Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Although the leaves and flowers of the Stone flower could be added into the formula, using the flower would be most effective.

  Unfortunately, the ones that Wang Yao planted had only leaves and no flowers. The leaves were newly sprouted. Although they could be used, it felt wasteful to use them now. It was akin to killing the goose that laid golden eggs. Since the planted ones could not be used, the alternative would be to use the system’s medicine shop to exchange for the herb. Fortunately, it was available, and he had enough points to exchange for them.

  “Eh?”


  Wang Yao was surprised. It seemed the last time he upgraded, he was able to exchange for more items, whether it was herbs, formulas or other items.

  “It looks like the medicine shop will increase in items when I upgrade in level.”


  He spent a substantial part of his reward points to exchange for the Stone flower.

  He willed the herb to appear in his hands. This flower was not brightly colored; its colors were subdued. They were the color of mauve and gave off a faint floral scent.

  Multifunctional pot, ancient spring, Stone flower.

  A single herb—the Stone flower, soaked in boiling water, without any other herbs.

  After the water boiled, the petals were scattered into it. They disappeared into the water like melting snow. The water became a light mauve, although if not examined closely, the coloration was not that obvious.

  “This medicine should be effective.” Wang Yao was very confident in the effectiveness of the system’s items.

  Wang Yao took the decoction and made his way down the hill.

  At noon, Wang Yao’s mother cooked some dishes while his father uncorked a bottle of liquor. The brothers, having not seen each since Chinese year and both of whom loved drinking, were prepared to start drinking.

  “Third Uncle, with this illness of yours, no drinking and smoking,” Wang Yao advised.

  “No problem, just a little,” his third uncle laughed and said.

  “I still feel you should not drink. Dad, you should drink lesser too.” Wang Yao was serious. Appreciating good liquor was understandable, however, one should cherish one’s body as well. If it were another person, he probably would not have bothered to advise.

  “Okay, in that case, we won’t drink.” Wang Fenghua listened to him and put away the liquor.

  This resulted in a much shorter dinner.

  Having taken dinner, Wang Yao took out the decoction he made.

  “Third Uncle, I made you this decoction. Finish this in two days. Warm it up if it turns cool. Also, your liver is unhealthy, so drink and smoke less,” Wang Yao said.

  “Okay.” Wang Yao’s third uncle smiled and took the decoction.

  He drank a sip and felt that it tasted sweet and had a tinge of a special flower scent. It was not only pleasant to drink, it tasted sweet and tasty, like a beverage.

  “Is this medicine?!” Wang Yao’s third uncle exclaimed in curiosity.

  “Yes,” Wang Yao smiled and replied.

  In reality, not all Chinese medicines tasted awful.

  Wang Yao’s third uncle stayed at his home for a short while before departing.

  “Hang on a moment. I have something to ask you,” Wang Fenghua said.

  “What is it?”


  Wang Fenghua was silent before asking, “How is your third uncle’s body?”


  Wang Yao pondered momentarily before replying, “He’s okay; it’s not a big problem. It’s just that he needs to focus on changing his lifestyle.”


  “He and your third aunt don’t have a child; is it because of his health?”


  “I have no way of telling. I’d have to examine closely, and it has to be both of them,” Wang Yao commented.

  “I’ll ask them to come when they are free and have you take a look.”


  “Dad, regarding this matter, I’d prefer you talk to Third Uncle first. Who knows, maybe they are not interested in having kids?” Wang Yao smiled.

  It was not that he did not want to care about this matter, it was because the matter was sensitive. If not dealt with appropriately, it might cause a misunderstanding between both families.

  “Sure, let me first talk to him.” Wang Fenghua thought that his son made sense.

  “I’ll go up to the hill.”


  “Okay.”


  No sooner when he reached the hill, Wang Yao received a call from the nursery. Part of his shipment of trees had arrived. Wang Yao enquired on the number of trees that had arrived and arranged for them to be delivered the next day.

  In the afternoon, Wang Yao circled Nanshan hill a few times, carefully planning the number and location of the pits in preparation for the planting of the trees that would arrive the next day……

  In an apartment district of Lianshan County, a couple was talking.

  “This was decocted by your nephew? A bottle of water?” A slightly plump woman of around forty looked disdainful.

  “Even if it’s water, your relative wouldn’t make me a bottle!” The man with balding hair said unhappily.

  This couple was Wang Yao’s third aunt and uncle. When his third uncle came home to tell his wife, he did not expect his wife to taunt him about it. Although he did not bear high hopes of his nephew’s medicine’s effectiveness, he was still appreciative of his nephew’s gesture. Thus, when he heard his wife’s scornful words, he was very unhappy.

  “If there’s no use drinking it, why give it to you in the first place?”


  “How do you know it’s useless?!”
……

  The next day, just after Wang Yao completed his breathing exercise, he received Chen Kun’s call informing him that he was on his way. In no time at all, Wang Yao saw a pickup truck drive into the village loaded with trees and was driving in the direction of Nanshan hill.

  By this time, the villagers were all out. When they saw the pickup, they were bewildered.

  “Whoa, the trees in the pickup—who do they belong to?”


  “No idea, never seen it before.”


  “There is a Banyan tree and that one looks like a pine tree. Wow, who is this? Who wants to plant these trees?” There was someone who could identify the tree species primarily because these tree species were common and not especially rare.

  “These trees—what can they do? Can they bear fruit?”


  “Shouldn’t be, these types of trees are for afforestation of a landscape”


  “Then, who would buy such trees?”


  “Don’t tell me they belong to Wang Fenghua’s family?”


  “You mean Wang Yao? The one who jumped into the river last year?”


  “I heard he struck a fortune on Nanshan hill!”


  “Isn’t that right. He even bought a car. I heard my son say that that car is not cheap. It cost at least a few hundred thousand yuan!”


  The villagers gossiped amongst themselves excitedly, a start of their daily routine of gossiping.

  While they were deep in discussion, the pickup had moved to the foot of the hill with some difficulty, the trees shaking and swaying with the pickup’s movement all the way. It stopped and a few men got down and looked up at the hill. It was not very steep and not too high, however, they would not be able to drive the pickup up the hill.

  “Boss, you said the customer who ordered the trees is up on the hill?”


  “Yes,” Chen Kun got down the pickup and said.

  “How do we move the trees up?”


  When loading the pickup, they used a forklift, crane and other equipment. The men were just supporting roles and didn’t use much effort.

  “Carry them up.” Chen Kun was calm, but inwardly he was gritting his teeth. “As the saying goes, one is only concerned with digging a hole and doesn’t care about burying it.”


  “What!” the three men who came with him were stunned.

  This was a truckload full of trees, and although they were not very thick, they all still had the roots and soil on them. Even two people carrying a tree would find it very taxing.

  “I said, carry them up!” Chen Kun stared at them and blurted.

  “Just our luck to get such a customer. Such a hill—who cares about greenery and purification? Isn’t this just torturing us?”


  When they were frowning about their predicament, Wang Yao had come down the hill.

  “Hello, Manager Chen.”


  “Hello.” Chen Kun laughed and commented, “These trees are a part of your list—take a look.”


  “There’s no need, I trust you!” Wang Yao smiled.

  “Okay, unload!” Hearing Wang Yao’s words, Chen Kun felt appreciated and barked orders to his men.

  Damn, looks like we can’t get away with this today! the men noted the situation and silently thought. No longer hesitating, they started to unload the pickup manually. Wang Yao helped as well.

  “Be careful, this tree is quite heavy!”


  This time, it was evident that the trees that Chen Kun brought were specially selected to fit Wang Yao’s requirements. Their growth was excellent, they were old enough and the thinnest tree was at least the thickness of a man’s wrist. These trees took a lot of effort to bring in; this was why it took a few days to arrive.

  “No problem.”


  A tree that took two men to carry with great effort, Wang Yao could carry on his own effortlessly. At this point, his strength was beyond that of two men as recorded in the database.

  “My god, that is too much!”


  “Impressive!”


  “Freaking awesome!”


  Chen Kun was stunned.

  “What does this guy eat? Is it from the wild vegetables on the hill, or do wild fruits have such miraculous results?” He was puzzled and looked everywhere, wondering if there was anything special in the area that could be eaten.

  A pickup full of trees—typical men took an entire morning to move up the hill with much panting and would be dog tired as a result. But Wang Yao’s breath was steady and he still looked energetic. He also did not have much perspiration on his face.

  “I admire you!” Chen Kun smiled and remarked.

  “How much are these trees?”


  “No hurry, there are still a lot of pending items on the list. In spite of those, even the quantities of these tree species are not complete. When the shipment is complete, you can settle the bill then.”


  Wang Yao prepared water for them, just plain water mixed with sufficient ancient spring.

  “This water is so good and sweet. It’s mountain spring, right?” Chen Kun drank a huge bowl and exclaimed appreciatively.

  “Yes.”


  “You really know how to enjoy life. What are all these?” One of the curious men pointed to Wang Yao’s herbal field and asked.

  “Herbs.”


  “Herbs, used for Chinese Medicine?”


  “Yes.”


  “They’re growing so well!”


  These herbs were indeed growing well. They were deep green and enjoyed the daily irrigation of the ancient spring water. It would be hard for them not to grow well.

  The men rested for a bit. Originally, they intended to help Wang Yao plant the trees, but he politely declined. These men were already tired out from carrying the trees up the hill, how could he trouble them? For this reason, Wang Yao wanted to treat them to a meal to show his appreciation, but Chen Kun declined.