Chapter 194: Plain and Simple, Drop by Drop
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Reading the book of cla.s.sic scripture helped wash away the hubbub of the Beijing trip.
As w.a.n.g Yao settled himself down, he once again thought about Su Xiaoxue’s condition which he had put aside. Time pa.s.sed quickly, and the sun was soon setting, going down over the mountains.
When he returned home from the mountains, he found that his second aunt’s family had also come to visit. His sister had also returned.
His second aunt’s schedule was packed completely on this trip back home. They planned to visit every relative who was available, especially their sick grandmother.
After dinner, they were still planning to go over to w.a.n.g Yao’s maternal grandmother’s place. They were going to sleep there for the night. w.a.n.g Yao’s mother decided that she would follow along.
After dinner, w.a.n.g Yao received a call from Tong Wei. They arranged to meet the next day.
“Who was that? Was it Tong Wei?” His mom asked. Her hearing was very sharp.
“Yeap, she has returned. I’m going to meet her tomorrow,” w.a.n.g Yao replied.
“Okay, then go quickly.”
Originally, w.a.n.g Yao was planning to go to the island to pick her up. However, because of the trip to Beijing, he was delayed and could not make it. Still, he made it a point to tell Tong Wei about it before going.
“Tong Wei? Yao’s girlfriend?” His second aunt asked.
“Yes, I have a photo, you know,” his mother said. The two ladies then looked at Tong Wei’s photo.
“Wow, she’s pretty!” Zhang Xiufang praised.
“I’ve met her. She’s not only pretty but also very polite.”
Hearing this, w.a.n.g Yao rubbed his forehead. It seemed to him that the most important decision of his life was going to be simply decided by his mother at this moment.
It was almost 8 pm when the family finished eating dinner. w.a.n.g Yao’s aunt drove over to his grandmother’s place, and w.a.n.g Yao too drove his own car over. They sat there talking for a little while before w.a.n.g Yao returned to Nanshan Hill. After parking the car, he climbed the hill.
“The night sky here is still the best after all!”
w.a.n.g Yao sat outside his cottage gazing at the sky. Although nights in Beijing were bustling and exciting, the starry sky was hazy, and the air was not as clean. It definitely could not compare to here, where just gazing at the stars made one’s emotions calm down very well.
He lulled outside for a long while before turning in for the night.
The next day, as the sky just started to brighten, he woke up and went to the outcrop on the hill.
His movements were twisting and turning, guided along by his heart and his instincts. Along with the movements came the sound of air exploding.
Far in the distant horizon, the sun creeped out over the side, s.h.i.+ning its rays across the skies and lighting up the earth.
On the outcrop, w.a.n.g Yao’s body seemed to be lit up in a golden glow.
After a round of martial arts practice, w.a.n.g Yao went down the hill to tend to his herb fields.
“San Xian, I’m going down the hill. Help me look after this place.”
Woof Woof Woof!
w.a.n.g Yao moved a few pieces of stone, and all of a sudden, around the herbal fields, the trees seemingly grew dense. There didn’t seem to be a route out.
After going down the hill, w.a.n.g Yao returned home for a meal. He then talked to his dad before driving into Lianshan county. He bought some items from the supermarket before heading to Tong Wei’s house. After not seeing each other for many days, Tong Wei was still as beautiful as ever. She had however lost some weight, and she looked somewhat more tired.
This time, her parent’s att.i.tudes towards w.a.n.g Yao was remarkably better. They were smiling as they poured him water and served him fruits. Tong Wei’s mother’s complexion was also much better compared to the last time he came. Clearly, this was the effects of the medicinal soup that w.a.n.g Yao had made previously.
“It seems that work has been tiring for you?” w.a.n.g Yao asked, concerned.
“Yeah, recently the company has been pretty busy,” Tong Wei replied, smiling. Her voice sounded somewhat hoa.r.s.e.
“Work is important, but health is even more important! Don’t overwork yourself.”
“I won’t. It’s just for this period, after that it’ll be fine.”
After spending some time at Tong Wei’s house, they decided to go out to walk around.
Lianshan County was a very small county, and in all honesty, there was no place particularly worth going to. If they were in Beijing, there would be many more places for them to go to. Just gardens and parks alone, there were already a variety to choose from. There were even more choices of places for going on a date.
“Where are we headed?”
“Uhm, I haven’t thought about it.”
“Take your time deciding,” w.a.n.g Yao said as he slowly cruised his car along the road.
Lianshan County’s more famous landmark was Jiulian hill. However, it was labor day today, and the people going there were bound to be plentiful. It would definitely be crowded, and w.a.n.g Yao didn’t particularly like crowded places.
“How about watching a movie?”
“Sure!” w.a.n.g Yao replied after hearing that.
A foreign romance movie was being shown at the cinema that day. Most of the people visiting the cinema were young couples, and the two of them quickly found a corner to sit down in to watch the movie and talk.
“Are you done with the business in Beijing?”
“Not yet, I’ve got to return to Beijing in a while,” w.a.n.g Yao replied softly.
“In a few days, I’ve got to go out for a while too.”
“Out? Out of the country? Where to?”
“France.”
“France? Why?”
“My company’s headquarters is based in France. They will periodically send employees over there for training. This time, I’ve also been included in the training list.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“About a month.”
“Do you want to go?”
“I would like to take a look,” Tong Wei replied, turning to look at w.a.n.g Yao.
“Then go and take a look.”
The two of them spoke softly while watching the movie, just like another couple near them. Time pa.s.sed like this.
At noon, they selected a restaurant near the cinema for lunch.
“Where are we going in the afternoon?”
“How about just walking around?”
w.a.n.g Yao drove along the recently built riverside road. After driving for a bit, he turned and headed for a more distant place.
There was really nothing to see along this road.
“Hey, there’s a strawberry garden over there. Should we take a look?” Tong Wei suddenly pointed, spotting a sign by the side of the road.
“Sure.”
w.a.n.g Yao turned into the shop. Its driveway was relatively big.
In the strawberry garden, there were quite a few people. These days, whenever it came to the holidays, there would surely be a crowd at any fun locations you could think of. Even a small famous bend along the road would likely be crowded by people. This was a result of raising the standard of living. People would start to spend more readily, and they would also begin to travel around more regularly.
Think about it, was there anything delicious about these strawberries? What about plucking them? People who came here came just to have some fun and relaxation.
Tong Wei evidently liked it very much. She was happily plucking the strawberries, clearly enjoying herself.
They spent about an hour in the strawberry garden before heading back.
“Wow, we picked quite a bit. Bring some back for your mom and dad to try,” Tong Wei said.
“Okay.”
That night, they had arranged to eat dinner at Tong Wei’s house. Along the way, w.a.n.g Yao received a call. It was w.a.n.g Mingbao, and the person looking for him was Wei Hai. It turns out that Mr. Wei was being paranoid again and wanted w.a.n.g Yao to check on him.
“Okay, I got it. Tell him I’ll be there soon.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Something popped up. I need to see a patient. Should I send you home first?”
“Okay, go ahead,” Tong Wei replied, smiling.
After sending Tong Wei back, w.a.n.g Yao then drove over to Wei Hai’s place.
“My apologies, Doctor w.a.n.g.” After seeing w.a.n.g Yao, Wei Hai was exhilarated. He had been waiting at the shop for quite some time already.
“Master Wei, you seem to be doing fine!” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“Hey, why is it that after not seeing me for a few days you’re now calling me something different? Just call me by my name,” Wei Hai said.
“How could I!”
“Quick, come in. I have some Huangshan Maofeng for you to try.” Upon entering Weihai’s teashop, Weihai began to prepare a pot of tea for w.a.n.g Yao. Watching him, it was evident that he was very familiar with the art of tea preparation, and it was clear that he had a lot of practice.
“Wow, this tea is great!”
“Haha, recently I’ve not had much trouble. I’ve stopped drinking and smoking; now I’ve changed to drinking tea!”
“That’s good to hear! When drunken correctly, tea benefits the body. You should drink less alcohol, and as for smoking, there’s also no need for it.”
Not long later, w.a.n.g Mingbao turned up.
“Hmm, there’s tea again?”
“Come, try some,” Wei Hai said.
…
The tea was temporarily put aside, and w.a.n.g Yao placed his hand on Wei Hai’s arm, three inches above his wrist.
“The disease has not worsened, in fact, it has reduced. Do you still have more medicine?”
“I’ve used it all,” Wei Hai replied. If it wasn’t for that, he would not be so anxious. He was afraid that the illness that he had spent so much time recovering from would take a bad turn if he missed a few doses of the medicine.
“Okay, then, tomorrow I’ll give you a few more doses of the medicine,” w.a.n.g Yao replied.
“Okay, great!” Wei Hai said happily. He was just waiting for w.a.n.g Yao to say this.