Chapter Fifty: Curiosity
On the first page, in front of his own relatives, Director Sun held back from asking; after they left with the prescribed medicine in hand, he didn’t even bother to see them off.
“Doctor Li, I mean no offense, but I just wanted to ask—when did you learn traditional Chinese medicine? I recall your records show you studied Western medicine at the technical secondary school, right?”
“Yes, at school I studied Western medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine I learned from my grandfather.”
He was grateful that the old gentleman who had taken him in was versed in traditional Chinese medicine and had gained a modest reputation in their neighborhood from years of treating patients. This gave him a very reasonable explanation for suddenly knowing TCM.
“Your grandfather?” Director Sun was slightly taken aback, then curious. “May I ask who your grandfather is...?”
“My grandfather’s name was Li Yuanhe. He never worked in a hospital but ran a small clinic at home. Neighbors would come to him for headaches and colds.”
After the founding of the nation, private clinics were strongly encouraged as a vital supplement to insufficient medical resources, and this continued until the seventeenth year of the new era when they were forbidden. The elderly man who adopted Li Yancheng was no longer around by then.
The government always attached great importance to healthcare. By the twenty-first year, some universities resumed classes and reinstated the recommendation system for university admission. Medical programs were among the allowed majors.
It made sense—health and illness are inescapable for everyone.
“Li Yuanhe?”
Hearing the name, Director Sun frowned thoughtfully for a moment, uncertain, then asked cautiously, “Doctor Li, is your family from the East Coal Mountain Alley?”
“That’s right. Director Sun, you knew my grandfather?”
Now Li Yancheng was intrigued. In his memory, the old man who had taken him in rarely mingled with the medical community in the capital.
“I’ve heard of him. If I remember correctly, when we first established the society, we even visited your grandfather to invite him. Unfortunately, he declined, citing old age and poor health,” Director Sun nodded. “Doctor Li, is your grandfather...?”
“My grandfather passed away two years ago.”
“Two years ago? Ah… the older generation is almost all gone now,” Director Sun sighed, shaking his head.
At the same time, a strong sense of puzzlement arose within him.
In his recollection, that old man, like his own mentor, had learned medicine in the Western Medical Bureau established during the Qing dynasty, focusing mainly on Western medicine, with only a basic knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine.
That was during the Qing dynasty’s reform period, promoting Western learning.
Logically, that old man shouldn’t have been skilled in traditional Chinese medicine. So how...
Could it be that he learned TCM from other sources?
But Sun had never heard of any great medical expert in the capital who primarily used acupuncture and moxibustion as treatment.
“Doctor Li, when I watched you perform acupuncture earlier, the points and meridians you targeted seemed somewhat different from what I know. What style or technique are you using?”
“Uh...” Li Yancheng was at a loss for how to explain. The acupuncture points he used were all told to him through the inherited memories. Because he hadn’t yet fully sorted or internalized these memories, he understood the treatment methods superficially but not fundamentally—he simply couldn’t explain.
His momentary blankness was misunderstood by Director Sun, who hurriedly waved his hand and said, “Doctor Li, please don’t take it personally. I just got curious and asked.”
Just like Zhou Guotao’s reaction earlier, Director Sun thought this acupuncture method was a secret technique of Li Yancheng’s. Seeing that he seemed unwilling to explain, he quickly reassured him.
Hearing this, Li Yancheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He truly had no intention of being secretive; the key was that he simply hadn’t mastered it yet and couldn’t teach it to anyone else.
For the past month, he had been diligently organizing the inherited memories, but in such a short time, he estimated he had only managed to sort out about one ten-thousandth of it. He had used up several bottles of ink.
He had repeatedly gone to the logistics office to get more ink, and the staff began to suspect he was taking it home.
He didn’t know how long it would take him to fully organize everything.
Fortunately, he had no other pressing matters. Whenever he had free moments at work, he would start sorting the memories. After returning home and tutoring Xiao Ningning and the occasional visits from Old Zhao’s third son from the front yard, he spent his time either sewing clothes for himself or working on this.
After a month of persistence, he found it quite enjoyable.
Having something to do made time pass faster and even pushed thoughts of whether he should find a partner out of his mind.
After getting a rough understanding of the youngest doctor under his supervision, Director Sun didn’t engage in much more conversation and left.
Before Li Yancheng could relax, the clinic’s curtain was lifted again, and a head peeked in.
Looking up, he saw a familiar face—his middle school classmate, Xiao Yuan, who worked at the heavy machinery factory.
“Xiao Yuan, what brings you here? Please, have a seat.”
“Hehe, I’m here... I came to see you for a consultation.”
Seeing no one else in the clinic, Xiao Yuan cheerfully walked in.
“Consultation?” Li Yancheng glanced at Xiao Yuan’s face and noticed something was off.
His complexion was yellowish, dark circles surrounded his eyes, and he walked with a somewhat unsteady gait—likely symptoms of significant kidney depletion.
In other words, symptoms often caused by excessive indulgence.
But last time they met at the ghost market, this guy said he didn’t have a partner yet. Now he’s back already looking for one? Found someone suitable so fast?
Even if he had found someone, getting to that stage so quickly—in just a month—seemed too rushed.
Could it be that within one month he had gone through all the steps from matchmaking to marriage?
Though modern times emphasize transcending old traditions, it couldn’t be that fast.
“Xiao Yuan, are you married?”
“Married?” Xiao Yuan was slightly surprised and shook his head. “No, I told you last time, there’s no way I’d be married so quickly.”
“Then how... come here, come on, put your arm out.”
Worried he might have misjudged, Li Yancheng moved the pulse pillow closer, signaling Xiao Yuan to place his arm on it.
“Taking my pulse?”
Seeing the pulse pillow, Xiao Yuan looked surprised. He knew his classmate studied Western medicine—since when did Western medicine involve pulse-taking?
Besides, although he said he came for a consultation, he didn’t really intend to see a doctor, but had other reasons.
“Da Cheng, I’m not sick. Actually, I came to ask you to prescribe some medicine.”
“What kind of medicine?”
Li Yancheng didn’t say, “Look at your face; how can you say you’re not sick?” If he says he’s not sick, then he’s not. Hearing that he came for medicine, he asked out of curiosity.