Chapter 78: This Thing Most Yearning

When Jiang Zhongyue brought Zeng Yi back to his home, his wife Gao Yayun was holding a baby bottle, trying to get the child to drink, but the child was listless, yawning continuously, and not paying attention to the bottle at all.

"Why did you come back so late?" Gao Yayun asked, somewhat displeased. "Does it really take that long to deliver something?"

Jiang Zhongyue ignored her and said, "Put the child down first, and quickly make a cup of tea for Brother Zeng. Use the best tea we have!"

Gao Yayun was even more displeased. She put the child down and, with a stern face, said, "You only think about eating and drinking. You bring anyone home without a second thought, and you don't even care about how sick the child is."

Jiang Zhongyue raised an eyebrow and said, "Stop nagging and go make the tea!" After saying this, he hurriedly gestured for Zeng Yi to sit on the sofa. "Brother Zeng, my wife is just a typical tough-talking, soft-hearted person. She's upset with me, so don't mind her."

Zeng Yi smiled and said, "I understand, I understand."

Gao Yayun was somewhat surprised; Jiang Zhongyue had never spoken to her in such a tone before. Jiang Zhongyue's rise to the position of County Magistrate in Nanyun County was due to his father-in-law, Gao Yayun's father, who was the Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of Nanjiang Province, Gao Sheng. Jiang Zhongyue, who had no background, had never raised his voice at home since he met Gao Yayun. It was a typical case of a weak husband.

Gao Yayun was not an ignorant woman. Seeing her husband's behavior, she immediately guessed that this young man was no ordinary person and realized that her earlier behavior was indeed impolite. She had given him a cold look without even knowing his background, which was too rash. She silently went to the kitchen to make tea and then brought it to Zeng Yi, saying, "Please have some tea."

"Thank you, no need to trouble yourself, Sister-in-law," Zeng Yi said politely.

"Brother Zeng, when you're here, it's like being at home. Don't be so formal," Jiang Zhongyue said. Then he turned to Gao Yayun and said, "Go and wash some of the new fruit we bought today. Let Brother Zeng try it and also help him sober up."

Gao Yayun was greatly surprised. She couldn't understand why her husband was being so hospitable today, making tea and bringing fruit. Usually, he only showed such enthusiasm when her father came to visit his grandson.

"I didn't expect that the County Magistrate of Rongcheng still has a home here," Zeng Yi said, holding the teacup and looking around the room.

Jiang Zhongyue waved his hand and said, "Ah, I've been working in the provincial government for several years and only recently came to the grassroots level."

Zeng Yi nodded, thinking that this explained it. It seemed that Jiang Zhongyue also had connections in higher places; otherwise, he wouldn't have been appointed as a county magistrate so quickly.

Gao Yayun brought out the fruit and continued to try to get the child to drink from the bottle.

Zeng Yi then said, "Sister-in-law, bring the child over, I'll take a look."

Gao Yayun was surprised. What was going on? Was this young man a doctor?

Seeing that his wife didn't move, Jiang Zhongyue became a bit annoyed and said, "What are you standing there for? Bring Little Tian over and let Brother Zeng take a look."

Gao Yayun was irritated. She thought Jiang Zhongyue was really drunk, bringing a doctor home and acting so superior in front of her. Since becoming the county magistrate, his attitude had become more and more arrogant. If this continued, he might not even respect her anymore.

She put the child in Jiang Zhongyue's arms and turned on the TV, sitting down to watch it. She decided not to pay attention to Jiang Zhongyue anymore, thinking he was really overstepping his bounds.

Jiang Zhongyue carefully held the child and presented him to Zeng Yi, saying, "Brother Zeng, look at how thin he's become. To be honest, I've been preoccupied with his illness lately and can't sit still in the office."

"Parental love is a natural human emotion, I understand, I understand!" Zeng Yi smiled and extended his hand. "Come, let me take a closer look."

Zeng Yi carefully examined the child's complexion and found that although he was listless and drowsy, his appearance was normal, with no signs of illness. He then felt the child's forehead and found that he wasn't running a fever, ruling out an external infection.

"How long has this been going on?" Zeng Yi asked, placing his hand on the child's pulse.

Jiang Zhongyue quickly answered, "For about half a month. He's always drowsy, doesn't like to eat, and sometimes just sits there for a long time."

Gao Yayun immediately became upset and said, "How can you call that 'sitting there for a long time'? Do you call your own son stupid like that! Little Tian is just thinking, do you understand!"

Jiang Zhongyue frowned and said, "A child that young, what could he be thinking about? Go back to your TV. I'm explaining the symptoms to Brother Zeng. If you don't speak the truth, how can he diagnose the problem?"

Gao Yayun, angry, turned her head and started flipping through the channels with the remote control.

Zeng Yi suddenly smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you're not wrong. This little guy is indeed thinking!"

Jiang Zhongyue thought Zeng Yi was being polite and said, "Brother Zeng, don't listen to her nonsense. Spoiling a child isn't done this way. He's so precious that you can't even say a word to him!" He gave Gao Yayun a look, thinking, "Why are you so clueless today?"

Zeng Yi shook his head and smiled, "Sister-in-law isn't wrong. This child is indeed thinking. His condition is called 'yearning sickness'!"

Gao Yayun dropped the remote control and turned around, asking, "What kind of illness?"

"Yearning sickness!" Zeng Yi repeated.

This time, not only was Gao Yayun surprised, but even Jiang Zhongyue found Zeng Yi's diagnosis hard to believe. A child in diapers, who could barely stand and couldn't even speak, could have yearning sickness? That seemed too early. Who could he be yearning for?

"Brother Zeng, are you joking?" Jiang Zhongyue asked, his smile somewhat awkward. He didn't want to doubt Zeng Yi's medical skills, but this was too absurd, beyond his comprehension.

Gao Yayun huffed, thinking, "Look at the people you bring home. Talking about yearning sickness, something you only see in novels."

Zeng Yi shook his head, "I'm not joking! If I'm not mistaken, the child wasn't in Nanyun County before, but in Rongcheng. He only came to Nanyun recently, and these abnormal behaviors started after he arrived here."

Gao Yayun's surprised expression betrayed her thoughts. She stood up and moved closer to Zeng Yi, saying, "That's right. Little Tian only started acting this way after we came to Nanyun. We thought it was just a case of water and soil incompatibility."

Jiang Zhongyue looked at his son and then at Zeng Yi, thinking this was truly bizarre. There was no writing on the child's face; how did Zeng Yi know the child had only been in Nanyun for half a month and that his condition started after he arrived?

"It's not water and soil incompatibility, but excessive yearning!" Zeng Yi extended a finger and gently touched the child's chin, smiling. "You're quite a nostalgic little guy, aren't you?"

Jiang Zhongyue, anxious, said, "Brother Zeng, what exactly is going on? I don't understand."

"In traditional Chinese medicine, the five organs are related to human emotions. Simply put, the heart governs joy, the liver governs anger, the lungs govern sorrow, the spleen governs thought, and the kidneys govern fear. Although the names of the five organs are the same as in Western anatomy, their functions are different," Zeng Yi explained with a smile. "When a person is overly immersed in a particular emotion, the organ responsible for that emotion becomes diseased, leading to various symptoms."

Jiang Zhongyue nodded, understanding this part, but he couldn't understand why a child would have yearning sickness. It made no sense.

"Excessive joy harms the heart, excessive anger harms the liver, excessive sorrow harms the lungs, excessive thought harms the spleen, and excessive fear harms the kidneys," Zeng Yi said, looking at the child. "I just took his pulse. He is suffering from excessive yearning, which has affected his spleen and stomach. With a weakened spleen and stomach, he naturally has no appetite and appears drowsy."

Gao Yayun was so anxious that she rubbed her hands together. The child couldn't even speak, so who could know what he was thinking?

"A child of this age can only be yearning for a few things: a favorite toy, a familiar living environment, or a beloved playmate," Zeng Yi scanned the room and said, "He's already back in his original home, but he doesn