Elixir Supplier

Wang Yao heard a man talking as he winded down the window of his vehicle.

“I like this location,” said the middle-aged man.

“Hi, Uncle,” said Wang Yao.

“Hi, Yao, are you going out?” said Wang Jianli with a smile.

“Yes,” said Wang Yao.

After greeting Wang Jianli, Wang Yao took a glance at the middle-aged man, who also took a glance at him. Then Wang Yao drove away. It was just an accidental encounter.

Wang Yao could see from the rearview mirror of his vehicle that Wang Jianli was smiling all the time when he was talking to that middle-aged man as if he were trying to please the man.

Who is that man? What is he doing in our village? thought Wang Yao. He didn’t pay any attention to the man when he first saw him some time ago. But this encounter made him wonder what business the man was doing in the village.

…

Wang Yao arrived at Tong Wei’s place before 9:30 am. Both Tong Wei and her mother were at home. He checked Tong Wei’s mother’s pulse after sitting for a short while.

Tong Wei’s mother was in poor health, even worse than Wang Yao had expected. Her meridians were blocked, especially the one running through her brain. She was likely to have thrombosis in her brain again. Her spleen and stomach were also weak, as well as her liver. Basically, she had health issues all over her body.

“Well…” said Wang Yao. After seeing Tong Wei’s mother, Wang Yao didn’t know what to say. If he told Tong Wei’s mother that she had serious health issues, she would probably worry too much and not be happy. But Wang Yao couldn’t hide the truth. He had to be honest with Tong Wei and her mother because Tong Wei’s mother’s health problems were really serious, especially in her brain and liver.

“What did you find?” asked Tong Wei softly.

“I did find some problems, but do not worry too much. Your mother just needs to take caution in some areas,” said Wang Yao after some hesitation.

“Okay, can you explain more?” Tong Wei gave Wang Yao a glass of water.

“The blood vessels in your mother’s brain are slightly blocked. She’s likely to have thrombosis in her brain,” said Wang Yao as he was observing Tong Wei’s mother, who stayed calm.

“You are right. A doctor told me the same thing last time when got her checked at the hospital,” said Tong Wei’s mother slowly and softly. Wang Yao guessed it was due to her lack of energy.

“I also found in-coordination between your spleen and stomach which could affect your ability to digest food. Food tends to linger in your digestive system for too long,” said Wang Yao.

“Yes, my digestive system is not working properly; I have a lot of gas in my stomach too.” Tong Wei’s mother was still calm.

“Do you feel any pain below your ribs on your right-hand side?” asked Wang Yao.

“Yes, sometimes,” said Tong Wei’s mother.

“This is an indication of damaged liver function. It seems that you have mild cirrhosis of the liver,” said Wang Yao. In fact, according to Tong Wei’s mother’s pulse, her liver damage was more than mild and not just cirrhosis.

The liver was the detoxifying organ of the human body; it was vital to a human being. Once the liver was damaged, the toxic substances couldn’t be expelled out of human body and would accumulate inside the body to harm one’s health.

“That’s right. I initially had fatty liver disease, then it turned into cirrhosis,” said Tong Wei’s mother.

“Have you ever had hepatectomy?” This was just a guess from Wang Yao.

“Darling, did you even tell him this?” said Tong Wei’s mother while looking at her daughter.

Tong Wei was in shock.

“Mom, I’ve never told him about your health problems,” explained Tong Wei. Her mother continued to smile. She obviously was not convinced.

Wang Yao now realized what was going on.

That’s why Tong Wei’s mother had been smiling so weirdly and had been so calm. She thinks Tong Wei told me all her health issues to help me. She thinks her daughter didn’t want me to get embarrassed. I just wasted my time diagnosing her.

Wang Yao shook his head with a smile. He didn’t say anything else about the matter.

“Auntie, could you give me some time to think about how to treat your illnesses?” asked Wang Yao. He had done what he could do and said what he should say.

“Okay, it’s not urgent,” said Tong Wei’s mother with a smile.

After seeing Tong Wei’s mother, Wang Yao didn’t stay for lunch. Instead, he went out with Tong Wei. Tong Wei was going back to Dao City in the afternoon, so Wang Yao accompanied her to do some grocery shopping.

“Please forgive my mother for what she said,” said Tong Wei softly.

“Of course,” said Wang Yao with a smile. He just thought the misunderstanding from Tong Wei’s mother was a bit strange. He couldn’t understand why her mother would think he was playing tricks.

“By the way, why did your mother have a hepatectomy?” asked Wang Yao.

“She had it about six years ago. Her doctor found a tumor in her liver and thought it could turn into cancer. So, she had a hepatectomy just in case the tumor did become malignant. Her doctors only removed a small part of her liver tissue,” Tong Wei explained.

“I see,” said Wang Yao.

After Tong Wei finished shopping, they went to a restaurant to have lunch. Then, they went to buy a bus ticket for Tong Wei. Wang Yao was going to drive Tong Wei to Dao City, but Tong Wei declined. They said goodbye to each other at the bus station.

After seeing Tong Wei get on the bus, Wang Yao suddenly felt that he was reluctant to leave Tong Wei. It was so nice to have such a nice girl with him.

The bus slowly drove out of the station. It went further and further until Wang Yao couldn’t see the back of the bus anymore. Wang Yao stood at the station and felt lonely.

Tong Wei kept waving at Wang Yao thought the window until she couldn’t see Wang Yao anymore.

Maybe this is what being in love should be like, thought Wang Yao.

Wang Yao drove to Wang Mingbao’s store instead of going home after Tong Wei had left.

“Hi, what brings you here? Have you gotten sick and tired of Nanshan hill?” said Wang Mingbao with a smile while making Wang Yao a cup of tea.

“I needed to run a few errands here, and I thought about you,” said Wang Yao.

“I see. By the way, I’ve got something to tell you,” said Wang Mingbao.

“What is it?” asked Wang Yao.

“Do you remember the person I asked you to see last time? You said he was arrogant and wouldn’t listen to you. He is one of those people you would not treat, and you didn’t prescribe anything for him,” said Wang Mingbao.

“Yes, I remember him, the one who likes eating sashimi. What happened to him?” asked Wang Yao.

“He came to me a few days ago and wanted you to see him again,” said Wang Mingbao.

“What changed his mind? His problems got worse?” asked Wang Yao.

“Indeed! He suddenly had pain somewhere in his belly last month, so he went to the hospital in town to get checked. The doctor from the hospital said he had serious issues with his liver and suggested surgery to cut off half of his liver. Then, he went to the provincial hospital for a second opinion. The doctor there reckoned one-third of his liver should be removed, otherwise he could die. He was shocked but didn’t decide whether he should go ahead with hepatectomy. He then visited a few more hospitals including a big hospital in Beijing, but all the doctors made similar suggestions. The only difference was how much liver tissue should be removed,” said Wang Mingbao.

“Well, I’m not surprised. He was so sick and didn’t take any suggestions last time I saw him. He had no control over his diet and didn’t want to see a doctor or talk about his disease. Sooner or later, his disease would get worse,” said Wang Yao calmly.

“Can you still see him?” asked Wang Mingbao.

“No, he’s already been diagnosed from doctors in major hospitals. What’s the point of me seeing him?” Wang Yao shook his hand.

“That’s fine. I’ll let him know,” said Wang Mingbao.

“Thanks. By the way, have you gone back to our village recently?” asked Wang Yao.

“Yes, a few days ago. Why do you ask?” said Wang Mingbao.

“The other day, I saw the secretary of the village with a guy who looked like the owner of some sort of business. The guy apparently was interested in the old house of the village production team. I don’t know who that guy is,” said Wang Yao.

“This is easy; I’ll ask for you immediately.” Wang Mingbao picked up his phone and went out to make a phone call.

“Okay, do you know what it is? Fine…Good…Thank you very much.” Wang Mingbao hung up the phone after speaking to someone.

“The guy you were talking about wanted to invest in our village,” said Wang Mingbao.

“Invest in our village? Are you kidding me? What does he want to invest in our village for?” asked Wang Yao. He was surprised and curious about the intention of that guy. After all, his village was isolated with a port transport system, and there was no natural resources or scenery attractions worth investing in.

“I don’t know. At this stage, let’s wait and see,” said Wang Mingbao.

“Okay, I have to go now,” said Wang Yao.

“You don’t want to leave after dinner?” asked Wang Mingbao.

“No, thanks,” said Wang Yao before he left.

It was after 4 pm by the time Wang Yao had arrived home. He didn’t go back to Nanshan hill. Instead, he stayed home to help his mother with dinner.

“Has Tong Wei gone back to Dao City?” asked Zhang Xiuying as soon as she saw her son.

“Yes, she just left in the afternoon,” said Wang Yao.

“Why didn’t you drive her to Dao City?” asked Zhang Xiuying.

“I wanted to, but she declined,” said Wang Yao.

“She really is a nice girl. I’ve discussed it with your dad that you should settle with her,” said Zhang Xiuying as she stopped what she was doing.

“Well, I don’t want to rush. I want to spend more time with her first,” said Wang Yao with a smile.

“No rush? You are already 27!” said Zhang Xiuying.

“Zebao, who is also 27 has had two kids,” said Wang Yao. He was mimicking the way his mother talked.

“I am not going to argue with you. But you do need to take Tong Wei seriously, understand?” said Zhang Xiuying.

“I am taking her seriously!” said Wang Yao.

Wang Yao’s father also mentioned Tong Wei when they were having dinner. It seemed that both of Wang Yao’s parents liked Tong Wei. So, Wang Yao promised his parents he would try his best to settle down with Tong Wei.

Wang Yao went back to Nanshan hill at night. He opened the system and checked his mission. Almost 50 days had passed, and he had obtained recognition from quite a few people recently. Now, he had recognition from 41 people in total, although he wasn’t exactly who those 41 people were. Wang Yao presumed that he could get so much recognition because he had come across quite a few people recently, including Xu Maosheng, Professor Lu, and Wang Fengming’s family.

“I need to work harder,” murmured Wang Yao.

He wouldn’t be able to complete the mission without taking the initiative to approach different people. Maybe the system wanted to force him to go out more to showcase his medical skills, instead of staying on Nanshan hill all the time.

I’m only halfway though. I still need the recognition of 59 more people! thought Wang Yao.

After watching the sky for a while, Wang Yao returned to his cottage to document Tong Wei’s mother’s illness in his notebook. Tone Wei’s mother had quite a few health issues in different parts of her body. Some issues were major, while some were minor. It was quite common among elderly people.

Tong Wei’s mother was in poor health. She had to regulate her body and consolidate the corporeity. The blood flow in her brain was not smooth. Her blood vessels needed to be cleared, so she required herbs to activate the blood and unblock her blood vessels. She also required treatment to improve the function of her digestive system and calm her nerves to protect her liver.

She had a lot of symptoms. Wang Yao needed to address them one by one. According to Wang Yao’s current medical knowledge, he couldn’t prescribe one formula to target all the health issues Tong Wei’s mother had.

I should start with consolidating her corporeity.

Wang Yao decided to use Regather soup first. Regather soup had been most widely used among all the formulas Wang Yao could get from the system. It was almost suitable for all sorts of diseases. Even if Regather soup couldn’t cure the patient, it could improve their body’s function to fight the diseases.

I don’t have enough herbs again, thought Wang Yao.

…

It was cold and windy on the hill the next morning.

On a rock on the top of Nanshan hill, there was a man encircling his arms forwards and backwards, like pushing a ball.

Om! Suddenly there was a sound, and it soon disappeared.

Another meridian was unblocked.

Wang Yao didn’t stop. He continued to practice Tai Chi a couple more times before gradually slowing down to a finish.