Volume 1: Laying the Foundation Chapter 15: Traditional Chinese Medicine

  Chen Xiaoqi rolled his eyes and said angrily, "You say you haven't seen anything, but you still don't admit it! Watch this, I'll teach you what's called emergency rescue for heart disease!"

  He thrust the needle into John Bull's Renzhong point with his reverse hand, and then discarded the needle to clench his fist. With the soft bottom of his fist forming a hollow shape, he pounded twice on the middle of John Bull's chest bone in front of his heart, and immediately heard John Bull let out a long, drawn-out sigh. Then, without realizing it, he raised his right hand to touch his own heart, while taking deep breaths with his mouth open wide. His eyes, which had suddenly opened wide, gradually regained their focus and luster. As he turned his eyeballs to the side, he saw Chen Xiaoqi, who had knocked him unconscious with one punch, grinning at him with his big white teeth!

  "John Bull" was suddenly startled, his body "sprang" upright, recoiling two steps backward with a defensive posture, as if Chen Xiaoqi was about to punch him at any moment. The sudden impact on his heart had left him dazed and unaware of what had just happened.

  Chen Xiaoqi spread his hands and chuckled, "Alright, alright! I won't continue attacking you! Look at how scared you are! Did you know that you fainted just now? It was me who saved you! They can all testify!" As he spoke, he swept his hand around the onlookers, finally stopping at the doctor's face.

  "John Bull" clutched at his heart, looking at Chen Xiaoqi with a mixture of surprise and suspicion, then at the doctor, unsure whether to believe what he was being told. However, it was clear that the doctor's professional integrity was still trustworthy, despite having just received Chen Xiaoqi's extremely irresponsible accusations. With some reluctance, the doctor continued to insist on his own views: "That's right! It was this Chinese man who knocked you out! And it was also him who saved you with his methods! However, when he was saving you, he pricked your nose with a needle and then punched you twice more! I don't know what kind of magic this is, but it certainly made you come to immediately!"

  Chen Xiaoqi raised his right index finger in front of himself, shook it back and forth, pursed his lips, and shook his head, saying: "NONONO, Doctor, I must correct a huge mistake you've made. This isn't magic, but real first aid techniques! It's a bit profound to explain, but if you're willing to learn, I don't mind teaching you this technique. You've seen it with your own eyes, and it's very effective!"

  It seems that people who insist on their professional expertise are a bit stubborn. The doctor seemed to be attracted by his words and immediately followed up, "Are you sure this is not magic or sorcery? So, Mr. Chinese, can you explain the principle of your first aid technique? Any medical technology has its reliable principles, I need an explanation, not just an example!"

  Chen Xiaoqi chuckled and said, "Your strict attitude is good, it's a quality that a responsible person should have. This is much better than some people who are quick to throw punches to teach others a lesson." He deliberately glanced at the "John Bull" who was left there, unsure of what to do, and saw that his breathing, which had just calmed down, became rapid again. However, it was possible that something was really wrong with his sternum, as he immediately clutched at it in pain.

  Chen Xiaoqi continued, "This theory is the most superficial knowledge in Chinese medicine, but it's a big deal for you Westerners." He raised his hand to stop the doctor's hasty retort, "I know what you want to say, you'll definitely say that China doesn't have real medicine, and that Chinese medical techniques are all superstition, right? Alright, given your self-righteousness and ignorance, we won't discuss this issue for now. What I want to tell you is that the spot where I used the needle has a very mysterious 'acupoint' called 'Ren Zhong Xue'. Okay, I know this still doesn't make sense to you. So let me put it in simpler terms: the place I stabbed has many nerve endings gathered together, and through sudden stimulation, it can reflect to various internal organs and the brain, prompting these organs that have stopped working due to various reasons to start moving again. Then, with auxiliary methods like using a hollow fist to punch the chest and stimulate the heart, we can treat conditions such as cardiac arrest, epilepsy, stroke, heatstroke, plague, cholera, and so on. You'll need to figure out other specific auxiliary methods yourself, but I've already taught you the core method of stimulating 'Ren Zhong Xue'. This is a great secret! Look at how generous I am!"

  The doctor was too busy to react emotionally to Chen Xiaoqi's deliberate sarcasm, he just grabbed the list of symptoms that Chen Xiaoqi had listed and was shocked, stuttering: "This... is this neural reflex thing? How did you know that stabbing at that 'Ren Zhong Xu' could stimulate the internal organs and brain? What's the reason for this?"

  "Ah! Your medicine is really too backward, can't even understand such a simple thing? Heaven! Indeed, it's a product of only 100 years of development, and it's really incomparable to China's 5,000-year-old medical history! Alright, you don't understand something so you say it's fake, I've heard this kind of argument many times, not just from Westerners but also from some brainless Chinese people. Doctor, don't you think asking a layman about professional questions is embarrassing? Sorry, that's all I know, if there are more profound principles at play, then it's up to professionals like you to explore them. Alright, nothing else for me?"

  He turned around and asked "John Bull": "Well, brave gentleman, it turns out that your boxing skills are not great, you see, the winner is me, so how should our problem be solved? Since you took the lead, let's have you decide!"

  "John Bull" sulkily puffed out a mouthful of air, twisted his mouth and pinched his nose very unwillingly and said: "Alright! You won the fight, so my challenge ends here. I have no way to pursue your insult to me for now, but you also insulted that noble lady at the same time. You must apologize for this, otherwise I will not let you off even if I die!"

  At this time, seeing that things were going to be resolved under Chen Xiaoqi's manipulation, Lu Jiaju hurried over and pulled Chen Xiaoqi's arm, saying in a low voice: "Xiaoqi! Let's just stop here! If we continue like this, it'll be hard to wrap up! If the police station and the Japanese are alerted, it'll be big trouble! Just apologize and let's leave this place quickly!"

  Chen Xiaoqi secretly sighed: "After all, the national strength is not prosperous, and we suffered humiliation on our own territory, but we have to apologize to others afterwards. What kind of world is this! Depressing! Suffocating!"

  He gritted his teeth secretly, but his face didn't show it, as if he had made a very big decision, nodded slightly, and loudly said to the group of women who were huddled together, fanning themselves and covering half their faces, chattering in low voices: "Alright! I admit that my previous words were inappropriate, which is extremely impolite for a noble and pure lady. I take back those ungentlemanly words and offer sincere apologies. If compensation is needed for the harm you've suffered, please make your decision now!"

  The lady wrapped in the crowd fell silent for a moment, and finally pushed out a Western woman who looked older, dressed in noble attire, and said in a tone of pity and charity: "Our esteemed lady has said that due to your rude words and bad attitude, she is not willing to talk to you personally. However, she intends to hold you accountable for being an impolite and unrefined person, so she will neither accept your apology nor pursue your rudeness. Nevertheless, you must make amends for injuring that gentleman! This decision is already very lenient, Chinese man, you should feel lucky to have met such a generous lady and gentlemen!"

  Chen Xiaoqi smiled and nodded vaguely, then looked at the injured "John Bull" who was waving his hand impatiently and said: "Forget it! That's it for today! But I think this restaurant won't welcome you again from now on. For the safety of our guests, we should hang a sign that says 'No Chinese allowed'! I'll seriously suggest this to the boss! Chinese people, I admit your fists are powerful, but fists can't beat guns! Your ancestors were like that, and you're still like that!"

  Chen Xiaoqi smiled and said, "Really? Alright, let's assume that for now. However, I need to correct you on one thing - those people with a pigtail behind their head are not my ancestors. As for the rest, we'll see as we go along. Well, goodbye then?"

  After that, Chen Xiaoqi ignored the strange and puzzled expressions of those people, bypassed the doctor who was still thinking deeply there, walked through the passage deliberately opened by the onlookers, swept past the eyes showing various emotions, and quickly pulled Lu Jiaju out of here. Later, they got on a rickshaw that had been waiting in the wind, and the rickshaw boy ran all the way to their residence.

  "On the road, two rickshaw pullers were running and laughing, saying: "You two gentlemen have given us Chinese people a boost of confidence today! Those foreigners have never given us a good face to look at before! Today is great! We beat them up, and they don't dare to do anything to us, it's really relieving! Gentlemen, what are your honorable surnames? Can you tell us, so we can spread the word about your great names? Let everyone know that Chinese people have heroes!"

  "Never mind, hero? Our Chinese heroes are all dead, and they didn't die a good death! I still want to live for two more years. Never mind, there's nothing good to say about this kind of thing. If you want to really make a living, practice your skills yourself another day! Our Shandong has never lacked brave men, if you have the heart, you can naturally accomplish great things, compared to me, these two useless sons are not worthy!"

  "Hah, look at what you're saying! Since ancient times, which hero or good man wasn't a loudmouth? That's not something our kind of people can do! No way! If I can just pull this cart and earn enough money to feed my family, that's all I need. Doing great things is for someone like you, a superior person. We're out of the question, haha!"

  "Hey, there's no way now. I was thinking of teaching you a couple of moves, but it seems like you're not even taking it seriously yourself, forget it!"

  The cart driver, upon hearing this, immediately became anxious and hastily said: "What price? Sir, you really have a kind heart, would you be willing to teach me a thing or two? I'll even kowtow to you, isn't that enough?"

  Lu Jiaju couldn't take it anymore, having just been frightened out of his wits. Now that Hou was finally calming down, he saw Chen Xiaoqi still chatting idly with the cart driver and hastily stopped him: "Alright! Old Seven! Stop spouting nonsense! You've already stirred up enough trouble today! Keep a low profile! Cart driver, he's just joking around with you! What kind of kung fu does he know? It was that foreigner who was clumsy himself, tripping over a stone and falling down! It has nothing to do with us, so don't go blabbing about it outside! Otherwise, don't blame me when I come looking for you to settle the score!"

  The cart driver was startled and hastily answered in a low voice, pulling the cart and running quickly.

  They returned to the dye factory residence, neither of them speaking much. They were afraid that if they went back directly, someone with ulterior motives would follow and investigate their background. So, they deliberately got off halfway and turned several corners at the alleys' intersections before confirming that no one was tailing or surveilling them. Only then did they sneak back to the dye factory. Chen Xiaoqi saw Lu Jiaju's cautious demeanor and laughed: "Brother Jiaju, do you have to be so careful? It's just a fight with them; what can they do to us? This isn't their concession territory; it's not up to them to act recklessly!"

  Lu Jiaju said with a serious face: "Old Seventh! In this era, getting involved with foreigners is never a small matter. It's always better to be cautious, and your temper needs to change, otherwise you'll definitely suffer losses. Now I'm weak and the enemy is strong, we can only temporarily endure!"

  Chen Xiao nodded solemnly: "Oh! I see, a hundred tolerances make steel! This principle has been heard before, but I haven't heard of any country developing with the character for tolerance as its head. Ah yes, there's that story about 'lying on thorns and tasting bile', hmm, it makes sense! Jia Ju Ge, you're indeed a cultured person!"

  Lu Jiaju immediately became impatient and, with a humph, ignored him and stormed into Chen Shouting's office. Chen Zhuanggui may have expected the two to return together, but he didn't expect them to come back so soon. Seeing Lu Jiaju storm in with a loud bang on the door, he was somewhat taken aback and said: "Hey? I say, what's going on here? Weren't you guys supposed to go eat raw meat and drink medicine? How did you get back so quickly?"

  Lu Jiaju sat down on the chair next to him, coughing and sighing, saying: "Sixth brother, you don't know, Old Seventh has made a big mistake today! He... he... Ah! I don't even know how to say it!"