Chapter 818: The Bet

Chapter 818: Chapter 818: The Bet

If Ju Jiahong’s 100 grams was astonishing, then Li Xu’s 250 grams was downright terrifying.

In the minds of most doctors, prescribing half a catty of raw gypsum wasn’t treating the illness—it was freezing the patient to death.

"Dr. Li, are you intentionally butting heads with Director Ju?" Zhu Gaoyuan couldn’t help but warn him. "This isn’t the time to act out of spite. Even though raw gypsum is a mineral and is considered to have low toxicity nowadays, its extreme cold nature is very real. Half a catty of that medicine will likely extinguish whatever faint stomach Qi the patient has left right on the spot."

Ju Jiahong also frowned, a trace of doubt in his eyes. "Dr. Li, I understand your rationale for favoring large doses, but 250 grams truly defies common sense. The White Tiger Decoction is named as such precisely because it is ferocious. Isn’t this dosage a bit too idealistic?"

Facing everyone’s doubts, Li Xu’s expression remained entirely unchanged. He pointed at the patient who was continuously drinking water, his tone so calm it bordered on cruel.

"Look at her, everyone. The patient is suffering from extreme thirst and drinking excessively; that is her body trying to save itself. The pitcher of water she just drank is quickly evaporated by the scorching heat inside her. This proves that the pathogenic factors have penetrated deeply, and the dryness has transformed into fire. When treating an illness, traditional Chinese medicine compares the ’pathogenic factors’ with the body’s ’healthy Qi’. Right now, we are facing an enemy army of a hundred thousand. By prescribing 100 grams of plaster, you are sending at most thirty thousand troops. While it’s an improvement over 24 grams, they will still be wiped out. The result? Her fever won’t break, and the insufficient medicine will only allow the disease to develop resistance, thus prolonging her suffering."

Li Xu stared directly into Ju Jiahong’s eyes. "Since it’s the White Tiger, it must possess the ferocious momentum of a white tiger descending a mountain to settle the battle in a single strike. We need 250 grams of plaster, paired with large doses of Zhimu and glutinous rice.

"Zhimu is bitter and cold, nourishing the yin, while glutinous rice harmonizes the stomach and protects the Qi. As long as the stomach Qi is protected, these 250 grams of plaster will be a timely rain to extinguish the fire, not a cold snap that freezes away her life.

"If your dosage is insufficient and you fail to put out the flames in one go, the patient’s yin fluids will continue to be consumed. That is where the true danger lies."

Though wild, this argument was bizarrely airtight in its logic.

However, the doctors present had all received formal, modern medical education. Faced with such radical talk of "half a catty of plaster," no one dared to nod in agreement easily.

Song Luojun was not present to hold down the fort. Dong Yongnian and Hao Xiangchen exchanged helpless glances; although they were leaders, they didn’t have the clinical expertise to approve such an extreme dosage.

"Two hundred and fifty grams... I still think it’s too risky." Ju Jiahong pondered for a long time before finally shaking his head and proposing a compromise. "How about this? Let’s not argue over this right now. Since Dr. Li insists on a large dosage, and I agree that insufficient dosage was the cause of the previous failure, let’s meet in the middle and try 150 grams first."

One hundred and fifty grams was still a staggering amount that would surely be recorded in the hospital’s medical archives. Yet, compared to 250 grams, it was slightly more acceptable to everyone present.

Seeing this, Li Xu didn’t stubbornly insist on his way. He just gave a faint nod. "Since Director Ju has spoken, we can give it a try. However, I reserve my personal opinion.

"If we administer this 150-gram dose and her fever only drops slightly by tomorrow while her thirst remains unmitigated, it will prove that my point about ’insufficient dosage’ is correct.

"When that happens, I hope Director Ju will no longer hesitate."

Ju Jiahong gave Li Xu a deep look, a trace of unprecedented solemnity in his tone. "Agreed. If this dose is ineffective, I will personally apologize to you and change it to 250 grams."

This wager pushed the atmosphere in the conference room to its climax.

Subsequently, the first patient was led away. Shortly after, the other two patients scheduled for the afternoon were brought in.

Perhaps because the shock of Li Xu’s "250 grams of plaster" was so profound, everyone’s minds seemed a bit more open during the subsequent case discussions. When discussing a patient suffering from long-term tinnitus and insomnia caused by liver fire flaring upwards, they no longer confined themselves to debating a few grams here or there. Instead, they began to discuss the overall layout of the body’s Qi mechanism.

Li Xu didn’t make any more shocking remarks regarding the latter two cases; he merely followed the group’s direction and supplemented their ideas with a few details.

At half-past five, the exchange conference neared its end.

Dong Yongnian stood up and delivered an impassioned concluding speech. "These past two days of exchange have truly opened my eyes! Our young traditional medicine practitioners in Feng City not only possess solid theoretical foundations but also exhibit extraordinary courage. The debate between Dr. Li Xu and Director Ju Jiahong has shown us the infinite possibilities of traditional Chinese medicine in terms of dosage and dialectical diagnosis..."

Amidst thunderous applause, the exchange conference officially drew to a close.

Dinner was held in the hotel’s Chinese restaurant. Although the event was over, everyone’s desire to discuss medicine remained strong.

Li Xu, Lin Guorui, and the two brothers from the Liu Family found a small table by the window.

"Li Xu, you seriously scared the crap out of me back there." Liu Haodong poured water for Li Xu, still speaking with lingering fear. "Two hundred and fifty grams of plaster. If you actually wrote that on a prescription, the old master at the pharmacy would probably just dial 110 to call the police."

Lin Guorui also shook his head and sighed. "I also think you were too bold today. Ju Jiahong is a director at Renmin Hospital; if something goes wrong, the hospital bears the brunt. If you made that kind of proposal in a different environment, it could easily result in a medical malpractice incident."

Li Xu took a sip of water. Gazing at the night scenery of Feng City outside the window, he spoke softly. "The decline of traditional Chinese medicine is often because we have lost our own courage. Back in the day, when Zhang Xichun used plaster, he easily prescribed four or five taels, about 120 to 150 grams, and even more for severe cases.

"Why was he able to become a grandmaster of his generation?

"Because he saw the delicate balance between medicinal properties and human life.

"I didn’t suggest 250 grams to show off. I suggested it because I felt that the patient’s inner fire had truly burned all the way to her bones."

"Ah, let’s drop it," Liu Haixue waved his hand. "Anyway, Ju Jiahong said we’ll see the results tomorrow. To be honest, I’m actually looking forward to the 150-gram dose failing. I want to see how Ju Jiahong apologizes to you tomorrow."

"You just want to watch the world burn," Liu Haodong scolded with a laugh. "But seriously, Li Xu, after these past two days, you have thoroughly attained ’god status’ in the circle of young Chinese medicine practitioners here in Feng City. From now on, if you tell people you’re just a clinic doctor, no one is going to believe you."

Li Xu smiled and didn’t reply.

To him, attaining so-called "god status" wasn’t important. What mattered was that today, he had planted a seed of dosage and courage in the hearts of these future backbones of Feng City’s traditional medicine community.

One day, this seed would blossom and bear fruit.

***

In a tranquil courtyard in the city center, the scent of medicine drifted through the air.

This was the residence of the National Medical Master, Wang Chuyun.

Wang Xue had just recovered from the news and internal gossip surrounding the young practitioners’ exchange conference. The moment she entered the house, she couldn’t wait to vividly recount today’s "plaster dosage dispute" to her grandfather.