Chapter 27 Wu Hong

After the meal, Uncle Erba had drunk too much.

Honestly, Uncle Erba's alcohol tolerance was really quite poor. Although the jar of wine had been buried for fifteen or sixteen years, it was still rice wine at its core, with a not so high alcohol content. For someone like Chen Jie who had experienced all kinds of alcoholic drinks in his previous life, this hardly packed a punch.

However, for Uncle Erba, who was getting on in years, this wine was a bit too potent. Chen Jie estimated that Uncle Erba's capacity was about that of two bottles of beer.

In the end, it was Xiao Hu who carried Uncle Erba back home.

Chen Jie, having had his fill, practiced the Yang Chun Skill, and the effects of the wine quickly dissipated.

Rising to his feet, he saw it was already noon. Chen Jie washed his face and brushed his teeth with salt. He then had Su Yunjin change him into a new set of clothes.

Doing so greatly reduced the smell of alcohol on him, almost to the point where it was undetectable.

Su Yunjin found some mugwort and patted it on his body, the scent of the herbs also helping to mask the scant traces of alcohol smell.

It was his first visit to Doctor Bai's home, and he couldn't afford to give off a drunken impression, leaving a bad image.

Soon after, Chen Jie was tidied up, changed into a set of freshly laundered clothes, and looked quite spirited.

"Wife, I'm off," he said.

Su Yunjin nodded, helping him straighten his collar and said, "Be safe. Ruirui and I will wait for your return."

"Mhm," Chen Jie nodded, then turned to Little Douding, "Brother-in-law Ruirui is leaving."

Little Douding ran out, "Brother-in-law, Ruirui will miss you."

"Eh?"

Chen Jie looked at Little Douding, "I'll be back tonight."

Ruirui looked up, "Mhm, I'll still miss you."

"You're just sweet-talking me," Chen Jie said, ruffling Ruirui's hair before turning to leave.

...

The home of Doctor Bai was the biggest tile-roofed house in the village, an impressive structure built by Wu Zhong when he had become the Fishery Manager.

And it was here that Doctor Bai started a small clinic, in a separate little house that served both as a home and a medical practice.

When Chen Jie arrived, the gate of the Bai household was closed. After knocking on the door, nobody answered.

Chen Jie knocked again, and this time there was a sound from inside the courtyard. The gate soon opened, and a young man with a bare chest, covered in sweat, came out.

Chen Jie looked at the young man and saw that his arms were long, his shoulders broad, his body full of sinewy muscles, and a powerful chest. His waist, however, tapered down, not at all thick.

The young man's legs were long, neither too thick nor too thin, suggesting explosive power.

Chen Jie immediately thought of a physical condition suitable for martial arts practice that he had heard of in the martial arts world in his past life: arms like an ape's, a waist like a wasp's, and legs like those of a mantis!

"Who are you looking for?" the young man asked Chen Jie.

"I'm the new apprentice taken in by Doctor Bai. And you are?" Chen Jie asked politely.

The young man broke into a smile upon hearing this, "You must be Chen Jiusi, right? Come in, come in. I'm Wu Hong, Doctor Bai's grandson."

Chen Jie said, "So you are Mr. Wu."

The young man laughed, "What Mr. Wu, that's too formal. Just call me by name from now on."

Wu Hong said courteously as he led Chen Jie into the courtyard, and then expressed his gratitude, "Jiu Si, I've heard all about your affair. My grandfather was lucky to have you, otherwise he would have been in danger. You've shown great kindness to our family."

Chen Jie quickly replied, "Mr. Wu... Brother Wu, let's not talk about this. What kindness or not... Doctor Bai taking me as an apprentice, teaching me the skills to earn a living, he's the true benefactor. I... I just happened to be there, just happened to be."

As Chen Jie spoke courteously, Wu Hong took a look at him and couldn't help but respect him even more. Not taking advantage of the kindness shown to him, he was indeed someone who knew how to conduct himself.

Doing favours for others is a good thing, but after the favours are done, some people constantly emphasize, "I have shown you kindness, you owe me..."

Over time, the feeling of gratitude fades and may even engender resentment. Truly wise people are those who do favours without expecting anything in return.

Those who understand gratitude will remember it without you mentioning it; those who don't won't care even if you do and it will only annoy them. So why bother?

Wu Hong invited Chen Jie into the courtyard to sit on a stone stool, poured some tea, and said, "My grandfather has a habit of taking a nap at noon. He will be awake soon. Please wait for a moment."

Chen Jie said, "No rush, no rush."

While waiting for Doctor Bai to wake up, Chen Jie and Wu Hong started to chat.

Chen Jie was good at conversation, and since he had saved Doctor Bai, Wu Hong also had a good impression of him. Soon, they learned about each other's circumstances.

Wu Hong did not live in the village; he lived at his master's house.

His master was Chief Zhang of the county.

Doctor Bai had a sworn brother working in the government office and had a good relationship with Chief Zhang Liye.

Once, Doctor Bai took the five-year-old Wu Hong to visit his sworn brother, and as it happened, Chief Zhang was also there. Chief Zhang took one look at Wu Hong, with his long arms, slender waist, and mantis-like legs – a natural born martial arts talent.

He wanted to take him as a disciple and mentioned this to Doctor Bai, who thought it was a good thing.

Chief Zhang, Zhang Liye, was not an ordinary man; he was one of the Thirteen Grand Protectors of Mianshui County, a renowned Energy Transformation Master.

Even the Gang Leader of the Fishing Guild had to give him due respect.

His stature was much higher than that of a mere Fishery Manager, and if he was willing to take a disciple, the Bai Family would be marrying above their status.

And so, they agreed.

Chief Zhang was very strict. He required his disciples to live with him to learn. This living arrangement lasted for fifteen years and Zhang grew very fond of him, progressing beyond just the master-disciple relationship by taking him as an adoptive son.

He even arranged for Wu Hong to work in the government office, where he currently served as a constable.

The reason he had come back this time was also because of Doctor Bai. Yesterday, Doctor Bai had a fall and the Bai Family asked someone to send a message to their son. Wu Hong was worried, so he told Zhang Liye, who directly granted Wu Hong a seven-day leave.

That was how he had hurried back from the county town.

While they were talking, Doctor Bai awoke. They saw him coming out leaning on a walking stick, and then he saw the two men chatting. Both men saw Doctor Bai and stood up.

"Here you are."

Doctor Bai, without any pleasantries, said to Wu Hong, "Go to the storehouse and get those two sacks of herbs."

"Alright."

Wu Hong entered the adjacent storehouse as he was told and fetched the sacks of herbs.

Then Doctor Bai said, "Pour all the herbs onto the ground."

Soon, the ground was covered in herbs, and these herbs were mixed together in a messy pile.

Doctor Bai continued, "Your task for today is to separate these herbs. Once you've finished, you may leave."

Having finished speaking, Doctor Bai returned to the house with his hands behind his back. Courteous yesterday as a guest, today he was stern as a master.

When dealing with his own apprentice, Doctor Bai would not be soft-hearted; how else was he to impart real skills if he treated him with kid gloves? He intended to transmit his knowledge sincerely.

Wu Hong, looking at the jumbled pile of herbs on the ground, said, "Jiu Si, do a good job. I won't keep you company."

After saying this, Wu Hong went off to the side to lift a stone mill, training his strength.

Chen Jie looked at the herbs scattered across the ground, some even chopped into pieces and clearly intentionally mixed together. He had not expected his first lesson to be this.