The jade pendant had imparted a method of cultivation to Tang Hao, as well as an immense trove of long-lost ancient knowledge, including herbalism, medical skills, talisman-making, supernatural monsters, and so on.
The manual on herbalism was known as the Scripture of the Divine Herbalist. In it was the method of identifying different types of herbs and their uses.
Tang Hao was extremely bored while in the hospital. He had skimmed over the Scripture of the Divine Herbalist and recalled that there was an entry about herbs that aided with weight loss as well as the method of concocting the potion.
Living standards in modern society are high, and the rate of obesity is on the rise. Women are always conscious about their weight, and so the business of novel weight-loss methods was a lucrative one.
The market is saturated with weight loss pills and drugs of different types. Most of these are placebos with no real effect. The most effective way to lose weight is still diet and exercise.
However, diet and exercise were hard because it required more willpower than the typical person could handle.
‘Sounds like a good idea!’ Tang Hao became more excited the more he thought about it.
If he could concoct an effective weight-loss potion, he was sure to strike a fortune.
“Right. I can concoct potions for beauty enhancement and health care and even aphrodisiacs. People will spend money on those,” Tang Hao started considering other prospects.
Beauty enhancement has always been a popular business because of women’s desire to be beautiful. As for men, they are always concerned about their performance in bed. He was sure to make money if he could concoct these potions.
Tang Hao was impatient to start his business.
It was already late in the afternoon when he delivered all the packages. He withdrew the last five hundred yuan in his bank account, then rode on his three-wheeled motorcycle to the medicinal herb market in the north of town.
This was Tang Hao’s first experience with medicinal herbs. Also, the archaic names of herbs in the Scripture of the Divine Herbalist proved to be a challenge in this modern world.
For example, one of the ingredients was a certain ‘Papyrifera grass’. No one in the entire market knew what it was. He could only search the herbs one by one based on the characteristics as described in the scripture.
He spent several hours in the market before gathering all the required ingredients.
After some careful consideration, he purchased five portions of each ingredient.
With the ingredients ready, the next step was to concoct the potions. After Tang Hao returned home and locked the front door, he placed the ingredients on the table, then held a portion of the herbs in his palm.
Soon, his palm glowed like the full moon. The light enveloped the herbs in his palm.
Medicinal herbs grew on the ground and absorbed qi that originated from the earth. He was activating the qi in the plant using the qi from his body.
Once the qi in the plant is activated, its potency will be multiplied.
Normal people would not be able to utilize their qi this way, and therefore cannot perform this act on plants, so the plants would not be able to achieve their full potency. Many potent medicinal herbs from ancient times were simply weeds in modern times because no one knew how to use them.
In a few minutes, he placed the herb into a bowl and pounded it with a pestle.
An hour later, his task was complete. He poured the liquid into a small bowl.
The liquid was bright green and had the pungent aroma of grass.
Tang Hao was somewhat befuddled as he looked at this small bowl of medicinal liquid. He had concocted the potion, but he needed a test subject.
On the subject of safety, there was no issue. The potion was made from all-natural ingredients and did not have any side effects.
He was already lanky, and the potion would have no visible effect on him. He was stumped by this problem for quite a while.
After pondering over the problem for some time, he suddenly had a brainwave. He realized that he could try the potion on animals instead of humans!
It happened that his uncle next door reared ten pigs. Each one of them was strong and fat and were perfect subjects for the potion.
He sneaked outdoors after midnight and mixed the potion with pig feed, then poured it into the trough.
The pigs in the pigpen heard the commotion and gathered around the trough, eating greedily.
“Good boys! Eat some more!” Tang hao could not help but laugh when he looked at the pigs.
He then returned home and concocted the rest of the herbs, then slept soundly.
He was awoken by shrill screams the next morning. He listened carefully and heard that they originated from beyond the back door. He immediately knew that his potion had taken effect.
He rolled off the bed, put on some clothes and exited through the back door.
A crowd had gathered around the pigpen and were discussing something while pointing at the pigs. Someone was wailing in the pigpen. “My babies! What happened to them!”
Tang Hao squeezed past the crowd. He was stunned with what he saw in the pigpen.
In the pigpen were ten pigs reduced to skin and bones. All of them were fat and round the last time he saw them, and their weight was reduced drastically overnight. He was shocked by the potency of the potion he had concocted.
“Phew! Dodged a bullet right there!” Tang Hao was relieved that he did not immediately use the undiluted potion on humans. It would have been disastrous if someone was reduced to a bag of skin and bones.
“This is so weird! I saw these pigs were still fat and round a few days ago, so fat that they could barely walk. How did this happen all of a sudden?”
“I think they must have been scared by some supernatural being! It might have been Wong Tai Sin.” The villagers were discussing among themselves in low voices. (TN: Wong Tai Sin is a legendary Taoist deity who is widely worshipped in Hong Kong.)
They stole glances at the mountain as they spoke.
Tang Village was located next to a mountain. Legends have been passed down of Wong Tai Sin or snake spirits.
“It must be aliens or chupacabras!” Some children were joining in the discussion.
“What do you know, little whelps? You must’ve watched too much TV! How can there be aliens?” the adults jeered.
Tang Hao also joined in the laughter. He was in a carefree mood. First, his concoction was a success. Second, he had taken his revenge on his aunt.
He returned home and diluted the concoction with tea, then filled several bottles with it. He then rode on his little three-wheeled motorcycle and went to town.
While delivering packages at Azure Sky Gardens, he gave President Biao a call.
“Hello?” President Biao said over the phone.
“President Biao, it’s me, Lil Tang!”
“Hey, Lil Tang! What’s the matter? Is there a delivery for me today?”
“No, President Biao, I have something better though!”
“What could be better?” President Biao was doubtful.
“It’s herbal tea. Family recipe. It can reduce heatiness and eliminate toxins from the body. You might even shed some weight too! I see that you’re always heaty from eating too much, so I brought you some to try.”
Tang Hao did not immediately say that it was a weight-loss potion. Herbal tea was probably an easier sell.
“Family recipe herbal tea? Oh! Sounds good. Let me try some,” President Biao replied.
“Right away!” Tang Hao agreed and hung up.
President Biao was already waiting for him when Tang Hao arrived at House Number 18. The bottle of the medicinal potion changed hands.
President Biao opened a bottle and smelled it. “Hmm, smells good! This is good stuff! Thanks, Lil Tang, that’s very thoughtful of you.” He nodded, then took out his wallet and pulled out a red note and handed it to him. (TN: The 100-yuan note is red.)
“Oh! No need for that, President Biao, it’s on the house.” Tang Hao waved his hands in front of him.
“Oh… alright then!” President Biao could only return the note to his wallet when he saw that Tang Hao insisted on not taking the money.
In the evening, Tang Hao received a call from President Biao.
“Lil… Lil Tang! Oh my! Your herbal tea is unbelievable! Lemme tell you, your herbal tea is a miracle drug! Do you know, I lost weight! I lost a total of twenty pounds!”
President Biao was ecstatic over the phone. His voice was shaking.
“Your herbal tea is miraculous. Do you have more? Just bring them over tomorrow. Name your price,” President Biao said graciously.
“Alright, President Biao, I’ll bring more tomorrow!”
“Good, good, good!” President Biao was over the moon.
Tang Hao exhaled a sigh of relief after hanging up.
‘It’s a success!’