Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Wu Tongxing thought, Nine different herbs?

“How many pills did he give you?” Dr. Chen asked.

“Three,” Wu Tongxing replied.

“That’s a lot,” Dr. Chen said with surprise.

He looked at the pills in Wu Tongxing’s hand. He really wanted to ask for one to do some research on it. However, he gave up the thought.

The pill was too precious. He tried to run some tests on the two decoctions prescribed by Wang Yao last time but was not successful. He didn’t think it would make any difference this time. He just didn’t know if he could actually find out what herbs Wang Yao used to make the pills this time.

Wang Yao used common herbs to make Nine Herbs pills. Although he put valuable herbs like ginseng and ganoderma into the pills, he didn’t use any licorice roots like Shanjing and Guiyuan. Dr. Chen could easily test out the formula, but the last two failures stopped him from doing it again.

“This decoction is amazing,” Mr. Wu’s family doctor kept saying.

The old man’s condition improved significantly in half a day. It was amazing. His children were all convinced by Wang Yao’s extraordinary medical skills. They all expected that their father would get better.

If one decoction could make such a big difference, the doctor could make it work even better if he visited.

“Tongxing, he still doesn’t want to come?” Wu Tongxing’s brother asked.

“No,” Wu Tongxing replied.

“Why not?” his brother asked.

“He didn’t explain. After talking to him several times, I have found that he’s not keen on visiting Beijing,” Wu Tongxing said.

“Have you spoken to Ms. Song?” his brother asked.

“Yes, I’ve spoken to her. She’s promised to help us,” Wu Tongxing said.

“Good,” his brother said.

…

Meanwhile, in a small courtyard in Beijing, Su Xiaoxue was staring blankly at the sky. She looked lonely.

“Xiaoxue, it is cold outside. Don’t stay for too long.” Song Ruiping came out of the room to put a jacket on Su Xiaoxue. It was still cold in Beijing. Although the coldest season had passed, there were no signs of warming up.

“OK,” Su Xiaoxue said.

“You still want to go out?” Song Ruiping asked.

“Yes, I want to go out to look around,” Su Xiaoxue said.

“Where would you like to go?” A warm voice came through the door. Su Xiaoxue looked toward the voice and saw a young man with a shiny smile. It was Guo Zhenghe.

“Hello, Auntie Song. Hello, Xiaoxue,” he said.

“Hello, Zhenghe,” Su Xiaoxue said.

“Xiaoxue, where would you like to go? I’ll take you,” Guo Zhenghe said with a smile.

“I was just saying. Don’t take it seriously,” Su Xiaoxue replied.

Since Guo Zhenghe arrived, Song Ruiping couldn’t let him stand in the courtyard, even though she didn’t like him much.

“Please come in,” Song Ruiping said.

“Thanks,” Guo Zhenghe said.

“You are welcome to visit us, but don’t bring anything. You’ve known us for a long time,” Song Ruiping said.

“It’s just a small gift,” Guo Zhenghe said.

The maid made Guo Zhenghe a cup of tea.

“Xiaoxue looks better and better,” Guo Zhenghe said.

“Yes, I am better. I feel good,” Su Xiaoxue happily said.

“That’s great,” Guo Zhenghe said.

Song Ruiping didn’t talk much. Su Xiaoxue only chatted with Guo Zhenghe for a short while. She didn’t seem to be keen on chatting with him.

“Xiaoxue, call me whenever you want to go out,” Guo Zhenghe said.

“Sure, thank you,” Su Xiaoxue said.

“Zhenghe, it’s almost Chinese New Year. Make sure you conclude all the issues at work,” Song Ruiping said.

“I will,” Guo Zhenghe said.

His was very well-mannered. Song Ruiping couldn’t find any flaw in him. He behaved like a man in his 40s not his 20s.

“That Guo Zhenghe is not an ordinary kid,” Song Ruiping said with a sigh.

“Really? I think he’s just an ordinary person,” Su Xiaoxue said with a smile.

“You think he’s ordinary?” Song Ruiping asked.

“Yes, nothing outstanding,” Su Xiaoxue replied.

“So, who do you think is outstanding? Someone like Dr. Wang?” Song Ruiping asked.

“Dr. Wang is of course outstanding. Actually, he’s better than outstanding,” Su Xiaoxue said.

“How about other people?” Song Ruiping asked.

“There are a lot of outstanding people, like my brother, Chen Ying, and Lebao,” Su Xiaoxue said.

“Ha-ha. My daughter has sharp eyes,” Song Ruiping said with a smile.

“Guo Zhenghe is making too much effort,” Song Ruiping seriously said. This was the first time she had commented about Guo Zhenghe in front of her daughter. Guo Zhenghe was friendly with her family. Rather, he at least looked friendly. Making too much effort was not a nice comment.

Su Xiaoxue just smiled.

“Xiaoxue, can’t you see why he comes here all the time?” Song Ruiping asked.

“Mom, I’m not stupid. I know what he is after,” Su Xiaoxue replied.

Anyone with a brain could tell what Guo Zhenghe was after. Su Xiaoxue was such a clever girl. She was born and bred in a prominent family. She knew her obligations.

“So, what do you think of him?” Song Ruiping asked.

“I don’t fancy him at all,” Su Xiaoxue said.

“That’s good,” Song Ruiping said with a sigh of relief.

She didn’t want her daughter to be deceived by Guo Zhenghe’s looks and sweet words. She didn’t care about Guo Zhenghe’s career perspective. As far as she was concerned, Guo Zhenghe was not a suitable candidate to marry her daughter.

…

Another day had passed. Wu Tongxing’s father seemed to be better. He had taken over half of the decoction.

“I’ll visit Lianshan again,” Wu Tongxing said.

“I thought you had your end-of-year meeting this week,” his wife said.

“Dad is always my priority. Plus, I’m just a deputy chief,” Wu Tongxing joked.

“Chief He will retire next year,” his wife said.

“I know,” Wu Tongxing said.

He had already held a senior position in the government. Sometimes, he was not keen to get promoted. He was pushed to seek a higher position. He didn’t have a choice. Although he wanted to rest, or retire early, he had many competitors. He could be easily replaced if he didn’t take the position. And, his enemies would take the chance to go against him.

…

It was almost time to worship the Kitchen King. People started to prepare for the celebration of Chinese New Year everywhere.

People celebrated Chinese New Year every year. There was nothing new. However, many people were still looking forward to Chinese New Year. They could take a rest and spend quality time with their family. They had time to think about what to do next year. It was a good tradition originated from thousands of years ago.

It was time to buy supplies for Chinese New Year and clean the house at the end of a lunar year. At this time of the year, every household was very busy.

It was same in Wang Yao’s house. Zhang Xiuying was busy with chores. One day, Wang Yao didn’t have any patient, so he finished early and went home to help his parents. He took the curtains off to wash, cleaned the room, and wiped the windows. He completed any chores that involved climbing.

“Mom, how is my sister and Du Mingyang’s relationship?” Wang Yao asked.

“They get along pretty well,” Zhang Xiuying replied. “They’ll come here tomorrow.”

“Right, they should be back by then,” Wang Yao said.

According to the village’s cultural custom, a son-in-law should bring gifts to his parents-in-law on every special occasion, especially Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year. They were the two most important times of the year. As for a son-in-law to be, he should show more enthusiasm and bring better gifts.

“What happened to Tong Wei?” Zhang Xiuying asked. “I haven’t see her for a long time.”

Wang Yao stopped what he was doing as he squatted on the windowsill. “She went on a business trip to U.S.A.”

“What? Went to the U.S.A.? How come a young girl like her doesn’t want to settle down?” Zhang Xiuying couldn’t help but complain.

“It’s her company’s arrangement,” Wang Yao replied.

Actually, they hadn’t contacted each other for a long time. Wang Yao only learned about Tong Wei’s business trip from her posts on WeChat.

“She won’t come back for Chinese New Year?” Zhang Xiuying asked.

“She should come back by then,” Wang Yao replied.

“When will you visit her parents?” Zhang Xiuying asked.

She had started to ask about her son’s relationship with his girlfriend. In fact, Zhang Xiuying could tell her son hadn’t been in touch with Tong Wei regularly. She asked her son several times what had happened between him and Tong Wei. She could tell they probably had some problems. She spoke to her husband about it and was going to have a formal talk with her son, but she changed her mind.

“Your son is grown up. Leave him to deal with it,” Wang Fenghua said.

Wang Yao and his parents had lunch together after a whole morning of cleaning. They continued with their unfinished chores in the afternoon. By the end of the day, the house was nice and clean. It looked like a new house.

Sun Yunsheng brought lot of gifts when visiting Wang Yao the next morning.

“Hello, Yunsheng,” Zhang Xiuying said.

“Hello, Auntie Zhang,” Sun Yunsheng said.

“Come in and take a seat,” Zhang Xiuying said. She was now very familiar with Sun Yunsheng.