Elixir Supplier

“You didn’t spend much money, right?”

“No, I didn’t,” Wang Fengming responded. It was true that he did not. At that time, he had sought for Physician Li because he heard that his fees were cheap.

“Uncle Fengming, please listen to me. Don’t take any more of this medicine. It’s best if you go to a proper hospital,” Wang Yao said.

“If I go to a hospital, it’s going to cost me a lot of money.” Wang Fengming was silent at first. He had spent a lot of money due to his father’s illness.

“How about this. If you trust me, I’ll decoct you a formula,” Wang Yao said.

“Hmm…” Wang Fengming was silent for a moment and then raised his head to look at Wang Yao and said, “Okay.”

“Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll give you the medicine. Don’t take this medicine any more; they don’t treat your illness.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll leave now.”

“Stay for a meal.”

“No thanks, you take a good rest.”

Wang Fengming walked Wang Yao and Wang Mingbao to the door.

“Is his illness very serious?” after leaving the house, Wang Mingbao softly asked Wang Yao.

“Yes, very serious,” said Wang Yao.

This family had nothing but four walls. People say that kindness starts from being filial. This couple was kind, however, the heavens did not seem to take care of them nor help them.

Coming out of Wang Fengming’s house, Wang Yao looked back at the dilapidated house.

If the heavens won’t help you, I will!

“I’m going home now.” Seeing Wang Yao in a daze, Wang Mingbao did not distract him. When he reached his grandfather’s house, he told Wang Yao his intention to go home.

“Okay,” Wang Yao replied and then headed in the direction of his house.

When he was home, lunch was already prepared. While he was eating, he was still in a stupor. He was actually pondering over Wang Fengming’s illness, how to treat him, and what medicine was appropriate.

“What are you thinking of?” Zhang Xiuying noticed that her son seemed out of sorts and softly asked him.

“Nothing.” Wang Yao broke out of his daze, hurriedly ate his meal and subsequently went up to Nanshan hill.

“What is it that caused him to eat his meal so quickly?” Zhang Xiuying muttered and raised her head to look at her son leave rapidly.

“I’ll go check it out in the afternoon.” Wang Ru’s eyes brightened.

“Eat your lunch and stay at home! Your brother looks like he has a decent shot at romance. Look at you; you don’t even have a boyfriend. What are you planning to be, a holy warrior?” Zhang Xiuying stared at her daughter.

Wang Yao swiftly got to Nanshan, entered his cottage and retrieved from the system his notebook. He jotted down the details of Wang Fengming’s illness and diagnosis. At the same time, he took note of his planned course of treatment and usage of medicine—to consolidate corporeity and restore mental tranquility.

This would need the system’s formula. He made slight adjustments and added a bit of Moonlight herb.

…

In the afternoon, the sun was bright and radiant.

In the cottage, a fire was ablaze. In the multifunctional pot, was ancient spring water, wild herbs, and licorice roots. Subtly, the medicinal powers mixed and an herbal scent wafted out.

Woof, woof, woof! A dog’s barks sounded.

Wang Yao raised his head and looked.

Maybe I should have hung up a sign saying, “Busy, do not disturb,” to prevent people from disturbing me at the most critical moments?

“Yao, ask this stupid dog to scram!” the voice of Wang Yao’s sister rang out.

Outside the cottage, Wang Ru gazed angrily at the dog that was blocking her.

“I’ve come here a few times, San Xian!”

The dog stared at her, baring its teeth.

“Let her in,” a shout rang out from inside the cottage. The dog finally stood aside. However, it still looked at Wang Ru like she was a thief.

“Stupid dog!”

Woof, woof!

“Yao, why did you rush up the hill? What are you busy with?” Wang Ru opened the door and scanned the cottage and found that her brother was decocting in the cottage.

“Who are you decocting for?”

“A patient,” Wang Yao stared at the multifunctional pot and remarked, “Help yourself to the water if you want.”

“Okay. So you rushed up for this?”

“The treatment of some illnesses cannot be delayed,” Wang Yao calmly replied.

Wang Ru poured herself a glass of water, stood beside the firewood and observed Wang Yao brewing the herbs.

“What do you add in there?”

“Glossy ganoderma, ginseng, licorice…what are you asking for? Even if I tell you, you won’t know what they are.”

“Why wouldn’t I know? Hey, your pot looks pretty good; where did you get it?”

“The gods gifted it to me,” Wang Yao replied grumpily.

His sister hadn’t even been there for ten minutes, and she had already asked at least 15 different questions, irritating the hell out of Wang Yao.

“Sis, I am decocting medicine, can you please be quiet!”

“So boring, I’m leaving.” Wang Ru looked around for a while and felt bored. She could not stay any longer and would rather stay at home to watch the television.

“Walk slowly, and I won’t be walking you out!”

Finally, the cottage quieted down, and Wang Yao inspected his decoction. Fortunately, there were no issues with it. Wang Yao let out a sigh of relief and continued to focus on the decoction.

A formula was completed finally at sunset.

After it was contained in a bottle, Wang Yao packed his things and went down the hill. He went to Wang Fengming’s house.

“Uncle Fengming?”

“Hey, you’re here; quick come into the house,” Wang Fengming replied and then smiled. He was home, and his wife was at home as well. His wife wore simple clothes, and her hair was greying. She looked older than she really was.

“Hi, Auntie.”

“Come, come, have a seat.”

“Uncle Fengming, this is the decoction I made for you. Please try it and take it within three days. Drink it warm and only a teacups’ amount each time.” Wang Yao took out the bottle of medicine and placed it on the table.

“Ah, so fast!” He did not expect that Wang Yao took the matter so seriously, decocted the medicine so quickly and even delivered the medicine right to his doorstep.

“How much is this?” Since the medicine was already delivered, he could not decline it. Moreover, Wang Fengming was an honest guy, and he did not want to decline this young man’s kind intention.

“No need, just try it out and see if it’s effective.” Wang Yao smiled at Wang Fengming’s words. He had made small tweaks to the original formula, and it would require actual consumption to determine its appropriateness.

“I don’t have to pay?” Wang Fengming was surprised.

“No you don’t have to pay as I have these herbs on the hill,” Wang Yao smiled and said. “Uncle Fengming, you are an honest person. With this decoction, only you and Auntie know about this, so don’t tell anyone else. If you are worried, drink less. Just try it out to see if it’s effective.”

“Okay, thank you,” Wang Fengming responded.

“I will leave now. Please rest more due to your condition. Eat better when you can. On working your land, if you can delay, please do so until your body is better,” Wang Yao reminded.

“Okay, I know.”

The couple saw Wang Yao out and watched him exit the alley before turning back into the house.

“When did Yao learn to decoct medicine?” his wife asked curiously.

“I don’t know. This afternoon he came to our house and said that my illness was serious and that Physician Li’s prescription doesn’t work. He advised me to go to a proper hospital. When he heard that I was hesitant to spend money, he said that he would make a decoction for me. I did not expect him to deliver it here this afternoon!” Wang Fengming explained.

“Are you really going to take the medicine? I’ve never heard anyone in the village say he can treat illnesses. I don’t want you to have any problems from drinking it,” said his wife worriedly.

“I guess I’ll try some and see how it goes. I don’t think he will purposely do this to cause me harm.”

“Okay, drink a little to give it a try.”

“Okay.”

“I’m worried about my medicine!” Coming out of Wang Fengming’s house, Wang Yao got a little emotional. He could tell that the couple was doubtful about his medicine, and he knew that their doubt was justified. After all, in the village, apart from some relatives, no one else knew that he had medical skills. Having doubts about his ability was understandable.

Precisely due to this reason, Wang Yao did not say more. He could tell that Wang Fengming’s wife’s health was not good. Likely, it was due to overworking, causing damage to her body. He did not dare to comment about her health and had to swallow back his words.

“Let’s wait a bit. The situation may change.”

As a pharmacist who was gradually attaining a higher degree of medical skills, he was bound to gain recognition eventually.

Even if he wanted to, the system might not allow him to do as he pleased. His reputation would not spread rapidly but would cascade step by step, starting from this village.

The next day, on a Monday early in the morning, Wang Yao drove his sister to work in Lianshan County and then made his way to the riverside. He had already made arrangements with Xu Maosheng. This day, he would bring him to Nanshan hill to harvest the tea leaves. When he got to his house, Xu Maosheng was already ready and had prepared his tools. His wife was present as well. Her complexion looked better, and her eye bags had lightened.

“No hurry, let me take a look at Mrs. Xu,” Wang Yao commented.

Wang Yao went into the house, took Xu Maosheng’s wife’s pulse and assessed the condition of her body’s recovery.

“Okay, it’s quite good. I will make two more decoctions. Just continue to take them.”

“Thank you so much,” Xu Maosheng said. He then mentioned the treatment fees, but Wang Yao declined.

“Shall we go?”

“Okay, let’s go harvest tea.”

Xu Maosheng placed the tools for harvesting tea into the car, and then both of them went up to Nanshan hill.

The tea leaves were harvested quite quickly. Wang Yao helped as well. They had no problems harvesting them, however, when Xu Maosheng wanted to take the tea leaves with him, San Xian stopped him, baring its teeth.

“Step aside; Master Xu is taking these back to make tea. He will come back again.” Wang Yao patted the dog’s head. It then stood aside to let Xu Maosheng pass.

“This dog is very intelligent!” Xu Maosheng observed and complimented the dog.

“He is pretty smart,” Wang Yao smiled and said.

The freshly harvested tea leaves needed to be processed quickly and so, within half an hour, Wang Yao drove Xu Maosheng back to his house for immediate processing. Xu Maosheng had already made preparations in advance. He had a drink of water and then started to fry the tea.

As he was frying the tea, Wang Yao was by his side, learning. Xu Maosheng was like before—he fried the tea while explaining the steps. This time, he was more detailed and put more care into the process.

The tea was good quality, and Xu Maosheng was a good person; both should not be let down.

Gradually, Xu Maosheng became more focused and no longer spoke when he was frying the tea. It was as though he had entered a special state—he had only tea in mind!