Was her grandfather serious? Su Chu pursed her lips in confusion. She and Jinchen had been studying medical knowledge since they were young. Having been raised that way, she and Jinchen had a strong foundation in medicine and could handle the test if they crammed for it, but Jing Yunzhao…
While Jing Yunzhao may be good at studying, medical knowledge was quite hard to understand. Su Chu herself still didn't understand plenty of old medical terms, and she couldn't imagine Jing Yunzhao taking the test without having broached this area of knowledge before.
"You are doomed, you are doomed… You have no idea how strict grandpa is when it comes to medical knowledge. Just remember not to write what you are not sure of during the exam. It's actually better to hand in a blank test paper than one with the wrong answers," Su Chu explained to Jing Yunzhao, gazing at her sympathetically.
Jing Yunzhao wouldn't call herself an expert when it came to medical knowledge but she was confident about knowing the basics. After all, Jing Yunzhao did not learn her medical knowledge from scratch. If there was something she did not understand, all she had to do was search the Naling Jade for the information to absorb.
And even if she was not able to absorb the information at that moment, it would still remain in her mind and not fade away.
Not knowing the advantage Jing Yunzhao had, Su Chu continued complaining.
According to Su Chu, Grandpa Gan had set out strict punishments for those who did not do well in the test. If a blank test paper was handed in, it simply meant that no effort had been made and the punishment would normally be copying one whole medical book.
However, if a test paper full of wrong answers was handed in, that would be a problem of attitude, and a different set of punishments would be imposed. Not only would their pocket money be deducted, they would also be brought home, be grounded, be lectured, be forced to work out in the morning, and be monitored in basically every aspect of their lives.
Jing Yunzhao began to admire this god-grandfather of hers. After all, a physician with such strong medical ethics was very rare these days.
The next day, Jing Yunzhao went to school as usual and went to the alley at night as promised with a basket of cnidium seeds.
Unlike yesterday, the door creaked open as soon as Jing Yunzhao knocked, and the old man was sitting in the center of the yard, staring at Jing Yunzhao with a straight face.
Jing Yunzhao began to get nervous at the way the old man was staring at her.
"These are some fine herbs. Do you know what they are for?" The old man asked mysteriously.
"Dang Shen is mostly used for 'qi' and 'jin' injuries, and 'qi' and blood deficiencies, while cnidium seeds are mostly used for warming kidneys and strengthening 'yang'," Jing Yunzhao answered slowly.
"You harvested them in the wrong season," said the old man as if he did not hear Jing Yunzhao. "Cnidium seeds are best sowed during the hottest period of summer as it would enhance the effect of the herb. You shouldn't have brought them here at this time."
It was spring now, when no one would have harvested these two herbs.
Jing Yunzhao listened to the old man, her face turning pale when she realized that she hadn't taken that into consideration.
"I will take the cnidium seeds back then, Mr. Xu, I won't sell them now," said Jing Yunzhao quickly, worried that the old man might ask how she managed to harvest the herbs during this season.
"I will take them. They are fine herbs after all," the old man glanced at Jing Yunzhao and said, "follow me."
He did not give Jing Yunzhao the opportunity to respond and instantly started walking towards the backyard. Although she didn't know what the old man was up to, Jing Yunzhao decided to follow him.
The old man walked to the backyard where a large shed was built on a raised terrain with limecrete floors for damp-proofing. Inside the shed were various types of herbs.
"How will you convince people to buy from you when you don't even know the right time to harvest herbs? There is a lot to learn about medicine. Come here every day after this to learn about them and not waste anymore of your fine herbs," said the old man emotionlessly, his expression difficult to read.
Jing Yunzhao was tempted when she saw the variety of herbs the old man had in the shed.
She had learned about concocting herbal formulas, but reading them in the Naling Jade and actually seeing them were two entirely different things.
Strangely, Jing Yunzhao felt like the old man was familiar. Despite his harsh words and emotionless face, Jing Yunzhao could tell that deep down he was a kind person, unlike the people she met in her previous life who would always smile while plotting evil in their hearts.
"Thank you, Mr. Xu. I will come on time," Jing Yunzhao said, smiling warmly.
"In that case, memorize this book before you leave," the old man said and tossed a book at Jing Yunzhao, then walked out of the shed and locked the door behind him.
There was adequate lighting in the shed, so Jing Yunzhao opened the book to read it. Iit was a book about sowing and harvesting herbs. It was not a thick book, but it would easily take one to two days to memorize the whole book.
Having said that, Jing Yunzhao's memory capacity had drastically improved ever since she absorbed the Naling Jade. She looked down at the book that contained both texts and illustrations and then at the locked door. After making sure that there was no one around, she sat down resignedly and entered her secret space to start memorizing the book.
Time passed slower in her secret space, so only three hours had passed by the time she finished memorizing the whole book.
Jing Yunzhao knocked on the door from the inside of the shed, and the man who collected her herbs the first time opened it not long after.
"Recite the book if you wish to leave," said the man as he opened the door wider and took the book from Jing Yunzhao.
Jing Yunzhao was thoroughly dumbfounded by both the old man and his apprentice but knowing that they meant well, she started reciting the book.
The book was around two hundred pages and it would take some time to recite the whole thing, but the man paid careful attention to every word Jing Yunzhao said and even stopped to check with her when what she recited was unclear and moved on after making sure that Jing Yunzhao said it correctly.
Jing Yunzhao was not the type of person to do things half heartedly, and would always give her all if she set her mind to something.
The sky was dark by the time Jing Yunzhao finished reciting the whole book.
"You recited it correctly, you may leave now. Here is the money for the herbs today, please come on time from now on," said the man, who seemed to be even more straightforward than the old man. He turned around and left right after that.
Jing Yunzhao clutched the few thousands of cash in her hand.
She had made more than ten thousand including yesterday's earnings. She was making money at a speed that she would never have imagined in her previous life.
The moon was shining brightly in the night sky. Enjoying the fresh air outside the shed, Jing Yunzhao took a deep breath. She returned the way she came, and saw a few people coming her way right after she walked out of the alley.
Jing Yunzhao was trying to digest the information in the Naling Jade when she was stopped by someone, and she looked up into Lu Jia's fierce eyes.
Since the day she had gotten slapped, Lu Jia had been staying at home while her swollen face healed. Her face was still an unnatural red and visibly swollen.
"Well, well. Is this not our famous Jing Yunzhao? I saw you walking out of the alley. Why are you wandering around a place like this at this time of the night? Are you hiding a man around here?" Lu Jia sneered, eyes glittering with hatred.
She would never forget the embarrassment of being held down and slapped in front of the whole school.
With all the teachers siding with Jing Yunzhao, not only could she not do anything about Jing Yunzhao, she also got scolded by her parents. Now that they were at a place with no CCTV cameras, she would make sure that Jing Yunzhao didn't get off easily this time!
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