Physician's Odyssey

Chapter 283 - This trip wasn’t in vain

Translator: Thyaeria

Since the rabbits would come to the hot spring, it meant that this hot spring could treat parasites. Thus, he placed the rabbit down and retrieved a bottle from his waist. After emptying the water in it and filled the bottle up with the water from the hot springs. He intended to try it on a few patients when he gets down and see if it is effective. If it was, then Miao Doudou’s Big-Foot Disease could be treated even sooner.

Looking at Su Tao, Shui Junzhuo was perplexed and asked, “What are you doing?”

After a brief pondering to phrase his words, Su Tao smiled. “This hot spring might be able to treat the patients in the village.”

“It looks like this trip wasn’t in vain.” Shui Junzhuo sighed.

Although they did not manage to find the Cloud Grass, they managed to find the source of the Big-Foot Disease, proving Su Tao’s speculation. This was considered an exemplary service.

Nodding his head, Su Tao glanced at the sky and felt that it was getting late. “Let’s go down the mountain!”

“Why don’t we continue walking a little more?” Shui Junzhuo felt that she couldn’t become Su Tao’s burden.

“We’ll come back next time. Only with regret, will you be more motivated next time. This mountain is a treasure.” Su Tao sighed as he made up his mind to find an opportunity to stay in the Golden Chicken Mountain for a year or half to uncover the resources here.

Furthermore, it wasn’t early now, and Ah Jun had instructed him several times that he had to keep the princess of the Shui Family safe. According to his own estimation, Xiao Jingjing and Liu Jianwei should’ve gone down the mountain after their separation. Since there wasn’t any signal in the mountain, Ah Jun would certainly be worried that his Missy was wandering around with him in the mountain. The matter would blow up if he brought a group of people to search the mountain.

Their journey down the mountain gave Su Tao another surprise. He found wild ginseng that was one hundred years old.

Wild ginseng was a market with high demand and low supply. Their age could be determined from the scars on the stem, and the average estimation of this ginseng was at least ¥500,000-600,000. After Su Tao carefully dug it out, he stored it in a container that he had long prepared.

Ginseng had a stubborn vitality, especially those growing in the wild. They’re not afraid of the cold, and they could exist even at a temperature of -40°C. At the same time, they’re also not afraid of drought, heavy rain for months, or even the trampling of animals. Ginseng wouldn’t die even if their stems were damaged, and they would regrow in a few years. At the same time, if the main body was damaged, the fine roots would continue to grow by soaking it in water and branch out into smaller ginseng. It was their unique regeneration that was beneficial to the body, and this was the reason why it’s known as a longevity herb.

Even if Su Tao had concealed it well, Shui Junzhuo could still notice the hint of joy on his face.

“What did you just dig out?” It was rare for her curiosity to pique.

“It’s an herb!” Su Tao evaded the question.

“I’m afraid that it won’t be that simple, right? I can tell that you’re excited, and you’re just pretending to be indifferent.” Shui Junzhuo hit the nail on the head.

“You must have seen incorrectly. I’m perfectly normal.” Su Tao continued to evade.

Kicking a pebble that rolled off the edge of the mountain, Shui Junzhuo was unhappy that Su Tao wasn’t willing to tell her the truth.

Letting out a sigh, Su Tao said, “Fine, I’ll tell you. The herb I dug out was a wild ginseng.”

“Wild ginseng?” Shui Junzhuo had joy flickering in her eyes as even someone without any knowledge of herbs would know that ginseng was an expensive herb.

“Yeah! After processing, it can be turned into slices. In a sudden flare of acute conditions, sucking a piece in the mouth could preserve the patient’s life. Ginseng can restore Yang energy and prevent the patient from going into shock.” Su Tao explained with a smile.

Stretching her hand, Shui Junzhuo demanded, “Those who see has a share, why don’t you share half of it with me?”

Her words made Su Tao speechless. He never expected that the princess of the Shui Family would demand this treasure from him. When he was ransacking his brain to phrase words to convince her, Shui Junzhuo suddenly, playfully smiled. “You didn’t want to tell me about it before because you felt that I might claim a share on it, right?” As the princess of the Shui Family, she had seen all kinds of precious herbs. Not to mention a 100-year-old ginseng, she even had half of a 1000-year-old ginseng at home for her grandfather in times of emergency.

“That’s not it...” Su Tao instantly felt a little guilty.

“Then you have to give me a suitable reason. Otherwise... I have to claim a share...” It was unexpected that Shui Junzhuo would occasionally have a playful side to her.

“I only want to protect this mountain, and another person knowing that there are precious herbs on the mountain would be another threat to the mountain.” Su Tao had chosen to give a dignified reason.

Just as he expected, Shui Junzhuo’s gaze flickered as her voice softened, “Don’t worry. This is our secret, and there won’t be a third person knowing about this.”

Su Tao sighed. There was actually a complicated reason why he wasn’t willing to tell Shui Junzhuo about it. It was more to the selfishness in his heart. So when he saw Shui Junzhuo looking at him with revere in her eyes, he instantly felt a little guilty and prayed that the heavens wouldn’t blame him for fluttering the heart of an innocent maiden.

And as he had expected, Ah Jun would have given a call to the Lin Family and get a search group over to look for Shui Junzhuo if they were a few minutes later.

Seeing Shui Junzhuo’s tattered clothes with her face covered in dirt, Ah Jun asked in concern, “Are you alright?”

“With Su Tao around, what can happen?” Shui Junzhuo smiled. She finally understood why there would be backpackers. It turned out to be so fascinating to have a few kindred spirits travelling together and set their foot in new experiences. This was the first time she had this feeling, and it was refreshing. Thus, she decided that she would definitely want to make another trip to the mountain if there was another chance in the future.

Letting out a sigh, Ah Jun decided that even if his Missy objects in the future, he would stay by her side and protect her so that he wouldn’t be in constant worry like now.

When Su Tao glanced at Shui Junzhuo, a smile spread across his lips when he saw her smile. Although this trip wasn’t dangerous to him, it was still a different experience for this princess of the Shui Family. Hence, it would probably affect her significantly.

Would Shui Junzhuo change because of him? It was highly possible.

At this moment, Xiao Jingjing walked over with reddened eyes. “Master, why did you only return now?”

Waving his hand, Xiao Jingjing walked over and Su Tao opened his medical box and took out the container with the wild ginseng in it.

Instantly, the depression Xiao Jingjing felt disappeared and she exclaimed. But Su Tao immediately held onto her lips with two of his fingers, since this little girl still needed some training. Didn’t she know the meaning of not showing your wealth in public?

Those inexperienced would think of it as the root of a tree. But to those knowledgeable, the price would be comparable to a condominium apartment in Hanzhou City with three bedrooms and one living room, or a luxurious car.

Even Xiao Jingjing’s mood had been brightened. It wasn’t due to the ginseng, but she now knew that her Master wasn’t fooling around with Shui Junzhuo on the mountain, but was genuinely searching for herbs.

Since Su Tao still have those patients with Big-Foot Disease in his mind, he visited those patients and externally applied the water he obtained from the hot spring. When he finished applying it to the last patient, he returned to the first patient’s home and saw that there were distinct improvements in their condition.

Even Xiao Jingjing was curious about the water. Thus, Su Tao shared his encounter with Xiao Jingjing.

Instantly, all her doubts were cleared. So it turned out that Su Tao wanted to look for the method for treating parasites in the mountain.

Since rabbits move around within a small range, they could only find their own solution after being infected by the parasites. Thus, their method of using the hot spring to disinfect and control the parasites gave Su Tao an idea.

Through this incident, Xiao Jingjing was educated in the wisdom of TCM and said, “Master, you’ve given me another lesson.”

“So what’s the conclusion of this lesson?” asked Su Tao with a smile on his face.

“Respect and revere mother nature.” Xiao Jingjing gave a concise answer.

Nodding his head in satisfaction, Su Tao continued, “It’s just a pity that physicians nowadays don’t have much opportunity to interact with nature.”

When he returned to Miao Zhongtian’s house, he received feedback from several households. There were distinct improvements after applying the hot spring water externally. Su Tao was also convinced that there were minerals or elements in the hot spring that was effective to treat the Big-Foot Disease.

That was mother nature, with one engendering the other. Since there was a problem, she would naturally give you a solution as well. Most of TCM’s inheritance came from nature, and their theories laid in nature. They were merely discovered and not invented.

Hence, Su Tao gave Miao Zhongtian a rough description of the hot spring’s location. Immediately, Miao Zhongtian decided to get someone to collect the hot spring water tomorrow for those villagers suffering from the Big-Foot Disease.

Standing in the courtyard, Shui Junzhuo looked at the pitch-black sky and took a deep breath at the refreshing air. All of a sudden, she received a call from her grandfather.

“How is it? Have you met Su Tao?” asked Sire Shui.

“Yeah, I met him. We even climbed the mountain together and encountered a python that was six meters long! It was terrifying...” Shui Junzhuo started to narrate the entire event to Sire Shui, and about how Su Tao found the hot spring to treat the villagers.

“I’m reassured that you’re interacting well with Su Tao.” Sire Shui laughed.

Hearing the meaning behind her grandfather’s words, Shui Junzhuo blushed. “Grandfather, don’t imagine things!”

Waving his hand, Sire Shui said in a stern voice, “Su Tao is, indeed, a rare talent. Oh right, I’ve already informed Old Cao. When you’re done with Miao Village, bring Su Tao over. As for your work, I’ve already asked for leave on your behalf. Treating Old Cao is more important.”

Letting out a sigh, Shui Junzhuo responded, “Grandfather, aren’t you giving Su Tao a challenge? So many national experts failed to treat Grandpa Cao, do you think that Su Tao can?”

“If he manages to treat Old Cao, wouldn’t that mean that he is more competent than those useless national experts?” Sire Shui smiled as he continued, “I’m giving Su Tao a chance to rise! It will depend on him if he could grasp it well!”