As soon as Liu Baizhe left, Lu Xuan felt inexplicably irritable.

He knew there were some things he just couldn't change.

The high cost of medical care was like a wide, immeasurable river with rapid currents, and he was just a small stone.

Throwing it in, not to mention stopping the rushing flood, probably wouldn't even make a splash.

It sounds harsh, but reality might be even harsher.

He was still just a small-town doctor at the Health Center; even though he had a bit of a reputation now, all he could see were these immediate hardships.

He could glimpse a bit of the darkness that ordinary people already know about.

But is this the darkest it gets?

Lu Xuan pondered this question deeply in his heart.

If this was the greatest darkness, then the world would still be relatively happy.

But he knew that this was definitely not the case.

The higher you stand, the more you see; the light doesn't increase, it only diminishes.

Thinking of this, Lu Xuan felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

But soon, as the next patient came in, Lu Xuan's face returned to normal.

A woman, about thirty years old, walked in, holding the hand of a thin, pale little boy.

After entering the consultation room, the woman let go of the boy's hand and placed the registration slip and the child's medical record directly in front of Lu Xuan, greeting softly: "Hello, Dr. Lu."

"Hello." Lu Xuan nodded to her and smiled.

"Is the child not feeling well, or…"

"The child."

"What's wrong with the child?"

Wu Xiaoyan sat her son on her lap and then showed a look of helplessness: "Kids are so hard to raise nowadays; they fall sick every now and then. It wasn't like this when we were young."

Lu Xuan smiled noncommittally.

There was some truth to this; children in the past didn't fall sick as easily. After all, many were raised without much care, whereas nowadays, most families are well-off, and with only one child, they're treated like treasures.

They're held affectionately, afraid they'll melt when kissed, and afraid they'll overheat when held.

The Women and Children's Hospital is always busiest in winter.

Of course, it's not like they're idle at other times, either.

The improvement in material conditions hasn't made children stronger; on the contrary, their resistance has weakened greatly.

Wu Xiaoyan pointed to the child on her lap and continued, "Especially my Tangyuan, I feel like he's grown up on medication. He's either sick or on the verge of being sick. Sometimes I wonder why I had this little thing! Just to make trouble for myself, and now that he's here, I can't bear to neglect him."

Saying this, she sighed helplessly.

After a little grumble, Wu Xiaoyan began to talk about the child's situation.

Meanwhile, Lu Xuan was feeling the pulse and looking at the tongue as he quietly listened to Wu Xiaoyan describe the child's recent condition.

Wu Xiaoyan's child is three years old this year. Recently, he's been having fevers around three o'clock every afternoon, sweating profusely with poor spirits, as if he's pulled several all-nighters.

His appetite hasn't been good; he doesn't even want to eat.

He has bowel movements once a day, but they are extremely dry, as hard as stone.

Lu Xuan set his eyes on the child.

The little boy might be timid; being stared at by Lu Xuan, he retreated fearfully into Wu Xiaoyan's arms.

Wu Xiaoyan comforted him: "It's okay, Tangyuan, don't be afraid, Uncle Lu is not a bad guy."

Not only was Tangyuan thin and malnourished, but his hair was also dry and sparse; even in Wu Xiaoyan's arms, he was restless and fidgety.

"Dr. Lu, what on earth is wrong with my Tangyuan?"

Although Lu Xuan had already formed some judgment, he still responded with a smile:

"Lift the child's shirt; let me take a look at his belly."

"Oh, okay."

Wu Xiaoyan cooperatively lifted Tangyuan's short-sleeved shirt. The seemingly frail Tangyuan had a swollen abdomen with prominent veins.

Lu Xuan gently pressed on his stomach, then withdrew his hand with a slight frown.

Malnutrition and indigestion?

Lu Xuan felt Tangyuan's pulse again; it was thin and rapid.

A thin pulse, like a thread, straight and soft. It indicates all types of deficiencies, especially Yin and blood deficiencies.

It may also appear in cases of internal water and dampness obstruction. In general, a thin and weak pulse suggests blood deficiency, while a thin and rapid pulse suggests Yin deficiency.

The potential cause could be a lack of blood volume, reducing vascular filling, leading to vessel constriction and thus a thin pulse.

Dampness obstructing the pulse path can also present a thin pulse, but it must be thin and strong.

Thin pulses can also be seen in anemia, late-stage fever illnesses, or chronic wasting diseases.

A rapid pulse, where the pulse beats quickly, more than five beats per breath, is mainly seen in heat syndromes, including throughout some febrile illnesses.

However, a child's pulse naturally beats faster, and given that Tangyuan is only three years old, a rapid pulse doesn't indicate much.

The only notable finding was the thin pulse.

Along with the results of visual diagnosis, Lu Xuan had already reached an accurate judgment.

However, even so, Lu Xuan still asked, "When did Tangyuan's symptoms start?"

Wu Xiaoyan thought for a moment and replied, "I think it was around last Mid-Autumn Festival. Yes, right after last year's Mid-Autumn Festival, Tangyuan suddenly said his stomach was bloated. Tangyuan had eaten quite a few mooncakes then, and we thought he'd just overeaten a little, so we didn't take it seriously. Who would've thought it'd get worse later?

We went to the hospital for tests, but they couldn't figure it out. Watching the child grow thinner day by day, and restless at night, we adults are being worn out by him.

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