Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Being stared at intensely by the He family, Ye Qing didn’t know how to begin.

This wasn’t the first time Ye Qing had faced such a challenging situation. In the apocalyptic years, natural disasters were constant, and various strange ancient viruses spread rampantly. Survivors had to resist not only harsh extreme weather but also various illnesses. As a healer, whenever she encountered diseases she was utterly powerless against, a deep sense of helplessness would well up from the depths of her heart.

At present, Mr. He’s illness was still in its early stages of pathological change and hadn’t progressed to an extremely severe state.

However, when it came to Alzheimer's disease, Ye Qing truly had no relevant treatment experience and couldn’t come up with any effective methods.

Perhaps it was Ye Qing’s solemn expression, but He Lianshan noticed her difficulty and couldn’t help but ask:

"Ye Qing, are you certain?"

Ye Qing nodded slightly.

At this point, all hope was lost. The He family, who had been holding out hope, finally accepted the worst.

Even though they had expected it, the younger members of the He family were still deeply affected by the news, their faces falling. Mrs. He, overwhelmed with emotion, sank into her chair and began to cry.

However, Mr. He remained extremely calm upon learning he might have a serious illness. Perhaps because, over the years, his wife had taken him everywhere to seek medical treatment, the old man had gone from fear to numbness. He had long mentally prepared himself for illness and death, so he was more composed than the rest of his family and accepted the outcome with calmness, feeling that it wasn’t a big deal.

The He family members were all very sad, and He Lianshan, with a look of urgency and pleading, grabbed Ye Qing’s arm:

"Ye Qing, please think of a way to save my father. Whatever it takes, we will fully cooperate!"

Ye Qing felt somewhat helpless.

If she had a solution, she wouldn’t have looked so troubled after the diagnosis.

Alzheimer's disease was an incredibly complex illness. Its causes were numerous, involving a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. In its early stages, the disease showed no obvious signs. It slowly infiltrated a person’s organs, tissues, meridians, and neurons, gradually eroding them until the patient’s brain neurons shrank, leading to cognitive impairment and a complete loss of the ability to care for oneself.

Because the exact cause of the disease is hard to pinpoint, it’s difficult to stop its progression in the early stages. Even in the decades to come, when Ye Qing’s world faced apocalyptic crises, targeted drugs for this disease were still in the research phase.

As with Mr. He’s case now, the epilepsy with abdominal symptoms reflecting the white matter pathological changes was a kind of early warning. But even knowing this was the body’s red alert, with current medical technology, there was nothing they could do. Even if those medical authorities were here, they wouldn’t have any effective solutions.

Ye Qing could only express her apologies to He Lianshan:

"Director He, I won’t beat around the bush. Your father’s illness is a difficult and complex one. The knowledge I have is not enough to overcome it."

"Even though we’ve confirmed that the abdominal epilepsy is caused by white matter pathological changes, if we manage to suppress the white matter pathological changes, this is like pressing down one gourd only for another to float up. Surgical intervention targeting a single pathological site won’t cure the disease and may even cause other complications, accelerating the deterioration."

"So, my suggestion is to pursue conservative treatment. I’ll prescribe a formula, and you can use it to gently regulate Mr. He’s body. Take him to my health station once a month for acupuncture. This method can delay the onset of the disease as much as possible, stretching the deterioration period from seven or eight months to seven or eight years. But beyond that, I’m powerless."

He Lianshan’s eyes turned red, and he didn’t say anything. The other family members also looked sad, clearly disappointed with the outcome.

Who wouldn’t want to live a healthy life until the end? But in the face of illness, human strength can feel so small and powerless.

However, upon hearing Ye Qing’s words, Mr. He couldn’t help but laugh heartily, his face filled with calmness:

"Isn’t this pretty good? Few men live past seventy, and I’m already in my late sixties. If, as this young doctor says, I can live another seven or eight years and make it past seventy, that’s a pretty good deal for an old man like me!"

The old man patted his wife’s hand gently and smiled, trying to comfort her.

"Don't cry, we've got seven or eight years left. While we're still lively and kicking, let's live happily day by day. No more of those dreadful check-ups, okay? If this keeps up, I'll go mad from all those chaotic tests before the illness even gets me.

By the time we reach that point, the grandchildren will have started their own families and established their careers. I, Old Man He, will be able to rest easy and give a proper account to our ancestors in the afterlife. If I can make it to seventy, that would be a bonus for this old man. With all your worrying, who knows if you'll outlive me! If you don't believe me, let's have a competition to see who can outlast the other."

As he said this, the old man winked at his wife, his mischievous expression leaving the old lady both crying and laughing, unable to help but pinch him.

'Shame on you! Your mouth has no taboos, you dare say anything!'

Old Man He's jokes lightened the previously gloomy atmosphere in the house. The other family members didn't dare to make decisions, and all eyes turned to the backbone of the He family, the eldest son, He Lianshan.

He Lianshan knew that if Ye Qing had a solution, she wouldn't hide it. So, despite his reluctance, he had to accept reality. After taking a deep breath, he forced a bitter smile at Ye Qing.

'We'll follow your approach, Ye Qing. We'll opt for conservative treatment. If there are any issues, please let us know. We'll do our best to accommodate your schedule.'

As long as no surgery was involved, conservative treatment was simply taking herbal medicine and acupuncture. Other than the hassle of decocting medicine daily and having acupuncture every month, there weren't any major problems.

Ye Qing wrote down the prescription and carefully instructed them on how to take the medicine and what to pay attention to in the patient's daily life. With a somewhat heavy heart, she left the He family.

Old Master He's case was particularly unusual. This was why Dean Gu had paid so much attention to it, even gathering senior doctors from several surrounding counties for a specialist consultation. Now that Ye Qing had a final diagnosis for Old Master He, she needed to inform Dean Gu about the analysis and the treatment plan.

Gu Changqing was pleased to see Ye Qing, as he hadn't seen her in some time. However, when Ye Qing explained the specific situation with Old Master He, Gu Changqing's smile disappeared immediately.

He realized that this special case was of great research value. Currently, there was no research on Alzheimer's disease in the domestic medical industry, and no one paid attention to this disease. Most people considered memory loss and the loss of self-care ability in the elderly as part of the normal aging process and never linked it to pathological changes.

This misunderstanding was not only held by ordinary people but also by many medical professionals, leading to many elderly patients not having their illnesses diagnosed when they went to hospitals.

The fact that no hospital could pinpoint the cause of Old Master He's condition, despite numerous tests, highlighted this problem.

If this case wasn't given attention, many similar patients might be neglected in the coming years, delaying treatment and care.

Gu Changqing felt that this matter needed to be reported to the Ministry of Health as soon as possible. It was essential to conduct more detailed follow-up records on Old Master He's condition, identify more similar cases, and carry out unified treatment, observation, comparison, and data collection for research on this pathology.

Knowing that Gu Changqing planned to report this case, Ye Qing immediately expressed her full support.

This disease is difficult to treat, and because it was initially overlooked, no effective treatment has been developed even decades later. However, by the time the situation worsened, tens of millions of elderly people worldwide had Alzheimer's disease. In the elderly population, one in ten was affected, indicating a high incidence rate.

Therefore, Ye Qing believed that if Gu Changqing's report could bring more attention from higher authorities, more industry elites might join the research. Seizing this opportunity could put them at the forefront globally, which could be a significant milestone for the domestic medical field.

After parting ways with Gu Changqing, Ye Qing planned to look around the county.

She had come by Li Yong's tractor. Li Yong had previously worked with Nie Wei in the black market, but after repeated warnings from Gu Weidong, they stopped.

Nie Wei sought help from the Liu family, and through some unknown connection, managed to get Li Yong a temporary position as an external procurement officer in several county factories.

Since then, Li Yong had been running around, acquiring various mountain goods from commune members in different communes and purchasing vegetables and grains from private plots, as well as poultry and eggs beyond the planned quota. These items were registered and sent to various factories.

Although the prices were transparent, making profits from price differences wasn't possible. However, the factories paid wages, and even as a temporary worker earning only a dozen yuan a month, the combined income was quite substantial.

Bold and daring, Li Yong secretly found a few equally audacious friends and cleared a plot of land in the deep mountains, where they raised chickens, ducks, and various vegetables. They also occasionally hunted in the mountains, smuggling the meat into the factories, where they sold it for personal profit.

Li Yong respected Ye Qing because she had treated Old Master Liu, which led to his current stable and profitable situation. He often visited Ye Qing, offering help, and would bring her things when he went to the county. If Ye Qing needed to go to the county, Li Yong was always available to drive her, without any hesitation.

This time, when Ye Qing needed to go to the county to see a patient, Li Yong proactively offered to be her driver. After dropping Ye Qing off, he agreed that she shouldn't take the bus back. After he finished collecting things from the communes in the afternoon, he would come to pick her up. Ye Qing just needed to wait at the agreed location around 4 or 5 PM.

So, Ye Qing wasn't in a hurry to return to Kaoshan Village. After leaving the county hospital, she first had a big meal at a government-operated restaurant and then visited the supply and marketing cooperative. As she passed a street corner, she noticed a middle-aged woman carrying a large bundle of empty toothpaste tubes heading into an alley. She guessed there might be a waste collection station inside."

Thinking of the apprentices back home, her footsteps instinctively changed direction, and she followed the path into the alley.

Sure enough, as soon as she entered, Ye Qing spotted a dilapidated waste collection station at the end of the alley, where various types of waste were neatly organized.

Before Ye Qing went to the countryside, she had visited a waste collection station in Shen City, but there was a significant difference between the stations in Shen City and those in Jiaotan County.

In Shen City, the waste stations were meticulously organized, almost to the point of obsession, whereas in Jiaotan County, while still orderly, the setup was far more straightforward and less refined. Books and newspapers were messily piled in one entire room, while broken copper and iron filled another. As for wooden furniture, it wasn’t even brought here. People knew that even if the furniture was beyond repair, it could still be chopped up for firewood, so there was no point in sending it to the waste station.

Ye Qing had come to the waste station hoping to find some basic TCM textbooks. Although the health station had applied to the county agricultural bureau and Dean Gu for a batch of books, there were too few related to Chinese medicine.

At the time, Western medicine was dominant, and traditional Chinese medicine found itself in a precarious position due to the anti-old-customs policies. Many people were hesitant to get involved in TCM before the policies became clearer. Some, fearing trouble, even discarded their TCM-related books and sent them to the waste collection stations.

Ye Qing wanted to try her luck, hoping to find some good books.

The room was cluttered with towering piles of books and newspapers, making it nearly impossible to find what she was looking for. Fortunately, the person in charge of the collection station was a middle-aged woman in her forties. After leading Ye Qing inside, she paid little attention to her and sat outside the shed, focusing on knitting.

Since the collection station was in a relatively remote location and not many people came, Ye Qing was alone in the room. She discreetly used her wood element abilities to summon vines, which helped her quickly sift through the layers of newspapers and books.

This method significantly improved her efficiency, and soon, Ye Qing found several books she wanted.

Ye Qing quickly used the vines to roll the books into her hands and placed them aside to prepare for checking out later.

After about half an hour of searching, the aunt outside grew impatient and called out, asking what Ye Qing was looking for and why it was taking so long.

Ye Qing’s heart raced, and she hurried to retract the vines, but in the process, she accidentally knocked over a stack of comic books in the corner. The pile fell to the ground, revealing several yellowed, thread-bound books hidden behind them.

As soon as Ye Qing saw the title of the first thread-bound book, her heart began to race. Instinctively, she rushed forward and quickly picked up the books.

After a quick glance, Ye Qing couldn’t be sure if the books were what she was looking for, but her heart pounded with excitement. She quickly gathered the books, worried that the aunt outside might become suspicious. She grabbed some newspapers from the floor to wrap around the books, hiding their covers.

After confirming that she hadn’t left behind any of the thread-bound books hidden in the corner, Ye Qing didn’t dare to linger any longer. She feared that the aunt outside might come looking for her if she waited too long. She hurriedly picked up all the books she had selected and rushed out.

When she got outside, Ye Qing placed the selected books on the scale and deliberately put the medical books she had chosen on top of the thread-bound books to hide them. She then engaged the aunt in casual conversation to divert her attention.

"Auntie, are you knitting a sweater for a baby? The stitching is so beautiful. You must be very skilled. Is it for your grandson?"

The aunt, who had been frowning because Ye Qing had been inside for too long, immediately brightened at the compliment and couldn’t help but show off.

"It’s for my grandson. My daughter-in-law is pregnant. I thought it would be chaotic if I waited until the baby was born to prepare these things, so I’m making them in advance."

As she spoke, the plump aunt glanced at the books Ye Qing had taken out and, frowning slightly, felt the need to remind her.

"These books aren’t being collected outside anymore. They’ve all been thrown into my waste collection station. Young girl, be careful not to get into trouble by taking them."

Ye Qing initially thought the aunt had a bit of a temper and seemed difficult to deal with. But after seeing her goodwill in reminding her to stay safe, Ye Qing’s heart warmed. She quickly explained with a smile.

"Auntie, it’s okay. I’m the station chief of the health station. These books are reference books that we use at our station to treat patients. I’m not afraid of any trouble."

The aunt was surprised and looked Ye Qing up and down. She didn’t probe further and didn’t even bother to check the pile of thread-bound books underneath. She simply tossed the books into a snakeskin bag, hung them on the scale hook, weighed them quickly, calculated the price, and asked Ye Qing to pay.

The entire pile of books cost Ye Qing just 1.3 yuan, and she even received a burlap sack for free. Ye Qing paid promptly and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped and noticed the aunt’s hands, which were covered in frostbite, some parts even cracked and oozing pus.

"Auntie, I’ll write you a prescription. If you trust me, go get some medicine, boil it into an ointment, and apply it to your hands. I guarantee your frostbite will scab over in less than half a month."

Saying this, Ye Qing took out some paper and a pen from her bag and quickly wrote a prescription, handing it to the aunt.

Though skeptical, the aunt accepted the prescription.

Ye Qing, afraid she might give away her intentions, grabbed the half-full burlap sack of books and suppressed her nervous excitement as she quickened her pace toward the recycling center.

Just as she was about to step out into the yard, she ran into an elderly man riding an old tricycle at the doorway.

The elderly man paused for a moment, his feet halting, causing the tricycle to nearly tip over. Ye Qing quickly reached out to help steady the cart.

Auntie, who had already put away the prescription, saw the old man at the door and couldn’t help but scold him loudly,

“What’s wrong with you, old fool? Can’t you see where you’re going? What if you hit someone? And what if your pile of junk spills all over the entrance? I’ll teach you a lesson if you do!”

The elderly man, trembling, slowly got off the tricycle and began pushing the load of junk into the yard.

However, there was a step at the gate. Though not very high, the old man tried several times but couldn’t get the cart over it.

Auntie continued knitting in the distance, not bothering to come over and help.

Seeing this, Ye Qing had no choice but to put down the burlap sack and step forward to lend the old man a hand. With some effort, they finally managed to push the cart into the yard.

The elderly man, hunched over with his head down, thanked Ye Qing in a raspy voice. He then emptied the cart of its junk into the yard and was about to ride out again. As he passed the step, the tricycle wobbled and almost tipped over again. Ye Qing, who was just leaving with the sack in hand, quickly reached out to steady the old man’s arm, barely managing to keep him from falling.

The elderly man turned his head, revealing a pair of watery, clouded eyes from beneath his messy hair, glancing at Ye Qing before slowly riding away without saying a word.

Ye Qing stood at the entrance of the yard for a while, not moving, her eyes narrowing in suspicion as she looked at her hand, still feeling the touch of the old man. She furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes, watching the old man’s retreating figure.

This old man—there was something strange about him.