Physician's Odyssey

Chapter 21 - That Fellow is too Pretentious

Translator: Thyaeria

Su Tao turned on his computer and accessed the Three Flavour Hall’s website after reading some information on the Hanzhou Branch’s Jianghuai TCM University.

The generation of internet toppled many traditional procedures. In the past, patients would have to queue, but nowadays, they only had to make an appointment online.

Doctors had to progress along with the trend, especially for physicians. The TCM culture would continue to deteriorate if they stuck to the old traditional ways, losing out the potential to improve.

Business hadn’t been good after Su Tao took over the Three Flavour Hall, so he had tried a new method and set up a website for the Three Flavour Hall to introduce TCM and shared his experience.

Despite the sparse traffic, Su Tao made sure to check on it daily. Today, there’s a message left by a netizen, “Saw your site and noticed that you have been diligently writing your insights. There aren’t many physicians that would do that nowadays, which I give you my respect for it.”

Su Tao chuckled at the message. This particular netizen had taken him for a geezer. It’s understandable, since physicians gave others an impression of a geezer. Nowadays, younger generations would look more towards western medicines that provided them with broader prospects.

Turning off his computer, Su Tao started to prepare his teaching material, since it would be the first for him to teach tomorrow. Despite his eloquence and the right mentality, he still insisted on making preparations. It was his philosophy in putting in the effort at everything he does.

Jianghuai TCM University could be ranked amongst the top five specialist universities in the country, producing large quantities of talents for the country. Before western medicine got popular in the early 1980s, there were three grandmasters in the Zhongnanhai Medical Team with their stories spreading far and wide.

But as western medicine progressed, TCM gradually deteriorated, which resulted in the lack of students and poor development in the past few years.

Jianghuai TCM University was also experiencing the same problem as other universities. The main branch provided talents for several leading hospitals, but for the Hanzhou Branch, they suffered from a poor educational quality, which resulted in the poor quality of students.

Originating from a remote village in Sichuan, the Eight Bridge Village, Xiao Jingjing was a legend of the village being the first ranking undergraduate in the village’s history. However, she had to walk a few kilometres daily to attend school due to the lack of educational resources provided in the village.

Back then, the village chief garnered donations from the village. Despite being only sufficient for a year’s school fee, Xiao Jingjing was touched by that kindness and was determined to work hard and repay the villagers after she earned her first bucket of gold.

However, reality gave her a harsh slap on her face when she came to the university. Firstly, the university was only a branch of the Jiangnan TCM University, and secondly, the quality of the professors and diploma were also one grade lower.

But even so, she wasn’t discouraged and worked harder instead. She memorised the Basis of TCM, Prescription Studies, Cold Disease Analect, Synopsis of Golden Chamber’s Prescription and the International Standard Library of Chinese Medicine and other similar study materials, a bookworm that only knew how to study in the eyes of her classmates.

On the contrary to her, her roommate, Liu Qian, was a bimbo that often skipped classes aside from lessons held by strict professors. Today, she had already made plans for some afternoon shopping, and so, she requested a favour from Xiao Jingjing, “Please help me sign my attendance for the afternoon class.”

Xiao Jingjing adjusted her black-framed glasses and reminded, “I heard a new professor is conducting the afternoon class. What should I do if I’m exposed?”

Liu Qing held a mirror as she drew her eyebrow. “Push the blame to me if anything happens. You’re a model student, anyways, so they won’t punish you.”

“But...” Xiao Jingjing hesitated on whether she should help Liu Qian.

Liu Qian’s brows were raised as she slammed the eyebrow pencil on the table, “Chipping for such a small favour. Forget it if you’re unwilling, I will get someone to help me. Hmph, just my luck to have you as a roommate, studying even after midnight, disrupting my sleep, resulting in my intermittent psychosis. I’ll request a new roommate tomorrow!”

Seeing Liu Qian getting agitated, Xiao Jingjing crumbled, “Alright, I'll help you.”

Liu Qian knew how to deal with Xiao Jingjing, since she just used indirect psychology. Seeing that it worked, she gently shorted, “Thanks, I’ll bring some nice food for you, if I’m in the mood.”

But in response to her, Xiao Jingjing continued her studies with her head down, which Liu Qian puffed up her cheeks in disdain. What a bookworm.

Year 3 was coming to an end, and she had already found her internship while Xiao Jingjing was still struggling with it.

When Liu Qian lifted her luxurious handbag, her phone rang. She picked it up and knitted her brows soon after with a pampered voice, “Uncle Chen, we already made plans to have tea, didn’t we? Why are you suddenly changing your mind? What? A meeting at noon? Okay, work is more important; we can make another arrangement when you’re free.”

When she finished her call, she threw her handbag on the bed in anger and cursed, “Damn fatty. That stinking man stood me up!”

Seeing that Xiao Jingjing did not say a word, Liu Qian kicked her chair. “I don’t need your help anymore, I’ll go to class with you!”

Xiao Jingjing acknowledged in response and reminded, “Then get your textbooks ready.”

Liu Qian lazily walked around in the room and took a book from Xiao Jingjing’s table. “God-knows-where I threw them. I’ll use yours since you have already memorised them.”

They arrived in the classroom 15 minutes earlier. Usually, Liu Qian would sit in the back row, while Xiao Jingjing sat in the front. But today, Liu Qian was entirely out of character and sat beside Xiao Jingjing.

Seeing the puzzlement on Xiao Jingjing’s face, Liu Qian bumped her arm and whispered, “There’s a handsome guy today!”

Xiao Jingjing turned her head towards the right and saw an unfamiliar guy. Judging from the appearance, he should be around their age as well. He had a lean physique, short hair and neat features with a harmless smile hung on his face.

Xiao Jingjing couldn’t help taking a few more glance before burying her head down.

Seeing the blush on Xiao Jingjing’s face, Liu Qian wondered if the sun came from the west today, even a bookworm could blush.

Liu Qian looked down on Xiao Jingjing deep in her heart. The reason why she protected Xiao Jingjing was to satisfy her vanity. She was intoxicated in the feeling of having a toad, Xiao Jingjing, as a sidekick. No matter how Xiao Jingjing tried to make up the disparity with her studies, reality had proven that it's futile. A village nun could only be considered as a smart village nun if one didn’t bother to dress up.

“Hey handsome, can I borrow your phone for a moment? My phone line got suspended from pending payment, and I need to make a call.” Liu Qian put on a helpless appearance as she begged.

Su Tao cast a glance at Liu Qing. She wore heavy makeup with high-quality perfume despite being a little acrid and clothes that surpassed what ordinary students would afford. He smiled. “Class is starting soon. I’ll lend it to you after class.”

Liu Qian didn’t expect him to be a model student and couldn’t read her approach. She thickened her face and continued, “It’d be too late then. I have something urgent. Something more important than the class.”

“Oh?” Su Tao looked at her in puzzlement.

Liu Qian smiled. “You must be new, right? I have never seen you before. I’m afraid you will be disappointed by the poor quality of the professors here, aside from having those from the headquarters to conduct lessons occasionally. It’s fine if you don’t want to lend me your phone, how about giving me your number, then?”

However, Su Tao did not immediately respond to her request and smiled. “I’ll lend you my phone later. I heard a new professor would be conducting this lesson. Who knows, he might be different from the other professors.”

Liu Qian flung her lips as she pointed at the textbook in disdain. “How fancy can it be? Won’t it still be the same by repeating what’s in the textbook?”

Su Tao did not answer her and glanced at Xiao Jingjing, who sat beside Liu Qian. Her lips moved, and despite her soft tone, he could hear that she was memorising the Synopsis of Golden Chamber’s Prescription. The two girls were simply beyond comparison.

The bell rang, and Tang Nanzheng walked into the classroom with his teaching material. He first smiled towards the first row, which left Liu Qian in puzzlement. Was Professor Tang trying to flirt with her?

As an Honorary Principal of the university, Tang Nanzheng seldom conducted lessons, but if there was one, the classroom would be filled to the brim.

Xiao Jingjing focused even more as she flipped open her notebook with her ballpoint pen in her hand to take down notes. However, Tang Nanzheng suddenly spoke out, which left her disappointed, “Students, I will not be the one to conduct the lesson today. There will be another professor, who is of similar age as you guys that will conduct the lesson. However, his skills aren’t at all inferior to mine. New generations nurture new talents, and I am extremely gratified to have someone like him in our TCM field. Now, let me invite him to take over for me to conduct a lesson on the International Standard Library of Chinese Medicine!”

A commotion rang out after Tang Nanzheng made his statement. If Professor Tang was not conducting the lesson, wouldn’t that mean that they came for nought?

Liu Qian wasn’t bothered by it and yawned while, on the contrary, Xiao Jingjing looked disappointed as she pinched her pen.

Su Tao, who sat on the side, suddenly stood up and walked up, then wrote his name and phone number on the blackboard, which immediately caused a commotion, “He’s going to teach us? But he’s so young, is there a mistake?!”

“He’s so young! Professor Tang also learnt how to joke around?”

Liu Qian knitted her brows as she cursed, “What the heck? What fellow is too pretentious; he even bluffed me!”

Xiao Jingjing knitted her brows tightly and sighed. Although she was somewhat disappointed, there’s no harm in listening as Tang Nanzheng sang him in high praises.