Chapter 393: Losing Money on Treatment
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After waking, w.a.n.g Yao practiced Chinese boxing in the courtyard. Afterward, he walked around in the village in search of anything interesting. He hadn’t found anything irregular.
There were two sources of toxins in the human body. One was from metabolism. The other was from outside. External sources were more complicated. Most toxins were from food and drink. Some toxins could come from open wounds and skin contacts.
The villagers had begun working early in the morning. w.a.n.g Yao saw a few villagers carrying water to their houses.
Water? w.a.n.g Yao stopped suddenly. He stopped a middle-aged man.
“Good morning. Can I ask, where do you get the water?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“From the well in the village,” the man said.
“Where is the well?” asked w.a.n.g Yao.
“Oh, just over there, I can take you there,” the middle-aged man replied as he pointed at the front.
Soon, they reached a well in the middle of the village. Some villagers were taking water out of it.
“There is no running water system installed in the village?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“No. Who would do that for us?” the middle-aged villager said. “I think the water from the well is nice.”
w.a.n.g Yao noticed the location of the well and looked up.
“Can I try the water inside?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“Why not? But, the water from the well is quite cold. Don’t drink too much,” the middle-aged villager said.
w.a.n.g Yao took some water out with his palms and drank it.
“Hmmm, not right!” He spat the water out.
“What’s wrong?” asked the surprised middle-aged villager.
“The water is toxic,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“Toxic? What kind of toxin?” the villager asked in shock.
“The children in the village were sick because they drank the water from the well,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“That’s not possible. I’ve been drinking the water for over 30 years. Nothing has ever happened to me,” the villager replied. He couldn’t believe w.a.n.g Yao’s words.
“Over 30 years?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“Yes,” the villager said.
“That’s strange, but there is something wrong with the water in the well. Please don’t drink it anymore.”
With months of practice and the a.s.sistance of the system, w.a.n.g Yao’s five senses had become advanced. He was way more sensitive to things around him than average people. He was certain that the water in the well was toxic after drinking it. Although he couldn’t tell what toxin was inside it, he was sure people would get sick after drinking it.
“Well, I have to go back to cook.” The villager was about to leave with the water.
“Please wait,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“What else?” The villager started to become a bit impatient. He tried to be nice to w.a.n.g Yao by taking him to the well. He didn’t expect w.a.n.g Yao would warn him that the water had toxins in it. He believed w.a.n.g Yao said frightening things just to raise an alarm.
“Is there only one well in this village?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“No. There is another one on the east side.” The villager pointed to the east.
“I’m not making it up. Please listen to me. The water really has problem. You can’t drink it anymore,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“I have to go home now.” The villager shook his hands before carrying the water home. He didn’t say another word to w.a.n.g Yao.
w.a.n.g Yao went to find the other well. There were quite a few villagers coming to take the water from the other well. w.a.n.g Yao obtained some to drink.
Strange! The water in this well was completely fine. What is going on?
There were only two wells in the village, which were only around 300 feet apart. The water in the wells was actually underground water. They should come from the same source. So, why was water from one of the wells toxic while the other one was fine?
w.a.n.g Yao walked around the village. He didn’t find anything unusual. The only thing he was certain about was that the water from the previous well couldn’t be used anymore. The toxin within it would acc.u.mulate in the body and make people sick. The children who had been sick all lived close to the problematic well.
w.a.n.g Yao told this to Headmaster Gong.
“Are you serious?” Headmaster Gong asked.
“Actually, it is easy to prove what I have found. Just take a sample of the water from the well and get it checked in the laboratory in town or Shangjun,” w.a.n.g Yao said. “The only thing is that it will take some time to get the result. Meanwhile, I suggest the villagers shouldn’t drink the water from that well.”
“Okay, leave this to me,” Headmaster Gong said before heading out.
Thirty minutes after Headmaster Gong left, his voice sounded in the broadcast. He asked the villagers not to drink the water from the problematic well.
“So efficient,” w.a.n.g Mingbao said.
“Efficient and reputable,” w.a.n.g Yao replied.
The headmaster must have had an imposing reputation to be able to convince the secretary of the village that the water from that well was toxic. Any other villagers wouldn’t have been able to do that. After all, the well been around for decades without any problems. How come it started to have a problem after w.a.n.g Yao and w.a.n.g Mingbao arrived?
The next step was to take a sample of the water for testing. It required funding and a person with a vehicle who could take the sample to town. The villagers rarely came out of their village. They seldom went to the town, let alone Shangjun. They had no idea where the laboratory was, how to get the water tested, or what needed to be looked at.
Eventually, w.a.n.g Yao who took the sample to the town. He decided to drive to Shangjun. It took him over two hours to arrive at the Inspection and Quarantine Center.
“What would you like us to test?” the staff member asked.
“I would like the water to be fully a.n.a.lyzed to see if there is any toxic chemicals or microorganisms inside.” w.a.n.g Yao paid several hundreds of yuan to the staff and was told that it would take five days to get the results.
“Five days?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“Yes, it takes some time for the microorganisms to grow,” the staff member replied.
“Is it possible to do it faster? It’s kinda urgent,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“It could, but there will be extra fee,” the staff member replied.
“That’s fine,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
He paid another several hundred yuan to speed things up. He took the contact details of the center before leaving in case he had further queries.
Five days was too long, plus there was the time spent on the road. w.a.n.g Yao had to stay in Shangjun about 10 days, which exceeded his plan. He wanted to go back to the village as soon as possible.
After w.a.n.g Yao and w.a.n.g Mingbao left the village, the villagers started to talk about them. The village was small. Any distinguished guests attracted the attention of the whole village.
w.a.n.g Yao’s vehicle was quite outstanding in the village, especially since nice vehicles rarely came into it. In addition, what w.a.n.g Yao had done had a big impact on the village. He examined the kids for free and gave herbal decoctions to the sick kids. Then, he asked Headmaster Gong to block the well and took a sample of the water to Shangjun for testing. The villagers had never experienced these things.
“You know, I’ve seen that young man. He’s quite good looking. I’m not sure if he is really a doctor,” an old villager said.
“I heard he checked the kids’ pulses and gave them herbal decoctions. He seems to be a Traditional Chinese Medical Pract.i.tioner,” a middle-aged villager said.
“My son said he took the herbal decoction from w.a.n.g Yao at school. He had a diarrhea right after he took the decoction. Then, he had two episodes of diarrhea after he came home,” a female villager said.
“My daughter was the same. Do you think he is really a doctor?” another female villager asked.
“Do you think he came here with an agenda?” a middle-aged villager wondered.
“What agenda? He didn’t even charge one cent!” an old villager said.
Most of the villagers had doubts about w.a.n.g Yao.
By the time w.a.n.g Yao and w.a.n.g Mingbao had come back to the village, it was afternoon.
“Where should we go?” They felt a bit awkward. Whose house should they stay this time?
“How about going to the school?” w.a.n.g Mingbao suggested.
They heard the alarm on their way to the school. When they went closer, they could heard the students reading a textbook aloud.
w.a.n.g Yao liked the students’ reading. He hadn’t heard children reading for a long time.
w.a.n.g Mingbao was thinking about Han Jia, so he went straight to the cla.s.sroom where she was. w.a.n.g Yao walked around the school. When he stood at the sports ground, he could see the rugged and b.u.mpy road leading from the village.
“h.e.l.lo, Dr. w.a.n.g, you are back,” Headmaster Gong said with a smile when he saw w.a.n.g Yao from the second floor.
“h.e.l.lo, yes, we just got back,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“Have you gotten a result?” the headmaster asked.
“Not yet. It will take a few days to get any results,” w.a.n.g Yao replied.
“Oh, I see. Would you like to come to my office?” the headmaster asked.
“Okay. By the way, how are the kids?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“The parents told me their kids felt better today, but some of them still have diarrhea,” the headmaster replied.
“I see. That means the decoction worked. They’ll be better after two days,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
He stayed in the headmaster’s office until he heard the bell ringing.
“I need to give a lecture. Help yourself here,” the headmaster said.
w.a.n.g Yao was a bit surprised to know that the aged headmaster gave lectures to the students.
The students all liked to play in the front yard during breaks. After all, the students were just kids. It was their nature to love playing. The students were running round and having a good time.
w.a.n.g Yao went downstairs to observe the kids who had taken his decoction.
“h.e.l.lo, Dr. w.a.n.g.” Gong Ziqiang ran toward w.a.n.g Yao and looked up with a smile.
“h.e.l.lo, Ziqiang,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“Dr, w.a.n.g, how come you didn’t come to my home for lunch?” Gong Ziqiang asked.
“Oh, I’ve got something to do today, so I didn’t have time to go to your house. By the way, how are you feeling? Any better?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“I feel much better. The pain has reduced. My appet.i.te has improved as well. Thank you,” Gong Ziqiang said.
“That’s good,” w.a.n.g Yao replied.
“Ziqiang.” A student was calling out Gong Ziqiang’s name.
“I have to go,” Gong Ziqiang said.
All the sick kids seem to be better than yesterday, thought w.a.n.g Yao as he walked around among the kids.
“What is your friend doing down there?” Han Jia asked as she was standing with w.a.n.g Mingbao at the second floor.
“He’s just observing those kids, especially those who had taken the decoction. He wants to know if they have gotten better,” w.a.n.g Mingbao replied.
“You guys went to Shangjun today?” Han Jia asked.
“Yes, we took the sample of water from that well for testing. w.a.n.g Yao said the water is toxic,” w.a.n.g Mingbao said.
“Really?” Han Jia asked.
“Yes, because he said it’s toxic,” w.a.n.g Mingbao said.
“You really trust him,” Han Jia replied with a smile.
“He wouldn’t have joked about such things, and he’s a fantastic doctor,” w.a.n.g Mingbao said.
“Are those kids going to be fine?” Han Jia had been in the village for three years and had developed a strong attachment to the kids.