Gao Guanghui wrote a new prescription, adding several sedative and tranquilizing herbs to the original formula.
Li Xu noticed the prescription contained ingredients like Uncaria, Gastrodia, and Polygala Tenuifolia, but not Dragon Bone, which was commonly used to treat convulsions and seizures.
"Professor Gao," Li Xu couldn't help but ask, "why not use Dragon Bone? The *Compendium of Materia Medica* states that Dragon Bone is primarily used for convulsions and seizures. It should be perfect for this case."
Professor Gao didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked at Hu Qiming and Lin Guorui. "What do you two think?"
Hu Qiming hesitated. "Perhaps it's a concern over Dragon Bone's astringent properties affecting the absorption of the other herbs?"
After a moment of thought, Lin Guorui said, "I think it's an issue of quality. The Dragon Bone market is flooded with fakes, many of them just ordinary animal bones. Even Dragon Bone from reputable pharmacies can't be guaranteed as authentic. Under these circumstances, it's better to substitute it with other herbs that are proven to be effective."
Professor Gao nodded in approval. "That's precisely it. Dragon Bone consists of fossils from large, ancient mammals. The resource is scarce now, so over ninety percent of what's on the market is fake. Furthermore, Five-Floral Dragon Bone would be even more effective for her condition, and that's even rarer. It's better to use quality-assured herbs like Gastrodia and Uncaria than to use Dragon Bone of questionable authenticity."
"Dr. Lin, does your hospital have any quality Five-Floral Dragon Bone?"
Lin Guorui gave a wry smile. "We have Dragon Bone, and I can guarantee it's authentic. As for Five-Floral Dragon Bone, we're currently out of stock."
"Then we'll just use Gastrodia and Uncaria as substitutes," Gao Guanghui said.
"Professor Gao, I have some Five-Floral Dragon Bone."
Li Xu admitted.
'He mainly wanted to test the effects of Five-Floral Dragon Bone and see if it was as miraculous as the legends claimed.'
"Where did you get it?"
Gao Guanghui's face lit up.
He didn't look down on Li Xu just because he was a doctor from a small TCM clinic.
Large hospitals might not have certain precious medicinal ingredients, but a clinic that had been passed down for generations just might.
"My father passed it down to me."
"Bring it here and let me take a look."
"Okay."
Gao Guanghui had the mother and daughter wait outside.
Li Xu took a taxi to his clinic.
After a moment's thought, he decided not to take the pieces of Dragon Bone he had just obtained that day.
Instead, he took a small piece of a Dragon Bone fossil, wrapped it in cloth, and took another taxi back to the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
"Professor Gao..."
Li Xu placed the Five-Floral Dragon Bone fossil on the table.
"Huh?"
Gao Guanghui hadn't expected Li Xu to bring an unprocessed fossil.
'He'd been wondering how he was going to authenticate it.'
After all, he'd been burned by fake medicinal ingredients before.
Now this was much better; an unprocessed Five-Floral Dragon Bone fossil was far easier to identify.
Gao Guanghui held the fossil up to the light, examining it carefully. The grayish-white bone fragment was crisscrossed with reddish-brown streaks, like a naturally formed pattern.
"Ivory-white surface, interspersed with blue-gray and brownish-red markings of varying depth and thickness, almost like a marbled pattern..." Professor Gao's voice trembled slightly. "This is top-grade Five-Floral Dragon Bone!"
He took out a magnifying glass and carefully inspected a cross-section of the bone. "Judging by the level of mineralization, this is a genuine specimen, at least ten thousand years old."
A stir went through the consultation room.
Hu Qiming leaned in, marveling, "I've only ever seen processed Dragon Bone. This is the first time I've seen it still in its raw, fossilized state!"
Lin Guorui couldn't resist reaching out to touch it. "This texture... It's completely different from the ones in the pharmacy."
Professor Gao had Li Xu call in the mother and daughter who were waiting in the hallway.
The girl, supported by her mother, walked weakly into the consultation room.
Professor Gao gestured happily at the fossil on the table. "You're in luck. You've found a truly potent medicine! This is top-grade Five-Floral Dragon Bone. Combined with my prescription, you'll see results within a single course of treatment!"
The mother was so excited she wrung her hands. "Really? Then... then this medicine..."
"This ingredient was provided by Dr. Li," Professor Gao said, looking at Li Xu with an appreciative gaze. "So you'll have to go to his clinic to have the prescription filled. As for the price..." He glanced at Li Xu hesitantly.
Li Xu understood and quickly said, "We'll go by the standard market price for Five-Floral Dragon Bone. I won't overcharge you, but it isn't cheap."
Five-Floral Dragon Bone of this quality went for two thousand yuan per catty on the market.
A single course of treatment required at least one catty.
He had to make this clear beforehand to avoid any disputes later.
"As long as it can cure her, we can afford to spend a little more."
Gao Guanghui then explained to the mother and daughter, "Dr. Li will be observing here for a while longer. Please wait in the reception area. After 5:30, when we're done for the day, you can go with him to his clinic to pick up the medicine."
It was Gao Guanghui's clinic day, and many patients had come to see him.
He quickly got busy.
Li Xu watched with rapt attention, observing how Professor Gao diagnosed and treated his patients.
More than an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
At 5:30, the clinic hours ended.
As Professor Gao took off his white lab coat, he said to Li Xu, "Dr. Li, you have a quick mind and a great appreciation for the quality of medicinal ingredients. If you continue to apply yourself, you'll go far."
With that, he took a business card from his pocket. "If you have any questions in the future, feel free to give me a call."
"Thank you, Professor Gao."
Li Xu hurriedly accepted the card.
'This is an endorsement from one of the most renowned TCM experts in the province!'
'I'll have to keep in touch with Professor Gao and ask for his guidance more often,' he decided.
'It's a way to build a connection and gain knowledge at the same time. Killing two birds with one stone.'
Hu Qiming's eyes went wide. To receive Professor Gao's personal approval... Forget about him, even Deputy Director Doctor Lin, who was standing right there, was green with envy!
After all, even though Professor Gao had shared his phone number during the morning lecture...
...who would dare to just call him without his explicit permission?
Li Xu, however, was different. Professor Gao had personally given him permission to get in touch anytime.
"Incredible!"
Hu Qiming secretly gave him a thumbs-up.
He was also deeply impressed.
From answering the questions that morning to producing the Five-Floral Dragon Bone in the afternoon, Li Xu was clearly in a different league than the rest of them.
Li Xu took a taxi back to the clinic with the mother and daughter.
Professor Gao had already written out the prescription.
Li Xu prepared the herbs according to the formula.
Aside from the Five-Floral Dragon Bone, the rest of the ingredients were common herbs.
"That's seven doses in total," Li Xu explained as he wrote out the instructions. "The Dragon Bone needs to be decocted first, boiled separately from the other herbs."
The patient's mother thanked him profusely as she paid the 2,400 yuan for the medicine. While it was much more expensive than a typical prescription, it was far cheaper than she had anticipated.
Their previous visits to the city hospital had cost several hundred yuan for even a single test.
A full workup of tests would run one to two thousand yuan.
And that didn't even include the cost of medication.
So, 2,400 yuan for the medicine was well within their means.
As they were leaving, Li Xu made sure to add, "If there are any reactions to the medicine, call me anytime."
After seeing the patient off, Li Xu let out a long sigh and collapsed into his chair.
Attending the lecture in the morning and observing diagnoses all afternoon...
It was more exhausting than a regular day at his own clinic.
Just then, his phone began to vibrate incessantly.
His old classmate group chat was blowing up:
Hu Qiming: [@everyone, guess who was the star of the show today?]
Miaoli: [Li Xu, duh. We all know.]
Hu Qiming: [Haha, but he stole the show *again* this afternoon while observing Professor Gao's consultations.]
Jiang Peng: [What happened? What did Li Xu do?]
Hu Qiming: [He had a piece of Five-Floral Dragon Bone that a patient needed this afternoon, and Professor Gao even gave him his business card.]
Lu Junwei: [Holy shit! Li Xu's a dark horse!]
Miaoli: [So jealous!]
Li Xu just smiled and replied with a bashful emoji, offering no further explanation.
Just as he was about to lock his screen, he received a private message from Hu Qiming:
[Hey, old friend, listen. The director of our pharmacy department heard you have some top-grade Dragon Bone and wants to know if you have any more... The price is negotiable.]