5. Generation gap
Upon opening the door back to Blue Star, Lu Yao didn't waste any time at all and immediately began searching for the main medicinal herb needed for the Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup—Dijin Grass.
Dijin Grass is cooling, detoxifying, and beneficial for qi and blood; it is almost essential for all tonic medicines.
In the Otherworld, it was already expensive and scarce, and the war had made it completely unavailable.
But in Xia Country on Blue Star, the price of this stuff was—12.8 per pound... and buying 10 pounds would get you an extra 2 pounds for free.
"The disparity of the times! All the medicinal herbs here are cultivated on a large scale, so the prices are very cheap."
With that sentiment, Lu Yao immediately placed an order for 10 pounds and asked the store owner if it could be delivered today.
After receiving a positive response, he continued searching in the shopping app—for an automatic decoction machine!
These days, boiling medicine in a sand pot had long gone out of fashion; modern technological products were used instead to replace the cumbersome work.
Having suffered from cancer and drank plenty of traditional Chinese medicine, Lu Yao was quite familiar with these machines and quickly chose one to order. It again was from a local store, and he asked the owner to deliver it the same day.
Curiously, the owner of this medical equipment store was the same person who had sold the herbs earlier.
The seller sent a message, "Mr. Lu, we're only three streets away from each other, what a coincidence! I'll bring it to you right now."
~~~~~~~~~~
Half an hour later, the phone's ringtone sounded.
Upon answering the phone, a pleasant female voice came through, "Mr. Lu, the decoction machine has arrived. You're not thinking of letting a weak woman carry it up to the 5th floor, are you?"
Lu Yao calmly responded, "I'll come down to find you," and then went downstairs.
Just as he reached the entrance of the residential community, he saw a white X6 with its hatch open, and the decoction machine was inside it.
The seller turned out to be a young and beautiful woman with short hair and fashionable attire.
When this woman saw the skeletal and pallid Lu Yao, her face briefly registered shock and embarrassment.
As someone in the pharmaceutical industry, she could tell at a glance that her customer's condition clearly indicated a terminal illness, and she quickly offered, "This... let me help you carry it upstairs."
Lu Yao shook his head, "No need, there's an elevator. Thank you for bringing it to the door!"
After saying that, he pushed the decoction machine, which was about the size of a water dispenser, struggling toward the elevator.
The woman hurriedly stepped forward to assist, and together they brought the decoction machine into the home.
After busily assembling the machine, the woman handed over her business card with both hands:
"My name is Li Lei, this is my card. If there's any problem, contact me anytime, you can add the WeChat on it too."
Lu Yao took it and nodded, "Alright. There shouldn't be any problems, I've operated this machine many times."
"Then, I'll be going now, goodbye." They shook hands and the transaction was complete.
Before leaving, Li Lei glanced one more time at the emaciated customer, feeling a pang of regret in her heart, "So young, what a pity…"
~~~~~~~~~~~
At this moment, Lu Yao's feelings were complex. In the eyes of that beautiful girl, he saw—pity.
For someone with a strong sense of pride, the pity of others could actually cause more damage than if they had taken pleasure in his misfortune.
Taking a deep breath to dispel the distracting thoughts, Lu Yao focused entirely on trying to brew the Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup using the decoction machine.
He placed the medicinal herbs into the machine's storage compartment, set the correct temperature, order of adding the ingredients, and the mild and strong boiling times, and then all that was left was to wait.
In the closed environment, the herbs were decocted not only with significantly reduced time, but the machine also repeatedly compressed the residue to extract the most effective medicinal liquid.
This was the most popular method at the moment—numerically controlled automatic decoction.
Lu Yao slept for a while and was awakened by the "beep beep beep" alert sound from the machine; the medicine was ready!
He took a cup, pressed the switch, and the medicinal liquid flowed out. After downing it in one go, Lu Yao frowned, "The effect is far less than when I was in the Otherworld! What's going on?"
He had only taken a small sip at Liao Ya's to experience a strong inner warmth, but on Blue Star, he had to drink a full cup just to feel a slight effect.
Lu Yao racked his brain but couldn't figure it out. Only the Dijin Grass wasn't authentic, everything else was copied exactly, and even if there were small differences, they should not account for a world of difference.
"The problem doesn't seem to be with me... I might as well take this machine to the Otherworld and give it a try!"
After getting cancer, he had used the medicinal preparation machine to brew medicine over a thousand times; there was no way he could have made a mistake in the operation, so he could only look to the environment for answers.
So, he took out his phone again and searched for—home diesel generators.
He quickly picked out one and placed an order, but a problem followed—he was out of money!
The medicinal preparation machine cost 1000 yuan, and the generator was a whopping 5000... He only had 300 yuan left in his hands.
~~~~~~~~
Clutching his last 300 yuan, Lu Yao went to the famous little accessory store on the street and picked out some delicate hair clips, bracelets, and more.
No sooner had he bought the accessories than the generator arrived.
Even though he was weak as a kitten, Lu Yao insisted on helping the delivery driver carry the heavy generator into his house.
He broke out in a cold sweat, but now everything was ready. Lu Yao activated the Dimensional Door, covered the equipment and medicinal herbs, and transported them to the Otherworld.
~~~~~~~~~
It was well into the day here, Liao Ya nowhere to be seen, probably cultivating in the quiet room.
The martial arts hall was large, and Lu Yao searched for a while before finding Liao Qe, who was cooking.
The girl in an apron had a certain charm to her, and she hurriedly ran over when she saw him:
"Aiya, when did you get back~ You shouldn't be running around when you're sick, I was really worried~"
"What, afraid I won't pay the consultation fee?"
Liao Qe glared at him and grumbled, "Ahh~ Darn it, I really was worried about you this time!"
Lu Yao chuckled and said, "Alright, enough of that, come over and give me a hand."
The two went inside, and when Liao Qe saw the medicinal preparation machine and generator, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Are these foreign gadgets? What are they for?"
"A medicinal preparation machine. You help me move it, and I'll show you how it works."
Liao Qe was a Bone-Tempering Realm Martial Artist and was very strong; she could lift the generator, which weighed around a hundred jin, with one hand.
Lu Yao directed her to set up the machine properly, then took out the medicinal herbs.
When Liao Qe saw them, she was stunned, "So much Dijin Grass!!! Where did it come from?"
"Don't make such a fuss, I brought it from home." Lu Yao didn't look up from his work, "Help me check if the order I put the herbs in is correct."
Liao Qe was dumbfounded. Dijin Grass was expensive and rare, usually sold by the "root."
But Lu Yao had brought two huge bundles as thick as telephone poles, which could be mistaken for firewood by those who didn't know.
Her earlier cry of surprise even drew her sister Liao Ya, and the sisters watched with wide-eyed curiosity.
After busying himself for a while, Lu Yao stood up and said, "All done. Now we just have to wait to get the medicinal soup."
"Is this reliable?"
"Can medicine really be made like this?"
The two women were still somewhat skeptical. Usually, brewing tonic required carefully tending the stove and a lot of effort; they found it hard to believe that pushing a few buttons could yield the same result.
Lu Yao said, "Wait and see. By the way, I brought some special local products too."
"Foreign specialities?" Liao Qe excitedly leaned in, only to see countless beautiful little accessories!
Products of modern craftsmanship, they were far prettier than the rustic and crudely made artifacts of the Otherworld. The girl was at the age where she loved to adorn herself, and she took a great liking to these things.
"Wow, this hair clip is so pretty!" Liao Qe instantly picked out the most expensive hair clip studded with tiny diamonds and instinctively clutched it tightly in her hand.