frightfiction Chapter 24 The Mess of Colleagues
Chapter 24 The Mess of Colleagues
Boss Liu shoved his phone right under Wang Minyu's nose. The banner on the screen was blindingly white, and the black characters were even more shocking: "Incompetent doctors kill people, blood must be paid for blood."
In the video, the area in front of Kangning Pharmacy is even busier than a morning market.
A middle-aged woman wailed and cried in front of the camera, her face covered in snot and tears: "My mother died because of Sun Jiren's medicine! It was poison! She's still in the ICU, they have to pay compensation! They have to pay with their lives!"
The camera then shifts to Wu Defa, who usually acts arrogantly, now bowing repeatedly like a grandson.
Sun Jiren, standing beside him, was ashen-faced, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word, showing none of the air of a "renowned doctor."
Wang Minyu glanced at it, his brows furrowing slightly.
Although the old man Sun Jiren was only of average skill and was just a conservative doctor, he always sought to be safe when prescribing medicine, and was known as a "doctor of peace".
If modified Yinqiao Powder could kill people, then all cold medicines in the world should be classified as controlled knives.
"Old Sun has really messed up this time." Boss Liu smacked his lips as he cracked sunflower seeds, spitting the shells all over the floor. "Serves him right! Let him come and challenge us before. Now look what happened, the miracle doctor has turned into a quack. I wonder who will dare to get medicine from him again."
"You think you can escape unscathed after his reputation is ruined?" Wang Minyu slammed his teacup on the table. "This is a scapegoat for traditional Chinese medicine. If these people can smash Kangning today, they can smash Renxin tomorrow."
Mr. Liu froze in his action of cracking sunflower seeds; a kernel got stuck in his throat, and he coughed for a long time.
As we were talking, the phone on the table vibrated. It was an unfamiliar number, registered in Changsha, Hunan.
When the call connected, suppressed sobbing came from the other end, sounding like a bellows leaking air.
"Dr. Wang... Dr. Wang? I'm Sun Jiren."
The once arrogant old man now spoke with a voice so humble it was almost insignificant.
"Speak," Wang Minyu said, sparing with his words.
"Dr. Wang, I'm desperate, please help me..." Sun Jiren spoke rapidly, afraid Wang Minyu would hang up. "I swear, the prescription is absolutely correct! It's just ordinary Yinqiao Powder! The old lady seemed to get better after drinking it, so why did she suddenly become unwell? It must be that gambling son's doing! He's drowning in high-interest loans, and he's trying to extort money from his own mother's life!"
"Where's the evidence?"
"No evidence... The hospital can't find anything, and the family insists it's the medicine that's the problem. The health bureau has shut down my shop, and the police are investigating me too. Dr. Wang, you have amazing eyesight, please go and see that old lady. If you can clear my name, this Kangning Pharmacy will be your branch from now on, I'll even work for you!"
Wang Minyu tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
If it is indeed extortion, then the nature of the matter changes.
Which hospital?
"Second Municipal Hospital, Department of Gastroenterology, Room 306."
"Wait."
After hanging up the phone, Wang Minyu took off his white coat and casually tossed it to the bewildered Boss Liu: "Watch the shop, I'm going to the hospital."
"Hey? You're really going? This is murky water!"
"It's easier to fish in troubled waters." Wang Minyu said without turning his head. "And while he's at it, he'll teach some people that you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just give them any medicine."
Half an hour later, at the Second Municipal Hospital.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Wang Minyu saw Zhang Kai leaning over the nurses' station, chatting animatedly with the nurse on duty.
"The family is making quite a scene, I heard they're demanding three million?" Wang Minyu walked over and patted Zhang Kai on the shoulder.
Zhang Kai was startled, but when he turned around and saw it was his best friend, he immediately changed his tune: "Oh, Dr. Wang, what brings you here? Are you here to give us guidance or to inspect the people's conditions? What, is your pharmacy doing so well that you want to expand your business at the hospital?"
"Stop being so frivolous. What's the situation with that old lady in apartment 306?"
Zhang Kai's joking expression vanished, and he sighed, "It's terrible. He has symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, severe dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance. He's currently unconscious. The strangest thing is that we've done gastroscopy and colonoscopy, and apart from mucosal congestion and edema, there's nothing wrong. We've been given antibiotics and hormones in turn, but there's been absolutely no response."
"Where are the family members?"
"It's a commotion inside. The son's name is Li Ergou, a notorious gambler in this area. He's insisting on being poisoned by traditional Chinese medicine, and without even waiting for the test results, he's asking for three million. Judging from his demeanor, he doesn't seem worried about his mother's life or death; he looks more like he's waiting for the lottery results." Zhang Kai lowered his voice. "Are you really going in? That guy's been biting anyone he can get his hands on lately."
"lead the way."
As soon as the two arrived at the door of 306, the roaring noise inside made the door panel vibrate.
"Stop giving me that medical jargon! All I know is that this person went into the hospital perfectly fine and is now on the verge of death! If they can't be saved, I'll burn that lousy pharmacy down and sue your hospital into bankruptcy!"
Push the door open and enter.
The air pressure in the ward was extremely low.
On the hospital bed, the old lady was skin and bones, her face was golden with a deathly gray tinge, and her breathing was so weak under the oxygen mask that it was almost invisible.
A man with a pointed face and monkey-like features was standing by the bed, wearing a leather jacket stained with oil, and was spitting at the young doctor's nose.
Several men and women who appeared to be relatives stood nearby, arms crossed, with expressions that said, "This isn't over until we get our money."
"Who let you in? Get out!" Upon seeing unfamiliar faces, Li Ergou immediately turned his gun on them.
Wang Minyu didn't even glance at him, and went straight to the bedside.
The young doctor was about to stop him when Zhang Kai pulled him back.
Wang Minyu leaned down, his nostrils twitching slightly.
The air was filled with a mixture of disinfectant, the smell of rotten apples, and a very faint... spicy herbal scent.
This smell doesn't belong to a hospital, nor does it belong to Yinqiao Powder.
He didn't look at the monitor, but instead reached out and lifted the old woman's eyelids, then pinched her withered fingers and looked at them.
The fingernails are bluish-purple and curled.
The system panel instantly popped open on my retina:
[Patient: Liu Chunhua, 72 years old.]
Current status: Near death.
Symptoms: Acute aconitine poisoning.
[Etiology: After taking "Yinqiao San," the patient also ingested a highly potent homemade medicinal wine containing raw aconite and raw aconite root. The combined effects of the medications led to a toxic outbreak.]
really.
Yinqiao Powder relieves exterior symptoms and clears heat, while Aconitum carmichaelii and Aconitum kusnezoffii are extremely hot and toxic. This isn't treating illness; it's prolonging one's life.
"What are you doing! Do you think you can touch that? If you break it, can you afford to pay for it!" When Li Ergou saw Wang Minyu making a move, he yelled and rushed forward to shove him.
Wang Minyu stepped to the side, and Li Ergou missed his target, almost falling into the chamber pot under the bed.
"You fucking..."
"Shut up."
Wang Minyu's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling quality that sent shivers down one's spine.
He turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed on Li Ergou's face, which was contorted with lust.
"Three million, that's quite a lot," Wang Minyu said indifferently. "Enough to pay off your gambling debts and even get you another wife."
Li Ergou's expression changed, and he roared, his voice trembling with fear, "What nonsense are you spouting! I'm here to seek justice for my mother!"
"Fairness?" Wang Minyu sneered, taking a step closer. "Then can you explain what that black grime under your right middle fingernail tastes like?"
Li Ergou instinctively pulled his hand behind his back.
"That's the residue from mixing raw aconite with strong liquor." Wang Minyu didn't give him a chance to breathe. "Last night, did you give your mother some medicinal wine you made yourself?"
"You originally made this medicinal wine to treat your rheumatism, right? To make it more potent, you added raw aconite, raw aconitum carmichaelii, and even strychnos nux-vomica. You only dared to take a sip yourself, but last night your mother just recovered from a cold, and you thought this stuff was 'very nourishing,' or... you did it on purpose?"
Wang Minyu emphasized the last three words.
The ward fell into a deathly silence.
All eyes immediately focused on Li Ergou's hand hidden behind his back.
Cold sweat trickled down Li Ergou's temples, and his calves began to cramp.
"You...you're talking nonsense! That's...that's mud!"
"Whether it's mud or not, we can find out by scraping it off and testing it." Wang Minyu pointed to the old man on the hospital bed. "He has aconitine poisoning, and it's too late to pump his stomach now. But if it really is medicinal wine, then this is not a medical accident."
He stared into Li Ergou's terrified eyes and spoke slowly and deliberately:
"That's murder."