Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Guo Zhenghe left after talking to Song Ruiping and Su Xiaoxue for a short while. He had only stayed at Su Xiaoxueâs place 10 minutes, which was quite appropriate.
On his way downstairs, he bumped into a strong man in his 30s who looked quite serious and tough.
âHello, Xingzhi,â greeted Guo Zhenghe.
âHi, you went to study today?â Su Xiaoxueâs brother asked.
âYes, I was available today. I just came to see Xiaoxue,â Guo Zhenghe replied.
âI see, thank you,â Su Xiaoxueâs brother said.
âI should have come earlier. Anyway, I have to leave now,â Guo Zhenghe said.
âOkay,â Su Xiaoxueâs brother said.
He walked Guo Zhenghe out of the door. He didnât go inside until Guo Zhenghe had left.
âHi, brother,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âHi,â Su Xingzhi replied. His face immediately softened.
A tough guy could be soft, too, and didnât have to be only soft to his wife.
He loved his sister very much. Most children of his generation were boys. Su Xiaoxue was the only girl, so she was very precious and loved by everyone in the family. In addition, Su Xiaoxue was a nice and well-mannered girl. It was a shame that she had suffered from such a weird condition. Fortunately she was fine now. Su Xiaoxue had been recovering well. She was in good spirits and able to speak and sit up. Su Xingzhi was thrilled that his sister had been getting better. Therefore, he took the chance of a work-related trip in Beijing to see his sister.
âMom,â Su Xingzhi said.
âHey, how come you have time to come back today?â Song Ruiping asked.
âIâm here for work, just take the chance to see you and Xiaoxue,â Su Xingzhi replied.
âGuo Zhenghe was here just now.â Song Ruiping filled Su Xiaoxueâs glass with some warm water.
âI bumped into him when he came downstairs. What has he been up to?â Su Xingzhi asked.
âHe became the governor or a town in Ji Province,â Song Ruiping replied.
âI see. It seems that his family has a lot of expectation on him,â Su Xingzhi said with a smile.
âExactly.â Song Ruiping nodded.
âWhen will Dr. Wang come here again?â Comparing to what Guo Zhenghe had been doing, Su Xingzhi cared more about his sister.
âHe just said he will come here as soon as he can,â Song Ruiping said.
âWell...â Su Xingzhi wanted to say something but stopped after he had a glance at his sister.
After talking to Su Xiaoxue for a short while, Su Xingzhi and Song Ruiping left the room.
âWhat did you want to say just now?â Song Ruiping asked.
âYou canât ask him to come here a bit sooner?â Su Xingzhi questioned.
âXiaoxueâs condition is stable and should not get any worse. She is getting better. Iâve seen Dr. Wang. Heâs been quite busy,â Song Ruiping replied.
âXiaoxue could get better faster if he was here,â Su Xingzhi said.
âHe is not our private doctor. We canât force him. I believe he will keep his promise. He said he will come back, so he will. He is probably thinking of a better way to treat Xiaoxue,â Song Ruiping said. âBy the way, what do you think of Guo Zhenghe?â
âHim?â Su Xingzhi was a bit surprised that his mother suddenly asked such a question. âHeâs not bad. Heâs well-educated, has vision, and is quite capable. Some elders in the family quite like him. Why do you ask?â
âWhen Guo Zhengheâs grandpa was still live, he joked about marrying Xiaoxue to Zhenghe,â Song Ruiping said.
âWhat?â Su Xingzhi frowned. âWhen did Zhengheâs grandpa mentioned it?â
âThat was ages ago, probably over 10 years ago. Xiaoxue was only seven years old then. She was just a child. I think the elders in the family just joked about it. They never mentioned it again,â Song Ruiping replied.
Over a decade ago, Guo Zhengheâs family was at the prime of their time. They were more powerful than Su Xiaoxueâs family. It was the other way around nowadays. After Guo Zhengheâs grandpa had passed away, the most powerful person in their family was Guo Zhengheâs father, the major of Qi province. It would be very hard for him to get a promotion. They needed powerful friends. Relatives by marriage was even better. Su Xiaoxue was apparently a very good candidate to be Guo Zhengheâs wife.
The best way to connect two families together was marriage. Nothing was more effective than marriage. It was common that powerful families became relatives by marriage. People from the younger generations of those families got married even if they didnât love each other. It was kind of sad. Those people were born privileged, but a lot of them couldnât take their lives in their own hands.
âI donât think it is a good idea,â Su Xingzhi said without hesitation. He had already married someone he didnât love. He knew how painful it was to have a loveless marriage, even though he and his wife had always been respectful to each other. He didnât want his sister to end up in a marriage like his.
âWe have to ask what Xiaoxue thinks about it. No one should give her any pressure,â Su Xingzhi said.
âOf course. Xiaoxue must be happy in the future,â Song Ruiping said.
In Ji, inside a club, Li Shaoyang was smoking while lying on a sofa. A woman wearing heavy makeup was massaging his shoulders.
âRight, how come I didnât think about it?â Li Shaoyang asked.
A young man wearing glasses sat next to him. The young man looked quite well-mannered.
âSince he is pursuing a medical certificate, he will be a doctor eventually. As long as he is a doctor, he is under my fatherâs jurisdiction. Youâll see how I will deal with him!â Li Shaoyangâs eyes became cold.
âMaybe he sees patients without a medical certificate at the moment,â the young man wearing glasses said with a smile.
âThatâs possible. I should get someone to check it,â Li Shaoyang said.
âIt has to be someone reporting him,â the young man wearing glasses said.
âReport him? Just fine someone!â Li Shaoyang said.
He was pretty sure a lot of people would be happy to help him for the sake of his father.
âYes, nowadays, as long as you have money, you can do a lot of things,â the young man wearing glasses said.
Meanwhile, Wang Yao didnât know Li Shaoyang, who was thousands of miles away from him, still tried to take revenge. The only thing Wang Yao was worried about was his mission.
He only had one week left.
He needed to get his name out. He needed 50 people who considered him a good doctor.
He only achieved 27 people at the moment. He was only half way through.
While he was worried about his mission, Wang Fengming came to the clinic.
âUncle, how can I help you?â Wang Yao asked.
âWell, Yao, do you still see any patients?â Wang Fengming said.
âYes, who do you want me to see?â Wang Yao asked.
âI have a relative living in the countryside. He is suffering from a weird condition that is causing abdominal bloating. Can you see him?â Wang Fengming asked.
âSure, not a problem,â Wang Yao replied.
âGreat! Heâs at my house at the moment. Can I bring him here later?â Wang Fengming asked.
âOkay, Iâll be waiting here,â Wang Yao said.
Wang Yao waited inside his clinic. In less than half an hour, Wang Fengming came back with a man in his 40s. The man was quite overweight. He was not tall, just a bit over 5-and-a-half-foot tall. He looked like a ball. Wang Yao estimated that the man weighed at least 220 pounds.
The man didnât look well. Wang Yao thought his five organs must be in disorder. He had bloodshot eyes. Apparently, he had excessive Yang energy inside his body.
âThis is my cousin. This is Dr. Wang.â Wang Fengming introduced the two men.
âHello, Dr. Wang,â Wang Fengmingâs cousin said.
As soon as he opened his mouth, Wang Yao could smell a strong unpleasant odor from his mouth.
âPlease sit down,â Wang Yao said.
The man sat down carelessly.
He had been suffering from abdominal bloating. He had been to the hospital in town and the one in the county. Nothing serious was detected. He just had high blood sugar levels, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol. He also suffered from moderate fatty liver.
He didnât take any of those conditions seriously since he had been sleeping well and eating well. However, things had changed lately. He felt his belly was like a balloon full of gas. He felt bloating in his abdominal area from time to time. He mentioned it to Wang Fengming when he was visiting but didnât expect his cousin knew a young doctor from the same village who had extraordinary medical skills. Therefore, he followed Wang Fengming to Wang Yaoâs clinic.
The doctor is so young! What can he do for me? Wang Fengmingâs cousin thought.
Wang Yao checked his pulse and then smiled.
âWhat is it, Doctor?â Wang Fengmingâs cousin asked.
âYour condition is not hard to treat. Iâll prescribe you a formula. You get the herbs in the formula and boil them in the water. You should get better in one day,â Wang Yao said.
âOne day? Thatâs wonderful,â Wang Fengmingâs cousin said.
Wang Yao went to the herb storage room to get two herbs and came back.
âTake the herbs back and boil them in the water. Drink the water afterward,â Wang Yao said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âOkay. How much should I pay you?â Wang Fengmingâs cousin asked.
âThey are free.â Wang Yao shook his hand.
âFree?â Wang Fengmingâs cousin was surprised.
âYeah, anything wrong?â Wang Yao asked.
âOh, no, thank you,â Wang Fengmingâs cousin said.
He smiled at Wang Yao. He then stood up and left.
âFengming, is that doctor reliable?â Wang Fengmingâs cousin asked after they had returned to Wang Fengmingâs house.
âOf course. He cured me. Hasnât he given you the herbs? Let me boil some for you now,â Wang Fengming said.
It was easy to boil herbs in the water. Soon, the herbal tea was ready.
âWhatâs inside? It smells strange.â Wang Fengmingâs cousin smelled the herbal tea, which had a strong odor.
âDrink a little bit to start with. You know, most herbs smell strange,â Wang Fengming said.
His cousin drank up one bowl of herbal tea. Soon, his stomach started to rumble.