“Three to five years? Really?” The eldest Zhou brother exclaimed excitedly.
The experts and doctors said that they could only extend Old Master Zhou’s life by half a year at most. That was why he was so excited when the divine doctor said that he could extend it by at least three years.
Tang Hao nodded.
He had not met Old Master Zhou yet, but he had been briefed about Old Master Zhou’s condition.
Lung cancer was extraordinarily difficult to diagnose and treat. There were no symptoms in the early stages, and current medical technology could not fully cure late-stage lung cancer.
Even Tang Hao could not treat it that easily. He would require a medical pill to regrow a new set of lungs for the old man.
However, medical pills were hard to make. Gathering the ingredients alone was a big enough problem.
However, if the goal was only life extension, it would be a lot easier. Three to five years was not a problem.
The other diseases were easier to cure.
“I’ll give you several prescriptions. You can go and gather the herbs!” Tang Hao sat down, took a pen and paper, and started writing. He handed the prescription to the eldest Zhou brother.
The eldest Zhou brother was so emotional that his hands were shaking when he took the paper.
The other elderly Chinese physicians crowded around him and looked curiously at the prescriptions.
“I’ll go now!” The eldest Zhou brother quickly went out of the door.
“I’ll go take a look at Old Master Zhou now!” Tang Hao told the two other Zhou brothers.
“This way, please, Divine Doctor Tang!” The two brothers came to their senses and led Tang Hao toward the interior of the house. “My father is bedridden because of his declining health.”
Soon, they arrived at a room.
In the room was a bed surrounded by an array of medical devices. Two nurses attended to an old man lying on the bed. The old man’s face was pale and bony and his eyes were swollen and narrowed. He did not look like he had much time left.
That old man was Zhou Guozhu. Like Song Weimin of the Song family, he was once a high-ranking official in the founding party of the country.
The only difference was that Old Master Song remained healthy while Old Master Zhou was at the end of his life.
“Father! The divine doctor is here!”
The second Zhou brother stood next to the bed and spoke softly into the old man’s ear.
Zhou Guozhu’s eyelids fluttered and slowly opened when he heard that, exposing his cloudy eyeballs.
He seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness.
“He’s here… quick, help me up…” He spoke very softly, as though it took him a lot of effort.
The two younger Zhou brothers carefully propped him up against the headboard.
Zhou Guozhu looked around the room and his eyes eventually fell on Tang Hao. He smiled. “So, it’s you. I’ve heard about you from Weiguo and my sons. They say that you’re a very capable young man.
“Weiguo also told me about other things… I know about your grudge against the Song family.
“Don’t worry… if you don’t know what to do, the Zhou family will help you with that. Because… I trust Weiguo’s judgment. He’s always been an accurate judge of character.”
He smiled as he spoke, though he was seized by a violent fit of coughing.
“You shouldn’t speak so much, Father!” The second Zhou brother quickly said.
“Ha, I’m not going to die that soon! What’s the use of living if I can’t even speak? I might as well die!” Zhou Guozhu said.
“Father! Divine Doctor Tang said that there’s still hope. You can live for another three to five years,” the second Zhou brother said.
“Really?” Zhou Guozhu was surprised.
“Really! Divine Doctor Tang said that himself. If he says that he can do it, then I trust him!”
“Don’t worry, Old Master Zhou,” Tang Hao said, “Three to five years won’t be a problem.”
Zhou Guozhu came to his senses. “Three to five years? That seems a little too much! I could never dream of living for another three to five years.”
He paused for a while and smiled. “That’s good. I can spend more time with my family and my grandchildren then!”
About fifteen minutes later, the eldest Zhou brother came back with a big bag of medicinal herbs.
Tang Hao sat down in front of a table. Just like the day before, he soaked the herbs in water, then pounded them in a gallipot to extract the liquid.
He concocted a total of four types of medicine. Each was for a different disease.
He made twelve portions of lung cancer medicine, and one or two portions for the other types.
Tang Hao extracted tens of bowls of medicine from the herbs.
He took one of the bowls and gave it to the eldest Zhou brother. “Let Old Master Zhou drink this! This will help improve his health and curb the spread of the cancer.
“There are a total of twelve portions of lung cancer medicine. Feed him a portion every three months. When Old Master Zhou’s health is better, you can feed him the other medicines.”
Tang Hao requested many small bottles. He poured the liquid into separate bottles and labeled them with their functions.
Meanwhile, the medicine that Old Master Zhou drank was taking effect. Some color returned to his pale face and he could focus his eyes better.
“This is amazing! I already feel a lot better…”
Zhou Guozhu sat up and clenched his fists. He already seemed much more spirited than earlier.
The Zhou brothers were excited when they saw that.
The elderly Chinese physicians crowded around Old Master Zhou and performed their diagnosis.
“He’s a lot healthier now. The medicine is a miracle!”
“Three to five years is indeed not a problem!”
Tang Hao stood up and said, “Now, I’ll give Old Master Zhou a massage to loosen up his muscles! He’ll soon be able to walk like normal.”
“Thank you, Divine Doctor!” The Zhou brothers said courteously.
Tang Hao calmly walked to Old Master Zhou and asked him to lie on the bed, then gave him a full-body massage.
After the massage, Old Master Zhou got off the bed and started walking without any assistance. His legs were as nimble as though he was younger.
“This is incredible!” Old Master Zhou exclaimed.
He walked in front of Tang Hao. “When Weiguo told me about you yesterday, I didn’t believe it at first. After that, my sons told me the same thing, and only then I reluctantly believed it.
“Now I’m utterly convinced that you’re a divine doctor!
“Everyone, let’s take a walk outside! I haven’t walked for a long time.”
Tang Hao walked next to Old Master Zhou, while the Zhou brothers and Old Master He followed behind.
Tang Hao talked about many things] with Old Master Zhou. At night, everyone had dinner together.
The Zhou family was courteous toward Tang Hao and toasted him many times. Old Master Zhou also drank some liquor.
Everyone parted ways after dinner.
Zhou Zhenghao sent Tang Hao and Old Master He to the airport. They boarded the chartered flight back to Province Z. It was already midnight when they landed.
When they got out of the plane, they saw that Vice Governor He and He Yifei were already waiting for them.
They exchanged some pleasantries before parting ways. Tang Hao took a cab back home.
