"Grandma, I'm afraid this isn't a good idea. Doctor Fu is kindly coming to our house to provide free medical care, but you want him to take your granddaughter as his apprentice? What if it scares him away and he doesn't dare to come again?" Sun Miao'er expressed her concerns. Even if they were a little closer, she couldn't just become his apprentice without knowing what he might do.

As soon as Sun Miao'er finished speaking, the man's clear voice rang out. His dark eyes shimmered with emotion, and when he smiled, his eyes sparkled like stars. "Yu Chi thinks it's a pity that this skill is kept to himself. To be honest, Grandma Sun, I never planned to stay in Fushui Village for long. If I have some free time in the future, I want to go out and make my way in the world again. It's just a pity that Fushui Village can't even find a proper doctor now. Fushui Village has been kind to me. If I could find someone willing to learn from me and stay in Fushui Village to help the villagers solve some urgent problems, that would be great."

Fu Yuchi's words practically screamed "I'm willing to take you on as a disciple!"

Sun Miao'er was secretly delighted. It seemed that it wasn't just Old Lady Sun's wishful thinking. "Master, please accept my bow."

He bowed deeply and performed the apprenticeship ceremony for Fu Yuchi. Since things had already come to this point, he figured he might as well accept this unexpected master.

“Becoming my apprentice is possible, but there are requirements.” Fu Yuchi tapped the wooden table with his index finger, resting his other hand on his chin, seemingly keeping something a secret.

Sun Miao'er said frankly, "Master, please speak freely."

"I will teach you to identify all kinds of herbs and diagnose all kinds of diseases. In return, you can cook some of your best dishes to fulfill the master-disciple relationship, and then I will accept you as my disciple." Fu Yuchi had witnessed this girl's cooking skills, and indeed, once he tasted them, they were so delicious that he couldn't stop thinking about them.

"Isn't that easy to say? From now on, whatever dish Master orders, Miao'er will definitely make it for you." Sun Miao'er readily agreed, thinking it was some kind of menial labor, but it was just cooking, which was her specialty.

Grandma Sun was relieved to see that she had helped to make this happen. "Miao'er, you are a smart girl. In the future, you should work hard under Doctor Fu and not slack off, lest you let your grandmother down."

"Don't worry, Grandma, for my own sake and for our family's sake, Miao'er will study hard," Sun Miao'er assured, patting her chest.

Grandma Sun grinned, her eyes filled with immense satisfaction. She had loved reading when she was young, but her father and brothers were stubborn and dull-witted, believing that a woman's virtue lay in her lack of talent. Therefore, they never allowed her to read, and she could only recognize a few characters at most. Later, she hastily married into the Sun family. The Sun family's medicinal herb garden needed someone to manage it, and from then on, she devoted herself to being a wife and mother, and had no time to think about her own interests.

So Grandma Sun always thought that if Miao'er had something she wanted to do, she would never stop her. She didn't have many years left to live, and she would have no regrets if she could take good care of these younger generations.

"Since you've joined my school to learn medicine, you must start with the simplest things. The classification of herbs is the most basic thing, and I can see that you know a little about it." Fu Yuchi spoke gently and slowly, which seemed out of place in this impoverished village.

Sun Miao'er touched her head shyly and said modestly, "Master, you flatter me. What I have learned in front of you is just showing off my limited skills. These are just folk remedies I heard from outside. They are not up to standard. If you want to learn proper medical skills, you still need to guide me."

“That’s true.” Fu Yuchi nodded, his attention drawn to the bluish-green color on Xiaoman’s face, his gaze momentarily fixed. “Did you put the medicine on this child’s face?”

Sun Miao'er nodded, "It was originally for emergency use. Anyone would be anxious if these bruises wouldn't go away!"

"Your technique was indeed a bit clumsy. I'll teach you next time. Go outside and fetch a basin of water, and bring back a clean cloth," Fu Yuchi instructed, opening his medicine box.

Sun Miao'er did as she was told, bringing in the water. Fu Yuchi nodded, soaked the cloth in the water, and wrung it out.

Carefully wiping the green stains off Xiaoman's face, he wasn't very satisfied with the ointment that Sun Miao'er had prepared so meticulously.

Fu Yuchi took out a small porcelain bottle from the medicine box, opened it, and a scent of icy mint wafted out. "Smell it."

Sun Miao'er leaned in and took a light sniff. It was indeed much better than the ugly and smelly stuff she had made herself. It was somewhat like the Tiger Balm she used to use, but not as pungent.

"There are many methods for processing herbs. When processing herbs, we must follow the characteristics of the herbs. Different parts of different herbs require different methods. If we make a mistake, it will ruin the original effect." Fu Yuchi applied ointment to Xiaoman. The ointment was semi-transparent with a faint green tinge. It was not so obvious after being applied to the skin and spread.

In comparison, Xiaoman's face, covered in the herbal ointment made by Sun Miao'er, looked even worse than her original panda eyes. Now, thanks to Fu Yuchi's touch, it doesn't look so creepy anymore.

"Three times a day, and it should last for two days," Fu Yuchi said calmly.

Xiaoman looked at herself in the mirror by the water vat and saw that she looked much better than before. She ran over and grabbed Fu Yuchi's arm. "Doctor Fu, since you've taken my sister as your apprentice, why don't you take me as one too? I'm very diligent!"

"Your sister can cook delicious food, but what can you do?" Fu Yuchi rubbed Xiaoman's head, stumped by the little dumpling.

Xiaoman blinked and thought for a while, then said loudly, "I'm diligent! Master, you can call me to do any work you need in the future!"

Before Fu Yuchi could even admit it, Xiaoman had already taken it upon herself to call him master. There was no turning back now, so she had no choice but to take the little dumpling in as well.

“Speaking of which, I have a few abandoned medicinal herb plots at home. If Doctor Fu doesn’t mind, you can use them to grow herbs. Last time I heard Miao’er say that Doctor Fu even went to the south side of the village to grow plantain. I thought it was unnecessary to go through all that trouble, since I have some ready at home.”

"Then thank you, Grandma Sun."

In the afternoon, when the sun was high in the sky, Fu Yuchi finished writing the prescription and said, "Miao'er, come back with me. I left in a hurry and didn't bring all the medicine. Some of the medicine is still drying in the yard. You can bring it back as soon as it's ready to use."

After becoming his apprentice, she and Physician Fu became much closer. However, she remembered that Physician Fu was a good person. If he wasn't a good person, he wouldn't have silently escorted her home with a lantern on that dark and windy night, without even showing his face.

Following Fu Yuchi around several village paths, we finally arrived at his residence.

It was a secluded place with a small bamboo house. Most of the houses in this village were made of earth or brick, and this was the first time Sun Miao'er had ever seen a bamboo house.

The bamboo house was surrounded by a fence that reached up to the knees. Even before entering the yard, one could smell the herbs, which was also the scent of Fu Yuchi, but much stronger here.

Sun Miao'er looked up and saw that behind the bamboo house stretched a continuous range of mountains, majestic and towering, shrouded in mist and clouds, their forms distant and indistinct.