I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 48: Medical Books

"Come with me." Doctor Liu stood up, leaning on his cane.

Yuan Xiu quickly stepped forward to support him.

The houses where battalion-level officers lived were not large. Guiying's house was the same as Yuan Xiu's, with two rooms and a kitchen.

Sister-in-law Guiying divided the two rooms into four. The main room was for the old man to live in, and one room was set aside as a place to eat.

The other room was divided into two sections, one in front and one in back. The couple lived in the back room, and the children lived in the front room.

Dr. Liu's room was the largest; besides sleeping, he also set up a small pharmacy.

Inside were his small medicine cabinet and some tools needed for traditional Chinese medicine.

After being helped to sit down by Yuan Xiu, he pointed to the two largest compartments at the bottom of the medicine cabinet and said, "Take the things out of there."

Yuan Xiu squatted down and opened two drawers, where she saw more than twenty medical books with yellowed pages neatly arranged.

She carefully took out all the books and placed them on the table in front of Dr. Liu.

Dr. Liu took out a copy of the "Huangdi Neijing" (Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic) and gave it to her, saying, "If you want to learn traditional Chinese medicine, you must first thoroughly understand this book. After you finish reading this one, you can come and borrow other books from me."

Yuan Xiu took the book and her gaze fell on the other medical books.

Dr. Liu's collection of traditional Chinese medicine books is truly comprehensive, and they are all works from before the Ming Dynasty.

Treatise on Febrile Diseases, Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber, The Yellow Emperor's Eighty-One Difficulties Classic, Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold, The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, etc...

Twenty years ago, it would have been possible to buy these books with some effort, but after the almost devastating destruction by the Red Armbands, it is now extremely difficult to collect them all.

If you want to buy it, you'll have to wait for the government to republish it later.

"Thank you, Dr. Liu. I will read it carefully. If there are any parts I don't understand..."

"Ask me!"

Yuan Xiu smiled and nodded, "Okay!"

"Put these back in for me."

"it is good."

Yuan Xiu squatted down again and carefully placed the medical books one by one into the drawer.

She strongly suspected that Dr. Liu asked her to take out all the books so that she would be tempted.

It's like using these books to entice her: Look, I have plenty of good books here.

Yuan Xiu took the book to the kitchen to say goodbye to Sister-in-law Guiying.

"The old man is willing to lend you his book? Has the sun risen in the west?"

Guiying was shocked to see the book in Yuan Xiu's hand.

"But that makes sense. Over the years, you're the only one he's met who's interested in this. He wants to find a successor, but no one is willing to be his apprentice."

Yuan Xiu's eyes flickered, and she murmured, "Is that so?"

Nowadays, young people who want to study medicine only have three paths. First, they can learn from their elders through family tradition, then take the professional examination and start as barefoot doctors.

Second, the "son-in-law" approach involves entering the medical and health system as an employee, starting with nursing and gaining practical experience while working.

Third, through recommendations, they entered health schools as worker-peasant-soldier students, and after graduation, they entered the medical system.

These three methods resulted in a scarcity of worker-peasant-soldier student slots and fierce competition, leaving Yuan Xiu with nowhere to inherit his father's profession.

It seems that self-study is the only path she can take now.

I will become an apprentice of Dr. Liu, and then strive to get into medical school after the college entrance examination resumes next year.

She wanted to truly and systematically learn Traditional Chinese Medicine and become the doctor she had dreamed of in her previous life.

Just thinking about it makes Yuan Xiu feel how wonderful this road is!

However, all of this is predicated on the fact that Dr. Liu is willing to take her on as an apprentice, and that she can be admitted to medical school.

Let's move forward step by step, Yuan Xiu. Since we've made our decision, and since we're unwilling to be ordinary, let's charge forward with high spirits!

Yuan Xiu took the book and went home with great interest.

In the afternoon, she did nothing else but read the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic word by word.

It is not easy to read through an ancient medical book. The contents are obscure and difficult to understand. Fortunately, Yuan Xiu had some basic knowledge from her previous life. Even so, she still found it difficult to read.

She leaned over the desk, flipping through medical books while taking notes with a pen and notebook.

"Nourish Yang in spring and autumn, and nourish Yin in autumn and winter."

"The back is yang, the abdomen is yin; qi is yang, blood is yin."

"When righteousness resides within, evil cannot invade."

Yuan Xiu was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even know when Jiang Zhou had returned.

By the time she realized it, Jiang Zhou had been standing next to her for quite a while.

"When did you get back?"

"Just got back." Jiang Zhou's gaze fell on her notes. "So diligent."

Yuan Xiu closed her notebook. "I just jotted something down. You sit for a while, I'll go cook right away."

"How about we eat at the cafeteria?"

"Need not."

Yuan Xiu put the books and notebooks into the drawer. "I made radish pancakes for lunch, cooked some porridge, and stir-fried some greens. I also pulled out a bunch of seedlings when I thinned them out. We can have some of our own homegrown vegetables tonight."

Jiang Zhou nodded; he liked the word "own" that she used.

He followed Yuan Xiu into the kitchen. "Did you hear what Doctor Liu said when you went to borrow the books today?"

Yuan Xiu tied on an apron. "He showed me the medicinal herbs, then lent me the book, saying that I could borrow it from him again after I finished reading this one."

Add water to the pot, lift the lid under the honeycomb stove, and Yuan Xiu scooped out half a bowl of rice and half a bowl of cornmeal.

Jiang Zhou took it. "I'll scoop out the rice."

Yuan Xiu smiled and handed him the bowl.

"Judging from what Sister Guiying said, it seems that Doctor Liu is looking for an apprentice? Have you heard about it?"

The water was a bit cold. Jiang Zhou poured the rinsed rice into the pot. "He probably wanted to pass on his medical skills to his family, but none of the younger generation had much talent in this area. Plus, after what happened a few years ago, no one asked him to learn traditional Chinese medicine. He was probably afraid that if he taught them, he would be harming them. As for now, if a suitable person appears and is willing to become his apprentice, he should accept him as a disciple."

"Right?"

Yuan Xiu took another small pot and steamed radish cakes. "So... if I want to learn, will he take me on as an apprentice?"

Jiang Zhou smiled and glanced at her. "Did you ask him?"

Yuan Xiu shook her head. "If you want to become an apprentice, you have to be sincere. If I can't even understand a medical book, why would anyone take on such a stupid disciple? I'd like to wait until I finish reading the book and return it to my teacher before bringing this up again. What do you think?"

Jiang Zhou nodded: "I think it's great."

He picked up the bok choy that Yuan Xiu had just pulled from the field at noon. "Maybe Dr. Liu lent you the book for the same reason."

"Keep it up!" After saying those two words, he went to the well to wash vegetables.

Yuan Xiu held the plate of radish cakes, believing Jiang Zhou's words.

This news made her even more excited.

Looking outside, she said, "Don't wash it so hard, you've wilted the vegetables..."