An ambulance on the street is a perfectly normal sight.
But when that ambulance is parked at the housing complex next door...
...it's not quite so normal for the people nearby.
Li Xu was preparing herbs for a patient, so he didn't go to see what the commotion was about.
Aunt Li, however, turned right around and left the clinic.
About ten-odd minutes later,
Aunt Li returned, looking as if she'd just discovered a new continent. "Xiao Xu, guess who called for the ambulance?"
Li Xu shook his head. "How could anyone guess? I won't even try."
"Heh heh."
Aunt Li didn't drag out the suspense, blurting out eagerly, "It was Fan Tiebing from Building 3."
"Him?"
The name rang a bell for Li Xu.
And not just because they lived in the same housing complex.
It was because he had seen the name while looking through the medical records his father had left behind.
Fan Tiebing suffered from chronic stomach problems and used to come to his father frequently for herbal prescriptions.
However, after his father passed away,
Fan Tiebing didn't trust Li Xu's medical skills and had never come back.
"Did his stomach problems act up?"
"I heard the stomach pain was so bad he nearly passed out. They had to make an emergency call to 911."
"Oh."
Li Xu was a little puzzled.
'For someone tormented by a chronic illness for years, it's perfectly normal for the pain to suddenly get worse and for them to call an ambulance.'
'So why is Aunt Li so excited?'
'Do they have some kind of grudge against each other?'
Aunt Li quickly solved the mystery. "Fan Tiebing's wife said that his stomach problems had been stable recently, but he caught a cold. He went to see a doctor this morning and drank the herbal decoction that Han Weimin prescribed. Afterward, his stomach started to feel uncomfortable, and the pain just got worse and worse. They didn't just call for an ambulance, they called the police, too!"
"Huh?"
Li Xu froze.
He keenly sensed that something was wrong.
'Daqing Leaf is a common traditional herb for treating colds.'
'It does have some toxic side effects,'
'but they're very mild.'
'Only long-term use of large doses would trigger stomach issues.'
'Fan Tiebing had a flare-up after just one dose?'
Aunt Li asked worriedly, "You said the police came. Do you think they'll arrest Han Weimin?"
Li Xu explained, "No, they won't. Even in the case of a medical accident, as long as it's not a criminal offense, the police don't get involved. It's handled by the health department."
And sure enough, the police arrived not long after, and then they left.
Right after that, people from the district's Health Bureau arrived.
They went straight to Weimin Clinic.
"I'm going to go take a look."
Aunt Li scurried off to watch the drama unfold.
There were originally three other patients in the clinic.
One of them was having their pulse taken by Li Xu.
The other two patients also went to see what the commotion was about.
"...I'll write you a prescription for three doses. Go home and take them, and you should be better in a couple of days."
Li Xu finished up with his current patient.
He thought for a moment, then closed up his shop and walked over as well.
As he got closer, he could hear Han Weimin arguing with the people from the Health Bureau.
"I don't have a license to practice Chinese medicine, I'll admit that. But there's absolutely nothing wrong with my herbs!"
"Even Western medicines from major manufacturers have side effects! Fan Tiebing's own body is the problem; it has nothing to do with my medicine."
Han Weimin yelled, then he saw Li Xu approaching. He immediately pointed a finger at him. "I use the same herbs he does! If there's a problem with my medicine, then there's a problem with his, too! If you're going to investigate, you should shut us both down!"
"???"
Li Xu was instantly filled with regret.
'Damn my curiosity. Couldn't I have just stayed quietly in my own clinic? Why did I have to come over here and get involved?'
'Great. Now I'm stuck in this mess.'
One of the men from the Health Bureau looked at Li Xu. "Don't go anywhere. We'll be checking your clinic next."
"Alright."
Li Xu nodded nonchalantly.
'All the herbs in my clinic are legitimate and up to code.'
'I haven't had any medical incidents.'
'I'm not afraid of an inspection.'
Seeing that he'd successfully dragged Li Xu into the mess, Han Weimin felt a strange sense of satisfaction and stopped arguing.
He allowed the Health Bureau staff to inspect his herbs.
There were dozens of pre-packaged bags of herbal decoction.
There was also an electric steel vat.
It was used for brewing the decoctions.
In addition to that,
the Health Bureau staff also pulled out two half-full sacks of herbs.
One sack contained Daqing Leaf, and the other contained Huang Qin.
Two of the Health Bureau staff members carefully inspected the herbs.
"Section Chief Song, there's no problem with the herbs."
The man in charge, Section Chief Song Li, said to Han Weimin, "Our initial assessment is that the herbs are fine. We'll take these decoctions back for further testing. If they also check out, then the incident was likely due to the patient's own condition. You'll only be penalized for prescribing traditional medicine without a license; we won't revoke your business license."
Han Weimin breathed a sigh of relief and immediately put on a fawning smile. "I brewed all these decoctions myself just yesterday. I didn't add anything extra, and they're too fresh to be expired, so they're definitely fine."
"Who says there's no problem!"
A voice suddenly rang out.
Han Weimin didn't even have to look; he knew it was Li Xu's voice.
He shot Li Xu a vicious glare.
He inwardly cursed Li Xu for being an idiot.
'We use the same formula.'
'If you say my medicine has a problem, doesn't that mean yours does too?'
'He's just cutting off his nose to spite his face.'
Section Chief Song turned around. "What's wrong with his medicine?"
Li Xu pushed through the crowd of onlookers and entered the clinic.
He grabbed a handful of the Daqing Leaf and said with complete certainty, "This isn't Daqing Leaf. Or to be more precise, this isn't the kind of Daqing Leaf used to treat colds."
"What?"
Han Weimin laughed.
'Even if you want revenge, you could at least find a better excuse,' he thought.
'And he's actually claiming this isn't Daqing Leaf?'
"I bought this from the herb market myself! And what, do you think I'm blind? This is top-quality Daqing Leaf."
The two Health Bureau staff members standing nearby also looked puzzled.
Although they weren't specialists in traditional Chinese medicine,
they dealt with both traditional and Western medical clinics year-round.
They could still recognize an extremely common herb like Daqing Leaf.
"You think everything you buy at the herb market is authentic? Let me tell you, the herb market is where you'll find the most counterfeits."
Li Xu pointed to the leaves in his hand and explained to Song Li, "To be precise, this herb is called *Liao Daqingye*."
"Real Daqing Leaf is the dried leaf of *Solanum nigrum*, while *Liao Daqingye* is the dried leaf of *Liaolan*."
"One is a plant of the Cruciferae family, while the other is from the Polygonaceae family."
"They're fundamentally two different plants. How could their medicinal effects possibly be the same?"
"Everyone, please wait a moment..."
Li Xu ran back to his own clinic and returned with a few leaves of genuine Daqing Leaf.
He came back to Weimin Clinic.
"Everyone, please take a look. A genuine Daqing Leaf is dark grayish-green to brownish-yellow. Its edges are smooth or slightly wavy, and its base narrows and extends down the petiole in a wing-like shape. In contrast, *Liao Daqingye* is bluish-green or blackish-blue, the leaf is elliptical with smooth edges, and its base tapers."
"Daqing Leaf has minor side effects and low toxicity. Only long-term use of large doses would irritate a patient's stomach."
"*Liao Daqingye*, on the other hand, is much more toxic, and it's a particularly strong gastrointestinal irritant."
"Fan Tiebing already suffers from chronic stomach issues. With a cold and fever on top of that, his stomach would be even more fragile. When you gave him *Liao Daqingye* to drink, it would have been a miracle if his stomach problems *didn't* flare up."
"Ah???"
Han Weimin stared at the two different types of leaves in Li Xu's hands, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
The gazes of the onlookers and patients toward Li Xu were completely different now, filled with admiration.
Aunt Li chimed in smugly, "I told you all before! Xiao Xu inherited his father's medical skills. I bet you believe me now, huh?"