Chapter 6: Free Consultations, Healing the Sick
A peaceful night passed.
The next morning, Fang Han awoke just as the sky began to brighten.
Though his emotions had surged the night before, and he didn’t sleep much, he didn’t feel particularly tired.
Glancing at the sky, Fang Han muttered, “It’s going to rain a lot over the next few days…”
And why was he so certain? Well, the Life Simulation told so.
He went to greet the old village chief and said, “Elder, I stayed at your place last night but have nothing to repay you with. If you don’t mind, I’d like to hold a free clinic in the village and check on everyone’s health, as a small token of appreciation. Would that be alright?”
The old village chief was taken aback. “Oh! You’re a doctor too? That’s remarkable.”
But looking at Fang Han’s youthful and handso face, he couldn’t help but be a little skeptical.
Fang Han smiled slightly. “I’ve studied dicine and know a fair bit.”
The chief smacked his lips but didn’t refuse.
Although slightly suspicious, a free clinic wasn’t sothing to reject.
He called his son over and had him spread the word through the village.
That call stirred up quite the commotion—practically the whole village was alerted.
Upon hearing that a doctor was giving free consultations, people showed up—whether they were sick or not—to see what was going on.
They crowded outside the old chief’s house, bustling with noise and excitent.
Fang Han wasn’t fazed—he’d seen this kind of scene before. Borrowing a table and so chairs, he set up in the open area outside and began seeing patients.
At first, most of the villagers had a look-see attitude. After all, life in the countryside was dull and entertainnt was rare. A bit of excitent? Of course, they flocked to it.
Plus, the one holding the free clinic was the strangely dressed stranger from yesterday—everyone was curious.
Of course, there were a few who were genuinely unwell and ca to see what he could do.
But even so, people glanced at each other and hesitated—no one stepped forward.
Fang Han arranged the table and chairs, sat down, looked around at the villagers, and smiled as he spoke loudly, “Folks, my na is Fang Han. I arrived here yesterday while traveling, and the village kindly let stay for a night. I’m very grateful. I have nothing else to give, but I do know dicine. So I thought I’d offer a free clinic to check on everyone’s health, as a way of expressing my thanks.”
Everyone suddenly understood and applauded in unison.
But then, a local ruffian scoffed and shouted, “You’re from outside and dressed all weird. Who knows where you ca from? Maybe you’ve got bad intentions and ca here to hurt people! What if you say soone’s healthy when they’re not, or say they’re sick when they’re perfectly fine? That’d be a disaster!”
As soon as he said this, a few other village troublemakers chid in.
So villagers started to get suspicious. Yeah, we’d better be cautious.
The atmosphere cooled instantly. Everyone turned to Fang Han to see how he’d respond.
But Fang Han was completely calm. He’d experienced too much in life to be rattled. Glancing at the few hecklers, he said casually, “dical treatnt requires mutual trust. If I’m already being doubted before I’ve seen anyone, there’s no point in continuing. If you don’t trust , feel free not to co. I’m not forcing anyone.”
Just then, the old village chief ca out. Hearing the hecklers, he grabbed his walking stick and shouted while rushing over, “Out! Out! Out! He’s offering free help for the village’s good, and you lazy scoundrels want to ruin it!”
The first ruffian took a few hits, howling as he ran away. With the whole village watching, he didn’t dare fight back.
Seeing things turn against them, the others quickly fled as well.
Panting, the old chief ca up to Fang Han and said, “Those troublemakers are always loafing around and making trouble. Don’t mind them. You see—”
Fang Han smiled. “If they don’t believe , that’s their problem. It has nothing to do with everyone else.”
Then he looked around and said clearly, “If anyone’s feeling unwell, co on up—I’ll take a look.”
The villagers looked at each other. Eventually, a few people stepped forward.
The first was a middle-aged man. His complexion was sallow, and he was of average height, looking a bit frail. He ca forward but stood awkwardly, unsure how to start.
Fang Han gently prompted, “Are you feeling any discomfort anywhere? Just tell where.”
The man relaxed slightly and nervously said, “—I’ve been feeling pain all over lately. Here… here… and here…”
As he spoke, he pointed to several places on his body.
Fang Han nodded, took his pulse, checked his bones, asked so questions, and finally said, “You have rheumatic arthralgia. Wind, cold, and dampness have been trapped in your body too long, forming stagnation. This kind of illness causes joint pain and swelling, especially during rainy or cold weather, and it becos numb and painful…”
Fang Han had already figured it out just by looking, but asking was still necessary.
It helped prevent misdiagnosis, put the patient at ease, allowed for better communication and a more accurate description of symptoms, and slowly built trust.
All of which was essential for both diagnosis and anything else.
After listing a few more symptoms, the man’s eyes lit up. “Yes! That’s exactly right. Doctor, can this be cured?”
Now it was obvious—this wasn’t so fake. This was a real doctor! The man was ecstatic.
Fang Han smiled. “Your case is still early. It can be treated. If you wait too long, it can still be treated, but it’ll be a lot more troubleso.”
He shared a simple folk redy, then called the next patient.
In treating rural villagers, many thods weren’t feasible.
Expensive dicinal herbs were unaffordable. They couldn’t buy them, and Fang Han didn’t have them either.
Even in the Life Simulation, after years of running a clinic, he couldn’t afford to use such redies freely, let alone now, when he had nothing.
So the best thods were ones using common herbs or locally available ingredients—ones that fit the villagers’ lifestyles.
Fang Han had treated patients around Linshui County for decades. He had many reliable, low-cost redies and folk prescriptions, proven and tested.
The middle-aged man lingered nearby, looking hesitant. Then asked, “Doctor, does this work?”
Usually, you’d prescribe so dicine or herbs… but a folk redy? I’m not so sure…
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