Chapter 172: Taking a Master

In less than half an hour, all the remaining ingredients were completely sold out.

There were still people waiting in line, and upon seeing that the ingredients were gone, they grumbled one by one, almost going so far as to ask Song Ruize for special treatment through the back door.

However, once they were gone, they were gone; these ingredients all had to be prepared in advance. For instance, those barbecued items—whether mutton, pork, or ribs—all needed to be marinated ahead of time, and once sold out, people simply had to wait for the next time.

"Brother, the wound must not get wet. If you have anything you need help with recently, let Qibin and the others lend a hand," Qin Huiyin said, before looking at Jiang Qibin. "Brother Qibin..."

"Little sister, rest assured, we will definitely keep an eye on your brother. If he doesn't behave, let me know the next time you come over, and I'll deal with him for you," Jiang Qibin promised.

"If you get hurt like last time and deliberately keep it from me again, I won't care about your affairs anymore," Qin Huiyin intentionally used stern words to remind him.

Song Ruize raised his eyes to look at the few people beside him.

Jiang Qibin immediately indicated that it had nothing to do with him. Chen Yong, Zhou Jinyuan, and Jiang Qingnan all waved their hands in denial, leaving only Zhang Erhuo awkwardly scratching his head, his eyes full of a guilty conscience.

"Why are you glaring at Brother Erhuo?" Qin Huiyin put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "If Brother Erhuo hadn't accidentally let it slip, I would never have known about such an important matter. If you find me annoying, I won't care about you from now on."

With that, Qin Huiyin feigned a fit of pique and stood up.

Song Ruize caught her wrist and said in a muffled voice, "I don't find you annoying. Not annoying at all."

"I know you just didn't want me to worry. But you're hurt; even if I can't help you with other things, I can at least help you hire a physician, right?" Seeing him lower his head, Qin Huiyin dropped the act while she was ahead.

"Alright, I won't keep things from you in the future," Song Ruize promised.

Jiang Qibin gave a thumbs-up, looking thoroughly impressed.

In this world, apart from Little Sister Huiyin, there was simply no one else who could make this stubborn mule behave like this.

"Brother Ze, it's almost time. We should go to work," Jiang Qingnan reminded him from the side. "Lord Wen is coming to inspect the progress today."

"Hurry up and go!" Qin Huiyin urged.

After the men left, Qin Huiyin and the others also packed up their things and headed to the roast duck restaurant.

After storing their cooking utensils at the roast duck restaurant as usual and collecting the recycled pottery jars, Boss Ning paid the price for the missing jars.

Having signed the order for the next delivery of goods, they went to Physician Wei's medical clinic.

"Wife..." Tang Dafu stood at the entrance leaning on crutches, and upon seeing their ox cart appear, he began jumping up and down with excitement.

Qin Huiyin: "..."

Li Taohua stepped down from the ox cart first and said with displeasure, "What are you doing? Are you trying to undo your recovery?"

"No, no, wife, Physician Wei told me to walk around and get out of bed; lying in bed all the time isn't good for recovery. I figured you all would be arriving soon, so I specially came out here to wait for you," Tang Dafu said aggrievedly.

"Oh." Li Taohua walked into the clinic, placed the basket in her hand on the table, and said to him, "This is for you—little dried fish fried by your two daughters, firewood chopped by your eldest son, and fish caught by your youngest son."

A patient nearby said enviously, "Brother Tang, you really are blessed. Your wife looks like a heavenly fairy, and your children are so filial."

Tang Dafu said honestly, "That's right, I am blessed, hehe..."

Li Taohua rolled her eyes. "Physician Wei, how is his injury?"

Physician Wei smiled and said, "Madam Tang, please rest assured. Everything is going as expected; once the splints can be removed, he'll be almost completely healed."

Tang Dafu leaned close to Li Taohua and whispered in her ear, "Wife, this physician might actually have some real skill. All the patients who have come to him recently have been cured by him. My leg will definitely recover completely, and then I'll be able to work again."

"Xiao'er, you tell them," Li Taohua said, looking toward Tang Yixiao.

Tang Yixiao walked over, bowed to Physician Wei, and said, "When you asked me last time if I was willing to study medicine, after giving it careful thought over this period, I have decided that I want to follow you in learning the medical arts. I wonder if you are still willing to take me in as a student?"

The several apothecary apprentices nearby wore sympathetic expressions.

"Is this guy an idiot? He actually wants to study medicine under Old Demon Wei?"

"Old Demon Wei puts on such a good facade to outsiders and has such a handsome face. This fellow hasn't tasted the bitterness of studying under him yet, which is why he has such naive thoughts."

Physician Wei cheerfully lifted Tang Yixiao's arm and said with excitement, "Of course I'll take you in, absolutely. From now on, you are my disciple. However, let's get the ugly truths out first: studying medicine is very bitter. Can you persevere?"

Tang Yixiao nodded seriously, "I can."

"Once the apprenticeship ceremony is held, I will be your master for life, and you must abide by my rules. Of course, I will not let you do anything illegal or criminal, nor will you harm yourself or your family."

"Alright."

"Once you start studying medicine, there is no turning back in this lifetime. If you ever think of giving it up, I will whip you and even punish you."

Tang Lüwu showed a worried expression, pulled Qin Huiyin's sleeve, and said, "Yinyin, why do I feel like this physician isn't very reliable?"

"His clinic isn't far away anyway; we can come check on Little Brother anytime. Besides, isn't Uncle Tang at the clinic recently? Let's have Uncle Tang keep an eye on things for this period and see how he teaches Little Brother."

Tang Lüwu nodded and relaxed.

Physician Wei instructed the apothecary apprentices to immediately prepare the items for the apprenticeship ceremony.

Before all the family members, Tang Yixiao formally acknowledged Physician Wei as his master and recited the oath. In those vows, Tang Yixiao had to promise never to use medical skills to harm anyone in his lifetime, and to save lives on the premise of self-preservation.

"This Physician Wei is a man with a past," Li Taohua remarked nearby. "His character should be trustworthy. The way he looks at Xiao'er is full of affection; he really has a bit of an old father's warmth."

"Wife, I am Xiao'er's father," Tang Dafu chimed in weakly from the side. "If he is Xiao'er's father, wouldn't that make the two of you a pair? That's not right."

Qin Huiyin and Li Taohua: "..."

Li Taohua gritted her teeth and said, "Have you been reviewing your lessons lately? Surely you haven't forgotten all the characters I taught you, have you?"

Hearing this, Tang Dafu regained his spirit, leaned on his crutches, went into the inner room, and came out holding a stack of written paper.

"Wife, look, I practice writing fifty pages of big characters every day."

Astonished, Li Taohua took the papers and flipped through them. The writing at the very top was crooked, but the further down she went, the neater it became. Especially the characters written over the past two days—they were almost catching up to what someone might learn after a year or two of study.

"Did you write these?"

"That's right! That Physician Wei really has some skill; I corrected my form according to what he said, and I really am writing better and better." Tang Dafu looked like a household dog begging for a treat.

Unable to watch any longer, Qin Huiyin pulled Tang Lüwu toward where Tang Yixiao was.

"It's quite cute when a man has a 'love brain', but women must never have one," Qin Huiyin admonished Tang Lüwu.

"What is a 'love brain'?" Tang Lüwu asked, her face full of puzzlement.

"It means only wanting to spend romantic moments with the person you like and ignoring everything else."

"Is my dad that kind of 'love brain'?" Tang Lüwu looked back and, seeing Tang Dafu leaning in to kiss Li Taohua, gave a little shudder. "How terrifying, I don't want one."