In the afternoon, Chen Jie was there picking out herbs.
This wasn't an easy task; the herbs Doctor Bai had chosen were especially easy to confuse.
There were also some fresh herbs.
And he had to sort the fresh ones with the dried ones of the same category.
This was a huge amount of work.
The fresh astragalus and Huang Qi slices were completely different things.
He also had to sort out Fangfeng, codonopsis, Banlangen, Radix Ginseng, bellflower, Qianhu, astragalus, and licorice.
For someone with no background in herbs, just these few items could be dizzying.
Fortunately, although Chen Jie was illiterate, the knowledge of herbs he had been forced to learn from his childhood by listening and watching helped him now.
Although it was also difficult, after bustling about for two hours, Chen Jie had managed to finish sorting everything.
Meanwhile, Wu Hong had been training for two hours as well. Chen Jie stood up to stretch his stiff muscles and asked Wu Hong, "Brother Wu, what kind of Martial Arts are you practicing?"
Wu Hong, seeing that Chen Jie had finished sorting, smiled and said, "You're quite quick. I thought you'd take until dark."
Chen Jie replied, "I have a bit of a background."
Wu Hong said, "I'm building up my strength here. Are you interested in this, Jiu Si?"
Chen Jie replied, "Yes, I lack exercise normally, and sometimes it's quite dangerous when I go up the mountain and encounter wild animals."
Wu Hong recalled his grandfather's experiences and said, "Yes, our back mountain connects to Black Mountain, which is part of the Daba Mountain Range. There are some fierce wild animals here; since you doctors inevitably have to go into the mountains to gather herbs, learning some self-defense skills is necessary."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, "Yes, Brother Wu, could you teach me?"
Wu Hong didn't respond, so Chen Jie immediately added, "Of course, Brother Wu, if it involves any Sect secrets or something, then don't worry about it."
Wu Hong then said, "There's no need for that, come here, I'll feel your bones."
Chen Jie was overjoyed, and Wu Hong came over and felt Chen Jie's bones, saying, "Hmm, I just felt your bones; you've got some talent, but not much, just ordinary."
"It might be difficult to achieve great success in Martial Arts, but learning some self-defense shouldn't be a problem."
Wu Hong continued, "Come, first practice a set of boxing with me. The rest, which involves building up strength, can be approached gradually."
Speaking, Wu Hong said, "Come, practice with me once."
Wu Hong, without further ado, took up a stance, ready to teach Chen Jie.
Chen Jie was stunned; he hadn't expected the Martial Arts to be taught so simply.
Actually, this was because Chen Jie had saved Doctor Bai before, which caused a good reaction, and he got along well with Wu Hong.
Moreover, what Wu Hong taught wasn't any profound Martial Arts, but the Grand Ancestor Long Fist which any Martial Artist could learn.
Although these boxing techniques weren't precious—they were available in city bookstores for about five silver taels—being personally taught by Wu Hong was another matter.
Grand Ancestor Long Fist, reputedly founded by Zhao Kuangyin, the founding Emperor of the Song, was also known as the "Mother of a Hundred Fists."
It wasn't so much that the technique was profound; it was actually quite basic, mainly used by Martial Artists to establish a foundation, hence the name.
Wu Hong himself had built his foundation using this series of techniques.
The whole set consisted of thirty-two styles, and Chen Jie followed through twice, feeling a heated energy awakening in his muscles.
Wu Hong asked, "Have you memorized it?"
Chen Jie replied, "I have."
Wu Hong said, "Good. Whenever you have time, practice these moves. After practicing, work on moving the grinding stone to build up physical strength. Although the technique isn't profound, it's effective for the first two stages of a Martial Artist's development: Skin Buff and Refining Body."
"You often practice and carefully contemplate, and you will reap great benefits."
Wu Hong said, and Chen Jie immediately thanked him, "Thank you, Brother Wu, I have learned."
Wu Hong responded, "Hmm, as for the technique, there are no fixed moves; it depends on your ability to adapt to your opponent. As for the rest, it depends on your own training."
After hearing this, Chen Jie immediately bowed and said, "I understand."
Wu Hong added, "Hmm, practice more when you have time, and ask me if you do not understand."
Chen Jie immediately agreed, and at that moment, the door of the house was pushed open. Doctor Bai had seen Chen Jie learning boxing from Wu Hong, but he did not come out to stop it.
In this chaotic era, even if you want to be a good doctor, you need some worldly skills, not to be very powerful, but at least to protect yourself.
In this era, learning Martial Arts is definitely the right choice.
Just like in later generations, no matter what you do, reading is definitely the right move.
Doctor Bai stepped out, and Wu Hong immediately moved a chair over for him. Doctor Bai sat down and then asked Chen Jie to hand over the herbs he had sorted.
He checked them very carefully, inspecting them for a full quarter of an hour.
Suddenly, Doctor Bai's expression turned stern, and he glanced at Chen Jie, pointing to a small slice of herb in the pile.
"Take a good look, what is this?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie immediately picked up the herb slice and looked at it—it was a bit blurred, resembling fangfeng and somewhat like qianhu.
For a moment, he really couldn't tell, and then Doctor Bai said, "The first lesson of medicine is herbal identification, which involves observing, smelling, touching, and tasting—the four methods."
"Observing its form, it's hard to distinguish; smelling its scent, tasting its flavor."
Chen Jie instantly understood, sniffed, noticed a difference in scent, and tasted it, finding a difference in their bitterness as well.
Chen Jie finally determined, and Doctor Bai said sternly, "Fangfeng is warming, qianhu is cooling. Using warming herbs for cooling purposes and vice versa can kill people!"
"Master, I was wrong."
Chen Jie immediately admitted his mistake, and Doctor Bai then said, "Jiu Si, what I wanted to teach you today was not about identifying herbs but a lesson—that in this world, anyone can be careless and make mistakes, but a doctor cannot, because the cost of every mistake you make could likely be someone's life!"
"Yes, master, I understand."
Chen Jie sincerely acknowledged his mistake and also remembered this lesson.
Doctor Bai then sternly said, "Go, get some paper and pen, and copy the relevant content about these herbs from the medicine classics twenty times, take it to heart."
"Yes, I'll do it right now."
Chen Jie sincerely and happily took a pen to start copying.
Wu Hong watched with amusement, reminiscent of the expression of a close friend at school after making a mistake.
Doctor Bai glanced at Wu Hong and said, "I didn't mention you, did I? Go, you copy too."
"Ah, grandpa, I'm not studying medicine, and copying the medicine classics is useless."
"Medicine classics are useless? Then go copy the acupoint map, twenty times, no less."
Wu Hong's face turned bitter, but Doctor Bai remained stern, "Can't I manage you anymore?"
"Alright, don't be angry, your elder, I'll copy."
Wu Hong grimaced, dragged a small stool over next to Chen Jie: "Move in a bit."
Chen Jie shifted his stool slightly, and Wu Hong, with a bitter face, sat down and leaned over the table to copy the meridian map, feeling extremely wronged.