In an ordinary residential complex in Feng City.

Song Zhifang was anxiously keeping watch by her son’s bedside.

Her son, Wang Xingguang, who had just started second grade, had caught the flu at school the day before, joining the countless others who had fallen ill.

Having dealt with her son’s illnesses so often, Song Zhifang felt she’d practically become a doctor herself. When it came to common colds and fevers, she had her own "tried-and-true" methods.

First, she gave her son children’s ibuprofen to bring down the fever, followed by a pediatric cold and flu granule to alleviate his symptoms.

Lastly, worried about a possible infection, she gave him some amoxicillin.

This three-pronged approach of a fever reducer, a cold remedy, and an antibiotic seemed remarkably effective.

Wang Xingguang’s high fever broke that same evening.

However, the fever was gone.

A new problem, though, had emerged.

His upper respiratory infection seemed to have worsened.

Starting the next day, Wang Xingguang developed a persistent cough. He would hack away until his little face turned bright red, and he couldn’t sleep soundly at night.

This time, Song Zhifang panicked.

She suspected it might have developed into pneumonia.

Not daring to medicate him on her own any longer, she rushed her son to the Municipal Children’s Hospital.

The hospital was overflowing with people; everywhere she looked, there were little patients with symptoms just like Wang Xingguang’s.

After a series of tests, including a chest X-ray, the results were exactly what Song Zhifang had feared.

The X-ray showed that the markings in both of Wang Xingguang’s lungs were thickened and irregular, with small, patchy shadows present.

The diagnosis: viral pneumonia.

The doctor immediately put the boy on an IV drip.

Cephalosporins, azithromycin, antivirals... a cocktail of drugs was continuously pumped into the boy’s small body through an IV tube.

However, after a full week of IV drips, Wang Xingguang’s condition only fluctuated. It would get better, then worse, and his cough stubbornly refused to go away.

Watching this, Song Zhifang was frantic with worry.

Just as she was at her wit’s end, a colleague from work told her about a place called Li’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic on Construction Road. The doctor there, her colleague said, was an expert at treating colds. Many people had gone, gotten a few packets of herbs, and felt better right after drinking the decoction. The colleague urged Song Zhifang to take her son there to give it a try.

...

The next morning, Li Xu got up and, as usual, checked his intelligence feed.

[Today’s Intelligence Report: Patient: Wang Xingguang, Male, 8. Diagnosis: Wind-Heat in the Lungs. Pathogenesis: Pathogenic heat obstructing the lungs, inhibiting their diffusing and descending functions. Treatment Principle: Clear heat, diffuse the lungs, resolve phlegm, and stop the cough. Prescription: Use Sour Jujube Seeds as the sovereign herb, supported by... for a miraculous effect.]

’Hmm? Using Sour Jujube Seeds to treat pneumonia?’

Li Xu was taken aback when he read the last line of the report.

The primary functions of Sour Jujube Seeds were to nourish the heart and calm the spirit, making them a common treatment for insomnia.

’Using it to treat pneumonia... that’s certainly unusual.’

’But the intelligence system is never wrong.’

After washing up, and without even stopping for breakfast, Li Xu began flipping through his books, looking for more detailed information on the pharmacology of Sour Jujube Seeds.

He quickly found a relevant passage.

The effects of Sour Jujube Seeds were far more extensive than could be summarized by simply "calming the spirit."

In the *New Materia Medica* by the Qing Dynasty scholar Zhao Xuemin, there was a passage that read: "(Sour Jujube Seeds) soothe the liver and regulate qi, moisten the lungs and nourish yin, warm the middle jiao and expel dampness, and astringe qi to stop sweating."

’Moisten the lungs and nourish yin.’

’So that’s it. Sour Jujube Seeds also have a lung-moistening effect.’

Understanding dawned on Li Xu.

The root cause of Wang Xingguang’s lingering, unhealing cough in the later stages of his viral pneumonia was that the initial pathogenic heat had severely depleted his lungs’ yin fluids. This led to dryness and a loss of moisture in the lungs, resulting in a persistent, dry cough.

Sour Jujube Seeds, with their sweet and sour nature, could both nourish the liver blood to suppress lung heat and directly moisten the lung yin to stop the cough.

’Using it in this case was a stroke of genius.’

Li Xu mentally filed away this new piece of knowledge.

Sure enough, his patient, Wang Xingguang, soon arrived.

Li Xu took the boy’s pulse and examined his tongue. Combining these observations with the information from his intelligence report, he quickly wrote out a prescription.

The formula was a fusion of the Ma Xing Gan Shi Tang Extract Decoction and other herbs for moistening the lungs and nourishing yin, with Sour Jujube Seeds being the crucial component.

The medicine wasn’t expensive; three packets came to less than one hundred yuan.

Song Zhifang recalled how she had spent over a thousand yuan just the previous week at the hospital for her son’s tests and injections.

After returning home, Song Zhifang brewed the herbs for her son.

The medicine was very bitter, but she still persuaded her son to drink it down.

The results were astonishing.

After just the first dose, Wang Xingguang’s severe cough had noticeably subsided by that evening.

After drinking it continuously for three days, his cough was almost completely gone.

To be absolutely sure, Song Zhifang took him back to the hospital for another chest X-ray.

The results showed that the small, patchy shadows in Wang Xingguang’s lungs had completely disappeared.

For Li Xu, treating Wang Xingguang was just a minor interlude.

More and more flu patients flooded into the clinic.

He was swamped with work every day.

Song Sisi was just as busy. She had to disinfect the clinic three or four times a day, keep the place clean, and fill prescriptions. She even had to suspend her massage services.

Li Xu also noticed something else: this strain of flu had a major impact on the lungs.

Especially in infants and young children; once infected, over seventy percent of them developed lung infections.

One day, after finishing up his work, Li Xu had a new idea.

The pathogenesis of the illness in many infants and young children was similar to Wang Xingguang’s.

It was all a matter of pathogenic heat obstructing the lungs, inhibiting their diffusing and descending functions.

If that was the case, then they could all be treated with Sour Jujube Seeds Soup.

The pharmaceutical factory had already acquired a large quantity of Sour Jujube Seeds.

They were currently being used to produce a Sour Jujube Seeds sleep aid.

But now, it seemed, they could be repurposed.

They could produce a Sour Jujube Seeds Soup to treat these lung infections.

Decisive as ever, Li Xu sent off his last patient, then picked up his phone and dialed Ding Kaifang’s number.

On the other end of the line, Ding Kaifang was also busy with factory matters. "Doctor Li, I was just about to tell you! We recently acquired a large quantity of Sour Jujube Seeds. However, our factory doesn’t have the production license for any Sour Jujube Seed-based medicines, so we’ll need to apply for a new one."

Li Xu acknowledged this and then got straight to the point. "President Ding, here’s the thing. I’ve recently discovered that this year’s flu virus is having a severe impact on the lungs. Many infants and children are developing pneumonia after getting infected. I’ve been using a formula in my clinic with Sour Jujube Seeds that has had miraculous results. It’s highly effective at treating the cough caused by this type of viral pneumonia. I think our factory should consider producing this Sour Jujube Seeds Soup."

Ding Kaifang’s exhaustion vanished in an instant, replaced by excitement. His voice rose several notches. "What? Sour Jujube Seeds Soup can treat this H1N1 flu? Doctor Li, are you sure?"

"Of course I’m sure."

Li Xu’s tone was firm. "I’ve already cured several patients with this formula. The shadows on their lung scans have completely disappeared."

Ding Kaifang couldn’t sit still anymore. "Doctor Li, don’t hang up! This isn’t something we can discuss clearly over the phone. I’m heading over to see you right now. Wait for me."

Li Xu knew Ding Kaifang’s personality. Once he caught the scent of a business opportunity, he couldn’t wait a single second.

He looked at the time and said to Song Sisi, "Sisi, we might have to close a bit late today. President Ding is coming over."

Song Sisi nodded readily. By now, she was used to the clinic’s frequent "overtime."

In less than twenty minutes, Ding Kaifang burst into the clinic like a whirlwind, his face beaming with unconcealed excitement.

He had barely sat down before he started firing off questions.

"Doctor Li, hurry, give me the details. What’s the story with this Sour Jujube Seeds Soup? What are the costs? And are the results really as good as you say?"

Ding Kaifang fired off a barrage of questions.