Sophia had picked a wild herb from the garden and applied it to the child’s stomach. It looked like an ordinary weed, and she hadn’t even mentioned what it was. Could something like that really be used?
And did the navel even connect to internal organs? Wasn’t sticking a patch there just a trick?
Feeling frustrated, Elena said angrily, “Doctor, I feel like you’re just fooling me. My child is so young, and you’re using some random wild plant. Who’s responsible if something goes wrong?”
Sophia, who was busy diagnosing the next child, suddenly looked up. Seeing the anger on Elena’s face, she understood at once—this person didn’t believe in traditional medicine.
Glancing at Elenas son, she asked, “Please understand, I’m choosing not to use too much medication precisely because your child is young. Otherwise, I could prescribe dozens of medicines for you to apply. Would that make you feel like I’m not fooling you?”
“Doctor, that’s an irresponsible thing to say. Your clinic is in such a remote area, and I made the effort to carry my child all the way up here. And now, within just a minute, you’re done? Are you really not fooling me?”
Sophia sighed inwardly. Holding to her commitment as a caring physician, she patiently explained, “Medication isn’t necessary, so I won’t use it. Please sit over there and wait a moment to see if your child has any more bowel movements. If he doesn’t, then it means this has worked, doesn’t it?”
“You…” Elena was still angry.
Sarah, Benjamin’s mother, quickly intervened, “Elena, I trust Dr. Smith. Isn’t your son having diarrhea every hour? Let’s wait and see. If he doesn’t go again, it proves Dr. Smith’s method works.”
“Yes, Elena, the doctor makes sense.”
“Let’s just wait and see!”
Elena thought it over and, still upset, stood to the side while Sophia continued treating the other children. With autumn underway, colds were common. Some children had been sick for over a month, with untreated colds turning into pneumonia and requiring hospitalization. Sophia performed massages for those who needed it, applied herbal patches where appropriate, and did everything she could to ease the children’s discomfort.
By the time she finished mixing all the necessary herbs, two hours had passed.
Sophia carefully instructed each parent on how to use the medicine, and after treating everyone, she finally turned back to Elena.
“He hasn’t had any more bowel movements, has he?”
Elena was taken aback, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Dr. Smith had been right—her son hadn’t had any more diarrhea and had, remarkably, gone three hours without any further issues.
But, unwilling to back down, she stubbornly replied, “Maybe he’ll start again soon.”
Sophia’s smile was faint as she replied, “In my practice, I prescribe medicine when needed. When it’s unnecessary, I won’t force it on a child. You can take him home now. Watch him tonight, and if he doesn’t have any more diarrhea, there’s no need to come back tomorrow.”
Elena lowered her head and asked, “How much do I owe?”
“For a wild herb from the roadside that didn’t cost me a dime to pick, I won’t charge you anything.”
With that, Sophia sat down at her desk to write medical notes, paying Elena no further attention.
Feeling awkward, Elena left with the other mothers.
—
The next day, as Sophia arrived at the clinic, she saw more than a dozen mothers waiting at the door. As soon as they saw her, they exclaimed:
“This must be Dr. Smith!”
“The young and beautiful traditional medicine doctor—it has to be her!”
“Dr. Smith, my child has a fever that won’t go down.”
“My child has pneumonia and is still coughing.”
“My child…”
Sophia was momentarily stunned. “How did you all find my clinic?”
“Benjamin’s mom mentioned it in the class group chat, so we all came.”
Sophia chuckled, and soon more parents started arriving with their children, quickly filling the small clinic.
The clinic was so tiny that the line stretched out the door.
The situation became even more intense in the afternoon. Just as Sophia thought she could close up and go home after the first wave of patients left, another dozen parents with children arrived.
She was so busy that she didn’t even have time to eat, working straight through until nine in the evening, with people still arriving.
Since all the patients were children, she felt she couldn’t turn them away.
So, even after closing, she reopened the clinic, working all the way until eleven that night.
As Sophia finally lay in bed that evening, reflecting on the day, she felt both amused and exhausted. She hadn’t worked this hard in a long time.
When there were no patients, she’d wished for them; now, having patients was utterly exhausting.
Who would have thought that treating acne, vitiligo, and infertility hadn’t put her clinic on the map?
It turned out that a simple massage for a child had spread her reputation far and wide.
Indeed, children truly are the most precious treasures to their parents. Nothing matters more than a child!
