Chapter 199: Want to Learn Traditional Chinese Medicine?

Yun Jiao was indeed a genius.

Her powerful Divine Soul gave her a photographic memory.

However, it was best not to mention subjects like math that required calculation. Even with a photographic memory, she just couldn’t learn things that required her brain to work at high speed.

She had a photographic memory, but she didn’t like to think hard.

For things that relied purely on memorization, however, Yun Jiao learned very quickly.

Elder Xu patted Yun Jiao’s head as if he had discovered some kind of treasure.

"Not bad at all. Little one, would you like to come learn traditional Chinese medicine from me?"

Yun Jiao tilted her head.

Elder Xu and his apprentices were all charmed by her cuteness.

’So cute! This little girl isn’t just pretty and well-behaved—most importantly, she’s smart!’

’Who wouldn’t want a child like that?’

’Learn traditional Chinese medicine?’

In her little head, she seriously considered the question.

Yun Jiao was certainly curious about traditional Chinese medicine, but only out of curiosity. She had never thought about actually learning it.

However...

Yun Jiao thought of the two elders in her family. She knew that her grandma’s previous illness had used up all of their money. They even had to borrow a significant amount, which had plunged their already poor family even deeper into poverty.

And then there were their problems with gout and rheumatism.

’If I learned traditional Chinese medicine, couldn’t I treat my family myself in the future and ease their pain?’

Grandpa Yun opened his mouth. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he wanted Jiaojiao to agree.

But... he wanted his precious granddaughter to make the decision for herself.

His granddaughter might be young, but she had a mind of her own.

After a moment of thought, Yun Jiao looked at Elder Xu and nodded seriously.

"I want to learn."

Instantly, Elder Xu beamed, looking overjoyed.

"Come find me here the day after tomorrow. We’ll hold the apprenticeship ceremony then, and you’ll formally begin your studies with me."

Yun Jiao nodded obediently. "Okay."

Beside them, Grandpa Yun beamed, the wrinkles on his face deepening with his smile.

He grew even more enthusiastic toward Elder Xu, who was just as pleased.

After the needles were removed, Grandpa Yun grasped Elder Xu’s hands, pumping them up and down as if they were long-lost brothers.

"Mr. Xu, thank you so very much. I’m afraid we’ll be troubling you with our Jiaojiao from now on..."

Elder Xu replied, "I’m very fond of this child, Yun Jiao. She’s quiet and bright. I couldn’t be happier to have such a fine apprentice. How could she possibly be a bother..."

After exchanging more pleasantries, Grandpa Yun remembered that Elder Xu still had a busy clinic to run, with many patients waiting outside, so he decided not to take up any more of his time.

"Well, we’ll get going then. We’ll bring Jiaojiao back the day after tomorrow."

After leaving the clinic, Yun Linhai and the others were still in a bit of a daze, unable to process what had just happened.

’Who would have thought? They’d come for a doctor’s visit, and their precious Jiaojiao had ended up finding herself a master—and an old master of traditional Chinese medicine, no less!’

Yun Linhai was beaming with joy. He scooped Yun Jiao up and planted a kiss on her chubby cheek.

"Our Jiaojiao is just so incredible! This is truly a blessing from our ancestors! To think that Jiaojiao has taken such a skilled old master of Chinese medicine as her teacher!"

Before Yun Jiao could even say a word, she was swept into Shen Yunlian’s arms, who also planted a big kiss on her cheek.

"Jiaojiao, you’re so amazing! From now on, study hard with your master. Our Jiaojiao has such a bright future."

Then she was whisked away by Wang Mei...

After being passed around the entire family, Yun Jiao had been kissed several times and showered with an endless stream of praise.

She had been quite happy at first, but after making the rounds, little Yun Jiao’s expression went a bit numb.

(ㅍ_ㅍ)

She vigorously wiped her face.

’Even if it was her own family, she couldn’t have them leaving their spit on her face.’

Yun Jiao shot them a look of mild resentment.

"AHEM... ’You can just wash your face when we get back.’"

’We were just too excited and couldn’t help it.’

Heh heh heh...

"Come on! Since we’re here anyway, and with the New Year just around the corner, let’s buy some more things to take home."

Things to eat, things to use, things to wear... they were determined to have a wonderful New Year this year!

"Come, Jiaojiao, look at this red padded jacket. It would look so good on you."

For the New Year, new clothes should naturally be festive.

They got a red cotton-padded jacket, socks, and hair ribbons ready for Jiaojiao.

With such a beautiful little doll, it would be a real shame not to dress her up like a little good-luck charm.

Of course, Yun Xiaowu and the other children got new clothes too, just not red ones.

Because with their darker skin, an all-red outfit would be harsh on the eyes.

But they still had to get red socks, just for the festive spirit.

"Let’s skip the popcorn and puffed rice. Someone will come to the village to make it closer to the New Year. We just need to buy some saccharin to take home."

"Let’s stock up on cookies and candy."

"And sunflower seeds and peanuts."

"We’re almost out of cooking oil at home. Let’s get some soybean oil."

Grandma Yun pointed to some red paper. "Let’s buy some of this, too. We can cut our own paper window decorations back home."

Grandpa Yun rubbed his hands together. "Heh heh, let’s get some liquor to take home. Some sorghum wine."

They couldn’t afford the expensive stuff, nor would they be willing to splurge on it, but they could still enjoy a small cup or two of this cheap, loose sorghum wine.

With everyone chiming in, they soon bought everything they needed.

It was the first time they had bought so much at once. It cost a pretty penny, but they were happy.

As they were about to leave, Yun Linhai, Yun Linhe, and the other men reluctantly tore their eyes away from the bicycles.

Meanwhile, Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei pulled their gazes away from the sewing machines.

’Sigh... We can’t afford them.’

’It wasn’t just the money. The main problem was that we don’t have the ration tickets!’

Ration tickets for things like sewing machines and bicycles cost about a hundred yuan each, and they were incredibly hard to come by.

When they returned to the village laden with bags big and small, they were immediately surrounded by a curious crowd.

"Didn’t you guys go to see a doctor? Why’d you come back with so much stuff?"

Grandma Yun replied, "Well, we figured since we earned a bit of money this year and the new house is finished, we should make up for all the years we were too poor to celebrate properly. Since the whole family was in the county town anyway, we just decided to buy our New Year’s goods ahead of time."

"You’ve got a point. We’ll have to go into town to get our New Year’s shopping done soon, too."

Grandma Yun shot a meaningful look at her sons and daughters-in-law, staying behind herself to hold the crowd in conversation.

Yun Linhai and the others understood instantly, quickly heading home with their New Year’s purchases.

’If they stayed any longer, the nosier ones would start trying to peek inside their baskets.’

Yun Jiao stayed behind with her grandma, though in reality, she just wanted to listen to the gossip.

She expertly squeezed into the crowd, sat down next to her grandma, and pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from her little bag, stuffing them into her grandma’s hand.

She grabbed a handful for herself, too.

"I was just saying, those two families were causing a ruckus at your place earlier. Turns out Cai Jinhua got sentenced to three years, Yun Dan got two, and it’s even worse for the Zhou Family."

"What? They got so many years just for marrying off a daughter?"

"Haven’t the authorities made it clear that arranged marriages are illegal? And what they did was even worse—using a living person for a ghost marriage. To put it nicely, you could say the girl is just moving somewhere else to live, but what’s the reality?

"Forget about how she’d be worked to the bone. She probably wouldn’t even know how she died. Anyway, from what I’ve heard about other ghost marriages, not a single one of those girls had a good life. They all died young. It’s an unlucky business, after all."

"Exactly. And Yun Laide died because of all this."