“Irresponsible?”
This word muddled Fang Qiu.
“Why do you say I am being irresponsible?”
At this point, Cao Ze also heard the fuss and came to their doorway.
Inside the room, the old man was getting angrier and angrier as he criticized Fang Qiu. But the angrier he was, the more criticism he wanted to say. “Kid, you must have learned medicine for only a few years. Why aren’t you studying but working in the hospital? What you’re doing is ruining patients, isn’t it? I won’t let you diagnose me!”
As he yelled, he got to his feet to leave.
Fang Qiu immediately realized that this old man did not trust him.
Or perhaps he had been so since the moment he came through the door, and no X-ray was just an excuse.
He believed that if Shen Chun told him there was no need for X-ray, the old man would be very happy to save that cost.
He hastily stopped the old man and explained with a bitter smile, “Sir, I am young, but that does not mean my skills are unsophisticated. I can fix your problem at an expense of less than a hundred yuan. Once you walk out from this room and let others give you treatment, adding the expenses of X-ray and all kinds of examinations, it will be more than several thousand yuan.”
There were a lot of cases of non-treatment recorded in ancient books on Chinese Medicine. No matter whether there were mainly six or ten circumstances of non-treatment, one thing was commonly recognized—a doctor should never treat a patient who did not trust him.
But Fang Qiu could not just watch the old man go to others and waste such money, so he had to persuade him in earnest.
At this scene, Cao Ze could not help but shake his head.
“Judging by his previous act, I can tell Fang Qiu is still an ardent youth instead of a doctor.”
“If he were any other experienced doctor, he would first exercise any means to free himself from taking this case, regardless of what kind of medical treatment this patient would get in the end.”
“In case the patient blames me for my inaccurate diagnosis, I’ll just let him do the X-ray, the more expensive the better!”
“In case he complains that my treatment is poor, I’ll prescribe him lots of health protection medicine, anyway it won’t kill him!”
“As to whether the patient is cured or not, it’s a different matter.”
“This does not mean the doctor has no medical ethics. It’s all down to the awfully complicated doctor-patient relationship. There is nothing we can do about it.”
“Because when a doctor has to take care of so many patients every day, it’s quite frequent for him to encounter some unreasonable patients. He will probably get himself in trouble if he insists to provide help.”
Even though Cao Ze was just an intern, he had long since grasped the rules, or the traditional code of conducts, in various hospitals.
In his view, now Fang Qiu was undoubtedly seeking for more trouble.
At Fang Qiu‘s remarks, the old man instantly came to a halt. He asked hesitantly, “You can really cure me?”
The old man did know that he would spend at least several thousand yuan to get any treatment, which would not guarantee to cure him at all.
He was truly swayed him from his decision after hearing Fang Qiu say he could cure him at the price of a hundred yuan.
After all, no money was easily earned.
“I need to give you a detailed examination. But I assure you, if I can’t fix your problem, I won’t give you any treatment.”
Responded Fang Qiu.
At last, the old man surrendered to money.
He lay down in a hospital bed.
Fang Qiu placed his hands on the ilium of the old man, and a picture instantly emerged in his head.
Surely, just as his presumption, it was a forward dislocation of the right ilium.
Just in case, he immediately asked the old man to roll over and lie on his stomach.
When he did an extra check of the old man’s waist and found that his lumbar vertebra was fine, he further ascertained the correctness of his judgment.
“Please roll over again, just lie on your back.”
Fang Qiu told the old man.
In fact, the sacroiliac joint was not an easy place to do the bonesetting.
Because it was fixed by strong ligament on both sides, and the articular surface had tight occlusion with the auricular surface, which played a quite important role in maintaining the integrity and stability of the pelvic ring.
Hence, some people believed this part was an “unmovable joint”, but actually it was still a “slightly movable joint”.
But under normal circumstances, one would not have subluxations in this part. However, once the subluxation came into being, it was almost impossible for it to return to the original position of its own accord. That was why it would hurt intractably and might confuse or impediment the diagnosis and identification of the pain in the waist and lower extremities.
Precisely on account of the above considerations, the tact of bonesetting seemed to be of more importance.
Nevertheless, Fang Qiu, a man at the peak of the Controlling Realm, had already learned it all.
This old man had a right-side dislocation.
Thus, after the old man lay on his back, Fang Qiu asked him to stretch out his left leg, bend his right knee, and put his hands on his abdomen at the same time, which would protect his hypochondria from the pressure.
Fang Qiu held the old man’s right knee with one hand, and gripped the ankle with another, then said to the old man: “Relax.”
The old man’s tense body loosened slightly.
At this, Fang Qiu made another exclamation in his head.
“You still don’t trust me!”
“But it doesn’t matter now, let the fact speak for me.”
“Take a deep breath, and then, bate your breath.”
Said Fang Qiu.
The old man did what he was told.
Cao Ze was still at the door, watching them with curiosity.
He was wondering whether Fang Qiu could work magic again.
After the old man suspended his breathing, Fang Qiu suddenly concentrated his gaze, swiftly pressed the knee against the hypochondria and let it spring back. He did this three times in succession.
His movement went fiercer at every try.
He picked up the speed at every press.
At the third time, a clear clatter abruptly sounded as the bone was restored to its original position.
Cao Ze and the old man in bed were all stupified.
Cao Ze was surely not the most amazed one, but the old man in bed rounded his eyes, his face written with incredulity.
This was his body. The restoration clatter did not only spread through the air but also his insides, so he heard it more distinctively.
What mattered most was that after the restoration clatter, he felt the pain in his waist really disappeared in no time!
“Okay, it’s done, you can get up.”
Fang Qiu told the old man beamingly.
The old man turned over and got off the bed, then hurriedly stretched his waist and hips.
Immediately, his face was drenched in disbelief.
“Holy shit!”
“The pain is gone!”
He thought it would take a lot of effort to get rid of the pain that had tormented him for all the sleepless nights.
“But I’m cured simply by a few pushes?”
“I’m really cured!”
Overwhelmed by excitement, the old man rapidly clenched Fang Qiu’s hands to express his gratitude.
“Young doctor, you’re amazing! Thank you! Thank you a lot!”
A moment ago, the old man was still calling Fang Qiu “you kid”. But now, he was upgraded to a “young doctor”.
“You’re welcome. This is what I should do as a doctor.”
Said Fang Qiu with a smile. He felt very happy and blessed to help people repel their pain and illness. Then, he advised, “Don’t do any heavy work in half a month. Just remind yourself of that and you will be fine.”
“Hm!”
The old man nodded frenetically. Then, he asked tentatively, “You won’t prescribe me any medicine?”
“No, no need for medicine.”
Responded Fang Qiu, shaking his head.
“That won’t do!”
Getting a bit mad, the old man directly disapproved his decision. “If you prescribe me any medicine, how can you take commissions? Without commissions, you won’t make money. Young doctor, you’re still young. You have to make money and get married in the future. Don’t feel ill at ease to this, just prescribe me some medicine!”
After hearing those remarks, Fang Qiu was at a loss whether to cry or to laugh.
Cao Ze, who was still at the door, watched this incredible scene motionlessly.
“What the fu*k!”
“There is a patient begging the doctor to prescribe some medicine because he is worried that the doctor can’t make enough money?”
Suddenly, it dawned on him that this was why Shen Chun, physician Shen, always got along well with his patients.
The root of the problem was whether the physician could cure the patient.
Most of the patients were understanding and reasonable. If the doctor could cure them, they would be more than willing to pay the expenses.
But if the doctor failed to do so, they would feel cheated even if they only paid the doctor a penny.
“Uncle, there is really no need for medicine. You can walk normally right off. If you have any more issues, feel free to come to me.”
Fang Qiu rejected him.
“Alas! Today, I did meet a really good doctor. He has brilliant skills and excellent character!”
Seeing that Fang Qiu truly would not give him any prescription, the old man praised Fang Qiu gloriously before saying goodbye to Fang Qiu and happily taking his leave.
“This time, it merely cost me eighteen yuan of the registration fee. Really worth it!”
“I cured my pain without paying for the treatment! I’ll definitely put in good words for the doctor!”
Actually, he did the calculation wrong. The eighteen yuan already included the fee for registration and treatment. For the convenience of the hospital, they just combined the two kinds of charges in one.
As the old man went to the hospital gateway, he saw a digital screen on the side wall of the lobby, which was full of pictures of doctors with good reputations, followed by the votes made by their patients.
The old man looked through the pictures but did not find anyone he recognized.
Even the picture of the best one in his opinion—the young doctor who treated him just now—was not there. Instantly, he felt there must be some dirty tricks in this rating. Thus, he went to the staff to ask how a patient could cast a vote.
The staff led the old man to the voting system at the center of the lobby.
Told him that he should first put in his medical record number, and then he could vote.
The old man did not know how to operate the system, so he let the staff help him do it.
After searching for a moment, he did find the name Fang Qiu, assistant physician in orthopedics, but there was no picture.
Anyway, the old man remembered that the young doctor was called Fang Qiu, so he asked the staff to vote for Fang Qiu.
This request gave the staff a startle. She could not recall there was ever a physician in orthopedics named Fang Qiu.
Normally, patients from the orthopedics would vote for physician Shen Chun.
“Is there a new doctor here?”
Intrigued, she still gave Fang Qiu a positive vote.
After the voting, the old man left the hospital, perfectly contented. Just as the old man walked out of the hospital, Fang Qiu ushered in his second patient.
A female student.
At the sight of Fang Qiu, the female student went frozen. Then, she shrieked in shock, “Fang Qiu?”
Fang Qiu raised his head and was also petrified.
He knew the patient!
She was Wang Yu, a roommate of Jiang Miaoyu.
She was the one the oldest Zhu Benzheng fancied, who was the timid and lovable type.
“Student Wang Yu, hello.”
Fang Qiu made a gesture while smiling, “Please sit down.”
It seemed that Wang Yu did not hear a word of Fang Qiu. She just gawked at him, still caught in her astonishment.
Reluctantly, Fang Qiu snapped his fingers and woke up Wang Yu, signaled her to take a seat.
“Oh!”
Wang Yu came to her senses and hurriedly to sit down.
The first question she asked was “Are you really Fang Qiu? Not a guy who just looks like him?”
She still could not believe it.
She was too overwhelmed by what she saw.
Even much more overwhelmed than seeing the sun rose from the west.
“A freshman who just started his college life as I did is working at the First Affiliated Hospital as a physician?”
“Who would believe that?”
“Countless men with a doctor of medicine degree are still trying to realize their dream of becoming a physician in a hospital. But this student Fang seems to have long since achieved this goal.”
“But the thing is—he is only a freshman!”
“I am Fang Qiu.”
Fang Qiu pointed at the name tag pinned to his chest. Though it did not include his picture, it did show his name.
Wang Yu took a look. It sure said “Fang Qiu, assistant physician in orthopedics, First Affiliated Hospital of University of Jiangjing Chinese Medicine”.
“How come you’re a physician now? Aren’t you still a student?”
Asked Wang Yu, who was genuinely curious.
“Probably because the hospital thinks my bonesetting skills are fine. I’m not a real physician yet, only an assistant physician. I still go to classes. I only come here to work once a week.”
Fang Qiu did not want to talk much about irrelevant topics during his work time. So, he quickly cut to the chase, “What seems to be bothering you?”
“My knuckles hurt.”
At this question, Wang Yu immediately stuck out her left hand—the second joint of her index finger was visibly swollen.
“This afternoon, we did some class activity—passing around a basketball. But when I stretched my fingers in an attempt to catch the ball, this unbent finger collided with the ball. That’s why it is what it looks like now. Can you fix it?”
“Let me have a look first.”
Replied Fang Qiu.
