What was strange was that Shi Feng actually held another pair of scissors in his right hand and was cutting another batch of medicinal herbs. He cut with both hands, doing one thing at a time, and there was no conflict at all.
Moreover, different types of medicinal materials are processed differently, either by slicing, dicing, grinding, or shelling and removing the seeds, and Shi Feng never stops.
After Shi Feng processed the herbs, he put a little vegetable oil into the iron pot on the stove on his right hand, took some ginger, chopped it into pieces and put it into the pot to stir-fry, cut the fish in half, put it into the pot and fried it until golden brown, then added water, closed the pot and simmered it over low heat.
At the same time, the medicinal materials are also put into a large sand pot on the left stove and boiled.
The Taoist watched for a long time, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes, and said, "Shi Feng, how can you do two different things with your hands at the same time?"
"I don't know. Maybe I've been used to it since I was a child." Shi Feng answered with a silly smile while busying himself.
"Oh, why is that? I'd like to hear the details."
Shi Feng found a piece of dry wood, split it in half, and placed one half on each side of the stove. "My father died early, and my mother was in poor health. Since I was a child, I had to make rice porridge for my younger sister and boil medicine for my mother at the same time. Both were very urgent, so I tried to do both things at the same time, and slowly I got used to it."
The Taoist said "Oh" and then asked, "So, this multitasking, can it only be used for cooking, or can it do other things as well?"
Shi Feng was stunned for a moment, then thought for a moment, "It seems like there's more to it than just these. But if it requires both hands to do something, I can't separate them. For example, when hunting, I have to hold the bow with one hand and arrow with the other. I can't separate my hands to do other things. But if it's something that both hands can do separately, that's fine. I can fish with one hand and sharpen arrows with the other."
The Taoist priest's eyes flashed and he came over. "Child, stretch out your hand."
Shi Feng put down the hatchet and stretched out his right hand. The Taoist priest stretched out his right index and middle fingers and gently placed them on Shi Feng's pulse point.
Shi Feng only felt that the other party's two fingers were quite cold, and a faint chill penetrated into his body.
The Taoist closed his eyes for a moment, sighing inwardly: What a pity! He opened his eyes and said, "Heaven rewards filial piety. It seems that this ability was given to you by God because of your poor family background." After saying this, he turned and left the kitchen, went to the eaves, sat cross-legged in meditation, and did not say another word.
Half an hour later, Shi Feng shouted, "It's time to eat." The dining place was in the room in the middle. Shi Qin asked the Taoist to take a seat, and Shi Biyu helped to set the stage. The bowls and plates were all homemade, and the chopsticks were made by Shi Feng from square bamboo collected from Nanshan.
After a while, Shi Feng brought the meal. The meal was very simple, with one sorghum bun and a big bowl of fish soup for each person, and the dish was stir-fried bamboo shoots.
The Taoist saw that the fish soup had turned milky white, with some green herbs floating on it. The color alone was tempting. He picked it up and took two sips, praising it repeatedly, "This river fish is exceptionally fresh after the winter. It's been a long time since I've had such delicious food."
Shi Qin said, "Master, you are too polite! We are from a remote village and have nothing to offer you. It is really rude of you."
After a while, everyone finished eating. Shi Biyu went to clean up the dishes. Shi Qinshi said, "It's freezing cold. Taoist priest, could you please condescend to spend the night in the woodshed? I'll ask Feng'er to light a fire in the kitchen. Although it's simple, it won't freeze you."
The Taoist priest stood up and said, "Thank you, Madam Shi! I have been bothering you for a long time, and now I am ready to take my leave."
Shi Feng said, "The nearest town is about forty or fifty miles away. If you leave now, I'm afraid you won't be able to reach your destination before dark."
The Taoist smiled and said, "That's all right. I have my own destination. I'm grateful for your kindness and have no way to repay you. I know a little bit about medicine, so could you please take Madam Shi's pulse?"
"That's great." Shi Feng was overjoyed. His family was poor and he could not afford to hire a doctor to treat his mother's illness.
The Taoist priest sat down again, rolled up his sleeves and said, "Madam Shi, please." He stretched out his left index finger and placed it on the pulse point of Shi Qin's right hand.
The Taoist had taken Shi Feng's pulse before, and that time it took a full half cup of tea. This time, it was much quicker. As soon as he felt the pulse, he felt it and responded almost immediately. He said, "Madam Shi's lung disease is actually caused by lung cold, but your medicine is used to treat lung heat. The symptoms of the two are similar, but they are very different. Shi Feng, remove the three herbs in your previous prescription: licorice, scutellaria, and rehmannia root bark, and replace them with four herbs: Fritillaria cirrhosa, Pinellia ternata, Schisandra chinensis, and dried tangerine peel. Use three grams of Fritillaria cirrhosa each time, and half the amount of the other three herbs. Take one dose daily. Get enough rest and avoid colds. It will heal in about a year. However, the bones and meridians in your left leg are already necrotic, and medicine cannot cure it."
After saying this, the Taoist priest bowed, stood up and left. Just as he reached the courtyard, "Master, wait a minute." Shi Feng had already rushed over, suddenly kneeling in front of the Taoist priest, and kowtowed repeatedly, "Master, please save my mother again."
The Taoist's face darkened. "I've already written a prescription for your mother. Do you think I'm just trying to trick you?" "How dare I? I'm asking you to heal my mother's leg disease."
The Taoist flicked his sleeves and said, "Your mother's left femoral bone is necrotic, and her blood circulation is blocked. How can it be cured? It's like a dead person cannot be revived, and a severed limb cannot be reattached. If it can be cured, there will be no immortal people in this world." Shi Feng continued to kowtow, "Master, you must have a good prescription."
"What do you mean? How can you be sure that I can cure your mother's illness?" The Taoist said "Oh" in surprise.
Shi Feng said, "The Taoist priest must be a strange man. I think he has another good idea."
The Taoist twirled his beard and said coldly, "I am a stranger in the dust. Hehe, how can I say that?"
Shi Feng thought for a moment, "It's freezing cold, and yet the Taoist priest is only wearing a single layer of clothing. I was just at the Earth God Temple, and I thought he was starving and freezing, but he looks calm and doesn't feel the cold at all. I guess he has some unique skills."
The Taoist said nothing when he heard this.
Shi Feng continued, "The Taoist moved like the wind, yet he left almost no footprints on the snow. When he felt my pulse, I felt a chill between his fingers. I've heard some elders in the village say that there are some extraordinary people in the world who are well versed in martial arts and fighting techniques, possessing qigong, and are able to do things that ordinary people cannot. Furthermore, the Taoist said at the end that my mother's leg disease cannot be cured by medicine. I wonder if there is some non-medicinal method that may be able to cure my mother's illness."
The Taoist looked calm at first, but the more he listened, the more astonished he became. "You, child, are so thoughtful. It's rare." He sighed again and again, "What a pity, what a pity, God is not on our side." Hearing his repeated regrets, Shi Feng assumed the other party was unwilling to help, and he kowtowed and begged. Shi Biyu saw this and ran over, kneeling down and saying, "Please save my mother." Shi Qinshi, leaning on a cane under the eaves, felt heartbroken and burst into tears.
The Taoist raised his head and thought for a moment, "Everyone, please stand up. Considering your filial piety, I will make an exception for you once."
"Thank you, Taoist priest! Thank you, Taoist priest!" Shi Feng and his sister were overjoyed and stood up.
The Taoist smiled slightly. "Although I accepted your kindness of giving me a meal, I also cured your mother's lung disease, which was already quite enough. However, your family is in great hardship, and you two brothers and sisters are so filial, so I am making an exception. However, extraordinary methods require extraordinary people. If you want to cure your mother's leg disease, I will test you."
Shi Feng shouted, "As long as you can cure my mother, I will do anything you ask me to do."