The Miraculous Effect of Seven Doses

Because of Xuyang's illness, Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei moved into Xuhui's house to better monitor Xuyang's condition, while Xuhui personally prepared medicine for his younger brother every day.

Since we're on the topic of decocting medicine, let's talk about how to do it.

When decocting medicinal herbs, you can soak the herbs for half an hour before decocting.

You can start with a slightly higher heat. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer the medicine to a certain dosage and concentration. Then turn off the heat and immediately pour out the medicine.

Notice!

This means immediately; you cannot wait. While you wait, the herbal residue will absorb the medicinal liquid, so you must pour the medicine out immediately. Be careful to avoid burns during this process.

The amount of water depends on the amount of medicinal herbs. Generally speaking, the water level should be 2-3 inches above the herbs for a suitable depth.

If you add too much water, you may need to simmer it for a longer time to achieve the desired concentration.

However, the decocting time depends on the specific medicine. If it is a laxative, less water should be used and the decocting time should be shorter because laxatives are easy to prepare. They do not need to be cooked too thoroughly; just bring the water to a boil. This will allow the laxative to exert its maximum effect.

If it's a tonic, add more water and simmer for a longer time to make it more concentrated. Tonics cook quickly, so simmering them longer helps the substances in the tonic to be fully absorbed and properly digested, which is also more conducive to the body's absorption and digestion.

Another point to mention is the method of taking medication. Nowadays, most doctors instruct patients to take their medication half an hour after meals. In fact, there are specific guidelines for when to take medication.

Generally, if the illness is above the chest and diaphragm, eat before taking the medicine. This is because when there is food in the stomach, which is called "grain qi" in traditional Chinese medicine, sufficient grain qi can carry the medicine's qi upward, making it more conducive to the medicine reaching the upper part of the body.

For illnesses located below the heart and abdomen, take the medicine before eating. Similarly, the energy from the food in the stomach can be above the energy from the medicine, which can push the medicine down and help it reach the lower part of the body.

The disease is located in the blood vessels of the limbs and the lower part of the body. It is best to take the medicine on an empty stomach in the morning when you have just woken up. At this time, the qi and blood have not yet moved and the meridians are not disordered, so the medicine can more easily reach the extremities.

When the illness is located in the head, eyes, or bone marrow, it is recommended to eat a full meal and take the drops at night, because the brain and eyes are at rest at night, and the effect will be greatest under such circumstances.

Although it's said to take medicine before or after meals, it doesn't mean you should take medicine immediately after eating, or eat immediately after taking medicine.

This can easily lead to the entanglement of the grain's energy and the medicine's energy, which is actually detrimental to the medicine's efficacy.

Therefore, it is generally advisable to take medication about half an hour to forty minutes after eating, and the same applies to taking medication before meals.

Of course, there are many things to be aware of when taking medication. However, doctors nowadays often simply say to avoid spicy, greasy, and cold foods, which is not the case. Here are a few examples.

Avoid beef when taking Bupleurum; avoid vinegar when taking Poria; avoid pork when taking Coptis chinensis and Platycodon grandiflorus; avoid maltose and mutton when taking Pinellia ternata and Acorus tatarinowii. Avoid sparrow meat, coriander, and garlic when taking Atractylodes macrocephala and Atractylodes lancea. Avoid carp when taking Asparagus cochinchinensis. Do not eat crab when taking persimmon calyx.

There are many other taboos and prohibitions, too numerous to list. Of course, some might argue that these are baseless, pointing out that experiments have been conducted showing that people who eat persimmons and then crabs are unaffected, proving that neither is poisonous.

However, I must say that among the precautions for diet and medication, there is a certain taboo that may seem negligible, but it is actually very important. Why do I say this?

Because food isn't poison, the side effects won't appear immediately after you eat it. Some effects are long-lasting, slow, and appear unexpectedly, sometimes so slowly that you don't even remember that it was caused by a carelessness you had a long time ago.

To put it simply, writing books in ancient times was not as convenient as it is for modern people, especially in the Han Dynasty or earlier, when they were all inscribed on bamboo slips. Ancient people would not record useless things, let alone medical books, which are books of life and death.

After taking the medicine that day, Xuyang felt extremely sleepy and went straight to sleep. The next day at noon, Xuhui led an elderly man dressed in simple clothes into the house.

Upon seeing the old man, Mr. Mengfei immediately sat up from the sofa and respectfully greeted him.

"Uncle."

"Oh, Xiao Mengfei." The old man grinned when he saw Mr. Mengfei, then took off his old man's hat. "Alright, I'm much relieved to see you. Thank you for your help."

"Don't say that. It's only right, only right. With Xuhui's relationship with me, his brother is my brother too. It's only right." Mr. Mengfei rubbed his hands together, looking slightly reserved.

This was the first time Su Ziyang had seen Mr. Mengfei with such an expression; it was clearly the behavior of a mischievous child meeting an elder.

"Dad, don't stand there talking. Sit down and rest for a while!" Xuhui urged from the side.

"Hey, hey, I've been talking so much, I forgot!" Xuhui's father was in good health and walked with a steady gait. He quickly entered the living room and sat down on the sofa.

"Go make tea for Xiao Mengfei, don't just stand there." The old man had just sat down when he glared at Xuhui and ordered his son to make tea.

"No need, no need. Uncle, we've been here all day, no need to trouble yourself. You can rest for a while." Mr. Mengfei quickly explained to Xuhui's father.

"Then hurry up and make some tea. You can't just sit here like this. Go quickly!" The old man's tone softened considerably after hearing what Mr. Mengfei said, but he still told Xuhui to make some tea.

When Xuhui saw his father, he was like a mouse seeing a cat, tucking his tail between his legs and obediently going to the kitchen to get the teapot and make tea.

Su Ziyang was curious why Mr. Mengfei and Xuhui, who were usually carefree and unrestrained, became so well-behaved in front of this old man.

So Su Ziyang curiously looked at the old man, and as soon as he looked, the old man's gaze was fixed on Su Ziyang.

Generally speaking, few older people have bright eyes; most have cloudy ones. But Su Ziyang found that this old man's gaze was particularly sharp and piercing, making Su Ziyang a little afraid to look directly at him.

"Uncle, this is my apprentice, Su Ziyang." After the two made eye contact, Mr. Mengfei immediately began to introduce them to each other.

"Ziyang, call him Grandpa Xu," Mr. Mengfei said, pulling Su Ziyang's arm.

Su Ziyang looked at the old man very obediently and called him "Grandpa Xu".

Upon hearing Su Ziyang's exclamation, the old man grinned and said, "Ah, very good. Heroes emerge from among the young. Xiao Mengfei has high standards; it's not easy to get him to take you on as a disciple. Very good!"

"Grandpa Xu, you flatter me," Su Ziyang replied politely.

"Dad, this time the second son's medicine was prescribed by Xiao Su. She's a graduate student from a prestigious university." Xuhui walked over carrying a tea tray.

Upon Xuhui's words, Old Master Xu's eyes shone even brighter as he looked at Su Ziyang, and he repeatedly exclaimed, "Not bad!"

After taking a couple of sips of tea, the old man said he wanted to go inside to check on Xuyang, so the four of them squeezed into the bedroom.

Upon hearing the voice, Xuyang opened his eyes. Seeing it was his father, he struggled to sit up and softly called out, "Dad."

"Lie down, don't get up. I came all the way from my hometown today." The old man quickly helped his son up, gesturing for Xuyang to stay in bed, then touched Xuyang's forehead. "You should rest well. Xiao Mengfei; his medical skills are excellent. A few doses of traditional Chinese medicine will make you fine."

Xuyang was probably too tired from talking, so he nodded and didn't say anything more before closing his eyes again.

The four of them left the house, and the old man tightly grasped Mr. Mengfei's hand, saying, "It's all up to you!"

"I will definitely do my best!" Mr. Mengfei nodded vigorously.

After lunch, since Xuhui's apartment has two bedrooms and a living room, and Xuhui Xuyang occupies one room by himself, the three of them have been sleeping on the sofa for the past few days.

The old man was too old to squeeze in and sleep, so he didn't stay long and went straight to his daughter's house, the third daughter of the Xu family, Xuhui's sister.

Xuyang was diagnosed with lung cancer. Everyone in the family except Xuyang himself knew, including his sister who had been worried about Xuyang.

The reason we didn't bring so many people was to give Xuyang the illusion that his illness wasn't that serious, so that the patient could have hope.

So the old man went to his daughter's house for two reasons: first, to find a place to stay, and second, to tell his daughter about her brother's situation.

Another day later, Xuyang felt a little better after taking his medicine. He had a better appetite and could drink a bowl of porridge and eat a piece of steamed bun.

Seeing that his younger brother was getting a little better, Xuhui went out to call his father.

Only Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei remained in the room. Su Ziyang's Eight Trigrams nature kicked in again. "Master, is Xuhui's father very scary? You all seem quite afraid of him, like mice seeing a cat."

Upon hearing Su Ziyang's words, Mr. Mengfei glared at him and said, "What do you know, you little brat? That was respect. Let me teach you a lesson today: understand the hierarchy of elders and juniors!"

Su Ziyang initially thought that Mr. Mengfei's behavior showed respect for Old Master Xu, but Mr. Mengfei's tone and expression made Su Ziyang immediately reject this idea.

Of course, there is respect involved. But respect only accounts for 4 points, while fear accounts for 6 points.

"I don't believe it!" Su Ziyang curled his lip. "Did you do something bad that the old man caught you with?!"

Su Ziyang casually remarked, and Mr. Mengfei's face darkened. "Don't make wild guesses, what bad things could I possibly do!"

"Sigh, actually, it's fine to tell you, but I just want to say that everyone has their own temperament. You see, even though I'm your master, I never overemphasize old-fashioned rules. But you have to know, not all masters like to joke around without any respect for elders."

Mr. Mengfei figured that since he was just sitting around anyway, and it was a rainy day and he was just idling around anyway, he might as well teach Su Ziyang a lesson.

"I was young then, and that's when I met Xuhui. Although I had some medical knowledge, I was no match for Xuhui in identifying and processing Chinese medicinal herbs. So I would ask him for advice whenever I had free time. We also got along well, so we became good friends."

"Later, Xuhui learned martial arts and became very good at it. At that time, I also wanted to learn martial arts."

When Mr. Mengfei said this, Su Ziyang smiled slightly. It turns out that everyone has a childish martial arts dream, and his master is no exception.

Mr. Mengfei, oblivious to Su Ziyang's subtle change in expression, continued, "I pestered Xuhui to teach me, but he wouldn't. Later, he had no choice but to tell me to learn from his father. If his father were to teach me, our relationship would deepen further; we would become more than just friends, but also fellow students."

"Of course, Xuhui's dad wasn't going to teach me either. But I'm shameless, so I just stayed at his house and wouldn't leave. I did chores for him, helped dry herbs, I used all sorts of shameless tricks, and in the end, his dad was moved by me and started teaching me martial arts."

Mr. Mengfei stopped there and took a sip of water.

"Finished talking?" Su Ziyang looked at his master with some surprise as he remained silent.

"Ah, that's it. Respecting teachers and valuing their teachings—that's what it means. Understand? Stop being so disrespectful!" Mr. Mengfei took another sip of water.

Su Ziyang noticed that Mr. Mengfei's eyes were fixed, as if he was recalling something.

Just then, Xuhui called back, "My sister insists on coming over later. Ziyang, come with me to the market to buy some groceries. Mengfei, you stay home and look after the second child."

Mr. Mengfei nodded without speaking, seemingly still lost in his memories. Su Ziyang quickly got up and followed Xuhui out the door.

As soon as the two went downstairs, Su Ziyang asked Xuhui mysteriously, "Uncle-Master, can I ask you something?"

Looking at Su Ziyang's smiling face, Xuhui knew Su Ziyang was up to no good. "Just say it if it's good."

"I think my master seems a bit afraid of your grandfather. I just asked him, but he won't tell me. Please tell me, please tell me!"

Su Ziyang grinned as he stared at Xuhui.

When Su Ziyang asked this, Xuhui chuckled and said, "Trying to find fault with your master? Aren't you afraid he'll beat you?"

"Tell me, tell me!" Seeing that there was hope, Su Ziyang urged him a few more times.

"It's nothing much. Back then, he insisted on crying and begging to learn martial arts from my grandfather, but he wouldn't teach him. He wouldn't leave, and I didn't know what to do. My grandfather would beat him three times a day, just to discourage him. But this guy was a tough nut to crack; he wouldn't leave even after being beaten. He just stayed put. Later, whenever he was practicing martial arts, my grandfather would discipline him. It's that simple. Don't even mention him; look at me, my legs start shaking when my grandfather coughs."

After Xuhui finished speaking, he opened the car door and got in.

After listening, Su Ziyang suddenly realized that this wasn't some minor weakness or weakness...

If Mr. Mengfei finds out that he has found out about this, he is very likely to be beaten three times a day.

Thinking of this, Su Ziyang shuddered and forced himself to forget about it...

Three days later, Xuyang miraculously stood up.

This made Xuhui extremely happy. After Xuhui told the old man the news, the old man was also overjoyed.

Some relatives and friends who had been kept out of the way came to visit one after another.

But Su Ziyang was secretly worried...