Volume 1: Initial Trial Chapter 15: Foreign Doctor (Seeking Collection, Recommendation, and Comments)

  The living room was also Dr. Vogel's clinic, and the house was very messy. Zhang Yuan looked at the empty wine glass and half bottle of wine on the small table by the chair, nodded slightly. This is progress, if it were a normal day, both should have been empty now, the doctor's pain from the previous night had been driven away by alcohol.

  The Huang calendar looked at this doctor who didn't look like a doctor, and his eyes showed some doubt.

  Dr. Vogel's hair was disheveled, like a messy nest, and he had just woken up, his eyelids still puffy. After Zhang Yuan's introduction, he stood up from the chair, walked slowly to the window, pulled open the curtains, closed his eyes to block out the sunlight, then turned around and squinted at the calendar.

  "Friend, can you speak English?" Vogel suddenly said in English.

  Huang Li was taken aback for a moment, but quickly responded in English, "I think so, can you find any problems from here?"

  "I think you've probably been to America or Canada." Vogel distinguished the accent of Huang Li's words, showing a very interested look, picked up a magnifying glass and walked in front of Huang Li, carefully examining him.

  It wasn't until quite a while later that Wok finally finished his examination and sat back down in his chair with a thoughtful expression.

  "What's up, any leads? Oh, I think you'll be speaking Chinese." Huang Li asked anxiously.

  Vogel shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know if it's useful, but it can be a hint if you're willing to listen."

  "I'd be happy to listen." Huang Li said without thinking.

  "Your face shouldn't be the one you were born with." Vogel came to this conclusion with a hint of puzzlement.

  "What does it mean?"

  "Under magnification, traces of plastic surgery can always be seen, although they are extremely subtle. You've had a facelift, friend."

  "Plastic surgery?"

  "Yes, don't doubt this point, I used to be a doctor and was once a good one."

  "I didn't mean it." Huang Li furrowed his brow and waved his hand.

  "But strangely, I couldn't think of any country whose plastic surgery can be done so perfectly. Extremely perfect, this not only requires extremely skillful techniques but also precise instruments. Of course, it's absolutely impossible for this to appear in China."

  Huang Li rubbed his head and sighed: "If I could remember, I would definitely tell you. You mean I've been abroad, but I still don't have any impression."

  "I want to tell you that treating amnesia takes time, stimulation and induction. The more you struggle, the more you torture yourself, and the worse it gets. Actually, in a way, I kind of envy you for being able to forget all your past misfortunes."

  "Perhaps everything was good before, but I've already lost it." Huang Li said stubbornly: "I want to ask you, a good doctor, to treat me instead of giving me this speculative comfort."

  Wu picked up the wine bottle on the table, poured himself a glass, and drank it in one gulp. He spoke slowly: "You have dissociative amnesia. This illness is most commonly characterized by memory loss of personal identity, but general information remains intact. The onset of this type of amnesia is usually sudden, with patients unable to recall their previous lives or personalities, mainly losing 'past memories'. I've heard cases where patients leave their original families or jobs, travel to unfamiliar places and establish new families or careers. When they're found later, they already have a new 'self', and the new self doesn't interact with the old one."

  Huang Li listened quietly, somewhat impatiently, but didn't interrupt Vogel's words.

  Wog continued: "In terms of treatment, it's usually mainly psychological therapy, including finding and properly dealing with the source of stress, moderate listening, hypnotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy or drug-assisted conversation, encouraging patients to overcome symptoms (such as memories). What I want to tell you is that the cure for this disease is not in the method, but in God. You may never remember your past experiences again, or you may wake up one day and return to your original self, there's no way to predict."

  Huang Li opened his eyes, looked at the roof and thought for a moment before saying: "Doctor, you have to try your best before leaving it to God. And besides, God only saves those who save themselves, this sentence is not wrong."

  Woke fell into contemplation, he wasn't a psychologist, and there was no guarantee of curing this illness, but he was very curious about Huang Li's experiences and wanted to know more. So, that left only one last resort, simple and easy to try, might as well give it a shot?

  "Electric shock therapy, stimulating your nerves, is the simplest and most effective method." Vogt suggested: "Of course, this requires enduring a little bit of pain."

  Huang Li nodded and said, "Then let's get it over with. A little physical pain is better than spiritual pain that lasts forever."

  …

  Speaking of Vogel, it is necessary to mention his experience. A German, originally followed Zhang Yuan to China for a tour after studying abroad, unexpectedly fell in love with a prostitute named Kaylee in Shanghai. She was the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish man and a Filipino girl, extremely beautiful, with crystal-like bright eyes, like a clear and deep pool, making people's hearts flutter.

  But Carrie was not free, she was a money tree for a French tycoon who ran casinos and brothels, her price was not something that Vog could afford. So this love story was destined to start with romance and end in tragedy. Vog found a job at a hospital in Shanghai for Carrie's sake, working hard to earn money. But just when he saw a glimmer of hope, Carrie was lost to him as the French tycoon used her as a stake in a big gamble and lost her to an unknown Chinese millionaire.

  The beauty has left, leaving Vogel with endless sorrow and loss. He starts drinking to numb his heart and emotions. Until he kills two patients on the operating table because he's drunk. One might have survived, but not two. He loses his job, no one dares to hire him again, and he doesn't want to return home. He still wants to find Carrie, who he can never forget. So, he becomes a wandering vagrant, then a beggar.

  One day, Zhang Yuan met this old friend again and was surprised by his decline and decadence. At the same time, he also felt some sympathy for his own disappointment, so the two people got together again and came to this poor and remote place.

  Although Vogel opened a clinic next to Zhang's pharmacy with the help of Zhang Yuan, there were very few patients. He basically relied on Zhang Yuan's financial support for his living. On one hand, ordinary Chinese people, especially poor peasants in rural areas, did not believe in Western medicine; on the other hand, Vogel was also known to be a heavy drinker, and those who came to see him would do so with trepidation, hoping that his mood would not affect their condition.

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