Chapter 523 A Distinguished Guest
Seeing Chen Yang swinging the peach wood staff towards Qin Hu's head, the surrounding people all shook their heads.
The village chief, Qin Ming, sighed and said to Chen Yang with a helpless and pained expression, "Oh dear, young man! It's no use. Even if you hit my son to death, it won't calm him down. Quick, quick, think of another way!"
The surrounding villagers also looked tense, clearly none of them believed Chen Yang's blow would be effective.
However, the next moment, with a "bang," Chen Yang struck. There was only a dull thud, and then the enraged Qin Hu, who had been acting like a wild beast, instantly closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground.
The onlookers were stunned.
Li Gang was so scared he almost wet himself and kept retreating. He touched his arm and found his clothes were not even broken, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Qin Ming and the villagers stared at Chen Yang in astonishment. Zhou Shanshan was even more excited. She turned to Chen Yang and said, "Mr. Chen, you... your blow didn't look that strong, how did you knock him out? Li Gang couldn't subdue him with a brick just now."
Chen Yang threw the peach wood staff aside and smiled naively. He said, "I told you, he's not mentally ill. He's possessed by a ghost. We had many cases like this in our village before."
"Our village used to be near a cluster of graves, and for a period, there were many such cases of mental illness in a year. When they went mad, ordinary methods were useless. Even breaking their legs wouldn't stop them from running."
"At that time, all you needed to do was strike them on the back of the head with things like rooster blood or a peach wood staff, and they would become calm 100% of the time."
Qin Ming walked over and grabbed Chen Yang's hand. He had previously disregarded Chen Yang, thinking him to be just a driver. But now, Qin Ming realized that the most important person in this medical team to him was this driver!
The chaotic scene in the courtyard finally ended.
Qin Ming repeatedly thanked the surrounding villagers for their help.
Afterward, Qin Ming immediately ordered them to start cooking, killing chickens and slaughtering sheep, showing great hospitality.
It was evident that Qin Ming was truly desperate. He was now pinning all his hopes on Zhou Shanshan and the others' arrival to cure his son's illness.
Zhou Shanshan kept observing Qin Hu, her brow furrowed. She found this mental patient to be extremely strange, completely unlike any mental patients she had encountered before.
Zhou Shanshan had a premonition that the case she was dealing with this time might be the first reported case in the world. If everything went as expected, her discovery and research would shock the entire world, and this type of mental illness might even be named after her.
Zhou Shanshan did not particularly care about wealth or fame, but she relished the value of discovery and enjoyed the feeling of Chinese scholarly work appearing in top international psychiatric journals.
Before long, the food was ready, and everyone warmly invited Zhou Shanshan, Chen Yang, and the others to the table.
The most important seats were arranged for Zhou Shanshan, Chen Yang, and Professor Wang Zhiqiang. Li Gang, on the other hand, was seated further down.
Seeing this arrangement, Li Gang felt very displeased and muttered, "What an ignorant bunch of country folk, treating that driver like a treasure. What does he know? He just happens to know a bit about the methods of rural sorceresses. It's really frustrating."
Li Gang lowered his head and ate the chicken. Indeed, the chicken tasted much better than what he usually ate in the city.
Qin Ming respectfully asked Chen Yang, "Mr. Chen, how was this condition of my son treated in your village before? Could it be cured?"
Everyone around looked at Chen Yang, including Professor Wang Zhiqiang.
Chen Yang smiled naively and nodded, saying, "It can be cured, it can be cured, and the treatment method is very simple."
"In our village, there was an old Taoist priest who was always begging for food. When he encountered such mental patients, he would use that kind of yellow talisman paper mixed with cinnabar, soak it in water, and give it to the patient to drink. After drinking it for seven consecutive days, the mental illness would be cured."
Hearing this, Qin Ming was so excited he almost knelt down. He grabbed Chen Yang's arm and said, "Then Mr. Chen... then... do you still have that kind of yellow talisman paper? Can it be found now? Do you know how to make it?"
Chen Yang immediately shook his head, and said helplessly, "His scribbles look very complicated, I don't know how to do it. And that Taoist priest should have died by now, I don't know if he left any disciples."
Qin Ming sighed upon hearing this, then looked at Zhou Shanshan and said, "Dr. Zhou, do you think there's any hope for my son's mental illness?"
Zhou Shanshan took a sip of water and replied, "Uncle Qin, to be honest, this is the first time I've seen this mental state of your son. Although I'm young, I'm considered an authority in the field of psychiatry in our country, a top-tier doctor treating mental illnesses. But I've truly never seen a situation like this."
"Your son's mental illness is not just a change in his mental state; his mental state and muscle tissue have both changed. I have indeed never seen such a condition."
Hearing this, Qin Ming's eyes showed disappointment. He eagerly asked Zhou Shanshan, "Then Dr. Zhou, what is your confidence level in curing my son's illness in the future? Even if it's just alleviating it."
Zhou Shanshan thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I have no confidence at all right now. To be honest, I have no clue."
"However, Uncle Qin, please rest assured. I will mobilize all my resources and do my best to help your son recover. I will not end this medical aid until he returns to normal. Please don't worry."
Qin Ming was about to speak again when Li Gang, sitting below, impatiently said, "Alright, alright. Discussing this late at night is useless. Let's eat first. After dinner, we can rest. We can study the case again tomorrow when it's light."
Qin Ming chuckled awkwardly at this and said softly, "Yes, yes, it's my fault. You medical team have traveled a long way, and you must be very tired. Let's eat first, and then rest."
Qin Ming raised his wine glass and said some polite words. About half an hour later, the welcoming banquet concluded, and Qin Ming arranged for Chen Yang and the others to stay.
Qin Ming had now come to understand that although Chen Yang was merely a driver in the medical team, his son's illness might ultimately depend on Chen Yang.
After all, even the renowned Zhou Shanshan had only said she would do her best but had no confidence. Therefore, Qin Ming became very courteous to Chen Yang, the driver.
Qin Ming's house was large, with many empty rooms. However, there were fewer rooms with en-suite bathrooms and kang beds.
Qin Ming gave the two best rooms, one to Zhou Shanshan and the other to Chen Yang. As for Wang Zhiqiang and Li Gang, they had to stay in ordinary guest rooms.
Although these guest rooms were well-equipped, they lacked toilets and kang beds.
Even though it was only late autumn, the winters here were already quite cold, and without central heating in the countryside, warmth relied solely on the kang beds.
Seeing that his room had no kang bed for heating, no central heating, and no air conditioning, Li Gang became extremely angry. He said to Qin Ming, "Village Chief, you arranged such a room for me? Do you know who I am?"
"Let me tell you, I am a young master of the Li family. Hurry up and give me Chen Yang's room, that good-for-nothing."