Li Xu called Song Sisi to let her know the clinic was closed today, so she had the day off.
Carrying a small sickle for harvesting herbs, Li Xu took a bus to Tang Mountain.
On the way, his thoughts turned to the renowned Xiangshui Royal Rice.
Xiangshui Royal Rice was known as "China's Number One Rice," the absolute finest of its kind.
Its flavor was exceptional.
Why?
The reason lay in its growing environment. Tectonic shifts and volcanic eruptions had formed a vast basalt landscape. Over thousands of years, humus accumulated on the stone slabs, creating a layer of fertile black soil.
Xiangshui Royal Rice grew on ancient lava plateaus, nourished by black humus, irrigated by the pure waters of Jingbo Lake, and breathing the fresh air of a primeval forest.
Its grains resembled creamy white jade, and its flavor was sweet, mellow, and tender.
Since the Tang Dynasty, Xiangshui Royal Rice had been offered as tribute to successive imperial courts for over a thousand years, becoming a legend among its kind.
'So, for a plant, its environment is the most important factor.'
The preciousness of many traditional medicinal herbs came down to their growing environment.
Take Ginseng, for example. When you analyze wild and cultivated Ginseng with modern instruments, their chemical compositions are identical.
But their medicinal effects are completely different.
That was the magic of traditional medicinal ingredients.
「One hour later.」
Li Xu got off the bus.
Tang Mountain immediately came into view.
The mountain wasn't high; from a distance, it looked like a simple mound.
However, it was surrounded by rocky riverbeds, making the path difficult to traverse, and there were no signs of civilization.
The area felt utterly desolate.
Following the directions from his intelligence, Li Xu headed northeast.
The area was overgrown with wild grass, the silence broken only by the occasional chirp of a bird.
The soil at the mountain's base was dark brown. It had a unique granular texture, as if it were mixed with fine, crushed minerals.
'This must be the place.'
Li Xu arrived at the northeastern foot of Tang Mountain.
He began searching for wild rice.
Soon, on a sunny slope, he discovered a patch of wild brown rice. The stalks grew sparsely among the weeds, standing only about half a meter tall. The ears of rice were short, and the husks were coarse and brown—a stark contrast to the golden stalks found in a typical rice paddy.
'This stuff looks... pretty pathetic.'
Li Xu squatted down, plucked a grain of the coarse rice, and peeled off its husk.
The kernel was pale yellow and hard. It had a faint, earthy smell, tinged with the distinct metallic scent of minerals.
He took out his small sickle and carefully harvested a patch of the rice.
He put it all into the bag he'd brought with him.
There wasn't much rice in total—only about thirty-odd pounds. But since his intelligence claimed it was effective, he had to give it a try.
Li Xu didn't leave right away.
Instead, he looked around the area some more.
He didn't find any other patches of wild rice.
However, he did discover some construction machinery.
They stood starkly on the mountainside.
Completely unattended.
There was also some trash scattered about.
It looked as if a construction crew had been working here but had left for some unknown reason.
'They're not planning to develop this area, are they?'
Li Xu was deeply concerned.
He had been planning to plant some better rice varieties here himself.
If the area was developed, his plan would be ruined.
'Forget it. I won't worry about it for now.'
Shouldering the sack of rice, he took the bus back to his clinic.
He set down the wild rice.
Then he went to an agricultural machinery store on the next street and spent 1,660 yuan on a small rice huller.
He returned to his courtyard.
First, he threshed the grains from the stalks.
Then he poured the unhulled rice into the huller and switched it on.
WHIRRRRR~
The machine whirred to life.
The husks were stripped away.
Revealing grayish-white grains of rice.
They looked very coarse.
Li Xu was deeply skeptical.
'Could this possibly taste good?'
He grabbed a handful, put it in his rice cooker, and made a bowl of porridge.
When the porridge was done, the grains were still firm, and the water was murky.
Li Xu scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his lips—
"COUGH!"
He nearly spat it out.
The rice was coarse and hard, like chewing on sand, and it had a bitter, mineral aftertaste. Forget comparing it to Xiangshui Royal Rice—this was worse than even the cheapest, oldest rice on the market!
'How could this be?'
Li Xu frowned.
'Xiangshui Royal Rice grew on stone slabs and was said to be delicious.'
'Why does this rice taste so awful?'
'Is it an issue with the variety?'
Lost in thought, Li Xu checked his intelligence again—
...Rich in a high concentration of minerals and trace elements... highly effective in treating anorexia.
'Could it be... that the point isn't the taste, but the medicinal effect?'
He stared pensively at the unpalatable porridge in his bowl.
'Perhaps this rice isn't meant to be a staple food. Maybe, like other medicinal ingredients, its value lies in its therapeutic effects?'
Just as he was mulling it over, his phone suddenly rang.
"Xiao Xu, why are you closed again?" Aunt Li's chiding voice came through the phone. "Your clinic is the only one on this street now! This is the perfect time to make a name for yourself. You need to work hard, not be so half-hearted!"
"Aunt Li, I had something to take care of today. Did you need something?"
"I do," Aunt Li said, getting to the point. "Listen, my niece doesn't have a boyfriend, and she is an absolute knockout! Prettier than a movie star, you'll fall for her at first sight! I plan to bring her over to your clinic for a 'check-up' this weekend, so you'd better be on your best behavior!"
Li Xu was exasperated. "Aunt Li, you really don't have to—"
"What do you mean, you don't have to? How old are you?" Aunt Li gave him no chance to refuse. "It's settled! Saturday morning. And remember to dress sharp!"
The line went dead with a CLICK.
Li Xu shook his head helplessly. Aunt Li was just too enthusiastic.
Still, a part of him was curious to see just how beautiful she really was.
...
In an ordinary residential complex.
Wang Xiulan pushed open her daughter's bedroom door and was hit by a thick wave of perfume.
Zheng Wenwen was at her vanity, applying lipstick. The girl in the mirror had a delicate, oval face and large, sparkling eyes. Her skin was so fair it was almost translucent. A cascade of wavy, chestnut-brown hair tumbled over her shoulders, accentuating her long, slender neck.
"Wenwen, Mom needs to talk to you about something," Wang Xiulan said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Her tone was uncharacteristically gentle.
"What is it?" Zheng Wenwen replied without turning, concentrating on lining her lips.
"Your Great-Aunt has introduced you to someone. He's a traditional Chinese medicine doctor with his own clinic..."
"A traditional Chinese medicine doctor?" Zheng Wenwen's hand paused. She shot her mother a look in the mirror. "Mom, you want me to marry some backwater country doctor?"
"What do you mean, backwater country doctor!" Wang Xiulan snapped. "This Doctor Li is young and successful. A single dose of his medicine can sell for over fifty thousand yuan! Your great-aunt saw it with her own eyes!"
Zheng Wenwen scoffed. "He's bluffing, right? What kind of medicine is worth fifty thousand?"
She turned around, revealing her perfectly made-up face. "The rich heirs I knew in Shanghai would spend that much on a single dinner..."
"Don't you start with your rich heirs!" Wang Xiulan cut her off. "You're already twenty-five! You spent three years running around Shanghai, and what did you bring back? Not even a single serious boyfriend!"
Zheng Wenwen's expression froze.
It was a sore spot for her. During her years in Shanghai, she had indeed met plenty of wealthy men, but they either just wanted to fool around or already had fiancées from families of equal standing.
"This time is different," Wang Xiulan said, lowering her voice. "I heard from your great-aunt that Doctor Li's parents have both passed away. He's all alone, and his clinic is doing great business..."
Zheng Wenwen suddenly started coughing, an unnatural flush rising in her cheeks.
"Running a fever again?" Wang Xiulan touched her daughter's forehead. "This low-grade fever hasn't let up since you got back from Shanghai. This is perfect. You can go meet him this weekend and have him take a look at you. It won't even cost anything."
Zheng Wenwen stared at her reflection. Despite her makeup, she could still see the dark circles under her eyes and her sickly pallor.
This damn low-grade fever had been dragging on for two weeks. She remembered a close friend of hers having the same symptoms, and when she'd gone to the hospital for tests...
She didn't dare go to the hospital.
She was terrified it might be something serious.
After a moment's thought, Zheng Wenwen relented. "Fine, I'll go meet this 'Divine Physician.'"
She was already doing the math in her head. 'If he's really as rich as Mom says, settling down for a while might not be such a bad idea.'