Chapter Eleven: A Night Visit to Fan Family Village

  On their way home from school, Li Tao and Fan Changfeng walked together in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

  Today is Li Tao's first day at the private school, and he and Fan Changfeng are extremely unlucky. Li Tao was thoroughly defeated by the kneeling method in the private school, and after Fan Changfeng took a beating for him, he didn't dare to make another mistake, so he gritted his teeth and persisted, falling down once in a while, and then falling down again, passing out wasn't the end of it, waking up afterwards still had to continue kneeling. Fan Changfeng was even more miserable, suffering three times of physical punishment in one day.

  They stopped in front of Zhao Zhuang Li Tao's house.

  "Ah Tao, I won't go in! You go back, I'm leaving!" Fan Changfeng said with a gloomy expression.

  Li Tao looked at Fan Changfeng and whispered: "Jiulang! Today's matter... I'm sorry!"

  Fan Changfeng was taken aback for a moment, then patted Li Tao's frail shoulder lightly and smiled: "Don't worry about it, just be more careful in the future! Hurry back now, don't let your mother wait anxiously!"

  Li Tao nodded heavily with his mouth pursed.

  "I'll come for you again tomorrow morning, remember to review your lessons tonight, or else you'll get a beating with the rod tomorrow!" Fan Changfeng reminded him before turning around and leaving.

  Watching Fan Changjian leave, Li Tao walked into the courtyard with his head down.

  "Taor, you're back!" Yuan guessed that her son should be out of school now, and as she looked up, Li Tao had already entered the house.

  "Mother! I have something with Jiulang, I'll be back soon!" Li Tao handed the "school bag" to Yuan Shi and hastily turned away.

  "Drive slowly!" Yuan shouted as he chased out of the door.

  "Alright, Mother!" Li Tao's voice came from afar.

  "This child!" Murmured Yuan Shi, turning back into the house.

  ……

  "Jiulang!" Li Tao panted loudly.

  "Ah Tao? Why haven't you gone back yet?" Fan Changfeng asked strangely as he saw Li Tao return.

  "Mother asked me to go to Hualangzhong's house to fetch some medicine!" Li Tao lied with a straight face.

  "Oh!"

  "But... I don't remember where Wang Lang's house is..."

  "Hualangzhong lives in Fanjiazhuang, not far from my home. Come on, I'll take you there!" Fan Changfeng said, pulling Li Tao's hand forward.

  Arriving at Fan Family Village, Fan Changfeng led Li Tao to a small courtyard and said: "This is the home of Hua Langzhong! After taking the medicine, remember to return early, I won't see you off!"

  "I understand, Jiulang you can go back now!"

  Looking at Fan Changfeng's distant back, Li Tao hesitated for a moment in front of the gate of Hualangzhong, and finally summoned up the courage to knock on the door.

  "Li Tao? How is it you?" The door was opened by Hua Cing-cing, who showed a strange expression.

  As soon as he saw Hua Cai Cai, Li Tao thought of what had happened during the day, but now that he needed something from her, how could he lose his temper? He had no choice but to humble himself.

  "I... I have something to ask of Hualangzhong!" Li Tao stuttered.

  "Who's there?" Before Huajing could respond, a voice echoed from within the courtyard, belonging to Huayunfeng.

  "Oh, it's Li Xiaolang from Zhaozhuang Village who has come to see you!" Huajingjing replied.

  "Please come in!"

  Hua Jing reluctantly stepped aside and let Li Tao enter the courtyard.

  "Li Xiaolang, are you looking for me about something?" Hua Yunfeng looked at Li Tao with a gentle gaze.

  Li Tao hesitated for a moment before blurting out a sentence: "Hualang Zhong, may I borrow a step to speak with you?"

  Hua Yunfeng was shocked.

  "What's wrong with you? Why are you being so secretive?" Huajingjing frowned beside him.

  "Xiang Er, how can you be so unreasonable? How could you have been raised without any discipline?"

  Hua Yunfeng smiled and said to Li Tao after driving away Hua Cing, "Li Xiaolang, please come in, let's talk inside!"

  Hua Yunfeng led Li Tao into the main house, smiling and saying: "Li Xiaolang! Please sit down!"

  Li Tao looked around and saw a large, empty room with only a few low, square tables on the polished floor, each covered with a mat. Was this really where Hua Yunfeng had invited him to sit?

  Li Tao's face turned pale and his scalp felt numb. He finally understood: he was going to be made to kneel again.

  "Li Xiaolang, what's wrong with you? Are you uncomfortable?" Huayunfeng asked hurriedly as he saw Li Tao's unusual expression.

  "Hualangzhong, may I stand here and talk to you?" Li Tao asked pitifully.

  Li Tao's words were quite impolite. The host and guest facing each other with dignity is the highest courtesy, but as a guest, Li Tao insisted on standing, which was clearly to show off his superiority over the host. If it were someone else, they would have left in anger long ago.

  Hua Yunfeng was quite reserved and didn't bother to argue with Li Tao, smiling and nodding his head.

  "Hualangzhong, I..." Although Li Tao had carefully planned his words on the way here, when it came to the crucial moment, he didn't know how to open his mouth.

  Hua Yunfeng thought Li Tao had some unspoken secret, so he encouraged him: "Don't worry, just speak boldly, a doctor's heart is like that of a parent, no matter what hidden illness you have, I will keep it confidential for you!"

  Hearing Hua Yunfeng say this, Li Tao knew he had misunderstood and hastily explained: "Master Hua, it's like this, I know some scattered methods about treating illnesses, I don't know if they're correct or not. You are an expert, I wanted to tell you and ask for your discernment..."

  Li Tao's words stunned Hua Yunfeng, who had thought that Li Tao was coming to see him about some unspeakable illness, but never expected that he would actually come to discuss medical skills with him.

  Li Tao didn't have time to notice Hua Yunfeng's surprised expression, and continued to say: "In the past, there was a person named Li Shizhen who suffered from 'bone steaming disease' in his childhood and almost lost his life. Fortunately, his father used a yellow ganoderma lucidum decoction to cure him. From then on, he vowed to travel all over the world, collect various folk remedies, and become a highly skilled doctor. One time, Li Shizhen saw several horsemen surrounding a small pot, boiling wild grass with roots and leaves. Li Shizhen asked them what they were doing, and the horsemen told him that drivers often suffered from tendon injuries after running for a long time, but drinking the decoction made from this 'drum flower' herb could relieve tendons and activate blood circulation. To understand the white snake, Li Shizhen came to Qichun, where he saw several snake catchers picking up a handful of sand from the ground and sprinkling it on the white snake. Strangely, when the white snake encountered the sand, it shrunk into a ball like flour meeting water. The snake catcher immediately used a wooden fork to pierce the snake's neck and grabbed its tail with his other hand, rendering the snake powerless. Li Shizhen discovered that the snake's head was triangular in shape, with four long teeth in its mouth, 24 diamond-shaped markings on its back, and spots on its abdomen, which were different from ordinary snakes. It is said that only after drying the snake can it be used as medicine. Based on the white snake's wind-dispelling properties, Li Shizhen created a special wine to treat hemiplegia and stroke...

  Li Tao searched his intestines and stomach, recalling everything.

  "Li Xiaolang, wait a minute!" Huayunfeng hastily fetched paper and pen: "You continue speaking!"

  Li Tao saw Hua Yunfeng's appearance and was secretly delighted: It seems there's hope.

  "Armadillo is also called pangolin, smooth mouthful says, armadillo, king doesn't stay, women eat and milk flows..."

  "Mandala flower cuts and burns with fire, it is better to take this first, then you will not feel the pain..."

  "Soybeans with a flavor of licorice have the effect of counteracting the toxicity of hundreds of medicines..."

  "Rubbed lipstick grass can cure insect bites..."

  "Radish seeds roasted into ash and eaten can cure hiccups..."

  "Medicinal use of Semen Vaccariae can treat constipation..."

  "Apply garlic slices to the soles of the feet to stop nasal bleeding..."

  ……