Too Generous

"This..."

Lin Yue, in the midst of closing the door, hesitated as he looked at the silver bills Fang Yuan handed over, feeling surprised. Three hundred taels of silver were enough for a family of four to live comfortably for a lifetime. However, these were just Fang Yuan's apprenticeship fees. Lin Yue was astonished by Fang Yuan's lavishness.

Nevertheless, looking at Fang Yuan, Lin Yue shook his head and advised, "You are too old, and it's difficult to achieve much in learning medicine at this age."

"Please, sir, accept me as your disciple," Fang Yuan said, approaching Lin Yue with the silver bills.

Lin Yue hesitated for a moment and then sighed lightly, "Well, since you are sincerely willing to learn medicine, I will accept you."

Saying this, he took the three hundred taels of silver Fang Yuan handed him, placing the bills in his sleeve. Lin Yue looked at Fang Yuan with hidden surprise, realizing that this person's background must be extraordinary.

Originally, he wasn't planning to teach Fang Yuan, considering Fang Yuan's age and the difficulty of achieving much in medicine at this point. However, Fang Yuan's generous offering changed Lin Yue's mind. With these three hundred taels of silver, his family in other cities could have a better life.

"What is your name?" Lin Yue asked.

"Fang Yuan."

Lin Yue nodded, "Come in with me."

Fang Yuan nodded and followed Lin Yue into the courtyard. After closing the gate, they entered a room filled with the fragrance of herbs.

The room was adorned with many wooden shelves holding numerous wooden boxes, each containing various medicinal herbs. In the middle of the room, there were several tables and chairs, and near the door, there was a lectern, seemingly designated for teaching medical skills.

At the moment, several young disciples were earnestly reading medical books. Seeing Lin Yue leading Fang Yuan in, they stood up and respectfully greeted, "Master Lin."

Lin Yue nodded, "This is my new disciple, Fang Yuan. He will be learning medical skills with you from now on."

The disciples looked at Fang Yuan with some surprise. How could someone start learning medicine as old as him? It seemed impossible to achieve much at this age. Despite their doubts, since Lin Yue had accepted Fang Yuan, they had no objections.

After introducing Fang Yuan, Lin Yue picked up a medical book from the lectern and handed it to Fang Yuan, saying, "To learn medical skills, you must be familiar with the properties of herbs. This book introduces the properties. Take it and read."

Fang Yuan nodded, taking the medical book.

Lin Yue said, "Alright, go and join them."

These disciples were recently recruited by him and could conveniently study together with Fang Yuan, facilitating his guidance.

Fang Yuan casually found a seat and opened the book.

Watching the numerous disciples start reading medical books, Liu Yue nodded. "Read carefully; if there's anything you don't understand, I will come to explain it to you later."

"After finishing the medical books in your hands, there are new ones on the lectern. Study diligently."

After saying this, he gently closed the door and left the room.

Inside the room, the faint rustling sound persisted as numerous disciples were diligently studying, flipping through medical books incessantly.

Fang Yuan was no exception, but his speed in perusing books far exceeded that of the other disciples.

Wang Junliang, seated on Fang Yuan's right, inadvertently noticed Fang Yuan's actions, and his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

"What's going on? Is this newcomer a fool who can't understand medical books?"

Thinking this, Wang Junliang smiled, feeling a faint sense of superiority. He had seen many people like Fang Yuan, who couldn't comprehend medical or literary texts when they first started learning. Unlike them, Wang Junliang excelled in both, and even Lin Yue praised him for his exceptional intelligence.

"This person is not worth paying attention to. Recently, our progress in learning medical books has been fast. I can't let them catch up with me," Wang Junliang thought.

With this in mind, Wang Junliang relaxed, no longer observing Fang Yuan and continued reading the medical books. The rustling sound of turning pages continued incessantly. Not only Wang Junliang, but other disciples also gradually noticed Fang Yuan's actions.

"Why did Master Lin take him in? Let’s find an opportunity to ask him why he accepted this person and tell him that this newcomer can't learn and persuade him to expel him early."

Their views were similar to Wang Junliang's; they believed that Fang Yuan couldn't understand medical books and had only perfunctorily flipped through them. Some even thought about driving Fang Yuan away to avoid disturbance.

Because the flipping sound was a bit too much compared to before.

Fang Yuan silently read through the medical book, using his photographic memory to firmly imprint all the information about herb properties in his mind. His reading speed far exceeded that of the other disciples.

Just like now, what an ordinary person might take months or even years to firmly memorize in a medical book, Fang Yuan spent only a moment, and he had already memorized the entire book.

"Now that I've finished this medical book, let's switch to another one."

Fang Yuan stretched lazily, then slowly stood up and walked towards an unoccupied lectern. Glancing at the books stored on the lectern, he casually picked up one he hadn't read before, then walked down from the lectern, preparing to return to his seat.

Seeing Fang Yuan stand up and go to the lectern to pick up another book, Wang Junliang frowned, shaking his head inwardly.

"Pretending to be diligent, going up to get another book when you can't understand. Anyone who doesn't know might think you've finished the previous medical book."

The thought flashed by, and looking at the medical book he had already memorized most of, Wang Junliang smiled proudly.

With my learning speed, I'll definitely attract more attention from the teacher next time during assessments.

Other disciples also noticed Fang Yuan's actions and couldn't help but furrow their brows.

Fang Yuan returned to his seat and began another round of reading.

As time passed, it soon reached evening. The setting sun cast a huge red glow over the western mountains, and the sunlight pierced through the red clouds, giving Lin Yue's courtyard a faint reddish hue.

After an entire afternoon of reading, the speed of the disciples' book flipping gradually slowed down because they knew Lin Yue was coming.

Sure enough, a series of footsteps approached them, coming closer.

Creak—

The door was pushed open, and Lin Yue, with gray-white hair, walked to the lectern, gazing at Fang Yuan below and said, "Fang Yuan, you just started learning today. Go back and rest for now."

Fang Yuan nodded at the words, said nothing, and then left the room in large strides.

After Fang Yuan left, Lin Yue looked at the disciples and asked, "Do any of you have any questions today? Any doubts about the properties of the herbs?"

"Master Lin!"

A disciple in gray clothes stood up, "I didn't have any difficulties today. But, I want to report someone! That's Fang Yuan!"

Many disciples looked at this gray-clothed disciple with various expressions.

"Report Fang Yuan? What's going on?" Lin Yue frowned.

"This newcomer doesn't read the books carefully. Instead, he keeps changing books. He hastily flips through every book, and it doesn't look like he's here to learn!"

"Master Lin, please expel him to avoid disturbing the other disciples' studies." The gray-clothed disciple bowed.

Lin Yue frowned upon hearing this but didn't say anything.

"Master Lin, this Fang Yuan looks like he's already eighteen or nineteen. I don't understand why you accepted him. Learning medicine at this age is already too late." A black-clothed disciple stood up and asked.

Many disciples looked at Lin Yue with puzzled expressions.

Lin Yue stroked his graying beard, looking hesitant.

However, seeing the expressions of the disciples, Lin Yue explained, "I know he's older than you, and it's difficult for him to achieve much in medicine. But... he gave me too much."

"He gave me three hundred taels as apprenticeship fee. How could I not accept such a disciple?"

"What!"

Hearing Lin Yue's words, many disciples were shocked.

"Three hundred taels? Are you kidding!" The gray-clothed disciple's expression was shocked, and his gaze was incredulous.

Three hundred taels could sustain a family of four for a lifetime! But it turned out to be the apprenticeship fee for Fang Yuan...

"The apprenticeship fee we gave Master Lin was only three taels of silver... No wonder he accepted this person. It was indeed too much..." The gray-clothed disciple muttered to himself, feeling his body go soft as he sat down on the chair.

If someone gave him three hundred taels of silver, he would definitely accept that disciple.

Many disciples were silent at this moment, shocked.

Wang Junliang was speechless, feeling his face warming up. He originally thought Fang Yuan was just like him, with an ordinary background, coming to learn a skill from the teacher... Who would have thought that he came from such a rich family.

"No wonder this person casually flips through medical books. He doesn't look like he's here to learn medicine at all. He's just too rich."

With such wealth, he naturally wouldn't care whether he could learn medicine or not.

"Although you are wealthy, I am not poor either. After I learn Lin Yue's medical skills, I will still be better than you."

"Just a rich young master who doesn't know the value of money..."

Wang Junliang gritted his teeth inwardly, determined to work even harder to learn Lin Yue's medical skills as soon as possible.

Lin Yue spoke, "But since all of you have opinions about him... here's what I'll do. Tomorrow, I'll talk to him. If he's not interested in learning, I'll separate him from you so as not to disturb your studies."

Although Fang Yuan was wealthy, Lin Yue didn't want him to disturb the studies of these disciples. If Fang Yuan was really as the disciples described, Lin Yue would isolate him in a separate room for studying, which would be a win-win situation.

Upon hearing this, the gray-clothed disciple suddenly shivered, quickly saying, "No need, Master Lin. It's good for us to study in the same room. This can also stimulate our learning motivation."

Other disciples also spoke up, rejecting Lin Yue's idea.

Wang Junliang glanced indifferently at the disciples around him and sneered inwardly, "A group of opportunistic followers!" He naturally understood that the reason these people changed their tune was that they were attracted by Fang Yuan's wealth and wanted to curry favor with him.

Lin Yue said, "No need to say more. I won't let him disturb your studies!"