several more times, and the amount was particularly large. Early this morning, he felt the urge to go again, but he couldn’t make it to the bedpan and wet the blanket again. We’ve run out of blankets, and he's using Degui's."

Gao-Yuan nodded slightly. The old man’s edema was quite severe, but it stemmed from damage to both his spleen and kidneys, making it hard to retain water. He said, "I'll go in and take a look."

"Alright," Yang's father nodded.

Gao-Yuan walked into the yard and saw Yang Degui, who was busy washing blankets. He greeted him, "Morning, Degui."

Yang Degui, with his back to Gao-Yuan, stiffened at the greeting but didn’t dare turn around.

After a night, the swelling that had made Grandpa Yang look so frightening had mostly subsided. After examining him, Gao-Yuan found the crisis had passed. The treatment last night had only addressed the immediate danger; now it was time to treat the underlying spleen and kidney issues.

Feeling a bit relieved, Gao-Yuan tucked in the blanket and asked, "Grandpa, are you feeling better?"

The old man opened his eyes and squinted at Gao-Yuan, smiling warmly. "Is it little Yuan? Quickly, someone, get a bun for my little Yuan. Grandpa even saved some dates for you; they're in the cabinet. Don’t tell anyone; take them quietly."

Hearing this, Gao-Yuan felt a pang in his chest. In an era where everyone avoided him like the plague, Grandpa Yang still cared for him. In his previous life, Grandpa Yang had passed away too early. Thankfully, in this life, Gao-Yuan didn’t let that happen again.

Seeing this scene, Yang's father took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled heavily.

Gao-Yuan said to Grandpa Yang, "Grandpa, get some more rest. I’ll come back to check on you later."

The old man nodded and replied, "Alright."

Standing up, Gao-Yuan turned to Yang's father, "Uncle, Grandpa still needs some medication for his recovery. How about this: give me his medical booklet, and I’ll go to the clinic to get the medicine?"

Yang's father said, "Let Degui go."

Gao-Yuan shook his head. "It’s fine; let Degui go earn some work points. I just got back and have nothing else to do. Besides, it’s not just Grandpa; there are others in the village who need medicine. I’d like to help everyone out."

After taking a drag of his cigarette and observing Gao-Yuan for a moment, Yang's father finally nodded, "Alright."

Gao-Yuan took the medical booklet and left.

Yang's father watched him leave, looking at the man who almost became his son-in-law but had ruined his daughter’s prospects while also saving his elderly father. His feelings were mixed.

After a few sighs, he turned to his son, Yang Degui, who was still drying the blankets, and his temper flared. He walked over and gave his son a hard smack on the back of his head.

…

Yesterday, Liu Sanquan had written several prescriptions that were now waiting to be filled. Gao-Yuan called out a few times, and people gradually started to come out.

Aunt Zhang, their neighbor, was about to leave when her husband, Uncle Zhang, pulled her back.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going out," Aunt Zhang replied hurriedly. "Didn’t you hear Gao-Yuan’s going to the clinic and offered to bring back our medicine? Oh, where's my prescription? Is it in the cabinet?"

Seeing his wife about to go back inside, Uncle Zhang quickly stopped her. "Are you crazy? Gao-Yuan is a traitor; he's been labeled a bad element! Are you really going to associate with him?"

Aunt Zhang waved her prescription in front of him. "Then you go get the medicine for me."

Uncle Zhang was at a loss for words. Going to the clinic meant trekking dozens of miles through mountain roads, taking half a day just to get there, and he’d have to give up his work points.

Seeing her husband fall silent, Aunt Zhang rolled her eyes at him. "The Yang family’s letting him get their medicine, and the village secretary isn’t afraid. What are you scared of? Let go!"

Aunt Zhang shook off her husband's grip and went to give her prescription to Gao-Yuan.

When Gao-Yuan arrived at their door, he greeted them warmly, "Good morning, Uncle Zhang."

"Uh..." Uncle Zhang was caught off guard, unsure how to respond.

"I remember Auntie also had a prescription yesterday, right? I’ll go get it along with the others so you don’t have to make the trip," said Gao-Yuan.

Uncle Zhang looked around, unsure of himself.

Aunt Zhang came rushing out, "Here it is; here’s my prescription and the money for the medicine."

"Okay," Gao-Yuan took it.

As he left, Uncle Zhang sneaked to the door, watching Gao-Yuan’s retreating figure. Scratching his head, he mumbled, "Shouldn’t people like him be walking with their heads down? Why does he seem so confident? Could it be he’s about to be rehabilitated, or was there a mistake?"

Uncle Zhang began to doubt things.

As Gao-Yuan made his rounds through the village, many people shared the same suspicions.

In his past life, after returning, Gao-Yuan walked with his head down for years, always feeling inferior, even speaking in a hushed tone. But his situation never improved.

This time Gao-Yuan understood.

If you consider yourself inferior, you’ll always be treated as such.

If you did something wrong, then accepting the punishment is fair.

But if you didn’t do it, then you didn’t. Why should you lower yourself?

…

At the county clinic,

Zhao Huanzhang's Joint Medical Clinic,

Liu Sanquan arrived early for work. He was scheduled to see patients in the morning and visit rural areas in the afternoon.

After a busy morning, he finally had some free time around noon.

Opening his lunchbox, Liu Sanquan suddenly thought of Zhang Yuancai's critically ill mother.

He couldn’t help but frown. Although Gao-Yuan had claimed she was out of danger yesterday, he had personally seen how gravely ill she was.

"Could it really be so quick?" he murmured, deciding to see for himself, believing that seeing is believing.

The Zhang household was just around the corner from the clinic.

As soon as Liu Sanquan arrived, he saw Granny Zhang sitting outside, chatting with someone.

“Huh?” He quickly stepped closer, rubbing his eyes hard, thinking he must be seeing things.

Completely stunned, he realized that this wasn't just a recovery from a critical state; she was practically back to normal, sitting outside and chatting!

Was she really that ill yesterday?

"Doctor Liu’s here!" Granny Zhang called out cheerfully.

Liu Sanquan stood there, bewildered. Wasn't she gasping for breath just yesterday?

Granny Zhang noticed his lunchbox and said, "Oh, you didn’t have to bring anything. Why are you being so polite?"