CHAPTER 384: 356 CHILD WITH HAIRY TEETH

Cao Binghe left quickly and returned just as fast, seemingly having already dealt with the outpatient service and reception counter work.

After he spoke a few words at the consultation room’s door, many people in the waiting crowd stood up one after another.

Some left dejectedly, while others, filled with anger, grabbed Cao Binghe and the accompanying nurses to argue. Some even started shouting loudly at the door, as if raising their voices would force the hospital to change its decision.

However, no matter how much commotion they made, Cao Binghe and the nurses explained things in a very calm tone, over and over again.

Gradually, those willing to accept a change of doctors sat down. A large part of this group had come for Good Friend Hospital’s reputation, seeking its experts. Whether the expert was Lan Changhua or not wasn’t a major concern for them; their primary goal was to see a doctor.

Those who did not accept the change of doctors went directly to get a refund and planned to come back when other experts would come to door for outpatient service.

Slowly, the situation at the consultation room’s entrance calmed down, but a few individuals were still persistently pestering him, constantly voicing their difficulties and reluctance.

The reason for their persistence was simple: they had bought scalped tickets at exceedingly high prices.

The hospital would only refund the normal registration fee, regardless of how much they had paid to the scalpers.

Lan Changhua conscientiously held outpatient services on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. This was something he strongly requested, wanting to use his diligence and high capacity to help patients, allowing them to wait less and save money on unnecessary expenses.

So, as long as patients were willing to spend some time, they could eventually get an appointment with Lan Changhua.

However, many patients from out of town, unfamiliar with the area and overwhelmed by the large crowds, were easily deceived.

The hospital could do nothing for those who had been cheated. They could only refund the normal registration fee. As for the extra tens or hundreds of yuan, they were powerless to help.

This Big winter day, Cao Binghe broke into a cold sweat explaining things at the door. Looking at the sparsely scattered patients in the waiting area and seeing that no one was grabbing his arm to demand an explanation anymore, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Cao Binghe returned to the office.

"Doctor Du, can we start now?"

"We can start now. By the way, how many people are still waiting outside for us?"

Cao Binghe stood at the door and glanced back at the waiting area. It was still quite full, but now only nine people remained for their consultation room, two of whom had scalped tickets.

"Doctor Du, there are only nine left."

Du Heng checked the time. He had arrived at the consultation room around 10:50, and it was now 11:40. Almost an hour had been wasted.

However, having only nine people left was within his acceptable range.

Actually, from the moment he agreed, he had been prepared for the possibility of having no patients today. After all, his face was too young, and he wasn’t as famous as Lan Changhua.

"Then let’s get started."

Cao Binghe returned to his office desk and opened his system interface.

From now on, all patients Du Heng treated would be recorded under his name. He would be Du Heng’s scapegoat at Good Friend Hospital.

After Cao Binghe operated the system, one name disappeared from the queue interface, and an announcement was made in the waiting hall outside, calling the next patient into the consultation room.

Taking advantage of this lull, Du Heng curiously asked, "I haven’t asked yet, Dr. Cao, how old are you this year?"

Cao Binghe smiled. "I’m 29 years old, Professor Lan’s first-year doctoral student, and also an attending doctor at the hospital."

Cao Binghe looked at Du Heng with a smile; he knew Du Heng was also 29 years old.

Although he admired Du Heng’s current level, it was impossible for him not to feel a competitive urge. However, his education and upbringing wouldn’t allow him to resort to very low tactics to show off.

He didn’t object to Du Heng taking over Lan Changhua’s position. He was also very willing to learn the essence of the two houses in Du Heng’s hands, as well as his approach to treating strokes. After all, those two houses had been endorsed by Lan Changhua, and Du Heng himself had already handled nearly a hundred stroke treatment cases.

He thought Du Heng might be a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner with great ideas and talent, possessing a special understanding of specific diseases. However, not having a mentor and holding only a bachelor’s degree were his biggest shortcomings; his fundamental skills could be his weak point. Moreover, his goal wasn’t to outshine others or seek momentary glory by making a splash. His goal was to establish roots in this hospital, in this city. It was his great fortune to be able to stay at Good Friend Hospital and become Lan Changhua’s student. However, not being a Capital local and not having a Capital household registration, he was also very unfortunate. To stay, he had to work exceptionally hard.

Du Heng didn’t know what Cao Binghe was thinking. He simply heard Cao Binghe’s words and asked in surprise, "Professor Lan still takes students? I thought he had stopped."

Cao Binghe smiled again. This was his good fortune. "The Teacher has indeed stopped taking students. My senior fellow apprentice and I are his last two students."

Du Heng wanted to chat more, but a hesitant, anxious-looking man appeared at the consultation room’s door, leading a little boy who looked to be about five or six years old.

The man knew the doctor had been changed to a younger one, but when he saw Du Heng’s youthful face, a flash of disappointment still crossed his expression.

He had imagined "younger" to mean someone in their forties, not a young man who looked to be only in his twenties or thirties.

However, the composed aura Du Heng had cultivated over the past year gave the parent a bit of confidence. He let out a sigh and led the little boy forward.

Du Heng had been observing them since they entered. Though the man’s face was etched with worry, his complexion was basically normal.

The child, however, was different. He was very thin and listless, being dragged along by the man. His hair was a dull, sallow yellow, completely lacking luster. When they reached the desk, it was also clear that the child’s eyelids had an unnatural, stark whiteness.

It was obvious that the child was the patient.

Sure enough, upon reaching the stool, the man lifted the child onto it, then stood beside him. "Doctor, please take a look at my child. He has a strange illness."

"We’ve taken him to several local hospitals, seeing both Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine doctors. He’s undergone all sorts of examinations, but no one could give us a diagnosis. Some prescribed medicine, but it had no effect. Some hospitals directly refused to treat him and told us to come to the Capital."

"Tell me in detail, what’s wrong with the child?"

The man glanced at his son and said softly, "My son is six years old, just started first grade. Since he began school, he’s become extremely fatigued and has no appetite. At first, we didn’t pay much attention, thinking he was just tired from playing at school all day. But starting in October, hair began to grow from the gaps between his teeth, and it’s been getting worse."

"We’ve tried many things ourselves—brushing his teeth, even trying to pull the hairs out directly with our hands; not only was it ineffective, but it also caused the child a lot of pain."

The distraught father sighed three or four times for every sentence he uttered. "Later, we had many more examinations done. Our local doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong, and medicine didn’t help. Then, a doctor suggested we have the child’s teeth pulled, saying that when the new ones grew in, it would be fine."

Du Heng and Cao Binghe exchanged glances.

Cao Binghe was thinking, hair growing on teeth? He had never seen such a thing and was eager to have the child open his mouth so he could see for himself.

Du Heng, however, was thinking about that unscrupulous doctor. Pull out the child’s teeth because hair was growing on them? How did he even come up with that? The child is only six. While baby teeth might grow back if pulled, what if they didn’t? One might risk pulling baby front teeth, but who would dare pull a child’s newly grown permanent molars? What a scoundrel, to suggest something so unreliable!

To Du Heng, there was no such thing as a "strange illness." From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, illness was simply a problem with the body’s qi and blood. If something seemed "strange," it was merely because the way the lesion manifested was uncommon, or the location where the lesion appeared was too far removed from the actual source of the problem. Rare, perhaps, but to call it "strange" simply indicated a lack of skill.

"Come, open your mouth and let me see," Du Heng said to the little boy after the man finished speaking.

However, the boy seemed to feel self-conscious about the hair on his teeth. His eyes were filled with fear, and he was reluctant to cooperate.

Du Heng softened his voice considerably. "Don’t worry. Just open your mouth and let Uncle take a look. Once Uncle sees clearly, he can help you get rid of those bad things."

The father beside him also gently coaxed the child. It took nearly a minute before the boy slowly opened his mouth.

As his mouth opened, Du Heng and Cao Binghe clearly saw what the "hair growth" entailed.

Fine, downy filaments filled the gaps between the child’s teeth; virtually every visible crevice had them. The filaments varied in length: some were just tiny nubs, while others were nearly five millimeters long.

Through the child’s open mouth, Du Heng also observed his tongue coating.

The tongue itself was pale and swollen, with distinct tooth marks along its edges. The tongue coating was thin and white.

"Alright, it’s not a major problem, don’t worry. Come, let Uncle take your pulse," Du Heng continued, his voice gentle and soothing as he spoke to the child.

Du Heng’s lack of surprise helped the child gradually relax.

The pulse was thready and soft.

With these findings, combined with the symptoms the man had described upon entering, Du Heng already had a diagnosis in mind. However, he didn’t rush to state his conclusion. This was, after all, his first patient in the Capital; it was better to be thorough.

"Little friend, tell Uncle, is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable?"

The child glanced at Du Heng, then at his father beside him, but remained silent.