I Can Talk to the Internal Organs-Chapter 223 - 190: What Does the Future Hold for Traditional Chinese Medicine?

"What do you mean?"

The old man asked with a smile.

"In three months, Jianghan is going to build a new Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, and I'll be the dean," Lu Jiu said.

The old man smiled and said, "That's a good thing."

Lu Jiu said, "So does this mean it's my destiny to become this dean?"

"Last time, you said my thoughts aren't truly mine and since then I've been wondering if my path is really determined by me, or if there's an invisible force pushing me forward?"

"Or, no matter what I do, is the path already set, and those so-called choices are just for me to see?"

The old man laughed and said, "Are you dissatisfied with this choice?"

Lu Jiu shook his head, "In the past, I only wanted to manage my small clinic peacefully and never thought about promoting Chinese medicine, but the recent events have led me down a path that makes me feel very conflicted."

"It's definitely not dissatisfaction; it's just a bit against my original intention. I clearly just wanted to mind my own business, yet as I walked on, I started heading in a direction I can't control."

"Even though I keep telling myself that whether I'm a teacher of Chinese medicine or a dean of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, it's just to seek reasonable protection so I can practice medicine safely in Jianghan."

"But what I'm doing is obviously more than just seeking protection. In fact, I even have a bit of a desire to achieve greater accomplishments within me."

"Hehehe, old man, am I not quite the contradiction? On one hand, I want to be an ordinary small doctor, and on the other hand, I want to be a great doctor for the country and the people..."

Lately, Lu Jiu's experiences weren't abundant, but they had a significant impact on his entire mindset.

Since Huang Fusheng came to Jianghan and spoke about the hardships of Chinese medicine and what he had to do, Lu Jiu saw that the great doctors in the country were tirelessly fighting for the cause of Chinese medicine.

The country's strict anti-corruption measures in healthcare are also continuously changing the landscape of the medical field, giving grassroots doctors a clear sky, and various policies are beginning to favor Chinese medicine.

Besides these, there are people like Zhang Zhengli in the folk sector, searching for the footprints of Chinese medicine.

And too many patients with serious illnesses have nowhere to turn for treatment...

Countless events have subtly changed Lu Jiu's mindset and made that small flame in his heart burn ever brighter.

The old man looked at Lu Jiu, who had a somewhat self-deprecating look, and couldn't help but laugh, "Humans are naturally complex, and thoughts are constantly changing. Whether your thoughts are yours or given by heaven, at least the thoughts you have are unique. There's no one else like you in this world, so does it matter if what you think is truly what you think?"

"Whether you want to be an ordinary small doctor or a great doctor for the country and the people, it's all you. As long as the path you're taking is the one you believe is right, then any path suits you. When you've had enough of being a small doctor and want to do something bigger, you can. When you're tired of being a great doctor, you can come back to be a small doctor again. There's no conflict between the two, so why worry?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiu smiled peacefully, "I was being pretentious."

The old man smiled and said, "Living in this world, many things are beyond our control. It's not just you; everyone living in this world is also being pushed by an invisible force, and that's normal. At least you're aware, while many people are muddling along, not knowing the direction."

"What you mentioned about things happening is just a beginning. Whether you can forge a bright future on this path depends on you."

"What heaven bestows is fate, but controlling it is up to us. Fate is determined by heaven, but luck is something we can control. Human destiny is composed of three parts: heaven, human, and earth. Heaven represents the direction of destiny, humans represent humanity, and earth represents homes."

"Whether a person's destiny is truly set from birth depends on a person's thoughts. When I do fortune-telling for people and find that they have unfavorable matters in their destiny, I always advise them to change their residence. Why? Because changing the residence affects the earth, and when the earth moves, thoughts will change, and human behavior will follow. If both the human and the earth have changed, then this force will be stronger than the heavenly destined direction, and destiny will consequently change."

Lu Jiu was surprised, "Fate can be changed?"

The old man smiled and said, "Of course fate can be changed. Didn't I tell you before? The Book of Changes itself is a study of foresight, a tool to turn misfortune into blessing. The ancestors didn't put in so much effort to create a study just to fool a few people—that would be ridiculous."

"You've been to school; do you really think an agrarian civilization has so much free time?"

Lu Jiu asked, "If it's about turning misfortune into a blessing, then the saying that fate diminishes the more it's calculated is actually false?"

The old man laughed, "Hahaha, of course it's false. Calculating accurately or frequently doesn't have much meaning; the difficult part is changing. Among heaven, human, and earth, humans are also divided into different levels, not by class, but by perception, cognition, and wisdom."

"Some people, when you give them a little hint, they can immediately correct themselves, adjust their thoughts, and thus change their behavior. Fate can naturally be changed. It's like you seeing patients; many people's illnesses can't be cured, but it actually has nothing to do with medicine. If their thoughts don't change, their habits won't change, and if the habits don't change, the illness remains. It's something that can't be cured no matter what."

"Therefore, some people have poor perception, are stubborn, uninspired, and their thoughts have barely changed since birth and they never listen to advice; for them, their fate is predetermined and can never be changed. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people in the world are like this." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Ah, so it is.

When this concept was explained with a patient example, Lu Jiu immediately understood.

"Old man, may I ask you to help me calculate something?"

The old man said, "Sure."

Lu Jiu asked, "What will the future of Chinese medicine be like?"

When he asked this, Lu Jiu was particularly serious.

Despite his deep confidence in Chinese medicine, he was actually uncertain whether it could truly be revived in the future.

One could say that all Chinese medicine practitioners across the country lack this confidence.

The old man smiled but said nothing. Instead, he moved inside and quickly cast a hexagram. Before Lu Jiu could see what the hexagram was, the old man had already put away the copper coins.

"The next ten years will be a critical opportunity, not just for Chinese medicine, but for Chinese culture as well. The spiritual emptiness brought by rapid economic development will explode within this decade. People will search the world for spiritual sustenance, and Huaxia culture will usher in a trend-leading moment. Whether Chinese medicine can be revived during this momentum depends on the efforts of you Chinese medicine practitioners."

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