Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “He is still alive!” said Wang Yao.

  “What?” said a person passing by.

  Wang Yao didn’t explain further. He dragged the drowned teenager out of the water and started CPR. He needed to restore his breathing, then to drive the water out of his body.

  After Wang Yao had performed CPR on the teenager, the teenager opened his eyes.

  Ow! A lot of water came out of the teenager’s mouth. His chest also started to move up and down again.

  “He’s back to life! Back to life!” exclaimed the villagers.

  Wang Yao took a close look at the teenager. He didn’t stand up until he was sure that the teenager was out of danger.

  “Call the ambulance. He needs to go to the hospital as soon as possible,” said Wang Yao.

  Although the teenager was temporarily out of danger, he needed to be treated in the hospital to recover from drowning. Wang Yao couldn’t do more for the teenager at this stage, nor was it an appropriate place to continue treating the teenager.

  “Yao, good on you! I didn’t expect that you know how to do CPR,” said a villager.

  “I just know the basics,” said Wang Yao with a smile. He then went back to Nanshan hill.

  The ambulance could be driven on the hill. It would take a while for the ambulance to arrive at the village as well. Therefore, one of the villagers drove the almost drowned teenager back to the village and then to the hospital in town by motorcycle.

  Because the teenager was saved in time, he only required minor treatment to recover.

  “Fortunately, he was dragged out of the water in time,” said a doctor.

  The teenager’s family went to Wang Yao’s home in the afternoon to express their gratitude. They brought presents for Wang Yao’s parents.

  Zhang Xiuying didn’t expect their visit.

  “Yao saved someone today?” asked Zhang Xiuying.

  “Yes, Xiuying, if it were not for Yao, Jing would be in great danger,” said the teenager’s parents.

  After talking with the teenager’s parents for a while, Zhang Xiuying finally knew what had happened. She didn’t say much. She knew what her son was like. It was a good thing to help the fellow villagers.

  Wang Yao found more villagers than usual said hello to him on his way back home in the early evening.

  What is going on? Wang Yao was confused.

  Later on, he found out that it was because that the villagers knew what he did during the day. They all said that Wang Yao was a good young man, who was not only knowledgeable but also kind. Some villagers even intended to find him a girlfriend.

  Zhang Xiuying also mentioned it after Wang Yao had gone home.

  “They came here today?” asked Wang Yao.

  “Yes, they came in the afternoon with presents. They said you saved their son’s life, so they wanted to thank you,” said Zhang Xiuying.

  “I see. I just did what I could,” said Wang Yao.

  He wanted to help his mother with cooking but was asked to go back to his room.

  It was a bit hot as it was at the end of June. But Wang Yao didn’t feel hot. He was quite fit after he had done breathing exercises for some time. He was neither afraid of heat nor cold weather. A little bit of heat was nothing to him. Even the hottest weather wouldn’t make him uncomfortable.

  Zhang Xiuying became anxious after receiving a phone call in the evening.

  “What happened, Mom?” asked Wang Yao.

  “Your grandma just vomited some blood.” Zhang Xiuying’s reply shocked Wang Yao.

  “Grandma has always been fit. Why did she vomit blood?” asked Wang Yao.

  “I don’t know,” said Zhang Xiuying.

  “Let me go and take a look at her,” said Wang Yao.

  “I will go with you,” said Zhang Xiuying.

  It was not 7 pm yet, so it wasn’t completely dark outside.

  Wang Yao drove to the village where his grandma lived in less than 20 minutes.

  His grandma was still short of breath and lying on the bed when Wang Yao and his mother entered the house.

  “How come you two are here?” asked Wang Yao’s grandma.

  She was surprised to see both of them.

  “Yao wanted to come after I told him you are sick,” said Zhang Xiuying.

  “Good boy! Considering I’ve always been nice to him!” said Wang Yao’s grandma with a smile.

  “Don’t get up, Grandma, let me take a look at you,” said Wang Yao as he was checking his grandma’s pulse.

  “Grandma is fine, she just had a chest infection. I guess she’s been coughing badly and coughed out of blood just now,” said Wang Yao.

  “Okay, thank god!” Zhang Xiuying was slightly relieved.

  “Grandma, Grandpa, you’ve been too tired lately,” said Wang Yao.

  “Yes,” said his grandma. They had just finished planting snap beans.

  “I’ve told you not to plant snap beans this year,” said Zhang Xiuying unpleasantly.

  “All the other villagers have planted something in their land. It would be a shame if we had left the land unused!” said Wang Yao’s grandma.

  Wang Yao’s grandparents were getting old. They had spent most of their life working, and they were exhausted. Zhang Xiuying had tried to convince her parents not to work too hard. They just needed to grow enough vegetables for themselves and stop worrying about her and her siblings. But her parents wouldn’t listen.

  “I’ll brew a decoction tomorrow and bring it for you to take. You will be fine after resting for a few days,” said Wang Yao.

  “Okay,” said his grandma.

  “Let me give you a massage to help relax your bodies,” said Wang Yao to his grandparents. He then spent over an hour massaging them.

  It was half-past nine at night when he and his mother had arrived at home.

  “Mom, don’t worry too much of Grandma. She just had a chest infection. I will prescribe a formula for her tonight. She will get better after taking the decoction,” said Wang Yao.

  “Okay, don’t stay too late,” said Zhang Xiuying.

  “I know,” said Wang Yao.

  After he had returned to Nanshan hill, Wang Yao picked some herbs to brew a decoction that could clear internal heat the next day.

  His grandparents were getting older and weaker year after year.

  I should visit them more often, thought Wang Yao.

  He spent a lot of time at his grandparent’s house when he was a little boy.

  Wang Yao thought a lot about his family at night. He suddenly realized that he had neglected a few things lately. One of those things was family love.

  It was a little bit humid and hot the next day. Although the sunshine was not too strong, it was still quite hot, making people uncomfortable.

  Wang Yao was brewing a decoction on the hill.

  Heartleaf Houttuynia Herb, radix bupleuri……

  He picked several herbs which had the effect of reducing inflammation and clearing internal heat.

  I should add a few other herbs.

  Apart from those herbs, he also added some glossy ganoderma and a few pieces of ginger. His grandma not only had an infection but also had damaged vitality after years of hard work. In addition, she was getting old.

  What a shame that I don’t have enough herbs! Otherwise, I could brew Regather soup for them, thought Wang Yao.

  He felt ashamed that he had just thought of his grandparents. I’m such an ungrateful person!

  Ancient spring water, multifunctional pot, burning fire, and the smell of herbs—it didn’t take long for Wang Yao to finish brewing the decoction.

  With his increasing experience in brewing, it became really easy for Wang Yao to brew those common decoctions. It was effortless for him now.

  He went home to notify his mother after he had finished brewing the decoction, then he left home. He went to the town center first to buy health supplements for his grandparents, then drove to his grandparents’ house. When he arrived, he found there was only his grandma at home. She was resting on the bed.

  “Hi, Grandma, where is Grandpa?” asked Wang Yao.

  “He went up to the hill,” said his grandma.

  “What did he go out in such hot weather for?” asked Wang Yao.

  It was quite hot outside today. The heat wouldn’t affect Wang Yao much as he was very fit. But it would definitely affect an elderly man who was almost 80 years old. His grandpa could have a heat stroke if he didn’t look after himself properly outside.

  Wang Yao put what he had bought for his grandparents on the table, then took out the decoction, which was still warm.

  “Grandma, this is the decoction I brewed for you. Please take some,” said Wang Yao.

  “Okay,” said his grandma.

  Wang Yao helped his grandma sit up and fed her some of the medicine.

  Wang Yao’s grandma felt a cooling sensation inside of her after drinking the decoction, even though it was still warm. She felt much better in her chest. Just moments ago, her chest was still burning.

  “How do you feel, Grandma?” asked Wang Yao.

  “I feel much better,” said his grandma.

  “That’s great,” said Wang Yao.

  Wang Yao smiled. He put something special in the decoction. It was frost grass.

  Frost grass only grew in the winter. Its function was to reduce inflammation and clear internal heat. It was a licorice root. It had another function of removing Yang toxins. As his grandma was quite weak, she couldn’t tolerate a large amount of frost grass. Therefore, Wang Yao only added a small amount to the decoction.

  He chatted with his grandma next to the bed for a while, then noticed it was almost noon. So, he got up and was ready to prepare lunch.

  “I’ll go and cook some food for you,” said Wang Yao’s grandma who tried to get up.

  “Please rest on the bed,” said Wang Yao. “You know I can cook.”


  Wang Yao had bought some cooked foods and vegetables on his way to his grandparents’ house. He also needed some firewood for cooking as there was no gas in his grandparents’ house. There was also no gas on Nanshan hill, so Wang Yao often used the same type of big wok to cook. Although it was not convenient to cook on a wooded fire, the taste of the food was nice.

  Wang Yao’s grandma stood at the door of the kitchen watching her grandson cooking. She had a big smile on her wrinkled face.