Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

"I read it in a book. Goji berries nourish the kidneys, astragalus replenishes qi, poria promotes diuresis, and angelica nourishes blood. They can be steeped in water or used in soups."

"You're only half right." Dr. Han shook his head. "To use good medicinal herbs, four things are important: authenticity, processing, compatibility, and heat control. For your condition, using ordinary goji berries and astragalus to make tea is like adding a few drops of water to a raging fire—it won't work."

He picked up a few goji berries from the pile of herbs and placed them in his palm: "Look at these goji berries, bright red in color, plump and full, they look good, right? But are they from Ningxia? Are they new or old? Were they fumigated with sulfur during the drying process? If we don't know these things, the medicinal effect will be halved."

He picked up another slice of astragalus: "To replenish qi, you need to use astragalus from Inner Mongolia. Slice it along the grain, not across the grain. When processing it, honey-processed astragalus replenishes the middle and benefits qi, while raw astragalus strengthens the exterior and stops sweating—you used the wrong one, so it not only had no effect, but it might also cause internal heat."

Liu Xiangyang listened attentively. These things weren't in the "Barefoot Doctor's Manual."

Dr. Han continued, "Let's talk about the compatibility of the herbs. Your body isn't just purely deficient right now; it's a mixture of deficiency and excess. Simply tonifying won't work; it needs to be tonified while also draining and astringing. Goji berries with Poria cocos tonify Yin and promote diuresis; Astragalus membranaceus with Angelica sinensis tonifies Qi and generates blood. We also need to add some astringent and consolidating herbs to 'hold in' what's being tonified, so it doesn't dissipate in vain."

He pointed to the dark brown paste: "This is my homemade tonic paste base. It contains astringent herbs like Rehmannia glutinosa, Cornus officinalis, and Schisandra chinensis, which are boiled with honey. If you really want to regulate your body, you can use this as a base, add appropriate herbs, and make it into a paste for gradual nourishment."

Liu Xiangyang's heart skipped a beat: "Dr. Han, can you teach me? I want to learn."

Dr. Han stared at him for a long time, something flickering in his eyes. After a long while, he finally spoke: "Why learn this? You're so young, and you're an inspector with a bright future ahead of you. Why learn this outdated stuff?"

"I don't think it's outdated," Liu Xiangyang said sincerely. "It's a good product. I want myself and the people around me to have a long and healthy future."

The words were spoken subtly, but Dr. Han understood. He fell silent again, this time for an even longer period. The room was quiet, with only the whistling of the wind blowing through the eaves outside.

"Your female companion," Dr. Han suddenly said, "that one named Zuo Qingqing, she's actually in good health, but her liver qi is a bit stagnant, and her yin blood is slightly deficient. Last time, in the medicine I prescribed for her, besides treating the symptoms, I also added some herbs to regulate the root cause—Bupleurum to soothe the liver and White Peony to nourish the blood. It's a good thing that she's benefiting from your yang energy while she's with you. But in the long run, if your yang energy is depleted too much, it won't be good for her either."

Liu Xiangyang was stunned. He never expected that Dr. Han would see through this detail and consider it so thoroughly.

"Dr. Han, you..." He didn't know what to say for a moment.

"When I was young," Dr. Han suddenly began, his voice slightly unsteady, "my family owned a pharmacy, and we had some traditional Chinese medicine remedies passed down from our ancestors. Back then, I was naive and thought these things were old-fashioned and outdated, and I was determined to learn Western medicine. Later..."

He paused, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes: "Later, something happened to my family, and everyone scattered, leaving me all alone. All these years, I've been hiding in this small village, making a living with this little skill, and only then did I realize that some of the things our ancestors taught us still have some truth to them."

Liu Xiangyang listened quietly without interrupting.

"If you want to learn, that's fine," Dr. Han finally said, "but I have one condition."

"Please speak."

"When you're learning, your mind must be calm and your hands steady. Learn what I teach, don't ask why, and definitely don't tell anyone else. Can you do that?"

"It's possible."

"And another thing," Dr. Han stared at him, her eyes sharpening, "if one day you have the ability, you must do something for me."

"What is it?"

"Kill someone." Dr. Han's voice was as cold as ice. "A Japanese man named Watanabe Mayu."

Liu Xiangyang's heart skipped a beat. Watanabe Mayu? He remembered that name; in that underground warehouse in Ice City, there were piles of precious timber!

"Watanabe Mayu," Liu Xiangyang repeated slowly, "He has a warehouse in Harbin, filled with all sorts of precious timber."

Dr. Han stood up abruptly, his withered hands gripping the edge of the table, his knuckles white: "How did you know?!"

"I've seen it," Liu Xiangyang told the truth. "Before the New Year, in Harbin, I accidentally discovered an underground warehouse. The timber inside was all of the highest quality, and it all bore the Watanabe Trading Company's mark."

Dr. Han stood there, his chest heaving violently. In the dim light, Liu Xiangyang saw tears welling up in the old man's eyes, but he quickly suppressed them.

"Those timbers..." Dr. Han's voice was hoarse, "Those timbers originally belonged to my family."

Liu Xiangyang was stunned.

"My family used to run a pharmacy in Harbin and also did some timber business. Watanabe Mayu took a fancy to one of my family's warehouses and a few ancestral prescriptions, and wanted to buy them by force. My father refused, so he colluded with the Japanese and accused my father of colluding with the Anti-Japanese United Army..." Dr. Han closed his eyes, took a deep breath, "Overnight, all seventeen members of my family died. I happened to be out of town that day collecting medicinal herbs, so I escaped the calamity."

The room was deathly silent.

"I've been hiding here under an assumed name for thirty years." Dr. Han opened his eyes, his gaze filled with deep-seated hatred. "I have no hope of revenge in this lifetime. But you are different—you are young and capable, I can see that. Liu Xiangyang, my conditions are simple: one day, if you have the ability, find Watanabe Mayu and make him pay for his crimes in blood. Leave no one alive among the men; the women are yours to deal with."

Liu Xiangyang fell silent. He wasn't some kind of champion of justice, but Dr. Han's ordeal, the looted timber, and his own instinctive aversion to the name "Watanabe" made him make a decision.

"I promise you," Liu Xiangyang said calmly. "If I have the opportunity in the future, I will do it."

Dr. Han looked at him intently, as if to confirm the truth of his words. After a long while, he nodded, walked to the innermost part of the medicine cabinet, took out an oilcloth package from the bottom, and carefully unwrapped it.

Inside were several handwritten thread-bound booklets, the paper yellowed and the edges worn and frayed.

"This is the foundation of my Han family's health preservation school." Dr. Han gently stroked the cover of the booklet. "Illustrated Explanation of Guiding Exercises, Essentials of Sexual Health Preservation, and Records of Materia Medica—starting tomorrow, I will teach you step by step. But remember..."

He raised his head, his eyes serious: "My school emphasizes the complementarity of men and women, the balance of yin and yang. It's not some evil practice of 'sexual cultivation,' but a legitimate path to health preservation. You have good talent and a solid foundation. If you learn it well, it will benefit you and those around you. But the key is in nurturing, not in wasting. If you rely on these skills to act recklessly, you will eventually suffer the consequences."

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