Siheyuan: A Cook in the 60s

"Do you know about medicinal food?"

Cao Wei was stunned for a moment.

Of course he knew about medicinal food.

Speaking of medicinal diet, it has a long history in China. It is recorded in the "Book of the Later Han" and "History of Song Dynasty". In the previous life, Cao Wei also studied medicinal diet.

In later generations, people pay attention not to big fish and meat, but to healthy diet. Medicinal diet and other types of health care methods are enduring.

But later he asked a friend and gave up the option of medicinal diet.

According to his buddy, the so-called medicinal food actually doesn't have much effect.

In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, there is a basic theory, that is the theory of "yin and yang". Traditional Chinese medicine believes that if yin and yang are balanced, all diseases will not occur. The human body is a whole, and the outside world is also a whole, with yin and yang. When the outside world changes, the flow of yin and yang changes. If the small balance of the human body is broken, it will cause illness.

The task of traditional Chinese medicine is to ensure the balance of yin and yang in the human body.

There are various explanations for the same symptom, such as Yin deficiency and Yang deficiency, which require different prescriptions. It is impossible to expect one prescription to cure this type of disease.

Some medicines, if taken, can make the condition worse. In worse cases, there is a possibility of death.

It is also for this reason that Cao Wei lost interest in medicated diet. To make medicated diet, one has to learn medical theory. If something goes wrong after eating it, it would be a pain for himself.

You know it, but you can’t say it.

"Medicinal food? What? Adding medicine to the food, is it still edible?"

"What are you talking about, kid?" Yang Menglan patted his head and said, "This is what our lineage does."

"No, I don't quite understand."

"That's right, you don't understand. Ask your master to explain it to you. Liu Sandao, explain it nicely!"

"Come on, come on, I'll tell you, I'll tell you..."

Liu Sandao sighed.

It turns out that their lineage can be traced back to an imperial physician in the Ming Dynasty. This imperial physician was good at cooking, and at that time there was also a saying about medicated diet in the imperial hospital, so he thought about improving the medicated diet.

He has a big heart.

The medicinal foods at that time did not actually have the effect of curing diseases. Most of them were used for nourishing the body.

But the ancestors believed that everything in the world can be used as medicine, so why can't food be used as medicine? This doesn't make sense.

So he devoted his entire life to studying this.

But what he didn't expect was that while he was cooking, the emperor thought his cooking was delicious and invited him to the imperial kitchen.

Tell me, who can I go to for justice?

In ancient times, no matter how low the status of doctors was, the imperial physicians were also ranked. As a result, he became a cook, and soon he became a joke in the palace.

Naturally, he was not convinced, so he used many connections and spent a lot of money to leave the palace. At that time, the Bao clan was defeated, and with such a big joke, no one cared about him, a small cook.

He found a place to live in seclusion. After all, he couldn't lose his skills, right?

So he continued to study and recruit disciples, hoping to pass on this idea.

"The master is extremely talented. He has reached the master level in cooking and his medical skills are not low. However, his apprentices cannot do this. How can ordinary people be proficient in everything?" Yang Menglan added: "So, the master thought, since there are not many people like him, he should separate his skills. One learns medicine, and the other learns cooking."

"As it has evolved to today, our lineage is made up of cooks, while your master's wife's lineage is made up of doctors. The Baweizhai that you often go to is also from our lineage. Including the wife of Li Huaide, who introduced you to the steel rolling mill, she is also from our lineage. To some extent, she has to call me senior brother." Liu Sandao explained.

"No wonder...she asked me to call her Master Aunt."

"That's true." Liu Sandao sighed, "According to our ancestral teachings, if someone can reach the level of mastering a profession before the age of 25, they can consider learning another subject. But I don't want you to study medicine. You have a good talent, and it will be no problem for you to become a master of cooking in the future."

"If you have good talents, can't you be like the founder, who is an expert in both medicine and cooking?!" Yang Menglan obviously disagreed. She just wanted Cao Wei to learn.

"Since our forefather's generation, there has never been one!" Liu Sandao said angrily, "Doctors and cooks are not the same thing!"

That is true. A chef's skills are more in his hands, while a doctor's skills are much more difficult.

Yang Menglan ignored Liu Sandao and asked Cao Wei gently, "Xiao Cao, what do you think?"

"I don't..." Cao Wei was about to say he didn't want to learn. What a joke, learning medicine? Regardless of whether it is Western medicine or Chinese medicine, the first step in learning medicine is endless recitation. Chinese medicine books such as "Treatise on Febrile Diseases", "Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic", "Golden Chamber Synopsis" and so on, not only do you have to recite, you also have to understand them. The difficulty is ridiculously high.

He is just a chef without any big goals, he just learns it for no reason.

But just as I was about to refuse, the system in my mind rang.

[Ding, it is detected that the host is qualified to start a secondary occupation. The secondary occupation is officially started. Secondary occupation: doctor. ]

"I don't know." Cao Wei turned a corner, paused for a moment, and said, "Master, you said that no one has succeeded in all these years, so I should give it a try. It won't hurt to try. If it doesn't work, I'll just give up. Anyway, I'm still young. What's more, I can learn, but my skills will not fall behind."

Cao Wei was very clear about his own abilities. If he was asked to study Chinese medicine, he was sure that it would be impossible.

But, he has a cheat! Who knows if it will work, give it a try, it will be a good idea to try.

After hearing what Cao Wei said, Liu Sandao nodded although he was a little reluctant: "Then, next weekend, you come early and we will go to Baweizhai."

"No need, just wait." Yang Menglan stood up and went back into the house. After a while, she came out with several books and handed them to Cao Wei.

"Read these books first. It would be best if you can memorize them first. Half a month later, I will take you to Baweizhai to have a look. If you have any questions then, you can ask my father."

Liu Sandao: ...

Liu Sandao looked at the book in his wife's hands speechlessly. It turned out that this had been planned for a long time.

The book is very basic and is an introductory type, but it looks like it is quite old and it is one of those medical books written vertically, so its value is self-evident.

Cao Wei carefully took the medical book and said "OK".