Chapter 30: A quack doctor; a foolish young man

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Yes, what a coincidence,” Tong Wei said with a smile.

“I thought you were in Dao City. How come you are here?” asked Wang Yao.

“It’s my mom’s birthday today, so I took a day off to come back,” replied Tong Wei with a smile. Dao City was not far from Lian Shan; it was about a two-hour drive away.

“How is your mom?” asked Wang Yao.

“Not too bad.” Although Tong Wei tried to hide it, Wang Yao saw the concern in her eyes.

“By the way, what do you do in Dao City?” asked Wang Yao.

“Economic management,” said Tong Wei.

“In a senior level position?” Wang Yao said with a smile. Tong Wei was not only pretty, but also highly educated. She completed her master’s degree overseas and was the only person among all his schoolmates to study abroad.

“Not some senior position!” Tong Wei laughed. Her phone suddenly rang as she was going to say something. She raised her eyebrows when she saw the number showing on her phone.

“Hello Yang Ming,” Tong Wei picked up the phone.

“Hello Tong Wei, I heard you are back in the town. Is today your mom’s birthday?” said Yang Ming on the phone.

Wang Yao could hear a familiar voice from Tong Wei’s phone as he was close by. The person calling Tong Wei was also his old schoolmate, whose name was Yang Ming. Looked like Yang Ming was still chasing after Tong Wei.

“Yes…what? No, thank you,” Tong Wei spoke on the phone for about three minutes. When she hung up, she shook her head.

Wang Yao chatted with Tong Wei for a short while before leaving the supermarket.

This Wang Yao looks different from before! Thought Tong Wei as she was looking at Wang Yao’s back.

Wang Yao rode his motorbike home after grocery shopping.

“Mom, I’m back,” called Wang Yao as he stepped through the door.

“You went to your auntie’s house?” asked Zhang Xiuying. She stopped what she was doing as soon as she heard her son’s voice.

“Yes,” replied Wang Yao.

“Did you bring medicine to your auntie?” asked Zhang Xiuying.

“Yes, how did you know?” Wang Yao suddenly found the way his mother looked at him was strange.

“Your auntie just called me to tell me that the medicine you brought was very effective. She feels much better now. She also mentioned that you want to be a quack doctor,” said Zhang Xiuying.

“Not a quack doctor. I’m a traditional Chinese Pharmacist.” Wang Yao knew he had opened a can of worm as his mother wouldn’t stop asking questions. It would be hard for him to get away.

“What do you do as a traditional Chinese Pharmacist?” asked Zhang Xiuying.

“Plant and grow herbs, brew decoctions, and cure illnesses,” said Wang Yao.

“That sounds like a quack doctor!” said Zhang Xiuying.

Well, Wang Yao didn’t fancy the word “quack”.

“Not a quack doctor.” Wang Yao didn’t know how to explain this to his mother.

“Did you learn everything from that old traditional Chinese Medical Practitioner?” asked Zhang Xiuying.

“Yes,” said Wang Yao.

“Okay, make sure you learn properly,” said Zhang Xiuying.

“What?!” Wang Yao was surprised to hear what his mother said.

“I mean you should make a good effort to learn well from that practitioner,” said Zhang Xiuying.

“Sure.” Wang Yao didn’t expect his mother would leave him alone so easily. He even did a few rehearsals of what to say. But it was good he didn’t need to explain much to his mother. He put away the things he bought in town, then headed to Nanshan Hill. Now he had another problem: the task given to him by the system. He had to make Anshensan within a month. He had already made one and it looked like it worked, but he didn’t get any response from the system, which made him very confused.

What was the problem? thought Wang Yao.

After he arrived at Nanshan Hill, he had been sitting outside the cottage going through the process of making Anshensan. However, he couldn’t think of anything that could possibly have gone wrong. He used precious licorice roots (moonlight herb) this time to make the decoction for his family member. So he was exceptionally careful about the amount and process when brewing the decoction. However, he still didn’t get any response from the system in the end.

Looks like I have to try again tomorrow, thought Wang Yao.

Wang Yao didn’t rush back home in the afternoon even though there was not much to do on the hill. He walked about on the hill slowly, thinking of how to use such a big area on the hill. What a shame he hadn’t made good use of every bit of it. Wang Yao thought maybe he should grow more herbs or trees.

Maybe I should open up one acre of land for growing some more herbs, thought Wang Yao.

He didn’t wait after the thought. He took out the shovel and some other tools and started working in the field.

“Yao, what are you doing here?” A middle-aged man from Wang Yao’s village came by with a group of sheep.

“Hi, uncle. Are you going back to the village?”

“Yeah, are you still working on the hill?”

“Yes, for a few more years,” Wang Yao replied with a smile.

“Good!” The middle-aged man walked the group of sheep away slowly with a cigarette in his mouth.

“What a pity!” murmured the middle-aged man.

People in the village had talked a lot behind Wang Yao’s back during the last three years. Especially after Wang Yao jumped into the water to try to save someone. They thought Wang Yao would stop working on his hill. But they heard from the village committee that Wang Yao not only hadn’t given up the hill, but also extended his contract for another twenty years. In addition, Wang Yao had promised to donate 20,000 yuan to the village every year.

Suddenly different versions of rumors started to spread around the town.

Wang Yao’s parents were not against their son’s decision. They gave their permission for Wang Yao to continue, but they didn’t make any comments. It set Wang Yao’s mind at rest and encouraged him to continue working on the hill.

It started to turn dark while Wang Yao was still busy working in the herbal field.

“Time passes so quickly!” Wang Yao stood up and wiped the sweat away from his face. He packed away his tools, fed and talked to San Xian, then went home.

Wang Yao was so hungry that even the rice porridge and hot buns seemed to be so delicious. After dinner, Wang Yao returned to his room. He went to sleep soon after he did some reading. The next day, as usual, he got up very early to start working.

He had become the same as every other resident in the village, face to the earth, back to the sky. The only difference was that he had a wonderful pharmacist system.

Ding! The task of making Anshensan has completed successfully, said the system when Wang Yao just finished watering the herbal field and the trees on the hill.

“What? Why did the system just respond? Slow response much?” Wang Yao was surprised to hear the voice of the system. He was going to try it again today, but he didn’t expect to be notified that the task had been completed.

“System, why did you take so long to notify me?” asked Wang Yao.

Curative effect.

“Curative effect? It was shown yesterday!” said Wang Yao.

The system didn’t respond to Wang Yao’s comment.

“Anyways, it’s done. Let me see what formula is next.” Wang Yao opened the system panel.

Regather soup: Strengthens the muscles and the bones, and increases longevity.

Main components: Ginseng, matrimony vine, sealwort, Gordon Euryale, Ganoderma, Shanjing, Guiyuan