He Su Ye hung up the phone and couldn’t help but laugh, standing dazedly for a moment. A little boy tugged at his sleeve and said, “Big brother, I need your help with something.”
Startled, he nearly dropped his phone. An elderly woman nearby chuckled. “Young man, were you just talking to your wife?”
Before he could explain, another middle-aged man chimed in, “Young people like you must find it hard to adjust here. You must miss your wife and kids back home. It’s tough being away from them!”
Someone immediately shouted, “So, Dr. He is married? Two years ago, he was still single when he came here! How could you not share such big news after being here for days? You owe us a treat!”
The villagers who knew him joined in teasing, while a few of his fellow doctors stifled their laughter. Left with no way to explain, He Su Ye tried to speak several times but swallowed his words each time.
Forget it, he thought, smiling to himself. Let them misunderstand. I don’t mind.
Life in the mountains was tough, and traditional Chinese medicine was popular because it was affordable and trusted to cure a wide range of ailments. Poverty, however, brought countless challenges and hardships.
The little boy’s mother had been bedridden for months, suffering from dizziness, declining vision, memory loss, and insomnia. Unable to voice her concerns directly, she confided to He Su Ye in private, “Doctor, we don’t have much money. Can you prescribe the cheapest medicine possible? My son still has to go to school.”
The words weighed heavily on him. He wanted to cross out the more expensive remedies like deer antler frost, turtle shell gel, and ejiao from the prescription but hesitated. Instead, he circled them carefully and made a mental note to cover the cost himself when speaking to the pharmacist.
Outside, the little boy held the prescription tightly and pestered He Su Ye to explain the purpose of each herb, his innocent eyes filled with curiosity. “Big brother, when I grow up, I want to study medicine too—Chinese medicine—and become a doctor.”
He Su Ye smiled and explained patiently, “Job’s Tears / Coix Seeds, or yi yi ren, helps reduce swelling, strengthen the spleen, and detoxify the body. Your mom has spleen deficiency with damp stagnation, which causes swelling and abdominal bloating. That’s why I paired yi yi ren with baizhu and huangqi. She’s also moderately anemic.”
The boy’s eyes turned red, but he said nothing, staring blankly at the high threshold of the clinic. He Su Ye forced a smile and reassured him, “You’re lucky. No matter what, your big brother will help cure your mom.”
Back at his quarters, a colleague informed him that some villagers had brought gifts—several fish, a pot of chicken soup, and jars of rice wine. “They said they didn’t have much to give for Dr. He’s ‘wedding,’ so this would have to do.”
Amused but touched, He Su Ye shook his head. His colleagues teased him further, mentioning that some young nurses at the hospital had been secretly infatuated with him for ages.
He only smiled, brushing off their comments. Fang Ke Xin joined in the teasing. “Our senior brother has always been popular—back in school, departments fought over him during internships just so they could use his photo for promotional materials.”
Unfazed, He Su Ye replied, “I’ll go check if the medicines are ready and deliver them myself.”
0 Comments