Chapter 14

After fully understanding the entire incident, Director Zhou Wenbin did not blame Xu Chunliang. Instead, he felt a sense of vindication. The way Xu Chunliang had thrown the fierce Wang Dali to the ground and called the police in front of so many people from the security department was truly impressive. He even regretted not being there himself.

However, the office was equipped with surveillance cameras, and only he, the director, had access to them. As soon as Zhou Wenbin returned to his office, he checked the footage. Through the surveillance, he confirmed that the fall of Old Lady Jiang was not caused by external force and that there was no physical contact with anyone else.

While watching the footage, the police station called to ask if he could provide the surveillance video from the time of the incident.

Zhou Wenbin, while watching the video on the screen, regretfully told the caller, "I'm really sorry, but the surveillance has been broken for several days, and it hasn't been repaired yet. Repaying grievances with virtue has never been my style."

Xu Chunliang and Cheng Xiaohong went to the emergency room together. Old Lady Jiang was lying alone in bed, accompanied only by a nurse. She had two daughters who lived far away, and her husband had passed away five years ago. Due to her peculiar temperament, most of her relatives had cut ties with her.

Cheng Xiaohong placed the fruit basket she had just bought and said with a smile, "Grandma Jiang, we've come to see you." Since she had fainted in their office, they felt they should show some concern.

Old Lady Jiang turned her face away, not wanting to acknowledge her.

Xu Chunliang said, "You mustn't get angry, Grandma. If your kidney water dries up, even the Buddha can't help you."

Hearing about the drying up of kidney water, Old Lady Jiang slowly turned her face back and looked at Xu Chunliang, saying, "Xiao Xu, do you mean I'm about to die?"

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "I didn't say that. Although your kidney water is depleted, it hasn't dried up completely. With proper treatment, your body can definitely recover."

"How should I treat it?"

"In the five elements, the lungs are metal, and the kidneys are water. Metal generates water, and they are like mother and child. When the lung yin is damaged, the mother's illness affects the child, leading to insufficient kidney water. This causes a lack of water, which fails to nourish the liver, leading to excessive liver yang and symptoms like dizziness and blurred vision."

Cheng Xiaohong listened with wide eyes, amazed. This new guy was quite a charlatan, but he seemed to know a bit about traditional Chinese medicine. Considering he was the young master of Huichuntang, it was normal for him to know some. However, Old Lady Jiang was not easy to fool, and if she turned against him, it would be a big problem.

Old Lady Jiang's eyes lit up. "That's right. I suddenly felt dizzy and fainted in your office."

"Actually, with your constitution, you shouldn't have experienced such symptoms. The reason you fainted was because a few rough-looking thugs suddenly appeared in the office. Their fierce appearance scared you, causing your liver fire to rise. Unfortunately, your kidney water was insufficient to extinguish the liver fire, leading to a heart attack and fainting."

"That's right, those scoundrels scared me!" Old Lady Jiang clutched her chest, feeling uncomfortable again.

"You don't need to be afraid. At Changxing Hospital, your safety is guaranteed, as is the safety of every patient."

Cheng Xiaohong inwardly sighed. This was a high-level statement. Director Zhou had indeed made a good choice. Xu Chunliang was far more capable than Chen Guangming. Not to mention his other qualities, he could fight, and he had subdued Wang Dali with a single move. Working with someone like him gave a sense of security.

Old Lady Jiang took Xu Chunliang's hand and said, "Child, you're a good person. There are not many good people like you nowadays."

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "There are still many good people. Just rest here and don't worry. We at Changxing Hospital will definitely seek justice for you. We won't let those scoundrels who scared you off easily."

Old Lady Jiang nodded and said, "Thank you, thank you!"

Cheng Xiaohong was amazed and could only admire him. It was hard to believe that he could handle such a difficult person as Old Lady Jiang.

The police also came to investigate the situation. They couldn't just listen to Xu Chunliang's side of the story; they needed to hear Old Lady Jiang's account as well.

As Xu Chunliang and Cheng Xiaohong left the observation room, they heard Old Lady Jiang's resentful voice: "Comrade police, you must help me. Those scoundrels almost scared me to death!"

...

The sign for Huichuntang had not yet been hung, but the beehive on the big tree opposite was already taking shape. Xu Changshan stood at the entrance, watching the wasps busily working around the hive. He wondered if these wasps really understood the principle of choosing a good neighbor.

In the afternoon, his son, Xu Jiaxuan, called to inquire about Xu Chunliang's recent situation. Xu Changshan scolded him over the phone. If he truly cared about his son, he would have come in person, not just called. His grandson was already 21, and the total time they had spent together was less than two months.

Xu Jiaxuan felt very guilty about his son, but he was now working and living in America and couldn't stay in China for long. He promised to compensate in other ways.

Xu Changshan hung up the phone before he could finish speaking. He was angry, feeling sorry for his grandson and himself. Although he had suggested that his grandson study abroad, deep down, he was reluctant to let him go. Now that Xu Chunliang had decided to work in China, it suited his wishes. The only regret was that his grandson was unwilling to inherit his legacy. If this continued, the family's legacy would end with him.

This was why Xu Changshan had not hung the sign for Huichuntang. If no one was going to inherit it, why bother?

As he was deep in thought, a man on an electric scooter stopped beside him and greeted him, "Mr. Xu."

Xu Changshan looked up and found the man familiar but couldn't remember where he had seen him. His memory was not as good as it used to be.

"The old man doesn't remember. I helped you move a few days ago, the one with the dislocated elbow."

Xu Changshan then remembered. He didn't have a good impression of the moving company, but he smiled and said, "What brings you here?" He tried to recall if he had helped the man with the dislocation.

"Nothing much, just to express my gratitude."

The man took a bag from his scooter, filled with cicadas, known locally as "diergui," which are often fried and served as a snack.

Xu Changshan said, "No good deed goes unrewarded."

"The old man, I'm thanking your grandson. If it weren't for him, I would have had to undergo surgery. I've already left the moving company."

The man insisted on leaving the bag and quickly rode away before Xu Changshan could say anything.

Xu Changshan shook his head and picked up the bag. It weighed about six or seven pounds. The market price for cicadas was high, with each one costing at least 90 cents, so the bag was worth several hundred yuan.

Xu Changshan suddenly remembered the man's words and felt curious. Help him with the dislocation? He hadn't heard about this from Chunliang. Did he have that skill?

Xu Chunliang rode a public bicycle back from the hospital. He had recently learned this skill. There was a public bicycle station near the new location of Huichuntang. He parked the bike and greeted his grandfather, who was waiting at the door: "Grandpa, you're here to meet me again? I was too busy today to buy vegetables for you."

Seeing his grandson, Xu Changshan smiled. "It's already here."

Xu Chunliang was surprised to see the bag of cicadas and asked, "Who brought these?"

Xu Changshan explained the whole story. Xu Chunliang took the cicadas inside. Aunt Lin had already left after preparing the meal, so the old man cooked the cicadas himself, frying them with chili peppers and sprinkling salt. The aroma filled the air.

They opened a bottle of Laomao wine, and Xu Chunliang poured a glass for his grandfather, as he did almost every evening.

Xu Changshan asked about the dislocation, and Xu Chunliang explained that he had learned some techniques by watching his grandfather help others. The worker's dislocation was not severe, and he had managed to reset it by chance.

Xu Changshan didn't believe it was just luck. How could someone who hadn't learned the technique reset a dislocation on the first try? He had never seen that before.

Xu Changshan didn't press further, took a sip of wine, and a cicada, then asked, "Chunliang, do you want to learn medicine?"

"If you're willing to teach, I'm willing to learn."

Xu Changshan was surprised. His grandson had always been resistant to the topic in the past. He couldn't believe he had agreed today. "Chunliang, don't force yourself or say this just to make me happy."

Xu Chunliang smiled. "I'm not forcing myself. Recently, while helping you copy prescriptions, I developed an interest in traditional Chinese medicine. I've read a lot of medical books and found that although I'm not good at math and science, I have a good memory and understanding of traditional Chinese medicine."

As a master of the Five Poisons, he was not only the best in using poisons but also an expert in medicine. He had spent most of his time poisoning people, and the times he had saved lives were few. In a different era, medicine had flourished, with numerous schools and sects. However, over time, traditional Chinese medicine had declined, and although there were Chinese hospitals and clinics in every city, they could not compete with Western medicine.

The same was true for martial arts. Xu Chunliang had been in this era for some time and had not encountered any true masters. In peacetime, weapons were stored, and martial arts had become less important.

He agreed to learn medicine from his grandfather to provide a reasonable explanation for his abilities.

Xu Changshan's long-held wish was finally fulfilled, and he felt immense relief. After dinner, he took his grandson to offer incense to the two saints.

Xu Changshan planned to start with the basic theories of traditional Chinese medicine. To his surprise, Xu Chunliang had already memorized them thoroughly. He thought it was due to the time spent copying books, which had helped him pass the initial threshold.

Xu Chunliang suggested starting with acupuncture. Xu Changshan was pleased with his grandson's insight and lamented that if he had been trained from a young age, he could have already been running Huichuntang.

Xu Chunliang was merely trying to disguise his true abilities. Through his grandfather, he learned about the current state of traditional Chinese medicine, which left him with many regrets.