Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

Ever since Zhu Yuan was praised by Gu Qingge, he seemed to be full of energy, and he looked like a "future great doctor" every day.

At first I thought it would be good if he could stick with it for a few days, but who knew that this guy would become more and more excited as he learned, and even started thinking about doing something "big".

As I poured myself some tea, I calmly asked him, "Zhu Yuan, what have you learned from Gu Qingge recently?"

Zhu Yuan smiled like a flower: "Oh, nothing, just some diagnosis and treatment methods for minor illnesses and pains."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're really amazing, you can already cure minor illnesses?"

"Of course!" Zhu Yuan said proudly, "Miss Yang, you don't know this, but Miss Gu also said I'm very talented!"

I nearly choked on my tea. "Gu Qingge said you're talented? Are you sure she wasn't just being polite?"

"Of course not!" Zhu Yuan patted his chest. "She even praised my technique! Look, don't my hands look like a doctor's?"

I stared at his hands. They looked like those of a doctor, but they looked more like they were used to cause trouble for patients.

"Okay, since you are so talented, I will test you today." I decided to take the opportunity to make things difficult for him and see how well he has learned.

"Okay, go ahead and take the test!" Zhu Yuan sat up straight with a confident look on his face, his eyes full of the light that said "I'm already half a famous doctor."

I lowered my voice and said mysteriously, "Suppose a patient suddenly feels chest tightness, shortness of breath, turns blue, and breathes rapidly. What should you do?"

Zhu Yuan was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting me to give him such a difficult question.

He frowned and thought for a long time, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "I know! This is to... pinch the Ren Zhong point!"

I nearly spit out my tea: "Pinching the Ren Zhong point? Do you think it means fainting?!"

Zhu Yuan hurriedly explained: "What else? I saw those who fainted were pinched like this."

I held my forehead helplessly. "Did you learn to pinch the Ren Zhong point when you studied medicine? You're experiencing symptoms of acute heart failure. You need to lay the patient flat on his back, elevate his legs, and get him to the hospital as soon as possible."

Zhu Yuan was stunned, obviously not expecting me to share such modern first aid knowledge with him: "Lie flat on your back and elevate your legs? What's this new method?"

I sighed helplessly: In this day and age, first aid knowledge is really scarce.

"In short, pinching the Ren Zhong point isn't suitable for all situations," I explained patiently. "Next time you encounter this kind of situation, don't do it rashly. First, let the patient lie down and keep breathing smoothly."

Zhu Yuan nodded, seeming to understand, muttering, "It turns out pinching the Ren Zhong point isn't a panacea..."

A few days later, Zhu Yuan suddenly found me mysteriously and insisted on discussing a "big matter" with me.

"Miss Yang, I have a bold plan recently!" he said excitedly, with an incredible light flashing in his eyes.

My heart suddenly tensed up: When has this guy ever come up with a reliable plan? His so-called 'bold plan' might actually be a 'dangerous plan'!

"What plan?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm planning to hold a 'Medical Skills Competition' and invite all the famous doctors in the city to participate!" Zhu Yuan said excitedly. "Don't you know what a lively scene it will be! I can also let everyone see my 'medical skills'!"

I nearly fell off my chair at his words. "What?! You want to participate in a medical competition?!"

"Right!" Zhu Yuan said as if it was a matter of course. "I think I've been learning pretty well lately, so this is a good opportunity for me to show off my skills!"

I held my forehead and took a deep breath. "Zhu Yuan, are you sure you can participate in the medical skills competition? You even pinched the wrong spot!"

Zhu Yuan disagreed: "Oh, it's just a small matter. The most important thing in a competition is participation. I think I can at least make it into the top ten!"

"Top ten?" I twitched my lips, forcing a smile. "Do you know how many famous doctors there are in this city? Gu Qingge alone can beat you to a pulp."

Zhu Yuan was full of confidence: "No matter how powerful Miss Gu is, I will challenge her! I want to let her know that I, Zhu Yuan, can not only pinch the Ren Zhong point, but also heal diseases and save lives!"

I was completely speechless. This guy is really a fearless warrior. He actually dared to challenge Gu Qingge.

"Do you know how skilled Gu Qingge is?" I tried to sober him up. "She can bring a patient back to life with just a random prescription. You're just an intern at best."

Zhu Yuan was unmoved: "I just want to challenge the strong to improve! Besides, I don't really want to win, I just want to use this competition to catch her attention."

I finally understood that this guy's ultimate target was Gu Qingge.

"But don't underestimate me." Zhu Yuan suddenly smiled mysteriously, "I'm planning to borrow some 'external aid' from you."

"Foreign aid?" I looked at him puzzledly. "What are you going to do?"

"Hehe, I know you are an excellent doctor. Can you secretly give me some 'magic tricks' so that I can use them in the competition?" He had a flattering smile on his face, and it was obvious that he intended to make me his secret weapon.

"You want me to cheat?" I widened my eyes. "You still need me to participate in the competition?"

Zhu Yuan scratched his head and smiled with a scoundrel look on his face: "This isn't cheating, is it? We're 'cooperating'!"

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You want me to be your think tank?!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhu Yuan nodded hurriedly, "I knew you were the smartest and would definitely help me win Gu Qingge's heart."

I sighed helplessly and thought to myself: This guy has a really weird way of thinking. He can think of any tricks to pursue girls.

A few days later, the news of the "Medical Skills Competition" spread throughout the city, attracting the attention of many famous doctors.

Even the people in the city were talking about it, and everyone was curious about who would come out on top in this competition.

On the day of the competition, Zhu Yuan came to my house early, looking nervous: "Miss Yang, have you prepared my magic bag?"

I glanced at him lazily: "Do you really think I can give you a secret?"

Zhu Yuan immediately became anxious: "Oh, don't be so heartless! Just help me, Miss Gu will come too!"

I shook my head and couldn't help but teasing, "I think you're going to be a 'living teaching material' this time. Gu Qingge will definitely use you as a negative example."

Zhu Yuan became even more nervous when he heard this: "Don't scare me! I came here with the determination to win!"

"Alright, alright," I sighed helplessly and handed him a small piece of paper. "This is my secret weapon. If you encounter a difficult disease, use this."

Zhu Yuan took the note excitedly and opened it quickly. He saw only four words written on it - "Drink more hot water."

"What...what is this?" Zhu Yuan's eyes widened. "You are trying to fool me!"

I almost got a stitch in my side laughing. “Isn’t this what you’re best at? I think this trick suits you very well.”

Zhu Yuan looked at me helplessly, and finally sighed heavily: "Forget it, I'd better rely on myself."

The competition was held in the city's pharmacy. Many famous doctors in the city were present and the atmosphere was very lively.

Gu Qingge was also standing not far away, coldly, as if he had no interest in this competition at all.

As soon as Zhu Yuan saw Gu Qingge, he immediately became energetic, strode forward, and put on an attitude of "I'm here to challenge you."

Gu Qingge glanced at him and said calmly, "Mr. Zhu, are you coming too?"

"Of course!" Zhu Yuan straightened his back, "I'm here to compete for the first place!"

Gu Qingge raised the corners of his mouth slightly, as if he had heard something funny.

The competition began. The first round was a simple diagnosis. The contestants were given a description of the disease and were asked to quickly make a diagnosis and prescribe medicine.

I stood by, silently worried for Zhu Yuan. How many rounds could this guy last?

The first round of symptoms was relatively simple, involving a child with fever and cough.

I watched from afar as Zhu Yuan picked up the medical record, frowned and thought for a long time, and finally wrote down -

"Drink more hot water."

I almost laughed myself crazy, he actually used my "magic bag"!

When it was the judges' turn to comment, the old doctor was stunned for a long time when he saw Zhu Yuan's prescription. Finally, he coughed dryly and said, "Mr. Zhu, your prescription... is a bit simple."

Zhu Yuan smiled sheepishly and quickly explained, "I think this child needs to drink more hot water to expel the cold from his body."

I was almost laughing so hard that I couldn't straighten my back, thinking: This guy is really weird. He dares to use "drink more hot water" even in such an occasion.

However, surprisingly, the old doctor did not directly reject him. Instead, he nodded and said, "It's not completely unreasonable, but it needs to be combined with other medicines."

When Zhu Yuan heard this, he was overjoyed and nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, you are right, that's what I think!"

The second round begins with slightly more complex conditions involving some common internal medicine problems.

I looked at Zhu Yuan, who was frowning and obviously a little overwhelmed, but he still gritted his teeth and wrote down a prescription.

But this time, he learned his lesson and did not write "drink more hot water". Instead, he randomly put together a few common Chinese medicines, and the combination was weird.

When it was their turn to comment, the judges' eyes became complicated when they saw Zhu Yuan's prescription.

"Mr. Zhu's prescription is unique," the judge said tactfully, "but its effectiveness may be somewhat less than ideal."

Zhu Yuan smiled awkwardly, obviously knowing that he had been reckless this time.

At the end of the competition, as expected, Gu Qingge won the first place without any suspense with his superb medical skills.

Although Zhu Yuan failed to make it into the top ten, he managed to make it to the end and at least he was not eliminated too early.

After the game, I walked over to Zhu Yuan, smiled, and patted him on the shoulder: "How was it? Did you learn anything?"

Zhu Yuan sighed deeply, "Alas, I've learned something... I just can't rely on 'drinking more hot water' anymore."

I couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You finally understand? But it's not bad to be able to hold on until the end."

Zhu Yuan touched his head and said with a wry smile, "Miss Gu is really amazing. My skills are not even close to enough."

I patted his back and comforted him, "Take your time. At least you still have a chance to ask her more questions."

Zhu Yuan's eyes lit up, and his face regained that "promising future" expression: "Yes! I can continue to ask her for advice! Although I didn't win this time, I will definitely do better next time!"

Looking at his invincible appearance, I couldn't help laughing: This guy is always full of optimism.

Perhaps, this pursuit process is what is most worth cherishing.