Chapter Six Growing Up

  The atmosphere in the room fell into a dead silence, with all sorts of thoughts swirling in everyone's mind.

  After a while, Mo Wenfeng was the first to break the silence: "Today's treatment is over, and we should leave too. Tomorrow, my apprentice will come again to treat the patients."

  Sun Changbo suppressed his strong curiosity and nudged Li Xiao Zhi with his arm, saying in a low voice: "Xiao Zhi, where's the money?"

  Li Xiao Zhi suddenly came to his senses, rushed to the cabinet, opened the drawer and took out a bag of things. He walked up to Zhang Yi's face and said with a bitter smile: "Zhang Yi brother, it was my fault for underestimating you earlier, thinking that someone who repairs cars can't cure illnesses. Your medical skills have convinced me, I sincerely apologize to you, hoping that you will be able to forgive me and not hold grudges against me."

  "There's nothing, it's all in the past."

  Sun Changbo nodded in approval, saying: "With a broad and open-minded heart, you will definitely have great prospects in the future. Zhang Yi, you're not bad at all. This bag contains 100,000 yuan for medical expenses, please accept it."

  Li Xiaoqi looked at Sun Changbo, then shifted his gaze to Zhang Yi and said seriously: "Brother Zhang Yi, 100,000 yuan is nothing compared to my father's life. If you can cure my father's illness, it doesn't matter if you want one million, ten million or even one hundred million, I am willing to give it to you. Although I don't know why Director Sun only asked me to prepare 100,000, what I want to say is that if you can cure my father, you will be a great benefactor of the Li family. In the future, if you need anything, just speak up, as long as I, Li Xiaoqi, can do it, I will not decline."

  Zhang Yi suddenly thought of his own father, that loyal and honest man who loved him to the bone.

  Before

  He had heard rumors about Li Xiao Zhi:

  Arrogant and overbearing, wildly arrogant and unbridled.

  He even heard that Li Xiaoqi was the young master of Fengcheng County.

  However, at this moment, looking at Li Xiao Zhi in front of him, he had a profound change of heart towards Li Xiao Zhi. No matter what his personality was like normally, but he and himself were the same, they both loved their fathers very much, and for them, no matter how great the cost, it was worth paying.

  "Whether this money is collected or not will be decided by my teacher." Zhang Yi withdrew his gaze, tidied up the medicine box and stood respectfully beside Mo Wenfeng.

  Even so, his heart still rose with no small waves.

  One hundred thousand bucks!

  To the Li family, it might just be a drop in the bucket, but to him, it was an astronomical figure.

  Mo Wenfeng said calmly: "Xiao Yi, take it! This is your deserved reward."

  Zhang Yi moved his lips a few times and said in a low voice: "Teacher, it's a bit too much."

  Mo Wenfeng let out a silent sigh, 1 million yuan was indeed a huge sum for Zhang Yi, but in his eyes, it wasn't even worth the hair on an ox's body.

  "Take it."

  "Yes!" Zhang Yi hastily lowered his head and said.

  Outside Li's courtyard gate.

  Zhang Yi stopped in his tracks, turned around and looked at Li Xiaozhi who had sent them off, and said: "Yesterday, thank you."

  Li Xiao Zhi revealed a sunny smile, but just a few seconds later, the smile on his face disappeared without a trace, replaced by a serious expression. He said, "Don't be polite, do you want to know why I suddenly helped you yesterday?"

  Zhang Yi was indeed confused in his heart. He and Li Xiaoqi were not close friends before, even if he had repaired cars for Li Xiaoqi, it was just a matter of taking money from people and doing things for them, a fair deal.

  But yesterday, he turned against Qin Dabiao.

  "Why?" Zhang Yi asked.

  Li Xiaoqi said: "Both of our families are in the electric tricycle business, and we are competitors. Although their family's business is much smaller than mine, over the years, there have been many conflicts between us, both openly and secretly."

  "I really dislike Qin Da Biao, that guy is a bully who always cheats men and bullies women. He's the kind of person who would blame his wife for getting diabetes just because he has a toothache. I've been wanting to teach him a lesson for a long time, but I never had the chance until yesterday when I coincidentally found an opportunity."

  "Zhang Yi, brother, Qin Dabiao has a narrow mind and must retaliate when he's humiliated. He didn't dare to take revenge on me yesterday, but I'm sure he's burning with anger inside. So, be careful in the future, I'm afraid he'll vent his anger on you. Of course, if Qin Dabiao dares to cause trouble for you, just contact me anytime and I'll handle it."

  Zhang Yi nodded slowly and said: "Thank you, I will be careful."

  Mo Wenhua's gaze swept over Li Xiaoqi and Zhang Yi, but he didn't ask what had happened yesterday.

  Young people have their own lives and experiences, even if they encounter some troubles, it's not all bad.

  From refinement comes forth, plum blossoms' fragrance emerges from bitter cold.

  Without experiencing the bitter cold, how can one appreciate the fragrance of plum blossoms?

  "Let's go!"

  Mo Wenfeng turned around and walked away into the distance.

  Zhang Yi nodded at Li Xiaoqi and Sun Changbo, followed Mo Wenhua for a thousand meters, then stretched out his hand to pass over the bag containing 100,000 yuan, saying respectfully: "Teacher, this money is for you."

  Mo Wenfeng stopped in his tracks, his expression turning somewhat serious: "Xiao Yi, the person treating the patient today is you, so this time's consultation fee is yours. The reason I brought you here to practice is that I want to tell you, the skills you've learned must be used, otherwise what's the point of learning them? Additionally, I also want to tell you, medical skills can change your life, and allow you and your father to live a good life."

  Zhang Yi stared blankly at Mo Wenfeng, and after a long silence, he slowly nodded and said: "Master, thank you, I remember!"

  Master?

  Mo Wenhua's heart skipped a beat, and on that aged face, a relieved smile slowly emerged.

  All these years, he had hoped that Zhang Yi would call him "Shifu" instead of "Teacher", but Zhang Yi never did.

  At this moment, he finally heard the long-awaited title.

  Excitement rippled through his mind, a bright smile spreading across his face, smoothing out all the wrinkles, making him look suddenly much younger.

  "Xiao Yi, go back and discuss with your dad, I plan to recommend you to the Medical College of Jingnan University for further study. The knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine is vast and profound, and I have already taught you almost everything I can. If you go to the Medical College of Jingnan University, you should also learn Western medicine. Remember, traditional Chinese medicine has its own essence, and Western medicine has its unique strengths. To achieve great success in the field of medicine, one must take the strengths of both and combine them."

  "Yes, Master!"

  Zhang Yi finished speaking and suddenly made a decision in his heart:

  "Master, I can treat patients with such good results because..."

  Mo Wenhua waved his hand to interrupt Zhang Yi's words: "No need to tell me, everyone has their own secrets. Some things are better left unsaid. As long as it helps you treat your patients, that's enough."

  Zhang Yi moved his lips slightly, and was deeply moved in his heart.

  The warm sunshine heats up the earth. The clear breeze blows across the world dressed in green, giving people a sense of relaxation and freedom.

  Returning home, Zhang Yi found his father was not at home.

  Entering his own room, Zhang Yi took off his shoes and sat cross-legged on the bed. With a slight movement of his consciousness, he once again "saw" clearly the situation inside his body.

  "The spring in my dantian is full of vitality, and it seems to be beneficial for me. From now on, I'll call it the 'Vitality Spring'! As for the light green liquid that's produced, let's call it Vitality Liquid."

  Zhang Yi closed his eyes, a drunken smile playing on the corners of his mouth.

  Suddenly, he had an idea:

  "In traditional Chinese medicine, it is said that when the pulse is smooth, the qi and blood flow smoothly. When all the pulses are unblocked, the physical quality will be greatly improved. Previously, I used Shen Qi liquid to expel the dark substances from several meridians, not only nourishing the meridians but also treating internal injuries. If I use this Shen Qi liquid again to unblock more meridians and nourish my body, it should have a good effect, right?"

  Think and act.

  Zhang Yi began to control the vital energy liquid in the Vital Spring, slowly flowing into the meridians. In just half an hour, seven or eight of the impurities in his body's meridians had been driven out.

  "Suspension pivot, central pivot, and extreme yang pivot, the three main points were all blocked with a dark grey substance, which was cleared out. However, the Shen Dao point's location couldn't be opened no matter what. Moreover, the original vitality spring's vital fluid had decreased to one-third of its original amount. It seems that using vital fluid to open up acupoints consumes a large quantity."

  "This vital fluid has been of great help to me, but how can I increase it? Otherwise, once all the vital fluid is consumed in the future, I won't be able to get its help."

  After Zhang Yi thought for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out.

  "Never mind, let's not worry about that for now. There is still one-third of the vital energy left, use it to nourish your tendons, bones, muscles, and internal organs, try to eliminate some of the impurities in these places, and improve your physical quality."

  Time flies, and two hours have passed in the blink of an eye.

  When Zhang Wei's life force was left with only a thin thread, he stopped and slowly retrieved the last thread of life force back to the Life Spring.

  "It smells so bad..."

  A strong stench emanated from his body, and Zhang Yi looked down at his own torso. Suddenly, he discovered that on the outer skin, there was a thin layer of sticky grayish-black substance. The foul smell was coming from this grayish-black substance.

  Suppressing that nauseous feeling, Zhang Yi jumped off the bed and rushed out of the door, washing his body clean and changing into a set of clean clothes.

  "Huh? My skin seems to be whiter than before?"

  Zhang Yi's eyes widened, and a surprised voice came from his heart.

  He now feels his whole body full of strength, while his bones are much lighter, with a very refreshing and invigorating taste.

  "Creak..."

  The gate was pushed open and Zhang Pinchao walked into the yard with a gloomy face and his hands behind his back.

  "Dad, I have something to tell you."

  Zhang Yifei quickly rushed into his own room, took out the bag containing 100,000 yuan and looked at his father.

  Zhang Pinchao looked at his son and the gloom on his face dissipated a lot, asking: "What's wrong?"

  Zhang Yi said, "Dad, there are 100,000 yuan in this bag. Today, my master took me to the county town for a medical examination, and I earned the consultation fee. Originally, I planned to give this money to Master, but he didn't want to accept it."

  One hundred thousand yuan?

  Zhang Pinchao's heart skipped a beat, and his face didn't show the slightest joy, but instead became even more gloomy than before.

  "Xiao Yi, all these years you've followed me and suffered a lot, so take this money! I believe you're not a child who wastes money," Zhang Pinchao said, and then took a step towards the house.

  "Father, Master said he wants to recommend me to study at the Medical College of Jingnan University. He asked me to discuss it with you."

  Zhang Pinchao's body trembled slightly, and the complex colors in his eyes quickly emerged and disappeared. When he looked at Zhang Yi, he had already calmed down: "Xiao Yi, what do you think?"

  Zhang Yi said in a low voice: "I want to go. I like medical knowledge, and it can also be my career in the future."

  Zhang Pinchao gazed deeply at Zhang Yi, remaining silent for a long time.

  At this moment, Zhang Yi finally discovered his father's abnormality and hastily asked: "Dad? What's wrong with you? If you don't agree, I won't go."

  "If you want to go, then go! When your wings are strong, you need to fly on your own. I can raise you up, but I won't be able to accompany you for a lifetime."

  Zhang Yi's eyes showed a hint of excitement as he said, "Dad, thank you."

  Zhang Pinchao's face showed a few hints of hesitation, looking at his son who had grown up into an adult in front of him. He felt somewhat uneasy in his heart: "Son, I have some news about your mom, do you want to hear it?"

  Zhang Yi's body stiffened, and a dull expression appeared on his face.

  Mom?

  What unfamiliar words?

  He has been dependent on his father since he was a child. He envied others for having mothers and was ridiculed for not having one.

  Mom...