The head of the Mu family

Chapter 8 Laiyang County is really nice

Laiyang County is indeed much more prosperous now.

Its size is similar to that of a modern impoverished town in the south.

The so-called county was just a street about five or six hundred meters long running east to west, with brick and tile houses on both sides and all kinds of shops along the street.

Shen Huai: Everything in TV dramas these days is a lie!

The TV dramas I watched when I was a kid were the most realistic!

The urban construction is really bad.

At the east end of the street were the county government offices. The senior apprentice of Dr. Gao was surnamed Qin, and his clinic was one of the two largest on the street. He was the owner of one of the clinics, Xuanhutang, and people respectfully called him Doctor Qin.

Upon arriving at Xuanhu Hall, a young apprentice greeted them, addressing them as "Uncle-Master," and invited them inside into the main hall at the back.

Xuanhutang is a storefront along the street, housing a pharmacy and a place for regular medical consultations.

Behind it is a large house with three courtyards, which is the owner's living quarters.

As the boy crossed the threshold of the main hall, he called out:

"Master, Uncle-Master has arrived!"

An elderly man, who was arranging various matters, turned around. His hair and beard were white, and upon seeing Doctor Gao, his eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Yunzhi! You've finally arrived. It's been years since we last met, hasn't it?"

Only then did I learn the name of Dr. Gao.

"Senior brother! How have you been? Are you in good health?"

The last time was when Song'er was born, about five or six years ago.

As he spoke, an elderly man in his fifties took two quick steps forward and embraced the elderly man in his sixties in front of him.

The two finally let go of each other after a long while, and then Uncle Qin called his family members to pay their respects one by one.

Doctor Gao also allowed Shen Huai to pay his respects to him one by one. Shen Huai addressed him as Uncle-Master Qin and knelt down to kowtow.

Upon seeing this, Dr. Gao's eyes filled with tears, and he choked up, unable to speak.

Doctor Gao: This child! What a heartwarming and wonderful child!

In Shen Huai's heart, Dr. Gao was his first teacher.

Although he never called him "Master" in daily life, Gao Langzhong's earnest teachings and exemplary conduct made him a dedicated and competent teacher.

Furthermore, if it weren't for Dr. Gao, Shen Huai would never have had the chance to come to the county town.

All our understanding of this era ends in Duoshui Town, which is far from enough to achieve poverty alleviation.

Therefore, Shen Huai was willing to kowtow to save face for Doctor Gao.

"This little baby..."

What a sensible and good child, Yunzhi, you finally have someone to carry on the family tradition!

I can finally rest easy.

Tell me quickly what happened!

Uncle Qin knew that Doctor Gao had been living a lonely and miserable life since his wife and children had met with misfortune.

When we were studying medicine together, I saw that he was honest, hardworking, and kind-hearted. When we encountered something we didn't understand, my senior brother Qin would always give us a lot of pointers.

Over time, their friendship deepened beyond that of ordinary fellow students.

When I saw that my junior brother had brought a little child with him, and the child performed a deep kneeling bow, I knew that my junior brother had a disciple. I was so happy that I didn't know what to say.

Everyone went about their own business. The senior master led Doctor Gao to sit down, and immediately a servant poured tea and served dinner.

Shen Huai was led to a small table next to him to eat.

Shen Huai: As expected of a wealthy family in the county town, there are noodles in the bowl, and they're even big meat noodles!

My dearest Big Meat, it's been a long time!

God knows, Wu Ya's family has never eaten meat during the Chinese New Year.

Although Shen Huai's conditions weren't bad in modern times, he'd been celibate for far too long since arriving here.

This bowl of braised pork noodles is no different from Xi Shi in King Fuchai's eyes!

Meanwhile, Dr. Gao was already eating and chatting with his Uncle Qin about everyday things.

"Senior brother, please allow me to explain in detail."

This child is the fifth daughter of Liang San's family in the pastoral village. Speaking of which, this little one is quite clever!

The year before last was a bumper harvest year, and around the winter month, the villagers all wanted to sell their surplus grain to have a good New Year.

The village chief and I took turns calculating the amount of money for everyone.

At that time, the child had just begun to walk more steadily and could not speak clearly.

While we were discussing this, the doll was playing nearby, and guess what?

"Oh? Is there something strange about it?"

"This child watches over us every day and has learned to do accounts too!"

"What? This little kid?"

"That's right~ It was the neighborhood chief who discovered it. Once he miscalculated, and the kid pointed out the correct number."

"Wow! That's really something!"

"That's right, later on, whenever the child had nothing to do, he would run to my place."

When I arrived, he didn't make a fuss. He played with the herbs by himself. Seeing that I often read books, he also read my herbal medicine book.

Later, my child often helped me put away the herbs I collected.

Last summer, this child held up some dried angelica root I had prepared and named it.

Doctor Gao grabbed Uncle Qin's elbow:

"Senior brother, could I have another piece of meat?"

Hehe, I was so surprised and delighted! How could there be such a clever child?

"Hey~ I was really into the elixir, Angelica sinensis!"

Give your uncle another bowl, and oh~ add an extra piece of meat for the baby!

Tell me quickly, what happened next?

"Later, I took a few more herbs that were drying in the sun and asked about their ingredients, and the child named them all."

The child was too young to formally become an apprentice.

So I simply started teaching her for fun, to pass the time, and taught her pharmacology and pulse diagnosis whenever I had free time.

Thinking to myself, this is such a dry and profound subject, the little one will probably lose patience in a few days.

Surprisingly, this little child was incredibly resilient and managed to learn for a long time!

Now I can diagnose seven or eight out of ten pulses with ease, and I even put in more effort than some older children to study pharmacology.

"Great! Great! Who knows what kind of good fortune this kid might have later in life!"

"Senior brother, this time I brought with me some of the problems I usually encounter, as well as several prescriptions that I have tried and found to be quite effective."

Once you're done with your work, let's discuss it.

If I know any clinics in the county, I'd like to go and see a doctor there for a few days to learn from the experience of people from bigger places.

"You know what, timing is everything!"

Two years ago, a doctor named Qian from Panlong County went to Niushou Ridge to collect medicinal herbs. On his way back, a torrential rainstorm struck this area.

He originally came to take shelter from the rain, but the rain just wouldn't stop. Since we were in the same industry, I let him stay overnight.

We had a couple of drinks in the evening, and unexpectedly, we found ourselves getting along very well.

In recent years, whenever my family goes to the county for business, or when he passes by my house, we always make sure to visit each other.

Speaking of which, he'll be coming tomorrow, probably for lunch around noon.

"Great! That's wonderful, then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Brother!"

"Between you and me, fellow disciples, why talk about trouble!"

The two of them chatted on and on, talking about many of their own things.

As night deepened, everyone had made all the necessary preparations for tomorrow's banquet.

Uncle Qin and Doctor Gao stayed up late into the night for a long talk.

Seeing this, Aunt Qin came to take care of Wu Ya, and led the child to wash up and go to bed with her.

The next day, the scene was bustling with activity from early morning.

The Qin family usually had one cook and two cleaning ladies. This morning, several more women arrived and immediately began to work diligently, each fulfilling their duties.

Because of a friend from this county, we started eating here for breakfast.

The aroma of various breakfast dishes filled the air, and congratulations and gifts were exchanged one after another. The host family welcomed and saw off guests, and some of the old friends of Doctor Gao were also acquainted with them. After giving gifts to the children, they helped to greet the Qin family.

Shen Huai also gave a small gift: a grasshopper that he had learned to weave with the four girls, plus a pretty net he bought at the market.

This surprised everyone; it was the first time they had received a gift prepared by such a young child.

In normal social interactions, the adults would prepare everything, and the children would just go through the motions. This made me look at Xiao Wuya with even more admiration.

Before noon, Doctor Qian, along with his wife and grandchildren, arrived in a horse-drawn carriage.

The villagers of Fangmu Village have to walk for a day and a night, and then take half a day by horse-drawn cart to get there. Sigh!

Immediately, Uncle Qin introduced Doctor Gao to Doctor Qian.

Aunt Qin also invited Old Madam Qian and the children to the inner courtyard, and entrusted the task of entertaining Doctor Qian to Doctor Gao.

Unexpectedly, Doctor Gao and Doctor Qian found themselves getting along very well.

They sat together during the meal, and by the evening banquet, they had already made an appointment to go to Niushou Mountain to collect herbs together next time.

The banquet was in full swing when suddenly a commotion broke out at the door.