Fang Xiaonian chatted with her while rolling cigarettes, stopping after he had made ten.
"Grandpa smokes three cigarettes a day, all after als. He says a cigarette after a al is better than being an immortal."
What kind of theory is that?
Chun Nuan thought it was nonsense.
Generally speaking, it’s not advisable to smoke.
But not only does Grandpa Fang smoke, he drinks too. They all say older people should eat more blandly, but the old man insists on fatty at every day; no al is complete without it.
The things elderly people should abstain from, he doesn’t, and it doesn’t affect his longevity at all.
"Grandpa said that if I crave sothing, it ans my body needs it, so don’t stop , I know what I’m doing," Fang Xiaonian said. "So no one in the family ever cared much about what Grandpa wanted to eat."
In short, he eats whatever he wants.
If a al doesn’t include his favorite dish, he gets angry.
"Who said I’m angry?" The old man would suddenly open his eyes from a nap: "Fang Xiaonian, are you badmouthing while I’m not paying attention? I’m your grandpa, is that appropriate?"
"Sorry, Grandpa, it was my mistake."
Fang Xiaonian was quick to apologize.
"Grandpa, Mr. Fang was complinting you, saying you have good teeth and a good appetite."
"Of course, if your teeth are good, your stomach is good; a good stomach makes for a strong body." The old man was in his elent: "Girl, you can’t be picky with your food, the young ones need to eat more, marriage and children are in your future, the mother thrives, the child grows strong..."
My goodness, the old man just laid out the entire life plan for a woman.
The key is, it all made sense.
"Grandpa, were you a doctor before?"
"No, just a farr."
Grandpa Fang denied it firmly.
So quickly you couldn’t even react.
Chun Nuan snapped out of it: there must be no mistake, the old man was surely a doctor once.
But why did he choose to hide away in the mountains?
And refuse to ntion his past as a doctor?
The young people even believed he had never studied dicine.
Usually, people his age are rare; those younger only see him in stories.
So the old man concealed his past, perhaps brilliant, perhaps hopeless, or perhaps painful.
Chun Nuan regretted being so presumptuous in asking, and quickly shifted the conversation.
"I want to buy a batch of dicinal herbs here, Grandpa, do you think it’s suitable?"
"Suitable, why wouldn’t it be? The herbs save people, using them does good," Grandpa Fang said. "Have Tie Tou and the others help you gather herbs."
"Yes."
"That sounds good."
After drinking tea for half an hour, Grandpa Fang mostly asked Chun Nuan questions about her dical practice.
Chun Nuan answered each one.
The old man nodded.
"What a pity, what a pity..."
Then he kept lanting.
Chun Nuan didn’t understand, what was the old man lanting about?
Perhaps, it was her inadequate dical skills.
If her grandfather were still alive, under his guidance, her skills might have been more sophisticated.
Seeing the hour was late, Chun Nuan prepared to take her leave.
"Wait a mont."
The old man stood up, went into the house for a while, then ca out holding a yellowed journal.
"Girl, would you like to have this?"
"Grandpa..."
Chun Nuan flipped through it quickly, amazed: it was a dical journal!
"You..."
"Don’t say or ask anything," the old man said. "eting is destiny, Xiaonian is fit to make dicine but not practice it, and this old man can’t take it to the grave, so you take it. If you can use it, great, if not... if not, you can use it as kindling."
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Chun Nuan stood up and respectfully bowed to the old man: "I don’t know how to repay Grandpa’s kindness."
"Repay what, just don’t speak of this to others, it’s not worth it."
"Yes, Grandpa."
There’s no doubt this was the old man’s life’s work, ant to be passed down through generations, but here it would end too.
Just like the Xiao family, the son didn’t study dicine, the grandson doesn’t wish to, only makes dicine, and the old man was generous enough to give this to soone he had never t before, that is truly great love!
This filled Chun Nuan with deep respect.
"Go, do what you love, do it well, and the heavens will favor you."
The old man’s words gave Chun Nuan great encouragent.
The old man also asked Fang Xiaonian to escort Chun Nuan down the mountain.
As they left the Fang family ho, Chun Nuan’s heart couldn’t settle down.
She often wondered what had driven the old man to retreat from the world.
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