In less than half a day, clusters of bushes started to appear on Nanshan hill. There were Chinese littleleaf boxes and berberis purpureas. They looked messy up close, but they actually had distinct shapes when looking from a distance.
Something is still missing. Wang Yao looked at the bushes from the top of Nanshan hill when he was thinking of what to do next. Then, he went down to the other side of Nanshan hill to take two clumps of wild jujube trees which had thorns all over their branches. Wang Yao planted them together with the other bushes and watered them.
He worked until it started to get dark.
Almost done! Looks better now.
The area where Wang Yao planted the bushes looked messy at first glance, but it was actually well planned and easily removable. It wouldn't affect the Spirit Gathering Battle Array Wang Yao was going to set up in the near future.
…
The sky was clear at night. Wang Yao stood in his herbal field and looked up at the sky. He was in deep thought. He stayed in the herbal field for over one hour before entering the cottage. From then on, he had a new routine—looking up at the sky at night.
...
It looked like it was about to rain the next morning as clouds were gathering in the sky. Wang Yao locked the door of his cottage, left Nanshan hill and drove to town. It started to rain when Wang Yao was on his way to town. It normally got warmer every time after the spring rain.
The spring rain nurtured the world silently.
Wang Yao didn't drive fast, although it was quiet on the road. The trees on the pathways had started to sprout. There was an old saying in China, "make your whole year's plan in the spring and the whole day's plan in the morning."
He drove to the apartment where Zhou Xiong and his son were renting in town. The apartment was one of the best in town, which was close to business center, school and hospital. So, the rent was quite high.
Zhou Wukang looked even better than the last time they met, and he even smiled at Wang Yao, indicating that his anxiety had also reduced. This was not easy for Zhou Wukang to do.
"Hello, Mr. Wang," Zhou Wukang greeted Wang Yao.
"Hello," Wang Yao said with a smile.
"Hello, Dr. Wang. Please come in." Zhou Xiong invited Wang Yao into the living room and made him a cup of tea.
Wang Yao had a look at the inside of the apartment. It was a two-by-one apartment with two bedrooms and one bathroom. It was not very spacious—maybe just a bit over 90 square meters. The decoration was old fashioned but cozy; it was very suitable for Zhou Xiong and his son.
"How do you feel?" asked Wang Yao.
"I feel much better now," replied Zhou Wukang.
His voice was much louder and powerful, indicating that he was recovering. His eyes were also brighter, and his breath was steadier. These were all good signs. Wang Yao also checked Zhou Wukang's pulse and noticed that it was more powerful and steady, which proved that Zhou Wukang was truly getting better. Even the pain in his left arm had reduced.
"Do you feel warm in your left arm sometimes?" asked Wang Yao.
"Yes," replied Zhou Wukang.
This was a good sign, too. The effect of the herbs had reached Zhou Wukang's left arm. The meridians in his left arm had almost died, but they were not gone completely. Only the licorice roots had the power to reach his left arm.
"How about stomach pain?" asked Wang Yao.
"Yes, but it's much better. It is not as frequent as before, and it doesn't last long each time," said Zhou Wukang.
"I would like to give you another herbal formula. You need to take it before you go to sleep. Warm it up before you take it and take all of it within three days." Wang Yao took out the herbal formula he prepared to relieve pain.
"Thank you." Zhou Xiong stood up and took the herbal formula with both hands.
After he had witnessed the effect of the last two herbal formulas Wang Yao prescribed for his son, he completely trusted Wang Yao and believed that the third formula from him would also work well. He hoped that soon his son would be able to sleep well at night and he could also have some rest.
"How much do I need to pay you?" Zhou Xiong brought up the payment again.
Zhou Xiong was very happy to see his son get better after being treated by Wang Yao. He hoped the stubborn disease in his son's left arm could be cured. No matter what happened, Zhou Xiong wanted Wang Yao to continue to treat his son, and without paying Wang Yao, he was concerned that the treatment would stop anytime.
"Well, don't worry about payment for now," said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao hadn't decided how much he was going to charge Zhou Xiong. He had a rough idea, but he was worried that Zhou Xiong couldn't afford to pay. Given Zhou Wukang's condition, Wang Yao had to continue to use Regather Soup and Anshensan, plus the licorice roots to reduce pain—the cost was really high. He didn't obtain the herbs, including the licorice roots, for free. He used his reward points for some and bought the rest from the herbal store. And he would use a blood deblocker powder in the future to treat Zhou Wukang's left arm.
"Can you tell me how much roughly so that I have an idea and can get the money ready," said Zhou Xiong.
"Well, at least one million yuan," said Wang Yao after some hesitation.
"One million?" Zhou Xiong was surprised.
One million was a lot of money, but it didn't exceed Zhou Xiong's expectations too much. He knew the herbs could cost a lot, as some of them were rare and precious—like the Wild Ginseng.
"One million shouldn't be a problem. I will definitely pay," Zhou Xiong promised.
Actually, he had spent over one million already in the last three years for his son's disease.
"Don't worry about money now. Let's focus on the treatment for now," said Wang Yao.
It was not that Wang Yao didn't care about money, he just took the treatment this time very seriously. This was the first time for him to treat a patient after obtaining the ability to diagnose and providing treatment from the system. It was also an opportunity for him to treat a complicated and tricky disease using a holistic approach, unlike what he did before by treating diseases according to herbal formulas.
Honestly, he had the same abilities as that of a Chinese Traditional Pharmacist.
It was close to noon after the treatment session. Wang Yao declined Zhou Xiong's invitation for a meal again. It was still raining after Wang Yao left the apartment Zhou Xiong rented.
The spring rain was fine and thick. It dropped on the trees, cars, and walls, making a splattering sound. The rain and wind made the day hazy.
Wang Yao drove back to the village. Curls of smoke rose as the villagers were cooking lunch. Nanshan hill could be seen through the rain and smoke from a distance.
The village was much quieter than the town which was bustling with life. One could only hear occasional dogs barking and roosters singing. It would be nice to have a cup of tea and read scriptures, or look at the rain and do nothing on such a day.
When Wang Yao arrived at home, his mother had made lunch. The smell of food was really nice. Wang Yao went back to Nanshan hill after lunch. There were not many people on the hill because of the rain.
It was even quieter on the hill. Wang Yao could hear nothing but the sound of rain and wind. He made himself a cup of tea and started to read. Wang Yao's voice came out of the cottage and mingled with the sound of the rain and wind. San Xian was listening to Wang Yao reading scriptures in his dog house. Da Xia seemed to be listening to Wang Yao reading as well. He stood on the branch of a tree and rocked his head from time to time, looking really funny.
The bushes Wang Yao planted earlier looked fresh and bright with the nurturing of the spring rain.
Let me take a look at the mission again.
After reading a scripture, Wang Yao double checked the mission given to him by the system recently. He needed to obtain the recognition of his ability to treat diseases from a minimum of one hundred patients or family members within one hundred days. At this stage, he only obtained the recognition of less than ten people in the last ten days.
I have to take the initiative, thought Wang Yao.
The rain didn't stop until 4 pm. The pathways on the hill were muddy and slippery. Wang Yao told his mother on the phone that he would not go home tonight and then made himself a simple dinner. He stayed overnight on Nanshan hill.
The air was very fresh on the hill the next morning due to the rain. Wang Yao left the hill after he had finished working in the herbal field and did his breathing exercises.
He needed to see Wang Mingbao today in the city.
Wang Yao went straight to Wang Mingbao's store after he had arrived at the city. He saw several vehicles parking outside the store and many clients waiting inside the store. Wang Mingbao's business had been good due to the hot real estate market and high-quality products he provided. His store was quite well known in the city.
"Hi, Mingbao; business looks good!" Wang Yao said with a smile.
"Not bad. It's better than it was in town," said Wang Mingbao.
"Tell me why you are here today," asked Wang Mingbao when he was making Wang Yao a pot of tea.