"Why?" asked the woman.

"Yao grew herbs to make profit, not out of charity. If the villagers knew you got herbal formula from him for free, they will all ask Yao for herbs. How can he turn those people down?" said the woman's husband.

"I think most of the villagers will pay him. And the herbs don't cost much anyway," said the woman.

"Yao doesn't grow enough herbs for everyone in the village," said her husband.

"You are right. I've seen Yao's herbal field. There aren't many herbs in the field," said the woman.

"Just keep it to yourself. We should pay him for prescribing herbal formulas in the future," said her husband.

"I see," said the woman.

It was not very sunny early in the morning.

w.a.n.g Yao got up early to start his routine—working in the herbal field and practicing breathing. He planned to go to town today to ask about issues related to Chinese Medicine registration. The information online might not be accurate and the criteria of registration could be different in each province.

It seems I've been too relaxed recently. w.a.n.g Yao looked at his green herbal field and the trees that kept growing.

The common herbs grew much faster than the licorice roots. They were like weeds and crops. One was growing crazily, while the other was growing slowly but solidly. This was not the outcome w.a.n.g Yao wanted; he wanted the licorice roots to grow as fast as the common herbs, but he hadn't found a way to achieve it. He couldn't get rid of all the common herbs which he still needed to make formulas, make profit and protect the licorice roots as a s.h.i.+eld. Most people couldn't recognize the licorice roots, but experts like He Qisheng could. It was important to hide the licorice roots from people who intended to destroy them.

His trip to Lianshan was not as smooth as he had expected.

He went to the medical board to ask what was required to register as a Chinese Medical Pract.i.tioner, but didn't get the answer he wanted. The staff members of the medical board were impatient and arrogant. Maybe because it was close to Chinese New Year that the staff members couldn't focus on their work. w.a.n.g Yao even couldn't find anyone in a department at 10 am. When he asked where everyone was, he was told that the relevant personnel were all in a meeting.

"It is even not easy to make inquiries. It will be more difficult if I start the registration process!" sighed w.a.n.g Yao.

w.a.n.g Yao had to call w.a.n.g Mingbao to ask whether he knew anyone working for the medical board. w.a.n.g Mingbao soon came to meet w.a.n.g Yao and he also brought a friend with him. That friend worked for the medical board. He explained the registration process in detail to w.a.n.g Yao, as well as giving w.a.n.g Yao a table with all the requirements of registration on it. The information was similar to what w.a.n.g Yao obtained online.

The influence of friends in the right place can make a man's life a lot easier, thought w.a.n.g Yao.

After w.a.n.g Yao had obtained all the information he required, it was noon. w.a.n.g Yao invited w.a.n.g Mingbao and his friend for lunch. He asked w.a.n.g Mingbao's friend a few more things when having lunch.

"Is there anyone who meets the criteria of becoming my teacher?" asked w.a.n.g Yao. This is what w.a.n.g Yao worried about most.

"I'm not sure, but I presume there won't be many," said Yuan, w.a.n.g Mingbao's friend. "The criteria are very strict, and it is even harder to find a qualified Chinese Medical Pract.i.tioner."

In fact, in a small county like Lianshan, there were only a few highly experienced and well-known doctors. People working in the medical system all knew about them, and those doctors didn't tend to stay long in Lianshan. They wouldn't eventually move on to bigger hospitals in larger cities.

Yuan left after lunch. w.a.n.g Mingbao invited w.a.n.g Yao to visit his store. w.a.n.g Mingbao made a cup of tea for w.a.n.g Yao after they had arrived at his store.

"Why do you suddenly want to become a registered Chinese Medical Pract.i.tioner? It is not easy to get the certificate, and it's even harder for you as you don't have a medical background!" said w.a.n.g Mingbao when he was pouring the boiled water into a cup. He had asked Yuan about the registration requirements and was told that it would be a long and hard road, especially for people without a medical background.

"I have to get the certificate," said w.a.n.g Yao.

Firstly, the system wanted him to get the certificate, and the punishment for failure was harsh. Secondly, the certificate allowed him to prescribe herbal formulas and treat patients legally, otherwise he could get into big trouble.

"I could probably help if you could get the certificate in the county, but I don't know anyone influential in the province. Do you know anyone who can help you in the province?" asked w.a.n.g Mingbao.

In the province? Yes!

w.a.n.g Yao's eyes lit up as he suddenly thought of someone—Guo Sirou!

Guo Sirou owed w.a.n.g Yao a big favor after w.a.n.g Yao saved her brother. She promised w.a.n.g Yao to help him whenever he wanted as long as it was within the range of her capability. Guo Sirou seemed to be someone of high social status and lived in Qi Province.

Maybe I should call her, thought w.a.n.g Yao.

"I'll also ask my dad if he could help," said w.a.n.g Mingbao as w.a.n.g Yao was thinking about Guo Sirou.

"Please don't mention it to your dad for now. Let me see what I can do first. I'll let you know if I need his help," said w.a.n.g Yao.

"Don't worry about it. Your business is my business," said w.a.n.g Mingbao.

w.a.n.g Yao stayed for a while and left the store when he saw w.a.n.g Mingbao's clients come. w.a.n.g Yao drove home straight away. w.a.n.g Yao called Guo Sirou immediately after he arrived at home and explained the situation to her. Guo Sirou only said three words, "not a problem."

She sounded relaxed and confident on the phone. It seemed that w.a.n.g Yao's request was nothing to her. w.a.n.g Yao also asked her how her grandfather was doing. She said her grandfather's condition was better than expected, and she would like to thank w.a.n.g Yao for saving her grandfather. They chatted for a moment before w.a.n.g Yao hung up the phone.

Was it going to be that easy? w.a.n.g Yao wondered after he hung up the phone. He went back to his cottage after he had called Guo Sirou. 

Woof! Woof! Woof! San Xian suddenly started to bark.

What's going on? w.a.n.g Yao rushed out of the cottage and saw San Xian staring at the body of a wild rabbit full of blood.

"Wow! You can hunt rabbits now!" laughed w.a.n.g Yao.

Woof! Woof! Woof! San Xian lifted his head up and barked towards a big tree nearby.

w.a.n.g Yao looked up and saw the eagle on the tree. He could see blood on its claws and feathers. Obviously, the eagle just went hunting and grabbed the rabbit to share with San Xian.

"Da Xia gave it to you?" asked w.a.n.g Yao.

Da Xia was what w.a.n.g Yao named the eagle. A domineering animal like the eagle should have a domineering name.

Screech! The eagle made a loud sound to indicate that it had accepted the name.