No matter whether the girl’s words were true or not, he kept it in mind. He had heard that there was a Taoist Temple in the town, where the Taoist priests were well-versed in knowledge beyond the ordinary. One day, he would go to town and see. "Alright, Uncle believes what you said. Cultivate well. Uncle is waiting to see our girl become even prettier than a fairy. Oh, don’t ever talk about this outside, or your nose will grow long."
Lan Tian didn’t care whether he truly believed her or not; she was just giving them a preemptive explanation, and as long as they had some understanding, that was enough. Grandma Sun, hearing her granddaughter’s voice outside, looked through the window to see uncle and niece chatting enthusiastically and smiled knowingly, "Now he is pleased!"
"Girl, would you like to learn medicine from Uncle?" Mo Yuanle pondered for a while. The girl was not only frail in foundation but also looked slender and delicate, he didn’t know how many years it would take to nurture her. The medical skills of the Mo Family must not end with him. The girl was smart and clever, capable of both learning a skill for a living and passing down the Mo Clan’s medical skills. This was a win-win.
"May I?" Lan Tian’s eyes immediately gleamed with excitement, filled with surprise. Uncle’s words struck a chord with her. In this life, without elixirs to aid her, and relying solely on meditation, she didn’t know how long it would take to reach Foundation Establishment. In her previous life, she cultivated in a space abundant with Spiritual Energy and took Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill and practiced energy introduction, which took half a year; one could imagine how poor her aptitude was.
This life she lacked elixirs and such a space, and to practice energy introduction, she needed to find a way to improve her physique. Fortunately, she knew a few elixir recipes for washing the marrow and cutting the meridians, and without Spiritual Medicine, she could only substitute with herbs. Previously, she was fretting over how to get Uncle to teach her medicine so that when she decocted medicine for marrow cleansing, she could have an excuse. Right now, as sleepiness overwhelmed her, Lan Tian almost wanted to hug Uncle and give him kisses.
"Of course, you’re also a descendant of our Mo Family."
"Is there no rule of not passing skills to females over males?"
Mo Yuanle was taken aback, "Who said that? Our family doesn’t have such a rule." This was something Mo Yuanle wouldn’t have said in the past. If it were someone scared to death of him, how could they dare come to his home and learn medicine from him? The medical heritage of the Mo Clan must continue; otherwise, he wouldn’t have the face to meet the ancestors.
"Your body is currently too weak; even if it gets better, you still won’t be fit for the physical work in the fields. Hard physical labor won’t earn you much money, better to learn medicine from me. It’s easier work and earns more. Whether it’s hot or cold, you’ll be sitting comfortably at home. The villagers won’t speak idly and must respect me. Anyone who sees me has to cling to me, the village chief included."
Lan Tian rolled her eyes internally. It wasn’t respect from the villagers towards him; it was fear, given he had been a soldier, fought in battles, and killed people. With his fierce presence and brawny muscles that shook with each step, combined with the scars on his face, who wouldn’t be scared! In her previous life, she was scared too!
Uncle spoke the harsh truth. Indeed, she wouldn’t possibly perform labor-intensive work in the fields; it was a waste of time and hindered cultivation, and truly didn’t earn much.
"Alright, I’ll start learning medicine from Uncle tomorrow. I can’t read, so please don’t despise me as stupid. I need to let Grandma know to keep her informed. And my aunt?"
"She went to the back to pick vegetables."
Lan Tian acknowledged with an ’oh’, thought for a moment, and reminded him, "Uncle, should we inform the village chief?" Then, she carried the bucket to the kitchen. Grandma Sun was cooking and immediately shooed Lan Tian out upon her entry, "The kitchen is full of greasy smoke, hot and stuffy. Get out; your body isn’t fully recovered. Don’t relapse."
Lan Tian disagreed inwardly; she had been recuperating for two months and was all better now, it was just a heatstroke after all. But the family insisted she wasn’t fully recovered and being young, her opinions were overridden. Alright, she gave up.
Kicking the bucket lightly, she announced, "Grandma, I caught a lot of fish and shrimp, let’s cook them for lunch."
Grandma Sun came over, peeked into the bucket, and was startled. The girl was quite capable, catching nearly a pound of fish and shrimp. Fried with chili peppers, it would make a good dish. "You glutton, Grandma will cook soon. Get out now," she pushed Lan Tian out, and Lan Tian then settled under the camphor tree to cool off.
Mo Yuanle didn’t consider the village chief significant. Besides being a doctor, he was also a retired soldier who had served the country for many years. If not for a leg injury, he wouldn’t have voluntarily retired. He still received a national subsidy of twenty yuan each month, which he collected personally from the town. The villagers, including the village chief, were unaware of this.
Over time, Lan Tian’s learning medicine under him couldn’t be kept secret. According to their family legacy, both his and the village chief’s descendants shared the same ancestor. It was recorded in the family genealogy that any descendant of the old ancestor could learn. After all, they were still one family, and the village chief deserved some face, "I’ll talk to him about this, you don’t worry."
Uncle’s words indeed carried weight. Just as Lan Tian was about to relax, she suddenly remembered Fourth Grandpa’s family - they were not easy to deal with. Known for taking advantage and causing trouble when out and about, who knew how they would react knowing she was learning medicine from Uncle.
"Will Fourth Grandpa’s famil...