Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âThen why did you turn her down? Are you stupid?â Wang Mingbao widened his eyes.
âI told her Iâll buy her dinner another day. Itâs a little dangerous to go back to the hill at night,â said Wang Yao calmly.
âHey, you! Iâve got nothing to say!â said Wang Mingbao.
After saying goodbye to Wang Mingbao, Wang Yao parked his car at home before returning to the hill.
âWhere is the eagle from?â asked Zhang Xiuying as soon as she saw Wang Yao.
âSorry, I forgot to tell you about the eagle. I hope it didnât scare you,â said Wang Yao. It just occurred to him he forgot to tell his mother about the eagle.
âThatâs fine. San Xian is here with me,â said Zhang Xiuying. âWhat happened to its wings?â
âIt was injured and fell into the herbal field. It canât fly for now so I applied some trauma herbs on its wound,â said Wang Yao.
âI see, have you bought an apartment?â asked Zhang Xiuying.
âYes, I bought one on the 3rd floor,â said Wang Yao.
âHow big?â
â130 square meters.â
âThatâs a big apartment! How much does it cost?â
âAbout 800 thousand yuan,â replied Wang Yao.
âSo expensive!â exclaimed Zhang Xiuying.
âItâs not too bad. You canât even buy a place of 20 square meters with 800 thousand in Beijing and Shanghai, where the properties are really expensive!â Even Wang Yao didnât think he could afford an apartment in the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
âI donât like big cities anyway. The air is so polluted there. You canât even see the sun during the day. People get sick all the time there,â said Zhang Xiuying.
âRight, I prefer our village. We have the hill, the lake and the forest,â said Wang Yao with a smile.
He had become more and more fond of the countryside lifestyle.
âYes. It would be even better if I had a grandchild!â said Zhang Xiuying.
âHey, Saturday is coming, will my sister come home?â Wang Yao tried to change the topic immediately. He wanted his mother to focus on his sister.
âShe said she will come home,â said Zhang Xiuying.
âOkay, Iâll pick her up!â said Wang Yao.
âRight, you should go to town more often. There are more girls in the town!â said Zhang Xiuying.
âI see. I see. Mom itâs time to cook dinner, be careful on your way back,â said Wang Yao.
It took Wang Yao some effort to send his mother away. He went to check on the eagle and gave it some ancient spring water to drink. He didnât dilute the water at all.
The magical water should be able to help its wounds recover. Like San Xiao, the eagle seemed to know the water was uncommon. It started to drink.
To be honest, it was the first time Wang Yao saw an eagle drinking water. It was funny to watch. Wang Yao stayed with the eagle for a while before going back to his cottage.
He made himself a cup of tea and took out a scripture.
Looking at his green herbal field, he felt very peaceful.
It was very quiet on the hill.
Wang Yao started to read the scripture aloud. San Xian was listening to him reading quietly outside the cottage. The eagle flapped its wings from time to time.
Time was passing by slowly and quietly.
It started to get dark.
Wang Yao went back home to have dinner with his family. He found his father didnât look happy.
âWhat happened dad?â asked Wang Yao.
âYour granduncle went to the hospital today to have a check-up as he didnât feel well. The doctor found heâs got bowel cancer, late stage,â said Zhang Xiuying.
Wang Yao stayed silent.
He was thinking about his granduncle. He was a thin elderly man, always smiled, loved smoking and drinking a bit of wine. His grand auntie passed away a long time ago, leaving his granduncle a single father. It was not easy to bring up all the kids alone. After the kids had grown up, his granduncle didnât want to move to town. He preferred to stay in the village as a farmer where he continued to farm the land and herd the sheep. He visited Wang Yaoâs house occasionally. He was over 70 years old now. Wang Yao just saw him herd the sheep on the hill a few days ago.
âWhat did the doctor say about his condition?â asked Wang Yao.
âWhat can they say? It is cancer, what can they do about cancer?â said Zhang Xiuying.
Thatâs why his dad didnât look happy. After all it was his uncle.
âCan you go to town with me tomorrow?â asked Wang Fenghua.
âSure,â said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao returned to the hill after dinner. He had been thinking about his granduncle.
Cancer was like the death penalty to people as it was unlikely it could be cured.
Some cancer patients could live longer, but their quality of life would decline dramatically and they had to tolerate the physical and psychological pain.
Are there any magical formulas or licorice roots in the system that can cure cancer?
Wang Yao opened the system panel, but he didnât find any formulas, herbs or licorice roots that could be used to cure cancer. He also didnât get any prompts or answers from the system either.
Maybe it is because of my low level.
The next morning, Wang Yao got up early to work in the herbal field. His mother came to the hill at 9 am to look after the herbal field for him. He drove to town with his father to visit his granduncle.
He bought some presents for his granduncle before going to the hospital. Wang Yao hadnât seen his granduncle for some time.
At the hospital, his granduncle was weak, frail, and skinny. His uncles and aunties were sitting next to the hospital bedâthey all looked sad.
âMaybe we should take dad to the hospital in Wei City, where they are better equipped,â said one of the uncles.
âIt wonât make a difference,â said another uncle.
It was depressing in the hospital room.
Wang Yaoâs father was a quiet man. In situations like this, he was even quieter. He asked how his uncle was and then stopped talking. He just lifted his head from time to time to have a look at the elderly man lying on the bed.
Wang Yaoâs grandpa passed away 3 years ago. His grandpa had 2 brothers. The one in the hospital was the younger brother. The other brother died when he was a teenager.
Wang Yao wanted to help, but he didnât know how.
Maybe the Regather Soup could work. Wang Yaoâs eyes brightened.
The two of them didnât stay long in the hospital. Their relatives walked them out.
Wang Yao met Tong Wei unexpectedly in the hospital lounge.
âHi, Wang Yao, how come you are here?â asked Tong Wei.
âMy dad and I came to visit a relative,â said Wang Yao.
âHello, uncleâ Tong Wei turned to Wang Yaoâs father with a smile.
âHello,â Wang Fenghua smiled too. He seemed to be happy to see Tong Wei too.
âDo you have time this morning?â asked Tong Wei.
âWell, I have to take my dad home,â said Wang Yao.
âNo need! Iâll take the bus, you stay!â said Wang Fenghua immediately.
âHow about we all have lunch together? My treat,â said Tong Wei with a smile.
âThank you, but I really have to go,â said Wang Yao, âOkay, dad, let me drive you to the bus stop.â
âI know where the bus stop is,â said Wang Fenghua.
âLet me drive you,â said Wang Yao.
âIâll call you later then,â said Tong Wei.
âOkay, sounds good,â said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao drove his father to the bus top after saying goodbye to Tong Wei.