258 Licorice Roots

"It's so hot outside. Why don't you come inside the house and lie down?"

"Okay."

It was past 11 o'clock. Wang Yao had prepared a table of dishes. Carrying a basket, his grandfather returned from the outside.

"Grandpa."

"Yao is here."

Wang Yao accompanied the elders for lunch, then they chatted for a while.

"Grandpa, in such hot weather, why don't you let go of some of the work in the farmland?" Wang Yao advised.

"Alright."

Wang Yao also knew that even if his grandparents verbally promised now, they would still work in the farmland after they got better.

After lunch, they rested for a while. Wang Yao massaged the two elders to relax their muscles, then he took out 1000 yuan from his pocket.

"Grandma, Grandpa, buy some delicious food with this money. Don't be reluctant to use it," Wang Yao said.

Once his grandfather saw him take out the money, he said, "It's okay."

"It's not much. Please take it. I'll go back first." After leaving the money, Wang Yao made a move to leave.

"Goodbye." After getting into the car, Wang Yao waved to the elders who were still waiting outside.

"Drive safe."

"Okay."

Wang Yao got into his car and left. Through the rearview mirror, he saw that the two elders had not entered the house yet. They kept standing by the roadside, looking at his car disappear down the road.

Money was just a token of appreciation. He could leave more money, be it ten thousand or 100 thousand, but the elders still would not accept it.

Seeing that Wang Yao had returned, his father asked, "Is your grandma better?"

"Yes, she's better. She has to rest more, though," Wang Yao replied.

"Mom, please persuade Grandma and Grandpa if you have the time. They're already 80 years old. They can't do the work in the fields anymore." It was not suitable for him to say this, but his mother could say it.

"I've tried to persuade them before. They don't listen to me. What about your uncle? If your grandparents no longer farm, then where will the noodles and oil come from?"

"So according to what you said, if my grandpa and grandma are gone, my uncle can't live normally?" Wang Yao asked rhetorically with a smile.

"They also wish to earn more. It's hard to support a family with just your uncle's salary."

Wang Yao laughed after hearing that. He did not say anything else.

Every family had their own problems, and even relatives were of no exception.

He would find time to visit the two elders in the future.

...

In the county hospital in Lianshan County.

"Doctor, does he really not have to stay for another two days?"

"No. The medicine that should be used has already been used. The effects will still be the same if the treatment is continued. It's better to go back and exercise more," the doctor responded. In this department, most of the patients had the same condition. He had to say the same words almost every day.

It was not that he didn't try his best and was irresponsible—he had seen and experienced a lot of situations, so his enthusiasm had died down. He also became somewhat numb to it all.

"Okay. Thank you, Doctor." He Xiuhua wanted to ask more questions, but she did not after seeing that the doctor was already busy.

Hence, she ran around the hospital a bit to go through the formalities of discharge. Fortunately, there was now a rural cooperative medical care. A portion of their money could be reimbursed.

"Let's go."

Her husband could not get up yet, so he could only leave in a wheelchair.

She was carrying a huge bag of things by herself. When she was going down the stairs, her sister came. Finally, there was someone who could lend her a helping hand.

After being busy for some time, they returned to the mountain village with her sister's help.

"Ah, home is still the best!"

After clearing up all the things, her sister pulled her aside.

"Sister, tell me the truth. How's the condition of my brother-in-law?"

"The doctor said that his recovery is entirely dependent on personal exercise," He Xiuhua replied.

"Oh." Her sister gave out a sigh.

Her sister did not really live in ease and comfort in her life. She finally sent her son to college, but the backbone of the family had collapsed. The children these days had to spend money when they attended university. She would only be more exhausted in the future.

"Take a seat inside first. I'll cook."

"Let me help you."

…

On Nanshan hill, Wang Yao put away his scriptures and went out of the cottage.

The medicine was ready. He had already more or less prepared what he should. It was time to go to Jing City again.

In the afternoon, he went down the hill and returned home.

"Uncle Fengxiang was discharged from the hospital this morning." Zhang Xiuying said, "He has already gone home."

"Okay, I got it. I'll go over tomorrow to take a look," Wang Yao replied.

He already had some understanding of Wang Fengxiang's condition at the hospital. He also had an idea on how to treat the disease. Some things were not able to be done in the hospital at that time. Since Wang Fengxiang had been discharged from the hospital, then he could give it a try now.

Many people went to Wang Fengxiang's house that day.

The couple had been nice in the village. Seeing that they had returned, the neighbors around were naturally going to pay a visit.

After dinner, Wang Yao went up Nanshan hill and walked around the herbal field. He paused in front of the licorice roots.

Its leaves had raindrop-like spots.

Ziyu could activate the blood and relieve depression. It could also dredge the channels and collaterals. Blood Deblocking Powder might not even have to be used.

"There will likely be an effect by boiling a Ziyu leaf," Wang Yao murmured to himself.

...

He Xiuhua had a lot of thoughts that night.

It was still a problem whether her husband could recover from his disease or not. According to the doctor's explanation and the information obtained by talking to the family members of the patients who were in the same ward during Wang Fengxiang's hospitalization, it would be good enough to be able to stand up and take care of himself. It was impossible to return to his previous state. Their son was still attending college and needed to spend some money. How were they going to live in the days to come?

Wang Fengxiang did not sleep as well.

He was ill and could not move the right side of his body. However, his brain was still awake.

The disease came too suddenly and immediately knocked him down. He knew about the disease. There were a few elders in the village who suffered from the same thing. Walking with a stick every day, they dragged their legs and walked around the village. He did not expect to suffer from this disease. He could not stand up and move his arms, making him a disabled person.

What will happen to my family in the future? What about my child who is still in school? Getting married, buying a house, having kids…

When he was hospitalized, he had been thinking about these things. He had more and more thoughts to the point that he could not sleep at all at night.

Sigh!

Humans should not be ill even if they are poor!

The sun rose very early the next day.

Licorice roots, a pot of water, rhizoma corydalis, notopterygium, glossy ganoderma—Wang Yao chose a few medicinal herbs that could activate the blood and some herbs which could regulate body functions.

The medicine was slowly decocted using low heat.

After the duration and degree of heating were reached, he then finally added the Ziyu.

As soon as the licorice roots were added, they dissolved and became invisible. The color of the soup turned pale green with a hint of light purple. A unique aroma had also drifted out.

The medicine was successful!

Wang Yao packed the medicine into a pre-prepared porcelain bottle then went down the hill.

He first returned home and told his parents he was leaving. Then, he took some things from home and left.

The distance between the two front and rear houses was very small. He had arrived at Wang Fengxiang's house with just a few steps.

"Hello," Wang Yao greeted. When he entered the house, He Xiuhua was trimming vegetables in preparation for cooking.

"Oh, Yao, you're here. Come take a seat quickly." Seeing that Wang Yao had arrived, she hurriedly got up to greet him.

"I'm here to see Uncle."

"Oh," she responded weakly.

Wang Yao reached out his hand to check Wang Fengxiang's pulse. The condition of the elder in front of him was almost the same as that of the last time in the hospital. There was a certain improvement, but he was not cured completely.

"I have some medicine here. You can try it out." Wang Yao took out the white porcelain bottle and put it on the table. He then explained the directions of usage.

After staying for a while, Wang Yao then made a move to leave.

Medicine? Looking at the bottle on the table, He Xiuhua was dumbfounded.

Except to visit her husband, the young man actually brought some medicine as well. The main thing now was, should they trust that medicine?

She thought about it for a while.

"We'll use it," Wang Fengxiang who was lying on the bed said.

No one could understand his thoughts now. As long as there was a glimpse of hope, he would like to try it out even if there was a huge risk.

"Okay, we'll use it then," He Xiuhua replied.

However, at the start, she did not dare let her husband consume the medicine by following the dosage mentioned by Wang Yao. Instead, she reduced the dosage.

"Drink a little first to try."

When the medicine entered the mouth, it had a unique medicinal scent, which was not particularly unpleasant. Instead, it smelled quite nice.