Chapter 16: A Bucket of Cold Water

Just as Tang Haoran had said, as soon as Zeng Yi appeared downstairs at the provincial Chinese medicine association, a middle-aged man ran out: "Are you Expert Zeng?"

Zeng Yi nodded.

The man then extended his hand warmly: "Hello, Expert Zeng. I've been waiting for you. My surname is Wang, and I am the director of the office of the Chinese medicine association. Please come in, please come in."

The provincial Chinese medicine association, the provincial Chinese medicine research institute, and the provincial Chinese medicine hospital are actually one entity, all located in the same building. When Zeng Yi entered, he first saw the Chinese medicine hospital. Although the hospital was small, it had a steady flow of patients, bustling with activity. Going upstairs, he found the office areas of the provincial Chinese medicine hospital and the Chinese medicine association.

This time, it was a special matter, and Zeng Yi quickly completed the procedures, receiving the certificate of councilor for the Chinese medicine association.

After the procedures were completed, Zeng Yi was about to leave, but Director Wang held him back: "Expert Zeng, according to tradition, a welcome meeting is held for new councilors. It has already been arranged!"

The Chinese medicine association is a semi-official organization with a relatively loose structure. Such welcome meetings had never been held before. This time, it was specifically arranged to show respect for the expert, due to the events of the previous day.

Zeng Yi, unaware of this, thought it was a tradition and politely said, "That's not good. I haven't made any contributions to our association yet."

"Your willingness to serve as a councilor is a contribution to our association! When the other councilors arrive, a few experts from the medical team will also be here," Director Wang said with a bright smile. "Mainly, it's for everyone to get to know each other and exchange feelings."

Hearing that other experts from the medical team would also be there, Zeng Yi decided to stay. He wanted to meet the doctors he would be working with in the future, which would make things easier.

At 10:30, the small meeting room of the Chinese medicine association was filled with experts, all of whom were influential figures in the field of Chinese medicine in Nanjiang Province.

"I don't remember having a welcome meeting when I became a councilor."

"Who isn't? I still have a lot of patients to see, but I was suddenly notified to attend a welcome meeting. It's getting ridiculous. I'll definitely vote with my feet at the end-of-year election."

"I heard a national-level expert has arrived."

"Is he a disciple of Mr. Xie or a student of Mr. Zhang? If so, holding a welcome meeting is entirely necessary."

As they were speculating, Director Wang led Zeng Yi into the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for taking the time to attend today's welcome meeting amidst your busy schedules. Let me introduce you to our new councilor, Mr. Zeng Yi. Mr. Zeng Yi is also an expert in the health department's medical team."

After Director Wang's introduction, there was a moment of silence. All the experts looked at each other, their expressions filled with disbelief. This was the main character of the day? He looked so young, as if he hadn't even graduated from university.

Seeing this, Zeng Yi knew the situation wasn't as Director Wang had described. He smiled and bowed, "I am a junior. I hope all the senior experts will guide and support me in the future."

After another half-minute of silence, a gray-haired expert finally spoke, "Councilor Zeng, may I ask who your teacher is? Is it Mr. Xie, Mr. Zhang, or someone else?"

"None of them. My medical skills are family-inherited. I learned from my grandfather and also attended a few years of Chinese medicine university."

"Then may I ask your grandfather's name?"

"Zeng Wenfu!"

When Zeng Yi mentioned this name, none of the experts recognized it. Their faces immediately turned sour. To hold a meeting for an unknown young man, pulling so many experts away from their work, was absurd.

In politics, background matters, and the same is true in academia. The former values power, while the latter values lineage and school. Zeng Yi, not from a prestigious lineage and so young, naturally received little respect. Chinese medicine is an empirical discipline. How could a young man with no experience have high medical skills? It was probably another official's whim, sending a relative to gain experience here.

"Then which school of medicine do you specialize in? The Fire God School, the Warm Disease School, the Cold Damage School, or the Yi Water School?" someone asked.

Zeng Yi spread his hands and shook his head, "None of them."

After a moment of commotion, someone couldn't wait any longer and stood up, "I've met the person and recognized him. I have matters to attend to at the hospital, so I'll take my leave." He came to Zeng Yi's side and dropped a business card, "Councilor Zeng, we should stay in touch." He emphasized the word "councilor," the sarcasm evident.

Zeng Yi felt uncomfortable but showed no expression, "Certainly, certainly!"

With one person leading the way, others followed. In no time, more than half of the meeting room had left. Director Wang's face turned pale. This was a task personally arranged by the director of the health department, who had emphasized that the welcome meeting must be well-organized. He looked at the remaining experts with a pleading expression, hoping they would give him some face.

After a brief discussion, these experts stood up, apparently ready to leave as well.

Director Wang took two steps forward and stood in front of the oldest-looking expert, "Mr. Hua, Mr. Hua, I forgot to mention that Councilor Zeng cured the illness of Director Feng of the health department a few days ago and is now his personal physician."

Mr. Hua, upon hearing this, merely said, "Oh," and glanced at Zeng Yi, "Young man, you did well. Keep it up!"

Mr. Hua was also an expert in the medical team. He knew about Feng Yuxin's illness but couldn't get involved because the officials in the health bureau were all Western medicine experts who were biased against Chinese medicine. Therefore, Mr. Hua and other Chinese medicine experts in the medical team were not highly regarded in the health bureau. They mainly handled the health of retired important leaders.

Although he couldn't get involved, a young man could cure the illness, so it couldn't be a serious one. It was just a matter of luck. If we, the real experts, were sent, the illness would have been cured long ago, and there would be no chance for a young doctor to show off.

Mr. Hua nodded and patted Zeng Yi on the shoulder, "I have a few important patients to treat. Let's leave it at that today. We'll have many opportunities to work together in the future." He then led the remaining experts out.

Director Wang's face was extremely embarrassed. He watched the experts leave and then turned to Zeng Yi to explain, "Councilor Zeng, I'm truly sorry. The experts are all very busy. What do you think about this..."

"It's fine, it's fine!" Zeng Yi waved his hand, showing no concern. "We've already met the experts, and the purpose of the welcome meeting has been achieved. Since the experts have left, I'll go back too!"

"I'll see you out!" Director Wang, feeling guilty, insisted on escorting Zeng Yi downstairs.

When they reached the ground floor and got out of the elevator, they encountered Mr. Hua and the other experts. They were standing in the outpatient hall of the Chinese medicine hospital, chatting with a few doctors, apparently being consulted.

Seeing Zeng Yi, Mr. Hua continued his conversation, nodding slightly as a greeting.

Zeng Yi nodded in return and then walked out.

Just as he took a few steps, a large man rushed in, carrying a young man on his back. The young man's condition was unclear, but his painful groans could be heard from a distance.

"Brother, please help me. Can you hold him for a moment? I need to register for an emergency appointment!" The large man, drenched in sweat, looked around the hall and suddenly came to Zeng Yi, pleading with his eyes.

"Sure, no problem!" Zeng Yi quickly extended his hand to help the young man down carefully.

"Thank you, thank you! You're a good person!" The large man bowed to Zeng Yi and ran to register.

Zeng Yi then noticed that the young man's foot was injured. His left foot was completely bare, and the smooth skin was now swollen into a large, terrifying lump, black and blue. By sight alone, one could feel that there was a hard object inside, like a giant worm lurking beneath the surface, ready to break through at any moment.

Zeng Yi asked, "What happened to your foot?"

The young man, in pain, was drenched in cold sweat. He replied, "I... I was installing an air conditioner and accidentally fell... fell from the building. I landed and it became like this. The bone inside seems to be broken!"

Zeng Yi understood that the hard object inside the lump was a bone, not something else. He squatted down and gently massaged the young man's foot, feeling the condition of the bone inside. After a moment, he stood up, thought carefully, and prepared to give his conclusion.

"Councilor Zeng, I didn't expect you to know about bone injuries!"

Before he could speak, the experts who had been with Mr. Hua came over, their tone clearly unfriendly.

"I've learned a bit, but I'm not very proficient," Zeng Yi replied politely.

Director Wang, who might have understood the situation, whispered to Zeng Yi, "Mr. Hua is the best bone injury expert in our province."

Zeng Yi smiled at Director Wang and then said to the experts, "I find this case extremely rare. I got a bit excited and tried to examine it, but I'm not very skilled. I can't feel the bone clearly." He shook his head, stared at the young man's foot, and then squatted down again, massaging it, his face showing signs of confusion, as if he really couldn't feel the bone clearly.

The experts, seeing this, immediately understood and said in unison, "Councilor Zeng is truly humble. How could you not feel a small injury like this?" They then encouraged the young man, "Young man, you're lucky today. Do you know who this doctor is? He is a councilor of our provincial Chinese medicine association and recently cured the illness of the director of the health department. Ask him for help, and he might cure your injury if he's in a good mood."