Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 191 - 186 Cai Xing’s illness

"What?"

Wang Jian was startled. He had made a special visit to the Cai Family before heading to the Capital City and had even treated Cai Xing as usual. Logically, there shouldn’t have been any issues. But judging by the sound of Cai Qiong’s voice, she had just been crying—something had clearly happened. Wang Jian didn’t press for details and simply said, "I’ll be right there."

Before his words had even faded, a man’s voice came through the phone.

"Xiao Jian, wait. We’ll come to you; you don’t need to come here."

It was Cai Wenji. His own voice was thick with emotion, which Wang Jian could easily detect. However, Cai Wenji was much calmer than his sister; he had already considered the fact that Wang Jian didn’t have a car.

At that moment, Cai’s Villa was enveloped in a tense atmosphere. It was far more crowded than during Wang Jian’s previous visits, filled with people who were not normally there. Nearly all of the Cai Family’s relatives had arrived, along with a large contingent of doctors from Cai’s Private Hospital, led by Niu Deyuan and Deng Xianhua. As Cai Wenji spoke, people were already following his instructions, moving Cai Xing onto an ambulance. It was clear he had everything arranged. Cai Qiong stood beside him, a tear-stained mess. The other relatives, however, wore hesitant expressions, looking as though they wanted to say something but dared not. They merely frowned as they watched Cai Wenji, some whispering quietly amongst themselves.

"You don’t have a car; you won’t make it in time," Cai Wenji said, stepping aside to avoid the others and lowering his voice to explain the situation. "My dad is in critical condition. His vitals are temporarily stable, but he hasn’t woken up. Doctor Niu and the others... they haven’t found a solution, which is why we’re coming to you. We’ll get there as fast as we can. The ambulance should reach you in twenty minutes at the latest."

Hearing that Cai Xing still hadn’t regained consciousness, a grim thought surfaced in Wang Jian’s mind.

When his clinic was first built, it had been stocked with a wide array of medicinal herbs and emergency equipment, all matching the standards of a major metropolitan hospital. These were originally favors granted to him by the Cai Family. Unexpectedly, in a case of what goes around comes around, they now turned out to be things Cai Xing himself needed. If they had to gather the necessary equipment and herbs now, it would definitely be too late.

Wang Jian took a moment to think. While some of his medicinal supplies had been used, he still had enough. He asked, "Did you use the medicine I prepared for him?"

"We did," Cai Wenji replied, casting a pointed glance at the doctors in the room.

At his words, the faces of Niu Deyuan and his colleagues grew hot with embarrassment. If not for the life-saving Medicine Pills prepared by Wang Jian, Cai Xing’s condition wouldn’t be nearly as stable. They had spent the entire morning doing nothing more than maintaining his vital signs; they had accomplished nothing of substance, and the shame was palpable.

Even Niu Deyuan found those little pills miraculous. According to the Cai siblings’ description, each was a tiny sphere, half the size of a Malteser, exuding a rich medicinal fragrance. Beyond that, it seemed unremarkable; they didn’t even know its ingredients. Yet, it was this very life-saving pill that had pulled Cai Xing back from the brink of death. Such a miraculous item was unheard of, even for this group of highly-paid, top-tier Chinese medicine practitioners. As for the doctors trained in Western Medicine, they were completely awestruck.

Given this precedent, when Niu Deyuan proposed turning to Wang Jian, the village doctor, not a single one of the normally proud and argumentative physicians objected. If he could save the patient’s life, what did it matter if he worked out of a small clinic? As long as he could perform a miracle, even a village doctor was worthy of respect. The group dutifully began arranging the transfer, all while covertly listening in on Cai Wenji’s conversation.

"Is there anything else you need us to prepare?" Cai Wenji asked.

"No, I have the equipment and medicine here," came Wang Jian’s reply. "Just bring him over... as quickly as possible."

With that, they both hung up. At the same time, an ambulance pulled away from Cai’s Villa, heading straight for Paigou Village.

After ending the call, Wang Jian turned to the puzzled Chairman Kang. "An ambulance is on its way with a patient in critical condition from a severe heart attack. Get ready."

"Critical condition? Coming here?" Chairman Kang was clearly stunned. This is just a rundown clinic, isn’t it? Although the equipment and facilities are advanced—no worse than any I’ve seen in the Capital City—the overall treatment conditions are still limited. Did I mishear him?

"That’s right," Wang Jian confirmed with a nod. "Have you heard of the Cai Group?"

"Uh-huh," Chairman Kang nodded.

"Their chairman, Cai Xing, is my patient," Wang Jian continued. "His family is bringing him here by ambulance right now."

Chairman Kang opened his mouth, but no words came out. He then heard Wang Jian add, "Let’s hope everything goes smoothly."

Wang Jian turned and walked out, startling an elderly man who was about to enter. Just as the man was about to speak, Wang Jian cut him off.

"Sir, you’re here for an upset stomach, correct?"

The sudden question made the old man nod dumbly. Indeed, he had come because of a stomach ache.

Wang Jian glanced at his complexion, then pressed gently on the man’s stomach through his clothes. "You ate something that disagreed with you yesterday. You have some indigestion, and you’ve been burping a bit, haven’t you?"

"Ah... yes, yes, yes!"

"Alright, I’ll give you some Chinese medicine. Dissolve them in water and take one dose about an hour before or after your meals, three times a day. If your body absorbs it quickly, you’ll feel better within a day. If not, it might take two. It’s nothing serious..."

Without waiting for the stunned man to react, Wang Jian turned to Chairman Kang and said, "In the medicine cabinet, top-left section, third column, fourth row. Get six of the Medicine Pills from that drawer."

Medicine Pills? Chairman Kang was once again at a loss for words. Following the instructions, he used a small stepladder to open the specified drawer. He paused, staring at the rows of individually vacuum-sealed, transparently packaged pills, lost in brief contemplation. After handing the pills to the patient, he leaned closer to Wang Jian and whispered, "Senior Brother, isn’t manufacturing medicine without a license illegal?"

"Hmm?" Wang Jian shot him a glare, then asked with a look of feigned innocence, "Who’s manufacturing medicine? These are just Chinese herbs rolled into balls. How can you call them medicine? They’re herbal remedies."

But he just called them Medicine Pills himself... Seeing Wang Jian’s self-righteous expression, Chairman Kang was floored. You can just twist words like that? He had overheard Wang Jian mention pills on the phone earlier, and it was now clear he had more than one type. This was a side of his new senior brother he hadn’t expected. The pills looked just like the legendary Medicine Pills from novels. Are they really effective?

Chairman Kang eyed Wang Jian’s profile suspiciously, sinking into thought. By then, Wang Jian had already moved on to the next patient, clearly intending to quickly diagnose everyone in the courtyard. Remembering that the ambulance was on its way, Chairman Kang wisely chose to stay silent. There were still over ten patients waiting. Even at two minutes per person, they wouldn’t finish in time.

But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Chairman Kang was dumbfounded.

Wang Jian’s interaction with each patient took no more than two sentences. The longest treatment involved inserting two needles, which instantly resolved the issue. Chairman Kang couldn’t even figure out what their ailments were because after the first few patients, Wang Jian stopped asking questions entirely. He would just take a quick look before getting to work.

The scene unfolded so quickly that even the patients were left bewildered. Who in this day and age gets treated without so much as a proper greeting? By the time they registered what was happening, their ailments were already gone. If not for the immediate and complete disappearance of their discomfort, the crowd would have certainly caused a scene.

Only when Wang Jian left him with a quick "You handle the cleanup," and disappeared back into the clinic, locking the door behind him, did the people in the courtyard finally process everything. A soft rattle came from inside as Wang Jian began tidying up.

"Doctor Kang..." Li Dayu had appeared at his side at some point, his expression blank. "When you treat patients, is it also so..." He trailed off, unable to find the right word.

It was one of the patients, now fully recovered, who spoke the perfect word: "Awesome."

The word hung in the air, a perfect conclusion to Li Dayu’s unfinished sentence. The other patients began to murmur among themselves.

"That was damn miraculous. He just touched me a couple of times, and my problem is gone."

"Yeah, me too! The pain is completely gone."

"Good heavens. I’ve lived my whole life and never been treated like that before."

"I didn’t even have time to register the prick of the needle before it was already out..."

The crowd stared at the locked clinic door, completely speechless.

Listening to their whispers, Chairman Kang glanced at Li Dayu but didn’t reply. He merely shook his head, wondering how Li Dayu could possibly think any other doctor was like Wang Jian. Where did he even get that idea?

Tasked with the cleanup, Chairman Kang re-checked every patient’s condition. Amidst his shock and disbelief, he came to a stark conclusion: either these people were never sick in the first place, or he was dreaming. When he took their pulses, at least, he found nothing out of the ordinary. A few did have chronic conditions, but Wang Jian had already prescribed remedies, which Chairman Kang had dispensed accordingly.

As he saw the last patient off, the distant wail of an ambulance siren reached his ears, and Chairman Kang was plunged into a state of profound self-doubt.

...

My first day in Paigou Village, and I’m left wondering: Can I really treat patients? —Chairman "Self-Doubt" Kang