Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Got it!

  Wang Yao thought about a licorice root called Kang wood, which could be used to get rid of the pests. It was a kind of wooden plant as well as licorice root. It grew extremely slowly and could distribute a special smell to drive the pests away. It also had other wonderful effects.

  “What are you doing here?!” Someone broke Wang Yao’s thoughts. It was Wang Ru, who had a knife one hand and a rooster in the other. It seemed that Wang Ru was going to kill the rooster.

  “Sis, are you going to kill the rooster?” asked Wang Yao.

  “Yeah, I tried to kill it twice now, but it is still alive! I can’t find its artery. Since you’re some sort of pharmacist, tell me where its artery is,” said Wang Ru.

  “You tried to kill it twice and couldn’t find the artery?” Wang Yao took a look at the rooster. He seemed to be able to see the pain and despair in its eyes. This was torture, even worse than death.

  “Sis, I’m a pharmacist, not a vet. You don’t need to find its artery to kill it. You are simply torturing the rooster. How about getting Mom and Dad to deal with it?” suggested Wang Yao.

  “No way, I don’t have many chances to kill a rooster,” said Wang Ru.

  “You are just meddling with it,” said Wang Yao.

  Because Wang Ru couldn’t kill the rooster, Wang Yao and his family had chicken soup at night instead of at noon.

  Wang Yao stayed at home for a short while before leaving for Nanshan hill. As he was walking towards the hill, he saw the party secretary of the county with two men in suits. They were looking at something the party secretary was pointing at. It was the abandoned cottage of a previous village production team.

  “Yes, this location is suitable,” said a plump middle-aged man standing in the middle.

  What are they doing here? Wang Yao didn’t pay a lot of attention to them. He turned around instead and headed to Nanshan hill.

  Wang Yao opened the system after he had returned to Nanshan hill. He found Kang wood in the medicine shop. One Kang wood cost 100 bonus points, and Wang Yao didn’t have enough points at the moment. He had to find an alternative way to get Kang wood.

  He had planted some mint and pungent plants, which could be used to get rid of pests. But those herbs wouldn’t be able to remove all the pests completely. Wang Yao required other methods to stop the pests from breeding and spreading. For this purpose, Wang Yao read The Catalogue of Magic Herbs again to look for suitable licorice roots to kill pests. He finally found one.

  Miasma grass: Removes miasma and kills poisonous insects.

  According to The Catalogue of Magic Herbs, miasma grass initially grew in areas full of miasma and poisonous insects. But, there were no poisonous insects around it. The “killing poisonous insects” part meant it could kill parasites inside the human body as well.

  Wang Yao could also purchase miasma grass from the medicine shop, which would cost him five herbal seeds and 50 bonus points. Those were all that Wang Yao had at the moment.

  Still, Wang Yao didn’t hesitate to use up all he had to buy the miasma grass. He then picked five different locations inside the herbal field to plant the miasma grass seeds and watered them with ancient spring water.

  I hope this will work. The only thing is I don’t have many bonus points left. I need to get some common herbs.

  Wang Yao managed to gain some herbs in the afternoon, and he gave all these herbs to the medicine shop to exchange for rewarding points. He then started to brew a decoction for Zhou Xiong’s son but found that he didn’t have enough herbs. So, he called Li Maoshuang from the medicine shop in town to get some more. Fortunately, there were still some left in the stock.

  Wang Yao didn’t delay. He drove to Lianshan town center straight away.

  When Wang Yao met Li Maoshuang, he found Li Maoshuang looked much better than the last time he saw him. Wang Yao checked his pulse and found it much stronger. He presumed that Li Maoshuang had been having a much healthier lifestyle.

  “Your health has improved,” said Wang Yao.

  “Really? I haven’t smoked or drank alcohol since you saw me last time. I’ve been only drinking tea and bought a gym membership. Now, I feel energetic. Changing my lifestyle really worked!” said Li Maoshuang with a smile.

  “It’s good to work-out regularly. You’ll become more and more fit if you can continue going to the gym,” said Wang Yao.

  “I will. I actually quite enjoy my current lifestyle now,” said Li Maoshuang with a smile.

  Since he was warned by Wang Yao last time, he went to do a full body check-up and realized that if he didn’t do anything about his health, there would be severe consequences. His point of view towards life had changed significantly. Previously, he existed only to make money. But now he was living, not just existing. He had turned down a number of dinner parties and no longer hung out with flaky friends. He spent more time with his family. So after a while, both his physical and mental health had improved. He hadn’t felt so good in a long time.

  Sometimes, being ill was not completely bad. It was a warning sign from your body reminding you to treat your body well. If some bad habits were stopped due to an illness, it would be a blessing in disguise.

  “Don’t worry about going home tonight; stay with me for dinner here,” suggested Li Maoshuang.

  “Thank you, but I’ve got an arrangement. Shall we catch up another day?” said Wang Yao. Wang Yao’s mother asked him to go home for dinner as she was going to cook chicken soup. For Wang Yao, nothing was more important than having a nice meal with his family.

  “Okay, let’s catch up another day,” agreed Li Maoshuang.

  Wang Yao didn’t linger in Lianshan town after leaving Li Maoshuang’s place. He went home straight away. He could smell the delicious chicken soup as soon as he walked through the door.

  “Smells nice!” said Wang Yao.

  “You are back; wash your hands, dinner is ready,” said Zhang Xiuying.

  “Okay,” said Wang Yao.

  Wang Yao had a bowl of warm chicken soup, which was made from the rooster his family raised. No chemical was added to the rooster’s diet, so the taste was very natural. What a nice treat!

  “Mom, your soup is amazing!” said Wang Ru after finishing two bowls of soup.

  “Mom could have had the soup ready by lunchtime,” said Wang Yao with a smile.

  “What do you mean?” Wang Ru rolled her eyes.

  “Nothing, I just thought about that poor rooster,” said Wang Yao with a smile. He was thinking of Wang Ru holding the rooster in one hand and a knife in the other.

  Crunch! Wang Ru was grinding her teeth towards Wang Yao.

  Wang Yao and his family watched TV and chatted for a while after dinner. He left home after 9 pm.

  The sky was high, and the stars were bright.

  Wang Yao walked alone in the dark in a strange way. He didn’t walk straight ahead. He was practicing his Tai Chi steps. He practiced Tai Chi steps whenever he had a chance.

  Martial arts had different meanings, similar to the scriptures he read.

  There were rules between static and motion. Tai Chi was a combination of Yin and Yang.

  After practicing the Tai Chi steps, Wang Yao’s blood was pumping fast. He then used the induction method he had learned from the scriptures to inhale and exhale for a number of times. Finally, he calmed down. He looked at the sky for a while before returning to his cottage to read scriptures. He went to bed at around 10 pm.

  Wang Yao repeated this routine day after day.

  In the morning, warm sunshine was nurturing the land, suggesting a new day had begun.

  Wang Yao had already prepared the herbs for the herbal formula and started to brew a decoction in his cottage. He put the herbs into the multifunctional pot one-by-one and waited for the ancient spring water to boil. The effect of the herbs slowly mingled into the water.

  Wang Yao kept an eye on the pot and added firewood from time to time. He was very concentrated. An herbal formula required high-quality herbs, water, and his heart and soul to make.

  The cottage was full of the smell of herbs.

  Woof! Woof! Woof! Wang Yao heard San Xian barking. He knew he had a visitor.

  “Hi, brewing decoction again?” It was Wang Mingbao. Wang Yao recognized Mingbao’s voice before he saw him. Wang Mingbao was stopped by San Xian before he tried to enter the cottage.

  “San Xian, let him in,” said Wang Yao.

  San Xiao moved aside.

  “What’s wrong with your dog!” asked Wang Mingbao as he entered the cottage.

  “Make yourself a cup of tea. I still need some time to finish this,” said Wang Yao.

  “Sure, don’t worry about me.” Wang Mingbao found some tea leaves and made himself a cup of tea. He took his cup and walked into Wang Yao’s room.

  “What decoction are you brewing?” asked Wang Mingbao.

  “I’m brewing Regather soup; it consolidates the corporeity. By the way, why are you here today? Shouldn’t you be very busy during the weekends?” asked Wang Yao.

  “I have staff in the store. I came back to see my grandparents and wanted to visit you since I was back,” said Wang Mingbao.

  “I see. It’s almost done,” said Wang Yao. He had a look at the decoction and stopped adding firewood. He let the residual heat keep the decoction simmering.

  Wang Yao filtered the dregs after he had finished brewing decoction. He then poured the decoction into a porcelain bottle.

  Wang Yao took a glass of water from Wang Mingbao after he had washed his face.

  “How are your parents?” asked Wang Yao.

  “They are fine,” said Wang Mingbao.

  “How about your business?” asked Wang Yao.

  “It’s been good, and I had a big order recently,” replied Wang Mingbao with a smile.

  “Really? Good for you!” said Wang Yao happily.

  “The order is from Jia Hui Group,” said Wang Mingbao.

  “Jia Hui? Tian Yuantu?” asked Wang Yao.

  “Yes,” replied Wang Mingbao.

  Real estate was Jia Hui Group’s main business. Jia Hui had projects in Lianshan county, Haiqu, and Dao City. Internal decoration was a very important component of real estate, even basic decoration. Getting involved in a small proportion of Jia Hui Group’s business could be a big deal for Wang Mingbao.

  If Wang Yao didn’t organize a get-together last time, he wouldn’t have known Tian Yuantu and wouldn’t have had a chance to work with the Jia Hui Group. He knew Tian Yuantu gave him work because of Wang Yao.

  “I need to thank you,” said Wang Mingbao.

  “You are like my brother, so no need to thank me,” said Wang Yao with a smile.

  “How about asking Tian Yuantu to have dinner with us one day?” suggested Wang Mingbao.

  “Probably not now,” said Wang Yao after thinking for a while.

  Wang Mingbao thought he really should do something to thank Tian Yuantu, but for Tian Yuantu it was nothing big. He could give the business to any traders which made no difference to him. He did the same thing for Wang Yao’s youngest uncle.

  “I’ll let you know the best time to catch up,” said Wang Yao.

  “Okay!” said Wang Mingbao.