Chapter 457: Practice Yields True Knowledge

Chapter 457 Knowledge Comes from Practice

Ye Xiaoxiao was now quite the little heiress.

"Good timing—I've got a new formula here that can be taken back to the lab for research."

What Ye Xiaoxiao provided was just a rough draft of the formula. Before it could officially go to market, it would need countless rounds of research and experimentation.

Song Xiaoguang told Xiao Xiao, "Just focus on living well here and taking care of yourself. Don’t worry about anything else."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "But I can’t just sit around doing nothing. I’ve got plenty of free time here."

Song Xiaoguang hinted, "You might be getting busy very soon."

Ye Xiaoxiao knew he was referring to that patient, but wasn’t there only one?

Though she didn’t fully understand, Xiao Xiao kept all her doubts to herself.

In the afternoon, Song Guangjing and the others left after lunch.

Ye Xiaoxiao walked her master out.

Song Guangjing reminded Xiao Xiao that Li Yirong would likely arrive on the island soon.

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded. "Don’t worry, Master. I’ll only begin treatment once I’m confident. I won't take any risks."

Song Guangjing had said his piece and had nothing more to add.

The day after Song Guangjing left, planes began arriving on the island, delivering shipments of medical equipment.

Ye Xiaoxiao could only shake her head.

This equipment wasn't even for traditional Chinese medicine—it seemed they were going for a combined Western and Chinese approach.

Ye Xiaoxiao thought to herself, *Good thing I specialized in Western medicine in my past life.*

But judging from this, there must be others coming to assist her.

A lung disease can be extremely serious if it worsens.

Yet, cases that couldn’t be treated after Western medical examinations were unusual—they fell into the category of treatment-resistant cases.

But what troubled Ye Xiaoxiao the most right now wasn’t the patient’s treatment—it was that another of her chickens had died.

The weasel didn’t even eat the meat—it just sucked the chicken dry and ran off.

Of course, it was also possible that it hadn’t had time to take the chicken away.

At least the dogs at home got some meat out of it.

Ye Xiaoxiao scolded them: "You didn’t let the weasel in on purpose just to get some meat, right?"

Fluffy and Ermo didn't understand a word their mom was saying. Wagging their tails excitedly, they thought Xiao Xiao was playing with them.

"Sigh, it's no use talking to you."

Ye Xiaoxiao sighed and finally gave up.

That night, Ye Xiaoxiao had to lock all the chickens in the woodshed and post the dogs by the door.

The next day, when Xiao Xiao went to check again, she found that not a single chick was missing from the woodshed.

Lu Hanchuan watched Xiao Xiao, amused.

"You can't eat the chickens at home, but you still have to buy meat from the store for the dogs. Might as well eat the ones here."

Ye Xiaoxiao firmly objected, "I raised these with my own hard work. No way we’re eating them."

Lu Hanchuan patted Xiao Xiao's head, "But I saw you chowing down pretty happily today."

Xiao Xiao covered Lu Hanchuan's mouth, "Don’t say that!"

Lu Hanchuan: "Alright, alright, I won't say it."

Xiao Xiao also assigned Lu Hanchuan a task, "The chicken coop is empty today. Find a way to catch that weasel."

Lu Hanchuan: "..."

He looked at Xiao Xiao sincerely, "Really? You’re not seriously asking me to sleep in the coop, are you?"

Xiao Xiao thought for a moment, "Probably not."

Lu Hanchuan: "Just kidding. I’ll make sure that weasel never comes back. Don’t worry."

Xiao Xiao: "Then it’s all yours. I’m going out to walk the dogs."

Xiao Xiao went to the store and picked up a bunch of dog stuff.

Though she didn’t know what traps Lu Hanchuan had set up in the chicken coop, from that night onward, no more weasels showed up.

Xiao Xiao was pretty happy with how it turned out.

...

Li Yirong didn’t come to the island until after the family’s temporary housing was ready.

She was a lean, sharp-looking woman.

Before she got sick, even at nearly sixty, she could’ve passed for fifty due to her good mindset and self-care.

But the illness aged her ten years overnight.

Now she looked deathly ill.

Alone in her room, the old woman couldn’t bear to look in the mirror.

When Ye Xiaoxiao met her, she kept her cool. As they shook hands, she discreetly took her pulse.

Yang deficiency, cold lungs, and pulmonary stagnation.

Treatment would start with warming yang, clearing the meridians, drying dampness, and removing blockages.

This was only a quick assessment. After the handshake, Xiao Xiao let go of her hand.

"Hello, Comrade Li."

"Hello."

The elderly lady remained elegant, but she began coughing as soon as she finished speaking.

"Hack, hack, hack..."

Li Yirong’s daughter, Li Shuang, now in her thirties, was by her side. She quickly patted her mother’s back to ease her breathing.

"Dr. Ye, should we first take my mother to the prepared consultation room?" Li Shuang greeted Ye Xiaoxiao politely before asking.

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded and glanced at the group of people following the elderly lady.

"The officials don’t need to come further, do they?"

A whole entourage heading to the courtyard would draw too much attention.

"You can go. No disruptions during treatment," Li Yirong personally instructed.

The local officials, there to escort her, had no choice but to leave.

Ye Xiaoxiao led them to the courtyard. The elderly lady was accompanied by a personal physician, who was specially assigned to care for her health.

The physician handed Ye Xiaoxiao the previous examination scans and medical records for review.

After examining them, Ye Xiaoxiao performed a full TCM diagnosis—observing, listening, questioning, and checking her pulse.

"Your vital energy is insufficient, and the combined invasion of wind, cold, and dampness has obstructed the lung collaterals. Additionally, prolonged unresolved skin paralysis has worsened the condition, leading to these severe consequences."

After Ye Xiaoxiao finished speaking, Li Yirong’s family physician nodded in agreement.

Li Shuang pressed urgently, "Dr. Ye, can anything be done? At the very least, can we ease my mother’s daily suffering? She’s miserable like this."

At her age, the elderly lady’s constant wheezing and coughing made it difficult for her to sleep or eat properly.

If this continued for a few more months, even if the illness wasn’t fatal, her body wouldn’t hold up.

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded and motioned for Li Shuang to sit down.

"There are certainly solutions, but since you’ve just arrived by plane today, the elderly lady’s bodily functions haven’t stabilized yet. For today, I’ll make an herbal brew. Tomorrow, we’ll add acupuncture treatment."

"Understood, Dr. Ye. We’ll do exactly as you say."

Li Shuang treated Ye Xiaoxiao with great respect—she was their last hope.

If even Ye Xiaoxiao couldn’t help, another TCM doctor might not help either.

Ye Xiaoxiao left to write the prescription and prepare the herbs.

The courtyard was set up just for Li Yirong’s recuperation, so they would all stay there overnight.

Since an emergency doctor was there, Ye Xiaoxiao could return home after preparing and giving her the medicine.

In the small courtyard, after Ye Xiaoxiao left, Li Shuang and the doctor watched for any changes.

"This prescription includes dried ginger, poria cocos, licorice, and honey-fried licorice, which will help boost her yang and clear dampness..."

Though not a TCM specialist, the doctor could still discern the purpose of these herbs from the prescription.

Li Shuang fretted, "Mom, how do you feel now?"