Su Xiaoxue followed him into the yard . She quietly stayed beside Wang Yao and watched him decoct the medicine . He added the herbs one by one into and ancient earthen pot . It was her first time seeing him decoct medicine soup so closely .
“Sir, what is this medicine, and what is it for?” she asked .
“How many genres do you know?” Wang Yao asked .
“Ginseng, medlar, and lucid ganoderma . ” Su Xiaoxue knew some of them .
“It is Qianshi and sealwort . ” He omitted other two types of licorice roots, Guiyuan and Shanjing . “It is regather soup, which you have drunk . Its purpose is to consolidate the corporeity . It is rather effective for sick people . ”
This was the first medicine he had prepared for the old man . He previously offered him a simplified prescription with the similar effectiveness, but it was not as good as this one provided by the system . It had an additional two types of licorice roots . This version was the one he used most frequently . In the beginning, he used it every time for miscellaneous and difficult diseases .
“Sir, could you please teach me how to decoct medicine soup?” Su Xiaoxue asked .
“Of course,” Wang Yao replied .
He was an expert in this field . Decocting medicine soup was a systematic process and required knowledge regarding the choice and quality of herbs, pre-disposal, time to add herbs in, controlling the temperature, distinguishing the degree of decocting by color and smell, finishing time, and over-decocting .
“Did you learn biology as your major for a bachelor’s degree?” Su Xiaoxue asked .
“Yes, but I learned it by chance after I finished school,” Wang Yao said .
“Who did you learn it from?” Su Xiaoxue, along with everyone else who knew of Wang Yao’s fabulous medical skills, were all curious about whom he learned it from .
“From the heavens . ” Wang Yao pointed to the sky .
Su Xiaoxue smiled .
“Really, trust me,” Wang Yao said .
“I trust you,” Su Xiaoxue said .
He spent the whole morning decocting the first medicine . With the uncleared Qi, much worse than in the spirit gathering battle array, and the lack of a multifunctional pot for herbs, its effectiveness was downgraded one level .
“Finished,” he said .
Su Xiao smelt it attentively . “It smells strange . ”
“It is the smell of the medicine,” Wang Yao said . “Every potion has its own distinct smell . ”
“Can you distinguish it, sir?” Su Xiaoxue asked .
“I can if it is my prescription, “Wang Yao said . “As for those from others, I can roughly remember it as long as I have seen it . ”
“Is it finished?” she asked .
“I have another medicine to decoct,” Wang Yao replied .
“Will you start right now?” Su Xiaoxue asked .
“I’ll wait a minute,” Wang Yao said .
After the medicine soup was cool, he filtered it with gauze, poured the dregs, and brushed the pot carefully . It was 11 a . m . when he finished .
“Will you stay for lunch?” Chen Ying asked .
“Yeah, sorry to trouble you,” Wang Yao said
“You are too polite,” Chen Ying replied .
“I can give help you out,” Su Xiaoxue said .
“You don’t have to . I can do it myself . ” Chen Ying failed to prevent Su Xiaoxue entering the kitchen,
After entering the kitchen, Su Xiaoxue whispered, “Sister Ying, could you please teach me how to cook?”
Chen Ying hesitated a moment and said, “Oh, OK . ” While cooking, she explained to Su Xiaoxue about various ingredients and seasonings .
Su Xiaoxue almost knew nothing in cooking . At home, she wanted to cook, but was refused by Song Ruiping and Su Xianghua . They cherished their princess so much, they did not give her a chance .
“What does Mr . Wang prefer to eat?” Su Xiaoxue asked
“Ah, I am not sure, but I personally feel he would like Lu and Huaiyang cuisine,” Chen Ying said . She mainly cooked that style of food for him while he was staying in the small yard .
As a favor to Su Xiaoxue, Chen Ying cooked slowly . As she went, she would explain what she was doing whenever asked .
By the time they were done, they had prepared a full table of dishes . Some of cold dishes were prepared by Su Xiaoxue, since they were comparatively easy .
After the meal, they took a nap .
Wang Yao started decocting the second medicine .
“What is it?” Su Xiaoxue asked .
“Analgesic powder,” Wang Yao said . “Its main role is to relieve pain . Mr . Wu’s disease is terminal . The lesion has expanded to surrounding tissues, which usually leads to unbearable pain . ”
The medicine was simple but had a highly concentrated effectiveness .
“We don’t need many herbs,” Wang Yao said . “Common fumitory, radix Angelicae, licorice…”
“He was so nice when I was a little girl,” Su Xiaoxue said . “He was always quite genial . ”
“Really? He likes girls so much?” Wang Yao asked .
“Yeah, he has many grandsons but no granddaughter,” Su Xiaoxue said .
Before long, the decoction was finished . “Let’s go to Mr . Wu,” Wang Yao said .
Su Xiaoxue went with him to visit the Wu family .
“The medicines are ready . There are two potions . Take this one first to ease the pain . This one to consolidate the corporeity . ” Wang Yao handed over the potions to the Wu family members .
“OK, thanks,” a family member said .
Wang Yao and Su Xiaoxue stayed at the Wu residence . After it had been 20 minutes since the old man took the first medicine, Wang Yao checked in on him .
“How do you feel?” he asked .
“It is not very painful,” the old man said .
“Good, here is the second medicine,” Wang Yao said . It was Regather soup . It was a gentle tonic medicine with some fiercely strong herbs in effect, but they were neutralized by Guiyuan .
After he took it, the old man, who was lying on bed, let out a long sigh of relief . He was more comfortable . He did not feel as much pain and relaxed a bit . He also did not feel sleepy like he had before .
“Dad, how do you feel?” one of his sons asked .
“More comfortable,” the old man said .
His family knew it was hopeless to cure the disease completely, which was impractical . They only wished to ease his pain and make him live a little longer .
Wang Yao took a seat beside the bed and took the old man’s pulse .
“OK, let him rest . ” He previously had transferred his neixi into the man’s body . With the help of these two potions, the effectiveness could be seen instantly . “That is all for today . I will come back tomorrow . ”
“Thank you, Dr . Wang,” one of the son’s said .
Although busy with work, Wu Tongxing walked Wang Yao and Su Xiaoxue out in person . He wanted to treat them to a meal, but they refused .
Just as they left the Wu residence, an old man approached Wang Yao and Su Xiaoxue .
“How are you, Mr . Chen . ” Su Xiaoxue greeted him .
“Good, Xiaoxue . You are more beautiful . ” The old man kindly looked at Su Xiaoxue . He kept close relationships with her family and saw her as his granddaughter . He had been very worried about her disease when she was sick .
“Hello, Mr . Chen, is something the matter?” Wang Yao asked .
“There is something I need to ask,” Mr . Chen said . “Would you please do me a favor and see a patient?”
“Patient? Who?” Wang Yao asked .
He knew the old man’s medical skills . He was considered a national physician master . He had much more experience in medical treatment than Wang Yao, so he figured it must be a rather troublesome disease that he could not cure .
“Hmmm, it is hard to describe,” Mr . Chen said .
“At this time, it should be not proper to address it,” Wang Yao said .
It was almost 5 p . m . and time to have dinner . What’s more, some might feel it unlucky to see doctor at dusk .
“His condition is urgent,” Mr . Chen said .
Wang Yao turned his head and looked at Su Xiaoxue . “What do you think?”
“Depends on you . ” Su Xiaoxue was quite sensible .
“OK, let’s take a look,” Wang Yao said .
They followed Mr . Chen to the patient’s home . Even before entering the house, they smelled a strong medicine odor .
“It is Chinese medical herbs with cold and cool nature to remove heat toxins,” Wang Yao said . He could determine what medicine the patient was taking only through smell .
Mr . Chen knocked on the door . It was opened by a woman in her 50s with a pale face . She looked extremely tired .