Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wang Yao didnât say anything.
A patient like her wouldnât get better if she continued to take prescriptions while disregarding instructions.
It would be a waste of time to treat someone who wouldnât take a doctorâs advice seriously.
âWell, I have to go now.â The middle-aged woman sat for a moment. Then she stood up as Wang Yao kept silent.
âIâm so sorry, bye for now.â Zhang Xiuying walked the woman out of the house. Wang Yao just shook his head.
âHey, whatâs wrong with you?â said Zhang Xiuying after the woman had left. âSheâs much older than you, and from the same village. Why do you have to be so rude!â
âI was telling her the truth, Mom. Iâve given her herbs which definitely works. But she has to stop eating fish. She didnât take my words seriously. Why should I waste my herbs?â said Wang Yao calmly.
âWe are all from the same village and we bump into one another all the time. I donât want to jeopardize our relationship with any of the other villagers here,â said Zhang Xiuying.
âI see, Mom. It wonât happen again,â said Wang Yao.
He would try to stay away from people like that middle-aged woman.
âWhat? He refused to prescribe more herbs? Why?â asked the middle-aged womanâs daughter after her mother had told her what had happened.
âHe said I didnât take his advice seriously, so there is no point to continue to take any medication,â said the middle-aged woman.
âHave you promised him not to eat any fish from now on?â asked her daughter.
âNo, never mind. Who cares.â That middle-aged woman shook her hand. She was still upset about Wang Yao.
In her opinion, they were all from the same village, and she was much older than Wang Yao. She didnât expect Wang Yao to show no respect to her.
âHe thinks heâs so capable. You didnât see how bad-tempered he was!â She was apparently not happy with Wang Yao.
When having dinner, Wang Yao mentioned the property sales in the village.
âDad, do you know if anyone in the village wants to sell his or her house?â asked Wang Yao.
âHmmm, why do you ask this?â asked Wang Fenghua.
âOh, one of my friends said our village is a nice place. The air is so fresh here. He asked me if anyone in the village wants to sell their house. He wants to buy a holiday house,â said Wang Yao.
âIâm not sure. Iâll ask for you,â said Wang Fenghua.
âOkay, thanks,â said Wang Yao.
He didnât need to get an immediate response anyway. He didnât know whether Wei Hai and his other friends were serious about buying a house in his village.
After dinner, Wang Yao spent some time with his family watching TV and chatting.
âI havenât seen Tong Wei for some time,â Zhang Xiuying said, mentioning her future daughter-in-law.
âYes, sheâs been really busy lately,â said Wang Yao. He just talked to Tong Wei on the phone yesterday.
âDo you have any plans for your wedding?â asked Zhang Xiuying.
âWell, I havenât gotten a response from Tong Wei yet,â said Wang Yao. Actually, it was him hesitating.
âHey, are you having second thoughts?â asked Zhang Xiuying.
âOf course not,â said Wang Yao.
âSheâs a nice girl. You shouldnât be hesitating,â said Zhang Xiuying.
âI know,â said Wang Yao.
After successfully changing the topic, Wang Yao gave each of his parents a massage before going back to Nanshan Hill.
It was cold and windy outside.
Wang Yao exhaled a breath.
His breath became foggy.
âAh! Ew!â
Suddenly Wang Yao heard a noise. Looking towards the noise, he found a person vomiting under a big tree opposite the river. Wang Yao could even smell the alcohol from the other side of the river.
Someoneâs drank too much!
He took another look, then continued to walk towards Nanshan Hill. That person was still vomiting.
After he had gone back to Nanshan Hill, he double checked the herbs he prepared during the day. He was going to brew the decoction the next day, so he needed to make sure everything was fine. He thought about the decoction for a while before going to sleep.
It was a quiet and peaceful night.
The sun came out as usual the next morning.
Wang Yao went to get some firewood, ancient spring water, and his multifunctional herb pot.
He had all the licorice roots ready and started to brew the decoction.
He chose to brew the decoction in the morning because it was the most vibrant time of the day. The sun had just come out, and the Spirit Gathering Battle Array was full of aura.
Timing was important when brewing a decoction.
Crackle! The wood was on fire.
Cizhan, ganoderma, pear grass...
Wang Yao put the herbs into the pot one by one. A majority of the herbs were licorice roots.
At the moment, Wang Yao was like an artist, carefully working on his masterpiece. He took his time. He was in no hurry.
The sun slowly moved to the middle of the sky.
The Yang energy became stronger.
âDone!â
He moved the multifunctional herb pot away from the fire to allow it to cool down. He filtered out the dregs, then poured the decoction into a white porcelain bottle.
Hoa!
Wang Yao breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the sky.
It was noon.
Wang Yao packed things up and then went home for lunch.
âWhat? Someone just died?!â
He got the news from Zhang Xiuying as soon as he stepped into the house.
âYes. It was Wang Congming from the west side of the village. He drank too much last night. After going to the toilet, he collapsed in the courtyard. He never got up again. I heard he had a heart attack,â said Zhang Xiuying.
Last night, drunk.
Wang Yao thought about the vomiting man who held onto a tree he saw on his way to Nanshan Hill.
I hope it was not him!
Unexpected things were happening all the time. A person could be fine one second but passed away the next second.
âWhat a shame! He was a nice person. He just really liked drinking,â said Zhang Xiuying.
âIt is such a shame!â said Wang Yao.
If he had gone to check the person, the person would have probably survived.
It was his destiny.
Meanwhile, the doctor from Lianshan town hospital was talking to Li Maoshuangâs uncle and his family.
âIâve told you, given his current condition, there is no point to continue to stay in the hospital. I suggest you to take him home. Let him go peacefully at home,â said the doctor.
He was trying to convince the family members.
Li Maoshuangâs uncle had late stage cancer. No doctor from any hospital could save him. The only difference a doctor could make was to prolong his life.
âThank you, doctor. Could you give us some time to think about it?â asked Li Maoshuangâs cousin.
âOkay, but donât take too long. There is a waiting list for hospital beds,â said the doctor.
Then he left the room.
The doctors didnât want their patients to die in the hospital, because it would seem like they hadnât tried their best to save the patients. Even though they were exempted from the responsibility when a patient died, their reputation would be affected.
âMaybe we should take your dad home,â said another cousin.
âShall we wait for one more day. I think our dad looks better today,â said Li Maoshuangâs eldest cousin.
Wang Yao drove to Li Maoshuangâs place in town after lunch.
âThese are the herbs you asked me to get. What do you think of the decoction I brewed?â asked Li Maoshuang.
As soon as he saw Wang Yao, he took out an herb jar for Wang Yao to check the content inside.
âNot bad,â said Wang Yao.
Actually, he didnât think the decoction was well-brewed. However, not everyone had extraordinary skills to brew decoctions like him.
âIâve also brewed a decoction for your uncle. Shall we go to the hospital?â suggested Wang Yao.
âNow?â Li Maoshuang was hesitated.
It was past 1 pm.
âYes, we could wait, but your uncle probably canât,â said Wang Yao.
âOkay, letâs go,â said Li Maoshuang.
Wang Yao drove Li Maoshuang to the town hospital. Li Maoshuangâs uncleâs children were talking about whether their father should be discharged.
âHi, Maoshuang, why did you come this time of the day?â asked Li Maoshuangâs eldest cousin.
âDr. Wang has brewed a decoction for Uncle,â said Li Maoshuang.
âOh.â His cousin didnât sound too keen on the idea.
After all, no medication could cure cancer, let alone some herbal decoction.
âShall we give it Uncle to try?â asked Li Maoshuang.
âOkay,â said his cousin, who didnât think anything worse could happen to his father.
Wang Yao poured the decoction he brewed in the morning into a small cup for the old man to take. Then he gave the old man part of the decoction Li Maoshuang brewed.
After the old man had taken the decoctions, Wang Yao sat next to him for nearly one hour to keep an eye on him.
According to the old manâs pulse, Wang Yao believed he was on the right track. The decoctions he and Li Maoshuang brewed both worked.
âGood, heâs stable now. Letâs call it a day. I will come back tomorrow,â said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao left first. Li Maoshuang was asked to stay.
âWhatâs going on?â asked Li Maoshuang.
âIs that doctor reliable?â asked Li Maoshuangâs eldest cousin.
âYes, of course. As far as I know, he has cured many people with difficult-to-treat conditions. He also went to treat those prestigious people in Beijing. I was cured by him,â said Li Maoshuang.
âI see. I just think heâs too young,â said his eldest cousin.
âHeâs a really good doctor,â said Li Maoshuang.
He could tell that his eldest cousin had doubts about Wang Yao. He didnât know what he could do to make his cousin believe in Wang Yao. Since his uncle was dying, it only mattered how long he would last. So, they had nothing to lose. At least theyâve tried their best to save the old manâs life. Even Wang Yao could just make the old man feel better.
âI have to go now. Let me know if you need me,â said Li Maoshuang.
âOkay,â said his eldest cousin.
After Li Maoshuang had left, only his uncleâs children were in the room.
âIs that young doctor reliable?â asked one of Li Maoshuangâs cousins.
âLet him try,â said Li Maoshuangâs eldest cousin.
He and his siblings sat next to the hospital bed. They were scared that their dad would die anytime.
The atmosphere in the room was depressing.
âWater...â
The old man opened his eyes and spoke softly. His voice was weak and hoarse.
âDad, you are awake!â His daughter startled and came to the bed immediately.
âWater,â repeated the old man.
âOkay, Iâll fetch you some water,â said his daughter.
She went to fetch some warm water for her father.
âHow do you feel?â asked the old manâs daughter.
âAye!â The old man sighed.
She only asked for her peace of mind. She knew it was impossible for her father to feel well.
âI feel a little bit better,â said the old man.
He did feel better. It seemed that he had gained some of his strength back.
âThatâs good,â said his daughter.
At this stage, all his children could only try to satisfy all their fatherâs needs. There were not much they could do.
Meanwhile, Wang Yao had returned to his village.
He went right back to his clinic and documented the treatment session he had for the old man. These were valuable first-hand experiences, which could be used as a reference in the future.
How long will he last? How much change can I make?
The next day, a group of building contractors came to the village to demolish the two old houses. They removed the construction waste out of the village at the end of the day.
Sun Zhengrong and his son also came to the village.
Sun Yunsheng was getting better. The majority of the heat toxin had been removed, thanks to Wang Yaoâs herbs and the Qi therapy.