"Is it that serious?" Hu Mei asked.

"Several people have died because of these bugs," Jia Zizai said. "There might be even related to the venom secreted at the hot spring."

"No wonder Mr. w.a.n.g said time was short."

It was not until now that they understood the meaning of w.a.n.g Yao's words.

"How did he know?" Hu Mei asked.

"He smelled a unique smell in the water," Jia Zizai replied.

w.a.n.g Yao drove in front to lead the way to the restaurant in Xia Village, where they always went.

"h.e.l.lo, welcome." The manager came to meet them when he saw them.

Many guests had come for dinner. There were only five tables available.

"Our signature dish, stewed fish in a cauldron, has been improved," the manager said. "Would you like to taste it and give us some suggestions?"

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

All the dishes were served quickly. The fish was served last. The fish soup was white, and it smelled delicious.

"It looks delicious."

"This is fresh carp we picked up from the reservoir," the manager warmly said. "All the carp we selected were about three pounds. We also used angelica, ginseng, and other medicinal materials while cooking it to make it more delicious and nouris.h.i.+ng."

"It's time to taste it," w.a.n.g Yao immediately said when he heard about the additional medicinal herbs in it.

"OK, taste it," the manager said. "I hope you enjoy it. I will treat you this meal."

"You don't have to do that," w.a.n.g Yao said. "You are too kind."

"It's no problem at all," the manager said. "It's settled, so please enjoy. Call me if you need anything else."

"OK, no problem!"

"Come on, let's try this fish."

"Yeah, let's try it."

The fish soup was delicious, and the fish was perfectly cooked.

"Well, it's delicious!"

"It's really delicious. I haven't eaten such delicious fish for a long time," Jia Zizai said.

w.a.n.g Yao drank the soup and carefully savored it.

"Sir, what do you think?"

"It is fine." w.a.n.g Yao smiled.

He could guess what was in it just by tasting it. There was ginseng, wolfberry, Huangjing, and other medicinal ingredients. Of course, those medicinal ingredients were not as good as those he grew on Nanshan Hill. In fact, they were all low-cost medicines. After all, a business aimed to make money and was not for charity.

"Sir, let's enjoy the wine," Jia Zizai said, holding up his gla.s.s.

"Thank you," w.a.n.g Yao said with a smile.

"As for this fish, do not eat it too much." w.a.n.g Yao picked up a piece of fish and tasted it.

"Why? What's the problem!" Jia Zizai spit out the fish he was chewing.

"There is no big problem," w.a.n.g Yao smiled and said. "It's just that there is some conflict between the two flavors of Chinese medicines. The most serious issue might be diarrhea."

"Ah, that's fine," Jia Zizai said. Afterward, he put another piece of fish into his mouth.

"Yes, it's delicious, Sir. How can you tell there is a conflict between ingredients just by tasting it?"

"One medicine is licorice," w.a.n.g Yao said. "That is a commonly used Chinese medicinal material. Its function is to reconcile all kinds of drugs, but it conflicts with the carp. That is why I say it is not suitable to use it."

"Is there anything else? What about the other medicinal ingredients?"

"Another medicine causes conflict to chicken."

"Chicken? Is that in here?"

"A small amount of chicken soup was added to it," w.a.n.g Yao said. "The carp and chicken soup are slightly offensive."

"Isn't there a famous dish called Farewell My Concubine that uses carp and chicken?"

"Like what I said, eating less is OK," w.a.n.g Yao said. "It could cause some discomfort in the stomach but nothing very serious."

"I didn't know I'd learn more just from eating with you," Jia Zizai said.

In addition to stewed fish, there was also a distinctive spicy fried chicken dish.

"Well, both of these dishes were very good," Pan Jun said. "I can see why people would come here for dinner. Even people from the county would want to taste these dishes."

After eating, w.a.n.g Yao returned to the mountain village.

"Would you like to go and drink some tea with me?"

"Don't drink tea immediately after eating fish," w.a.n.g Yao said. "You should wait for a while."

"Let's play poker. Do you like to play?"

"No, thank you. I'll go back to the clinic to study these bugs. You just enjoy your evening."

"Fine."

"Thank you, Sir."

"You're welcome," w.a.n.g Yao replied.

He walked back to the clinic and took out the gla.s.s bottle containing the poisonous insects. Several bugs were crawling inside.

w.a.n.g Yao gently opened the lid of the bottle. At first, the bugs were manic. They seemed to want to jump out. He didn't know why, but the bugs suddenly gathered together and laid at the bottom of the bottle. It was as if they had encountered something terrible, such as a creature they greatly feared.

"Why didn't they have this reaction when they were in the hot spring?" w.a.n.g Yao asked aloud. "Didn't they respond fast enough?"

He returned home and took a rabbit from the cage.

"What are you doing with the rabbit?" Zhang Xiuying asked.

"I need it for an experiment," w.a.n.g Yao said with a smile.

He put the rabbit in a cardboard box. Next, he put a bug into the box. The bug did nothing for a moment. Suddenly, it jumped on the rabbit. After a while, the rabbit began to twitch. Apparently, it was poisoned.

"It is so aggressive now!"

w.a.n.g Yao took the bug out and put it into a gla.s.s bottle. He poured a bowl of medicine soup made with detoxification gra.s.s into the rabbit's mouth and quietly waiting for the medicine to take effect. Within an hour, the rabbit was better. The abnormal symptoms it had shown disappeared. w.a.n.g Yao put some leaves and gra.s.s into the box, and the rabbit began to eat.

"It is quite toxic."

w.a.n.g Yao did several other experiments to understand some of the characteristics of the poisonous insects.

He thought, This kind of poisonous insect grows where the geothermal is extremely hot. Its toxins are related to heat poisoning. It should be medicinal, but it is poisonous. Therefore, it is necessary to control the metering when it is used.

…

Thousands of miles away in southern Yunnan…

In a well-decorated hotel, in a private room, Guo Zhenghe was meeting a man in his 40s. He was thin, and his hair was a little yellow. His spirit was worse.

"Uncle Xu, I will count on you," Guo Zhenghe said.

"Childe, you are too polite," the man said. "You can order me to do anything you need."

"Uncle Xu, just call me Zhenghe. I feel awkward when I hear Childe from you." Guo Zhenghe filled the middle-aged man's gla.s.s with wine.

"I prefer to call you Childe when there is no other one here, but I'll call you Secretary Guo when I'm outside, right?"

"This is OK," Guo Zhenghe said.

"What business do you need me to do?" the middle-aged man asked.

"Enjoy the meal first," Guo Zhenghe said. "We will talk about it after eating."

"That is good."

After three rounds of drinking and five dishes, Guo Zhenghe pa.s.sed over the bag of information that had suddenly appeared in his office.

"Read it first."

The middle-aged man opened the bag. He read the contents of the first page. His face changed. He read it very carefully.

"Where did these things come from?" the man asked.

Guo Zhenghe carefully explained what happened, including how this portfolio appeared on his desk without any notice.

"Did the boy have any contact with these strange people?" the man asked.

"So far there was no contact," Guo Zhenghe said.

The middle-aged man was silent for a while.

"I saw the news before I came here," the middle-aged man finally said. "A strange thing happened in a place under your control recently. In a village, 11 people were killed in three days, right?"

"Yes, that is the case," Guo Zhenghe said. "The criminal investigation experts in the provincial capital have already come and investigated the case."

"Can I see the relevant information?"

"No problem," Guo Zhenghe said. He took out another portfolio, which looked well-prepared.

The middle-aged man carefully read it. It had more information, so it took longer to read it. Guo Zhenghe was not in a hurry and quietly waited.

"I have no evidence, but based on my experience and feelings over the years, most of these people did not die naturally. They were killed," the middle-aged man said.

"But no evidence of homicide was found on them," Guo Zhenghe said. He preferred the idea that these people died unnaturally, but everything needed to be evidence-based. What he lacked most now was evidence.

"So, someone sent you this information," the middle-aged man said.

.