Chapter 131
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After Wang Yao returned to his cottage, he took out his notebook to document the patient he had seen at Dao City . The patient had a very rare condition, which Wang Yao had never come across before .
How to treat this illness?
Wang Yao started to think about how to treat the patient's illness after he had documented his symptoms . The patient's Yin and Yang were imbalanced, which was common and easily cured . However, his imbalance was extremely severe, and he was seriously ill, so it would be tricky treat it .
I need to give him some herbs first, and the herbs should have a cool nature to reduce his Yang .
The common herbs wouldn't work for sure, so Wang Yao needed licorice roots .
Wang Yao used his mind to get the Catalogue of Magic Herbs . In fact, he had memorized information of most of the licorice roots in the book . But, he still needed the book for reference to get a better idea of the licorice roots he wanted to use . He read both volume one and volume two and found several suitable licorice roots . Given Wang Yao's current status, he could only get two of those licorice roots .
The first one was the Moonlight herb . Its function was to nurture Yin and calm the mind .
The second one was frost grass, which only grew in the winter . Its function was to diminish inflammation and remove Yang toxins .
The nature of the Moonlight herb was mild, much weaker than frost grass . Wang Yao had planted both licorice roots in his herbal field . He also had some Moonlight herbs in the storage of the system . But, frost grass had stopped growing since it became warmer . It wouldn't grow even if Wang Yao watered it with ancient spring .
Wang Yao couldn't get his mind off the licorice roots . He didn't leave Nanshan hill until it started to get dark . It suddenly occurred to him that it was time for him to go home . He wrote down his thoughts in the notebook and put it away before going home for dinner .
His parents mentioned Tong Wei again when they were having dinner .
"Mom, please do not push me," said Wang Yao .
"You should act quickly in case she starts to see someone else," said Zhang Xiuying softly .
"Well, when she comes back I will invite her to our home . But I can't guarantee she will come," said Wang Yao .
"Sounds good . Don't forget to make regular contact with her," said Zhang Xiuying .
"Okay," promised Wang Yao .
Wang Yao's parents stopped talking about Tong Wei as Wang Yao finally decided to take some action .
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Zhou Xiong and his son visited Nanshan hill the next day after they heard that Wang Yao had come back . Wang Yao found that Zhou Wukang continued to get better after taking Regather soup . Zhou Wukang seemed to be in good spirits .
"You look much better than last time," said Wang Yao .
"Great! How about you? Do you want to continue learning Tai Chi?" asked Zhou Xiong .
"Sure," said Wang Yao .
This time, Zhou Xiong taught Wang Yao how to use his strength efficiently when practicing Tai Chi . Zhou Xiong had been practicing Chinese martial arts for several decades . As an experienced martial arts expert, Zhou Xiong had a good understanding of Tai Chi, including how to control Qi and strength . Without Zhou Xiong's demonstration, Wang Yao would take years to learn how to practice Tai Chi properly . Although Zhou Xiong was teaching Wang Yao Tai Chi, he included skills from other martial art styles . Zhou Xiong taught Wang Yao all that he knew about Chinese martial arts without any hesitation .
In fact, what Zhou Xiong did was against the rules . He shouldn't have taught someone outside his family and passed on all the knowledge he knew about Chinese martial arts to the person . The skills he taught Wang Yao were supposed to be secretive and should only be passed on to someone in his family .
Zhou Xiong was impressed by Wang Yao's ability to comprehend everything he demonstrated so fast . Once Wang Yao understood one point, he was able to understand the rest by analogy . Wang Yao was such a gifted person . He demonstrated his gift not only in a medical aspect but also in learning Chinese martial arts . God seemed to love Wang Yao .
"Stay for lunch at my place . I've asked my mom to prepare some food," said Wang Yao .
Zhou Xiong didn't want to stay, but Wang Yao insisted that he and his son should stay for lunch .
Wang Yao's family was very hospitable . They really liked Zhou Wukang, and Zhang Xiuying cooked a lot of delicious dishes .
"This is enough! Please don't cook anymore!" said Zhou Xiong repeatedly .
Both Wang Yao's family and Zhou Xiong's family enjoyed the meal . Zhou Xiong and his son went back to Nanshan hill with Wang Yao after the meal .
After climbing the hill for the second time of a day, Zhou Wukang was short of breath . He seemed to be exhausted .
"Come in and take a break," said Wang Yao . He gave Zhou Wukang a glass of water .
"We can leave Kang to have a rest in the cottage while I teach you Tai Chi," suggested Zhou Xiong .
"Sounds good," agreed Wang Yao .
Zhou Xiong continued to teach Wang Yao the skills of Tai Chi, including attacking skills and how to use his strength in the afternoon .
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Time passed quickly, and it started to get dark .
After drinking several cups of tea, Zhou Xiong and his son left Nanshan hill .
The next day, Tian Yuantu came to visit Wang Yao and told him that he had found an expert in making tea .
"Shall we go together to check it out?" asked Tian Yuantu .
"Sure! Actually, I'm available now if you want to go together," said Wang Yao .
The two of them went down the hill and drove to a household at Lin He under Tian Yuantu's guidance . They came to see Master Xu, a man in his 50's with a medium build but thin stature .
"Hello, Master Xu . How are you?" said Tian Yuantu with a smile .
"Please come in," said Master Xu with a smile . It appeared that he and Tian Yuantu had already known each other .
Master Xu made a pot of green tea for Wang Yao and Tian Yuantu after they entered his house .
"I heard you want to learn to cook tea leaves," said Master Xu with a smile .
"Yes," admitted Wang Yao .
"Do you want to start a career in that area?" asked Master Xu .
"Not really, I just want to learn it as a hobby," said Wang Yao .
"A hobby?" asked Master Xu .
"Sort of," said Wang Yao .
"That's fine with me . Let me show you the tea garden first," said Master Xu with a smile .
Master Xu grabbed a basket and took Wang Yao and Tian Yuantu to the tea garden next to his village . Lots of people here grew tea . The tea garden was very big and full of tea trees . Some people had already started to work in the tea garden .
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"You can start picking the first tea leaves now . Look, you break the bottom of the tea leaves instead of pinching it . You are not allowed to use your fingernails . Some buds have two leaves on it, while some have only one . Do you want to try to pick some?" asked Master Xu .
Picking tea leaves looked easy, but after doing it for a while, most people would feel sore in their fingers and arms . Wang Yao followed Master Xu to learn which buds were good and which were not ready .
After picking some tea leaves, they went back to Master Xu's house .
Master Xu then demonstrated how to cook the tea leaves . He used a big iron wok to stir-fry tea leaves on a firewood stove . This was the most traditional way of cooking tea leaves .
After having all the tools ready, Master Xu started to clean the wok and turned on the stove . Cooking tea leaves included several steps .
"First step is called removing the green . It requires a roaring fire," Master Xu poured the fresh tea leaves into the wok and started to stir while explaining to Wang Yao the skills of stirring the tea leaves . He picked a few leaves from the wok to taste regularly and adjusted the fire accordingly .
"You try it; the leaves are almost cooked . " Master Xu gave Wang Yao a handful of tea leaves to taste, and then placed the rest of the leaves in the dustpan . Then, he started to rub the tea leaves with his palms, like kneading dough .
"You need to rub the tea leaves while they are still hot, the way you rub them is like kneading dough," said Master Xu .
After Wang Yao tried it, Master Xu said, "Try again, looks like you are almost done . "
Wang Yao put his hands in the tea leaves again and felt that the leaves had cooled down . Master Xu then spread the tea leaves before putting them back into the wok to stir . He then repeated the same process five times .
"I think they are done!" said Master Xu .
The last step was to dry the leaves . The color of the tea leaves had completely changed from light green to dark green, almost as dark as black . Up to now, the whole process of cooking tea leaves manually was complete .
"You cannot make tea out of these tea leaves immediately after they are cooked . You have to wait until they are completely cool," said Master Xu .
From picking the tea leaves to cooking the tea leaves, the whole process took the whole afternoon . Master Xu, Wang Yao, and Tian Yuantu hadn't got a chance to have any food .
"Come on, Master Xu, we should grab something to eat," suggested Tian Yuantu .
"Let's just eat something at home . My wife has cooked dinner," said Master Xu as he wiped the sweat away from his forehead .
While Master Xu was demonstrating how to pick and cook tea leaves to Wang Yao and Tian Yuantu, his wife had made dinner and had been waiting for them . It was the first time Wang Yao met Master Xu's wife .
What's happening to her? thought Wang Yao .
Wang Yao knew Master Xu's wife was not in good health as soon as he saw her . Master Xu's wife's hair was almost half white . The color on her face was yellow and dark . There was not much light in her eyes, and she had dark circles under her eyes .
"Your wife is not well?" asked Wang Yao .
"No, she hasn't been well for a long time . She always has migraines, and we couldn't find what caused it . When she is attacked by an episode of migraines, she can't do anything but lie in bed," said Master Xu .
No wonder I didn't see her when I came this morning . She must have been lying in bed at the time, thought Wang Yao .
Wang Yao and Tian Yuantu were really touched that Master Xu's wife cooked them a meal even when she was not well . Tian Yuantu put down his chopsticks and took a look at Wang Yao . He didn't speak until Wang Yao nodded at him .
"I have good news . He happens to be a wonderful doctor and can take a look at your wife . " Tian Yuantu pointed at Wang Yao .
"Really?" said Master Xu while looking at Wang Yao .
"I can try," said Wang Yao with a smile .
"No rush, let's have dinner first," said Master Xu .
When they were having dinner, Wang Yao noticed that Master Xu often helped his wife with food subconsciously . It seemed that their relationship was really good .
None of them drank wine when having dinner, so they all finished the meal quickly . Wang Yao took a look at Master Xu's wife after dinner .
Master Xu's wife's problem was similar to Tian Yuantu's wife's . They both had chronic illnesses . Because of the long-term migraines, Master Xu's wife hadn't been able to rest well, so her immune system was compromised and she had become weaker and weaker . Now she didn't just have migraines, she had other health issues as well .
"I think I'll be able to cure your wife," said Wang Yao .
"Really?!" said Master Xu excitedly .
"Yes, but I need to think about it first . Give me a few days," said Wang Yao .
"Sure . " Master Xu was so happy to hear that his wife's illness could probably be cured . He had taken his wife to a number of doctors, none of whom could cure her .
Wang Yao asked Master Xu a few more questions related to making tea leaves and made notes before leaving with Tian Yuantu .