Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wu Tongxing thought, Nine different herbs?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âHow many pills did he give you?â Dr. Chen asked.
âThree,â Wu Tongxing replied.
âThatâs a lot,â Dr. Chen said with surprise.
He looked at the pills in Wu Tongxingâs 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 didnât think it would make any difference this time. He just didnât 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 didnât 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.
âThis decoction is amazing,â Mr. Wuâs family doctor kept saying.
The old manâs condition improved significantly in half a day. It was amazing. His children were all convinced by Wang Yaoâs 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.
âTongxing, he still doesnât want to come?â Wu Tongxingâs brother asked.
âNo,â Wu Tongxing replied.
âWhy not?â his brother asked.
âHe didnât explain. After talking to him several times, I have found that heâs not keen on visiting Beijing,â Wu Tongxing said.
âHave you spoken to Ms. Song?â his brother asked.
âYes, Iâve spoken to her. Sheâs promised to help us,â Wu Tongxing said.
âGood,â his brother said.
...
Meanwhile, in a small courtyard in Beijing, Su Xiaoxue was staring blankly at the sky. She looked lonely.
âXiaoxue, it is cold outside. Donât stay for too long.â 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.
âOK,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âYou still want to go out?â Song Ruiping asked.
âYes, I want to go out to look around,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âWhere would you like to go?â 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.
âHello, Auntie Song. Hello, Xiaoxue,â he said.
âHello, Zhenghe,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âXiaoxue, where would you like to go? Iâll take you,â Guo Zhenghe said with a smile.
âI was just saying. Donât take it seriously,â Su Xiaoxue replied.
Since Guo Zhenghe arrived, Song Ruiping couldnât let him stand in the courtyard, even though she didnât like him much.
âPlease come in,â Song Ruiping said.
âThanks,â Guo Zhenghe said.
âYou are welcome to visit us, but donât bring anything. Youâve known us for a long time,â Song Ruiping said.
âItâs just a small gift,â Guo Zhenghe said.
The maid made Guo Zhenghe a cup of tea.
âXiaoxue looks better and better,â Guo Zhenghe said.
âYes, I am better. I feel good,â Su Xiaoxue happily said.
âThatâs great,â Guo Zhenghe said.
Song Ruiping didnât talk much. Su Xiaoxue only chatted with Guo Zhenghe for a short while. She didnât seem to be keen on chatting with him.
âXiaoxue, call me whenever you want to go out,â Guo Zhenghe said.
âSure, thank you,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âZhenghe, itâs almost Chinese New Year. Make sure you conclude all the issues at work,â Song Ruiping said.
âI will,â Guo Zhenghe said.
His was very well-mannered. Song Ruiping couldnât find any flaw in him. He behaved like a man in his 40s not his 20s.
âThat Guo Zhenghe is not an ordinary kid,â Song Ruiping said with a sigh.
âReally? I think heâs just an ordinary person,â Su Xiaoxue said with a smile.
âYou think heâs ordinary?â Song Ruiping asked.
âYes, nothing outstanding,â Su Xiaoxue replied.
âSo, who do you think is outstanding? Someone like Dr. Wang?â Song Ruiping asked.
âDr. Wang is of course outstanding. Actually, heâs better than outstanding,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âHow about other people?â Song Ruiping asked.
âThere are a lot of outstanding people, like my brother, Chen Ying, and Lebao,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âHa-ha. My daughter has sharp eyes,â Song Ruiping said with a smile.
âGuo Zhenghe is making too much effort,â 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.
âXiaoxue, canât you see why he comes here all the time?â Song Ruiping asked.
âMom, Iâm not stupid. I know what he is after,â 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.
âSo, what do you think of him?â Song Ruiping asked.
âI donât fancy him at all,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âThatâs good,â Song Ruiping said with a sigh of relief.
She didnât want her daughter to be deceived by Guo Zhengheâs looks and sweet words. She didnât care about Guo Zhengheâs career perspective. As far as she was concerned, Guo Zhenghe was not a suitable candidate to marry her daughter.
...
Another day had passed. Wu Tongxingâs father seemed to be better. He had taken over half of the decoction.
âIâll visit Lianshan again,â Wu Tongxing said.
âI thought you had your end-of-year meeting this week,â his wife said.
âDad is always my priority. Plus, Iâm just a deputy chief,â Wu Tongxing joked.
âChief He will retire next year,â his wife said.
âI know,â 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 didnât have a choice. Although he wanted to rest, or retire early, he had many competitors. He could be easily replaced if he didnât 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 Yaoâs house. Zhang Xiuying was busy with chores. One day, Wang Yao didnât 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.
âMom, how is my sister and Du Mingyangâs relationship?â Wang Yao asked.
âThey get along pretty well,â Zhang Xiuying replied. âTheyâll come here tomorrow.â
âRight, they should be back by then,â Wang Yao said.
According to the villageâs 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.
âWhat happened to Tong Wei?â Zhang Xiuying asked. âI havenât see her for a long time.â
Wang Yao stopped what he was doing as he squatted on the windowsill. âShe went on a business trip to U.S.A.â
âWhat? Went to the U.S.A.? How come a young girl like her doesnât want to settle down?â Zhang Xiuying couldnât help but complain.
âItâs her companyâs arrangement,â Wang Yao replied.
Actually, they hadnât contacted each other for a long time. Wang Yao only learned about Tong Weiâs business trip from her posts on WeChat.
âShe wonât come back for Chinese New Year?â Zhang Xiuying asked.
âShe should come back by then,â Wang Yao replied.
âWhen will you visit her parents?â Zhang Xiuying asked.
She had started to ask about her sonâs relationship with his girlfriend. In fact, Zhang Xiuying could tell her son hadnât 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.
âYour son is grown up. Leave him to deal with it,â 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.
âHello, Yunsheng,â Zhang Xiuying said.
âHello, Auntie Zhang,â Sun Yunsheng said.
âCome in and take a seat,â Zhang Xiuying said. She was now very familiar with Sun Yunsheng.