Chapter Sixteen: Scoring

Watching Li Yancheng skillfully apply acupuncture needles to a patient without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Guotao, standing to the side, felt both moved and astonished.

He could say he had witnessed this young man’s step-by-step growth over the past half-month or so. From the initial caution and extreme hesitation when inserting the needles to the current fluid, effortless motion, his progress had been simply too rapid—so fast that Zhou could hardly keep up.

In truth, Zhou was slightly overestimating Li. While the technique was indeed smooth, it applied only to this specific condition: external fever caused by wind-cold. Having treated seven or eight such patients in a row over the past few days, Li had become proficient through repetition. If he were to treat a different ailment, he would undoubtedly return to his cautious, tentative self.

"Yancheng, I just realized something. Why is your treatment method different from other traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners?"

Currently, many hospitals did not separate internal medicine from TCM departments. When internal medicine doctors examined patients, they would typically start by checking the pulse; whether they could actually read anything from it was another matter, but the motions had to be performed. There were three genuine TCM doctors in the internal medicine department of their First Hospital. Although Zhou Guotao was a Western medicine practitioner, he also knew how to check a pulse—again, whether he could derive any real insight from it was a different story. While he didn't necessarily use TCM methods for treatment, he was well-versed in the four diagnostic pillars of TCM—looking, listening, asking, and pulse-feeling—and the subsequent process of dialectical diagnosis and prescription.

However, Li Yancheng’s approach was distinctly different. The start was the same, but instead of writing a prescription after the diagnosis, he would immediately proceed to acupuncture. It was as if acupuncture were his primary treatment, with herbal medicine serving only as a supplemental tonic—an extra step in the middle. Yet, judging by his observations over the last half-month, the results were excellent.

While it was true that TCM could treat acute illnesses and a skilled practitioner could usually tell if a treatment was working within three doses, some patients were too impatient for even that. Upon arriving at the hospital, many hoped for a miracle, wanting the doctor to cure them instantly so they could feel better right away. To be honest, such a thing was virtually non-existent in either TCM or Western medicine; healing is a process.

But Zhou noticed that this "rule" seemed to be broken by Li Yancheng. His acupuncture took effect on the spot; even if it didn't provide a total cure, it quickly alleviated the symptoms, after which herbal medicine was used for follow-up conditioning. This made the patients very happy to comply.

Faced with Zhou’s question, Li thought for a moment before answering, "My grandfather’s school of thought differs from other TCM practitioners. His lineage emphasizes treating the illness first and then conditioning the body."

What else could he say? He had to stick to the memories inherited from his predecessor. The author of the *Acupuncture and Moxibustion Classic* (Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing) indeed treated patients in this manner; the book’s core content was the organic integration of meridian theory, acupoint theory, and diagnostic methods. Aside from the acupuncture techniques—which had been completely lost since the Three Kingdoms period and which he was likely the only one to master—the prescriptions he wrote were quite ordinary, known to many TCM doctors.

As it involved the secrets of his school, Zhou did not press further, fearing he might overstep and offend him. TCM placed great weight on lineage. Even decades later, the expert listings of top-tier hospitals would show that some TCM experts lacked fancy degrees, instead noting their medicine was family-inherited or learned from a particular master.

The TCM knowledge and experience Li inherited were vast. Those conditions were based on pure TCM diagnostic patterns, and he couldn't identify which Western medical diseases they corresponded to until he actually encountered them. Thus, he couldn't even say for sure what he was capable of treating; he simply treated whatever came his way. Through repetition, he learned where the corresponding acupoints were, and his speed naturally improved. For rare or unfamiliar conditions, he would have to spend a long time locating the acupoints via the pulse, making his movements hesitant. But he believed that over time, his treatment of patients would become increasingly fluid.

It was now January of the nineteenth year of the People's Republic. Over the past two days, the number of patients coming to the health center had gradually increased compared to the previous month. That very morning, Li had treated six patients—more than he had seen in the last two or three days combined. Though they were all minor ailments, it was valuable experience.

Peaceful days continued until the afternoon of January 10th, when several people arrived from Yishun County, claiming they were there to evaluate the town officials and asking residents and staff of various units to score them. This was standard procedure, but as Li looked at the evaluation form handed to him, he was stunned.

What was this? He was only here for a short-term medical support mission; he didn't even recognize all the town officials. How could he possibly score them? Of the long list of names, the only two he recognized were the director of the neighboring finance office and Director Liu of the health center.

The evaluators were quite thorough, even taking Zhou Guotao into another office. Li looked at the form again and then up at the young man who had given it to him.

"Comrade, I am a doctor from the City’s First Hospital here for medical support. I’ve been here for less than three months, and I don't even know most of the names on this list. How am I supposed to score them?"

The young man replied, "Sending medical support to the countryside is a good thing. To solve the problem of limited access to healthcare in grassroots areas, especially in rural regions, city leaders have dispatched the backbone of the medical and health sector to deliver warmth. Such efforts should be vigorously promoted and celebrated. But you’ve been here for over two months, and you still can't recognize the town officials? Doesn't this, from another perspective, indicate that these people don't take your support mission seriously at all? It could even be said that they have never truly kept the problems of the common people in their hearts."

?!

My goodness, that was something else! Li’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. This was a unique line of thinking; the ability to immediately find the problem from a different angle made this man a real talent. At the same time, Li felt a bit embarrassed. Now, his offhand comment might have dug quite a deep hole for the officials in Mulin Town.

Zhou Guotao faced the same situation, but the person overseeing him didn't interpret it that way. Instead, he flatly told Zhou to give a zero to everyone he didn't know. He even added a stern warning not to try to gloss over it; he would specifically ask for the duties corresponding to each name later. This completely extinguished any thought of Zhou just filling it out randomly, leaving him no choice but to give zeroes where appropriate.