Chapter 29 - Nie Family"s Vicious Schemes
Su Tao placed five acupuncture models and a set of needles on the table for the five interns, along with five sets of paper and instructed, "You guys are more or less versed in the Pulse Art, so you can start to learn acupuncture. These are ten often used acupuncture techniques that I have summarised. You guys just have to learn these well to show results in the tournament."
Deng Ming knitted his brows as he looked at the papers, all of them were drawings. He sounded his puzzlement, "Physician Su, may I ask which book are these acupuncture techniques from?"
Di Yuan also doubted and bitterly smiled. "You couldn"t have doodled them out to dupe us, right?"
Although Zhao Jian and w.a.n.g Peng had experienced Su Tao"s medical skills, they were also disheartened when they looked at the materials. In dramas, those rare books were either elaborately packaged or significantly damaged; none of them was as inferior as this.
Xiao Jingjing flipped several pages and said, "This covers common illnesses seen in TCM. This is the Master"s good intentions."
Su Tao smiled. "A master can only lead you into the threshold, it"ll have to depend on yourself to progress further. You guys decide if you guys want to practise!"
Deng Ming and Di Yuan exchanged a glance with disappointment in their eyes.
Su Tao knew that the two of them came to the Three Flavour Hall to steal his skills. So they had been unhappy that he got them to practise the Pulse Art for days instead of teaching them any skills.
Truth be told, Su Tao had treated everyone fairly without any favouritism.
Pulse Art was the foundation for his acupuncture technique. Without Pulse Art, they wouldn"t be able to use qi in the process of their treatment.
Su Tao briefly explained the fundamentals of acupuncture to them and got them to try out with the acupuncture model the entire morning. Aside from Xiao Jingjing, the rest of them had no progress.
When it"s approaching lunchtime, Deng Ming and Di Yuan went to look for Su Tao, then Deng Ming said, "Physician Su, we"re here to learn medical skills, not to work odd jobs. So from tomorrow onwards, I will not be coming to the Three Flavour Hall anymore."
Di Yuan also whispered, "Physician Su, sorry about it. Princ.i.p.al Tong has given us great pressure. I also have to go back and study to make preparations."
Su Tao nodded his head and answered with a calm expression, "Then I will not bother sending you guys off!"
Deng Ming and Di Yuan were disciples of Tang Nanzheng, and due to their st.u.r.dy foundations, their skills were better than w.a.n.g Peng and Zhao Jian. They had also regarded Tang Nanzheng as their Master, so they kept their address to Su Tao as Physician Su.
Deng Ming placed the papers before Su Tao and said with arrogance, "Since I"m leaving the Three Flavour Hall, then I cannot accept these instructions!"
Su Tao helplessly smiled. "The two of you have been working hard here for a dozen of days. The two of you can keep these, consider them a souvenir."
Deng Ming bid his farewell and cast a glance at Di Yuan before leaving.
When he walked out of the Three Flavour Hall, Deng Ming crushed the papers and threw them into the trash bin. "What rubbis.h.!.+"
Looking at Deng Ming acting so extreme, Di Yuan sighed, "Deng Ming, you"re a little too much. Professor Tang definitely has his own intentions for letting us study from Su Tao. Even if he isn"t willing to teach us, you shouldn"t have done that!"
Deng Ming sneered, "You"re still helping him? I suspect that he"s just a conman, Professor Tang must have misjudged!"
Seeing how Deng Ming furiously left, Di Yuan helplessly shook her head and took a deep glance at the signboard of the Three Flavour Hall. She still felt reluctance for it. Although Su Tao did not teach her any medical skills for the past dozen days, her body had indeed improved when she started to practise the Pulse Art.
In the past, Di Yuan would fall sick every two weeks. However, there were no signs of her falling sick recently. Her limbs would feel comfortable every day when she woke up. Thus she knew that it was due to the Pulse Art.
However, Di Yuan couldn"t afford to waste time. The Di Family was considered as a famous Medical Family, and her father was a well-known surgeon. Back then, when Di Yuan gave up on western medicine and chose Chinese medicine, it had caused the stiff relations.h.i.+p between her and her father. Her father had even manipulated from the background and threw her into the Hanzhou Branch University, to force her to give up on Chinese medicine.
Fortunately, she caught Tang Nanzheng"s eyes when she entered the university and became one of his disciples. Di Yuan also felt angry in her heart, since she hoped to prove her strength through this tournament held by the Jianghuai TCM University.
"Old Tang, Deng Ming and Di Yuan have chosen to leave the Three Flavour Hall." Su Tao called Tang Nanzheng.
Tang Nanzheng was briefly stunned before he let out a long sigh, "Then they have missed this opportunity!"
Su Tao smiled. "You can"t put it that way. I have observed them; they have a st.u.r.dy foundation. The two of them are more outstanding than w.a.n.g Peng and Zhao Jian. They should be able to obtain a good result in the tournament."
Seeing that Su Tao wasn"t unhappy by the departure of his two disciples, Tang Nanzheng smiled. "Let"s hope so."
The Emerald Antique Brook would start to slow down in the evening. Cai Yan liked to stand by the door and occasionally look at the Three Flavour Hall. When the Three Flavour Hall had started their renovation, Cai Yan had cut down her visits. But even so, Su Tao would still come out and chat with her at this time.
This was life, simple and filled with joy.
Suddenly, a black Cadillac stopped by the door, and a middle-aged woman walked out with a slender and handsome youth beside her.
The woman was covered in glitters with rings of different styles on her left hand. With Cai Yan"s professional insight, she could gauge that her left hand was probably worth over ten million.
The woman looked at Cai Yan and asked, "Where"s your father?"
Cai Yan furrowed her brows and responded with another question, "You are…?"
The middle-aged woman proudly replied, "Just call him out and inform him that the Nie Family is here."
Cai Yan was stunned, since this was her first encounter with the Nie Family. She turned and entered into the shop and informed Cai Zhongpu, who was arranging the storage room. Cai Zhongpu panicked, before he briefly pondered, then he walked out with a smile. "Mrs. She, why didn"t you inform me that you"re coming?"
The corner of Mrs. She"s lips rose as she sneered, "I was afraid that you would run!"
Cai Zhongpu awkwardly smiled. "The Emerald Antique Brook is here, how can I run?"
Mrs. She sat on the chair and tapped her fingers before casting a glance at Cai Yan. Seeing her gaze, Cai Zhongpu quickly smiled. "Yan"er, go make tea, quickly! Use the Pu"er that I brought back the other time!"
When Cai Yan saw how her father softly spoke, she helplessly sighed. She knew that before the Nie Family, he would never be able to raise his head. After all, he was the one that signed the humiliating ghost marriage back then.
Cai Yan placed the tea on the right side of Mrs. She. However, she never expected Mrs. She to sweep the teacup onto the floor, which splashed against Cai Yan"s shank. Although it wasn"t enough to scald her, it still made her feel a searing pain.
"I don"t dare to drink the tea of your family." Mrs. She snorted as she continued, "Back then, it was my Nie Family that saved the life of you, Boss Cai. Now that you have money, you want to cut off our relations.h.i.+p? You"ve truly made my heart cold!
Seeing how her daughter was bullied, Cai Zhongpu no longer lowered his head and raged, "Mrs. She, is there a need for this?"
Mrs. She swept a glance at Cai Zhongpu and mocked, "Cai Yan is my Daughter-in-Law. Is there anything wrong with me educating my Daughter-in-Law?"
Cai Zhongpu coldly replied, "I have already said this before. We will cut off our contact with the Nie Family, and you are free to propose any condition!"
Mrs. She replied in disdain, "Since the ancient times, there is only the husband divorcing with the wife. Even if this marriage is to be broken, it is the Nie Family"s decision, not the Cai Family"s!"
Cai Zhongpu"s voice immediately turned solemn, "You guys are too much!"
Mrs. She looked around and sighed, "Looks like the Emerald Antique Brook has been doing pretty well recently, I believe that you are pretty wealthy. But it"s still easy for the Nie Family to turn your Emerald Antique Brook into ashes."
Cai Zhongpu bounced up from his seat. "You"re threatening me?"
Mrs. She stood up as well. "I"m just reminding you. It"s still hard to know if the goods that you got from Old Crow is a fortune or disaster!"
Cai Zhongpu"s face flashed with shock. Could it be a trap? Since Mrs. She knew about Old Crow.
"Don"t think of running from your debts." Mrs. She pointed at Cai Yan and continued, "She belongs to my Nie Family, and even in death, she belongs to the Nie Family!"
Sending Mrs. Cai off, Cai Zhongpu"s hands uncontrollably trembled.
The moment Mrs. She entered the car, she turned to the youth beside her. "How is his situation?"
The youth sinisterly smiled. "The ptomaine poison that Old Crow placed on him has been treated. But I have given him something even more powerful."
Mrs. She nodded and sighed, "The reason why I made a move at the Cai Family is that Cai Zhongpu is getting out of control these years. He will definitely leave the Emerald Antique Brook to his daughter. At that time, we just have to make use of his daughter"s relations.h.i.+p with your cousin to s.h.i.+ft it over to the Nie Family."
Cai Zhongpu had often received goods with mysterious origins these years. Many of them were from the Nie Family, but they wanted to avoid suspicion, so they made use of Cai Zhongpu to keep them temporarily. Now, it"s time for them to draw the net.
Even now, Cai Zhongpu still had no idea that the goods were a disaster and not a fortune.
The youth sighed, "Aunty, I am envious of my cousin. Even when he is dead, he still has such a delicate wife!"
Mrs. She"s face turned dark at his words. "Why? Are you attracted to her? I have to remind you that she is your cousin"s wife, don"t try to cause any trouble!"
However, the youth had another thinking in his heart. His cousin had been dead for so many years, and with that relations.h.i.+p between them, that"s what made it more exciting!
He could tell Mrs. She"s intentions. She was trying to make a move at the a.s.sets of the Cai Family. As for the Daughter-in-Law, the t.i.tle was dispensable. The moment the a.s.sets were s.h.i.+fted to the Nie Family, then Cai Yan would lose her worth.