When Wang Yao was brewing decoctions, a Land Rover came to the village and followed the road up to the Nanshan Hill.
Woof! Woof! Woof! Wang Yao knew someone was outside when he heard his dog barking.
His visitors were a couple; the man was chubby with a square face and thick eyebrows and the woman was good looking. They were Tian Tuyuan and Xu Jiahui who had just visited him not long ago. They came with some presents.
"Hello?" called Tian Tuyuan before he reached the cottage.
But he didn't get a response. He thought Wang Yao was not in the cottage and was ready to leave, but the smell of herbs made him go closer to the window to take a look. He saw Wang Yao was too focused on making decoctions to notice his voice, so he called again.
"Mr. Tian?" Wang Yao turned around and saw Tian Tuyuan and Xu Jiahui. He was a bit surprised to see them.
"Please come inside," he stood up to open the door and invited the two of them inside.
The cottage was not big. There was one bed, one big pot and a desk inside. The room looked quite messy as all the herbs scattered around.
"I'm sorry. It's quite messy on here. Just give me one minute," said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao has almost made the decoction successfully.
"Sure," said Tian Tuyuan with a smile.
The couple sat aside and watched Wang Yao brewing his decoction. Wang Yao quickly took the multifunctional pot away as soon as the time was ready and poured the liquid into a container. He then left the dregs in a net leakage—he was very efficient.
"Sorry for the wait!" Wang Yao spoke to Tuan Tuyuan and Xu Jiahui after hearing the prompt from the system indicating he had successfully made the decoction.
"Never mind that. What formula are you making?" asked Tian Tuyuan.
"Paeoniae decoction for supplementing Qi, it's something common," said Wang Yao who as he began making tea for them.
"Look like Ms. Xu's fully recovered," said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao noticed that Xu Jiahui's face was rosy—her eyes were shining as soon as she walked through the door. She looked very different from the sick and weak person he saw a few days ago.
"Don't call me Ms. Xu, just call me auntie. Your two formulas were so effective. I'm totally fine now!" said Xu Jiahui. She had been tortured by her disease for so many years. She was so happy that she was finally cured.
"We have two requests this time. First I thank you very much for curing my wife!" said Tian Tuyuan.
"Not at all. You paid me to do it!" said Wang Yao. He was actually a bit embarrassed about it because the two formulas were so expensive. Apart from the special moonlight herb, which had licorice roots, all the other herbs were common and some of them were even of low quality.
"As long as you don't think I charged too much," said Wang Yao.
"No, it's not expensive at all!" said Tian Tuyuan immediately.
"The formulas are for saving lives! Think about it, even some tea leaves and flowers, which cannot save lives at all are ridiculously expensive. Compared to those things, your formulas should be worth millions because lives are invaluable!" said Tian Tuyuan. He made Wang Yao realize the value of his herbs.
Right, lives are invaluable, and those licorice roots are hard to get! thought Wang Yao.
"What is the other thing?" asked Wang Yao.
"The other thing is about a friend of mine. He's got this weird disease making him very unsettled. His symptoms are even worse than my wife's. He's almost bed-bound. Can you ask your master to take a look at him?" asked Tian Tuyuan.
"My master is getting old and he has retired. He no longer sees patients," said Wang Yao after some thinking.
"What about you?" asked Tian Tuyuan.
"Me...?" Wang Yao heard the system talking to him as soon as he was going to decline.
Task: A traditional Chinese Pharmacist should be able to cure all kinds of difficult diseases. (whether they come to see you or you go to them)
The reward is random.
Punishment will apply if failed. Any of the current attributes will lose half of the points already gained.
Good timing! When Wang Yao heard this task, he thought he wouldn't be able to turn down anyone who came to ask him for help!
"I'm very busy recently. I can't leave here," said Wang Yao.
"Can you make an exception? As the old saying goes, 'better to save one life than build a seven-storied pagoda'. My friend is very weak now. He is not in a good condition to travel," said Tian Tuyuan.
"I'm sorry," said Wang Yao.
"Well, can you give me a formula so that I can bring it to him?" Tian Tuyuan was a bit disappointed but he stepped back and sought for alternative ways to save his friend.
"Which formula?" asked Wang Yao.
"Anshensan," said Tian Tuyuan. His wife took the same formula, which worked very well.
"No problem, come and get it after two days," said Wang Yao.
The two of them sat for a short while before leaving. Wang Yao didn't want to accept their presents but they insisted. Wang Yao started to work immediately after the couple left.
"Did you request the formula for Mr. Cui?" asked Xu Jiahui after they drove off the hill.
"Yes, but he didn't want to visit him."
"You seem to have high expectations of Wang Yao," Xu Jiahui said with a smile.
"No average person can make a mixture like Anshensan. He must be a special person. And I noticed he seems to be different today," said Tian Tuyuan.
"Me too!" said Xu Jiahui.
"He has become more spiritual, like those hermits living in the deep hills," added Xu Jiahui.
"Right, I hope the formula will work," said Tian Tuyuan.
"I think Mr. Cui's disease is worse than mine," said Xu Jiahui.
"Yes. He's been sick for a long time. If he wasn't from a prominent and wealthy family, he would be dead already!" said Tian Tuyuan.
"What if there is a problem with Wang Yao's formula? Aren't you scared?" asked Xu Jiahui. She was concerned.
"Don't worry. On one hand he is a good friend of mine so I'll try my best to help him. On the other hand, there is a great master in his family who can check whether the formula can be used or not," said Tian Tuyuan.
"I hope it will work," said Xu Jiahui.
Wang Yao was putting his heart and soul into brewing decoctions while the couple was talking. He had completed six out of ten formulas and still had plenty of time to make the rest of the formulas.
After successfully making the seventh formula for the afternoon, Wang Yao stopped and packed his things away, then started to read Natural Classics as usual.
Outside the house, the herbs were swaying in the wind. San Xian was lying under the window quietly, as if he were listening to Wang Yao reading out loud. At the far end of the hill, there were still people busy working.
The sun started to go down and all those people started to go home after a busy day.
Wang Yao closed the book and stored it away in the system panel. After thinking for a while with his eyes closed, he stood up and went home.