Chapter 149: Chapter 123: I’m Not Poor, I’m Rich!

It’s been over a week now.

Hu Yaoyuan had already forgotten about it, but today Song Zhao suddenly called and opened with the news that Lu Jiu cured breast cancer.

Not being dumbfounded was impossible.

“Old Song, what are you playing at?”

Song Zhao knew this was hard to believe, but with the data right in front of him, he had no choice but to believe it.

“Of the two patients I mentioned to you last time, one family also knew this Lu Jiu. After you told me about this, coincidentally, they wanted to try Traditional Chinese Medicine, and I couldn’t stop them, so I agreed.”

“After a week, they came over for a check-up, and the lump had shrunk. The immunohistochemistry results showed lower ER and PR values, which means the girl’s cancer cells not only got controlled—they decreased.”

“Honestly, the moment I saw these results, I was unwilling to believe it, but my profession tells me there’s no mistake in the data.”

Hu Yaoyuan was silent for a moment before speaking slowly, “Send me the report to take a look.”

Song Zhao didn’t say anything, just opened WeChat and sent two pictures to Hu Yaoyuan.

Hu Yaoyuan opened them, and after carefully comparing the data on the two pictures, he found that Song Zhao was telling the truth.

“This should just mean control, with a slight reduction in cancer cells, not a cure, right?” Hu Yaoyuan said.

“What’s the difference?” Song Zhao stood up in front of the window, “You and I both know that a reduction in cancer cells, in a sense, is already on the path to a cure. The most important thing is that this girl’s full-body examination is the same as an ordinary person, meaning Lu Jiu didn’t damage normal cells during treatment. Do you know what this means?”

Hu Yaoyuan slowly replied, “It means his treatment methods are safer and more effective than surgery, radiotherapy, or even targeted therapy.”

Song Zhao took a deep breath, “Old Hu, is there a possibility that we can learn from traditional Chinese methods and combine them with Western practices to improve the survival rate of breast cancer patients?”

Hu Yaoyuan shook his head, “I don’t know. I know nothing about Traditional Chinese Medicine; you might need to ask Lu Jiu for this.”

Song Zhao asked, “Then can you introduce us?”

Hu Yaoyuan gave a bitter smile, “At best, I’m just one of his patients. What’s there to introduce?”

Song Zhao curiously asked, “Have you gone to see him for treatment?”

Hu Yaoyuan said, “I’ve had back pain for years, and after long surgeries, my back couldn’t straighten. I went to see him a week ago.”

Song Zhao asked, “How is it?”

Hu Yaoyuan replied, “It’s alright. After three or four days of treatment, it doesn’t hurt anymore. But I haven’t done any surgeries for a week, so I don’t know if it will come back when I start working again.”

Song Zhao nodded, “Then should I just go directly to him?”

Hu Yaoyuan paused, “Let’s go together. It’s not good to ask for help at the clinic. He gets off work around six, and then we can invite him for dinner and talk about this topic.”

Song Zhao said, “Alright, it’s settled then.”

…

Lu’s Clinic.

Seated in front of Lu Jiu was Xu Yuanyuan.

“Hmm, you’re recovering well. You did follow the diet I mentioned, but your activity time each day is too short, and that’s not good.”

“Activity can raise Yang energy and accelerate the recovery of the Spleen and Stomach functions. This way, absorption will be better, and with good absorption, blood and energy will be abundant. That’s how you cure all these minor issues you have.”

“And,” Lu Jiu glanced at Peng Hui, “try to avoid sexual activity until your blood and energy have fully recovered.”

As soon as he said this, the young couple blushed slightly.

The patients waiting in line also smiled knowingly.

It’s normal for couples, especially when they’re so young.

Peng Hui chuckled, “Got it, got it. It’s my fault; I couldn’t hold back yesterday because I was too happy. I’ll pay attention next time.”

Xu Yuanyuan nudged Peng Hui lightly in the side. It wasn’t forceful but more of a gentle reminder for him to shut that mouth of his quickly.

Now she didn’t dare say a word. With Dr. Lu watching over her as if there was a monitor inside her body, nothing escaped his notice; it was terrifying.

But terrifying as it was, it was also deeply reassuring.

Yesterday afternoon, when Dr. Song called and told her about the decrease in cancer cells, her whole family was too excited to sleep all night.

Ever since the breast cancer diagnosis, the atmosphere at home changed. Although Peng Hui and his parents took care of her in every possible way, their unintentional worries still showed occasionally.

It wasn’t like they blamed her, but it felt like being a guest in someone’s house while the hosts argue. Even if it’s not about you, it still makes you uncomfortable.

Xu Yuanyuan usually had a thick skin, but after falling ill, her mood became increasingly sensitive. It was only after her mom came to take care of her that the feeling of emptiness, fear, and grievance alleviated somewhat.

And it was all blown away by that call from Song Zhao.

So coming to see Lu Jiu today was partly to continue the treatment and partly to express gratitude.

While Lu Jiu was preparing mugwort to continue Xu Yuanyuan’s treatment, Peng Hui took out a red scroll and a yellow envelope from his backpack, “Dr. Lu, this is a token of our appreciation. Please accept it.”

Lu Jiu turned to see what Peng Hui was holding and smiled, “I’ll take the banner, but you should keep the rest.”

Peng Hui said earnestly, “Dr. Lu, you must accept this. It’s a token of thanks from our whole family. Really, all of us have seen what you’ve done over this past week.”

“You only charged us seven or eight hundred. Honestly, that’s nothing. Just a full-body checkup at the hospital would cost us several thousand. If we opted for radiotherapy and chemotherapy, it would start at at least a hundred thousand for a year.”

“You’ve saved us a huge amount of money and even reduced Yuanyuan’s cancer cells. You must accept this money, or our hearts won’t be at ease.”

Xu Yuanyuan nodded, “Dr. Lu, just accept it. If something happens to us later, we’d feel embarrassed to come to you.”

Lu Jiu couldn’t help but laugh, “Why would you jinx yourself? Once you’re better, it’s best we never meet again. I definitely can’t take this money. Don’t worry, hear me out first.”

“Do you know why I asked you to agree to follow my lifestyle and routine before starting the treatment? Actually, whether it’s traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine, all have their limitations. Doctors can only provide support. Whether you get well or not is up to you, not me.”

“For instance, no matter how I treat you now, if you go home and continue staying up late, forget to take your medicine, and keep treating yourself poorly as you did before, even if I were a living immortal, I wouldn’t be able to help.”

“So, the fact that you’ve recovered so quickly is thanks not just to me, but also to yourself, your family, and everyone who cares about you, understand?”

“You’ve already paid for the consultation and medication. If you insist on showing gratitude with this money, how about this: there are many breast cancer patients online, why not donate this money to them? I can share in your goodwill, how about it?”

What…

Lu Jiu’s words left them with nothing to argue against.

“But Dr. Lu…”

Peng Hui wanted to say something, but Lu Jiu waved it off, jokingly saying, “Why are you so insistent on giving me money? I’m not poor! I have money! Do you want me to show you my bank book?”

Peng Hui couldn’t help but laugh, “Dr. Lu, that’s not what I meant. I just think your fees are so low, what if one day… oops, my big mouth.”

Realizing he’d misspoken, Peng Hui quickly slapped himself.

Lu Jiu laughed heartily, “Worried I’ll go out of business, huh? Don’t worry. Once the walls of this clinic are covered with the banners you’ve given me, it won’t just be up to me whether we close or not.”

The banners represent not just honor but also the public’s reputation.

That’s something money can’t buy, and with these, money is just numbers to Lu Jiu.

Go out of business?

As long as he doesn’t break the law, there’s no way he’d go out of business in this lifetime.

“Alright then, Dr. Lu, we’ll donate the money.” Peng Hui and Xu Yuanyuan exchanged a glance.

“You decide for yourself. Now lie down, it’s time for treatment,” Lu Jiu said.

Xu Yuanyuan responded, then lay down on the small bed and pulled the curtain…

…

At 6:30 in the evening, Lu Jiu finished work.

Not many patients today, only around twenty. Primarily because recently, there were quite a few patients with difficult and complicated diseases, making the treatment time-consuming. Diagnosis and follow-ups also required some effort.

As a result, time just wasn’t enough.

These days, Lu Mountain wasn’t at the clinic, but helping Lu Jiu purchase medicinal ingredients.

Lu Mountain had been in this business for decades and knew some old friends. If he went, the quality and price of the medicinal ingredients could be assured.

This was also why Lu Jiu’s prescriptions hadn’t increased in price, even when some medicinal ingredients had.

Moreover, for some expensive ingredients with substitutable properties, Lu Jiu would use cheaper alternatives without compromising the prescription’s efficacy.

This is the most direct benefit of mastering classic formulas.

One doesn’t use formulas rigidly!

As long as you understand the four natures and five flavors of medicinal ingredients, you can flexibly adapt within the framework of the sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy.

Therefore, the rise in ingredient prices didn’t impact Lu Jiu much, but there were significant fluctuations in the proprietary Chinese medicine market.

“Dr. Lu, Dr. Lu!!”

As Lu Jiu was closing the clinic door, two people came out from the café across the street, constantly calling out to Lu Jiu.

Lu Jiu turned his head and immediately recognized Hu Yaoyuan, but the half-bald middle-aged man beside him was a stranger.

“Dr. Hu, what’s up?” Lu Jiu asked with a smile.

Hu Yaoyuan laughed, “Do you have time to join us for a meal?”

Lu Jiu said, “Just for a meal?”

Hu Yaoyuan laughed, “Of course, I’d also like to learn a thing or two from you. This is Director Song from the breast surgery department at the People’s Hospital, Song Zhao. You probably know Xu Yuanyuan, she was his patient before.”

Song Zhao extended his hand, “Dr. Lu, to be honest, I’d like to learn more about how you treat breast cancer.”

Lu Jiu couldn’t help but laugh, “Dr. Hu, didn’t we discuss this before? You and I have different understandings of the disease, such discussions are really pointless.”

Song Zhao interjected before Hu Yaoyuan, saying, “It’s okay to have different understandings of the disease. I’m just curious about how traditional Chinese medicine approaches it and seeing if combining Chinese and Western medicine might lead to more effective treatments for breast cancer patients.”

Hu Yaoyuan quickly added with a smile, “Dr. Lu, please help out. If this idea can be realized, even if we only cure one more patient, it would be enough.”

Seeing their persistence and genuine intent to achieve something, Lu Jiu no longer refused, “Alright then, you pick the place.”

Hu Yaoyuan was delighted, “The place is already set, Dr. Lu, please get in the car.”

Oh! (akin to surprise)

They came prepared.

Lu Jiu shook his head with a smile and then got into Hu Yaoyuan’s car…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep