Chapter 169
Chenyang said with a playful smile, "According to the old man’s original plan, he did want me to start learning from the womb. The problem is, when he found me, I was already over two years old."
"You’re an orphan?"
"Not really. The old man said my parents are still alive, he just never told me where."
"Then the ’old man’ you’re talking about is?"
Liu Yun jumped in to answer, "Ye Fuliling!"
"You mean the Master Ye Fuliling who pulled Elder Wu back from death’s door with two needles and a lump of poop?"
Chenyang frowned. "I can understand the two needles, but what the hell is this about a lump of poop?"
"To be precise, it’s called Ren Zhong Huang," Liu Yun said with a smile. "I only heard about this myself yesterday. After we spoke, I went home and asked my elders. Apparently, back then, Elder Wu of the Wu Family was hanging on by a thread."
Not only were the specialists at the City Hospital and the provincial hospital helpless, but even a renowned doctor brought in from Kyoto said it was a lost cause.
But just when everyone in the Wu Family was about to give up, your grandfather appeared out of nowhere. He administered two needles, and Elder Wu suddenly woke up as if from a deep sleep. Later, he was treated with a few Chinese herbal remedies, with Ren Zhong Huang as the main component, and miraculously pulled through."
An Xiaoqing chimed in, "The renowned doctor from Kyoto was completely stunned. He called it a miracle and even knelt down, begging Elder Ye to take him as a disciple. But Elder Ye just threw a handful of shit in his face, turned around, and walked away."
"Er... that was a pile of Chinese medicine, not shit."
"Close enough. It was all yellowish and unbelievably disgusting, anyway. I almost threw up just hearing the story."
It was as if a switch had been flipped in An Xiaoqing. She leaned in closer to Chenyang. "Your grandfather is a true legend. A renowned doctor from Kyoto knelt and begged to be his student, and he didn’t even give him the time of day."
"The Vice President of our provincial hospital offered him an annual salary of ten million just to hold a clinic once a month, but he turned it down without even blinking."
Chenyang pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is that... true?"
"Of course."
Liu Yun nodded in agreement. "It’s true. My elders were there. It was about seventeen or eighteen years ago. They said a lot of bigwigs came to the hospital that day, all hoping to meet your grandfather."
"There were even some powerful political figures among them, but he wouldn’t even deign to look at them."
"What a sinful waste," Chenyang muttered, practically tearing his hair out. "Ten million a year, seventeen or eighteen years ago... that’s like over a hundred million a year now! If the old man had just worked for one year, I damn well wouldn’t have had to come to Yang City to put up with all this crap."
Liu Yun frowned. "So after all these incredible stories we’ve told you about your grandfather, the only thing you’re focused on is the money?"
Chenyang gave a wry smile. "No matter how much those bigwigs admired him, that’s not as practical as cold, hard cash, right?"
"Okay, the way your brain is wired... is really something else." Liu Yun gave a resigned smile. "So you really didn’t know your grandfather was this incredible?"
"I knew... a little."
Chenyang really did only know a little.
And what little he knew was limited to the old man’s medical skills. As for anything else, including his past, the old man never spoke of it, even when asked.
"That doesn’t seem right. Don’t elders usually tell the younger generation all about their glorious past?"
"What if I told you the only ’glorious’ stories I know are about the old man peeping on the village widow as she bathed, stealing the aunty-next-door’s underwear, and getting caught red-handed stealing chickens? Would you believe that?"
Liu Yun and An Xiaoqing looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
"I knew you wouldn’t believe me, but it’s the absolute truth. In fact, right now I’m starting to think that the Ye Fuliling you’re talking about isn’t the old man at all. That old coot loves money more than his own life. When I left the village to come back to Yang City, he only gave me bus fare. If I didn’t have my own savings, I wouldn’t have even been able to afford rent here."
"With your level of medical skill, there’s no way they’re not the same person." Liu Yun waved a dismissive hand. "Elder Ye must have had his reasons for not telling you about all that."
"Besides, that’s not what’s important. What matters most right now is your future."
Chenyang let out a cloudy breath. "It all happened so many years ago. There’s no point in me dwelling on it now. It’s useless."
An Xiaoqing laughed. "When Director Liu mentioned you didn’t have a medical license earlier, I still had my doubts and was hesitant to process your hiring paperwork. But now, with a living legend like Divine Doctor Ye Fuliling as your backer, forget not having a license—I’d hire you even if you didn’t know the first thing about medicine."
Chenyang narrowed his eyes. "So what you’re saying is, dropping the old man’s name around the City Hospital carries some weight, does it?"
"Not just in the City Hospital. Mentioning Ye Fuliling’s name carries weight in all circles throughout the city. But..."
"But what?"