When Chu Qing went to the county town a while ago, he heard that a wealthy merchant in the town had hired a martial arts master for his only son, and it was said that the amount of money he had to spend on the master each month was simply incalculable.
"We have enough money to spend, and... with me here, who needs a martial arts master?"
After Wei Yutang finished speaking, he continued chopping wood, leaving Chu Qing there to think.
Previously, Chu Qing only knew that Wei Yutang was really good at hunting, and he could bring back prey almost every time he went up the mountain, but now it seems that he is not bad in other areas either.
Wei Yutang rarely mentioned the past in front of him, which made Chu Qing very curious about what his identity was in the past, so that he could stay in this mountain village even though he knew so much.
"That's true."
After tidying up the medical books, Lao Qi began to teach Chu Qing. He had never taught an apprentice before and did not know how other teachers taught their disciples, so he relied entirely on his intuition.
Wei Yutang himself was not very good at handling the trivial matters at home and outside. He had done it that way before because he had no other choice and was afraid of being gossiped about by the villagers.
Now that he has gone out for a while, he is prepared to return to the capital soon, so he no longer needs to worry about these gossips.
In order to allow Chu Qing to study with Lao Qi in peace, he specially bought a middle-aged woman. This woman was sold from a wealthy family, supposedly because she had displeased the young master of that family.
She was not only good at handling household chores, but also had experience in taking care of children. Wei Yutang spent a lot of money to buy her back.
Although Wei Yutang often complained about Lao Qi, he never denied that Lao Qi was truly skilled in medicine.
Normally speaking, Lao Qi's way of teaching his disciples is not quite right. The whole process is very rushed, and most people can't keep up with his pace.
Chu Qing only felt a little strained, but overall he was able to keep up, and he could understand a lot of what Lao Qi was saying.
At first, Lao Qi only agreed out of respect for the general, but later he gradually felt that they were kindred spirits.
If he had met his wife earlier, he wouldn't have had to worry about not having a satisfactory disciple.
The others only knew that Lao Qi didn't want to take on disciples because he found it troublesome, but in fact, Lao Qi had a disciple he was interested in back on the border. He only took him on for a short time before feeling that he couldn't continue teaching him.
At that time, Lao Qi felt as if his disciple was a stone, a stone that no matter what he said, he couldn't understand.
Teaching disciples was even more difficult for Lao Qi than learning himself.
Now that he's met Chu Qing, no matter how far-fetched Chu Qing's words are, Chu Qing can quickly respond. Not only that, he can even offer some of his own opinions.
Some of the things he occasionally said could make Lao Qi think for a long time.
Studying medicine is a very long process, and even at Lao Qi's current age, he wouldn't dare to guarantee that he has mastered the essence of medicine.
After the initial groundwork was laid, Lao Qi started taking Chu Qing up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs. If anyone in the neighborhood had a headache or fever, he would go over to help take a look.
At this stage, Lao Qi feels that there are some things Chu Qing can learn slowly, but what he lacks is experience.
This was the first time Wei Yutang had felt the pain of being alone at home with Xiaxia, sometimes waiting until the sun went down before they returned.
But every night when he saw Chu Qing's eyes shining and him talking about what he had encountered while practicing medicine, Wei Yutang silently suppressed all his thoughts.
Chu Qing's current appearance was so captivating, dazzlingly outstanding to the extreme, that he was uncontrollably drawn to her.
Compared to the Chu Qing who could only stay by Xia Xia's side and handle trivial matters, Wei Yutang would much rather he live freely and passionately like he does now.
Unlike his father, Xiaxia was not considerate. He only knew that he had not been with his father for a long time. Today, he finally managed to catch his father back, and he immediately clung to his father's arms and refused to leave.
Chu Qing held Xia Xia very firmly, and seeing his puffed-out cheeks, asked with a smile:
"What's wrong?"
Xia Xia was even angrier when he heard his father ask this question. His father hadn't spent much time with him in a long time, and now he still had to ask this question. It was as if he already knew the answer.
"Hmm? Xiaxia?"
Chu Qing really didn't know what little tantrum this little devil was throwing at her for. She took out a small toy she had brought back from her basket. It was a wood carving.
The family he visited with Lao Qi today had very little money; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were destitute.
However, it just so happened that the illness his child had was something Old Qi had recently mentioned to Chu Qing. Even though they didn't have the money to pay for the consultation, Old Qi still treated him with Chu Qing and even gave them some money to get the medicine.
This wood carving was a thank-you gift from that family.
The little guy, who was just angry and thought he would never be as nice to his dad as before, calmed down the moment he saw the wood carving, hugged his dad's neck and chuckled.
What just happened?
Chu Qing glanced at the man standing in the courtyard. No matter how she looked at it, it didn't seem like there would be any conflict between them.
Xiaxia clutched the wooden carving her father had brought back for her, shaking her head like a rattle-drum.
"Nothing, there was nothing just now."
Chu Qing didn't quite understand the little guy's thoughts, and could only interpret it as a child's unpredictable temper.
In their village, most people are not well-off. They are already lucky if they can have enough to eat. Now that they hear that Chu Qing has started to study medicine and that his medical skills are quite good, some of the people who are on good terms with Chu Qing have all come up to him, hoping that he can take a look at their bodies.
Chu Qing's biggest deficiency right now is experience; he basically won't refuse any patient who comes to him.
The news somehow reached Brother Chu's ears. When he heard that Chu Qing had actually learned medicine, he became somewhat displeased with the burden that was still with him.
When their parents were still alive, Brother Chu doted on his younger sister. But now that their parents are gone, his sister lives in his house, and he takes care of all her needs. He can't help but feel unhappy about it.
He couldn't even tell whether he genuinely liked his younger sister or if he knew his parents liked her and wanted to please them, so he had to be good to her.
If we really have to consider it, Chu Qing is also her brother, so how could she possibly let her sister be raised by herself?
That afternoon, Wei Yutang was chopping wood in the yard. He did most of the physical labor at home, and he didn't feel that it was beneath his status as a general.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Chu Qing sitting in the courtyard reading a book, Xia Xia watching the chicks eat rice not far away, and Lao Qi sorting and drying some medicinal herbs that they had recently dug up from the mountain for preservation.
Wei Yutang is very satisfied with his current life.
When the knocking broke the silence, she was a little unhappy. But when she saw that it was Brother Chu standing at the door, her dissatisfaction reached its peak.
"What's up?"
Brother Chu originally intended to come and discuss his sister's matter with Chu Qing, but unexpectedly, it was this hunter who opened the door. Seeing the hunter's muscular build and the axe in his hand, he immediately had the idea of backing down.
Chu Qing also put down her medical book and curiously peeked out from behind Wei Yutang.
"What's wrong? Who is it?"
The sight of Chu Qing's familiar face gave Brother Chu a sense of security. He really didn't want to support his sister like before, but he couldn't bring himself to sell her.
"Chu Qing, now that you're studying medicine, life probably won't be as difficult as before. But your older brother is different; there are so many people in his family..."
This time, Brother Chu was smarter and didn't reveal his purpose at the beginning. Unfortunately, before he could finish his sob story, Wei Yutang grabbed Chu Qing's slender wrist and pulled him back to where he had been reading the medical book.
"Leave it to me."
Chapter 118
Regardless of whether Chu Qing hesitated to say certain harsh words because he was his older brother, or for some other reason, Wei Yutang felt it was more appropriate for him to handle the situation himself.
Wei Yutang didn't have much formal education; he mostly read military books. He forced himself to read a lot of them in order to educate the young emperor.
He had told the young emperor the story of keeping a beauty in a golden house, and at the time he thought it was worthless. But after being with Chu Qing and seeing her appearance, he felt that if possible, he would like to build a golden house to hide Chu Qing in.
He should be properly placed in a place where no one can reach him.
Chu Qing had no idea that Wei Yutang had thought so much in such a short time. She met his eyes and nodded slightly.
"good."
Wei Yutang kept the wood-chopping axe in his hand, blocking the doorway and preventing Brother Chu from entering. Under the scorching sun, Brother Chu felt dizzy, whether from fear or some other reason.
"you……"
"If you have anything to say, come and tell me properly."
Brother Chu glanced at Chu Qing, who was sitting there reading a book, cursed silently in his heart, and then turned and left.
He could barely discuss with Chu Qing who would take care of his younger sister, but he wouldn't dare utter a single word about it with this hunter.
...
Spring came and autumn went. Chu Qing and Lao Qi had traveled to many places and seen many patients. Winter was just around the corner. Lao Qi had developed a leg ailment while on the frontier and could no longer travel around as he used to.
Chu Qing told Lao Qi to stay at home, while she herself would occasionally visit people's homes to treat illnesses.
If you encounter something you can't solve yourself, or if you don't notice anything unusual, ask Lao Qi when you get home.
The system, observing the host's learning speed within the space, felt that the host becoming a renowned doctor in the future was no problem at all, just as the Federation's most famous pharmacist once said.
It's truly a pity that the host didn't study medicine.
Wei Yutang rarely went out in winter, even though he thought winter was perfect for hunting. Since his last trip back to the capital, they had enough money to get by.
In addition, Chu Qing had mentioned to him many times that the prey in the mountains were not without their ferocity. If something were to happen to him, what would happen to him and Xia Xia if he were to be left behind?
Wei Yutang was very confident in his abilities. He didn't believe he would be defeated by mere wild beasts, but he didn't want Chu Qing to worry every day, so he simply stopped going into the deep mountains.
While staying at home and building a snowman with Xiaxia, seeing Xiaxia's happy smile reminded Wei Yutang of when he was still at the border, and how he had envied those who had people worrying about their safety.
Now, he finally has someone by his side who worries about his safety all the time. He has to admit, this feeling isn't bad.
After the New Year, Xiaxia turned four years old. Wei Yutang felt that he had reached the age where he was ready to begin his education. Most children in the capital were around this age and were taught by a tutor.
At a suitable time, Wei Yutang brought up this issue with Chu Qing.
Chu Qing herself was of course completely in agreement, but she was still somewhat reluctant to hastily set the tone for Xia Xia on this matter.
"Shouldn't we ask Xiaxia first before doing that?"
When Xiaxia and Lao Qi talked about it last time, you could tell from his attitude that he didn't really want to study or learn to write.
If conditions permit, Chu Qing wants Xia Xia to live freely and passionately, doing what he loves most.
“Okay, he always has to choose one of these two things: reading and writing or martial arts.”
Chu Qing nodded gently. He respected his child's wishes, but he didn't want his child to amount to nothing.
Xiaxia, who was happily playing with Lao Qi, subconsciously leaned closer to Lao Qi when she saw her father walking towards her. Suddenly, she had a very bad feeling.
"Father……"
"Come here, I have something to tell you."
"Huh? You, you're saying that here."
Xiaxia felt uneasy when she saw her father's serious expression. She didn't really want to go out with him. Her grandfather was there, which made her feel a little safer.
“You are not young anymore; the other children are all of school age.”