Chapter 11 – 11: Herbs, Acupuncture
Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Herbs, Acupuncture
“How come, Little Yan? Could you tell that Grandpa Chen was doing boxing?” Old Doctor Chen chuckled.
“I couldn’t tell,” Little Yan shook her head, “It was brother who said that Grandpa Chen was practicing boxing, telling me not to talk and disturb you.”
“I’m sorry, Grandpa Chen, we didn’t know you were practicing,” Lu Qing said apologetically.
“It doesn’t matter. What I was practicing can barely be called a boxing technique. It was simply a stretching routine,” the elder doctor waved his hand dismissively.
“But I think Grandpa Chen looked very graceful!” Little Yan said earnestly.
“Hahaha, old man that I am, having practiced this set of boxing my whole life, now to receive praise from a little fellow like you, it’s all been worth it!”
Hearing Little Yan’s naive words, Old Doctor Chen laughed heartily.
Seeing the elder doctor so happy, Lu Qing’s heart also relaxed.
He had indeed been a bit afraid that the elder doctor had some rule against watching him practice boxing; if that were the case, he and his sister would have broken a taboo.
“Come on, let’s go inside. I’ll give you an acupuncture treatment first,”
Old Doctor Chen lifted Little Yan and said to Lu Qing.
Lu Qing respectfully followed the elder doctor towards the yard.
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Upon entering the yard, he was captivated by all the medicinal herbs drying there.
He glanced around and recognized one of them, cow bone grass, which also grew in his own yard.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough time to identify each medicinal herb.
“Grandpa Chen, are all these dried items in the yard medicinal herbs?” Lu Qing inquired.
“Indeed, why? Can you recognize medicinal herbs?”
Old Doctor Chen was a bit surprised.
“Not really,” Lu Qing replied, “I just noticed that there’s a type of herb here, which seems to grow near our home as well.”
“Which one?”
“The one drying in that winnowing basket,” Lu Qing pointed in a direction.
Seeing the blue flowers on the herb, Little Yan also nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, there are a lot of them growing outside our house, and Niu Niu likes to eat them too.”
The elder doctor glanced at it, “That’s right, that’s cow bone grass, indeed a very common medicinal herb.”
“Cow bone grass,” Lu Qing repeated the name, then asked, “Grandpa Chen, what is cow bone grass usually used for?”
“It’s mainly used to treat injuries from falls and blows,” Old Doctor Chen replied casually, then looked at Lu Qing, “Why, are you interested in medicinal herbs?”
“Yes,” Lu Qing replied honestly. “Little Yan mentioned that her illness was cured by a prescription from you, Grandpa Chen. This makes me think that medicinal herbs are truly miraculous. They are mere flowers and plants, yet they can relieve pain and save lives.”
“If you want to learn about herbs, it’s not easy. Studying medicine requires not only boldness and attention to detail; but also a clear mind. Moreover, you need to be literate and understand medical texts,”
The elder doctor did not mock Lu Qing’s aspirations; instead, he patiently explained.
“I do know some characters,” Lu Qing quickly said.
That statement wasn’t false.
In his memory, the original owner of the body did recognize some characters, and those characters, upon verification, were almost similar to the characters from his past life, only more complicated in their strokes.
“You know how to read?” Old Doctor Chen was surprised again.
In this rural area, finding someone who could read was not easy.
Lu Qing was just an orphan, yet he knew how to read?
“When my paternal grandfather was alive, he taught me some characters. Unfortunately, I was slow and forgot some after my grandfather passed away. Moreover, I can only recognize them; I can’t write.”
Old Doctor Chen then realized the situation in Lu Qing’s family.
There were rumors that Lu Qing’s grandfather had been a down-and-out scholar.
He had come here with the villagers fleeing a famine.
Before he secluded himself here, he had already passed away, denying him the chance to meet.
Furthermore, he had heard from the villagers that Lu Qing’s father had a restless nature, unsuited for scholarly pursuits, and often infuriated his grandfather as a youth, ultimately failing to continue his studies.
Unexpectedly, it was the young Lu Qing who could recognize some characters.
Unfortunately, Lu Qing’s grandfather passed away early; otherwise, perhaps the Lu Family might have produced another scholar.
Old Doctor Chen sighed again silently, looking at Lu Qing with even gentler eyes.
No wonder he felt that Lu Qing’s speech was unlike that of a typical rural youth, probably influenced by the teachings of his grandfather and father.
“Since you’re interested in medicinal herbs, from now on, each time you come for acupuncture, I’ll allow you to help me air the herbs for half an hour, and how much you can remember will depend on your own understanding.”
“And you,” Old Doctor Chen patted Little Yan’s head, “you should come with your brother too. Grandpa Chen will cook some medicinal cuisine for you. With such a frail body, how can it be alright?”
Lu Qing was overjoyed and hurriedly expressed his thanks, “Thank you, Grandpa Chen. Little Yan, aren’t you going to thank Grandpa Chen?”
“Thank you, Grandpa Chen~”
Although the little one didn’t understand what medicinal cuisine was, since her brother said so, she obediently expressed her thanks.
“What’s there to thank me for? Seeing such a frail little body, Grandpa Chen feels pity too,” the elder doctor said compassionately.
Once inside the house, the elder doctor put Little Yan down and took out a needle bag.
He said to Lu Qing, “Go to the bed and take off your shirt.”
Lu Qing did as told, took off his shirt, and then lay down on the wooden bed beside him.
Seeing his gaunt chest, Old Doctor Chen fell silent for a moment before he drew a silver needle from the needle bag.
Little Yan, seeing such a long silver needle, showed a hint of fear on her face.
However, she knew Grandpa Chen was treating her brother and, though scared, stayed quietly in place without fussing.
“Don’t be afraid, and don’t move. I’m going to start the acupuncture now,” the elder doctor told Lu Qing.
Lu Qing nodded.
He wasn’t scared.
In his past life on Blue Star, he had also experienced traditional Chinese acupuncture, so he was quite familiar with it.
The elder doctor twirled the silver needle gently aiming for a particular acupoint on Lu Qing, and Lu Qing didn’t feel any pain as the needle penetrated three points into his flesh.
Upon completing the first needle insertion, Old Doctor Chen didn’t hesitate and immediately took another silver needle from the bag, aiming for another channel point.
Before long, eighteen silver needles had been inserted into various acupoints on Lu Qing’s upper body.
As for Little Yan, she had already covered her eyes, unable to watch her brother being pricked like a hedgehog.
With the eighteenth silver needle inserted, this time Old Doctor Chen didn’t immediately let go of the needle.
Instead, he held the tail of the needle and gently twirled it.
Instantly, something marvelous happened. Lu Qing felt a warm current flowing under the needle.
It was tingling and very comfortable.
At the same time, a wave of sleepiness overcame him, his eyelids began to feel heavy, and he soon fell asleep.
“Grandpa Chen, has my brother fallen asleep?”
Little Yan covered her face, peeking through her fingers.
“Yes, your brother is very weak. This Strengthening Needle will let him have a good sleep.”
“Oh,” Little Yan responded.
Grandpa Chen was saying things she didn’t understand again.
“Let’s go. Let your brother sleep here for a while, and we’ll go outside,” the elder doctor stood up.
“Where are we going?”
“Grandpa Chen will make you something delicious…”