Since Wang Yao and his friends had made plans, the next step was to implement them.

“We should send the winter clothes to the village first,” suggested Wang Mingbao.

“I agree. It is very cold there at the moment.” Wei Hai just came back from Jia County. He knew what the weather was like over there.

“Shall we leave in three days?” suggested Wang Tian Yuantu.

“Okay,” said the Wang Yao.

Because of the trip, Wang Yao didn’t have much time left to brew the decoction for Lu Xiaomei.

I should brew the decoction tomorrow morning.

Radix sophora flavescens, Smilax glabra Roxb, Podophyllum hexandrum, Bajiaotong, and Lingshanji.

Wang Yao had all the herbs available, so he got them ready in the evening. The common herbs took up the majority of the decoction while the licorice roots were the finishing touch, which significantly lifted the quality of it.

After Wang Yao had gotten all of the herbs ready, he went through the process of brewing the decoction again. He analyzed the nature of each herb to make sure no mistake would be made. At last, he wrote down the formula.

It was cold and windy overnight.

A few leaves dropped from the trees outside.

It was not very sunny the next morning.

Firewood, flames, ancient spring water, and the permeating smell of herbs.

Wang Yao was brewing the decoction in his cottage.

San Xian was looking at the sky in his dog house.

Next to Nanshan Hill, Su Changhe and Lu Xiaomei arrived at Wang Yao’s clinic early. It was just past 9 am.

The door of the clinic was locked. A sign was hanging on the door, indicating that Wang Yao was not in the clinic.

“We are early,” said Su Changhe.

“We can wait here for a while,” said Lu Xiaomei.

They waited for over an hour.

“How come he still hasn’t come? Let me call him,” said Su Changhe.

“Please don’t, maybe he is delayed by something. Just wait a bit longer.” Lu Xiaomei stopped Su Changhe.

Ten minutes later, they saw a person coming from the hills from distance.

“Look! Is it Dr. Wang?” asked Su Xiaomei.

“It is him! What has he been doing on the hill?” said Su Changhe.

Wang Yao came down from Nanshan Hill with the decoction he had just finished brewing. He saw a car parking outside his clinic, and knew it must be Su Changhe’s car.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” said Wang Yao.

“That’s fine,” said Su Changhe.

“Please come in,” said Wang Yao. “This is the decoction I brewed this morning. This is the dose you should take each day. Come back to see me in ten days.”

He gave Lu Xiaomei a big porcelain bottle filled with the decoction.

“Okay, thank you,” said Lu Xiaomei.

“How much should I pay you?” asked Lu Xiaomei.

Wang Yao lifted his finger after thinking for a while.

“One thousand?” asked Lu Xiaomei.

“Ten thousand,” said Wang Yao.

“Ten thousand?!”

Not only Lu Xiaomei, but Su Changhe was also surprised.

It was not expensive considering the decoction contained two licorice roots. Ten thousand yuan was not even half of Lu Xiaomei’s monthly income. Comparing to her health, ten thousand yuan was nothing.

“No problem.” Su Changhe paid the fee following brief surprise.

He hinted at Lu Xiaomei with his eyes to stop her from saying anything.

“You can stop taking the antibiotics. Make sure you have a light diet and adequate rest,” said Wang Yao.

“Okay, thank you, Dr. Wang,” said Lu Xiaomei.

The two of them left the clinic.

“Changhe, what is in that bottle? So expensive! Does it really cost ten thousand?” said Lu Xiaomei after they had gotten into the car.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect the decoction would cost so much,” said Su Changhe with an awkward smile.

He knew that Wang Yao was an extraordinary doctor, but he didn’t expect that Wang Yao’s decoctions were so frighteningly expensive.

“Let me pay you back,” said Lu Xiaomei as she was about to pay Su Changhe the ten thousand yuan.

“Keep the money for now. You can pay me later if the decoction works. If it doesn’t work, just consider this trip a holiday,” said Su Changhe.

“What are you talking about!?” said Lu Xiaomei unhappily. “I trust you.”

She thrust the cash into Su Changhe’s hands.

Hopefully the decoction will work, since it’s so expensive! thought Su Changhe.

Wang Yao had made up his mind on the prices of his herbs.

The price of all the decoctions containing licorice roots would be very high. Of course there would be exceptions. The price of the decoctions containing common herbs only would depend on the cost of herbs. He would adjust the prices accordingly.

Those millionaires could surely afford decoctions that cost over ten thousand yuan, while poor people couldn’t even afford a decoction which cost one hundred yuan. Some people would rather pay thousands of yuan for clothes or for a pair of shoes than for their health.

. . .

Meanwhile, inside a house of Zhu City, a man in his 30’s was sitting in his bedroom. The heater in the room was set to 23 degrees Celsius. People would feel hot even wearing thin clothes in such a warm room. However, the man was shivering, even with cotton-padded clothes on him.

“This is really strange! What is happening to me!?” murmured the man.

He had been to the hospital many times, and had seen many doctors. He had even gone to see that doctor living in the village as per recommendation. He had taken various medications. However, his condition was no better. On the contrary, it had gotten worse.

“No! I am not married yet!” said the man to himself.

He was increasingly scared, since he was alone at home and he didn’t know who could help him if something happened.

I should go to the hospital again.

He arrived at Zhu City People’s Hospital an hour later.

“Young man, how come you are here again?” The doctors in the hospital seemed to know him well.

“Doctor, I still feel cold,” said the man.

“Have you taken the medication I prescribed?” asked the doctor.

“Yes, but it didn’t work,” said the man.

“Oh, I see, I can prescribe another course for you,” said the doctor.

“The same medication?” asked the man.

“Yes, it might work if you take one more course. Don’t give up,” said the doctor.

“Please don’t prescribe the same medication. I’ve taken two courses. Is there anything else can be done?” asked the man.

“Well, maybe you can try a different hospital,” suggested the doctor.

“Okay,” said the man.

He went straight to Wei City People’s Hospital and asked to see a specialist.

“I don’t think your condition is serious,” said the specialist.

After being examined thoroughly, the man got such an answer.

“Look, doctor, why am I so sensitive to the cold?” He was upset about being told that his condition was not serious.

“Listen, the reasons why you are so sensitive to coldness could be various. For example, deficiency of vital energy.” This good-tempered specialist listed over ten different causes of the man’s symptom to showcase his knowledge.

“Since you’ve listed so many causes, which one caused my symptoms?” asked the man.

“Probably deficiency of vital energy,” said the specialist.

“So you spent nearly half an hour to make such a simple conclusion. Are you just showing off your profound knowledge or what?” The man started to get impatient. “How about the treatment?”

“Enhance your vital energy and nurture your blood,” said the specialist.

“Through medication?” asked the man.

“Exactly,” agreed the specialist.

What the….

The man suddenly had a headache, toothache, and a stomachache. He was so angry that he no longer felt that cold.

“There are no other solutions?” asked the man.

“Yes, exercise,” said the specialist.

“Thank you.” The man stood up and walked out of the clinical room.

“Hey, I haven’t given you a prescription!” The specialist shouted.

“No more prescriptions!” said the man.

“Aye, people nowadays are unbelievable!” said the specialist with a sigh.

It started to get dark as the man walked out of the hospital. He decided to call one of his friends when he got home.

“Is the doctor you mentioned the other day reliable?” asked the man.

“Of course. He cured my dad’s headache. My dad only took one bottle of the herbal decoction,” said his friend.

“Can he only treat a headache?” asked the man.

“Of course not. He also cured a lady’s foot chilliness here. He’s a fantastic doctor. I won’t lie to you!” His friend promised him at the other side of the phone.

“Well, why does such a capable doctor stay in an isolated village?” asked the man.

“How am I supposed to know? By the way, are you any better?” asked his friend.

“Not really. I don’t want to talk about it,” said the man.

After he had hung up the phone, he cooked himself a simple dinner. Then he watched TV as he snuggled up in bed.

Maybe I should go to see that doctor in the village.

It was very cold the next morning.

The temperature dropped three degrees overnight.

Wang Yao didn’t leave Nanshan Hill in a hurry, because he found the detox grass he planted a while ago had started to bloom. It bloomed in winter with small and white flowers, which had a mild aroma.

Blooming, seedling, sprouting, growing. Keep going like this and I’ll have more detox grasses. This is good!

Wang Yao was very happy. He gave the plants more water this morning.

Aye, how come the doctor is still not here? The clinic doesn’t open at the same time every day? This is so unprofessional! Maybe the doctor is away?

The man in the car left the engine on to keep warm. He drove all the way from Zhu City early in the morning, although he didn’t have much faith in Wang Yao.