Chapter 440 - 382: I Don’t Mind
Chapter 440: Chapter 382: I Don’t Mind
Of course, Xiao Man didn’t believe him, assuming Sun Yiming was just joking. "Uncle Sun told me at my house the other day that you’re a medical doctor with a Ph.D. from a famous university in Country Y, have been practicing for three years, and are an excellent surgeon. He also said you’re well-versed in your family’s traditional medicine. Someone like you is qualified to be a professor at our college. It doesn’t make sense for you to be my classmate."
Sun Yiming shook his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying: ’Every potter praises his own pot.’ I believe you already know about my great-grandfather’s past wish. My father has always revered him and genuinely wants to form a marriage alliance with the Mo family. Naturally, he wouldn’t hesitate to praise my brother and me to the high heavens, hoping your family would immediately take a liking to us and agree to the match. To be honest, he went a bit over the top. While I have achieved some success in Western medicine, my knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine is limited to what I’ve picked up from being around it since childhood. I’ve learned a little under the tutelage of my elders, but I can’t be called ’well-versed’ by any means. Even with my own Sun’s Acupuncture, I only know a few common techniques. I can treat symptoms, dispel pathogenic influences, and restore consciousness, but I could never do what you did, Xiao Man—curing your Grandma’s blindness with just silver needles. That’s completely beyond me. So, while the Sun’s Hospital in Beijing is being planned and built, I’ve decided to enroll in your College of Traditional Chinese Medicine for two years of serious, systematic study. Oh, and I also joined the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute to study under Professors Xu and Liu. That makes us fellow students now, doesn’t it?"
Xiao Man was speechless. Sun Yiming’s words contained so much information that she couldn’t process it all at once. But she understood one thing very clearly: Sun Yiming was extremely curious about her. Or rather, he was curious about the person who had studied the Sun family’s ancestral medical secrets. He had probably never seen anyone who, without a master’s instruction, could teach themselves the vast, complex, and profound field of traditional Chinese medicine just by taking home a stack of medical books—and then go on to cure a decade of blindness with a single silver needle.
The poor guy was getting hung up on it. Since he couldn’t figure it out, his only option was to get closer to Xiao Man, hoping to uncover the truth.
Whether it was out of respect for Mr. Sun, or because of Sun Yiming’s naturally gentle, refined, and handsome appearance, Xiao Man found she couldn’t dislike him. In fact, she felt like teasing him a bit.
"Since we’re classmates now, how should we address each other? Technically, I was here first and you came later. Are you going to call me Senior Sister?" Xiao Man said, lifting the glass of warm water in front of her to her lips.
Sun Yiming chuckled. ’She really is young,’ he thought. ’This little girl doesn’t like being at a disadvantage and has a bit of a vain streak. She knows perfectly well I have a Ph.D., but she still wants to one-up me. Instead of accepting my suggestion to be fellow students, she wants me to call her Senior Sister. The way she’s holding that glass, pretending to drink while her eyes are full of anticipation... it’s actually pretty cute!’
"I was born in Huaxia, and though I’ve lived abroad for over twenty years, I’ve always studied Huaxia culture. I know a thing or two about school etiquette. Xiao Man, how about you do me a favor on this? If I were to call you Senior Sister, what would I do if others wanted the same? I’m willing to honor you with that title, but I might not have a good reason to refuse others. So, how about we just drop it, okay?"
"If you’re not willing, then of course we’ll just drop it."
"Actually, my great-grandfather took on apprentices in the past, but for some unknown reason, they all scattered and disappeared. My father grew up by my great-grandfather’s side and was taught medicine by him personally. Unfortunately, my father’s natural talent was average, and he didn’t manage to learn even a tenth of my great-grandfather’s skills. My brother and I studied under our great-granduncle, and our results were even worse than our father’s, but we did our best to learn. When you study medicine under the Sun family, seniority and generation are also important. You received the medical books from my great-grandfather, while I was taught by my great-granduncle. That makes us peers of the same generation, you see..."
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!" Hearing this, Xiao Man suddenly choked on her water.
Sun Yiming smiled leisurely, picked up a napkin from the table, unfolded it, and handed it to her.
Xiao Man said thank you and cleverly changed the subject. "You just mentioned that the Sun Family is going to build a hospital in Beijing?"
Sun Yiming nodded. "Yes. For generations, the Sun Family has opened medical clinics and pharmacies to save lives, heal the wounded, and benefit the public. Twenty or thirty years ago, there was Renxin Hospital in Beijing, founded by my great-grandfather. Later, it was turned over to the state, and then it was merged into another hospital, so Renxin Hospital ceased to exist. Now that we’re back, my father has been in contact with the relevant authorities. The government has offered strong support, re-zoning the original land where Renxin Hospital stood and returning it to the Sun Family. We’ve also purchased the surrounding vacant state-owned warehouses and empty factory buildings. The future Renxin Hospital will be five or six times larger than the original and will be a large, comprehensive hospital."
"So you’ll be in charge of the hospital from now on, Young Master Sun? I guess I’ll have to start calling you Mr. Hospital Director. Such a young director... tsk, tsk, how amazing!"
Sun Yiming coughed twice. "Back in Gongdao Village, you used to call me ’Big Brother,’ Xiao Man. Why are you being so formal now that we’re in Beijing? Or perhaps you’d prefer to call me by my name directly? I don’t mind."
Xiao Man quickly replied, "Oh no, that would be too impolite. I’ll just call you Brother Yiming."
The waiter began to bring their food. Xiao Man wasn’t very hungry, as she’d eaten plenty of dumplings at the Lu Family’s home for lunch. She had only agreed to keep Sun Yiming company. He, on the other hand, had skipped lunch entirely. He’d spent the morning meeting with college staff, then wandered the campus a couple of times before following Xiao Man’s directions to her dorm. After her roommate told him she wouldn’t be back until the afternoon, he had simply sat by the roadside to wait for her.
Despite so many years abroad, Sun Yiming had kept his Huaxia palate and wasn’t fond of Western food. The few dishes he ordered were all favorites of Xiao Man’s. Since Xiao Man was just sitting there with nothing to do anyway, she picked up her chopsticks and had a few bites of the dishes with him, finishing with a bowl of fish soup.
During the meal, Sun Yiming also told Xiao Man that of the set of Sun’s Medical Books she had returned, Sun Jingzu had decided to hand over three of them to the state. One of them was the book on Sun’s Acupuncture that Xiao Man herself had studied. It would first be reviewed by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute and then published as a textbook for students.
"My father’s thinking is that our ancestors passed down their medical skills to relieve the suffering and illnesses of the people. Times are different now. There are many people practicing medicine, and among them are exceptionally talented prodigies—like you, Xiao Man. You were able to study Sun’s Medical Books with more precision and thoroughness than the descendants of the Sun family themselves. Since that’s the case, we should let more people study Sun’s Medical Books. If that produces a few more people with extraordinary achievements, our ancestors’ painstaking efforts will not have been in vain."
"For Uncle Sun to do this shows he is upholding the benevolent heart of a true healer. It’s truly admirable. I believe many people will benefit from this and be eternally grateful. The ancestors of the Sun Family have accumulated immeasurable merit."
Xiao Man paused for a moment before continuing, "There was a small booklet tucked inside that book on Sun’s Acupuncture. It contained illustrations of Sun-style Tai Chi. I wonder, have you and your brother practiced it? Uncle Sun probably has. The medical book doesn’t state it explicitly, but based on my limited experience, learning Sun’s Acupuncture isn’t difficult. However, making it truly effective and achieving special results is connected to that set of Sun-style Tai Chi."