With everything in place, Ye Wanmian, Qi Wen, and Li Zhao removed the door panel together and opened the clinic for patients.
Li Zhao's illness had mostly recovered. His tasks included accounting, checking medicinal herbs, and dispensing herbs according to prescriptions, which didn't require much physical strength.
Qi Wen used to be a pharmacy apprentice. Besides processing medicinal herbs, he was also responsible for applying medicine to patients and boiling medicine. Since he was quite familiar with Dongli Town, tasks like purchasing were also assigned to him.
An extra hand meant more help.
Many medicinal herbs in the pharmacy of Huichuntang had been used up. Although herbal farmers had delivered the herbs to the clinic as scheduled in recent days, they hadn't been cut yet. With Li Zhao helping to keep an eye on things, Qi Wen could finally replenish the pharmacy.
Ye Wanmian could finally focus on diagnosing and treating the patients who came for consultation. She no longer had to juggle multiple tasks and was no longer in a muddle.
As for Xiao Jingcheng, he closely followed Ye Wanmian. Wherever she went, he went. When she sat behind the table writing medical records, he lay on the nearby table and stared at her, like a big piece of chewing gum that couldn't be shaken off.
However, as long as he didn't interfere with her consultation, she just let him be.
As the sun slowly moved, noon was approaching. A patient came to the clinic, and it was a familiar face.
"Mrs. Li, it's you!" The visitor was the woman who had been sent to the clinic by her husband because of abdominal pain. "Why did you come today? Is your stomach hurting again?"
Ye Wanmian noticed that her hand was on her stomach, so she thought of her previous illness.
"No, no." Mrs. Li quickly waved her hand. She was about to say something when she noticed Xiao Jingcheng behind Ye Wanmian. Her face changed, and she lowered her head. "I, I do feel a bit uncomfortable in my stomach."
Then she added, "But it's not the same place as before. You should know, Mrs. Jiang."
Perhaps because they knew there was a female doctor in the clinic, there had been many more female patients recently. They usually came for some embarrassing or hard - to - explain illnesses to men. So Mrs. Li stammered and didn't dare to speak clearly, and Ye Wanmian understood her hint and concern.
Ye Wanmian smiled. "My distant cousin has some mental problems. He doesn't understand what others say. Don't worry. Just tell me directly."
Mental problems?
Mrs. Li was surprised and subconsciously sized up Xiao Jingcheng.
His skin was as sallow and rough as Ye Wanmian's. His eyebrows and facial features were quite handsome, but her attention was soon drawn to the mole with long hair on his lips.
Feeling stared at, he seemed a bit displeased. His eyes were cold, and he bared his teeth at her fiercely.
Mrs. Li quickly averted her gaze. In the next moment, the face she had just had an impression of became blurry, and she let down her guard.
"Last time, after you treated me, Mrs. Jiang, I took the medicine for a day, and my stomach stopped hurting. Your medical skills are really good."
"However, I'm not here for that this time. It's... " She bit her lip. "Since half a year ago, my menstruation has been irregular. It was supposed to come in the middle of the month, but it's always delayed for a few days."
"At first, I thought I was pregnant, but then I had my period again soon after, accompanied by severe abdominal pain. I couldn't even straighten my back, and... "
Her expression was miserable. "I can't get pregnant either."
Ye Wanmian was stunned. "Mrs. Li, haven't you given birth yet? But I've felt your pulse. You should have been pregnant before."
Mrs. Li shook her head. "I was pregnant once, but I had a miscarriage. Since then, I've taken medicine and worshiped at Ling'an Temple and the Earth God Temple many times, but I still can't get pregnant. Last month, I had my period at this time, and it still hasn't come. I'm afraid it will be delayed again. I'm here today to ask you, Mrs. Jiang, to take a look at me and prescribe some medicine so that I can get through the most uncomfortable days."
Ye Wanmian looked serious. She motioned for Mrs. Li to stretch out her hand again and carefully felt her pulse.
Mrs. Li's body was generally fine, but her pulse was as deep as a stone sinking into the sea. It could only be felt with a heavy press, and it showed signs of being unsmooth, like scraping a bamboo joint with a blade.
Moreover, it was almost July, and the weather was hot, but Mrs. Li's skin was cold. The heat in her body seemed to be blocked and couldn't come out at all.
The last time Ye Wanmian felt Mrs. Li's pulse, she found that she suffered from cold in the body. That's why she suddenly had an acute illness after eating cold food.
After looking at her tongue coating and considering what Mrs. Li had just said, Ye Wanmian's mind was working rapidly. She searched through the medical books she had read for symptoms that matched and soon came to a conclusion.
Ye Wanmian asked, "Have you carefully observed your menstrual flow? Have you seen any blood clots?"
Mrs. Li's face changed, and she stammered, "That thing is so dirty and inauspicious. How could I look at it?"
Ye Wanmian said seriously, "It's very normal for a woman to have her period on time every month. Whether it's early or late, it will affect a woman's health. You should pay attention to it. Since you haven't observed it before, start paying attention this time. Whether the color of your menstrual blood is bright red or dark red, and whether there are blood clots in it. You must tell me next time."
Seeing her so serious, Mrs. Li quickly agreed. "Okay, I'll remember. What about the medicine?"
Ye Wanmian said, "I'll prescribe medicine for you, both for internal and external use. You must take the internal medicine three times a day on time. Not a single dose can be missed, or the effect will be greatly reduced."
Mrs. Li looked embarrassed. "Taking medicine on time... Is there any other prescription? My husband and I are busy delivering goods every day. Sometimes we don't even have time to eat. How can we have time to take medicine?"
Ye Wanmian knew that it was difficult for ordinary people to take medicine on time. After all, making a living was the top priority for common people. But since she had proposed this treatment method, she had a solution.
"Our clinic can make the medicinal herbs into pills that you can carry with you. However, the medicinal effect will be weaker than that of the decoction, and it will take a longer time to take."
Hearing that the medicine could be made into pills, Mrs. Li was immediately interested. "That would be great! But... Will the cost be... "
Ye Wanmian smiled. "Thank you for trusting me, Mrs. Li, and coming to me for treatment. You can pay half of the consultation fee first and take the medicine back to try. You can pay the rest of the fee later when your condition improves."
"If you don't see any improvement after taking these medicines, it means I'm not well - learned, and I'll admit it."
When she was treating patients, she completely forgot that there was a Xiao Jingcheng beside her. She was whole - heartedly immersed in the pathology and didn't know that Xiao Jingcheng's eyes had been on her from beginning to end.
She didn't know that at this moment, her eyes were bright and focused, as if she had found some pleasure in it. Although her skin was sallow, rough, and had freckles, she was so radiant that people couldn't take their eyes off her.
He subconsciously raised his hand and gently rubbed his chest.