Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âMy sister can be bad-tempered sometimes,â Wang Yao said.
âSheâs fine to me,â Du Mingyang replied.
âThatâs good,â Wang Yao said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Crackling! He took a piece of concrete from the wall.
âHmm, the quality of this building is terrible!â He broke the piece of concrete into pieces.
âReally?â Du Mingyang picked a small piece of concrete form the floor and squeezed it hard.
âOuch! Is there anything else?â Du Mingyang asked.
âNo, letâs go back,â Wang Yao said.
They went back to Wang Yaoâs home. Du Mingyang had a feeling that his future brother-in-law wanted to tell him something.
They had an early dinner. Wang Ru and Du Mingyang left right after dinner.
âRu, can I ask you something?â Du Mingyang asked when he was driving.
âWhat?â Wang Ru said.
âDoes Yao have any other skills apart from treating all kinds of illnesses?â he asked.
âOh, he practices Kung Fu,â Wang Ru said.
âReally?â Du Mingyang asked in astonishment.
âOf course,â Wang Ru said.
âWhat level has he reached?â Du Mingyang asked.
âIâm not sure. I think he can easily break a big rock with his chest,â Wang Ru said calmly. Her parents told her that her brother could throw a big rock weighing several hundred pounds out easily.
âWow!â Du Mingyang was amazed.
Now I know what he meant. He just reminded me to treat his sister well. Otherwise, I will end up like that piece of concrete.
âBy the way, what did you two talk about outside the house just now?â Wang Ru asked.
âNothing special. Just a chat. He asked me to treat you well,â Du Mingyang replied.
âOh, I see,â Wang Ru said.
In the village, Zhang Xiuying was talking about her daughterâs future with her husband.
âI think Ruâs probably going to settle with Du Mingyang,â she said.
âHe seems to be a nice man,â Wang Fenghua said. He had a good impression of Du Mingyang.
âIâve noticed Ru has changed a lot. You know, it will be great if they are married. Iâve had her fortune told. I was told that her husband and her are great match. She will have a prosperous life and never suffer,â Zhang Xiuying said happily, like it was really going to happen.
âLook at you!â Wang Fenghua teased his wife.
On Nanshan Hill, a dim of light came out of Wang Yaoâs cottage. He received a call in the evening from faraway. The call surprised him. It was Su Xiaoxue from Beijing.
âHello, Mr. Wang,â said Su Xiaoxue, who sounded ethereal and shy.
In Beijing, which was thousands of miles away from Lianshan, Su Xiaoxue mustered up her courage to call Wang Yao.
âHello, Xiaoxue,â Wang Yao said with surprise. âHow have you been?â
âIâm good. Iâve been practicing the control of Qi. I think my Qi has increased,â she replied.
âGreat,â Wang Yao said.
âThank you. How are you?â Su Xiaoxue asked.
âIâm well,â Wang Yao replied.
âGood...â Su Xiaoxue suddenly lost her words. She had prepared a lot of topics before calling Wang Yao. Now, she couldnât remember any of those topics. She only felt nervous.
âWhen will you visit Beijing again?â she asked.
âI will visit you after a while,â Wang Yao replied.
After chatting with him for a while, Su Xiaoxue again expressed her gratitude and bid him farewell.
âI still have a lot to say to him.â Su Xiaoxue pouted. She was not aware that her face had turned red.
Wang Yao didnât go to sleep until it was nearly 11 p.m.
It was a bit gloomy early the next morning. A car had arrived in the village. There were two people in the car. Both of them were in their 30s.
âIs this the right place?â asked one of them.
âYes,â the other person said.
âLet me get out of the car to have a look.â One of them got out of the car.
The door of the clinic was closed. He knocked at the door, but no one answered. He went back inside the car.
âHe is not in the clinic,â said the person who had knocked on the door.
âLetâs wait here,â his friend said.
They waiting in the car for nearly half an hour. They still didnât see anyone coming.
âYou mentioned he lives in this village,â said one of the men in the car.
âYes, but he has a rule that no one should trouble his parents at his home,â the other man said.
âWhat about a special situation? We canât keep waiting here. Let me go and ask his parents,â one of the men said.
âWell, I suggest you not bother his parents,â the driver said.
âWait here.â The man didnât take the advice. He got out of the car and asked a villager where Wang Yao lived. He then went to Wang Yaoâs house and met his parents.
âYou are looking for Yao? OK,â Zhang Xiuying said. She called her son right away.
Wang Yao was still on Nanshan Hill. He frowned when he got the call from his mother. It had been a while since someone called on him at his house. He left for his clinic and saw a car parked outside.
âIs it him?â the passenger in the car asked.
âI think so,â the driver said.
âLet me go and ask him,â the passenger said.
The middle-aged man got out of the car again.
âHello, are you Dr. Wang?â the middle-aged man asked.
âYes. Are you the person who went to my house?â Wang Yao asked.
âYes, it was me,â said the man, who was wearing glasses.
âAre you ill?â Wang Yao asked.
âNot me,â the man said.
âIs the patient very sick?â Wang Yao asked.
âYes,â the man replied.
âYou canât wait?â Wang Yao asked.
âIâve been waiting for some time,â the man said.
âOK, but never go to my parentâs house again,â Wang Yao sternly said.
The man agreed. Wang Yao opened the door of the clinic. The man followed him into the courtyard. He was amazed by the courtyard, just like everyone else.
âNow you can ask the patient to come in,â Wang Yao said.
âWell, heâs not here,â the man said.
âWhat do you mean?â Wang Yao asked.
âI hoped you could visit him at his house. It is not suitable for him to come here,â the man said.
âIs he very sensitive to cold weather?â Wang Yao asked.
âNot really,â the man replied.
âIs he sensitive to wind?â Wang Yao asked.
âNo,â the man said. âItâs because his social status is special.â
âI see,â said Wang Yao with a smile. Special? âIâm sorry, I donât want to visit him in his house.â
âLook, we donât mind the fee, if you know what I mean,â the man said.
âSorry, it has nothing to do with the fee,â Wang Yao said.
âCould you please consider...â the man asked.
âI donât think itâs necessary,â Wang Yao said.
âLet me know if you change your mind,â the man said. He left after giving his contact info to Wang Yao.
âHumph, such an ignorant person!â As soon as he left the clinic, the manâs face changed.
âWhere is he?â asked the driver, who had been waiting in the car.
âHe said he wonât do a home visit,â the middle-aged man said.
âOh, shall we take him there?â the driver asked.
âDo you think he would have asked us to come if he was happy to come himself?â the middle-aged man asked.
âWhat can we do?â the driver asked.
âTry to convince the doctor to change his mind.â The middle-aged man pushed his glasses up. âHeâs just a doctor.â
âDonât look down on him. I heard people from Dao, and even Beijing, come to see him,â the driver said.
âReally? All the way to Lianshan?â the middle-aged man asked.
Wang Yao returned to the clinic after having lunch at home. He was reading a medical book. A car arrived in the village around 2 p.m.
âIs this the right place?â a person in the car asked.
âYes, this is the right place. You know what, the building is so pretty,â the other person said.
The car stopped outside Wang Yaoâs clinic. Two people got out of the car. They entered the clinic without knocking on the door.
âHello, are you Wang Yao?â one of the men asked.
âYes, I am. And, you are?â Wang Yao asked.
âOh, we are from the health department. Here is our IDs.â The two visitors showed Wang Yao their identification and explained the purpose of their visit.
âI see. This is my medical certificate, and this is the business registration.â Wang Yao took out all the relevant documents.
âAre you a Traditional Chinese Medical Practitioner?â one of the visitors asked.
âYes,â Wang Yao replied.
âCan we have a look at the herbs?â one of the visitors asked.
They went to the herb cabinet.
âHave these herbs all been approved?â one of them asked.
âWhat?â Wang Yao didnât expect this question. âJust one second.â
Wang Yao showed the visitors more documents. Some of the herbs were from Li Maoshuangâs store, so they were approved. However, some were from Wang Yaoâs herbal field. He never thought about sending his own herbs to get approved because his herbs definitely had no problem. Who would test the noodles made by the their own wheat?
âSome documents are missing,â one of the visitors said.
âSome of the herbs were grown by myself. Do I need to get approval for those herbs as well?â Wang Yao asked.
âLegally, yes,â the visitor replied.
Wang Yao suddenly realized the two visitors were looking for trouble.
âWhy should I get approval for my own herbs? No one gets approval for their own corn and wheat,â Wang Yao said.
âHerbs are different. What if you are growing something illegal?â one of the visitors asked. âWell, Iâm not going to waste any more of my time here. According to relevant regulations, you need to pay the fine.â
âAre you serious?â Wang Yao calmly asked.
âYes,â one of the visitors replied.
While they were talking, a patient came to the clinic.
âHello, Dr. Wang?â the patient called out.
âYes, can you please wait for me outside,â Wang Yao said with a smile. He then turned to the visitors and said, âI think you should leave now. Iâm not going to pay the fine.â
âWe will revoke your lisence if you are non-compliant,â one of the men said.
âYou can try,â Wang Yao said.
âYou are not doing yourself any good by being so arrogant,â the man sternly replied.
âPlease leave here now. You are not welcome here,â Wang Yao said.
âWe will be back! I hope you can afford the consequences!â The two men left the clinic.