Chapter 1: The Office's Unspoken Rules...

  "But I don't like to eat steamed food, I prefer spicy flavors, the spicier the better, otherwise it has a fishy smell." Yang Zongbao reluctantly moved his eyes away from that white-lipped bamboo leaf.

  "Alright, alright, alright, Xiao Yuzi, hurry up and get that largest snake cleaned for me. We're having spicy hot pot tonight." Mr. Yu invited Yang Zongbao to enter the house with him, leaving behind Yu Tiehan, who was speechless.

  "But I won't kill." Yu Tie Nan really wouldn't catch snakes, and could even be said to be very afraid of these slimy things. But no one paid attention to him.

  Yu Tie Nan stared blankly at the cauliflower snake on this side, while Old Master Yu led Yang Zongbao into the house and sat down beside a low square table in the main hall.

  "Want to learn traditional Chinese medicine?" Old Master Yu poured a bowl of tea for Yang Zongbao with a blue-edged bowl.

  "What's this 'Golden Flower'?" Yang Zongbao took a sip and didn't want to pour any more into his mouth.

  "What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?" asked Old Master Yu.

  "I don't like this taste," Yang Zongbao said frankly.

  "Your mouth is quite sharp. Good stuff, autumn dryness, young people with strong fire energy need to nourish themselves. You haven't answered yet, want to learn traditional Chinese medicine?" Old Master Yu was still quite persistent.

  "A bit interested." Yang Zongbao wouldn't lie, he indeed just wanted to learn acupuncture, nothing else.

  "I heard from our young Yu Zi that you are excellent." The old man is still sharp.

  "It's okay."

  "I'm telling you, can't you say a bit more? Not even a bit of sincerity. Many people want to be my disciple, why should I accept you?" Old Master Yu was dissatisfied.

  "I didn't say I wanted to be your apprentice, I just asked a few questions and sought some advice."

  "Ah..." The old man didn't expect Yang Zongbao to say that and for a moment couldn't find the right words to counterattack.

  Just then, a miserable cry came from Yu Tie's courtyard. Yang Zongbao immediately reacted and rushed out to take a look. Yu Tie was holding the tail of the oil vegetable snake and spinning around frantically. In order to prevent the snakehead from biting him, he could only desperately swing it around.

  "Good fellow, that snake is over 2 meters long and as thick as a baby's arm. What a great meat snake!"

  Yang Zongbao sprang out with a "whoosh" sound, grabbed a stone from the ground with one hand and held the snake's body with the other, smashing the stone towards the snake's head, crushing it into a pulp.

  "You're really violent." Yu Tie Nan didn't react until a long time had passed.

  "Bring a knife." Yang Zongbao indeed did not heed Yu Tiennan's words, directly asking for a knife to come over, and dealt with it on the bluestone at the door.

  The action was neat and efficient, as if it had been rehearsed a thousand times. Skinning, removing the gallbladder, scooping out the entrails, and casually asking Yu Tie Nan and the old man who came out after hearing the commotion if they wanted any. After getting their negative response, he directly swallowed the snake's gallbladder.

  "Where is the kitchen?" Yang Zongbao hung the snakeskin on the wall of the yard, drew a basin of water from the well and washed away the bloodstains on the bluestone.

  Yu Tie-nan pointed in a direction. Yang Zong-bao picked up the snake and entered the kitchen, with Old Master Yu following closely behind him.

  Yang Zongbao was busy cooking in the kitchen, while Old Master Yu was just lending a hand. Yu Tie looked at the old and young people in the kitchen and thought to himself, who is really your grandson?

  Feeling that there was no place for him in the kitchen, Yu Tie Nan returned to the main hall and sat down at a square table, picked up a blue-rimmed large bowl and drank all the water inside.

  Before long, Old Master Yu suddenly rushed in hastily and ran to the back room. After a flurry of rummaging through trunks and cabinets, he finally grabbed hold of a glass jar.

  "Hurry up and let's go, we can have a good meal tonight."

  The old man put a glass jar on the table, with something unknown floating inside.

  "Grandpa, can you bear to take this out? Last time Dad asked you for some and it was no use." Yu Tie Nan said that his grandfather had kept this thing for a long time, it's a treasure that's not easily shown to people, only during the New Year would the old man give him some, making his father so eager he was like a monkey.

  "Move over." The old man suddenly pushed Yu Tie Nan aside and made room for Yang Zongbao, who was carrying a sand pot.

  Yu Tienan hadn't even reacted yet when his nostrils were filled with the savory smell of meat.

  So delicious.

  The old man went down with one chopstick, picked up a piece of meat and threw it into his mouth without even caring about the heat: "Delicious, delicious."

  The old man generously poured a bowl of Baobei wine from the blue-edged large bowl on the table for Yang Zongbao. The liquor had been brewed to a yellowish color, with a layer of oily luster inside.

  "I don't drink." Yang Zongbao was dissatisfied.

  "You little brat, don't be ungrateful. This is tiger bone wine, something my grandfather usually doesn't give to people." Yu Tie Nan was envious to death, but that person didn't even appreciate it. Where can you still find tiger bones to make wine in this world? Those tigers are all protected animals, touching one would land you in jail. This was made by his own grandfather 40 years ago, and the wine has been stored in this jar for over 40 years, truly a strong tonic."

  "Come on, Yang, just try some." Yang Zongbao reluctantly took a sip with an unhappy face.

  The spiciness was the only sensation, just one mouthful, and it immediately went to his head. Yang Zongbao's face turned red, and he felt a warm air rising from his kidneys along his back to the top of his head. Before long, he was sweating profusely.

  Having seen all of Yang Zongbao's behavior, Old Master Yu smiled and said: "How is it?"

  "Not bad, is Tiger Bone Wine really that potent?" Yang Zongbao asked skeptically.

  "Of course I've also got some other things up my sleeve, isn't that impressive? The secret to how I can still hold my own at my age." Old Master Yu said with a pleased smile.

  "It's fine." Yang Zongbao also took another sip, this one not as difficult to swallow as the last. He could accept it. Feeling Yu Tie Nan's resentful gaze on one side, he hesitated and asked: "Do you want some?"

  Yu Tie Nan didn't waste any words and directly took a big gulp: "Refreshing. With one mouthful, it seems like all the dampness in my body has disappeared, I can sleep well tonight."

  "You little rascal, you're just lucky today because of Little Yang's delicious snake meat." The old man couldn't stop talking, taking a sip of wine and a bite of meat at the same time.

  Yang Zongbao was also unwilling to fall behind and feared that he would eat less than others.

  Yu Tie Nan wasn't too keen on snake meat originally, but seeing the two of them eating with gusto, he unconsciously picked up a piece: "Delicious." As soon as it entered his mouth, it melted and was spicy to just the right degree, not fishy at all. From then on, Yu Tie Nan's chopsticks couldn't stop moving either.

  A midnight snack happily ended in a scramble among the three, with Old Master Yu emerging as the final victor.

  "I don't wash dishes." Yang Zongbao made his attitude clear as soon as he finished eating.

  "Are you asking me, an old man, to wash dishes?" The two scoundrels finally cast their eyes on Yu Tie Nan.

  Yu Tie Nan regretted bringing a wolf into his home and could only wipe away tears as he gathered up the bowls and chopsticks.

  "What's the point of looking for me at my old home?" The old man seemed particularly affable after having had his fill of food and drink.

  "Some of the problems on acupuncture are not understood and no one has pointed them out," said Yang Zongbao.

  "Is it just acupuncture?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Tell me honestly what you think of traditional Chinese medicine?" The old man was curious about why this young man was only interested in acupuncture.

  "I don't know, I feel like there are many scammers and few people with real skills. Western medicine is effective quickly." Yang Zongbao said frankly.

  "You still look down on traditional Chinese medicine." The old man was unhappy.

  "No, I feel that the inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine is very difficult and rare. Very few people have received this inheritance, and innovation is scarce. While Western medicine is making breakthroughs almost every day, the ancient prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine are being lost. One is advancing, while the other is regressing. I think the foundation of Western medicine is mathematics and physics, whereas the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine is the Four Books and Five Classics. How many people have mastered the basics of traditional Chinese medicine now? What kind of doctors are those schools cultivating?" Yang Zongbao asked Yu Jia's old master seriously.

  "Your understanding is very deep, but if it weren't for the school's unified teaching, there would be very few people. This is also an unavoidable thing." Old Master Yu sighed.

  "For me, traditional Chinese medicine takes two weeks to cure a cold, while Western medicine only takes one week. So I'll definitely use Western medicine. As for the side effects, I believe some Western medicines won't have bigger side effects than traditional Chinese medicines."

  "It's indeed the case that many traditional Chinese medical treatments have some superstitious elements, emphasizing the harmony of yin and yang, and secretly conforming to the heavenly way. Saying these things is too abstruse, you can ask me anything from now on, but as you said yourself, the Four Books and Five Classics are the foundation, if you don't understand the foundation, how can you surpass the foundation to comprehend those profound things?"

  Mr. Yu's words awakened Yang Zongbao. Yang Zongbao realized that he had not thought of this before and was only rejecting, without knowing that he was too ambitious. However, the Four Books and Five Classics are a huge workload, plus the energy required for Chinese medicine itself, his own studies all require energy. Can he learn everything well even if he has the ability? It's unlikely, people can only specialize in one field, not everyone can become a versatile expert. Originally, Yang Zongbao just wanted to understand acupuncture, but unexpectedly found that his previous thoughts were very superficial.

  As Old Master Yu said, how can one possibly get through without learning the basics if they forget themselves?

  Looking at Yang Zongbao's contemplative appearance, Mr. Yu was very satisfied. A person who can think and understand is a good thing. If someone comes along and thinks they can master both Chinese and Western medicine, it would be too boring. He wanted to see how Yang Zongbao would choose.

  "I know, sorry, it's just that I'm in a bad mood." Yang Zongbao said after thinking for a moment.

  "Hmm, I was hoping you would say that you wouldn't study Western medicine and start learning traditional Chinese medicine from scratch. Since you've made your choice, there's nothing I can do about it. But I can still teach you some superficial things." Old Master Yu said with a hint of regret. There are many good seeds, our country has so many people and never lacks talent, but those with good hearts are rare. Having gains and losses, and taking them too seriously is not good either. A strong competitive spirit and being insatiable are also undesirable. The most important thing in traditional Chinese medicine is also the heart."

  "Uh-huh."

  Looking at Yang Zongbao's somewhat depressed appearance, the old man patted his shoulder and said: "Although I can't give you these things, we have a good fate, teaching you to paint, write words, and play Tai Chi is still possible. It's late today, go to sleep."

  "Don't underestimate my grandfather, his calligraphy and paintings are worth over 10,000 yuan per square foot." Yu Tie Nan happened to have finished cleaning up and walked in at this moment, interjecting.

  "Oh, does your home have a recliner? I'm not quite used to sleeping in other people's beds," Yang Zongbao asked.

  "No, love to sleep or not, there are only three rooms here, the living room just now, one for raising snakes, one for sleeping, and we three will sleep together today. Don't think I like sleeping with you." Yu Tie Nan was confused, didn't even know what he came to do today.

  "I need to take a bath." Yang Zongbao couldn't stand the stench of sweat on his body.

  "Take a bath? Come on." Old Master Yu was delighted, took a towel and a basin, walked to the well in the yard, stripped off his upper body, and started taking a cool shower.