Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 148: Such a Simp

Half an hour later, Hu Qiming returned, his face flushed and a business card from Lin Xiaoyu in hand.

"Buddy! Huge news!" he exclaimed, plopping down onto his seat. "Lin Xiaoyu is an editor for *Urban Life*, and their next issue just so happens to be a special feature on summer mosquito prevention!"

Song Sisi’s eyes widened in surprise. "For real? What a coincidence!"

"It’s fate!" Hu Qiming declared, taking a huge gulp of beer. "She said that if we can provide more samples, they can give us a feature article!"

Li Xu shook his head. "I think she just wants free samples. Tell her the premium Mugwort Bags are too expensive to produce. We aren’t planning to sell them, and we don’t need the promotion."

"Ah, that’s such a shame."

Hu Qiming looked disappointed.

Just as the three of them were talking, Lin Xiaoyu and her friends got ready to leave.

As she passed their table, Lin Xiaoyu made a point to stop. "Dr. Hu, thank you for the gift."

Hu Qiming shot to his feet. "Let me walk you out and help you hail a cab."

Watching Hu Qiming eagerly trot after her, Song Sisi couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Boss, is Dr. Hu actually serious about her this time?"

Li Xu laughed too. "He falls for every beautiful woman he sees. But... it never works out."

"Why?"

Song Sisi was curious.

"Because he’s such a suck-up."

Li Xu analyzed, "The thing about women is, the nicer you are to them, the less they appreciate it. But if you act like you couldn’t care less, they’ll come flocking to you."

"Hey, Boss, that’s crossing a line."

Song Sisi glared at him, dissatisfied.

"Haha, my apologies. I was talking specifically about Hu Qiming and the women he’s pursued. I didn’t mean anything else by it."

...

「Meanwhile.」

Under the old scholar tree in the Garden District, a group of seven or eight seniors sat on stone benches, enjoying the cool evening air.

The summer night was hot and muggy. The air was thick with the mixed scents of burning mosquito coils and floral water.

Everyone idly chatted with their neighbors, each waving a palm-leaf fan.

"Ouch!" Aunt Zhang suddenly slapped her calf. "These damn mosquitoes are only biting me!"

Uncle Wang chuckled. "Well, what do you expect, wearing shorts? You’re just asking for it."

The other seniors laughed, waving their own fans to drive away the pests.

A scene like this played out nearly every evening, and everyone had long since grown used to it.

These seniors, having endured hardships in their youth, weren’t overly bothered by a few mosquito bites. They’d complain for a moment, and then it would pass.

"I’m here."

Aunt Li, having finished her dinner, came over with her palm-leaf fan.

She wore a Brocade Bag at her side—the premium Mugwort Bag that Li Xu had given her.

Not long after she sat down, Aunt Zhang suddenly stopped fanning. "Hey, have you all noticed? The mosquitoes seem to have thinned out."

Uncle Wang squinted. "Now that you mention it... I don’t think I’ve been bitten in a good while."

The seniors looked at one another, just then realizing how unusually quiet the evening was.

Usually by this time of night, the mosquitoes would have them fidgeting restlessly. But now, aside from one or two buzzing by occasionally, it was mostly peaceful.

"Did the property management spray insecticide?" someone guessed.

"No way," Uncle Wang said, shaking his head. "They just sprayed last week. They said they only do it once a month."

A thought struck Aunt Li. She took the Brocade Bag from her waist. "Could it be because of this? It’s the premium Mugwort Bag Xiao Xu gave me. He said it was especially effective."

Aunt Zhang took the Brocade Bag and sniffed it. "Hmm, the fragrance is quite unique. It smells much better than a regular Mugwort Bag. But..."

She eyed the small pouch skeptically. "Can a little thing like this really be so effective? I’ve used Mugwort Bags before. At best, they help a little. There’s no way they could drive off all the mosquitoes."

"Exactly," Uncle Wang chimed in. "My daughter brought back a Mosquito Repellent Sachet from Yunnan last year that cost several hundred yuan, and it was only so-so."

Their words made Aunt Li a little uncertain herself. "Well... how about I run a little test?"

She stood up and walked towards a street lamp not far away.

That was the spot in the community with the most mosquitoes. A swarm of tiny insects always gathered under the lamplight, forcing anyone passing by to quicken their pace.

As Aunt Li approached, something miraculous happened—the insects that had been swarming the light suddenly scattered, fleeing as if they’d been startled.

In just a few seconds, the area under the light was completely clear. All that remained was a quiet halo of light on the ground.

"Good heavens!" exclaimed Aunt Zhang, who had followed her. "This... this is unbelievable!"

Uncle Wang’s eyes went wide. He rubbed them in disbelief. "I’ve lived for over seventy years, and I’ve never seen anything like this!"

Aunt Li herself was dumbfounded. She looked down at the Brocade Bag in her hand, then back at the empty space around the light, momentarily speechless.

"Quick, come back and sit down!" Aunt Zhang suddenly yelled to Aunt Li. "I think I just got bitten again!"

While Aunt Li had been over by the distant lamppost, the other seniors all reported that the mosquitoes had returned.

Two new red welts quickly appeared on Aunt Zhang’s leg, and she slapped her thigh in frustration.

Aunt Li returned and placed the Brocade Bag in the middle of the stone table. Before long, the seniors were amazed to find that the mosquitoes had vanished again.

They deliberately quieted down to listen closely. Even that irritating BUZZ was gone.

"It’s a miracle! A real miracle!" Aunt Zhang said excitedly. "Sister Li, you said Xiao Xu gave this to you? Xiao Xu from the traditional Chinese medicine clinic?"

"That’s right, it was him." Aunt Li carefully put the Brocade Bag away. "He said it’s a specially made, premium Mugwort Bag."

Uncle Wang mused, "I never would have thought. Not only is Xiao Xu a skilled doctor, but he can also make such an incredible mosquito repellent sachet."

"He must have added a secret ingredient," Aunt Zhang said firmly. "Regular mugwort could never have an effect like this."

The seniors broke into a lively discussion. Someone suggested they all go to the clinic tomorrow to ask about it. Others began recalling the various mosquito repellents they had used over the years, all agreeing by comparison that the small Brocade Bag was the most miraculous of all.

...

Lin Xiaoyu returned home.

She took a shower, washing away the smell of barbecue.

Towel-drying her damp hair, she leaned lazily against the headboard.

She habitually started scrolling through short-form videos, her thumb swiping mechanically across the screen, but her mind wasn’t on the over-the-top comedy clips.

Suddenly, she caught a faint fragrance. It was crisp, with a hint of warm medicinal herbs, subtly lingering in the room.

She paused, turning her head to look at the Brocade Bag hanging from her nightstand—the premium Mugwort Bag from Hu Qiming.

’It smells surprisingly nice...’

At the barbecue joint, the smell of grilled meat had been so strong that the Mugwort Bag’s fragrance wasn’t noticeable.

But now, in her room, the fragrance was crystal clear. It was like sun-dried mugwort blended with some sort of high-end, woody spice. The scent was strangely reassuring.

’It really works well!’

Although Lin Xiaoyu’s apartment had window screens, a few mosquitoes always managed to slip in when she opened the door. At night, they would BUZZ in her ear, irritating her so much she couldn’t sleep.

She had tried plug-in mosquito repellents, repellent sprays, and even an expensive ultrasonic device, but none of them had worked to her satisfaction.

But tonight, her room was strangely silent.