Chapter 224 - A Shabby Cottage

Chapter 224: A Shabby Cottage
Translator: 
Nyoi-Bo Studio 
 Editor: 
Nyoi-Bo Studio
The car didn’t travel fast. Tian Yuantu took a driver with him this time. It seemed that he didn’t think he was fit to drive at the moment.

I heard that you were going to Beijing again?
asked Tian Yuantu.

Yes, I will leave in two days,
said Wang Yao.

How long are you going to stay there this time?
asked Tian Yuantu.

About a week. But it will depend on how the patient does,
replied Wang Yao.
Wang Yao’s friends all knew that he was going to Beijing to see a patient. But none of them knew who the patient was. Wang Yao never mentioned it, so they never asked, although they were all very curious of the identity of the patient.
After all, there were a lot of prestigious families in Beijing.

Let me know if you need me to help with the issues of your company while I am in Beijing,
said Wang Yao.

Okay,
said Tian Yuantu with a smile.
Still, Wang Yao couldn’t help much with his business.
It was less than a one hour’s drive from Lianshan to Haiqu. After they had arrived in Haiqu, they went into the city business center right away.

Haiqu has changed a lot in the last few years,
said Tian Yuantu as he was looking at the streets. Actually, Haiqu was a fairly new city with only twenty years of history. But it was located near the ocean, so the city had developed very fast in the last few years.

Do you have any thoughts?
asked Wang Yao.

I previously considered moving my company to Haiqu,
said Tian Yuantu.

That’s good!
said Wang Yao.
A well-developed harbor town was surely better than an isolated country town.

But it will cost too much. So I eventually gave up the idea. Now when I’m thinking of it, I believe I could have completed the relocation if I had been determined enough,
said Tian Yuantu.
As they were chatting, the car went into a quiet residential area. Secretary Yang’s mother had been waiting outside as she knew Wang Yao was going to come. She looked fine. Her face was red and shiny as if she was ten years younger.

Hello, Yuantu, Dr. Wang, welcome,
said Secretary Yang’s mother.
The old lady invited Wang Yao and Tian Yuantu into the house. She asked the maid to make them a pot of tea and bring some fruits for them.

Don’t worry about us. We are not going to stay for long,
said Tian Yuantu.

Don’t hurry. Why not stay for lunch? Haichuan will come back soon,
said Secretary Yang’s mother.
After chatting for a short while, Wang Yao checked Secretary Yang’s mother’s pulse. Her illness was under control, and she had gradually gotten better. As long as she continued to take the decoctions Wang Yao made for her, her illness would very likely be cured.

Everything seems to be fine. This is the decoction I brewed for you. Take it as usual.
Wang Yao placed a bottle of decoction on the table.

Thank you,
said Secretary Yang’s mother.

I have another formula for you. Get all the herbs listed in the formula. I’ve also written down the dose,
said Wang Yao.
Secretary Yang’s mother’s illness was complicated. It wouldn’t work if Wang Yao only focused on expelling the cold energy out of her body. He needed to consolidate her corporeity as well. Hence, Wang Yao gave her another formula which was similar to the one he gave Wei Hai. The only difference was that he added some herbs to enhance the Yang energy.
After he had seen Secretary Yang’s mother and left her the decoction and formula, Wang Yao indicated to Tian Yuantu that they should leave. They had discussed before arriving here that they wouldn’t stay for long.

Ma’am, we have to go now,
said Tian Yuantu.

No hurry, why not stay for lunch?
said Secretary Yang’s mother.

No, thanks. Dr. Wang’s got errands to run,
said Tian Yuantu.
While they were speaking, Yang Haichuan had come back.

Sorry, guys, I’m late,
apologized Yang Haichuan as soon as he stepped into the door.

Good timing, Yuantu, and Dr. Wang were about to leave, can you convince them to stay for lunch?
asked Yang Haichuan’s mother.

Why are you guys in such a hurry? You can leave after lunch,
said Yang Haichuan.

Dr. Wang had some errands to run,
said Tian Yuantu.

I see, how about staying for a bit longer?
suggested Yang Haichuan.
Tian Yuantu and Wang Yao sat down again. Wang Yao briefed Yang Haichuan of his mother’s recovery and repeated the instructions regarding the formula.

I see, thank you very much, Dr. Wang,
said Yang Haichuan.

You are welcome,
said Wang Yao.

Yuantu, how is everything going with your company’s proposal of listing on the stock market? You seem to have lost quite a lot of weight,
said Yang Haichuan.

I’m working on it. I think I need another month to complete the proposal,
said Tian Yuantu.

I’ve spoken of it to my schoolmate in Beijing. Ask me to remind him in one month,
said Yang Haichuan.

Okay, thanks,
said Tian Yuantu.
Although Tian Yuantu and Yang Haichuan were schoolmates, Tian Yuantu looked a bit uneasy when talking to Yang Haichuan. He probably didn’t want to stay for too long either.

I think I really should go,
said Wang Yao.

You sure you don’t want to have lunch here?
asked Yang Haichuan.

No, thanks, I’ve really got things to do,
said Wang Yao.

Okay,
said Yang Haichuan.
He then walked them out of the house.

Dr. Wang, call me if you need me,
said Yang Haichuan.
This could be considered some sort of promise from the local boss.

Sure, thank you.
Wang Yao knew the significance of Yang Haichuan’s words.

I want to ask you something,
said Wang Yao in the car.

What is it?
asked Tian Yuantu.

The house Secretary Yang’s mother lives in doesn’t look cheap,
said Wang Yao.
Secretary Yang’s mother lived in a posh area. It was surprising that she didn’t live with her son. That was the problem. A lot of government officials were very careful about this because the public might think they were corrupted.

Secretary Yang’s sister is the CEO of a big company. She is quite rich. She visits her mother about once a week, and she bought this house for her mother,
explained Tian Yuantu.

Oh, I see,
said Wang Yao.
Both of them hadn’t had lunch as they were busy traveling between Haiqu and Lianshan.

Shall we find a place to have lunch?
suggested Wang Yao.

Sure, what would you like to eat?
asked Tian Yuantu.

How about seafood?
suggested Wang Yao. He had been to Haiqu many times but hadn’t had an authentic seafood dish.

Sounds good,
said Tian Yuantu.

I’m not familiar with this area. You pick the place, and I’ll pay the bill,
said Wang Yao with a smile.

No problem!
said Tian Yuantu.
Since Haiqu was close to the ocean, it was well-known for its seafood. There were quite a few seafood restaurants around. Tian Yuantu picked one close to the beach. It was only one street away from the beach.
They ordered some dishes on the chef’s special list after entering the restaurant.
There were quite a few people in the restaurant as it was lunchtime.

Business seems to be good,
said Wang Yao.

Yes, it’s an old restaurant. The dishes here are authentic, and the prices are reasonable, so it’s quite popular,
said Tian Yuantu.
The dishes were served after a while. Most of the dishes they ordered were fresh seafood, including fish, shellfish, and prawn.

Would you like to have some wine?
asked Tian Yuantu.

Sure, why not,
said Wang Yao.
Tian Yuantu ordered a bottle of wine. Wang Yao could tell Tian Yuantu seemed to be preoccupied. He had been like this since they left Lianshan.

You seem to have something on your mind,
said Wang Yao.

No, I was just thinking of my company,
said Tian Yuantu with a smile. He wouldn’t tell Wang Yao things he wouldn’t even tell his wife.

You have been thinking too much. Your energy is wasted, and your body is exhausted. You are on the edge of getting ill,
said Wang Yao calmly as he picked up a piece of fish.
I guess you are very tired.

Tian Yuantu was surprised.
He was indeed tired, very tired. He felt that the exhaustion was swallowing his brain. He was not physically tired, but mentally tired. The exhaustion originated from deep inside his body. He knew he would be ill if he continued to work too hard. But he was almost there. He just had one last step to complete then his company would be on the stock market. He couldn’t stop working now.
Following the incident in his company some time ago, he no longer trusted those deputy chiefs in his company.
The fish soup was nice and delicious.
But Tian Yuantu couldn’t taste it. He was in a weird condition at the moment. Wang Yao, on the contrary, enjoyed the soup very much.
Wang Yao was not good at counseling or convincing people. He had to leave Tian Yuantu to figure things out himself.

Mr. Tian?
a person came to Tian Yuantu to say hello.

Hi, Mr. Li,
said Tian Yuantu.

Gosh, you look so skinny! Make sure you take care of yourself,
said Mr. Li.

Thank you. Do you want to join us?
asked Tian Yuantu.

No, thanks. I came with a friend. I’ll catch up with you another day,
said Mr. Li.

Okay,
said Tian Yuantu.
Tian Yuantu had a lot of friends through his business. It was quite common to bump into a friend or two in a restaurant.

Is he your friend?
said Wang Yao as he was staring at Mr. Li’s back.

A friend though business. What about him?
asked Tian Yuantu.

Nothing,
said Wang Yao with a smile.
Wang Yao habitually used the four methods of diagnosis on Mr. Li. He noticed that although Mr. Li was loud and appeared to be strong, his breath was smelly. It indicated that he had issues with his digestive system.

Is he not well?
Tian Yuantu immediately guessed what Wang Yao meant.

Yes,
said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao wanted to prompt Mr. Li just now, but he didn’t. It was rude to tell a stranger that he was ill when they first met. If the person had a bad temper, Wang Yao could end up being beaten up.

Is it serious?
asked Tian Yuantu.

It’s hard to say,
said Wang Yao.
Mr. Li only spoke briefly near Wang Yao, so Wang Yao couldn’t observe him thoroughly. But the smell of his breath was really strange. He had better get checked as soon as possible.

I’ll prompt him to see a doctor,
said Tian Yuantu.

Okay,
said Wang Yao.
The two of them returned to Lianshan after lunch.
The sun started to go down. It was almost sunset.
Wang Yao was still busy working in his cottage. He was preparing herbs for his trip to Beijing.
He still had a number of licorice roots, which include detoxing grass, Moonlight grass, Guiyuan, Shanjing, and Dysosma pleiantha
Some of those licorice roots were saved by Wang Yao earlier, while some were from the herbal field. Although those from the herbal field were not fully grown, they could be used. These licorice roots were extremely precious. He was going to use part of them during his stay in Beijing. He also had the Muscle Revitalization powder ready.
After he had finished working, it was dark outside.
Wang Yao stayed at home longer than usual at night. He wanted to stay with his parents longer and chat with them.

I’ve asked the Village Secretary about the cottages you are interested in. He can’t make a decision by himself, so he is going to arrange a meeting with all the members of the village committee,
said Wang Fenghua.

That’s fine,
said Wang Yao.
He gave his parents a massage while chatting to help them relax and drive off the tiredness.
By the time he left his home, it was 9 pm. There were not many people outside.
The moonlight was as smooth as running water. It lit the earth gently.
Wang Yao walked back alone to Nanshan following the main street in the village. He stopped at those empty cottages at the south end of the village.
He could take a look at the area through the gate facing west. There was a big yard at the front and one Acacia tree at either side of the door. The cottages looked quite old. The trees grew very well. Weeds were everywhere in the yard. There was a room on the north side and eight tiled-roof rooms. The cottages were quite shabby as no one had lived here for a number of years. No maintenance was done here as well. To the south side, there was a damaged toilet.
There were roads to the west and east of the cottages, and hills further to the east. The cottages were all on the north side. They looked isolated.
The shabby cottages used to be the village’s primary school. Now, Wang Yao was interested in buying them.