Sichuan was located in the west of China, and the terrain was somewhat complicated. It had a huge disparity in altitude. It had a high altitude in the west, and low in the east. Fushan City was located towards the west of Sichuan Province, which gained its name from the ranging mountains. It was 1000 meters above sea level. Compared to cities in Huainan Province, it was somewhat lagging. Thus, there wasn’t any massive damage to the environment, and the mountain forest gave the best protection to wild herbs.
They first came on a plane from Qiongjin City to Rongzhou’s Airport Terminal, before changing to trains to reach Fushan City. However, that was only just the beginning, since Fan Lihua’s hometown was a small mountain village located in Zhanxiang County. Thus, they had to get on a bus to reach the county before taking a tattered van. When they got out of the van, they still had to walk on foot into the mountain. They had to rely on their legs to walk over a dozen kilometers before they could arrive at their destination.
However, it was all understandable, since precious herbs like the Cloud Grass could only be found in such remote places.
After walking about seven to eight kilometers, a truck drove over. Fan Lihua immediately waved her hand and the truck stopped. A head popped out from the window and smiled while speaking in Sichuan dialect, “Hey, isn’t this Sister Lihua?”
“Tiger! Such a coincidence to see you here! Can you bring us along to the village? Otherwise, it will be night by the time we arrive in the village.” Fan Lihua walked over and shoved a ¥100 bill before him.
Tiger immediately waved it off and replied, “We’re people from the same village, how can I take your money? Keep it, or I will get mad.”
Su Tao felt that Tiger was pretty unsophisticated, unlike those in the cities who emphasised on the money.
Stopping the vehicle by the roadside, the few of them boarded the truck. They were all covered in dust from the journey. They casually sat down after finding something that they could hold on to.
Seeing Fan Lihua’s nervous expression, Su Tao comforted, “Big Sister Fan, don’t worry. We will deal with your husband.”
Nodding her head, Fan Lihua sighed, then squeezed out a smile. “Don’t worry, I’m fine!”
When the truck drove into the village, a group of kids ran over and blocked the road. After getting out of the vehicle, Tiger took out a bunch of candies from his pocket and distributed them to the kids. After the truck drove a little more, Tiger stopped and smiled. “Sister-in-law, I’ll drop you guys here!”
It was close to Fan Lihua’s home, so she smiled. “Thank you, Tiger.”
The moment Fan Lihua got out of the vehicle, she saw a man running over. Her face was instantly drained of all color and she had immediately cowered as that man cursed, “Stupid woman, you’re finally back. See if I don’t beat you to death!”
Locking his brows together, Liu Jianwei took a step forth and held onto that man’s fist before twisting. That man was instantly flung over and fell on the roadside, groaning in pain. He felt as if his entire body had fallen apart. Seeing that Liu Jianwei was skillful, he gritted his teeth and yelled, “An outsider is beating me up! Help!”
In just a few minutes, everyone in the village surrounded Su Tao’s party.
Su Tao sighed. There was a phase that could be used to describe this situation. Wicked commoners were born in barren hills and wild rivers. Aside from having an unsophisticated villager like Tiger, there’s also a hoodlum like Fan Lihua’s husband.
“This slut left for a year and returned with a man to beat me up! You guys judge if this is right!” Seeing so many people around, Fan Lihua’s husband instantly felt confident, so he got up and exaggerated.
“Miao Yurong, don’t slander me. He’s my boss.” Fan Lihua raged with her face reddened.
The villagers all started to discuss amongst themselves. Although Miao Yurong wasn’t a good man, since he often played and slept around, he’s still someone from the village. Thus, they felt that they should protect him now that he was bullied.
“The Village Chief is here!” Suddenly, someone yelled and the crowd split apart. A middle-aged man walked over with a tobacco pipe. He had a robust figure and a height of 5’11”. Although he was dressed in simple clothing, everyone could tell from his splendor that he’s the decision-maker here.
As the Village Chief walked over, he gave a kick on Miao Yurong’s butt and roared, “You useless trash. You can’t even take care of your own wife, and you’re making a scene here?!”
Miao Yurong instantly stood to the side in embarrassment and refuted, “That outsider hit me! You must uphold justice for me!”
Furrowing his brows, the Village Chief rebuked, “What justice is there to uphold? If you didn’t try to beat your wife, would they interfere in this matter? Everyone, disperse! Go back to what you should be doing.”
The Village Chief was an impartial man. If there was an outsider that tried to cause trouble here, he would naturally not turn a blind eye. But Fan Lihua was involved in this matter. She might be married over from the neighboring village, but she was now someone of the village. On the other hand, Miao Yurong was someone who lived off of a woman and continuously caused trouble. Thus, the Village Chief would naturally not help him.
Letting out a sigh, the Village Chief looked at Fan Lihua. “Let’s go to my place first. If you go home now, the trouble will certainly blow up, and your mother-in-law won’t let you off.”
Wiping the tears off the corner of her eyes, Fan Lihua sobbed, “Thank you, Second Uncle!”
This village was called the Miao Village, and practically everyone here bore the surname of Miao. Thus, they were somewhat related by blood, and the Village Chief was called Miao Zhongtian. Both the younger and older generations called him Second Uncle because he was impartial and passionate. Thus, he was respected by everyone in the village.
When they came to his home, it was a neat and tidy two-story house with corn, and chili hung on the wall for air-drying.
Upon entering the house, Miao Zhongtian yelled, “We have guests for dinner tonight!” Which, he soon received an acknowledgment from his wife.
Sitting in the living room, Miao Zhongtian brewed tea for the few of them and looked at Fan Lihua, then asked, “Where’s Doudou?”
“Doudou is currently under treatment in Hanzhou City, and it’s all thanks to Physician Su. Not only did he treat Doudou, he even gave me a job in his pharmacy. He’s a kind-hearted person.” replied Fan Lihua.
When Miao Zhongtian turned to Su Tao, there was a hint of respect in his eyes as he smiled. “So you’re a doctor. Thank you.”
Su Tao responded with a modest smile. “It’s nothing much.”
“Her Big-Foot Disease is under control now, and she will recover in just two months.” Su Tao answered honestly.
Joy immediately flushed on Miao Zhongtian’s eyes as he looked at Fan Lihua. “Is that true?”
Nodding her head, a smile spread from Fan Lihua’s lips. “It’s true! It was Doudou’s fortune to meet Physician Su! He’s a famous divine physician in Hanzhou City!”
All of a sudden, Miao Zhongtian suddenly grew emotional as he grabbed onto Su Tao’s hand. “Physician Su, you’re really the lifesaver of my Miao Village!”
Fan Lihua looked at Su Tao with a complicated gaze and lowered her head. Even though she knew something like this would happen, she did not warn Su Tao beforehand.
Seeing Miao Zhongtian being all emotional, Su Tao waved his hand. “Second Uncle, you don’t have to speak any further. I know that Doudou isn’t the only one in the village with the Big-Foot Disease.”
Upon hearing Su Tao’s words, Fan Lihua was shocked. So it turns out that Physician Su already knew about it. Big-Foot Disease was a parasite disease, and it’s not infectious between people; it was often spread through mosquitoes. Although treatment could be done for parasite diseases, the village was lacking in medical treatment, so it was hard to control the disease once it spreads around.
Taking a deep breath, Miao Zhongtian replied, “There are a total of eight people in the village with Big-Foot Disease, and a portion of them have gone out to seek treatment. But their disease would relapse upon recovery, and right now, they’ve practically stayed at home. Their condition is also more serious than Doudou’s.”
A grave expression appeared in Su Tao’s eyes as he responded, “Village Chief Miao, don’t worry about it. I will do my best to ensure that they’re treated.”
Suddenly, Miao Zhongtian put on an awkward expression and sighed, “Physician Su, you’ve also seen our village’s economic condition. It’s even worse for those families with the disease…”
Waving his hand, Su Tao interrupted, “You don’t have to worry about it. I will treat them for free.”
Nodding his head, Miao Zhongtian asked, “When is it suitable for you to start on the treatment?”
“Let’s not delay. Let’s go take a look at them now since it’s still early.” Su Tao smiled.
Despite their short interaction, Miao Zhongtian had gained a good impression of this young man and led the way. “Let us go now, then!”
As the two of them set off, the rest remained in the Village Chief’s house to rest.
The village wasn’t huge, there were only ten-odd households. Every single household would be far apart from each other. Although there were eight with the Big-Foot Disease, they spent a total of three to four hours to visit all eight of them. When Miao Zhongtian looked at Su Tao, he felt more admiration for this young man. He could tell that Su Tao was someone from the city, but he wasn’t pampered like the others. When he treated the villagers, he did not discriminate any single one of them — take an old man in his sixties, for example. One of his legs was akin to tree bark with a foul smell. However, Su Tao treated that old man without even blinking his eyes.
When the last patient was treated, Miao Zhongtian couldn’t hold back his praises and raised his thumbs. “Physician Su, you truly have the heart of a healer.”
“This is just the mission of all doctors!” Su Tao modestly smiled before he continued, “Although those eight patients’ conditions aren’t light, I have left sufficient medication for them. They just need to keep taking it for about a year to completely recover.” Su Tao had just placed more effort into Miao Doudou’s condition, which was the reason why she could recover faster.
Slapping his chest, Miao Zhongtian guaranteed, “You don’t have to worry about that, and I will supervise them.”
Nodding his head, a complicated expression appeared in Su Tao’s eyes. “Actually, we’re just treating the symptoms and not the root. We have to find the cause of the disease to resolve it once and for all.”
With a perplexed expression, Miao Zhongtian asked, “Do you know where the source of the illness is then?”
A complicated light flashed in Su Tao’s eyes as he pointed at the mountain forest behind the village. “It should be there, if I’ve guessed correctly.”
Aside from being a mysterious treasure, that mountain also contained many dangers.
Whether it was to find the source of Miao Village’s parasite diseases or the magical Cloud Grass, Su Tao had to make a trip to the mountain.