CHAPTER 129: 129 RISING CLEAR AND DESCENDING TURBIDITY

After hearing Du Heng’s words, Li Xiang looked very happy and immediately agreed.

He even left his office and went straight to the registration office window to have Wang Zhenzhen handle the procedures.

Frankly, if Du Heng hadn’t threatened him, he wouldn’t have come to work at all.

Now, with such a troublesome illness, he was even less willing to handle it.

Since someone else was taking over, he couldn’t have been happier.

Du Heng also knew Li Xiang’s thoughts. However, to prescribe medicine for Li Fuman, he had to get Li Xiang’s approval. Although Du Heng was now the Dean and could ostensibly do as he pleased, meaning Li Xiang couldn’t stop him, Du Heng knew people shouldn’t act that way. The due respect for colleagues, seniors, and the elderly was essential.

He returned to his office and reviewed the medical record Li Xiang had entered. Finding it basically consistent with what Liang Fuman had said, Du Heng began to write a prescription for him.

"Uncle Liang, you don’t need to go to the toilet. I’ll write you a prescription, and it should work with just one dose."

"What kind of prescription are you writing? Will one dose really work? When I went to Municipal First Hospital, they gave me so many IV bags, and those only worked for a few days."

Liang Fuman was a little frightened by his situation. Even though Du Heng’s tone was very confident, his doubts couldn’t be dispelled.

"I’m prescribing you Upbear Yang and Downbear Turbid Decoction. I guarantee it will work with one dose."

"Upbear Yang and Downbear Turbid Decoction? What’s it for? It doesn’t sound like it’s for constipation."

Du Heng chuckled. "This is a medicine for qi deficiency."

"Qi deficiency?" Wu Buwei was a bit puzzled.

He was lacking in his understanding of gastrointestinal matters and couldn’t figure out why an intestinal problem would lead to qi deficiency.

Du Heng quickly typed the prescription into the system before saying to the two men, "When bowel movements aren’t smooth, the problem lies in the intestines. It’s either due to insufficient moisture or weak intestinal motility."

"There are many reasons for insufficient moisture. Besides problems with the intestines themselves, issues with the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, or kidneys can all lead to constipation."

Finishing his explanation, he looked at Liang Fuman. "Your problem lies here," he said. "You’ve taken so many medicines—some to lower stomach heat, some to increase intestinal motility, and even osmotic laxatives. None of them have worked. This suggests your problem isn’t dry intestines or Excessive False Fire."

Du Heng drew a circle over his chest and abdomen. "Constipation caused by problems with the five viscera," he continued, "usually presents with other symptoms like a dry mouth, cracked lips, indigestion, and unbearable abdominal pain. However, these manifestations are very weak in your case."

As Du Heng spoke, he walked out from behind his office desk. "I just took your pulse. Your pulse is weak, and your tongue coating is very thin. Combined with your complexion, these are clear symptoms of qi deficiency."

Wu Buwei thought for a moment and said, "Senior Brother, this doesn’t seem right. The patient has difficulty passing stool due to stubborn constipation. Qi deficiency doesn’t cause constipation, does it?"

Du Heng pointed at Wu Buwei and sighed gently. "After all I’ve said, you still don’t understand. His problem isn’t constipation; it’s simply a lack of intestinal motility."

Wu Buwei was even more confused, while Liang Fuman was completely baffled. Du Fei had treated him for constipation, and so had the Municipal First Hospital. Why was it suddenly not constipation?

In his confusion, Liang Fuman asked, "So, are you saying they treated me incorrectly?"

Du Heng shook his head with a wry smile. "We can’t say they treated you incorrectly, just that they didn’t find the root of the illness."

After a slight pause, he continued, "Your inability to pass stool isn’t because of constipation, but because your intestines lack the power to push things through. The lactulose you took is meant to increase intestinal motility, so you can’t say their treatment was wrong."

"Senior Brother, if the medication was correct, why didn’t the patient respond?"

"What do you mean no reaction? He did have a reaction. Didn’t he say that when he drank the lactulose, he felt the urge to go to the toilet, but it quickly disappeared?"

"Why is that?"

Du Heng felt he should teach Wu Buwei some Western medicine anatomical knowledge; it would also be helpful for his understanding of traditional Chinese medicine. Would copying the Western medicine anatomy book directly be effective?

After giving Wu Buwei a meaningful glance, Du Heng sighed and explained, "How long are a person’s intestines? An adult’s are about 1.5 meters long. He is currently qi-deficient, so his entire intestinal tract is weak. The small amount of lactulose he takes each time only causes his 1.5-meter-long intestines to contract slightly before the medicinal effect is exhausted. If you wanted to achieve a bowel movement, you could try drinking a whole bottle at once. That would definitely work."

He smiled again. "But after drinking a whole bottle, your intestines would have exhausted their last bit of strength, and they might effectively become like a straight pipe. If you have coronary heart disease, hypertension, or other such conditions, you might be sent directly to the ICU."

Wu Buwei nodded, a look of dawning comprehension on his face. "So, Senior Brother, your plan is to use Upbear Yang and Downbear Turbid Decoction to make the yang qi rise and the turbid qi descend, using the body’s own qi mechanism to drive the intestines to move automatically?"

Hearing Wu Buwei’s summary, Du Heng thought that although this young man’s mind was a bit slow, he was still capable. If necessary, Du Heng could have him memorize the entire book; that would probably be effective too.

Wu Buwei didn’t know what Du Heng was thinking. If he had, he might have abandoned his authorized job and fled. Because "Clinical Human Anatomy and Physiology" has 811 pages.

Wu Buwei’s foundational knowledge wasn’t actually poor; what he lacked was the ability to organically connect observed conditions with the knowledge in his head.

Now that he understood, Wu Buwei knew he wouldn’t have to do that other task, and his joy was evident. "Senior Brother, I’ll go get the medicine now!" With that, he eagerly ran out.

Du Heng smiled, and Liang Fuman also let out a long sigh of relief.

That matter had been a source of pressure for Wu Buwei, and for Liang Fuman, it was an even greater torment. The psychological burden Liang Fuman bore was heavier than Wu Buwei’s because, amidst it all, the feeling of shame was indelible.

Now that they had a solution, he felt much more at ease and started chatting with Du Heng in the office.

Just as their conversation was getting lively, someone pushed the door open and entered.

Du Heng glanced at the visitor. It was someone from their Duke Village, an elder named Du Yihai. Du Heng recognized him but didn’t particularly want to engage.

Du Yihai had a son named Du Huang, who was Du Fei’s cousin and two or three years older than Du Heng. Back in school, Du Huang, his brothers Du Teng and Du Da, and their cousin Du Fei were collectively known by a nickname derived from the idiom ’Fei Huang Teng Da’ (Soar and Prosper), using characters from their names. However, Du Fei, being older, didn’t associate with their group. The other three—Du Huang, Du Teng, and Du Da—were the school’s tyrants. They specifically targeted students like Du Heng, who had few siblings or came from families with fewer children attending the village school.

Although Du Heng shared their surname, their kinship was very distant. Coupled with the fact that Du Heng was an orphan, he became their favorite target.

Du Heng had a quiet disposition, it was true, but he was also incredibly stubborn. Once, after being bullied relentlessly, he ignored the other two attackers, grabbed Du Da, the youngest of them, and beat him savagely, even grabbing Du Da’s head and smashing it against the ground.

If their Teacher hadn’t rushed over and pulled them apart, one of them, either he or Du Da, might have actually died.

Later, Du Huang dropped out after junior high and went out to make his way in the world. Over a decade later, he had indeed become a wealthy man. Rumor had it he owned a KTV and a bar and was extremely rich.

Given Du Huang’s character, one could imagine his father’s.

Du Yihai was already an overbearing sort, and with his son’s newfound wealth, he became even more arrogant. He constantly sported a slicked-back hairstyle, his leather shoes always polished to a shine, and he bossed everyone around in the village.

He was so outrageously swaggering that it felt like Earth itself could hardly contain him.

Later, he somehow managed to become the village director. After that, whenever he spoke to anyone, it was as if he were scolding his own grandson.

However, he became too tyrannical, and eventually, people couldn’t stand it anymore. They reported him, and he was removed from his position.