Chapter 144: A Knife Hiding Behind the Smile
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Auntie, this is the herbal decoction I brewed. Please try it,” said w.a.n.g Yao.
“Okay, thanks,” said Tong Wei’s mother with a smile.
Tong Wei’s mother didn’t talk much.
“Have the decoction when it is warm. Take a small cup of decoction each time, and finish all of it within three days,” said w.a.n.g Yao.
When they were talking, the doorbell rang again. Another visitor came. w.a.n.g Yao knew the visitor, Yang Ming; he was w.a.n.g Yao’s old schoolmate. Yang Ming came with a present, and he was surprised to see w.a.n.g Yao in Tong Wei’s home.
“Hi, w.a.n.g Yao!” said Yang Ming.
“Hi, Yang Ming. What a coincidence!” said w.a.n.g Yao with a smile. He stood up from the chair.
It was a bit awkward for them to meet here.
“Hi, Yang Ming, please sit down,” Tong Wei’s mother also stood up.
“Hi, auntie, you look much better than last time. I brought some gelatin for you,” said Yang Ming.
“Thank you! I’ve said before, you don’t need to bring anything when you come here,” said Tong Wei’s mother with a smile.
w.a.n.g Yao could feel that Tong Wei’s mother preferred Yang Ming.
“Do you know each other?” asked Tong Wei’s father.
“Yes, we are old schoolmates. w.a.n.g Yao, me and Tong Wei used to be in the same cla.s.s. w.a.n.g Yao was one of the best students!” said Yang Ming.
“Really? What a coincidence. w.a.n.g Yao brought us some herbal decoction,” said Tong Wei’s father.
“Herbal decoction?” said Yang Ming in surprise.
“Yes, he brewed it himself,” said Tong Wei’s mother.
“You brewed it yourself? Yao, I thought you studied biology in the university, since when you can brew herbal decoctions?” asked Yang Ming curiously.
“I learned it last year,” said w.a.n.g Yao calmly.
“Last year?” Tong Wei’s parents frowned. They thought w.a.n.g Yao had a medical qualification, so they asked w.a.n.g Yao to prescribe an herbal formula for them. They didn’t know his background was biology, not medicine. He only started to learn medicine last year and only had one and a half years’ experience at most.
What can he learn during such a short period of time? How ridiculous that he’s already started to see patients and prescribe herbal formulas! thought Tong Wei’s parents.
“Last year? Really?” asked Yang Ming with a smile. He was apparently taking pleasure in w.a.n.g Yao’s misfortune.
Yang Ming had been chasing after Tong Wei for a long time. He visited Tong Wei at Dao City on a number of occasions, but Tong Wei didn’t seem to be interested in him. Yang Ming didn’t give up. He always came back after defeat and changed his strategy. He started to approach Tong Wei’s parents. He visited them regularly and always brought presents, such as health products and wooden sculptures. Yang Ming was very articulate, and he knew how to make Tong Wei’s parents happy.
Today, he met w.a.n.g Yao at Tong Wei’s home. He knew immediately that w.a.n.g Yao was also interested in Tong Wei. So, w.a.n.g Yao was his rival in love. He had been thinking of how to embarra.s.s w.a.n.g Yao since he walked through the door. He wanted w.a.n.g Yao to take the hint that Tong Wei’s parents would not accept him. Now, he found a way to attack w.a.n.g Yao.
Biology was remotely related to medicine. He only studied medicine for just over a year before prescribing herbal formulas for people. What is he doing? Experimenting on Tong Wei’s mother? thought Yang Ming. He didn’t speak out his thoughts, as he knew going beyond the limit was as bad as falling short.
“There won’t be any problems with my prescription,” said w.a.n.g Yao calmly and confidently.
“There won’t be any problems?” doubted Tong Wei’s mother.
“If you have concerns about my prescription, you can just use a small amount at the beginning,” suggested w.a.n.g Yao.
“Okay,” said Tong Wei’s mother.
The living room of Tong Wei’s apartment was big, and the airflow was good, but the atmosphere was a bit heavy.
“Uncle, Auntie, I’ve got to go now,” said w.a.n.g Yao. He felt there was no need for him to continue to stay, as Tong Wei’s parents didn’t seem to like him.
“Why not stay for lunch?” asked Tong Wei’s mother. w.a.n.g Yao didn’t think she genuinely wanted him to stay, so he declined and left.
Yang Ming was still at Tong Wei’s place and tried to impress her parents.
He was not sure why, but w.a.n.g Yao suddenly felt his visit to Tong Wei’s place was meaningless.
w.a.n.g Yao went back home briefly before he returned to Nanshan hill. He tried to calm himself down by reading scriptures for a while. Then, he sat in the chair and looked outside through the window until it was got dark. He then realized that it was time to go home for dinner.
w.a.n.g Yao received a call from Tian Yuantu at night. Tian Yuantu sounded urgent on the phone. He asked w.a.n.g Yao if he was available the next day because Secretary Yang’s mother was ill again. She suddenly felt extremely cold, and Secretary Yang was very worried. Tian Yuantu would like w.a.n.g Yao to see Secretary Yang’s mother as soon as possible.
“How about tomorrow?” asked w.a.n.g Yao.
“Okay, I’ll pick you up,” said Tian Yuantu.
w.a.n.g Yao returned to Nanshan hill after dinner and started to brew another dose of decoction for Secretary Yang’s mother.
Secretary Yang’s mother was seriously ill. The cold evil went deep inside her internal organs and damaged her health. Although Regather soup improved her health, it only cured her symptoms and not the disease. Once the effects of Regather soup had disappeared, the cold evil came back to attack her again.
Dealing with people in high social status was not easy. w.a.n.g Yao knew this well.
…
Tian Yuantu came early the next morning right after w.a.n.g Yao had finished breathing exercises.
The two of them left the village and drove to a quiet house in Haiqu. The house was not Secretary Yang’s private house, but rather, it was more like a clubhouse. w.a.n.g Yao met Secretary Yang and his mother again inside the house. His mother was a thin and kind lady.
It was spring, and the heating supply in northern China had already stopped, but it was still quite warm indoors. The room had its own heater, which was turned on when w.a.n.g Yao was inside. Even with the heater on, Secretary Yang’s mother was wearing a lot of clothes and a heavy coat. She was obviously extremely sensitive to the cold.
There was only Secretary Yang and his mother in the room apart from w.a.n.g Yao and Tian Yuantu. Secretary Yang didn’t bring any staff members with him.
“Hi, Auntie,” greeted Tian Yuantu.
“Hi, Yuantu,” said Secretary Yang’s mother.
“This is the doctor who prescribed the herbal formula for you,” said Tian Yuantu.
“h.e.l.lo, my name is w.a.n.g Yao,” said w.a.n.g Yao.
“h.e.l.lo! I wanted to thank you in person a long time ago. Please sit down. Haichuan, make a cup of tea for Dr. w.a.n.g and Yuantu,” said Secretary Yang’s mother.
“I’ll do it myself,” said Tian Yuantu. He and w.a.n.g Yao both stood up and made themselves a cup of tea.
What kind of person could let a Party Secretary make a cup of tea for them?
After chatting with Secretary Yang’s mother for a while, w.a.n.g Yao found this old lady was short of breath and very weak. She was in poor health and didn’t have much vitality.
“Can I check your pulse?” asked w.a.n.g Yao.
“Sure,” said Secretary Yang’s mother.
w.a.n.g Yao was shocked after he checked Secretary Yang’s mother’s pulse. Her pulse was very light and floaty. A floating pulse indicated poor health, and an extremely floaty pulse indicated a serious illness, which could be beyond a cure.
The pulse was like swimming fish.
w.a.n.g Yao could feel that the pulse was shallow and unstable. This indicated an extreme amount of Yin, an extreme imbalance of Yin and Yang, and a lack of Yang. Therefore, Secretary Yang’s mother was very sensitive to the cold.
w.a.n.g Yao started to think of treatment methods after he had given the diagnosis. This old lady’s condition was the exact opposite of Mr. Sun’s, who w.a.n.g Yao saw in Dao City a few days ago. Mr. Sun was lacking in Yin, while this old lady was lacking in Yang. So, the treatment process should be the opposite as well.
“What do you think, Dr. w.a.n.g?” asked Secretary Yang after w.a.n.g Yao had kept silent for a while.
“Your mother’s condition is very urgent. She should be treated immediately,” said w.a.n.g Yao.
“Will you be able to cure her?” asked Secretary Yang. He knew his mother’s illness couldn’t be delayed. He had taken his mother to a number of specialists for treatment, but she hadn’t got any better. Only the herbal decoctions given by w.a.n.g Yao made her feel better.
“I need to think of it,” said w.a.n.g Yao.
Secretary Yang’s mother’s illness was serious and weird. Although w.a.n.g Yao had some knowledge of weird illnesses after seeing Mr. Sun and had a basic treatment plan, extreme amounts of Yin and Yang were only similar in terms of pathology. w.a.n.g Yao had to make a completely different treatment plan for Secretary Yang’s mother.
“I have a dose of decoction to give your mother some temporary relief.” w.a.n.g Yao took out a dose of Regather soup. “I still need to think of detailed treatment plan.”
“Okay.” Secretary Yang accepted the decoction.
After w.a.n.g Yao had diagnosed Secretary Yang’s mother, they started to chat. Secretary Yang’s mother was a nice old lady who made w.a.n.g Yao feel at ease. w.a.n.g Yao even thought she was not much different from the elders in his village.
Secretary Yang asked w.a.n.g Yao and Tian Yuantu to stay for lunch, but w.a.n.g Yao still didn’t feel very comfortable dining with Secretary Yang. They stayed for lunch anyways, and he and Tian Yuantu left afterwards. Tian Yuantu asked about Secretary Yang’s mother’s illness again on their way back to the village.
“Is she really very ill?” asked Tian Yuantu.
“Yes, more serious than I have expected, almost beyond curing,” said w.a.n.g Yao.
Tian Yuantu looked depressed. He was concerned about Secretary Yang’s mother, not only because of Secretary Yang’s social status but also because of their friends.h.i.+p. Secretary Yang’s mother had always been very nice to him. He even considered her a family member.
“Can you cure her?” asked Tian Yuantu.
“I don’t know for now. I can’t guarantee anything. I have to try,” said w.a.n.g Yao. After all, he had never come across such an illness, so he had no experience with it.
As a Traditional Chinese Pharmacist, experience was as important as knowledge. But, one could not gain experience in a short period of time.
“In fact, her condition was similar to Mr. Sun’s. The only difference is that she is lacking in Yang, while Mr. Sun is lacking in Yin. Her condition is even slightly better than Mr. Sun,” said w.a.n.g Yao.
“I’ll leave it to you then,” said Tian Yuantu.
“Sure, I’ll do my best,” said w.a.n.g Yao with a smile.