Chapter 17: Apprenticeship

Chapter 17: Apprenticeship

Ye Changyuan, holding a bowl, suddenly remembered something and asked, "What did that old man want with you today?"

Ye Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and decided not to mention the apprenticeship for now. "He wanted me to help out at his herbal medicine shop," she said.

Ye Changyuan was startled. "That's practically a job! Xiao Xiao, you still need to study."

Ye Changsheng also looked over, his expression serious. "School will start again soon after the New Year. Your studies should be your top priority."

"Yes, Xiao Xiao, you're still young. Don't think about other things. Make the most of this holiday," Miao Fengshan said with concern.

"..."

The winter break here is indeed long, she thought.

Ye Xiaoxiao certainly wouldn't give up her studies. She assured them, "I'll only go when I have free time. It won't affect my studies."

After hearing this, Ye Changsheng and the others reluctantly gave their consent.

...

Early in the morning the next day, Ye Changsheng and Ye Changyuan packed up to go home.

They decided not to buy New Year supplies to take back this time.

Since the mountain roads are treacherous, hauling goods would be too risky for them.

Every year, the whole family goes out together to buy New Year supplies, using sleds to haul the items back home.

True to her word, Ye Xiaoxiao showed up at the traditional Chinese medicine shop.

Song Guangjing had gotten up early to tidy up the front and back yards of the shop, to make the place look tidy and spotless.

At nearly sixty years old, and having experienced some dark times, he appeared especially weathered.

Had he not recognized Ye Xiaoxiao's talent, he wouldn't have considered taking on an apprentice.

As soon as Ye Xiaoxiao entered the shop, she saw Song Guangjing sitting inside the shop.

"Come on in, young lady. This old man is at your disposal."

Ye Xiaoxiao calmly walked up to the old man. "Let's not rush," she said. "Don't you think we should introduce ourselves first?"

Song Guangjing nodded in agreement and said, "My name is Song Guangjing. I'm fifty-two years old. I used to live in the capital but later moved to Heiyun Province and never went back."

Ye Xiaoxiao also spoke up, "My name is Ye Xiaoxiao. I'm seventeen years old and also came from the capital, but I have to finish high school here.

I'll be taking the college entrance exam next year, so even if I become your apprentice, I won't have much time to learn from you."

She was determined to continue her studies and planned to apply to the medical department once she got into university.

"Taking the college entrance exam next year, that means you could go to university. Going to university is great!" Song Guangjing suddenly became excited. "You must aim for Jinghua University. It's one of the few universities in the country that offers a traditional Chinese medicine program."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "..."

Leaving aside whether she could get into a top national university, Jinghua University is in the capital, right?

The place she had previously decided not to go.

Seeing Ye Xiaoxiao hesitate, Song Guangjing asked in surprise, "What... do you have something else in mind?"

"Not at the moment."

It wasn't the time to dwell on this just yet. Ye Xiaoxiao had come today to present the old man with a difficult problem she had prepared.

It was a rare and complex condition she had come across in her grandfather's notes.

Ye Xiaoxiao handed over the question she had written earlier, "Mr. Song, I would appreciate your guidance."

Song Guangjing took the question and read it carefully. Regardless of the outcome, his earnest approach was commendable.

"This condition is something I've never encountered before..."

Moreover, without face-to-face interaction with the patient, relying solely on written descriptions could easily lead a doctor astray.

Song Guangjing sat at the herbal shop's counter, pondering for a long while before jotting down a few medicinal names on paper.

"Young lady, you must have come prepared with the answer to test me, right? Don't wait until I finish writing, only to find you can't make sense of it yourself."

Ye Xiaoxiao smiled confidently, "Old sir, don't underestimate me. I'm sure I can figure it out."

When her grandfather was still alive, she had discussed this rare condition with him on multiple occasions.

Song Guangjing blew on the ink to dry it, saying, "It's done."

Ye Xiaoxiao took it, her expression showing surprise, as the prescription Mr. Song provided was already quite close to the final solution she had discussed with her grandfather.

And this was Song Guangjing's first time encountering this case.

Ye Xiaoxiao had already made up her mind.

"Mr. Song, I would like to become your disciple."

Song Guangjing's smile gradually widened, and finally he laughed heartily: "Hahaha, excellent, excellent. From today on, you are my disciple, Song Guangjing. Originally, a small ceremony would have been appropriate, but this place is too modest. When we return to the capital, I will certainly host a formal disciple reception banquet."

Ye Xiaoxiao sensed something was unusual; Mr. Song didn't seem like an ordinary person.

But Song Guangjing had already turned to head to the backyard, calling out to Ye Xiaoxiao, "Come, your master has something special for you."

Ye Xiaoxiao followed to the backyard. The yard wasn't large, but it had a well and a wintersweet tree by the wall, creating a rather poetic atmosphere.

Song Guangjing's yard had four side rooms, all stocked with medicinal herbs, and the air was filled with the mingled scents of various dried herbs.

The main house had three large rooms and one small room.

He went into the main house's bedroom and retrieved a box to give to Ye Xiaoxiao.

Inside lay a white jade seal.

The white jade was warm and smooth, of exceptional quality.

The base of the seal was engraved with the characters "Benevolence and Virtue."

Song Guangjing looked reminiscent, "This was given to me by my master when I became his disciple. Benevolence and Virtue, we who study medicine must never forget these two words."

Ye Xiaoxiao accepted the gift: "I will remember, Master."

Song Guangjing was deeply touched by this address and promptly responded several times.

"As agreed earlier, as long as you are willing to be my apprentice, I will give you a monthly allowance. Of course, you don't need to do much; think of it as pocket money."

Song Guangjing kept his word and took out five ten-yuan bills, handing them to Ye Xiaoxiao.

Ye Xiaoxiao felt even more uneasy.

Her master definitely had many secrets; the entire pharmacy probably didn’t bring in fifty yuan a month.

So he must be relying on his savings.

"Master, you're giving too much."

Song Guangjing waved his hand, "It's not too much, really. But you have to study hard with me. If you're not serious, I will punish you."

Ye Xiaoxiao thought he might say, "Sweep the floor and get out."

But she genuinely wanted to learn traditional Chinese medicine and would naturally put in the effort.

All day long, Ye Xiaoxiao helped sort herbs at the pharmacy, a task assigned by Song Guangjing to see how much foundation she had.

In winter, they didn’t have lunch; only two meals a day.

So at three o'clock, Song Guangjing said, "Let's call it a day and head home early."

Ye Xiaoxiao arranged the herbs she was handling and stood up, "Okay, I'll be back tomorrow."

Today, only Ye Xiaoxiao and Miao Fengshan were at home.

Miao Fengshan went ahead and killed another rabbit.

"Grandpa, you went and killed another rabbit."

Miao Fengshan: "It's cold, hard to keep them alive, and we don't have enough feed for them. Might as well eat them then."

But Ye Xiaoxiao knew her grandfather was just trying to comfort her, since rabbits could also be sold for meat; they couldn't possibly eat all of them.

Miao Fengshan: "How was it at the pharmacy? Was it tough?"

Ye Xiaoxiao shook her head: "Just sorting herbs, not tiring at all."

Hearing this, Miao Fengshan felt somewhat relieved, "That's good. If it gets too tiring, we can just quit!"

When Yan Yan was home, the family couldn't bear to let her work either. Everyone in Baichuan Village envied the girls in Ye Jianguo's household.

Now, seeing Ye Xiaoxiao busy all day, Miao Fengshan felt really guilty.