Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “My sister can be bad-tempered sometimes,” Wang Yao said.

  “She’s fine to me,” Du Mingyang replied.

  “That’s good,” Wang Yao said.

  Crackling! He took a piece of concrete from the wall.

  “Hmm, the quality of this building is terrible!” He broke the piece of concrete into pieces.

  “Really?” Du Mingyang picked a small piece of concrete form the floor and squeezed it hard.

  “Ouch! Is there anything else?” Du Mingyang asked.

  “No, let’s go back,” Wang Yao said.

  They went back to Wang Yao’s home. Du Mingyang had a feeling that his future brother-in-law wanted to tell him something.

  They had an early dinner. Wang Ru and Du Mingyang left right after dinner.

  “Ru, can I ask you something?” Du Mingyang asked when he was driving.

  “What?” Wang Ru said.

  “Does Yao have any other skills apart from treating all kinds of illnesses?” he asked.

  “Oh, he practices Kung Fu,” Wang Ru said.

  “Really?” Du Mingyang asked in astonishment.

  “Of course,” Wang Ru said.

  “What level has he reached?” Du Mingyang asked.

  “I’m not sure. I think he can easily break a big rock with his chest,” Wang Ru said calmly. Her parents told her that her brother could throw a big rock weighing several hundred pounds out easily.

  “Wow!” Du Mingyang was amazed.

  Now I know what he meant. He just reminded me to treat his sister well. Otherwise, I will end up like that piece of concrete.

  “By the way, what did you two talk about outside the house just now?” Wang Ru asked.

  “Nothing special. Just a chat. He asked me to treat you well,” Du Mingyang replied.

  “Oh, I see,” Wang Ru said.

  In the village, Zhang Xiuying was talking about her daughter’s future with her husband.

  “I think Ru’s probably going to settle with Du Mingyang,” she said.

  “He seems to be a nice man,” Wang Fenghua said. He had a good impression of Du Mingyang.

  “I’ve noticed Ru has changed a lot. You know, it will be great if they are married. I’ve had her fortune told. I was told that her husband and her are great match. She will have a prosperous life and never suffer,” Zhang Xiuying said happily, like it was really going to happen.

  “Look at you!” Wang Fenghua teased his wife.

  On Nanshan Hill, a dim of light came out of Wang Yao’s cottage. He received a call in the evening from faraway. The call surprised him. It was Su Xiaoxue from Beijing.

  “Hello, Mr. Wang,” said Su Xiaoxue, who sounded ethereal and shy.

  In Beijing, which was thousands of miles away from Lianshan, Su Xiaoxue mustered up her courage to call Wang Yao.

  “Hello, Xiaoxue,” Wang Yao said with surprise. “How have you been?”


  “I’m good. I’ve been practicing the control of Qi. I think my Qi has increased,” she replied.

  “Great,” Wang Yao said.

  “Thank you. How are you?” Su Xiaoxue asked.

  “I’m well,” Wang Yao replied.

  “Good……” Su Xiaoxue suddenly lost her words. She had prepared a lot of topics before calling Wang Yao. Now, she couldn’t remember any of those topics. She only felt nervous.

  “When will you visit Beijing again?” she asked.

  “I will visit you after a while,” Wang Yao replied.

  After chatting with him for a while, Su Xiaoxue again expressed her gratitude and bid him farewell.

  “I still have a lot to say to him.” Su Xiaoxue pouted. She was not aware that her face had turned red.

  Wang Yao didn’t go to sleep until it was nearly 11 p.m.

  It was a bit gloomy early the next morning. A car had arrived in the village. There were two people in the car. Both of them were in their 30s.

  “Is this the right place?” asked one of them.

  “Yes,” the other person said.

  “Let me get out of the car to have a look.” One of them got out of the car.

  The door of the clinic was closed. He knocked at the door, but no one answered. He went back inside the car.

  “He is not in the clinic,” said the person who had knocked on the door.

  “Let’s wait here,” his friend said.

  They waiting in the car for nearly half an hour. They still didn’t see anyone coming.

  “You mentioned he lives in this village,” said one of the men in the car.

  “Yes, but he has a rule that no one should trouble his parents at his home,” the other man said.

  “What about a special situation? We can’t keep waiting here. Let me go and ask his parents,” one of the men said.

  “Well, I suggest you not bother his parents,” the driver said.

  “Wait here.” The man didn’t take the advice. He got out of the car and asked a villager where Wang Yao lived. He then went to Wang Yao’s house and met his parents.

  “You are looking for Yao? OK,” Zhang Xiuying said. She called her son right away.

  Wang Yao was still on Nanshan Hill. He frowned when he got the call from his mother. It had been a while since someone called on him at his house. He left for his clinic and saw a car parked outside.

  “Is it him?” the passenger in the car asked.

  “I think so,” the driver said.

  “Let me go and ask him,” the passenger said.

  The middle-aged man got out of the car again.

  “Hello, are you Dr. Wang?” the middle-aged man asked.

  “Yes. Are you the person who went to my house?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Yes, it was me,” said the man, who was wearing glasses.

  “Are you ill?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Not me,” the man said.

  “Is the patient very sick?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Yes,” the man replied.

  “You can’t wait?” Wang Yao asked.

  “I’ve been waiting for some time,” the man said.

  “OK, but never go to my parent’s house again,” Wang Yao sternly said.

  The man agreed. Wang Yao opened the door of the clinic. The man followed him into the courtyard. He was amazed by the courtyard, just like everyone else.

  “Now you can ask the patient to come in,” Wang Yao said.

  “Well, he’s not here,” the man said.

  “What do you mean?” Wang Yao asked.

  “I hoped you could visit him at his house. It is not suitable for him to come here,” the man said.

  “Is he very sensitive to cold weather?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Not really,” the man replied.

  “Is he sensitive to wind?” Wang Yao asked.

  “No,” the man said. “It’s because his social status is special.”


  “I see,” said Wang Yao with a smile. Special? “I’m sorry, I don’t want to visit him in his house.”


  “Look, we don’t mind the fee, if you know what I mean,” the man said.

  “Sorry, it has nothing to do with the fee,” Wang Yao said.

  “Could you please consider……” the man asked.

  “I don’t think it’s necessary,” Wang Yao said.

  “Let me know if you change your mind,” the man said. He left after giving his contact info to Wang Yao.

  “Humph, such an ignorant person!” As soon as he left the clinic, the man’s face changed.

  “Where is he?” asked the driver, who had been waiting in the car.

  “He said he won’t do a home visit,” the middle-aged man said.

  “Oh, shall we take him there?” the driver asked.

  “Do you think he would have asked us to come if he was happy to come himself?” the middle-aged man asked.

  “What can we do?” the driver asked.

  “Try to convince the doctor to change his mind.” The middle-aged man pushed his glasses up. “He’s just a doctor.”


  “Don’t look down on him. I heard people from Dao, and even Beijing, come to see him,” the driver said.

  “Really? All the way to Lianshan?” the middle-aged man asked.

  Wang Yao returned to the clinic after having lunch at home. He was reading a medical book. A car arrived in the village around 2 p.m.

  “Is this the right place?” a person in the car asked.

  “Yes, this is the right place. You know what, the building is so pretty,” the other person said.

  The car stopped outside Wang Yao’s clinic. Two people got out of the car. They entered the clinic without knocking on the door.

  “Hello, are you Wang Yao?” one of the men asked.

  “Yes, I am. And, you are?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Oh, we are from the health department. Here is our IDs.” The two visitors showed Wang Yao their identification and explained the purpose of their visit.

  “I see. This is my medical certificate, and this is the business registration.” Wang Yao took out all the relevant documents.

  “Are you a Traditional Chinese Medical Practitioner?” one of the visitors asked.

  “Yes,” Wang Yao replied.

  “Can we have a look at the herbs?” one of the visitors asked.

  They went to the herb cabinet.

  “Have these herbs all been approved?” one of them asked.

  “What?” Wang Yao didn’t expect this question. “Just one second.”


  Wang Yao showed the visitors more documents. Some of the herbs were from Li Maoshuang’s store, so they were approved. However, some were from Wang Yao’s herbal field. He never thought about sending his own herbs to get approved because his herbs definitely had no problem. Who would test the noodles made by the their own wheat?

  “Some documents are missing,” one of the visitors said.

  “Some of the herbs were grown by myself. Do I need to get approval for those herbs as well?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Legally, yes,” the visitor replied.

  Wang Yao suddenly realized the two visitors were looking for trouble.

  “Why should I get approval for my own herbs? No one gets approval for their own corn and wheat,” Wang Yao said.

  “Herbs are different. What if you are growing something illegal?” one of the visitors asked. “Well, I’m not going to waste any more of my time here. According to relevant regulations, you need to pay the fine.”


  “Are you serious?” Wang Yao calmly asked.

  “Yes,” one of the visitors replied.

  While they were talking, a patient came to the clinic.

  “Hello, Dr. Wang?” the patient called out.

  “Yes, can you please wait for me outside,” Wang Yao said with a smile. He then turned to the visitors and said, “I think you should leave now. I’m not going to pay the fine.”


  “We will revoke your lisence if you are non-compliant,” one of the men said.

  “You can try,” Wang Yao said.

  “You are not doing yourself any good by being so arrogant,” the man sternly replied.

  “Please leave here now. You are not welcome here,” Wang Yao said.

  “We will be back! I hope you can afford the consequences!” The two men left the clinic.