Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 281 Heaven is jealous of talents
Early the next morning, Chen Fan arrived at the brigade headquarters and, without even going to the broadcasting room, started fighting with Lin Yuanxiang.

Of course, mainly... or rather, only Chen Fan was being beaten.

This time, Lin Yuanxiang used every trick in the book, slapping Chen Fan from head to toe, even grabbing his ankle and swinging it twice. If Chen Fan hadn't been quick-witted and blocked his groin kick, something terrible might have happened.

After the beating, Lin Yuanxiang dismissed Chen Fan's accusations, saying, "I was careful with my strength. I only broke your bones and muscles, and I didn't hurt you in the slightest."

Chen Fan felt something was wrong with his whole body and awkwardly moved his body. "But why does my whole body hurt, and it hurts so much?"

Xiao Liewen, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, chuckled and said, "Your entire body has been opened up by the blows, it's like they took your bones apart and put them back together, so it's normal for it to hurt."

Chen Fan asked with a pained expression, "When will it be ready?"

Lin Yuanxiang took out his pipe, lit it, and smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits. "I told you I'd be careful and wouldn't hurt you in the slightest. It'll only hurt for a little while. With your physical condition, well, about half an hour."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan and Zhang Wenliang, who was squatting beside him, couldn't help but shiver.

Too brutal.

In just over half an hour, how many people back then couldn't endure even a few minutes of whipping and humiliatingly became traitors?!
Chen Fan was in pain for more than half an hour, and his mouth felt a little dry. "How much longer? I mean, when will it end?"

Lin Yuanxiang's expression changed, and he glanced at him, "That depends on when you can learn practical combat skills."

Seeing that Chen Fan's expression had frozen, he immediately coughed and said in a serious tone, "We agreed yesterday that our sparring would be like a real fight. If it's a real fight, you can't expect me to hold back, otherwise it wouldn't be a real fight."

Chen Fan swallowed hard. "But there's no need to film like this."

With just a light tap, I'll know where the problem lies.

Xiao Liewen, smoking a cigarette, said, "Although it might hurt a bit to loosen up your muscles and bones, it helps to temper your body. It's good for you; many people would love to have it."

Chen Fan hesitated for two seconds, then turned to look at Zhang Wenliang.

When Zhang Wenliang saw the look in his eyes, he shuddered and ran out, saying, "I'm going to plant rice seedlings. You guys take your time practicing."

Lin Yuanxiang glanced at Chen Fan again, his lips twitching slightly as he suppressed a laugh. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to him. "Here, don't say I'm cheating you. Go get the medicine according to this prescription. Tonight, soak your feet in two buckets of hot water for half an hour with one dose of the medicine. It won't hurt as much if you get beaten up again, and it will also help you sleep."

Chen Fan walked over mechanically, his face contorted with a mournful expression, and said, "Then why didn't you give it to me yesterday?"

Lin Yuanxiang looked up at the sky and said matter-of-factly, "I forgot."

Chen Fan... I'd be a complete idiot to believe you.

At the same time, they labeled Old Man Lin as: petty and narrow-minded!
Unfold the paper and look at the prescription. It's alright. It contains common and inexpensive medicinal herbs. There are no legendary tonics like ginseng or tiger bone. It mainly focuses on promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, reducing inflammation, and relieving pain. The heaviest ingredient is dog spine.

After tiger bone was banned, most prescriptions containing tiger bone opted to use Cibotium barometz instead. Cibotium barometz is a good medicine because it can dispel wind and dampness, nourish the liver and kidneys, and strengthen the waist and knees.

However, with Chen Fan's keen eye, he could tell that this prescription was not just for reducing inflammation and relieving pain. Grinding it into powder for a medicinal bath should also stimulate bone and muscle development and strengthen muscles and bones.

Moreover, the prescription is made entirely of herbs, without any harsh or aggressive medicines. It is a mild and nourishing formula that will not cause any harmful side effects.

In short, it's a good product!

For the sake of this prescription, Chen Fan decided to settle things even with him.

After finishing his morning exercise, more than half an hour later, he finally felt less pain and began to stretch his body before riding his horse to the commune.

I made an appointment with Master Lu yesterday to go to the health center today to learn pulse diagnosis and acupuncture from Dr. Lu Shouquan. I can't miss it.

……

Once he arrived in town on horseback, Chen Fan dared not linger for even a moment.

The news of his article being published in the magazine had spread throughout the town, and almost everyone knew about it. In addition, his iconic little mare made him recognizable even to those who had never seen him before.

Moreover, he had been running to the veterinary station every day for a period of time and had already become famous in the town. Today, as soon as he went out on the street, people came one after another to greet him.

Chen Fan waved to the strangers who insisted on calling him, urging the mare to trot forward, and soon arrived at the clinic.

Some busybodies rushed to the crossroads and watched from afar. When they saw him enter the health center, they were all excitedly discussing, "Teacher Chen must be sick."

"I'm afraid it's an acute illness, and they're rushing to the health center."

"Don't they have a barefoot doctor in their team? He can still come to town and ride a horse, so he shouldn't be too sick."

"Can barefoot doctors be compared to health clinics?"

“When Teacher Chen needs to see a doctor, he will definitely have to come to the health center. It’s not far to ride a horse.”

The murmurs grew louder and carried further down the street, eventually becoming:

"What? Teacher Chen is sick?"

"Oh? Teacher Chen is really in the hospital?"

"Teacher Chen has been taken to the hospital?"

"Is Teacher Chen dying?"

"...A talented person is envied by heaven!"

……

As soon as the talented Chen Fan entered the clinic, he dismounted and patted the horse's back. The little mare obediently ran to a group of her kind and stood there, baring her teeth and kicking and shoving, "It's so crowded, move to the side."

Chen Fan glanced at the little mare who was dominating the corner, and walked straight into the outpatient department of the health center.

A female nurse hurried past him, then suddenly stopped, took a few steps back, and looked at him. "Are you Teacher Chen?"

Chen Fan smiled and said politely, "Hello, I'm Chen Fan..."

Before he could finish speaking, the nurse's eyes lit up. "Oh, Teacher Chen, you've come to our clinic for a medical appointment? What's wrong?"

As she spoke, she looked him up and down. “You’re not injured, so it must be internal medicine. Let me tell you, the best doctor in our hospital’s internal medicine department is Dr. Lu. He’s over 80 years old and used to be a resident doctor at Baohetang in the county. He’s very skilled. He happens to be on duty today, so I’ll take you there.”

Chen Fan opened his mouth, feeling that although the words were a bit off, the person was right, so he smiled and nodded, "Okay."

The nurse led him down the corridor. "Come on, this way. Oh, Teacher Chen, let me tell you, you used to go to the veterinary station across the street every day. All the nurses here know you. Some people even said they'd like you to come visit our health center sometime, but then they thought it wouldn't be a good idea. People come to the health center to see a doctor, you know. Why would you come here for no reason? I didn't expect you to actually come today. What a coincidence!"

Chen Fan's forehead veins throbbed twice. Taking advantage of her moment of catching her breath, he asked softly, "Judging from your accent, you're probably not from around here, are you?"

The nurse covered her mouth and chuckled, "Oh dear, you recognized me. I'm from Shanghai. I came here as an educated youth five years ago, but not from Lujiawan. Otherwise, we would have lived in the same courtyard. Later, the health center was recruiting, and I passed the exam to get here. Ah... Dr. Lu is here."

Walking into the innermost consultation room, the nurse knocked on the door, "Dr. Lu, Teacher Chen is here to see you."

Inside, an elderly man with white hair but a sprightly spirit looked up at Chen Fan at the door and asked, "Teacher Chen?"

Chen Fan quickly stepped forward and bowed slightly respectfully, "Hello, Dr. Lu, I am Chen Fan."

With outsiders present, he did not mention the Fourth Master's name.

Upon hearing his words, Old Master Lu's face immediately lit up with a smile. "So you are Teacher Chen."

He turned to the nurse and nodded, "Okay, I understand."

The nurse smiled, waved to Chen Fan as he turned away, and then left reluctantly.

Grandpa Lu pointed to the door, "Close the door."

Chen Fan immediately closed the door and walked over to him. Old Master Lu smiled at him and pointed to the chair, saying, "Don't be shy, sit down."

After Chen Fan sat down, he said, "I heard from Fourth Master that you have finished reading the 'Four Minor Classics'?"

Chen Fan grinned and said, "I memorized the first four books: 'Medical Three-Character Classic,' 'Binhu Pulse Study,' 'Medicinal Properties Rhyme,' and 'Prescription Rhyme.' Then I memorized the seven books: 'Acupuncture and Moxibustion Classic,' 'Shennong's Materia Medica Classic,' 'Huangdi Neijing,' 'Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases,' 'Golden Chamber,' 'Nanjing,' and 'Treatise on Epidemic Diseases.' I've memorized all the medical books that Fourth Master had."

A strange look flashed in Old Master Lu's eyes. According to Fourth Master Lu, Chen Fan had only been studying traditional Chinese medicine for a little over two months since before the Spring Festival. In just over two months, he had memorized 11 obscure and difficult-to-understand classic Chinese medicine texts.

What about playing?
However, he didn't say much, but asked softly, "Question: I would like to know about the purity or turbidity of human qi, what is the reason for this?"

Without hesitation, Chen Fan replied, "Qi Bo said: 'What receives grain is turbid, what receives qi is clear. The clear qi flows into yin, the turbid qi flows into yang. The turbid but clear qi rises out of the throat; the clear but turbid qi descends into the stomach. The clear qi rises, the turbid qi descends. When the clear and turbid qi interfere with each other, it is called disordered qi.'"

Old Master Lu nodded almost imperceptibly and said, "Astringency indicates insufficient blood or damage to essence, causing nausea, loss of yang, and excessive sweating. Continue."

Chen Fan immediately recited, "Cold and dampness entering the bloodstream causes blood stasis; in women, this indicates either pregnancy or amenorrhea. A hesitant pulse at the cun position indicates heart deficiency and pain in the chest; a weak stomach and distension in the hypochondrium can be observed at the guan position. A hesitant pulse at the chi position indicates damage to both essence and blood, with symptoms such as intestinal obstruction, urinary incontinence, or bloody stools. A hesitant pulse indicates blood deficiency and damage to essence; in pregnant women, it indicates fetal disease; in non-pregnant women, it indicates blood loss. Du Guangting said: A hesitant pulse seen only at the chi position, resembling an intermittent pulse, indicates death."

Then Grandpa Lu asked several more questions, including the contents of all 11 books that Chen Fan had just mentioned.

But no matter which question he asked, Chen Fan could answer fluently.

After testing him for almost half an hour, Grandpa Lu finally nodded in satisfaction, "Your basic skills are very solid."

Then, looking at him, she asked, "Have you studied pulse diagnosis?"

Chen Fan didn't try to hide anything and frankly shook his head, "No."

Grandpa Lu smiled and said, "That means you can only memorize books by rote."

Chen Fan didn't take the old man's teasing to heart and chuckled, "That's why I asked Fourth Master to come here to seek your guidance."

Grandpa Lu laughed heartily, “To know what you know and to know what you don’t know, that is true knowledge. I’m not afraid that you don’t know, I’m afraid that you can’t face the problem squarely.”

After a pause, he said, “Traditional Chinese medicine has six major categories of pulses: floating pulse, deep pulse, slow pulse, rapid pulse, weak pulse, and strong pulse. Each category is further subdivided into several types. Some pulses are similar, but if the diagnosis is not careful, the results will be completely different. Therefore, to learn traditional Chinese medicine, you must first calm down and focus.”

He looked at Chen Fan with a half-smile. "I know you're exceptionally bright, able to memorize 11 books in just over two months. Even if you don't have a photographic memory, you're close. But clinical practice is different from memorizing books. If you're truly interested in learning, I see patients here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. Occasionally, I'll be invited to make rounds elsewhere. You can follow me when I see patients; whichever patient I see, you'll see. How about that?"

Chen Fan's eyes flickered slightly. After a moment's thought, he said, "Thank you for your kind offer, sir. I am willing to learn from you."

Then, somewhat embarrassed, he added, "However, I also work as a broadcaster and veterinarian in the team. If there are any unexpected situations that conflict with my schedule, could I ask for leave?"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Lu waved his hand and smiled, "You have official duties to attend to, so of course you should prioritize them. It's fine if you can't come at the last minute."

He looked at him meaningfully and said, "You're not an apprentice here, and I won't teach you any of my special skills. I'll only teach you the basics of pulse diagnosis and acupuncture. As for the rest, you can observe, but I won't explain, so you don't need to follow my rules."

Can you do this?

Chen Fan chuckled awkwardly and nodded, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, sir."

Grandpa Lu smiled and nodded, "From now on, you can just call me Doctor Lu, that's what everyone calls me."

Chen Fan naturally had no objection, "Yes, Dr. Lu."

Grandpa Lu looked at him and asked, "So, are you starting today, or another day?"

Chen Fan said without hesitation, "Now."

I have nothing to do today anyway, so I'm not leaving now that I'm here.

Grandpa Lu didn't say much, just pointed to the side and said, "You sit here and wait for the patient to come."

Chen Fan immediately moved a chair and sat down at the corner of the table next to him.

If you only teach the basics and allow students to observe but not ask questions, isn't that just making them nominal disciples?

For traditional Chinese medicine, which requires hands-on transmission, disciples who are only nominally accepted as disciples learn almost nothing of real skill, but Chen Fan is an exception to that "almost".

If we can't exhaust all of Old Master Lu's abilities, what about his skill set? ...Smash it!
……

Nanhu Commune has one town and five production brigades, with a total population of more than 3. In terms of medical resources, apart from one barefoot doctor in each of the five production brigades, people with serious illnesses can basically only rely on the town's health center.

The history of Nanhu Health Center is not short. It was first established in the liberated areas in the 1940s, based on a field hospital of the army. After the army withdrew, the team at that time gathered more than a dozen people, including the remaining doctor apprentices, the recruited good doctors, and the nurses who had undergone short-term training, to form the makeshift team of Nanhu Hospital.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, health centers were to be established in towns and villages across the country. The town then transformed the small Nanhu Hospital into Nanhu Health Center. After several expansions, the Nanhu Health Center now has more than 40 medical and nursing staff, and its offices are located in three bungalows.

The building facing the road is the outpatient department. Passing through the outpatient department, the building behind it, separated by a large courtyard, is the inpatient department. Between the inpatient department and the outpatient department, there is a side building, which is the logistics office and staff canteen.

This small health clinic had to meet the medical needs of more than 3 people in the entire commune, which was a heavy burden.

Therefore, the doctors here not only have to see patients in the outpatient department, but also serve as attending physicians in the inpatient department, taking care of both aspects.

Chen Fan sat beside Dr. Lu for the entire morning. Every time a patient came in, Dr. Lu would first diagnose the patient himself, and then let Chen Fan take the pulse.

If it were anyone else, the patients probably would have already given up.

What does that mean? The old ones come, and the young ones come too, are they using me as guinea pigs?

However, the two people in front of us are different. One is Dr. Lu, who was born and raised in Nanhu. Even though he has worked in the county town for half his life, he would come back to Nanhu for two days every month to hold clinics. After retiring, he has been working in Nanhu and contributing his talents.

Another young man, "Teacher Chen," has emerged as a rising star, making Nanhu famous in the Yunhu area with his writing skills.

In this way, the patients had no objections.

With Dr. Lu on duty and backing us up, what's there to be afraid of?
Some patients did start chatting with Chen Fan.

"Teacher Chen, you studied veterinary medicine, are you going to study traditional Chinese medicine now?"

"Teacher Chen is so talented! He's already so skilled, yet he still wants to learn medicine."

"Ah, so Teacher Chen is here to learn medicine. I thought... Haha, it's nothing."

Chen Fan always faced everyone with a patient smile.

This is what Dr. Lu told him: a doctor should not be angry, because many patients come anxious and angry. If the doctor is also impatient, it could easily lead to a fight, and they might even start arguing. How can you treat patients then?

Furthermore, a calm and focused mind is essential for accurate diagnosis and effective prescription when treating patients. If one is easily distracted, the diagnosis and prescription will be affected, leading to misjudgment, which is a major taboo for doctors.

So when he saw patients rambling on and on with Chen Fan, Dr. Lu didn't stop them. Instead, he secretly observed them without changing his expression. When he saw that Chen Fan's expression remained unchanged, he nodded secretly and explained the pulse and the patient's condition in even greater detail.

After the morning shift ended, another middle-aged doctor came to take over, and Dr. Lu took Chen Fan to the inpatient department at the back.

There are more than a dozen seriously ill patients here, including those in internal medicine, surgery, and orthopedics. The health center only has two Western-trained doctors who graduated from vocational school. They can handle minor ailments, but they are completely powerless to treat serious illnesses like this. So, the hospital relies entirely on its few senior traditional Chinese medicine doctors to take care of the patients.

Why don't these seriously ill patients go to the large hospitals in the county or even the prefecture?
It's very simple, I have no money.

Even though the country has been promoting rural cooperative medical care since the 1950s, the coverage rate of cooperative medical care nationwide has now reached over 90%.

When you see a barefoot doctor in the brigade, you only have to pay 20% of the cost, while the brigade headquarters covers 80%. In some well-off brigades, they even reimburse 100%.

However, medical treatment at commune clinics, district health centers, and county hospitals was basically out-of-pocket, with no reimbursement available.

In addition to medical expenses, food and lodging costs are also a significant expense.

It was better to see a doctor near home, as family members could bring meals or take turns staying with the patient. However, if one went to other places, the various additional expenses would be enough to bankrupt a family. Therefore, the commune and county hospitals were basically the limit for people to access medical care in that era. Very few people would seek treatment at hospitals in big cities, and even if they did, they must have a wealthy family background.

But such people were a minority, so the place with the most patients in this era was the commune clinic/hospital.

(End of this chapter)