Chapter 436 - 378: Talent
Chapter 436: Chapter 378: Talent
Xiao Man avoided Sun Yiming’s gaze, thinking to herself, ’No wonder Mr. Sun was so keen on his direct descendants. This great-grandson of his really resembles him; his eyes look like they can see right through a person.’
Sun Jingzu was very excited. "Our Sun Family has produced doctors for generations, and we’ve had prodigies with such astonishing talent before. My grandfather was one of them! I heard he started seeing patients at the clinic when he was just fourteen, diagnosing them and writing prescriptions. No matter how difficult the illness, he could cure it. Otherwise, no one would have recommended him to enter the Imperial Palace to treat the Empress Dowager, and he wouldn’t have been kept on as an Imperial Physician. He wasn’t even twenty at the time! My grandfather treasured this set of family medical books more than anything. Normally, when he taught his apprentices or the family’s children, he would only give them excerpts to read. To think he was willing to hand over the complete original set to Miss Xiao Man, allowing her to study them and use the secret recipes within as she pleases, shows that our old ancestor had a keen eye for talent and cherished it deeply! He saw from the very beginning that Miss Xiao Man’s gifts were extraordinary."
Shaoyao quickly nodded and chimed in, "Yes, yes, the Old Master said: ’Miss Man is clearly no ordinary child. She has an air of nobility about her, and she’s extremely bright and clever. There’s no mistake in entrusting the medical books to Miss Man!’"
Sun Jingzu thanked Xiao Man again for keeping the ancestral medical books in perfect condition. When he saw that she really wouldn’t take the two sets of the Imperial Physician’s golden and silver needles, he didn’t press the matter. He just smiled and said he wanted to discuss something important with Grandpa and Grandma, asking the younger generation to give them some privacy.
Grandpa didn’t know what Sun Jingzu wanted to talk about, so he told Xiao Man to take the two Sun brothers to sit in the courtyard. As the three of them walked out, they saw a lively group of boys, big and small, harvesting pears. Some were scrambling up the large pear tree like monkeys, while others were busy below, holding open burlap sacks to catch the fruit. They were returning to Beijing tomorrow, and these pears were to be taken with them.
Xiao Man smiled at the two Sun brothers and said, "The pears from my home are delicious. The lower branches have all been picked clean, but the fruit higher up is sweeter and crisper. See how they’re all climbing the tree to pick them? Doing it yourself is more fun, and you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Would you two like to give it a try?"
When Sun Yinong heard about climbing a tree to pick fruit, he was delighted. He glanced at his brother with a grin, rubbing his hands together. "That’s just what I was hoping for! I haven’t climbed a tree in years. I never thought your family had such fun activities, Sister Xiao Man—today has been full of surprises!"
Sun Yiming’s gentle and calm expression stiffened slightly, but only for a moment. He followed Sun Yinong to the base of the pear tree, caught a half-full basket of pears being lowered from above, and said with a smile, "These are for the sacks, right? Let me help!"
’He was twenty-seven years old and usually projected a refined, steady, and dignified gentlemanly image. He couldn’t really bring himself to compete with a bunch of young boys in climbing a tree. Still, participation was what mattered, and he didn’t want Xiao Man to think he was dull, uninteresting, or lacking a young person’s energy.’
’At first, he had been resistant to his great-grandfather’s final wish. But after seeing this exquisitely beautiful yet well-behaved and lovable girl, who was as approachable as the girl next door, he immediately changed his mind. Although he slightly regretted that their age gap was a bit large, he felt that when it came to love, marriage, and a matter of a lifetime, such a small issue was nothing at all!’
The Sun brothers turned out to be easy to get along with. In the courtyard, picking and eating fruit, they found common ground with everyone, whether it was with the young boys like Tang Haocheng, Gu Shaoqin, Da Zhi, Dapeng, and Qiu Erhu, or discussing mainland China’s education system with Teacher Jiang Junlin. Considering they had been educated abroad since childhood, this showed that even though they lived overseas, they were actually quite concerned about their homeland.
Meanwhile, the adults’ conversation in the main hall didn’t last long. The Sun Family’s marriage proposal was politely rejected almost as soon as it was made. The reason was simple: Xiao Man was a girl from the Tang family of Beijing, and she had been destined to be a daughter-in-law of the Gu family, also of Beijing, since birth.
When Shaoyao heard that Xiao Man had been betrothed since childhood, she was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but wipe away a tear for Mr. Sun’s earnest hopes being dashed.
Sun Jingyi also sighed in regret. He, of course, knew of the Tang and Gu families in Beijing—they were powerful and prestigious families! He never imagined that in a place so remote and out of the way, the unremarkable Mo family would actually have connections to the capital’s elite.
Only then did it occur to him: No wonder when their family first arrived in Beijing and met with old acquaintances of the Sun Family, several people mentioned that the Imperial Physician’s Golden Needle had appeared in the capital in recent years, yet not a single one of them could clearly explain what had happened. They didn’t even know if the person who wielded the Golden Needle was male or female, or how old they were!
At the time, Sun Jingzu had just assumed it was all unsubstantiated rumors. But it turned out that it really was Xiao Man who had used the Sun’s Golden Needle. It was just that the young girl’s family background was so powerful that if the Tang and Gu Families didn’t want her to come into the spotlight too early, no one on the outside would be able to learn the details.
Unable to form a marriage alliance, Sun Jingzu felt quite helpless. ’The old ancestor was truly wise and discerning, with a unique eye for people. The great-granddaughter-in-law he chose was one in a million. It’s just a pity that his descendants weren’t fortunate enough.’
Seeing his guests’ spirits were low, Grandpa felt a little apologetic and changed the subject to herbs. He enthusiastically invited them to visit his family’s herb garden. Upon learning that Grandpa actually had an herb plantation, Sun Jingzu’s spirits immediately lifted. He took his wife, sons, and Shaoyao for a walk in the herb garden and ended up spending the entire afternoon there. After returning and having dinner, he took Grandpa aside—without needing his secretary—and personally signed an herb procurement contract with the old man. Only then did he depart, satisfied, returning to Wancheng that very night.
Sun Yiming had ridden in the same car as his parents on the way there. For the return trip, Sun Yinong insisted on squeezing in with their parents as well. As soon as the car left Gongdao Village, Sun Yinong asked impatiently:
"Dad, what did you mean by what you said back at the herb plantation? Why isn’t the marriage happening? What went wrong?"
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Sun Yiming stared out the window at the pitch-black night. He didn’t turn around, but he pricked up his ears, waiting for his father to explain.
Sun Jingzu sighed and said, "Anyone your great-grandfather would take a liking to at first sight is bound to be extraordinary. That Miss Xiao Man isn’t Mo Youmu’s biological granddaughter; she’s a child of the Tang family from Beijing. The Tang family’s second son was assigned to an official post in G Province, which is why Miss Xiao Man was staying with the Mo family. It was by a stroke of luck that she came to meet your great-grandfather. According to Shaoyao, your great-grandfather was very fond of Miss Xiao Man. She was young but intelligent, sensible, and passionate about Chinese medicine. Your great-grandfather gave her our Sun Family’s ancestral medical books. He didn’t say anything explicitly at the time because he was afraid of startling her at such a young age. But who would have thought that before she was even born, the Tang family had already arranged a marriage for her... Your great-grandfather’s wish was wonderful, but it’s a pity you boys aren’t so fortunate."
Hearing that Xiao Man was already engaged, the two Sun brothers were surprised and couldn’t help but feel a private sense of disappointment.
Mrs. Sun smiled and said, "I was actually worried. What if Miss Xiao Man had really chosen Yiming? Wouldn’t we have had to wait several years for them to get married? This is fine too. The other day in Beijing, many families sent over photos of their daughters, all as beautiful as flowers. We can take our time and choose carefully later. Yiming, you should get married next year. You’re the eldest son, and you’re not getting any younger."