"Brother Kuan, if you trust me, let me treat your leg," Wan Yunting said, pointing to Yang Kuan's right leg.
"Alright," Yang Kuan readily agreed.
He had initially doubted Wan Yunting's medical skills, but after seeing him revive Aunt Cui Lan with just a few silver needles, Yang Kuan knew the young man's medical expertise was beyond his estimation.
At this moment, Yang Mingjie returned, saying, "Dad, Aunt Cui Lan is fine now."
"That's good to hear. I was truly terrified just now."
Yang Kuan was relieved to hear that Aunt Cui Lan was alright.
If Aunt Cui Lan had suffered any mishap in his clinic, it would have been a major incident, and his clinic might even have been shut down.
"By the way, Xiao Chen, Wan..."
"Wan Yunting."
Seeing Yang Kuan struggling to recall his name, Wan Yunting smiled and said.
"Yes, Wan Yunting."
Yang Kuan looked at him and Gu Luotang, smiling, "It's already noon. Please stay for lunch here. Mingjie, quickly go to town to buy some groceries and ask your uncle and the others to come and prepare a meal. I want to host them for lunch."
"Alright, I'll go right away."
Yang Mingjie nodded, naturally not minding. If it weren't for Wan Yunting's help earlier, he wouldn't have known what to do.
"No need, Uncle Kuan. We can eat back in town later. Don't trouble yourselves."
"Oh, what trouble is there? It's just a bit rushed for time. Mingjie, hurry up! Ask a few more neighbors to help with the cooking." Yang Kuan urged. Yang Mingjie nodded and quickly rode his bike to town to buy groceries.
Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang saw that they couldn't refuse and had no choice but to agree. Chen Minxue also smiled and invited them to stay for lunch.
"Then, Uncle Kuan, shall I start acupuncture on your right leg?" Wan Yunting said.
"Yes, yes..."
Yang Kuan happily placed his right leg on another stool. Wan Yunting took out his silver needles again, sterilized them, and began the acupuncture treatment for his right leg.
Gu Luotang, Qi Miaomiao, Huang Jingshan, and Zhang Nong sat on the side, listening to Yang Kuan recount his experiences with opening the clinic and his history of studying medicine.
Soon, Yang Mingjie returned with many groceries. He then found his second uncle and two neighboring aunties and they quickly busied themselves with cooking.
Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao, feeling it would be impolite to just wait, also went to help wash vegetables.
Yang Mingjie was amazed to see Wan Yunting treating his father's leg. However, when he saw his father's right leg react to the stimulus of the silver needles, he was again shocked and said, "Vice Chairman Wan, you are truly amazing. I brought my father to the town hospital before, and the doctors all said my father's leg couldn't recover, so we gave up further treatment."
Wan Yunting looked at the more than ten silver needles inserted into Yang Kuan's right thigh and smiled, "Actually, if Brother Kuan's leg had been treated with silver needles for a few courses when it was first injured, it could have been completely cured. However, he has delayed for too long now, so treatment is still a bit difficult and requires long-term therapy."
Yang Kuan nodded and sighed, "Alas, the main problem is that there are too few people who understand Traditional Chinese Medicine here. Even those who do only know a little, like myself. So I don't dare to let them treat it recklessly."
Wan Yunting nodded and continued chatting with Yang Kuan. It was only about an hour later that he removed the needles and then proceeded with massage therapy on Yang Kuan's right thigh, which greatly surprised Yang Kuan.
Feeling that his thigh had regained some strength after Wan Yunting's massage, he tried to stand and walk. His gait was more natural than his previous hobbling, which greatly surprised and pleased him and Yang Mingjie.
The kitchen also soon finished preparing lunch. Two large tables were laden with over a dozen dishes, all home-style cooking. Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang naturally didn't mind. During the meal, they also shared a few drinks with Yang Kuan and his son. However, they couldn't drink too much, as he was a village doctor and people might come to see him for treatment at any time.
At the dinner table, Wan Yunting and the others also heard about the price increase of medicines from Yang Mingjie.
However, Yang Kuan insisted on not raising prices for patients, so Yang Mingjie felt a bit resentful, knowing that his father was considering the surrounding neighbors.
After all, they were all neighbors who relied on farming for a living. Their family conditions were not good to begin with, and seeing the prices of medical treatment increase so much, Yang Kuan couldn't bear it.
But doctors also need to eat. So, Yang Mingjie would increase the prices by just a few yuan, not daring to raise them by more than ten yuan like He Jiasheng in Beisong Village before.
This also allowed Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang to see the noble and benevolent medical ethics of Uncle Yang Kuan's family, earning their admiration.
After lunch, Wan Yunting and his group did not rush back. Instead, they continued to sit and chat at Yang Kuan's house. In the afternoon, they even went out with him to the countryside to search for wild herbs.
It must be said that Yang Kuan was also an experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Although he was not as skilled as the younger generation like Wan Yunting in some areas, Wan Yunting and the others had to learn from him when it came to digging for herbs.
Yang Kuan could explain the habits of each herb and the environment they preferred, allowing Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, and their group to learn a great deal of knowledge.
It was past five o'clock in the afternoon. Yang Kuan still wanted to keep them for dinner, but Wan Yunting politely declined. He then took Gu Luotang and his group in the Jinbei van directly back to the town's restaurant for dinner.
"Team Leader Chen, what do you think about the pharmaceutical merchant Liu Mingde increasing prices?" Wan Yunting said to Chen Minxue beside him while eating.
"It's hard to say."
Chen Minxue frowned. He was just a team leader of a medical organization. How could he possibly have any dealings with someone like Liu Mingde?
"Is there no way to contact him?"
Wan Yunting turned to look at Gu Luotang, Qi Miaomiao, and Huang Jingshan, who were also eating and watching Chen Minxue. He sighed helplessly, "Liu Mingde is from our county. The only ones who can contact him are Minister Chang and the others."
"Minister Chang?"
Wan Yunting raised an eyebrow. Chen Minxue said, "He is the head of our county's medical institutions!"
"So he's Liu Mingde's backer?" Huang Jingshan said.
However, Chen Minxue waved his hand and said, "Minister Chang isn't at that level. He just interacts with Liu Mingde more, because many procedures and processes have to go through Minister Chang to be approved."
"Hmph, birds of a feather," Zhang Nong said with a cold sneer.
Wan Yunting ate his food, not speaking further. This matter needed to be reported to Gu Yuanbai and the others, and then they would discuss how to proceed.
After dinner, Wan Yunting and his group returned to their hotel and then contacted Gu Yuanbai, Jiang Yichun, and Li Chengde via WeChat for a conference call. They reported their work progress for the day.
However, everyone's concerns soon focused on the issue of medicine price increases!
This was because Jiang Yichun and Li Chengde, who were responsible for Shandian Town and Longtang Town, had also visited rural clinics today and discovered the outrageous price increases for medicines.
"It seems there is a huge vested interest behind the drug merchants in Xuxiu County!" Zhang Fenglin said during the video call.
"Without backing, how would a pharmaceutical merchant dare to raise prices so unscrupulously?" Wei Datong glared and said with a cold snort.
The logic behind it was clear to everyone.
"Chairman Gu, what should we do about this matter?" Wan Yunting asked.
"Investigate, we must investigate thoroughly and eradicate these tumors!"
Gu Yuanbai's old eyes widened. He hadn't expected the medical institutions in the towns and villages to be so black-hearted and immoral, raising prices as if they were robbing people. If they were allowed to continue developing, who knew what would happen.
"Understood."
Wan Yunting's eyes were sharp, and he knew what to do.
"Don't worry, I will report this to Mayor Hu as soon as possible and come up with a plan to help you," Gu Yuanbai said.
"Good."
Wan Yunting nodded. This was even better.
Although Hu Yaqing couldn't come down personally to resolve the issue, it would suffice if she could send someone to oversee the work.