I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 230: Taking the Pulse

"Yuan Xiu!"

As soon as get out of class ended, Yuan Xiu was surrounded by people.

"You're amazing! We all go to the same classes, and you haven't even spent as much time at school as us, how do you know so much?"

"Yes, Professor Zhang didn't call my name just now. Even if he had, I could only say what I had memorized from the book. If you asked me to combine theory with practice, I definitely wouldn't have been able to do it well," Liu Fang said, looking at Yuan Xiu with admiration.

She really didn't expect Yuan Xiu to be so good at her studies. Out of the 29 students in the class, apart from Xia Yang, she should be ranked second.

"Traditional Chinese medicine doesn't rely on rote memorization; the most important thing is 'comprehension.' Without comprehension, you can't learn traditional Chinese medicine well." Xia Yang walked over slowly. The young man was wearing a blue Zhongshan suit and black-rimmed glasses, looking like an old scholar despite his young age.

"Yuan Xiu, you've been exposed to traditional Chinese medicine before, haven't you? You should have grasped the basics by now," Xia Yang said confidently.

"I remember Yuan Xiu worked at a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy, right? Are the requirements for pharmacies this high now?" Liu Yazhi asked, remembering everyone's personal information from her class.

"Pharmacy staff only need to know about medicine, but they are not required to know about meridians or clinical practice."

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "Xia Yang is right. I have been studying traditional Chinese medicine with my master for the past year. I have read a lot of medical books and can barely be considered a beginner. However, I have not been able to treat even a common cold."

Everyone in my family is in good health, and the two children are well cared for; they haven't even had a cough since birth.

Aunt Zhao is the oldest, and because she did a lot of work in the countryside, she is in great shape. Jiang Zhou is even more so.

Yuan Xiu had always been "unable to use her talents," and she didn't dare to look at anyone else.

"Your master?" Zheng Yuemei asked, "Is he a doctor at your hospital?"

"No." Yuan Xiu shook her head. "He's no longer at the hospital. He used to be a traditional Chinese medicine doctor at a hospital in his hometown, and he retired many years ago."

"That must be a senior doctor!" Liu Fang said. "Senior doctors have a lot of experience. You learned from your master, no wonder you were able to master it in just one year."

Xia Yang nodded and asked Yuan Xiu, "Have you learned pulse diagnosis?"

The students surrounding Yuan Xiu all turned their attention to her. The first-year courses mainly covered "Basic Theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine," while "Diagnostics of Traditional Chinese Medicine" was a second-year course.

Although they haven't started learning yet, the students usually try to understand each other's pulse.

Xia Yang was good at taking pulses, and his classmates liked to ask him to take their pulses whenever they had a headache or fever, so they could also learn something from him.

Yuan Xiu nodded: "I know a little."

"Then let me see it." Zheng Yuemei showed her wrist.

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "I only know a little bit of the basics."

"The basics are enough. I heard Xia Yang talk about weak pulse, strong pulse, tense pulse, slow pulse, surging pulse, and hesitant pulse before, but I couldn't detect any of them. I could only feel the strength and weakness."

Yuan Xiu did not refuse, treating it as an opportunity to chat with her classmates after class. She usually did not attend morning or evening self-study sessions, so she had few opportunities to interact with her classmates.

"Then I'll give it a try."

Yuan Xiu sat down again, and Zheng Yuemei sat opposite her, placing her wrists on the desk.

Yuan Xiu extended her middle, index, and ring fingers and placed them on Zheng Yuemei's wrist.

With a firm, unhurried motion, the students around An unconsciously lowered their voices.

"It looks quite professional."

"Looks pretty skilled..."

Yuan Xiu lowered her eyes and hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yue Mei, are you...?"

She beckoned Zheng Yuemei closer and whispered, "Do you always experience severe discomfort during your period?"

Zheng Yuemei blushed. "You've already given yourself away?"

She does feel quite unwell every time she comes, but she doesn't seem to have told anyone about it.

It's a private matter after all, and I'm quite embarrassed to talk about it.

Yuan Xiu nodded: "Didn't you say you couldn't tell what a choppy pulse was? This is a choppy pulse. A thin and weak pulse, like it can't move, is mostly caused by blood deficiency, blood stasis, and poor blood circulation."

She paused, then elaborated, "Is the flow light, dark in color, and sometimes with blood clots? And is there a dragging pain in my lower abdomen?"

Zheng Yuemei nodded and said, "Every time I'm in pain, I have to drink a strong cup of ginger and brown sugar water to feel better. I wasn't like this before I went to the countryside. In the years I was in the countryside, when I came here, it was raining heavily, but I still had to go to the fields to harvest. One year, in order to win the Iron Lady award, I soaked in the ditch for several days. I've been like this ever since."

"You'll be here soon too, right?"

"Yes, it'll be in the next few days." Zheng Yuemei gets a headache whenever she talks about her period.

"Brown sugar is indeed effective, but it's best to drink 'Siwu Tang' (Four-Substance Decoction), which nourishes blood, promotes blood circulation, and regulates menstruation. When blood is insufficient, menstruation is sluggish. First, replenish the blood, then gently clear the flow, and it will naturally become smooth. When it's smooth, there is no pain."

Siwu Decoction is a basic formula. You can go to the pharmacy without the prescription and just say you want Siwu Decoction. The pharmacy will know how to dispense it.

Zheng Yuemei nodded.

"What are you two talking about? Why are you speaking so quietly?" a male classmate asked.

The female students stood close together, while the male students stood on the periphery.

Liu Fang: "Oh dear, why ask so many questions? This is none of your business, men."

"We'd also like to chat with Yuan Xiu, but is there a gender-specific distinction for chatting?"

Xia Yang adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Angelica sinensis 9 grams, Ligusticum chuanxiong 6 grams, Paeonia lactiflora 9 grams, Rehmannia glutinosa 12 grams."

Yuan Xiu looked at him and then said, "Add 6 grams of peach kernels and 6 grams of safflower."

Xia Yang nodded. "Suitable."

Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes observation, listening, questioning, and palpation. Although Xia Yang did not take their pulses, he could roughly guess what Yuan Xiu and the others were whispering about through his observation.

He also learned from Yuan Xiu's lip reading that she was talking about "Siwu Tang" (a traditional Chinese medicine formula), and subconsciously recited the prescription.

Yuan Xiu, based on Zheng Yuemei's constitution, added two herbs to the original prescription to remove blood stasis, thus turning Siwu Tang into Taohong Siwu Tang.

"You're talking about a prescription? What's it for?"

Xia Yang: "You'll understand once you memorize the Tangtou Ge (a traditional Chinese medicine formula) more."

The students: "..."

"The Four Gentlemen Decoction is harmonious and righteous, with ginseng, atractylodes, poria, and licorice in proportion. Adding pinellia and tangerine peel makes it the Six Gentlemen Decoction, which dispels phlegm, replenishes qi, and is a remedy for yang deficiency." Xia Yang suddenly recited the formula song, and after reciting one, he looked at Yuan Xiu.

Yuan Xiu: "...Buzhong Yiqi Decoction, containing Astragalus, Atractylodes, and Tangerine Peel, along with Bupleurum, Ginseng, Licorice, and Angelica. It is uniquely effective for treating internal injuries due to deficiency, and can also treat external pathogenic factors caused by Yang deficiency."

Xia Yang: "Xiaoyao San" (逍遥散).

"Xiaoyao San uses Angelica sinensis and Paeonia lactiflora, with Bupleurum chinense, Poria cocos, Atractylodes macrocephala, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, and Zingiber officinale. Its effect of dispelling stagnation and eliminating steaming heat is most remarkable. It also contains eight herbs to regulate menstruation, including Paeonia lactiflora and Gardenia jasminoides." After reciting this, Yuan Xiu continued, "Ma Huang Tang

He tested me, so I naturally had to reciprocate.

"In Ephedra Decoction, cinnamon twig, apricot kernel, and licorice are added. It is used to treat fever, chills, headache, and neck pain. In cases of typhoid fever, this decoction causes profuse sweating. Cinnamon Twig Decoction."

"Guizhi Tang treats Taiyang wind syndrome, with peony root, licorice root, ginger, and jujube. It relieves muscle tension, releases exterior pathogens, and regulates the Ying and Wei Qi. This formula is effective in treating sweating and aversion to wind..."

The two of them then took turns testing each other with their songs.

The students were stunned.