Chapter 63: Queuing

Of course Li Yancheng knew nothing of what had transpired at the Luo household. Arriving at the hospital early in the morning and finishing his meal in the cafeteria, he was quite startled by the scene outside his consulting room even before he reached it.

Not only him, but other doctors passing by were also pointing and whispering toward the area.

Good grief, it wasn't even eight o'clock yet, and a queue had already formed outside his consulting room. There were easily a dozen or so elderly men and women, with a nurse currently trying to maintain order.

Spotting Li Yancheng, the nurse trotted over to him.

"Doctor Li, these patients have all specifically asked for you to treat them."

"Looking for me?"

Li Yancheng was somewhat bewildered. What on earth was going on? He certainly didn't think his medical skills had reached such an exalted level.

"What kind of ailments do they have?"

Regardless, the people were already here, and they all looked quite advanced in age. He had to receive them first and figure it out later.

As he walked over, he asked the question.

"They all suffer from chronic arthralgia in the legs."

Ah, the relative of Director Sun from yesterday!

Li Yancheng immediately grasped the crux of the issue.

When he went over and inquired, it turned out to be precisely the case.

These people had all been referred by fellow patients—specifically, by the relative of Director Sun whom he had treated yesterday.

Due to the heavy burdens of life and harsh conditions, the demographic suffering from chronic cold legs was quite substantial, especially among those who had engaged in manual labor in their youth, as well as elderly women.

This ailment of chronic cold legs could not be completely cured, a reality that remained true even decades later. Treatment was limited to alleviation through medication or physical therapy.

For severe cases where conservative treatments failed to provide relief, surgery could be performed, such as joint repair or replacement. However, even these only served to alleviate symptoms and restore joint mobility, falling short of a complete cure.

The same applied to Li Yancheng. The acupuncture treatment he administered to these patients worked by stimulating acupoints to clear the meridians. Yet, this approach still addressed the symptoms rather than the root cause. Its advantage was that it eliminated the need for constant medication, making it much friendlier for those whose workplaces did not reimburse medical expenses.

After all, even if medicines were inexpensive nowadays, accumulating costs over the years amounted to a considerable expense. Many people chose to grit their teeth and endure minor ailments just to save this money, refusing to take medicine or relying solely on painkillers, thereby dragging minor illnesses out until they became major afflictions.

Since it was only acupuncture, he invited the patients in one by one and had the nurse assist him on the spot, allowing for a swift pace.

The commotion here also caught the attention of the hospital's leadership at all levels. Department heads, deputy directors, presidents, and vice presidents arrived in succession.

Today, Li Yancheng—who had originally gained a certain notoriety because his wife had run away—entered the administrators' field of vision once again, but in an entirely different light.

"Old Sun, if I recall correctly, didn't this young man study Western medicine?"

President Yuan, the top administrator of the hospital, had also come over. He merely observed from the doorway for a moment before preparing to leave, accompanied by Director Sun of the Internal Medicine Department.

"That's correct. He indeed studied Western medicine in school. He learned traditional Chinese medicine from his grandfather, whose name was Li Yuanhe. I'm not sure if you still remember him, President."

"I know whose grandfather he was. If I remember correctly, this elder gentleman should have been a classmate of your master, right?"

"Yes, I only found out yesterday after asking."

"But when his grandfather and your master were studying back then, shouldn't they have studied Western medicine? Were they also proficient in traditional Chinese medicine?"

"My master only understands a superficial bit of traditional Chinese medicine; after all, the primary focus of their studies back then was Western medicine. As for the elder Mr. Li, I'm not certain. Perhaps he studied under some other renowned master of traditional Chinese medicine back in the day."

"Hmm."

President Yuan nodded, left with only such conjectures. Since the elder gentleman had already passed away, who was left to ask?

"You should have a chat with Doctor Li later. It's better for him to keep a low profile and bide his time. Our hospital is no pure paradise, and there's no telling who might still be eyeing that matter of his. If someone gets jealous and stirs up trouble for him, the loss will outweigh the gain."

"Today's incident was actually my fault." Knowing that the president spoke out of a desire to protect the young man Li Yancheng, Director Sun hurriedly offered an explanation.

"Oh? What is the specific story?" President Yuan stopped in his tracks and asked with curiosity.

"I heard that Doctor Li possesses good medical skills, especially in acupuncture. Coincidentally, yesterday one of my relatives had a recurrence of chronic leg pain due to the weather these past few days and couldn't even walk. When she came to me for treatment, I brought her over to Doctor Li.

"The effect was indeed remarkable. When my relative arrived, she had to be pushed in a wheelchair by her child, but right after the needles were applied, she was able to walk on her own on the spot.

"I honestly didn't expect that after going home, she would tell everyone she knew who also suffered from this condition."

"These past couple of days, the weather in our capital has been unstable, with temperatures fluctuating wildly and weather conditions swinging back and forth. People afflicted with chronic cold legs have been in excruciating pain these last few days. As soon as they heard that the pain could be relieved here through acupuncture, well, it resulted in the scene you just saw."

"So that's how it is." President Yuan nodded in sudden realization. He lowered his head in thought, and after raising it again, said, "Old Sun, we must still protect young comrades to the best of our ability. While allowing these young people to gain practical experience, we should prevent them from standing out too conspicuously.

"Sigh... You are well aware of the current situation. It precisely verifies the old saying: people fear fame just as pigs fear being fat."

"I understand your meaning."

President Yuan's words caused Director Sun's expression to turn serious as well. "How about this? I'll have Doctor Li spend a few days in the inpatient department in the back courtyard, and I'll also have a word with the registration desk. If any patients specifically ask for Doctor Li, we'll just say he's on leave. Let this matter cool down for a few days, and things should quiet down."

"No, no, that won't do." To his surprise, President Yuan rejected Director Sun's proposal without a moment's hesitation.

"That would only make it look like we have something to hide; there's no need for that. Just let things run according to the normal schedule. There's no need to claim he's on leave—continue to receive patients as usual. Moving forward, we should simply try to avoid a situation where a crowd specifically swarms to a particular doctor for treatment.

"Whether it's Doctor Li or any other doctor, it's all the same. But there's no need to be overly deliberate about it either, as that might draw unnecessary attention from others."

"Understood, I follow your meaning."

"Very well, alright Old Sun, I'll head over there first. You carry on with your work."

Having taken only a few steps, President Yuan stopped once more. "Almost forgot. Old Sun, compile the statistics on the family members and housing conditions of all medical staff in your internal medicine department, and submit the report to the administrative office."

"Uh... President, are we going to build family quarters?"

"I do have that idea. Let's get the data compiled first. Old Chen's intention is to go upstairs and fight for it on our behalf."

The Old Chen mentioned by President Yuan was the dedicated director sent by the committee, who had been serving at the First Hospital for nearly a year and was quite a decent person.

The prospect of building family quarters would bring joy to everyone, whether they currently had a place to live or not, and Director Sun was no exception.

He nodded with a smile, "No problem. I'll submit it to the administrative office by tomorrow at the latest."

"Hmm."