Gu Youyou’s words echoed through the crowd, bringing a mix of reactions.
Those who didn’t believe her looked at her as if she were some kind of freak, thinking she was joking.
"A doctor offering free consultations? Wouldn’t that be a loss? And to offer free consultations three days a month, as well as at unscheduled times, not to mention providing medicine for free? Even the long-established medical halls in Lingnan have never done such a thing. As a newcomer, are you not afraid that the wind might blow your tongue away?"
But for those who believed her, there was an overwhelming sense of joy, and they couldn’t wait to give it a try.
A young man timidly approached and asked, "Doctor, is the treatment really free?"
Gu Youyou tapped the sign that read "Dedicated to healing the world, consultations without charge," and said, "Of course it’s really free, or else you can smash this sign."
The young man immediately perked up and said, "Doctor, please take a look at me. The night before last, I was traveling and got caught in the rain, and now I’m sneezing and have a runny nose. I wasn’t planning to see a doctor, figured I’d just tough it out, but since it’s free here, I thought I’d give it a try."
"Of course, come in!" Gu Youyou stepped back to the consultation desk, donned a blue coat, and put on a mask. Then, placing a small pillow-like cushion on the table, she motioned for the young man to stretch out his hand.
The onlooking crowd craned their necks, having never before witnessed such a method of treatment, and thus, the murmuring began.
"Why is she putting on another layer of clothing? Isn’t she hot?"
"Yeah, and she’s covering her face too. What does that mean?"
Someone who fancied themselves in the know said, "After all, she is a woman. It’s not good for her to show her face; it’s much better for her to cover it."
The crowd nodded in sudden understanding.
"Right, and that loose gown is also to conceal her graceful figure."
...Each assumption was a further distortion of the truth.
"Can she really practice as a woman?"
"Oh my, look, she’s touching that young man’s hand. It’s said that her husband is right there beside her, and he can actually watch as his wife touches another man’s hand."
"She’s dedicated to healing the world, and a healer must be compassionate. You’re making senseless noise. She might stop offering free consultations at any moment."
Gu Youyou simply smiled in response to these comments.
Changing people’s mindset isn’t something that happens overnight. Being a female doctor was something she couldn’t change. What she could change, however, was proving through her own abilities that women were no less capable than men.
After examining the young man’s condition, Gu Youyou took up a fine brush and wrote a sequence of beautiful small characters.
This was to make it easier for others to read.
"Doctor, is my condition serious?"
After finishing the prescription, Gu Youyou said, "It’s nothing serious; your cold is not severe. If you want to get better quickly, take this prescription to get the medicine, and take it three times a day immediately. If you don’t want to get the medicine, just keep warm when you go back, and drink plenty of hot water. Young people have strong constitutions; you can recover without medication."
The young man looked surprised and said, "I have a cold, but I don’t need medication, just need to keep warm and drink more hot water to recover?"
Gu Youyou replied, "Your case is a mild cold, so you indeed can recover well. But if it is not controlled properly and becomes serious, you will need to get the medicine."
The young man looked doubtful and said oddly, "Then I’ll follow the doctor’s advice, go home, put on some extra clothes, and drink more water."
Gu Youyou nodded, "That’s right."
He pocketed the prescription Gu Youyou had written, thanked her, and left.
Outside, the curious spectators hurried to grab the young man and asked, "How was it, can she heal?"
The young man had a complex look on his face as he replied, "It’s hard to say."
"Hard to say? What do you mean?"