Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  The place where they went to eat was the small restaurant at the foot of the mountain.

  “Where have they gone to?” Wang Yao asked.

  “They have gone to deal with the matter that Sir told them to,” Zhong Liuchuan said in a roundabout and discreet way.

  Wang Yao nodded.

  The dishes were served quickly because there were not many people dining. There were only three tables, including them. Wang Yao and the manager were acquaintances. The manager came out to greet them, but his expression did not look good.

  “What’s the matter, Manager Li?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Don’t even mention it. Business has been very poor in recent months. Fortunately, it is in my yard. Otherwise, I would have had great losses.” He lit a cigarette and sighed.

  “Is that so? As far as I know, it should be a good time to visit the hot springs,” Wang Yao replied.

  The restaurant was not far from Li Jia Gou’s hot spring. Although there were catering and accommodation services at the resort, this restaurant’s food was substantial, fresh, and quite well-known. Wang Yao recalled that he even had to queue to eat there during the holidays.

  “Has another problem arose?” he asked.

  “Yes, one more person died at the hot spring resort this month,” Manager Li said.

  “Another one died?” Wang Yao was very surprised.

  In less than a year, four people had died in the village where the hot spring was located. Although it was normal for deaths to occur in the village in general, most of the casualties were the elderly. The people who had died in the village were children and young men, which was quite unusual.

  “Do you know how they died?”


  “I think they drowned.”


  “They drowned? Can a person drown by soaking in a hot spring?” Pan Jun was very surprised. “That’s too unlucky, isn’t it?”


  “Well, there are all sorts of theories,” Manager Li said. “One thing is for sure, they died in the hot spring pool. Think about it, deaths occurring in places where people soak in pools is unlucky. Nobody would dare go if they knew about it!”


  “Yes.”


  People traveled to soak in hot springs to relax and unwind. They did not want to be spooked and die while soaking. It was the same as if someone were to die in a house. It made it difficult to sell the house and was unlucky.

  At least, that was what the Chinese believed.

  “Tsk, if this business can’t survive, I’ll consider changing my career,” Manager Li said.

  “Don’t do that,” Wang Yao said. “Wherever shall I eat in the future?”


  He knew Manager Li’s words were mostly due to a short-lived rage and were just a passing remark. The restaurant would likely keep operating.

  “Hey, Manager Li, let me give you a suggestion,” Pan Jun said as he took a sip of tea.

  “As the saying goes, good wine needs no bush,” he said “There are many rich people in this city now. Aside from preferring to go to famous hotels and restaurants, they also like to explore distinctive restaurants like this. I think your yard has to be redecorated, and you should get some flowers and plants. The key is to come up with some distinctive signature dishes. I have come to eat here several times and know that the fish and chicken here are really well done, and your ingredients are fresh. I think you could study those two dishes and make them signature dishes.”


  “Wait a moment, I’ll go and take notes,” Manager Li hurriedly said.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Pan Jun replied.

  “No, no, I have to write it down. When you get old, your brain does not work very well.” He rushed out and came back with a notebook and pen.

  “Well, I am bothering you while you eat, so I’ll treat you guys today,” Manager Li said.

  “How can we let you do that?”


  “It’s settled,” Manager Li said as he carefully wrote down Pan Jun’s suggestions. Pan Jun’s work required him to entertain clients, so he had gone to many restaurants and had varied experiences. Manager Li knew about these things himself. It was just a case of the person in the situation being confused while the spectator saw things more clearly.

  “What do you think of my suggestions?” Pan Jun asked.

  “Very good. How about this, every time you come here for a meal, I will give you a 70% discount,” Manager Li said.

  “And my Master, and my, er, Junior as well?” Pan Jun asked.

  Zhong Liuchuan silently nodded. Although the two of them had learned different things from Wang Yao, it was not wrong for Pan Jun to address him as his Junior.

  “No problem, 70% off for all,” Boss Li said with a wave of his hand. “OK, I shall not disturb your dinner. I’ll go now.”


  “Alright, you go and be busy.”


  Soon after the dishes were all served, the manager gave them two other dishes besides the ones they had ordered.

  “Mmm, the taste of the dishes is very good. Is it all-natural?”


  “Most of what we’ve been given is,” Wang Yao replied.

  “It’s hard to say for the others.”


  “Huh?”


  “It’s easy to say if there are not many people dining here, but where would he get so many organic and pollution-free ingredients for long periods? It’s already good if he could guarantee most of it. As far as I know, he is planning to build two vegetable greenhouses on the back of the mountain to serve this restaurant.”


  “Isn’t that a long-term plan?”


  “Yes, in fact, out of the several villages around here, only this restaurant is good,” Wang Yao said. “It is a clean and healthy one, and the dishes taste good. If someone in this village wants to treat a guest, the first place they think about is here.”


  “Do you think he still wants to change his career?”


  “It’s just a passing remark.”


  “Come, drink and eat.”


  After eating, the three men returned to the village.

  “Are you free tomorrow?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Tomorrow, what will we be doing?”


  “I’ll treat you to soak in a hot spring,” Wang Yao said.

  “Huh?” Pan Jun and Zhong Liuchuan were stunned.

  “Wait a minute, Manager Li just said that people had died in the hot spring resort. What are we going there for?”


  “To have a look,” Wang Yao said.

  “Forget it, I’ll go myself.”


  “I’m free tomorrow, Sir,” Zhong Liuchuan said.

  “I’m going to change my class tomorrow,” Pan Jun said. “Can we go this afternoon?”


  “I have a patient arriving this afternoon,” Wang Yao replied.

  “Ah.”


  Soon after they returned to the clinic, a patient arrived. It was an old man with leg pain.

  “I’ll leave it to you,” Wang Yao said to Pan Jun.

  “No problem.”


  Tuina Massage was the only skill Pan Jun had mastered.

  The final result was good. The old man’s expression looked as if he enjoyed it a lot. When he arrived, he was walking with a little limp. When he left, the limp was no longer visible.

  “I haven’t come for a few days, so I’m getting rusty,” Pan Jun said.

  The second patient was a woman in her 40s who felt sick to her stomach. It was as if there was something inside her.

  “Have you eaten anything recently?” Wang Yao asked after he took her pulse.

  “Yes, quite a lot of food,” the woman replied.

  “Tell me, what did you eat?”


  After thinking about it, the woman began to describe what she had eaten for the past few days. “Well, mantou, rice, apple, banana……”


  “Just the past three days will do,” Wang Yao said.

  “Oh, alright.”


  “Hawthorn and persimmon.”


  “Wait, hawthorn and persimmon? What kind of persimmon?” Wang Yao asked.

  “The kind from trees, not the tomatoes,” the woman said.

  “I see. There is food residue in your stomach. It’s usually called gastric bezoars.”


  “What should I do?”


  “It is easy to treat. Go back and have some soda. Just drink more and you’ll be fine.”


  “Oh, is it that simple?” The woman was stunned.

  “Yes, also, when eating, you should pay attention to what you’re eating. Some things can’t be mixed, so hawthorn and persimmon can’t be eaten together.”


  “Ah, yes, I’ve taken note of it.”


  The woman had arrived in a tense mood. When she left, she was in a relaxed mood.

  The third patient was a little girl. She was very beautiful. She had a hard growth on her ankle.

  “How long has it been like this?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Well, it has been two months,” the girl’s father said. “In the beginning, it was tiny. We didn’t take much notice of it. When it started to grow bigger, we became worried. We went to the county hospital and took two kinds of medicines to smear on it. We used it for two weeks, but the effect was not very good.”