Chapter 50

The teachers had good reason to be so excited. After the “Four Olds” were denounced during the Cultural Revolution, and due to the differences between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, people in Huaguo (China) now tended to trust Western medicine more, believing it to be faster and more effective. Only some elderly folks still believed in TCM, thinking it treated the root of the problem and could also prevent illness.

{T/N: The “Four Olds” were old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas targeted during China’s Cultural Revolution to promote communist ideology and erase traditional influences.}

These days, there was no shortage of students applying to Imperial Capital University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. After all, with a college entrance acceptance rate of just twenty-two percent, getting into any university was already a great achievement. However, students with such high scores usually chose prestigious institutions like Imperial Capital University or Tsinghua University. For someone like Qian Jianing, who scored almost full marks and chose the Imperial Capital University of Traditional Chinese Medicine instead, it was a first in many years.

Qian Jianing had heard in her previous life that right after the college entrance exam results were released, admissions officers from major universities would flock to the homes of top scorers in each province, offering huge scholarships to compete for these excellent students. It was said that every year, the families of top scorers witnessed head-to-head showdowns between the top two universities, with both sides throwing money around and arguing red-faced. This competition was a matter of prestige and simply could not be compromised.

Although that kind of scramble hadn’t started yet, the Principal and faculty of Imperial Capital University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were visibly thrilled to learn they had recruited a provincial top scorer. TCM was currently in decline. Because of past political movements, it had stagnated or even regressed. No one studied TCM, and no one dared to take on apprentices. With the rise of Western medicine, people turned to it for all their health concerns, big or small, which led to a severe shortage of TCM practitioners and a critical generational gap in the field.

The current generation of skilled TCM doctors was aging, and the new generation hadn’t yet risen. As professors at a TCM university, they naturally hoped to recruit more outstanding students to cultivate future experts.

Facing the fervent gazes of the crowd, Qian Jianing quickly bowed and greeted the teachers, then turned to look pleadingly at the receptionist, silently urging her to complete the registration process. Though her internal cooling system kept her from feeling hot, being surrounded like this was just too embarrassing.

Just as Qian Jianing felt her face growing redder and redder, an elderly man finally emerged from one of the inner offices. “Why are you all crowding around? Disperse, disperse. Elder Wang, hurry and finish the registration for Qian Jianing.”

Receptionist Elder Wang snapped back to attention, quickly processed the registration, and returned Qian Jianing’s ID. “You’ve been assigned to Class One of the TCM department. Your dorm is in Room 1001. Go to your classroom on the first floor of the academic building to collect your books.”

“Teacher, I don’t want to live on campus,” Qian Jianing said, pulling out a property deed from her backpack. “I already have a place in the Imperial Capital. I’d like to apply for day student status.”

Elder Wang glanced at the deed, hesitating. “Your home’s not close to campus. Riding a bike would take at least forty to fifty minutes, wouldn’t it? I suggest you stay in the dorm. We have evening self-study sessions and teachers on duty at night. With grades like yours, it’d be a shame to fall behind.”

Qian Jianing shook her head firmly. “Teacher, I’ll still study at home. I promise I won’t fall behind.”

Elder Wang looked up at the principal. “Principal Li, what do you think?”

Li Chengming thought for a moment. “Go ahead and approve her day student request.”

The receptionist reluctantly put the dorm key away. “Give me your household registration booklet. During your time at school, it’ll be temporarily transferred to the university.”

Qian Jianing had already prepared for this and quickly handed it over.

Once all the procedures were completed, Principal Li Chengming nodded at her. “Qian Jianing, please come to my office.”

Qian Jianing slung her backpack over her shoulder and, under the envious stares of the other new students, followed the principal into his office.

“Please have a seat,” said Li Chengming as he poured her a cup of tea and smiled warmly. “Why did you choose our university? With your scores, you could have gone to any university in Huaguo.”

“Because, for someone studying TCM, our Imperial Capital University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is the best.” Qian Jianing answered sincerely, her attitude respectful. “To be honest, I had the idea to study TCM in my second year of high school, and I was fortunate to catch the eye of a senior TCM doctor. He said I had a talent for it and offered to teach me for free.” She pulled a notebook from her backpack and handed it to Li Chengming. “These are my notes from when I first started studying TCM.”

The notebook she gave him was specially copied, containing mostly foundational and theoretical content taught by the Daoist Master of Medicine, along with some analysis of ancient prescriptions.

As he opened the notebook, Li Chengming tried to recall any elderly TCM doctors in Shandong Province who might have taught her.

Due to dynastic changes and war, TCM inheritance suffered great disruption. Less than a tenth of the traditional medical texts and techniques had survived, and most had been lost to history. As a renowned TCM expert in Huaguo, Li Chengming often lamented this with deep sorrow, yet there was nothing he could do. What was lost was lost.

As he read through the notebook, he noticed the content differed significantly from what he knew. His initial cursory glance turned into a serious review. By the end, he was murmuring to himself, occasionally showing a look of sudden realization.

Sitting on the couch with nothing to do, Qian Jianing activated her Heavenly Eye to examine Li Chengming, who was completely absorbed in the notebook. In her vision, he radiated golden light of virtue, clearly having saved many lives over the years. A red aura of luck hovered above his head, indicating he was upright and had done no evil.

She was just about to use her Heavenly Eye again to check his physical condition when he suddenly slapped the table and shouted, “So that’s it! I’ve never fully understood this part before, but explained this way, it makes perfect sense!”

Startled, Qian Jianing quickly shut her Heavenly Eye and glanced at her watch—it was nearly ten o’clock. She decided to return to the matter at hand and discuss her leave of absence. If not for wanting more flexibility with class time, she wouldn’t have brought the notebook right after registration.

“Principal Li…”

“Hmm?” he replied absentmindedly, eyes still glued to the notebook.

“It’s like this, Principal. Due to some special circumstances, I might not be able to attend class regularly. I’ve written a request for leave—could you sign it for me? I promise my grades won’t drop.”

“Alright.” He answered without thinking, flipping another page.

Qian Jianing took out the written request and placed it next to him, handing him a pen. “Principal, just sign here.”

With his attention still on the notes, he took the pen and signed where she pointed without looking closely.

Relieved, Qian Jianing took back the request. “You can finish reading it at your leisure and return it later.”

She quickly collected her textbooks from the academic building and handed the signed request to her homeroom teacher, Wang Dong. “Elder Wang, I have something urgent and need to go home. I’ll come back tomorrow when classes officially start.”

Wang Dong had just been delighted that his class had a provincial top scorer and had even gone out to join the crowd earlier. Now that same top scorer was already asking for leave before school even started? His expression soured. After reading the request, he grew even more furious. Just because she’s the top scorer, does she think she can skip classes? How could the principal approve such a thing?

Wang Dong glanced at Qian Jianing coldly, no longer smiling. “You can go home for today. Be on time for class tomorrow. I’ll discuss the rest with the principal.”

Qian Jianing nodded and headed downstairs, pedaling her bicycle home. There weren’t many people on the road, and she sped along quickly. An old man happened to see her and couldn’t help but shout, “Ah, youth! Look at that pedal speed—like a horse’s hooves!”

Qian Jianing caught the tail end of the comment and nearly lost control of her bike. Hooves? What kind of hooves could pedal that fast? If she hadn’t already sped off too far to see the man, she would’ve turned around and asked how many times he actually saw her pedal!

Twenty minutes later, she arrived at her front door, where two young girls stood eagerly waiting for her to open it.

“Why are you here so early? You only need to come to work at 10:50 every day.” Qian Jianing opened the main door to let the two girls in, then pushed her own bicycle to the backyard.

Li Xiaoyu opened the door to the main room and said sweetly, “We just wanted to come early to see if there was anything we could help with…” Halfway through her sentence, she saw the spotless main hall and suddenly felt at a loss. “Boss, really, let us handle washing the dishes, wiping the tables, and cleaning the floor. I heard from a girlfriend of mine that her sister works as a waitress in a restaurant and has to work from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day doing all kinds of tasks, and she only makes fifty yuan a month. We’re getting paid so much and not doing any work—it just feels wrong.”

Qian Jianing glanced at the young girl, who was even younger than herself, and couldn’t help but laugh. “Our private kitchen is different from outside restaurants. They want waitstaff who can work hard, but I need people who can maintain appearances. Sure, the pay is high, but it’s not without conditions. First, you must shower every day and wear clean, tidy clothes—no dirt allowed on your body. Second, you need to be perceptive. The people who eat here are all wealthy or influential—don’t offend any of them and drive them away. Think about it: buying clothes, going to the bathhouse—it all costs money. And rich people can be demanding and hard to please, so it’s only normal that our wages are higher.”

Qian Jianing looked at the two of them and kindly reminded, “You two don’t have much education and started working so young, so you need to be smart. Don’t hand over all your earnings to your families—save some for yourselves. Whether you want to start a small business or get married one day, you’ll need money of your own.”

Wang Yahan looked panicked as she spoke, “But I was too excited yesterday and already told my mom I’d be earning a hundred yuan a month. What should I do?”

Qian Jianing looked at her face and helplessly reminded her, “Just say you heard wrong—it’s a hundred for the two of you together.”

Wang Yahan patted her chest, her smile returning. “Then I’ll just tell my mom that tonight. She didn’t really believe I could make that much anyway. Honestly, I didn’t really want to give her all the money. She’d probably give it all to my brother and I wouldn’t see a cent.”

Li Xiaoyu gave her a helpless look. “Then why weren’t you more careful? You blurt everything out.”

Wang Yahan scratched her head sheepishly. “I was just too excited and spilled it.”

Qian Jianing washed her hands and went to the kitchen to get busy. The two girls couldn’t sit still and wandered around the main hall and the private rooms, but really couldn’t find anything to do. Frustrated, Li Xiaoyu muttered, “Our boss cleaned everything so well—even the window cracks are spotless.”

Seeing them wandering aimlessly, Qian Jianing casually handed them two baskets and aprons. “Put on the aprons and go pick vegetables in the backyard. When you go out the side door, remember to change into the shoes for working outside. Don’t bring any dirt into the front area.” She paused. “And don’t get your clothes dirty either.”

Relieved at last, Li Xiaoyu and Wang Yahan happily took the baskets and ran to the locked wooden gate. Using the key Qian Jianing had given them, they opened it and stepped into the backyard, immediately captivated by the view before them.

“This place is so beautiful,” Li Xiaoyu said, her eyes lighting up as she looked at the large house, the wooden walkway, and the blooming flowers along the side. “I’m going to work hard and buy a house as pretty as this one someday.”

Wang Yahan couldn’t take her eyes off the rocking chair on the wooden bridge. Clenching her fists, she nodded firmly. “I want to learn from the boss—she’s my goal now!”

After their little moment of inspiration, the two giggled as they changed into outdoor shoes and ran into the vegetable garden. Though they had never farmed before, they had done plenty of grocery shopping and cooking at home. After walking around the garden once, they picked all the ripe vegetables and filled both baskets. They carefully brushed the dirt off the baskets with a broom nearby, and seeing nothing else dirty, they changed back into their own shoes and cheerfully carried the vegetables back to the front courtyard.

Hearing their laughter, Qian Jianing couldn’t help but smile. This was what true youth looked like—able to find joy in the simplest of things even when life was hard. It made one sigh at how wonderful it was to be young.

At eleven o’clock, guests arrived right on time, and Qian Jianing began her busy work. Meanwhile, in the office of the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wang Dong angrily slammed Qian Jianing’s application on Director Ren Dongming’s desk. “Director Ren, take a look at this. The semester hasn’t even started yet and she’s already asking for regular leave. Even if she’s the top scorer in the college entrance exam, she can’t act like this. If she looks down on our school, she should just go attend Tsinghua University or Imperial Capital University—don’t come here and pull this kind of thing.”

Ren Dongming looked over the application, his face showing some confusion. “The principal didn’t tell me about this. No one’s ever been allowed to skip the fourth period every day. Why don’t we go ask the principal directly?”

The two of them walked to the principal’s office and knocked, but after waiting a while with no response, Ren Dongming sighed. “The principal might not be in…”

“This formula is brilliant! So this is how these herbs can be used!” an excited voice suddenly called from inside, cutting Ren off. Ren paused, then opened the door to see Li Chengming immersed in a notebook.

Ren Dongming, around sixty years old and a well-known TCM doctor in China, frowned. Seeing that Li Chengming was clearly inside and had ignored the knocking, he sounded a bit annoyed. “Old Li, you’re getting more and more arrogant. I knocked forever—didn’t you hear me?”

Ren’s booming voice finally pulled Li Chengming out of his notebook. He looked up, visibly excited, and waved them over. “Old Ren, come look at Qian Jianing’s notes!”

“Qian Jianing?” Ren and Wang Dong had come because of her. They exchanged a glance and walked over. “What notes?”

“Qian Jianing told me she’s been studying under a reclusive TCM master these past few years, and she brought me her notes. Look at the content—some of the theories here we’ve never even heard of before, and her interpretations of classical texts differ from ours in meaningful ways.”

Wang Dong couldn’t help but worry. “She didn’t fall for some charlatan and pick up a bunch of fake TCM, did she?”

“You’d know better if you read it—these theories are probably correct. The content is refined and even fills gaps in our theoretical system.” Li Chengming, being a renowned TCM expert in China, had a deeper understanding than Wang Dong. “Elder Wang, get the office to prepare a small meeting room. I’ll call Master Zhang Renzhe and Mr. Cheng Xuewu—let’s review these notes together.”

Elder Wang was stunned by this order. “So… does that mean Qian Jianing doesn’t need to attend regular classes?”

“What?” Li Chengming didn’t get the question right away. “What does this have to do with classes?”

Wang Dong quickly handed over the application. “Didn’t you approve this? It says she doesn’t need to attend the fourth class every morning.”

Looking at the familiar handwriting, Li Chengming was stunned. He tried to recall—he vaguely remembered Qian Jianing saying something, but he’d been so focused on the notes at the time he hadn’t really paid attention.

He looked at the application in his hand, thought for a moment, then nodded. “Bring her to my office tomorrow. I’ll test her myself. If her foundations are solid, I’ll approve the request. But if her theoretical knowledge and understanding of Chinese medicine aren’t strong, then she’ll have to attend class like everyone else.”

Wang Dong finally felt relieved. “That’s how it should be. She’s the provincial top scorer—we absolutely can’t let her waste her studies. Principal, you must give her a proper test.”

Li Chengming nodded solemnly. “I understand. Tomorrow, Old Ren and I will check together to see what level Qian Jianing is really at.”