Chapter 39
A
“Grandpa, you said it yourself, some people has that intention. Quinci is dedicated to studying medicine to help others. Why won’t you teach her? Is it because she doesn’t show enough sincerity?” Jeffrey asked, puzzled.
Mr. Grier stomped his feet in frustration, stepping closer to Jeffrey and giving him a couple of gentle taps on the head. “Why can’t you understand? The Thirteen Needles of Heavenly Precision can save lives, but they can also harm people in ways you can’t see. Look at Quinci she’s obviously not genuine! How much of her charm have you swallowed?”
–
Feeling wronged, Jeffrey rubbed his head but held his ground, defending, “How is she not genuine? She’s clearly a sweet, kind girl…”
Mr. Grier’s mustache seemed to bristle with anger as he warned, “Don’t bring that woman up again! And don’t even think about sneaking off to learn from me just to teach her on the side.”
Lindsey, a bit confused, leaned over to Jeffrey and whispered, “Aren’t you two already in a bet?”
“Don’t listen to that brat’s nonsense. When did I agree to that? He’s just blabbering on about it.” Mr. Grier shot back as he walked firmly toward the medicine shelves.
Lindsey hurried to catch up to him, while Jeffrey followed like a droopy puppy.
“Lindsey, I have a basket of mixed herbs here. Sort them out, and I’ll check back in an hour,” Mr. Grier instructed.
He shot Jeffrey another pointed look. “You know what you should say and what you shouldn’t, right?”
Jeffrey nodded eagerly, wanting to see just how capable Lindsey really was.
After all, with so many medical books to master, mastering it all in a week would be impossible unless Lindsey had eight brains.
But it didn’t take long for Jeffrey to notice something strange.
Lindsey was sorting through the herbs quickly and skillfully; she hardly needed to examine them before tossing them into the right basket with precise accuracy.
At first, Jeffrey thought, “Even though she’s moving quickly, she probably doesn’t even know what the herbs look like.”
Not seeing or observing, how could she possibly sort the herbs accurately? Plus, there were several herbs that looked similar, and without careful distinction, it would be easy to mix them up.
He couldn’t help but chime in, “Lindsey, you don’t have to rush. If the herbs aren’t sorted correctly, you won’t pass the evaluation either.”
Without missing a beat, Lindsey calmly replied, “I think I can handle this.”
Seeing her so stubborn, Jeffrey shook his head. Grandpa really was mistaken about her; how could someone so impatient learn medicine?
Jumping off the stool, he approached the baskets Lindsey had sorted, intending to check how jumbled they were. But when he looked, he was completely taken aback.
He poked around in the baskets, flipping through the herbs more than once, growing more and more incredulous. Not a single herb was misplaced! How could this be possible?
If it were him, he could achieve that level of accuracy too, but it would take him several times longer than Lindsey took.
He couldn’t help but wonder if every time Lindsey picked up an herb, its name appeared before her eyes. Otherwise, how could she sort them so accurately without even glancing?
Jeffrey felt like his understanding of the world was being shaken to its core.
There was really someone this smart in the world.
While he was grappling with this revelation, Lindsey continued to methodically repeat her task, looking as immovable as a mountain.
As Lindsey picked up the last herb, she didn’t toss it into any basket. Instead, she asked Jeffrey, “Mr. Jeffrey, is an hour up yet?”
Jeffrey snapped back to reality, realizing. “There are still five minutes left.”
Noticing Lindsey was still holding onto that last herb, he asked curiously, “Lindsey, why haven’t you sorted this one?”
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Chapter 39
Lindsey shook her head. “It doesn’t belong in any of these baskets”
Furrowing his brow, Jeffrey examined the herb. “But isn’t this just Pinellia? You just sorted so many of them before?
He pointed towards a basket on Lindsey’s left.
Lindsey smiled and explained, “That basket contains the dry Pinellia, while the one in my hand is the fresh Pinellia. They may look similar, but they are two different herbs,”
Jeffrey squinted at the detailed anatomy models, feeling his eyes almost crossed from concentration. He couldn’t believe how tricky it was to pick out the subtle differences. He thought, if I have to sort these, I’d probably put this one in the wrong pile:
Who would’ve thought his grandpa would set such a clever trap for Lindsey?
Jeffrey exclaimed, giving Lindsey a thumbs–up. She was truly on another level,
“Nice catch!” Just then, Mr. Grier strolled over with a smile. His eyes sparkled with pride as he looked at Lindsey,
Lindsey smiled sweetly and bit her lip, asking, “Mr. Grier, what are we testing next?”
Mr. Grier led Lindsey into a small room filled with anatomical models. The light made the models shimmer eerily, creating a strange atmosphere.
“Jeffrey,” he called, motioning for him to bring over a complete human model. Then he turned to Lindsey, “This time, I’ll ask you about acupoints, I’ll name one, and you point it out.
Lindsey nodded confidently, “Sure thing, Mr. Grier, Let’s do this.”
“Shen tsang.”
Lindsey immediately pointed to the upper right side of the model’s chest.
“Dubhe,”
She shifted to point at the lower right part of the abdomen.
Jeffrey watched, a hint of envy stirring within him. He thought, ‘Is this really someone who has just started looking at medical books a few days ago? She is a genius!
He remembered how long it took him to memorize the acupoint chart–almost a month of grueling study over seven hundred points. It had been a real struggle for him.
Even after memorizing them, finding the exact locations took more practice, and here Lindsey was, breezing through. It felt like he was being left in the dust, and it stung his pride more than a little,
Lindsey passed the assessment and received a pile of medical books as her reward. As Mr. Grier escorted her out, he was still wearing that cheerful smile. “Take your time to read. No rush! You’re doing even better than this lazy–boy here ever did,”
Jeffrey shot Mr. Grier a betrayed look. “Grandpa, you can praise her without throwing me under the bus! I’ve already taken enough hits to my ego.
He sighed dramatically, feeling like his pride had shattered into a million pieces.
Mr. Grier playfully slapped Jeffrey’s head. “What? Can’t handle a little truth? Now, it’s getting late, and you better drive Lindsey home.”
With that, Mr. Grier shut the door, leaving Jeffrey no choice but to comply.
“Hey, let’s go. I’ll give you a ride home, Jeff said, his embarrassment giving way to an awkward smile.
In the car, after a moment of silence, Jeffrey finally blurted out, “Lindsey, is this really your first time studying those medical books?”
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