Seeing that Gao Yang had backed down and truly wanted to be treated, Qin Jiang pointed at the QR code on the table.
“Scan the code to pay. That’ll be 2,300 in total.”
Ding.
[Detected that the host spoke frankly to the patient, revealed the patient’s hidden ailment, and greatly assisted the patient. Mission complete.]
[Congratulations, host, on your reward: Dahuang Mudanpi Decoction.]
Qin Jiang had initially thought Gao Yang was broke, considering he’d had to borrow money from Wei Lan just to scrape together seventy thousand before. But he hadn’t expected that when it came to his health, the guy would pay so promptly.
“Wait here. I’ll get your medicine.”
Qin Jiang walked into the pharmacy and soon came back out with the Dachengqi Decoction, packed it in a plastic bag, and handed it to Gao Yang.
“Take it as prescribed. While you’re on this medication, it’s best if you rest at home and don’t go running around outside.”
Hearing that, Gao Yang looked a bit troubled.
“Dr. Qin, my job kind of requires me to be out and about. I have to go chase clients, or I won’t have money to eat.”
Qin Jiang didn’t try to persuade him further. He just said plainly, “Suit yourself. But in any case, with your condition, try not to overexert yourself—especially during treatment. Mental and physical strain can directly affect how well the medicine is absorbed.”
“I’ve told you all this. If you end up with more problems later because you’ve been running around every day, don’t come blaming me.”
Gao Yang’s face immediately fell.
He didn’t dare say anything more.
After all, you can’t exactly haggle with a doctor, right?
Taking the medicine Qin Jiang had prescribed, Gao Yang turned and left the clinic.
Watching Gao Yang and Wei Lan walk away, Liu Yan couldn’t help saying, “Dr. Qin, that guy is clearly caught up in a pyramid scheme. Why didn’t you call the police?”
Qin Jiang took a sip of tea and said calmly, “Would calling the police help? He’s already sunk his 150,000 into it. If I did report it, he might end up resenting me and even try to get back at me in secret. Why bother?”
“Since none of his family or friends are stepping in, why should I be the one to meddle?”
His words sounded cold, but they came from experience.
Standing in the way of someone’s money is like taking away their very lifeblood.
Gao Yang was already in too deep—even Wei Lan couldn’t talk sense into him. Qin Jiang was just a doctor he’d met once. How could he possibly convince him?
As the old saying goes: Good advice is wasted on those destined for ruin. That’s exactly the case here.
The viewers in the livestream let out a collective sigh after hearing this.
“Ugh, these pyramid scheme scammers really deserve to rot. 150,000 could be someone’s life savings over a decade, and it’s all gone just like that.”
“And don’t get me started on those health-supplement scams targeting the elderly—they’re even worse! My grandma got tricked out of over a hundred grand in pension money too. The family doesn’t even dare tell her the truth, afraid she won’t be able to handle it.”
“There’s an old lady in our neighborhood just like that. She’s been collecting trash for years, and all her money got swindled away. These people have no conscience!”
Stories like this were all too common. Even the police couldn’t keep up, let alone Qin Jiang.
The only thing he could do was focus on his own job—treating patients well. That, to him, was the greatest form of dedication and help.
Just as he was thinking that, three young men in basketball jerseys walked in from outside.
Qin Jiang took a closer look and saw two of them supporting the third as they made their way in.
The one in the middle wore a pained expression—clearly injured pretty badly.
After helping the middle guy sit down, Qin Jiang asked, “So, what happened to you?”
The chubby one spoke up: “He got bumped while playing basketball and ended up falling hard. That’s how he got like this.”
“Doc, can you take a look at him? I’ve got money—I can pay.”
The three looked about eighteen years old, all wearing the same team jerseys. Qin Jiang could tell right away they were close friends.
“Let’s get some basic info first. What are your names, and which school are you from? One at a time.”
After a bit of back-and-forth, Qin Jiang learned that the chubby one was called Jiao En, the pained one was Yang Zhui, and the quiet shorter kid was Liu Fei.
The three had originally planned to hit the outdoor court together—they shared the same hobby and were in the same high school class, so balling together was their favorite way to unwind.
Everything had been going smoothly, since they’d played together plenty of times before.
But then a group of thugs they’d never seen before suddenly showed up at the court.
These punks claimed to be streetball players, but they were all dressed flashy, walking with that swagger, and every single one of them had dyed hair.
Jiao En said, “Honestly, we didn’t even want to play them at first. They didn’t exactly look friendly, and it was clear they weren’t there for a real game.”
“But they insisted we play. They said if we didn’t, they wouldn’t let us leave—and that they’d beat us up every time they saw us from then on.”
“We had no choice but to play them. But not only were they terrible at the game—they played dirty with all kinds of dangerous moves!”
From Jiao En’s explanation, Qin Jiang pieced it together.
Of the three, Yang Zhui had the shortest temper and the best physique.
At first, Yang Zhui hadn’t wanted to make a big deal out of it. After all, the world’s full of all kinds of people.
Some punks just like stirring up trouble for no reason.
But Yang Zhui couldn’t swallow it forever, so he went all out—using his height advantage to dunk all over them, crushing their arrogance completely.
But those thugs weren’t pushovers either.
Since they couldn’t win fair and square, they resorted to underhanded tricks like stepping under his feet and shoving him around, trying to claw their way back with dirty plays.
Before the game even ended, Yang Zhui was already on his way to the hospital.
Yang Zhui said through gritted teeth, “Doc, can you just check me out first? I can barely stand the pain anymore.”
Seeing tears welling up in Yang Zhui’s eyes, Qin Jiang quickly said, “Hold on, don’t rush. Put your hand on the pulse mat. Let me feel your pulse.”
But seeing how calm Qin Jiang was the entire time, Yang Zhui was about to lose it.
He regretted not going to a Western hospital in the first place. Why did he have to come all the way here to see a Chinese medicine doctor?
“Little Fatty, let’s go. Take me to a Western hospital instead.”
Jiao En looked a bit embarrassed.
He was about to comfort Yang Zhui when, unexpectedly, Qin Jiang spoke up: “This is splenic bleeding caused by trauma. In theory, it’s not a huge deal.”
“But here’s the problem: the blood from your spleen is now flowing into your abdominal cavity. If we don’t deal with it promptly, you’re going to develop more serious complications.”
“And the mortality rate for these complications is pretty high—plus the window for effective treatment is very short.”
“You really need to think this through carefully.”
