Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âUncle, you are already at this age,â Wang Yao said. âYou cannot do heavy physical work. In your case, I think you still need to nurse your health so that Brother Zecheng will not be distracted. What if I try to persuade him to rest more and not strain himself at work?â
The old man remained silent. He understood the meaning of what he said. He also knew that his health was not good now, but this was not the result he wanted. He wanted to spare his son from the extra work and make some money. He didnât want to be a burden on his family.
âUncle, you donât have to go outside the village to make money,â Wang Yao said. âThe pharmaceutical company in town is about to start production. It will definitely use a lot of medicinal materials. The mountainous area of our village is very suitable for herbal medicine. I told Brother Zecheng that if he plants a lot of herbs, he wonât have to worry about selling them.â
âYeah, I heard that from Zecheng,â the old man said. âThat sounds good!â
âDo you have anything else, Uncle?â
âAh, itâs OK.â Since Wang Yao had said that the family would soon have extra income, the old manâs mood suddenly improved. There was now a smile on his face also had a smile instead of it being full of worries and sadness like when he came in.
âUncle, please take care.â Wang Yao walked the old man out the door.
âOK.â
The old man slowly walked home, wondering if he should discuss with his son about ordering various herbs. He had no other skills, but he was a professional in the field. After all, he had done that for most of his life.
Because of the opening of the pharmaceutical company, Wang Yaoâs trip to Jing had to be delayed.
He sent a text message to Su Xiaoxue she had specifically told him that he had to tell her when the company opened.
Su Xiaoxue returned a response within seconds. [Iâll make the trip this time.]
Wang Yao replied: [Focus on your studies.]. At this point, Su Xiaoxue should have been in class, so the two did not talk much. The brief communication was to determine that Su Xiaoxue would come to attend the opening ceremony of Nanshan Pharmaceutical Company.
In the small mountain village, the cold wind blew. Time passed slowly for three days.
In the morning, Wang Yao put a wooden sign on the clinic that he wouldnât be accepting any patients that day. He had other things to do.
âWell, I asked you all to come here today because I have something to discuss with you,â Wang Yao said.
âMr. Wang, tell me if there is anything you want me to do,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âYes, I want to test whether the medicine you have taken for a few days has achieved the expected effect,â Wang Yao said. The purpose of their visit was part of an experiment he was doing.
âHow do you test it?â Jia Zizai asked.
âIt is rather simple,â Wang Yao said.
He Yao took out a small glass bottle, which contained a few black insects that looked a little creepy. These bugs were taken from the Lijiagou hot springs.
âWhat are these bugs?â
âAre they from the Lijiagou hot springs?â Jia Zizai recognized the bugs at first glance.
âYes, these insects grow in areas with strong geothermal heat,â Wang Yao said. âTheir bodies have mutated. They can secrete a special venom, which is hot and toxic. A poisoned person will very quickly have a reaction.â
âIâll go first,â Jia Zizai said.
He knew that since Wang Yao was there, the poison would not threaten them at all.
âThat is good,â Wang Yao said.
He took out a poisonous insect and placed it on the back of his hand. The poisonous insect immediately attacked Jia Zizai. He felt the back of his hand suddenly burning as if it was stung by a bee. The insect suddenly returned to the glass bottle Wang Yao was holding.
âOK, sit down,â Wang Yao said.
The area where the insect attacked soon became red and swollen.
âHow do you feel?â Wang Yao asked.
âThe back of my hand is hot and burns like I was scalded with hot water,â Jia Zizai said. âThe burning feeling is spreading and passing along my arm to my body.â
Wang Yao reached out and checked his pulse.
âThere is no problem,â he said.
Zhong Liuchuan and Hu Mei sat to the side watching. Hu Mei was a little nervous.
âDonât worry. Itâs OK.â Wang Yao comforted her.
âIt is alright,â Hu Mei replied.
After about 30 minutes, Jia Zizai said, âIâm a little hot and thirsty.â
âOh, drink some tea,â Wang Yao said with a smile.
He made good green tea for them. The aroma was tangy.
âIâm dizzy,â Jia Zizai said an hour later.
At this time, he felt as if he was suffering from a cold and fever with general discomfort and dizziness.
âDo you need to lay down for a while?â Wang Yao asked.
âThere is no need. I can hold on,â Jia Zizai replied.
This feeling was getting worse.
âI have tightness in my chest,â he said.
Wang Yao wrote down everything he said.
After an hour and a half, the hands on the clock pointed to 10:30 a.m. âThe uncomfortable feeling has started to subside,â Jia Zizai said.
âHas the feeling gone away?â Wang Yao asked.
âThat is correct,â Jia Zizai replied.
After a short while, he felt that the burning sensation begin to fade away. The dizziness and discomfort also quickly weakened.
After another hour, the uncomfortableness had completely disappeared.
âWell, Sir, I donât feel anything strange now,â Jia Zizai said.
Wang Yao nodded and calculated the time.
âItâs time to have a meal,â he said. âLetâs go. Iâll treat you to lunch.â
âThere is no need, Sir.â
âWell, letâs go anyway,â Wang Yao said. âMy cooking skills are not as good as Hu Meiâs, so I can only treat you in a restaurant.â
Wang Yao drove the three of them to the hotel in Xiacun and asked for some side dishes and a good bottle of wine.
While they were eating here, a car hurriedly came to the outside of the clinic and parked. After the car stopped, a man got out of it and opened the rear door. A woman exited the car with a child in her arms. The two were very anxious. They went up to the clinic door but found that it was locked.
âWhat? Is no one is here?â
âWhat can we do?â
âWe have to wait here,â the man said.
âYouâd better get back into the car and wait for him. Itâs too cold outside.â
The woman and child returned to the car. The woman looked at the child in her arms, whose face was slightly pale. The stayed soundly stayed asleep.
âWill he be out of the clinic all day?â
âIâve checked his Weibo. He just wonât be here in the morning.â
The couple waited anxiously in the car, looking out the window from time to time.
They waited until nearly 2 p.m. Wang Yao finally returned.
As soon as they saw him, the couple got out of the car.
âDr. Wang.â
âWell, come in and talk.â He glanced at them and then at the child in the womanâs arms.
âDr. Wang, please look at our child.â
His face was pale, and his breathing was weak.
What happened?
âIs he in a coma?â Wang Yao froze. He reached out and checked the childâs pulse.
Such a strange disease!
âHow old is he?â
âTwo and a half years old,â the woman said.
âWhen did he start to have this problem?â Wang Yao asked.
âItâs been six months,â the woman said. âWeâve been to many places. The doctors checked everything but couldnât find the problem.â
Their child had slowly begun to sleep more and more. Suddenly, out of the blue, their child went into a coma.