Chapter 48: Huang Biao Takes the Initiative to Consult Zhang Jing

"Little Zhang, I..." Huang Biao started to speak, then hesitated, leaving his sentence unfinished.

"If you have something to say, please go right ahead, Director Huang. There's no need to hold back," Zhang Jing replied.

Seeing how secretive the other man was acting, Zhang Jing guessed that what he had to say next probably wasn't just a simple discussion about routine matters.

"Alright then." Looking as though he had mustered a great deal of courage, Huang Biao slowly said, "I'd like to talk to you about the patient from this morning."

"Ah, you mean the patient who consulted you first and whom you then recommended to me, right?"

"That's right, it's him. Little Guizi. However, he isn't actually my patient—he's my nephew."

Zhang Jing very much wanted to say that he had guessed this all along, and Gui Cui's phone call had basically confirmed his suspicion.

However, right to Huang Biao's face, it naturally wouldn't do to expose him so bluntly.

He could only reply indifferently, "Oh, is that so?"

Huang Biao gave two light coughs, an embarrassed flush spreading across his aged face: "You're so clever, you must have already figured out why I asked you to treat him."

Before Zhang Jing could reply, Huang Biao immediately answered his own question: "That's right! I've been doubting your medical skills all along, believing that those previous patients were all plants you hired. That's why I had Little Guizi come specifically to... to test you."

Huang Biao had originally wanted to use the word "expose," but the moment it reached his lips, he suddenly realized how entirely inappropriate it was. Otherwise, it would make him look far too scheming.

Yet Zhang Jing didn't seem to take it to heart at all, saying calmly, "Director Huang, it's completely normal for you to doubt me. To tell you the truth without fear of your amusement, I've only just started clinical practice these past few days, and to be honest, I don't have absolute confidence in myself either."

"Come now, Little Zhang, don't be so modest. At first, when Little Cui talked about how amazing you were, curing a patient with just a single dose of medicine, I refused to believe it even if it killed me. But just a moment ago, Little Guizi called to say that after taking just a single dose of your medicine—ah, no, to be exact, after taking it only *once*—not only has his diarrhea cleared up, but his prostate symptoms have also been noticeably relieved."

"If it were anyone else, I probably still wouldn't believe it fully; I'd think there was an element of exaggeration. But Little Guizi is someone I watched grow up from childhood, and I know for a fact he wouldn't dare lie to me."

"Fast-acting relief for acute diarrhea is one thing, but I'm well aware of his chronic prostatitis which has dragged on for several years. For it to achieve such drum-like, immediate efficacy—something like that was beyond anything I could have ever imagined."

"Little Zhang, where on earth are you from, and who is your mentor? How is it that you've barely been out of graduation for two years, yet your medical skills are already so profound?"

Huang Biao had said all of that in one breath, but the most crucial part was actually this final question.

He was immensely curious about which master of Traditional Chinese Medicine was responsible for training Zhang Jing, and why on earth he would be willing to settle for working in such a small clinic.

***

Naturally, Zhang Jing was well aware of what Huang Biao was thinking, but the matter of the system arranging simulated apprenticeship studies was simply something that could not be explained aloud.

Furthermore, even if he did tell the truth, Huang Biao would never believe it; instead, he would assume he was deliberately making up excuses and talking nonsense.

Worse still, given Huang Biao's personality, it wasn't impossible that he would secretly call the boss, Ma Hui, to report that Zhang Jing might be mentally unstable, suggesting they send an ambulance from the Third People's Hospital to haul him off for a psychiatric evaluation.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Jing could only respond vaguely: "I'm sorry, Director Huang, but my teacher gave me strict instructions not to let his name be divulged. I can only tell you that he is a master of the classical formula school."

"Oh, is that so?" Disappointment was hard to conceal on Huang Biao's face, but a moment later, sudden realization dawned on him: "No wonder when I looked at your prescription earlier, it entirely followed the path of classical formulas."

"Actually, it can't be considered a purely classical formula either. Take the prescription I wrote for your nephew this morning, for instance—it was appropriately adjusted, added to, and subtracted from based on two classical formulas."

"Mm, mm, mm," Huang Biao nodded repeatedly. "My main purpose in coming to see you this time is to discuss his medical case with you."

As for Little Guizi's prescription, Huang Biao had long since asked Gui Cui to show it to him.

Only, at the time, he had felt that Zhang Jing was recklessly throwing a dozen herbs together without any rhyme or reason, and naturally, he had still scoffed at it.

Zhang Jing had long since heard Gui Cui report this matter. Not only that, but Gui Cui had also shown him the prescription Huang Biao had written for Little Guizi the day before.

At this thought, Zhang Jing asked, "Alright, Director Huang, you should already be familiar with his symptoms and condition, right?"

"That's right, Little Cui probably told you about it too. I won't hide it anymore; actually, yesterday morning, he already consulted me for treatment once."

To save a shred of face, Huang Biao didn't have the heart to say that he had initially only asked him to act as a plant.

"Ah, then Director Huang, how did you analyze this medical case?" Zhang Jing asked again.

Huang Biao thought about it carefully. In front of a peer, trying to bluff with the theory of the Five Elements obviously wouldn't work.

Therefore, he had to rack his brains, desperately trying to recall the contents of the basic theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine concerning the physiology and pathology of the viscera.

"First of all, considering that prostatitis primarily manifests as frequent, urgent, and painful urination, it certainly must be inseparable from the kidneys and the bladder. Because the kidneys govern water and manage the two lower orifices, while the bladder stores urine and directly participates in excreting waste. Little Zhang, I'm right about that, aren't I?"

"Please continue," Zhang Jing said noncommittally, gesturing for him to go on.

Huang Biao pondered for quite a while longer before continuing: "However, through the four diagnostic methods, I found that his pulse was rapid and slippery, and his tongue coating was yellow and greasy—which should be a sign of internal retention of damp-heat. Therefore, treatment should proceed from the liver; in Chinese medicine, there has always been the saying that the liver and kidneys share the same origin. Thus, I diagnosed him with the syndrome of damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder, and prescribed the formula *Gentiana Scabra Decoction to Drain the Liver*."

***

Having reached this point, he naturally began reciting the rhymed mnemonic: "Gentiana scabra, gardenia, Scutellaria, and bupleurum; Rehmannia, plantago seed, and alisma accompany them..."

However, he had barely recited two lines when it suddenly hit him.

Sitting before him was not a patient, but rather the person he had come to consult for guidance—how could he dare to show off his minor skills right in front of an expert!

At this thought, he forcefully swallowed the remaining two lines back down into his stomach.

Then he awkwardly explained, "This formula isn't a classical one; I was worried you might not be very familiar with it, so I couldn't help myself and let it slip."

Zhang Jing gave a faint smile. "This indeed isn't a formula from Zhang Zhongjing, but it is included in the textbook *Formulae of Traditional Chinese Medicine* from our university days. This formula originates from the *Imperial Grace Formulary of the Taiping Welfare Pharmacy* of the Song dynasty, and is composed of ten herbs: Gentiana scabra, Scutellaria baicalensis, gardenia, alisma, Rehmannia glutinosa, bupleurum, raw licorice, akebia stem, plantago seed, and angelica sinensis. It primarily treats the syndrome of blazing excess fire in the liver and gallbladder."

"Do you also remember the dosage for each herb?" Huang Biao asked, somewhat startled.

"I don't remember the dosages from the original formula, mind you. I only know the dosages recorded in the textbook converted into modern standards. It should be 6 grams of gentiana scabra (stir-fried with wine), 9 grams of Scutellaria baicalensis (stir-fried with wine), 9 grams of gardenia (stir-fried with wine), 12 grams of alisma, 9 grams of akebia stem, 9 grams of plantago seed, 8 grams of angelica sinensis (stir-fried with wine), 20 grams of Rehmannia glutinosa, 10 grams of bupleurum, and 6 grams of raw licorice," Zhang Jing said slowly after a brief moment of thought.

"Ah? No way! You actually remember it this clearly?! Little Wang, I truly underestimated you before. I was utterly blind and had no eyes for talent—how shameful! Truly, how shameful!" Huang Biao wore an expression of absolute embarrassment.

"There's nothing particularly remarkable about that. It's just that I only recently graduated, and I was preparing for the licensed physician qualification exam just last year, so my memory is still relatively fresh," Zhang Jing said modestly.

"You call that nothing remarkable? Just look at me—having practiced medicine for decades, all I can do is recite that little book of rhymes, and even then, I only know the medicinal composition and the primary therapeutic functions. When it comes to the dosage of each herb, I can't even remember a single complete formula, and I can only rely on my own empirical dosages when writing prescriptions."

"As for the dosage of each herb, one truly doesn't need to be overly rigid about it. I believe it should be determined based on actual clinical circumstances. For instance, the classical formulas in the *Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders* usually employ very large dosages."

"However, my teacher specifically warned that the dosage can be appropriately adjusted. He frequently uses one-half, one-third, or even as little as one-tenth of the original formula's dosage, and it can still achieve drum-like efficacy, curing the illness before the cup is even set down."

Upon hearing this, Huang Biao nodded repeatedly: "That's right, one should apply things flexibly. Unlike me, who always follows the original formula step by step without daring to reduce a single herb, and only knows how to combine formulas, yet can never remember the dosages. Through your explanation, I finally understand that the root cause of poor therapeutic efficacy lay right here."

To his surprise, however, Zhang Jing shook his head slightly. "Director Huang, I don't quite agree with that."

"Ah?" Huang Biao looked at him in utter astonishment, anxiously asking, "Then, Little Zhang, tell me—what is the crucial factor?"