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n“Dad, I’m sorry,” He Xiaofeng said in tears.

nAfter knowing she had been taking drugs, her father was furious. But, he didn’t touch her. This made He Xiaofeng feel guilty. She wanted to slap herself.

n“Well, get up. The floor is very cold,” her father said with a big sigh.

nHe Xiaofeng stood up and sat on the sofa.

nBoth her and Sun Honglin’s family were thinking about how to help their children.

nSun Dacheng had found a scapegoat to take responsibility of the traffic accident his son was involved in. He knew people who could help him deal with such kinds of things. However, getting his son clean would be a big problem for him.

n“Maybe we should send him to a drug rehabilitation center,” Sun Dacheng said.

n“Are you serious? How can Honglin survive in those horrible places?” Sun Honglin’s mother said. She didn’t want her son to suffer in a rehabilitation center.

n“Do you have a better idea?” Sun Dacheng asked grumpily.

n“Hey, watch your tone!” His wife would not be bullied.

n“Well, Mom, we’ve gone to see a doctor before. He said he could help us get clean,” Sun Honglin said in a low voice.

n“He can help you guys get clean? What happened then? Have you guys received any treatment?” his mother asked.

n“No, he wouldn’t treat us,” Sun Honglin said.

n“Why not? You didn’t pay him enough?” his mother asked.

n“No. He insisted that we had to bring our parents to his clinic,” Sun Honglin said.

n“What?” His parents were surprised to hear this. They didn’t expect such a weird demand from a doctor, who they thought should take the chance to make money.

n“Have you and Xiaofeng been to Baozhan’s home?” his mother asked.

n“Yes, but his mother said he had gone to his grandma’s place,” Sun Honglin said.

n“Bull**! He must be at home. They just don’t want their son to hang out with you and Xiaofeng,” Sun Dacheng said. “Let’s go to Lianshan to see that doctor this afternoon.”

n“Well, I think we should call first. That doctor doesn’t have a good temper,” Sun Honglin said.

nThe next morning, as if they had made arrangements, Sun Honglin and He Xiaofeng came to Wang Yao’s clinic at the same time with their parents. They all arrived early enough, but some of Wang Yao’s patients had arrived even earlier. Since it was weekend, a lot of people had time to visit Wang Yao.

nHe had gained a good reputation in and out of Lianshan. A lot of people knew there was a fantastic young doctor in a small village in Lianshan. More and more people came to his clinic.

nThe waiting room was full of people. Wang Yao saw them one by one. Whoever came earlier got to see Wang Yao first.

nMost of the patients had minor complaints such as headache and leg pain. It was not challenging for Wang Yao to treat them. He saw each patient, prescribed formulas or provided treatment on the spot. Two of the patients got better immediately.

n“Well done, young man!” A man in his 60s gave Wang Yao a thumb up.

n“I’m flattered, Sir. Make sure you keep warm in such a cold weather. Don’t over exercise,” Wang Yao said. This patient seemed to be keen in exercise. His leg pain was related to the weather and overexertion..

n“Hello, Ma’am,” Wang Yao said to the next patient.

n“Hello, Dr. Wang. I’ve been feeling numb on this side of my head. The muscle here is pulling my eye,” said a woman in her 50s.

n“I see. Let me take a look,” Wang Yao said.

nAfter checking the woman over he said, “Your blood pressure is pretty high.”

n“You are right, but I’ve been taking medications,” the woman replied.

n“The numbness in your head and pain around your eyes are closely related to high blood pressure. You need to get your blood pressure under control,” Wang Yao said.

n“It seems the medication I take doesn’t work,” the woman said.

n“It’s not easy to control your blood pressure. You also need to be careful with your diet,” Wang Yao said. “Look, I’ll prescribe a formula for you. See if that works.”

nWang Yao had treated a patient with high blood pressure when he worked at Renhe clinic. He had prescribed a formula, which had been effective for that patient. The formula contained uncaria, kudzu, skullcap root, prunella, and licorice.

nWang Yao packed these herbs and reminded the woman of the precautions she should take in relation to her lifestyle, especially her diet. He reinforced that hypertension is a minor condition but could cause other serious illnesses.

nAfter Wang Yao had seen those two patients, it was Sun Honglin’s and He Xiaofeng’s turn.

n“Here you are,” Wang Yao said with a smile as he looked at the two youngsters.

n“Good morning, Dr. Wang,” He Xiaofeng said politely. She was actually a nice and polite girl.

n“Hello,” Sun Honglin said, who was much less polite.

n“Take a seat. Let’s talk about your condition,” Wang Yao said.

n“Dr. Wang, can you help the two kids get clean?” Sun Honglin’s mother asked gently.

n“Yes, but I need your support,” Wang Yao replied.

nHe repeated what he said to Du Baozhan’s parents.

n“Well, do you need to think about it?” Wang Yao asked.

n“No problem. We will cooperate with you,” Sun Honglin’s father said.

n“Good, wait here. I’ll brew a decoction for you two,” Wang Yao said.

nTwo families, six people, were waiting in the clinical room. Wang Yao went to a different room to brew the decoction.

n“Is this doctor reliable?” Sun Honglin’s mother asked.

n“Did you notice the two patients before us? They seemed to be very happy with the doctor,” Sun Honglin’s father said.

n“He is a very good doctor. He cured Xiaofeng’s grandma,” He Xiaofeng’s father said.

nThey waited in the room for over an hour.

n“How come it’s taking so long?” Sun Honglin’s father complained.

nA moment later, Wang Yao came back with two porcelain bottles filled with decoction.

n“This is the herbal decoction for you two,” Wang Yao said.

nHe then told them how to take the decoction.

n“You must not give them any drugs when they have a withdrawal. Do whatever you can to control them,” Wang Yao said to the parents.

nThe four parents all promised. They were also surprised to hear the price of the decoction.

n“That much?” Sun Honglin’s father asked.

n“So?” Wang Yao replied.

n“That’s fine,” Sun Honglin’s father said.

nThey paid the fee, although they were a bit reluctant.

n“How come it costs so much?” Sun Honglin’s mother asked.

n“Exactly. One small bottle of decoction costs $10,000?” He Xiaofeng’s mother said.

nThey started to complain about the fee after they had left the clinic. Although they were all well-off, they couldn’t accept the price of the decoction.

n“Never mind, we know he’s based here. If he was a fraud, we would get him to pay us back,” Sun Honglin’s father said. They were not the kind of people who could be easily bullied.

n…

nDu Baozhan was in his home in Zhu.

n“Son, how do you feel?” his mother asked gently.

n“I feel good,” he replied.

nGiven his experience, it wouldn’t take such a long time to have an absence of withdrawal symptoms. This indicated that the decoction from Wang Yao was effective.

n“How often do you normally have a withdrawal?” Du Baozhan’s father asked. He hadn’t been to work lately since he was worried about his son.

n“It’s hard to say. If it’s not too bad, I try to put up with it,” Du Baozhan said. “I feel much better lately. I’m no longer agitated.”

n“Good. After you finish this bottle, we’ll take you to see Dr. Wang again,” his father said. He and his wife felt slightly relieved.

nDu Baozhan got text messages from his two friends after he had returned to his bedroom.

n“Have you gone to see Dr. Wang?” Sun Honglin asked in his message.

nDu Baozhan knew they had come to his home, but he didn’t know they had a car accident or that the police were involved until he received their text.

n“Let’s focus on the treatment for now,” Du Baozhan replied.

nHe didn’t say much. It was not a bad thing for them to separate for a while.

n…

nWang Yao almost didn’t have a break in the morning. Zhou Wuyi came to the clinic with Zhou Xiong’s company right before noon. They waited patiently.

n“You have so many patients today,” Zhou Wuyi said.

n“Yes, maybe because it’s the weekend,” Wang Yao said with a smile. “Please take a seat. I’ll take a look at you.”

n“I’m in no hurry. You can take a break,” Zhou Wuyi replied.

n“I’m fine. I’m not tired,” Wang Yao said..

nIt was a bit complicated to treat Zhou Wuyi. Wang Yao gave him a decoction to take and then gave him a massage. The massage facilitated the absorption of the decoction. This kind of treatment was to unblock the meridians, expel toxins out of Zhou Wuyi’s body, and improve blood flow.

nAfter each treatment session, Zhou Wuyi would feel much better and more comfortable. The comfortable feeling also longer and longer with each treatment session.

n“You have recovered well,” Wang Yao said.

n“Yes, I can feel it myself. I took your advice to read some scriptures. My thoughts have changed a lot,” Zhou Wuyi said. Initially he had to force himself to read the scriptures. He had started to enjoy reading them. He liked the world described in them.

n“This is a good thing. A calm mind will lead to smooth breathing. A peaceful mind will lead to a healthy body,” Wang Yao said.

nThe principal was simple. Everybody knew it. A lot of people would say they knew the importance of a calm and peaceful mind, but not many of them could achieve it.

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