"I see. It doesn't hurt to ask anyway. Have you been busy working lately?" the head of the hospital asked.

"Not really," Pan Jun said.

"You are still young. Keep up the good work," the head of the hospital said.

"Sure, is there anything else you need me to do?" Pan Jun asked.

"No, I'll talk to you at another time," the head of the hospital said.

After Pan Jun had left the office, Director Liang, the head of the hospital, suddenly looked unpleasant.

"He's applied for a patent. That was a quick move!" He looked toward the door. "I doubt if Dr. Pan was telling me the truth."

In the village, a lot of people had noticed the change on the U-shaped land at the foot of Nanshan Hill.

"Wow! Who planted so many trees here?" People were surprised to see the hundreds of trees w.a.n.g Yao had planted.

"Were they planted by Yao?" one of the villagers aske. "I saw trucks with trees came here a few days ago."

"Why did he plant so many trees here? By the way, does this place belong to him?" a female villager asked.

"I think so, haven't you seen the statement in the Village Committee?" a middle-aged villager asked.

"What? He has contracted more areas?" an old villager asked.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter. These areas would be wasted if no one looked after them. You can't do farming there anyway," the middle-aged villager said. He had a good impression about w.a.n.g Yao, so he was talking in his favor.

"But, why did he grow so many trees?" the female villager asked.

"Who knows? Maybe he just wants to make a profit out of them," a young villager said.

"Take a look at those trees, most of them are poplar and eucalyptus trees, and this one is elm. Are you sure he can't make any profit out of these trees?" the female villager asked.

"Why do you care?" the middle-aged villager asked.

"You are right. It has nothing to do with me. I'm leaving," the female villager said.

At the moment, fewer villagers came to Nanshan Hill.

"Well, there are less and less people here. Soon, only old people like me will be the only ones here," the old villager said.

"You are right. Young people don't want to stay here," the middle-aged villager said. "But, there is an exception."

"Are you talking about Yao? He's a weird young man," the old villager said.

Most villagers thought w.a.n.g Yao was weird. They didn't understand why he wanted to stay in this isolated small villager as an extraordinary doctor. They really didn't get what was on his mind.

"I really don't understand the younger generation," the old villager said.

w.a.n.g Yao, the weird young man to most villagers, was seeing patients in his clinic. He had unexpected guests at noon.

It was Tian Yuantu and Wei Hai. 

"What brings you guys here?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.

"I haven't seen you for ages. I'm here because I miss you," Wei Hai said with a smile. "Wow, you have more and more patients."

"Yeah," w.a.n.g Yao said. "Have you had lunch?" 

"Not yet," Wei Hai said.

"My treat," w.a.n.g Yao said.

They went to the same restaurant as always. The three of them ordered several dishes and a pot of wine.

"Did you drive here?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.

"No, we've arranged drivers to pick us up later," Wei Hai said.

Both Wei Hai and Tian Yuantu were successful businessmen, so they had their designated drivers on call.

"It's nice to be rich," w.a.n.g Yao joked.

The three of them were chatting while eating.

"I need to ask you guys something." w.a.n.g Yao told Wei Hai and Tian Yuantu about Zhen Weijun's proposal.

"Pharmaceutical company?" Wei Hai asked.

"I think it is a good thing. Pharmaceutical companies make good profits. With the a.s.sistance from Zhen Family, it will be way easier to establish a company," Tian Yuantu said.

"I found most people you know are from prestige families," Wei Hai said as he stuffed some dishes into his mouth.

The Zhen Family was very well-known. They didn't expect Zhen Weijun would come to see w.a.n.g Yao for treatment. And, it seemed that he had established a good relations.h.i.+p with w.a.n.g Yao.

"Sun Yunsheng introduced me to them. I suppose the Sun Family has done business with the Zhen Family before," w.a.n.g Yao said.

"Yes, and their wealth level is similar," Tian Yuantu said. "But, Sun Zhengrong is based north of Yangzi River while Zhen Weijun and his family are based south. One of Zhen Weijun's relatives is a senior officer in the government department. He has played a vital role in promoting the family business. Sun Zhengrong doesn't have such an advantage. You should have a good think about the proposal."

"That's right." Wei Hai agreed.

"I'm actually interested in the proposal," w.a.n.g Yao said.

He had had a rich knowledge of herbs and medicine. It would be a shame if he only used his knowledge to treat patients. In addition, he had an infinitive task to promote and restore the name of Chinese Pharmacist. Establis.h.i.+ng a pharmaceutical company would be a great way to complete that task.

"You have our support. Let me know if you need anything from me," Wei Hai said.

"Right, it would be even better if we could invest your company," Tian Yuantu joked.

"By the way, I have a suggestion, you must have the absolute authority in the company. Otherwise, you'll just be a money-making tool for them," Wei Hai said.

"Yes, I've thought about that, too," w.a.n.g Yao said.

"Good, let me propose a toast," Wei Hai said.

"OK," w.a.n.g Yao said.

"I hope our friends.h.i.+p will last forever," Wei Hai said.

The three of them didn't finish lunch until 2 pm. Both Wei Hai and Tian Yuantu were in good moods. They drank a lot of wine. Their drivers had already arrived, but they were waiting outside. So, they didn't mind drinking a bit more than usual.

"Gotta go. My treat next time when you come to Haiqu," Wei Hai said.

"OK," w.a.n.g Yao said.

"Don't forget to call me when you are in Haiqu next time," Wei Hai said.

w.a.n.g Yao watched them leave as he stood on a narrow road. The trees on the sides of the road were moving in the wind.

It was nice to catch up with friends. They chatted and had several gla.s.ses of wine together. They didn't talk about anything political or really important, just casual conversations, like most friends did.

True friends.h.i.+ps were like water. Some relations.h.i.+ps, in spite of looking good like wine, were not true friends.h.i.+ps.

The Li Family Creek was located deep in the hills. Previously, not many people in Lianshan knew about it because it was too isolated and had no selling point unlike some other places, which was either famous for their BBQ food, or pancakes. Li Family Creek had nothing at all in the past. Nowadays, most people in Lianshan knew about the place thanks to the hot springs.

The company running the resort made a great effort to advertise their services. Those who ran the company were from south. They built a large facility with hot springs attraction. It attracted a lot of visitors on weekends and holidays.

Most people in Lianshan had only seen hot springs on TV. Now, they had a chance to try the hot springs in their own county. Of course, they would visit the resort for curiosity.

"Wow, it is so comfortable to be in the warm water," a visitor said.

He and his friends came to the resort to try the hot springs. The temperature of the water was a bit high.

"Exactly," his friend said.

"I think they should build a group of houses here. A lot of people would be interested in buying one," the first visitor said.

"I agree with you," his friend said.

"Are you serious? I heard the hills here had poisonous insects before. Two people died because of the insects," another friend said.

"What? Seriously?" the first visitor asked with surprise. "It can't be possible. What insects could kill people?"

"Exactly," his friend said.

In a house of Li Family Creek, a man was lying in bed. His eyes were shut closed. His face turned green.

"What happened? You were fine before you went out," his wife said.

"I was bitten by an insect on the hill," the man said.

"What insect?" the woman asked.

"It is not the time to talk about this. Take him to the hospital now," the man's mother said.

"You are right. I'll take you to the hospital," his wife said.

A car left the villager in a hurry. The man's wife took him to the emergency department of Lianshan People's hospital.

"Doctor, can you please take a look at him?" the wife anxiously asked.

"Hmm?" The doctor on call came forward as soon as he saw the patient.

"What happened to him?" the doctor asked.

"I think he is poisoned," the patient's wife said.

"What poison? What has he had for dinner?" the doctor asked.

"No, he was bitten on the hill," the wife said.

"Bitten by a snake?" Actually there were not many poisonous snakes in the north. In Lianshan, many people had never come across anyone bitten by a poisonous snake for decades. There were no wild poisonous snake in Lianshan.

"Not a snake, he was bitten by insect," the wife said.

"What insect could be so poisonous?" the doctor asked as he was examining the patient.

"I have no idea," the wife said.

"Insect?" Another doctor came long as he heard the word. It was Pan Jun.

"h.e.l.lo, Dr. Pan," the doctor on call said.

"Let me take a look." Pan Jun quickly went to exam the patient's body.

His heart rate was too fast, and his blood pressure was too high. He was short of breath and unconscious.

"Where are you from?" Pan Jun asked.

"Li Family Creek," the wife said murmured.

"Li Family Creek?" Pan Jun.

The place was famous for its hot springs, so most people knew about it. Pan Jun also knew that Li Family Creek was close to w.a.n.g Yao's village, which was blocked in the past due to an outbreak of a horrible contagious disease caused by poisonous insects.

Is this case related to the contagious disease happened a while ago? Pan Jun wondered.

"Dr. Pan, what should we do?" the doctor on call asked.

"Send him to do a blood test, and be quick. Get the breathing machine ready," Pan Jun instructed.

"OK," the resident doctor said.

The medical staff acted with great efficiency.

I should let Dr. w.a.n.g know about this. Pan Jun gave w.a.n.g Yao a call.

"Someone from Li Family Creek was poisoned?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.

"Yes, his wife said he was bitten by an insect," Pan Jun said.

"I see," w.a.n.g Yao said.

"Do you have any good treatment plan?" Pan Jun asked.

"I guess you don't have any medications in the hospital that are effective in treating this kind of disease, but I have something effective," w.a.n.g Yao said.

"Really?" Pan Jun asked.

However, the patient was in the hospital. It was not appropriate for them to go to w.a.n.g Yao's clinic.

"I'll leave it to you to decide," w.a.n.g Yao said.

"OK," Pan Jun said.

The patient was admitted into the hospital after being examined thoroughly.

"h.e.l.lo, Dr. Xu, how is that patient who was bitten by an insect now?" Pan Jun asked.

"He is in critical condition. He is likely to have heart failure," Dr. Xu said.

"Can you make him better?" Pan Jun asked.

"I'm not sure. I can't guarantee anything at this stage. They said he was poisoned. I did find small marks on his body, and he had been showing intoxication symptoms. To be honest, shouldn't he be sent to Trauma? Why is he here?" Dr. Xu asked.

"I can't help you with this," Pan Jun said as he walked away.

Are you joking? Sending him to Trauma? The doctors there are useless! Pan Jun thought.

"Hey, don't go away!" Dr. Xu shouted.

In the hospital room, the patient regained consciousness.

"How are you feeling?" his wife anxiously asked.

"Find… find..." He called out a person's name before pa.s.sing out.

"What's wrong?" his wife asked.

"What did he say?" a nurse nearby asked.

"He wants to speak to Maoming," the patient's wife said.

"Who is Maoming?" the nurse asked.

"Now I remember, Maoming's son had also been bitten by an insect. He is fine now," the patient's wife said.

"Where did he get treated?" the nurse asked.

"I can't remember," the wife said.

She immediately called her family to ask about Maoming's son.