I Can Hear the Heart's Voice of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Over the years, both families have kept in touch. Maybe they haven’t met often, but there were plenty of phone and video calls. Regarding her nephew, Tao Xiuhua still knew him well. He’s just as good as her son, Lin Yongzhen, if not even more outstanding.

During the college entrance exams, Lu Xuan scored twenty or thirty points higher than Lin Yongzhen. Tao Xiuhua remembers this very clearly.

Not just in the college entrance exams, but even in the graduate exams, his scores were higher than her son Lin Yongzhen’s. He often received school scholarships, something Lin Yongzhen couldn’t compare with.

Sometimes, when Tao Xiuhua was educating her son, she would mention Lin Yongzhen’s cousin, Lu Xuan.

But she didn’t expect that her exceptional nephew would end up at a street health center after graduating.

What kind of place is a street health center?

Frankly speaking, it’s not just a little worse than Anjiang County Hospital.

Moreover, since her son is a doctor, Tao Xiuhua knows a bit. Going to a street health center would mean he’s just reached the end of his career; it’s almost impossible to move on to a big hospital.

Of course, that’s not the crucial point.

She knew that Lu Xuan studied traditional Chinese medicine, which is hard to learn and master. Her son Lin Yongzhen had mentioned this to her before. When Lin Yongzhen called her, he often talked about Lu Xuan, saying that his cousin shouldn’t have studied traditional Chinese medicine.

Compared to Western medicine, Chinese medicine focuses more on clinical experience.

Without guidance or experience, it’s hard to even diagnose, let alone treat patients. Many study for seven or eight years, work for three or five years, and still might not even know how to check a pulse properly.

Being the head of the traditional Chinese medicine department at the street health center, what does that mean?

It sounds impressive, but Tao Xiuhua isn’t a fool. Her young nephew just graduated and took this position, which probably means that Lu Xuan is the only one in the traditional Chinese medicine department, doesn’t it?

Would anyone trust such a young doctor to treat them?

Most likely not.

Thinking of this, Tao Xiuhua’s face showed a trace of worry.

But at this moment, she had nothing better to say, so she just gave an awkward smile, inwardly blaming herself for being too nosy, asking these questions, and causing such awkwardness.

"Well, Lu, it doesn’t matter where you work. Let’s not talk about this. Your parents probably don’t know you’ve come home yet, so let’s go up first and talk later." Tao Xiuhua quickly changed the subject.

Lu Xuan didn’t mind. His aunt might have liked to brag, but she was a good person with a kind heart. She treated him well, often praising him for being sensible and having good grades in front of his cousin Lin Yongzhen, which always left his cousin quite sulky.

It seemed that Tao Xiuhua didn’t intentionally want to bring this up. She probably thought that he might be working in some big hospital in Yong City, planning to brag to the family later about her nephew working in some impressive hospital and how capable he is.

But in the end, he disappointed his aunt.

Working at the health center, she really wouldn’t know how to brag about that.

However, Lu Xuan didn’t explain anything. Letting them misunderstand wouldn’t hurt.

Even if he explained now, his aunt probably wouldn’t believe it anyway, and might even think he was just trying to comfort her.

With this in mind, Lu Xuan nodded, "I didn’t mention to my parents that I was coming back; I planned to surprise them."

"Aunt, my dad’s not home, right?"

"He’s not at home; he’s already gone to the clinic. Your dad’s clinic doesn’t see many people every day, but your dad enjoys it. Your mom can’t talk him out of it, so she just lets him be." Tao Xiuhua said with a smile.

Lu Xuan knew Lu Guoquan was probably at the clinic, so he didn’t mind. He turned to Ji Xiuwen and said, "Let’s go home and let my mom make some noodles for us to fill our stomachs."

"Oh, Aunt, stay for dinner at our place tonight. It’s rare for everyone to come back, and I’ll have my dad come home for dinner too. You should stay and not leave."

Tao Xiuhua was a bit hesitant, but thinking that it’s a rare chance for Lu Xuan and Lin Yongzhen to get together, they probably had things to say. After considering it, she agreed.

And so, a few of them headed toward the Lu Family home.

Ji Xiuwen, pulling a suitcase, followed beside Lu Xuan, speaking quietly: "Old Lu, why didn’t you tell them you’re about to become the director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital?"

Lu Xuan turned back, smiling: "Do you think my aunt was boasting about my cousin to put me down?"

"Isn’t she?" Ji Xiuwen tilted his head. He really thought that was the case since Tao Xiuhua kept mentioning her son while talking to Lu Xuan, as if trying to compare them.

But listening to Lu Xuan, maybe... not?

Did he guess wrong?

Lu Xuan explained: "No, my aunt’s just like that, she loves to brag. But she’s actually quite nice to me. She asked about my situation really because she knew I used to have good grades and got into Zhijiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, so she assumed I must have gone to a big hospital. She probably wanted to brag a bit after figuring things out. How could she know I went to a street health center instead?"

"Oh, I see!"

Ji Xiuwen chuckled wryly: "I thought your aunt had that kind of personality, but it turns out I judged her wrongly."

"However, I feel like since your aunt loves to brag, you could just tell her your achievements. It’d be better for them to know directly from you, rather than finding out later on their own."

"I’ve already gone to the street health center; do you think she’d believe me if I told her?"

"She might even think I’m just trying to comfort her."

"That’s true."

"Come on, don’t think too much about it."

"Lu, what are you guys talking about! Hurry up."

The two were talking when Tao Xiuhua looked back and noticed they were already thirty or so meters behind, so she stopped and called out.

"Coming, coming." Lu Xuan immediately replied.

...

The Lu Family.

Though Bauhinia Garden isn’t a high-end community in Anjiang County, it isn’t bad either. The property’s management is decent, and with separate paths for pedestrians and vehicles, the entire community looks very tidy, unlike the old neighborhood with its mess and disorder.

Lin Fangling glanced at the clock on the wall, noticing that Tao Xiuhua had been out for nearly two hours, and couldn’t help but ask: "Yongzhen, didn’t your mom say she was only going out to buy a couple of things? How come she’s not back yet?"

"Aunt, I don’t know either!"

Lin Yongzhen shrugged: "Maybe she met some acquaintances on the street and decided to shop a bit more. Aunt, do you need anything? You don’t have to worry about us."

"What could I possibly need?"

Lin Fangling said: "I was thinking, why not stay for dinner before leaving. It’s already past three, and I’ll be preparing dinner soon. You should call your mom and tell her there’s no hurry to come back, let her shop as much as she wants."

"Aunt, it’s not necessary. My parents might have things to do when they go back, and since cousin Lu Xuan isn’t coming today, I’ll wait for him to return another time." Lin Yongzhen shook his head, politely declining.

Lin Fangling thought for a while and said: "I’m not sure if Lu Xuan will come back, but he should. He mentioned to me over the phone that he’d be back for the National Day holiday, but as you know, doctors’ schedules can be unpredictable. Who knows if something will come up that keeps him in Yong City."

Lin Yongzhen nodded in agreement: "That’s true. The second provincial hospital is quite busy. With the aging population, there are more elderly people with heart disease. Our hospital’s cardiac surgery is one of the top in the province. People from other hospitals wouldn’t dare claim they’re the best; there are always so many people coming in for consultations and waiting for surgeries.

This time, I practically had to beg my director for half a month just to get this time off. Otherwise, I might have had to stay at the hospital through both National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival."

"In that case, being a doctor really is tough."

"You bet it is!"

"But you’re so impressive, and you’re at the second provincial hospital. Your future prospects surely won’t be bad. Maybe you’ll be the first in our Lin family to make a name in the provincial capital’s medical community."

Lin Yongzhen humbly responded with a couple of words, then asked: "Cousin Lu Xuan isn’t bad either. Even though he’s doing traditional Chinese medicine, he’s at least a graduate of Zhijiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This year, even if he’s not going to the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, some municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine hospital shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, the state is increasingly valuing Chinese medicine, so his future prospects might not be bad either.

It’s just that traditional Chinese medicine is hard to learn and master. To break through takes quite a long time."