Chapter 35: The Second Medical Book

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

This time, Sun Kang’s mental turmoil was completely cured.

Then, he called Zhao Zhitong over. He looked at her seriously and said, “Girl, I’m very happy that you can learn medicine from me. However, I’ll say the ugly things first.

Learning medicine isn’t child’s play. It can’t be learned in a day. It takes a long time. Once you agree, you have to take it seriously. Don’t complain or give up halfway. Can you do it?”

Zhao Zhitong nodded. “I won’t complain, I won’t give up either.”

Sun Kang smiled in relief. “Good job! You’re indeed my granddaughter. Grandpa thinks highly of you.”

As he spoke, he took out a book and asked, “Girl, are you learning how to read from Sir?”

Zhao Zhitong nodded and said proudly, “Yes, yes. I know a lot of words now.”

Sun Kang said, “Alright, then take this book first. This is a book on medical enlightenment. You have to memorize the entire book.”

Zhao Zhitong took the book happily and held it in her hands like a treasure. “Grandpa, this is for me?”

Sun Kang chuckled and reached for the tobacco pouch on his waist. “Yes, I’m giving it to you.”

Zhao Zhitong was overjoyed. This was her second book. “Wow, thank you, Grandpa. I’ll cherish it.”

This book should be quite old. The pages were slightly yellowed, but from the cleanness and neatness of the book, it could be seen that the owner had protected it very well.

Zhao Zhitong pointed at the three words on the cover with her little finger and said happily, “I recognize these three words. They’re ‘Medicine, Sex, and Endowment’.”

Grandpa Bai, who had been watching silently, reminded her, “Girl, this is a good book. It’s very suitable for beginners in Chinese medicine. It’s an introductory book to Chinese medicine. It describes general and exquisite medicinal properties. Once it’s memorized, it’ll be used for life.”

Hearing Grandpa Bai’s words, Zhao Zhitong’s eyes lit up even more.

Looking at the girl’s loving expression, Sun Kang smiled very happily. “In this book, 248 commonly used medicinal herbs are divided into four categories according to their medicinal properties: cold, hot, warm, and flat. Girl, you have to memorize them well.

“Also, in the future, you won’t have much time to play. When you get off school or have a break, I’ll bring you to pick herbs. You can also follow your eldest uncle to collect herbs. You have to see more in the early stages.”

When she heard this, Zhao Zhitong was overjoyed. She circled Sun Kang excitedly. “Grandpa, Grandpa, do I have to learn how to concoct medicinal herbs from you?”

Sun Kang laughed. “Of course.”

Now that one of his worries had been resolved, he became energetic and his laughter became more hearty.

While the grandfather and granddaughter were having a harmonious time, Sun Mei and the others had already placed the dishes on the table.

Grandma also started to call them for dinner.

The little radish heads shouted and rushed to the dining table.

Zhao Zhitong ran to the room first and placed the book on the table at the head of the bed. Then, she ran out and climbed onto her chair.

When all the dishes were placed on the table, everyone sat in their seats.

Zhao Zhitong was sitting with her two cousins. She was boasting to them that she already had two books and knew how many words. She kept talking non-stop.

Her younger cousins were all envious.

Sun Xiaoxue said, “Little cousin, you’re so awesome. We also learned how to read from Grandpa, but those words are so difficult. They’re complex and we can’t learn them. We don’t like to learn them.”

Sun Daqing nodded repeatedly in agreement. “Those words are like scribbles. They’re too hard to remember. It’s better not to learn them. It’s useless anyway.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhitong pulled a long face. “Younger Cousin, Younger Cousin, what you’re saying is wrong. Sir said that you can be sensible when you’re literate and books can teach us how to behave. How can it be useless?”

Sun Daqing didn’t think much of it. “When you grow up, you’ll naturally understand logic. You don’t have to study.”

He even said that when he grew up, he would be like his father, extremely strong and good at farming. He did not want to be a weak scholar.

Zhao Zhitong pouted. “Second Cousin, you’re an idiot.”

Sun Mei, who had just walked over to distribute the steamed buns to the children, heard this scolding. She immediately reached out and patted Zhao Zhitong’s head. “Hey, how can you scold people?”

Zhao Zhitong said matter-of-factly, “Mother, Second Cousin said that it’s useless to read and write, just like that idiot Zhao Yue. He said that when he grows up, he’ll go to the market to kill pigs and sell meat.”

Sun Mei said helplessly, “But you can’t scold people either. Everyone has their own ambitions. What they want to do is their own choice. You can’t force your own thoughts on others, understand?”

Zhao Zhitong replied. “Ok.”

In reality, she did not listen at all. After Sun Mei left, she began to quietly persuade her cousins.

“You can earn a lot of money from literacy. It’s much more than farming.”

This sentence successfully attracted the attention of her cousins.

Sun Xiaoxue said sadly, “But I can’t learn it.”

Zhao Zhitong imitated her mother’s tone when coaxing her child. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t learn it at first. You have to persevere. Sir said that if you can’t learn it once, you can learn it a few more times. You’ll learn it eventually.”

Hence, the little ones all expressed that they would learn to read from Zhao Zhitong in the future.

Zhao Zhitong’s face was full of pride. She patted her chest and said that it was no problem.

Zhao Guifen coughed and said sternly, “What are you guys doing? If you don’t eat, there will be nothing left.”

The little fellows hurriedly sat up straight, picked up their porridge bowls, and buried their heads in them.

As they ate, they did not forget to look at each other secretly and smile happily.

Most of the dishes on the dining table were made by Sun Mei. Needless to say, everyone ate to their heart’s content.

The braised pork was crazily snatched by a few children, but Zhao Zhitong was excluded.

After she took a bite happily, she didn’t pick up any more with her chopsticks.

This included Zhao Dong and Sun Mei. The two of them only ate one mouthful.

Naturally, it was not because the food was not delicious, nor was it because they could not bear to eat it. It was just that the taste was too different from what they had expected.

It was like the first time a northerner went to the south and opened a dumpling. When he smelled the sweetness of the dumpling leaves, he could already taste the sweetness of the glutinous rice in his mouth.

However, when he ate it, he realized that it was salty. He would even eat a huge piece of fatty meat.

This was the case for the meat. It did not have the fragrance of meat that one had originally thought of. Instead, it had a huge fishy smell.

Sun Mei carefully recalled the entire process of making this dish and confirmed that the onions, ginger, and garlic were not left behind. Then, it could only be the taste of the meat itself.

While washing the dishes, Sun Mei asked her two sisters-in-law indirectly, “Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, how’s the braised pork today?”

Madam Liu smiled happily and praised, “Delicious, especially delicious. It’s even better than the food sold in the restaurant!”

Madam Zhao also smiled and said, “Yes, although I’ve never been to a restaurant, my sister’s cooking is really delicious.”

Sun Mei asked curiously, “Don’t you guys think it smells fishy?”

Hearing Sun Mei’s question, Madam Liu was puzzled. “Doesn’t pork taste like this?”

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