His wife was a health guru, maintaining a varied diet of vegetables and fruits, alternating between whole grains and refined grains, with well-balanced meat and vegetable dishes that offered excellent nutritional value.

As for drinking alcohol, that was out of the question. The patient is forty-eight this year and has never touched cigarettes or alcohol.

I remember his wife once mentioned during a hospital stay that the man was inherently repulsed by both; he couldn't even stand the smell. Consequently, he would avoid social gatherings unless everyone present abstained from smoking and drinking.

So, after all these years, he's about to retire and is still just a staff member, having made no career progress whatsoever."

Du Heng listened, his mouth twisting slightly; he rarely saw people living such refined lives.

"Where is he? I'll take a look before saying anything more."

"Let's go. He's in the hospital room getting an infusion."

The two went to the hospital room together. Du Heng reached out to take the patient's pulse, then looked at his tongue coating. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Diagnosing the illness through syndrome differentiation wasn't difficult; it was simply a deficiency and cold in the stomach, though the damp-cold stagnation was a bit excessive.

And most importantly, upon seeing the patient, Du Heng recognized him.

He was one point nine meters tall and very lean, walking like a skinny beanpole swaying. The huge black eyeglass frame on his nose made an even more lasting impression, making him hard to forget.

Du Heng had treated this very patient last year when he was in the Gastroenterology Department.

Du Heng touched his chin and turned to Xu Pinglin. HRMM. "Director Xu, are you asking me to clean up a mess today?"

Xu Pinglin's mouth twitched. "Clean up a mess? What are you talking about? We couldn't figure it out, so we came to you."

"Fine, it's your territory. Say whatever you want."

"What are you saying? Aren't you still our department's externally hired Deputy Director? What's this about your territory or my territory? It belongs to the country, to the people, and it's ours too."

Du Heng glanced disdainfully at Xu Pinglin, who was spouting platitudes, then ignored him and turned to the patient. "If I remember correctly, I gave you a prescription last year around August or September, didn't I?"

The man in the hospital bed nodded. "That's right. At the time, you said I had cold in my stomach, and you prescribed... prescribed..."

"Cassia Twig and Ginseng Decoction, a formula to warm the centre and disperse cold."

"Yes, that's the medicine."

"Did it work?"

"I suppose so. When I took the medicine you prescribed... well, it didn't hurt much while I was taking it."

This statement was somewhat perfunctory, all but blatantly telling Du Heng that the medicine had little effect. This was the first time Du Heng had encountered such a polite patient.

However, considering this man's job and what Xu Pinglin had said about his habits, it was easy to understand why he spoke this way.

People from the workplace often behave like this: not speaking directly, making points without delving too deep, and maintaining an air of inscrutability.

But honestly, talking with such people leaves you with just one feeling—it's exhausting.

Du Heng found this answer hard to believe.

Since his stroke of luck and acquiring his statistical ability, he had never failed.

Surely he wouldn't stumble with this patient, just because of a deficiency and cold in the stomach?

Puzzled, Du Heng performed another examination. The result was still spleen-stomach deficiency-cold caused by excessive damp-cold stagnation. There's no mistake in the diagnosis.

What a headache. Where was the problem?

Du Heng scratched his head. "After I gave you the prescription, did you take the medicine on time?"

The man sat up a bit in the hospital bed. "One good thing about me is that I listen to experts. I absolutely never take matters into my own hands."

His words actually made Du Heng feel a pang of guilt; he felt he shouldn't have doubted him.

Just as he was wondering how to proceed, a slightly thin middle-aged woman entered the hospital room. She wore a large sun hat and carried two insulated lunch boxes.

The woman walked past Du Heng and Xu Pinglin, glancing at them before going straight to the patient's bedside. "Doctor's ward round?"

The man nodded gently.

"Oh, then you talk to the doctor. The meal can be eaten later." The woman placed the lunch boxes on the bedside table.

Seeing this, Du Heng still couldn't quite figure things out. He decided to go back and look at the patient's disease record, hoping to find the cause there.

"You eat first. I'll go check your medical record and come back later."

After saying that, Du Heng and Xu Pinglin walked out together.

As they turned and left, the man's voice came from behind, "What delicious food did you make today?"

"Tomato scrambled eggs and some cold-tossed celtuce. Your stomach has been upset these past few days, and rich, greasy food is hard to digest. Wait until you're discharged and back home to eat that kind of food."

"This is quite good. My stomach has been so upset these last two days I haven't had much appetite. Something light is best," the man said softly. "By the way, it's a bit hot today. Later, go buy some watermelon and have the melon seller cut it into small pieces and put it in that small container. Otherwise, there will be watermelon rinds and juice everywhere, which wouldn't be good."

"Okay, eat up. You only had some millet porridge this morning; you must be hungry by now."

By now, Du Heng and Xu Pinglin had already left the hospital room. But as Du Heng listened to the couple's conversation behind them, he suddenly slowed his pace. His eyes gradually brightened.

"President Du, you absolutely can't afford to be careless with this patient today. You..." Xu Pinglin, who was speaking, was taken aback when Du Heng suddenly stopped. "Why are you stopping? Let's go. We can think about it back in the office."