Chapter 549: Chapter 549: Garlic Soaked in White Vinegar
Even though she had taken leave, she still came. She was always restless in the dormitory, her mind constantly replaying Xu Xiangbei’s gentle smile and voice full of concern.
She witnessed everything. She hadn’t expected Xu Xiangbei to truly become an outstanding doctor and couldn’t help but speak up, even though she had initially stood silently behind, observing.
"I, Xu Xiangbei, am not some saint who saves lives indiscriminately. I help whoever I choose to. However, Song Yuting, my old classmate, asked me to save this child, so that’s why I did it."
The classmates and the onlookers all cast grateful gazes toward Song Yuting. Seeing everyone’s eyes on her, a blush instantly rose to her face.
Xu Xiangbei said to the old grandmother sitting on the ground, crying as if her world had ended, "Let’s go. If you want me to save your grandson, you at least need to know what he ate unwisely."
Upon hearing Xu Xiangbei say that he was willing to save her grandson, the grandmother finally stopped crying, with a guilty expression on her face: "Young man, thank you, it was my fault for not trusting you—blind as I was."
Xu Xiangbei shrugged, smiling generously, "Ignorance is no crime. Don’t look down on young people in the future, grandma."
The grandmother led Xu Xiangbei back to her home, accompanied by a few good students and Kong Qingfeng, who also went with Xu Xiangbei.
The grandmother lived on the first floor, facing a spacious courtyard. Although not a wealthy family living in a villa or mansion, her home was bright and clean, well-maintained.
Xu Xiangbei took a look around her home, examining everything closely, especially the yard, which he thoroughly inspected. The courtyard was filled with toys for children, including plastic kitchen tools and sand buckets.
In one corner of the courtyard lay a palm-sized bamboo tube, typically used to poison mice. Through the bamboo slits, he could see several mouse poison pellets inside.
Pointing at the mouse poison, Xu Xiangbei smiled and asked the little boy, "Did you eat any of the small pills inside, little friend?"
Since the pain in his head had subsided, the boy’s complexion regained some color, and his spirit improved significantly. He nodded, "One fell out, so I tasted one. But I didn’t swallow it; it tasted awful, so I spit it out."
The students watching were astounded. The child had indeed eaten the wrong thing. Kong Qingfeng’s face also blushed with shame, as moments ago he had mocked Xu Xiangbei for spouting nonsense, only to find that Xu Xiangbei was the true miracle doctor, perceiving everything in a glance.
Xu Xiangbei told the grandmother, "This type of mouse poison is very strong. Although he didn’t completely swallow it, some toxins still entered his body. Be careful in the future, and make sure to warn your grandson never to touch or eat mouse poison carelessly."
The grandmother regretted it deeply, realizing she had indeed forgotten to warn her grandson about the mouse poison she had placed in the bamboo tube a few days ago.
With gratitude and tears, she said, "Thank you, I’ll definitely follow your advice."
Xu Xiangbei patted the boy’s head, speaking in an admonitive tone, "Little brother, this poison is meant for mice. If humans eat it, they will die, and it will be very painful, more painful than the headache you just had. Do you understand?"
The child showed a frightened expression, nodding desperately, clutching his grandmother’s hand tightly, about to cry, "Will I die?"
"Don’t worry, uncle has already cured you. But in the future, never eat things carelessly again. Other than your regular meals, don’t eat anything given by strangers or found on the ground."
Upon hearing that he had been cured, the boy burst into smiles through his tears, nodding vigorously.
Xu Xiangbei smiled and told the grandmother, "I think he has learned his lesson this time and won’t dare to eat things carelessly anymore. Children must be educated more, not just about eating carelessly but also about many things, like not accepting things from strangers or following strangers blindly. Prepare for the worst—what about his parents?"
The grandmother sighed lightly, "My son and daughter-in-law are working in distant places, only returning home a few times a year, with no time to educate Little Dong; it’s all up to me."
Xu Xiangbei felt helpless. Left-behind children are often raised by their grandparents, and the incidents occur much higher among them due to the necessity for survival faced by some families.
Knowing the child was poisoned, he prepared preventive measures for the grandmother and began detoxifying the child.
"Please take good care of your grandson. Do you have garlic and rice vinegar at home?"
"Yes, I do."
Xu Xiangbei handed over a business card to the grandmother, advising, "Soak garlic in rice vinegar for half an hour, then divide it into three doses for him to take. He’ll be cured in a day. This is my card. If there’s anything discomforting, call me."
The prescription seemed so simple, leaving the grandmother astonished, "How much should I pay you?"
Xu Xiangbei pointed at Kong Qingfeng and said, "Didn’t our Professor Kong mention we’re offering free consultations? Not a penny charged, and no need to buy medicine; it’s all from the ingredients you already have at home."
Being pointed at by Xu Xiangbei, Kong Qingfeng was overwhelmed with shame. If there were a crack in the ground, he’d want to crawl right in.
After leaving the grandmother’s house, the students gave a rousing applause together, saying, "Dr. Xu is indeed the miracle doctor."
Xu Xiangbei waved his hand with a modest smile, "Be humble, be humble."
On the way back, Kong Qingfeng resembled a defeated rooster, head down, clenching his teeth, enduring for a while before finally asking, "Dr. Xu, how did you discover the child was poisoned? I didn’t see it initially, yet after acupuncture, the symptoms became apparent."
"His yellowish complexion suggests abnormal liver function. From the pulse, we noted weakened qi and blood, liver fire excess, trembling legs, damage to the Foot Jueyin Liver meridian. Besides exhaustion, there’s a mild poisoning involved. Such a young child should be full of energy, which indicated a possible food poisoning, coupled with a cold infection. That was my initial guess, not certainty. Your acupuncture opened the meridian. According to traditional Chinese medicine, ’if unobstructed, it’s painless.’ Upon opening the meridians, initially, his headache subsides but the toxins surge along with qi and blood, worsening his headache."
Kong Qingfeng immediately understood, his face reddening further, utterly convinced by Xu Xiangbei.
Lowering his voice with a deep, enigmatic expression, he said, "Did you really use Inner Strength Needle? It’s the legendary highest skill in acupuncture art. I always thought it only existed in fantasy novels. Yet, you truly mastered it."
Xu Xiangbei began to enjoy the satisfaction of revenge, mocking Kong Qingfeng, "Ignorant, unknowing, what you don’t understand is ’fantasy.’ How you even graduated from medical university really disgraces your alma mater."
Being lectured by Xu Xiangbei, the usually proud Kong Qingfeng stayed silent, comprehending Xu Xiangbei’s subtle moves on the child, absolutely embodied the highest acupuncture skill, Inner Strength Needle.
