90 A Bowl of Glossy Ganoderma Soup

He Qisheng asked Wang Yao where he was and asked him to bring his identification for applying for a certificate. He Qisheng heard that Wang Yao was in town so he wanted to meet up. Wang Yao picked a cafe and sat next to the window to wait for He Qisheng. He Qisheng arrived 10 minutes later. He told Wang Yao he was in town for Wang Yao's medical certificate.

"Here are the things you asked me to bring," said Wang Yao.

He gave He Qisheng a plastic bag with a copy of his personal ID card and photo.

"The proof of my university degree is still at home. I'll fetch it for you later," said Wang Yao.

"I don't need it immediately. You can scan and email the documents to me. I'll start to prepare all the paperwork for you," said He Qisheng.

"Do you need me to go to Qi province?" asked Wang Yao.

"No. It is not difficult to get you a certificate, it just can be a bit tricky," said He Qisheng with a smile. "Miss Guo asked me to get all the paperwork ready for you as soon as possible, but you still have to pass the exam. I'll send you some materials for the exam."

"That will be great! Thank you!" said Wang Yao.

"No problem. Miss Guo said she owes you two big favors," said He Qisheng.

"Haha, just one," laughed Wang Yao.

"Miss Guo said two, then it's two! I know what she means. I'll try my best to get the certificate for you," said He Qisheng.

"Thank you very much!" said Wang Yao.

Wang Yao wanted to invite He Qisheng for a quick meal, but He Qisheng said he was not available. He left after a cup of coffee.

To Wang Yao, it was extremely hard to get a medical certificate as he didn't have a medical background. But to people like He Qisheng it was a piece of cake. Wang Yao could tell He Qisheng was pretty confident about assisting him to get the certificate. It was just a bit troublesome.

As long as I can get it.

Wang Yao was relieved after his meeting with He Qisheng, not just because he would probably be able to complete the mission given to him by the system successfully, but also for his own benefit.

After leaving town, Wang Yao went back to Nanshan hill and worked in the herbal field. He took special care of the licorice roots by hiding them properly.

Most licorice roots just started to sprout. They could be easily missed in the herbal field if one didn't pay attention. Wang Yao just covered the licorice roots with dry hays. Wang Yao then went back home to prepare for Chinese New Year after he had finished working in the herbal field.

"Yao, can you come with me to your grandma's place tomorrow?" asked Zhang Xiuying.

"Sure," said Wang Yao.

The next day, Wang Yao went to his grandma's home with his mother to give her New Year's presents. Both of his grandparents were in reasonably good health. Wang Yao just visited them to check their pulses and prescribed some herbal formulas for them a few days ago. Elderly people always had some health issues.

He met his younger uncle at his grandparent's place. His uncle didn't look well.

"What happened? Did you drink too much?" asked Zhang Xiuying as soon as she saw her brother.

Wang Yao knew his uncle loved nothing but alcohol and he was lacking in self-discipline. His factory closed early this year so he came home early. He had had too much alcohol since the holiday started, which certainly did some damage to his stomach. 

"Do you have any honey in your house, Grandma?" asked Wang Yao to his grandma, who had a humpback.

"Yes, do you want a cup of honey tea?" asked Wang Yao's grandma.

"No, I just want to brew a decoction for uncle to overcome the hangover. I need to add some honey inside," said Wang Yao.

"What?"

Wang Yao's grandparents and his uncle were all surprised to hear it.

Wang Yao didn't explain more. He went to the kitchen and started to concentrate in his mind. Suddenly, he had a glossy ganoderma in his hand, which he bought in town the other day for brewing Regather soup. He didn't spend all the glossy ganoderma and left the rest in the storage of the system.

Wang Yao cut the glossy ganoderma into small pieces and then placed them inside a pot on a low fire.

"What are you doing here?" Zhang Xiuying came to the kitchen to check what Wang Yao was doing.

"I'm making glossy ganoderma soup with honey to relieve hangovers," Wang Yao explained to his mother.

Glossy ganoderma was always precious as a special herb—it had a lot of effects including calming the nerves, enhancing Qi, protecting the liver and resolving poison. Long term use of glossy ganoderma could improve general well-being and increase life expectancy. In some novels, glossy ganoderma was described as a wonderful licorice root.

While waiting for the soup to be ready, Wang Yao and his mother returned to the living room to chat with his grandparents. His uncle was lying on the bed due to a stomach ache.

After two hours, it was time for lunch. Wang Yao thought the glossy ganoderma soup should be ready. He added some honey to the soup and gave it to his uncle to drink.

"Is it gonna work?" asked his uncle in suspicion.

"You will know soon," said Wang Yao.

His uncle only felt bitter in his mouth and warm in his stomach after drinking the soup. The symptoms of his hangover didn't go away immediately.

"I don't feel much difference now," said his uncle.

"It is not an elixir, which takes effect immediately. You've got to be patient, Uncle," laughed Wang Yao.

Wang Yao and his mother stayed at his grandparent's house for dinner. His uncle didn't eat much, he just had some vegetables and buns and then layed on the bed again. He was not sure if it was because of the glossy ganoderma soup or the warm bed, but he felt a bit better.

After dinner, everyone sat around the fire and chatted.

"Yao, are you still growing herbs?" asked Wang Yao's grandma, a nice elderly lady.

"Yes," replied Wang Yao.

"What herbs do you grow? I can ask around and see who want to purchase your herbs," said his uncle.

"I've got people who are interested. But thank you, Uncle," said Wang Yao. He never worried about the sales of his herbs. Actually he wouldn't sell most of the herbs because he needed his high-quality herbs and licorice roots to brew decoctions.

It was 2 pm when Wang Yao and his mother left his grandparent's house.

"Yao is really good at what he's doing!" said his uncle after Wang Yao left.

"Why you do say that?" asked Wang Yao's grandpa.

"I feel much better now," said Wang Yao's uncle while rubbing his stomach and turning his head to both sides.

He felt the symptoms of his hangover had almost gone away hours after he drank the glossy ganoderma soup at lunch time. The soup did work.

"Didn't Yao study biology in the university? Since when did he know how to make herbal formulas?" asked Wang Yao's uncle.

"Don't worry about Yao. You should drink less in the future. Just rest a bit longer," said Wang Yao's grandpa.

"Okay," Wang Yao's uncle promised, but he probably wouldn't refuse two glasses of wine at dinner.