Chapter 526: Almost There
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The decoction would be extremely effective. It would also be extremely expensive.
The second decoction was from a new formula, which w.a.n.g Yao had never used before. Therefore, it took him a long time to brew it. He had to be very careful when brewing the second decoction. Fortunately, he was an experienced pract.i.tioner.
w.a.n.g Yao paid attention to the smell of the decoction and the change of its color. Without the a.s.sistance of a multifunctional pot for herbs, he had to be more careful when brewing the decoction. Any discrepancy in timing and location would make a big difference in the effect of the decoction.
When he finished brewing the decoction, it was 2 a.m. w.a.n.g Yao went to bed after he finished working.
The next morning, someone had prepared breakfast for him. It was a pretty girl with fine eyebrows and big eyes. She was quite slim and looked like she was from Southeast China.
“Good morning, Dr. w.a.n.g,” the girl said.
“Good morning. You are?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“My name is Gu Yuanyuan. Mr. Wu asked me to take care of your daily life.” Her voice was soft and sweet, like rice wine.
“Oh, h.e.l.lo,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
He smiled and thought Wu Tongxing must have learned this from Song Ruiping.
“I’ve prepared a toothbrush and breakfast for you,” Gu Yuanyuan said.
“OK, thanks,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
Breakfast was delicious. Gu Yuanyuan made Shandong Cuisine, including meat and vegetables.
“I hope you enjoy the breakfast,” she said.
“It’s delicious food. Thank you. Why don’t you join me for breakfast?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“No, thank you. Let me know if you need me,” Gu Yuanyuan replied.
w.a.n.g Yao was about to go to Wu Tongxing’s house after breakfast. He told Gu Yuanyuan that he was about to leave. A car came to pick him up three minutes later.
It didn’t take long for w.a.n.g Yao to arrive at Wu Tongxing’s house. All his family members were in the house.
“Did your father have a good sleep last night?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“Yes, Dad had a good sleep,” Wu Tongxing said.
w.a.n.g Yao checked the old man’s pulse, which was slightly worse than when he left yesterday. That was normal. The old man’s condition was like a car running downhill. What w.a.n.g Yao did yesterday only stopped the car from going further temporarily. It was like he put a stone in front of the car, so it wouldn’t last for long.
“Help him sit up,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“Sure,” Wu Tongxing said.
He helped his father sit up. w.a.n.g Yao took out the two decoctions he had brewed earlier.
“This one is called Regather soup. It’s the same as the one I gave you last time. The way of taking it is also the same. Give it to him.” w.a.n.g Yao gave the bottle of decoction to the person standing next to him.
“OK,” the person said.
The old man drank up a small bowl of Regather soup.
w.a.n.g Yao didn’t have the old man take the other decoction. He sat next to the bed and checked the old man’s pulse every 30 minutes. The Regather soup quickly took effect. The old man looked better. His pulse was also better.
“Dr. w.a.n.g?” one of the old man’s children asked.
Shus.h.!.+ Wu Tongxing put his finger onto his mouth.
“Good, I’ll give him the second decoction to take.” w.a.n.g Yao took out another bottle. He didn’t give the bottle to Wu Tongxing this time. He poured some into a small bowl. “Take this please.”
The old man took the second decoction.
w.a.n.g Yao continued to check the old man’s pulse every 30 minutes. The effect of the second decoction was not as obvious as the first one.
The old man had a nice and warm feeling in his belly after taking the Regather soup. The warm feeling went all the way through his limbs. He felt very comfortable. The warm feeling continued after he had taken the second decoction. He felt particularly comfortable in his chest. A moment later, he had a bit of chest pain. His body started to shake.
“Chest pain?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“Yes,” the old man said.
“Try to bear with the pain for a while,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
w.a.n.g Yao knew the chest pain was caused by licorice roots. Among all the herbs he had put into the decoction, pear gra.s.s had the strongest effect. The nature of pear gra.s.s was not as gentle as the other herbs. Although Guiyuan had offset some strong effect from pear gra.s.s, it was still too strong for the old man. Pear gra.s.s was able to cure ulcers. It worked together with Cizhan to treat cancer. The two licorice roots caused the old man’s chest pain.
“Sir,” one of the family members said.
The old man tried his best to tolerate the pain. His body was shaking badly. Sweat was streaming down his forehead.
“Is he alright?” the family doctor anxiously asked. As the old man’s family doctor, he would be responsible for any problems related to the old man’s health. “Is it OK for him to take the decoction?”
Wu Tongxing’s face changed. He looked at w.a.n.g Yao anxiously.
The family doctor seemed to question w.a.n.g Yao’s expertise. Although he was also worried, he wouldn’t say something like that. It was too abrupt.
“The decoction has no problem,” w.a.n.g Yao said as he looked up at the family doctor, a man in his 40s. “Calm down.”
“Are you OK?” w.a.n.g Yao asked the old man.
“Yes,” the old man said with a smile. “When I was fighting at the border years ago, they took the bullet out of me without anesthesia. This pain is nothing.”
At this moment, he was not an ordinary old man anymore. He was a tough and fearless person who had experienced war.
w.a.n.g Yao was impressed by the old man. Today’s peace and prosperity was possible because of people like this old man.
“Now I feel better,” the old man said after a while.
The pain had come too suddenly, like mighty waves beating the sh.o.r.e. It gave the old man a shock. Fortunately, the pain didn’t last for long. It went away like a mighty river flowing eastward.
“Please lay down and take your clothes off,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“What?” one of the family members asked.
“Just follow Dr. w.a.n.g’s instruction,” the old man said.
“Dad?” the family member asked in doubt.
“I’m fine. I have nothing to hide,” the old man said.
The old man took off his clothes and showed his skinny body. His chest and back were full of scars. Some were caused by guns. Some were caused by blades. They were like medals honoring his glorious time.
“Tell me if you feel uncomfortable,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
w.a.n.g Yao started to ma.s.sage the old man. He focused on the main meridians at the old man’s chest and abdominal area. He pushed, rubbed, and pressed those meridians.
Huh! The old man only felt very comfortable.
At the same time, the two decoctions he took earlier started to take effect inside his body. They had started to fix the damaged organs and clear malignant tissues. The powerless feeling and tiredness, like being drowned in water, started to fade away.
The ma.s.sage therapy lasted for over one hour.
“How do you feel?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“I feel very comfortable,” the old man said. “I haven’t had such a feeling for at least six months. No, over a year!”
This really surprised and comforted his family members. The family doctor felt embarra.s.sed. “Do you mean I haven’t been doing my job properly?”
“Dr. Wu, you are thinking too much. I didn’t mean that,” the old man said.
“I see,” Dr. Wu said with a smile.
“Let’s call it a day. Lay down and have a good rest. I’ll come back in the afternoon,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“OK, thank you very much,” the old man said.
Wu Tongxing walked w.a.n.g Yao out of the room. “Dr. w.a.n.g, what do you think of my father’s condition?”
“I’ll try my best,” w.a.n.g Yao said. Since he had started to treat the old man, he would try his best. That was his principle.
“Thank you. It’s almost noon, please stay for lunch,” Wu Tongxing said.
“No, thank you. I’ve got some errands to run,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“OK, another day,” Wu Tongxing said.
“That’s fine. By the way, I need to talk about the treatment,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“Please, go ahead,” Wu Tongxing said.
“The second decoction is extremely precious and expensive,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“That’s not a problem,” Wu Tongxing said. He didn’t ask about the price. “I don’t care about the money as long as it will benefit my father.”
w.a.n.g Yao thought, Good!
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll go by myself,” w.a.n.g Yao said to the driver, who Wu Tongxing allocated to him.
“Dr. w.a.n.g, Chief Wu asked me to take anywhere you want to go,” the driver said.
“I want to take a walk,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“Well…” The driver felt a bit unsure.
“What? Chief Wu will blame you?” w.a.n.g Yao asked.
“Yes,” the driver said.
“Fine, let’s go back to the cottage first,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
After they had returned to the cottage, he put the local food he brought from home into the car.
“Drive me to the nearest shopping center,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
The driver drove w.a.n.g Yao to the nearest shop so he could buy some presents for his aunt. The driver insisted on paying the bill.
“What are you doing?” w.a.n.g Yao asked in shock.
“Chief Wu said he would pay for all your bills in Beijing,” the driver said.
“You don’t need to pay for these. They are for my aunt,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“Well, you see, I’ve paid,” the driver said.
“Fine,” w.a.n.g Yao said with a smile.
Wu Tongxing was very thoughtful.
The driver took w.a.n.g Yao to his aunt’s apartment. w.a.n.g Yao had called his aunt before he went, so she had taken the day off.
“Hi, Yao, how come you are here this time of the year?” his aunt asked.