Three days later, in Beidu.

A taxi stopped at the gate of a community. Ning Tao got off the taxi carrying his small medicine chest and a big bag of local specialties brought from Shan City. Then Jiang Hao got out of the car and led Ning Tao into the complex after grabbing the heavy bag of local specialties from Ning Tao.

“I told you not to buy anything, but you still bought so many things. What’s in this bag? It’s so heavy,” Jiang Hao asked while leading the way.

Ning Tao smiled and said, “This is the first time I come to your house. How can I come empty-handed? There’s nothing valuable in the bag, only some local specialties of Shan City and some homemade herbs and spices.”

“You can even make your own herbs and spices?” Jiang Hao cried with a surprised look on her face.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Ning Tao responded. “They’re just some generic, nutritious herbs that I processed in secret, ancestral way. They’re really good for people’s health. As for the spices, they are used for cooking, and probably could make the dishes tasty.”

“Probably?” Jiang Hao uttered a laugh. “You are a miracle doctor. I’ve never seen such a wonderful doctor like you in my life. Any illness is a minor ailment to you. My mother will definitely like your herbs and spices very much.”

Ning Tao smiled sheepishly and said, “This is just a little token of my regard. I hope your mother won’t disdain them.”

When they came to a building and were about to enter, a middle-aged woman walking a teddy dog saw them. She paused for a moment and then exclaimed in a surprised voice, “Hey, Jiang Hao, it’s you! Are you taking your boyfriend home?”

A flush of embarrassment rose to Jiang Hao’s cheeks. “Aunt Zhang,” she hurriedly explained, “we actually…”

“Actually what?” Aunt Zhang interrupted, “Don’t be shy.” Then she stared at Ning Tao up and down before continuing, “This young man is really good-looking. What’s your name? What do you do? Where are you from?”

The middle-aged women in Hua Country were just so curious about other people.

Before Ning Tao could reply, Jiang Hao pulled him and walked into the building, shouting, “Aunt Zhang, my mom is waiting for us, so we won’t talk to you anymore. See you later.”

Aunt Zhang looked back at Ning Tao, who was being dragged into the building by Jiang Hao, shook her head slightly and muttered, “He’s really handsome, but he’s kind of poor without even a decent suit on. He is a world away from my daughter’s husband. My daughter’s husband’s watch is worth tens of thousands of yuan…”

Ning Tao heard what she said, but he had to pretend he didn’t.

When they arrived at Jiang Hao’s house, her mother, Tang Zhen, was all smiles. As soon as she heard Jiang Hao say that Ning Tao specially brought her some nutritious herbs and spices that were processed by secret methods, Tang Zhen couldn’t wait to open the bag and take the things out.

There were three kinds of nutritious herbs that Ning Tao gave Tang Zhen, which were Chinese wolfberries, Chinese angelica, and asparagus ferns. These herbs were all refined with the delicate perfumed tripod, but they were only purified 30 percent, and not refined to the most concentrated essence. Even so, the Chinese wolfberries were crystal clear, fragrant and looked like scented rubies. As for Chinese angelica and asparagus ferns, the two herbs looked as beautiful as amber and also smelled fragrant.

Tang Zhen took a look at each herb, and then praised, “Wow, what kind of Chinese wolfberries are these? They look so beautiful! And the Chinese angelica, whoa, if I go out with them around my neck, I’m sure some people will think I’m wearing a string of agate…”

The spices that Ning Tao brought for Tang Zhen were common, which were chilies, flower peppers and star anise. However, after the refining by his spiritual power and the delicate perfumed tripod, those chilies, flower peppers and star anise were also crystal clear like amber, with a strong fragrance. Besides, they not only sent out the fragrance of themselves, but also sent out a kind of indescribable and magical fragrance, smelling pleasant and appetizing.

Tang Zhen went on to praise, “Whoa, these chilies, flower peppers and star anise are so aromatic that I don’t even want to eat them. Ning Tao, you are a man of great ability…”

Jiang Hao couldn’t stand her mother’s exaggerated tone, dragged Ning Tao to a room, and didn’t let go of his hand until they entered through the door.

This was a woman’s room with a bed, a wardrobe, a dresser and a bookshelf. On the bookshelf were several trophies and medals, such as the first prize in the shooting competition, the second prize in the fighting competition, and several grade 3 and grade 2 military medals.

The room seemed a little cramped with too much stuff, but that was the general situation in Beidu. The price of the house in this city was speculated to 100 thousand yuan per square meter, and thus ordinary people could not afford to buy a house. Tang Zhen bought this house more than 10 years ago when the house price had not gone so high. In fact, she had miscalculated. As she was not well off at that time, she only bought this small house with two bedrooms and one living room. One of the bedrooms was hers, and the other was Jiang Hao’s, so there were no guest rooms.

“You sleep in my room these days, and I sleep in the living room,” Jiang Hao began.

Ning Tao hurriedly refused, “No, I’m already added to your labors. It would be unfair to let you sleep in the living room. I’m going to sleep in the living room.”

“You’re our guest. How can we let you sleep in the living room?” Jiang Hao retorted, “You sleep in my room, and I sleep in the living room. It’s settled.”

“If you don’t allow me to sleep in the living room, I’ll go to the hotel,” Ning Tao insisted.

“You…” Jiang Hao was furious with him.

Ning Tao smiled and uttered, “It’s settled then. I’ll sleep in the living room.”

Jiang Hao heaved a resigned sigh and gave in. “Well, all right. You can be really obstinate sometimes.”

Ning Tao just gave her a smile and didn’t say anything more.

Soon, Tang Zhen made lunch of red braised pork, boiled meat slices and stewed chicken. These dishes were made with the tonic herbs and spices brought by Ning Tao. Star anise was used in the red braised pork, chilies and flower peppers used in the boiled meat slices, and Chinese angelica used in the stewed chicken. As soon as these dishes were served, the whole room was filled with their fragrance, which increased the three’s appetite.

In addition to adding flavor to the food, the spices and tonic herbs refined by Ning Tao made these common dishes really delicious. The boiled meat slices was an authentic Sichuan Cuisine, but with the chili and the flower pepper that Ning Tao refined, it retained its spicy characteristics and added the umami of seafood, making this dish both spicy and umami. Moreover, its spiciness would not stimulate the taste buds and stomach, so even people from the north could enjoy it. The stewed chicken with star anise liquefied as soon as one took a bite, and it was delicious and refreshing. When the chicken soup got into the stomach, one felt warm and unspeakably comfortable and would be put in a good mood. This was the real chicken soup for the soul.

Tang Zhen and Jiang Hao had these dishes so happily that they even forget their decent table manners as women.

Ning Tao was delighted, too. In the past three days he had not only refined a lot of creams of aloe vera essence, but also some tonic herbs and spices. This time he gave these tonic herbs and spices to Tang Zhen partly because he wanted to test their effects. Now it seemed that the spices made with the delicate perfumed tripod were also good, so he didn’t have to worry that there was no market for them.

After these dishes were quickly eaten, Tang Zhen belched and pleasantly said, “This is the most comfortable meal I’ve ever had in my life. Ning Tao, when I run out of chilies, flower peppers and other spices, I’ll ask you for them. You must not refuse me then.”

Ning Tao smiled and replied, “Just give me a call and I’ll mail the spices to you.”

“Ning Tao, you’re not only kind but also capable. I wonder what girl will be lucky enough to marry you,” Tang Zhen uttered, glancing at Jiang Hao, who was holding a cup and drinking, out of the corner of her eye. Then, all of a sudden, she asked, “Ning Tao, why didn’t your girlfriend come to Beidu with you?”

Ning Tao instantly froze and asked back, “My girlfriend? Who?”

“I mean Lin Qingyu,” Tang Zhen answered. “Don’t you have only one girlfriend?”

Ning Tao was slightly embarrassed and explained, “You’re mistaken. I don’t have a girlfriend. Lin Qingyu and I are just good friends.”

“Oh, I see.” Tang Zhen gave a funny laugh and then stepped on Jiang Hao’s instep.

Jiang Hao suddenly opened her mouth without a cry, but the water she had just drunk trickled from the corners of her mouth.

“What’s wrong?” Ning Tao asked solicitously. He didn’t see what Tang Zhen did under the table.

“I’m fine. Let’s go. I’ll take you to the Ding family.” Jiang Hao changed the subject. She knew why her own mother had stepped on her, and she was embarrassed to think of that.

“Okay, let’s go to the Ding family now,” echoed Ning Tao, who was thinking about the appointment on the 15th of the lunar month. He could only stay in Beidu for a few days.

“Jiang Hao, do you have an appointment with Ding Congjun?” Tang Zhen inquired.

Ding Congjun was Ding Ye’s son, a major general in a military district in Beidu. This was what Jiang Hao told Ning Tao on the way here. Also, she briefly told Ning Tao about several other important members of the Ding family. So, when Tang Zhen mentioned Ding Congjun, Ning Tao immediately thought about who he was and something about him. Ding Ye was sick, and now it was Ding Congjun who was in charge of the Ding family.

“Yes, I’ve made an appointment with him. Mom, we’re going.” Jiang Hao didn’t seem to want to spend any more time at home, because if she stayed any longer, she didn’t know what other embarrassing things her mother, who was desperate for her to get married, would do.

Ning Tao said goodbye to Tang Zhen and followed Jiang Hao out the door with his medicine chest.

On the way within the community, Jiang Hao raised a question. “You told my mom you didn’t have a girlfriend just now. Why don’t you find one?”

“I’m not even graduating yet. A student who has no job or money is not qualified to fall in love,” Ning Tao replied awkwardly.

“That’s because you don’t want the money and the job. You ripped the check for 1,000,000 that I gave you right away and turned down the job I recommended without hesitation.” Jiang Hao never got over it yet.

Ning Tao gave an awkward grin and said, “Let’s not talk about this anymore. I’ll go get a cab.” Then he quickened his pace, as if fleeing.

Looking at his back, Jiang Hao paused for a second before stating, “Why don’t you ask me if I have a boyfriend?”

But only she could hear it.

It was not that Ning Tao didn’t want a girlfriend. As a normal man, he would be attracted to pretty and hot women. But he could only think about them, and dared not take the initiative to pursue a woman. Before, he could not catch up with girls because he was poor; Now, money was not a major issue to him, but his identity of the owner of the Sky Clinic was a new obstacle.

He did not know whether he would one day be drained of his life by the clinic for not earning enough rent and then sent to the crematorium, or whether he would live thousands of years like Chen Pingdao. In this case, how could he fall in love with an ordinary girl and stay with her until they were old?