Siheyuan, my new life

Time always passes by inadvertently. Lin Yu has been in SJ Mountain Sanatorium for more than two years and has become the "most familiar" person to the sanatorium staff.

There has been a constant stream of senior military officers coming here for recuperation. Through the introduction of old "fellow patients", Lin Yu and the new "fellow patients" have become good friends.

If you count carefully, in the past two years, Lin Yu has already made the acquaintance of seven army commanders, eleven deputy army commanders and more than thirty division commanders, which can be said to be a huge network of relationships for himself.

These new and old friends all left their contact information, and Lin Yu would send them a small gift during every Chinese New Year and other holidays, mostly chocolate, biscuits, coffee, and rare items such as Bald Eagle milk powder and condensed milk for their children, as well as a few packs of Bald Eagle Camel cigarettes.

When chatting with these people in the sanatorium, Lin Yu had memorized the preferences of their children. As a senior practitioner who had been engaged in sales for decades, how could he not know the principle of catering to their preferences? And only by frequent exchanges can the relationship between each other be truly solid.

Those new and old friends would often ask people to bring some local specialties to this little brother, and would often call the sanatorium to ask about Lin Yu's recovery.

During the days in the sanatorium, Lin Yu lived a very fulfilling life. After getting up early every morning, he would jog ten laps in the yard as usual, and then practice Bajiquan with a man in his sixties.

The old man's surname is Wu. He is said to be the direct descendant of Wu Zhong, the founder of Bajiquan. Not only is he very good at martial arts, he is also a well-known doctor in the Chinese medicine circle. Wu accompanied Deputy Commander Qu to the sanatorium. He is not only a martial arts instructor of Deputy Commander Qu's unit, but also a consultant of the unit's field hospital.

After Deputy Commander Qu got to know Lin Yu, he asked Mr. Wu to give Lin Yu a detailed examination.

Most of the experts at Union Hospital are good at Western medicine. Since Western medicine is helpless against Lin Yu's stubborn illness, Deputy Commander Qu wants to try whether Chinese medicine can solve this problem. After all, our Chinese medicine has been passed down for thousands of years. Although it has declined in recent years due to various reasons, most senior leaders like Deputy Commander Qu sneer at the Western medicine's treatment method of treating the symptoms but not the root cause. The Chinese medicine concept passed down by our ancestors is still deeply respected by these leaders.

After diagnosis, Mr. Wu didn't have any immediate solution. He suggested that Lin Yu could try taking a bath with Chinese medicinal herbs to achieve the effect of strengthening the body and replenishing the vital energy, and he prescribed a prescription for him.

Of course, Lin Yu knew his physical condition best. Even if the legendary doctor Hua Tuo were reborn, he would be helpless in dealing with the blood clot in his skull.

At noon, when Lin Yu invited Deputy Commander Qu and Old Wu to have lunch in the small cafeteria, Old Wu casually sighed that it was too difficult to get old medicinal materials nowadays, and he was helpless in making the life-saving pills he was preparing because of the lack of ginseng that was more than 30 years old.

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Although Old Wu treated him out of respect for Deputy Commander Qu, Lin Yu is now a cultivator and he does not want to owe favors to others. Karma, which is an unpredictable existence, should be resolved as soon as possible. He was still considering giving Old Wu a gift to resolve this cause and effect. After listening to Old Wu's complaints, he immediately stood up and said with a smile: "Brother Qu, Old Wu, please sit for a while. I'll go back to get something and be back soon." After that, he left in a hurry without waiting for the other party to speak.

Others may think that old-aged ginseng is rare, but Lin Yu has a lot of it. He asked Zhou Hong and Zhou Huang to buy up almost all the old-aged ginseng in the Northern Dynasty. Not to mention those that are more than thirty years old, there are even a lot of those that are more than a hundred years old.

Of course, it was impossible for Lin Yu to give the other party a ginseng that was more than a hundred years old. He returned to the villa and went straight into the paradise. He took out a ginseng that was about fifty years old, wrapped it up in newspaper and returned to the canteen.

With Deputy Commander Qu and Old Wu looking puzzled, Lin Yu handed the half-meter-long paper bag in his hand to Old Wu. Old Wu reached out to take the paper bag, wrinkled his nose and sniffed hard, muttering to himself: "Ginseng, ginseng from a good vintage." Lin Yu gave a thumbs up and praised: "Old Wu is really amazing. He can smell that there is ginseng through the paper bag."

As Mr. Wu carefully opened the paper bag, he replied, "I have been dealing with medicinal materials since I was seven years old studying medicine. It has been fifty or sixty years now. If I can't even smell the smell of ginseng, then I am really a dog at my age. What's more, the paper bag contains a fresh ginseng that has just been dug out." At this point, he suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my God, it's a fresh ginseng that is nearly fifty years old!"

Upon hearing this, Deputy Army Commander Qu also came over and looked at the brown-yellow ginseng in front of him, which was as thick as a thumb. While carefully combing the messy ginseng roots, Old Wu exclaimed: "The person who dug this ginseng is definitely a master. Almost all the ginseng roots are intact, which ensures that the medicinal effect will not be lost." At this point, he suddenly looked up and stared at Lin Yu eagerly, and said sincerely: "Chief of Staff Lin, I have an unwelcome request. I wonder if you can give me this ginseng? Just name your price." Then he turned to Deputy Army Commander Qu and said: "I didn't bring much money this time. Please help me to pay it first, and I will pay you back when I go back."

Lin Yu smiled and said without waiting for Deputy Commander Qu to speak: "Mr. Wu, please don't mention money. I brought this to you as a gift. Besides, you didn't ask for money when you treated me, right? I'll take this ginseng as your consultation fee."

Mr. Wu waved his hands and refused, "It's just a small favor from me. Besides, the prescription I gave you probably won't have much effect on your condition. This ginseng is worth at least two or three small yellow croakers out there, and there's still no market for it."

Lin Yu said indifferently: "Mr. Wu, please don't refuse. You know I just came back from the Northern Dynasty. Ginseng is not a rare thing in the Northern Dynasty. This is a comrade-in-arms of mine who asked someone to bring it to me. He said I need to replenish my body now and asked me to stew chicken. If you really feel sorry for me, when you have time, you can teach me some knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine or teach me some boxing skills. We can consider it an exchange."

Deputy Commander Qu saw that Mr. Wu wanted to speak, so he smiled and said, "Mr. Wu, don't refuse. Since Xiaolin wants to learn Chinese medicine and boxing, you can give him more guidance when you are free."

Mr. Wu had no choice but to nod and agree, then shook his head and said, "I didn't bring any medical books with me this time. I'll go out and buy some this afternoon."

Deputy Commander Qu waved his hand and said, "Don't bother. Elder Wu, please write down the medical books you will need. I have several old subordinates working in the Military Control Commission in Beijing. It would be more convenient to let them handle this matter."

Old Wu had no mood to drink or eat. He carefully put away the ginseng and said, "I'll go back and write it down. You guys continue drinking. I have to go back to prepare the medicine." After that, he hurried out.

From then on, Lin Yu would learn Bajiquan with Old Wu at six o'clock every morning. Of course, with Lin Yu's current physique and his monstrous talent, even if he tried to hide his skills, he could still astound Old Wu. He just watched Old Wu perform Bajiquan, and then Lin Yu imitated every move in a very realistic manner. Although his moves were clumsy, his postures were all correct.

If practicing Bajiquan made Old Wu exclaim that Lin Yu was a genius with photographic memory, then when he was learning Chinese medicine, Old Wu could only curse him as a monster.

On the morning of the first day, Mr. Wu briefly talked about the inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine. Then he pointed to a human meridian map hanging on the wall next to him and began to introduce the names and precautions of each acupoint. It took him more than an hour to briefly introduce the 362 acupoints. He asked Lin Yu to remember them well after he returned.

Lin Yu did not say much, but turned his head to look outside the door and began to recite. Old Wu was surprised and listened carefully, only to find that Lin Yu had recited everything he had just said word for word.

While cursing the evildoer, Old Wu was also filled with emotion. If Lin Yu could learn Chinese medicine from a young age, his achievements would definitely be far beyond his own. At this age, even if he is very talented, it is a bit late. Besides, he is only 24 or 25 years old and is already the deputy chief of staff of the division. How could he give up his bright future and start from scratch as a doctor? Do you really want such a rising star in the army to treat diseases and save lives? He is just interested, not really wanting to be a doctor.

So from then on, Mr. Wu began to teach Lin Yu some things that he was particularly interested in, especially the identification of Chinese medicinal materials, the effects of various medicinal materials, and some famous prescriptions recorded in ancient historical books. Anyway, Mr. Wu had already experienced Lin Yu's enchanting memory, so as long as he told it once, he could remember it clearly.

Old Wu also recommended a number of famous ancient Chinese medical works to Lin Yu. With Deputy Commander Qu stepping in, wouldn't it be a simple matter for the Beijing Military Control Commission to collect some ancient medical books?

Old Master Wu meticulously taught Chinese medicine and Bajiquan. Deputy Commander Qu took the initiative to recommend famous doctors when they met by chance, and actively collected various ancient Chinese medical books for him. Lin Yu was not a stingy person either. When he asked Zhou Hong and Zhou Huang to deliver cigarettes and alcohol to the sanatorium, he once again "made friends out of nothing" and brought two ginsengs, one over fifty years old and the other over sixty years old, which he gave to Deputy Commander Qu and Old Master Wu respectively.

Although he knew that this aged ginseng was very precious, Deputy Commander Qu still accepted it with a smile and handed it directly to Old Wu. In the eyes of soldiers like them, no matter how precious the material possessions were, they could not compare to the feelings between comrades-in-arms. If he did not truly recognize Lin Yu as his younger brother, how could he take the initiative to help?

Wu Lao privately asked Lin Yu to help him find a ginseng that was over a hundred years old. He needed it to prepare a real "life-saving pill". Wu Lao had been a doctor for decades, so he knew that ginseng of this age was not in short supply. Over the years, he had only managed to get two ginsengs that were over a hundred years old, but unfortunately they were all used up. It's not that there are no ginsengs that are over a hundred years old in the world. Treasures like this that can be used to save lives at critical moments are either regarded as treasures by major pharmacies or secretly collected by wealthy families.

Old Wu saw hope in Lin Yu's expression. He directly stated that although he could not come up with enough cash, he was willing to exchange it with all the ancient book recipes collected by the Wu family, including the recipe for the "life-saving pill".

Lin Yu was not really interested in those ancient books. The reason why he asked Deputy Commander Qu to help collect ancient medical books was just to cover up some elixirs for himself in the future. So he smiled and said, "Old Wu, although we are not master and apprentice in name, we are master and apprentice in reality. As far as I know, an old hunter near our base has an old ginseng that is more than a hundred years old. I will immediately notify my comrades and ask them to find a way to exchange it. As for the ancient books, I don't want them. They are the hard work of your Wu family's ancestors. I hope you can pass them on. Please copy those prescriptions for me. I am very interested in these things now."

More than half a month later, Mr. Wu received a dried ginseng that was nearly 150 years old. He also copied all the prescriptions he knew to Lin Yu.