636 One Needle

He Shili had a big smile on his face as he walked out of the hospital. He was grinning, even though half of his teeth were gone.

I should go back to celebrate. I gotta tell He Ling the good news.

As he was about to call his daughter, he received a call from her.

"Hello, I just got checked in the hospital. I'm fine. Don't worry about me," He Shili said. "OK… OK."

He Shili and his wife went home in a good mood.

…

In Beijing, Su Xiaoxue and Chu Lian had arrived at Su Xiaoxue's house.

"Did you have a good time?" Song Ruiping had been waiting for them.

"Yes, I had a good time," Su Xiaoxue said with a smile.

"You must be tired now. Take a shower and a rest," Song Ruiping said.

"OK," Su Xiaoxue said as she went upstairs.

"Ma'am," Chu Lian said.

"Guo Zhenghe followed you two again?" Song Ruiping asked sternly.

"Yes," Chu Lian said.

"What's wrong with that young man? I've made it very clear that we are not interested in marrying Xiaoxue to him," Song Ruiping said.

She had heard of certain things Guo Zhenghe did at work, which didn't impress her at all. She had also made it very clear that her daughter had no interest in him a number of times. She didn't know why he wouldn't give up.

What does he want?

"By the way, Ma'am, Miss Su is very fond of Dr. Wang," Chu Lian said.

"I also worry about that," Song Ruiping said.

Guo Zhenghe was not the worst. At least she had made it clear that she had no intention to marry her daughter to him. If he insisted, she would decline him again and force him to give up. In the worst case scenario, her family would no longer be friendly with Guo Zhenghe's family. This was not uncommon among prestigious families in Beijing. And, she would have done nothing wrong. However, it was a different case with Wang Yao. Her daughter was very much in love with him, but she didn't think he would return her daughter's love. This put her daughter in an awkward situation. Even if he could return the love, given his social status, the two of them wouldn't be a perfect match. Wang Yao was a fantastic doctor, but he didn't have any background or resources.

A perfect marriage was between two parties with similar backgrounds. This had been a rule of thumb since ancient times. This was especially important to families like theirs. However, if her daughter really wanted to be with Wang Yao, she wouldn't try very hard to stop her.

"Ma'am, Miss Su became very happy after saying goodbye to Dr. Wang in private," said Chu Lian, who was very observant.

"I see," Song Ruiping said after keeping silent for a while.

"Maybe Dr. Wang said something to Miss Su," Chu Lian said.

"I'll ask Xiaoxue," Song Ruiping said.

She knew her daughter well. She didn't need an answer out of her daughter's mouth. Her daughter's facial expression would tell her everything.

…

Meanwhile, Feng and his family came to Wang Jia Village early in the morning.

"We waited for a long while last time. It seems we are going to wait for a long time this time, too. I said we didn't need to be here so early," Feng's son murmured.

"Stop complaining," Feng's wife said with a smile. She was obviously in a very good mood.

They arrived at the clinic before 8:30 a.m. The clinic was not open yet, so they waited outside. While they were waiting, two more people came.

The patients started to chat with one another.

One of the patients who came later had pain in their legs. The other one suffered from headaches.

"What? Dr. Wang can treat a stroke?" the patient with headaches asked.

"Yes, my husband has been receiving treatment here. He's much better now," Feng's wife said.

"What an extraordinary doctor Dr. Wang is, even though he is so young," the patient with leg pain said.

"Exactly," Feng's wife said.

As they were chatting, one of them saw Wang Yao walking down from Nanshan Hill.

"Hey, is that Dr. Wang?" the patient with headaches asked.

"Yes," Feng's wife said.

Wang Yao walked down from the hill toward his clinic.

"He always comes from that direction," the patient suffering from headaches said.

"How many times have you been here? He just went to exercise," the patient with leg pain asked.

Wang Yao unlocked the door of his clinic and invited everyone in. First in was first served. All the patients automatically formed a queue.

Feng arrived at the clinic earliest, so he was the first one to receive treatment.

"You face looks normal now," Wang Yao said.

"Yes, perfectly normal now," Feng said with a smile. His speech was also very clear.

"Let me take a look at your affected leg," Wang Yao said.

His affected arm functioned much better than his affected leg.

"Can you lift your leg? Just a bit more." Wang Yao asked him to move his affected leg in different ways. "Take a seat, I'll give you an acupuncture treatment."

The other two patients watched Wang Yao giving Feng acupuncture treatment. Everyone was quiet.

Soon, Wang Yao had inserted more than 10 needles into Feng's head. He manipulated the needles from time to time. After a while, he took all the needles out.

"Stand up and move around," Wang Yao said.

The patient stood up and walked back and forth twice. His gait was still impaired.

Wang Yao started to give him a massage. The massage therapy started from his head, where he had just inserted needles, and moved to his trunk. Finally, Wang Yao massaged his affected leg. He followed the meridians in the patient's trunk and leg.

Feng felt really comfortable. He had a warm feeling all over his body, especially in his affected leg, which was often cold. Now, he felt his affected leg was merged in warm water. It was a nice feeling.

After Wang Yao finished massaging Feng's affected leg, he started to massage his arms. The whole treatment session was very time consuming. From the acupuncture to massage, it took Wang Yao one and a half hours to complete the treatment.

"Done. Don't forget to take the pills when you get home. Come back in two days," Wang Yao said.

"OK," Feng said.

He and his family left the clinic after paying the fee.

"How do you feel?" Feng's wife asked as soon as they walked out of the clinic.

"Hmm, I feel my affected leg is less heavy. I have more control of it," Feng said.

"That's good," his wife said.

Wang Yao started to treat the other two patients.

"Dr. Wang, I've been having a sharp pain in my leg. I couldn't stand," a woman in her 50s said.

"Which part of your leg?" Wang Yao asked.

"My shin, and the bottom of my foot," the woman said.

"I see. Sit down, let me take a look at you," Wang Yao said. "Take your shoes off."

The woman took off her shoes. Her foot was flat. The arc of her foot had collapsed.

"You've been busy lately? Always standing?" Wang Yao asked while he was checking her foot.

"Yes, I've been busy with babysitting," the woman said.

"How old is the child?" Wang Yao asked.

"Almost 1," the woman said.

"Do you carry him often?" Wang Yao asked.

"Yes, he doesn't like to sit still. He always wants to go out," the woman said. She was happy talking about her grandson.

"You also have varicose veins." Wang Yao noticed a few popped out veins on the woman's calf.

"Yes, it's an old problem. I used to stand all the time when I was working. I worked for over 10 years," the woman said.

"Is it painful here?" Wang Yao pressed her knee.

"Yes. Ouch! Right there," the woman said.

Wang Yao nodded. He knew her problem.

"You have pain at the bottom of your foot because your foot is flat. The arc of your foot has collapsed," Wang Yao said. "You will feel uncomfortable after standing for a lengthy amount of time. You need to wear shoes or insoles that can support the arc of your foot to relieve your pain. Your leg pain is also caused by the collapsed arc."

"Can you stop the pain?" the woman asked. "I feel pins and needles when I'm standing. I am about to take painkillers"

"Yes, I can," Wang Yao said.

Wang Yao took out a long needle and inserted in into her upper leg. He manipulated the needle slightly. "Now, stand up and take a few steps."

The woman stood up and took a few steps.

"Wow, I don't have any pain now," said the woman. "This is amazing!"

Wang Yao only used one needle to stop her pain. Everything she did at home, including applying a heat pack to her leg and using a herbal patch, didn't work.

"Thank you so much," the woman said happily.

"You should no longer stand for long periods of time. Also, you should have a warm foot spa every night before you go to bed," Wang Yao said.

"If the pain comes back, you can massage these areas yourself." Wang Yao pressed a few spots around the woman's knee.

"I see. By the way, how much should I pay you?" the woman asked.

"Don't worry about the payment." Wang Yao shook his head.

"No, I must pay you!" The woman insisted.

"That's fine. You can go home now," Wang Yao said.

"Thank you so much," the woman said. "I have to go back to check on my grandson!"

The third patient had a headache.

"I feel pain here pulling at my eye socket," said the man in his 40s as he pointed to the left side of his head.