Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “Your uncle is so silly. What a good position he has in the company! Doing his own business? Does he think it’s really that simple?!” exclaimed Zhang Xiuying.

  Wang Yao’s father didn’t speak. He just sat on the couch smoking. Wang Yao knew his father was also not happy with his youngest uncle.

  “Dad, don’t worry about uncle. Maybe he will be successful. He’s made up his mind. It’s not good for your health to smoke,” said Wang Yao.

  “I know,” said Wang Fenghua.

  Wang Yao spent the night at home. His father went out to drink with his friends in the village.

  It was a cultural custom in the village that the families in the village would take turns to invite other villagers to have a drink and a meal. Wang Yao’s father had a good reputation in the village. Everyone related to his father in the village had invited him for a drink.

  People often tended to drink a bit more during festive seasons. It was not something extremely bad or unusual for someone to get drunk during Chinese New Year, especially when a group of people drank together.

  Wang Fenghua was a bit unsteady on his way back home and he smelled of alcohol. It looked like he had drunk a lot of wine.

  “You are drinking too much again!” Zhang Xiuying complained.

  “Fortunately, your son has prepared some herbs for your hang over,” said Zhang Xiuying.

  She asked Wang Fenghua to take the herbal decoction Wang Yao made for his father. Wang Yao knew his father would drink a lot during Chinese New Year, which was not easily avoidable.

  “My son’s herbs work so well!” said Wang Fenghua, who felt much better after taking the herbal decoction. After a while, he slowly fell into a deep sleep.

  It was time to visit Wang Yao’s maternal grandparents on the third day of Chinese New Year.

  Wang Yao drove his family to his maternal grandparents’ place and met his aunt and her family. They almost arrived at the same time.

  It turned into a big party when a few families gathered together. Wang Yao and Wang Ru were the center of conversation because both of them were still single. Fortunately, no harsh words were said about Wang Yao and Wang Ru. Wang Yao’s grandparents were very happy to see their grandchildren.

  “Don’t rush into marriages. Marriage is something very serious. Both of you need to take your time to find your partner,” said his grandma.

  But Wang Yao’s parents wanted their children to get married as soon as possible.

  Everyone sat around the fireplace to enjoy a nice dinner. Wang Yao was having a good time at his grandparent’s house. Chinese New Year was a time for all the family members and friends to get together to have a good time.

  After a year’s hard work, it was time for people to slow down, have a good rest and prepare for the next year.

  Wang Yao went back to Nanshan hill after he left his grandparent’s house. He brought San Xian and Da Xia food and ancient spring water.

  San Xian and Da Xia were happy to see Wang Yao. Wang Yao stayed to chat with them for a while, regardless of whether they could understand. Then, he checked his herbal field and read scriptures for a while. He returned home in the late afternoon.

  After the third day of Chinese New Year, Wang Yao’s family started to have guests every day. Wang Yao and his sister had to help their parents with all the house chores.

  Wang Yao didn’t want his father to serve their guests with the bottles of wine given by Tian Yuantu and He Qisheng, as those were for his father. He bought a few bottles specifically for other family members and friends. They were of good quality too.

  “Hey, Fenghua, this wine is so good!” said one of Wang Yao’s father’s friends.

  “Exactly, and the Huanghelou cigarettes are good too!” said another friend.

  “Yao bought it for me,” responded Wang Fenghua.

  His father didn’t say much, but he was smiling all the time. Wang Yao knew his father was proud of him.

  There were no more guests after the sixth day of Chinese New Year as people started to return to work. It was the beginning of a busy year. Most of the villagers worked in town, so the village became quiet again after they left.

  Wang Yao also returned to Nanshan hill and spent the night in the cottage.

  He enjoyed the quiet moments of being alone in the cottage as well as the moments with his family during Chinese New Year.

  Different moments, different feelings.

  Wang Yao had a lot to do in the next few weeks.

  He needed to set up a Spirit Gathering Battle Array on Nanshan hill, which was a very complicated task. He needed a long time to prepare for it. He also had to get ready for the exam for his medical certificate.

  During the day, Wang Yao usually worked in the herbal field, did breathing exercises, walked San Xian around the hills, then returned to his cottage. Wang Yao finished drawing the map of Nanshan hill on which he marked the trees, stones and pathways. The map would be used to set up the Spirit Gathering Battle Array.

  He had been alone for days until he had a guest one day. His visitor was Tian Yuantu.

  “Hi, Yuantu, happy new year!” Wang Yao greeted him from a distance.

  “Happy new year to you too!” said Tian Yuantu loudly.

  “Please come in,” said Wang Yao, who invited Tian Yuantu to his cottage.

  It was still quite cold inside the cottage.

  Tian Yuantu sat down and explained the purpose of his visit. Apparently, the herbs Wang Yao gave to his friend’s mother worked really well, so Tian Yuantu wanted like to buy more.

  “How is your friend’s mother? Is she ill again?” asked Wang Yao.

  “No, she just wants to keep some herbs in case she needs it in the future,” said Tian Yuantu.

  Wang Yao didn’t answer immediately.

  It was common to keep some medication at home for regular use, but not Regather soup. Because Wang Yao was unable to put a due date on the Regather soup, he was concerned that the effect would be lost after a while.

  In addition, Wang Yao read her medical notes and knew that Regather soup was unable to cure her disease completely—it only slowed down the progress. Her disease was caused by cold evil, which probably entered her internal organs—it was extremely hard to remove.

  Tian Yuantu still sat at the table waiting for Wang Yao’s response.

  “I think I’d better see the patient in person first,” said Wang Yao after thinking for a while.

  “Well……” Now Wang Yao put Tian Yuantu in a difficult position.

  Tian Yuantu knew Wang Yao didn’t do home visits. He also knew that his friend’s mother’s condition won’t allow her to travel in the cold weather as she was extremely sensitive to cold.