After bidding farewell to Wen Ruyu, Xie Yushu and her companions returned to the inn. They had barely stepped off the carriage when the Liu father and son rushed out and knelt before Xie Yushu.
"Master, please accept my bow!"
Seeing that his father was in a relatively advantageous position, Dr. Liu's son stepped forward and squeezed past him.
"Master, please take me on as your apprentice! I'm younger than my father, and I can learn faster!"
"Get lost! You little brat! You haven't even mastered all my medical skills, yet you want to learn from my master? Go home and wait, I'll teach you once I've learned them!"
“Master, my dad is really slow. It took my grandpa twenty years to teach him to be a master. But I’m different. My grandpa taught me for eight years and I was a master!”
"Get out of here, you brat! What are you trying to take from me? I'm your father! You want to be my fellow disciple? You think you can turn the world upside down?!"
"Father, you must carry on the family tradition!"
"You just go home and work with my older brother to carry on the family's medical traditions. As the second son, I can't inherit the family business; I'll have to start my own!"
The father and son kowtowed to Xie Yushu, calling her "Master" repeatedly, while simultaneously engaging in a verbal battle!
Xie Yushu was so angry she laughed.
"Dr. Liu, and Young Master Liu, I don't accept apprentices. Please get up and don't make things difficult for me!"
"No way! Master, your medical skills are so high, how can you go out to make house calls all by yourself! There has to be someone to carry your bag and lead your horse!"
Upon hearing this, Nanxing realized that this was someone trying to steal her job! She quickly stepped forward and said weakly...
"Um, Dr. Liu, I'm my daughter's maid, I can do anything!"
Dr. Liu choked
"You silly girl, all you have to do is wash the clothes and cook. Also, when you go out with my master in the future, don't keep saying 'me' and 'me,' you look like you're from the countryside! Not high-profile at all!"
"Now that you're working under a divine healer like my master, you need to be more reserved and assertive! Otherwise, how can you be worthy of my master's reputation as a divine healer!"
"I...I...I understand!"
Upon hearing what Doctor Liu said, Nanxing immediately changed his tune.
Xie Yushu secretly rolled her eyes.
"I never expected you to be like this, Dr. Liu!"
However, Xie Yushu really had no intention of taking on a disciple, at least not at this time. She could only try to persuade him kindly, explaining that she was too young to teach a disciple, that she was already married, that her home was small and far away, and that she couldn't come often, and so on, hoping that the Liu family would let her go.
However, the Liu father and son were stubborn as mules, determined to become Xie Yushu's apprentices. They followed Xie Yushu every step she took. When Xie Yushu went back to her room, they knelt at the door. If anyone asked, they would say that they were listening to their master's instructions. In short, they had become attached to Xie Yushu.
From afternoon until nightfall, the two remained kneeling, unmoved. Xie Yushu felt a pang of pity, but still refused to agree. The next morning, the father and son were still kneeling at the door. As soon as Xie Yushu opened the door, they both spoke in unison.
"Master, please accept me as your disciple!"
The two were pale and exhausted, but their eyes shone with hope, which startled Xie Yushu. It was their passion and longing for medical skills.
Xie Yushu softened her heart. She thought about Doctor Liu's reputation in Jinyang over the years. He was not only a skilled doctor but also compassionate. She figured he was not the kind of person who would do anything wrong.
Moreover, if she wanted to truly establish herself here, she did need to cultivate her own people. A master-disciple relationship was far more stable than a purely transactional one, so she changed her mind and said...
"You two come in and talk."
The two were overjoyed upon hearing this.
"Thank you, Master!"
After saying that, he quickly followed Xie Yushu into the house.
Seeing their joyful faces, Xie Yushu asked
"Have you really thought this through? This is no joke. I have my rules, and if you break them, I won't hold back!"
"We've made up our minds. From now on, we're willing to obey Master's orders and abide by the sect's rules. If we disobey, may we be struck down by heaven and earth!"
"Nanxing, bring the tea!"
Upon hearing this, Nanxing poured two cups of tea for Doctor Liu and his son, who promptly accepted the tea and knelt down with a thud.
"This disciple invites Master to have some tea!"
Xie Yushu took the two cups of tea and drank them, then remembered that they were father and son, and it was indeed inappropriate to treat them as fellow disciples, so she said...
"It's fine for Doctor Liu to become an apprentice, but as for Young Master Liu, you can just become an apprentice of your father!"
"Thank you, Master. My name is Liu Shouye!"
Doctor Liu was overjoyed to find that he no longer needed to address his son as a brother!
"Grandmaster, my name is Liu Zhuoxuan!"
Xie Yushu felt a little annoyed by the title of "Grandmaster," sigh!
"Alright, get up and sit down to talk!"
Upon hearing this, the father and son obediently sat down on the bench, and Xie Yushu began to lecture them.
First, although you have now become my disciples, I cannot take you with me. However, I will leave you with some homework, which you can pick up tomorrow morning!
I will allocate your courses as needed in the future.
Secondly, I will regularly assess your learning progress, and only if you pass all the assessments will I teach you new content.
Third, before one's medical skills reach the qualified standard and one has completed the apprenticeship with me, one must not perform surgery or treat patients without authorization.
This one is especially important!
"Your disciple will humbly follow your teachings, Master!"
"Furthermore, from now on, we must take saving lives and healing the wounded as our duty!"
Diligently study medical techniques and strive for excellence.
They are extremely meticulous and responsible in their work, and treat all patients equally.
Practicing medicine requires caution, thoroughness, and meticulousness.
Diagnosis must be accurate, decisive, and responsible.
Maintain a respectful attitude and be cautious about the patient's condition.
Using medical practice for personal gain is absolutely unacceptable.
Anyone who violates this rule will be expelled from the sect.
Xie Yushu then solemnly recited the code of ethics for doctors to the father and son once more.
Dr. Liu and his son answered in unison.
"This disciple will remember this well! I would never dare to disobey!"
Even if Xie Yushu didn't say it, these were the rules they had always followed. In fact, their Liu family's rules were even stricter than these. As doctors, they certainly had basic professional ethics!
After Xie Yushu finished her lecture, Doctor Liu asked timidly.
"Master, what is the name of our sect?"
This really stumped Xie Yushu. "Western medicine" is a general term for Western medicine, and it doesn't really have any specific schools or sects. She couldn't very well just tell them "Western medicine," could she? Oh well, she'd already taken on disciples, so what difference would it make if she started her own school? Besides, she planned to combine traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Come to think of it, her arrival here was a stroke of luck, a gift from heaven. So she said…
"Heavenly Physician Sect!"
"I am the sect leader, you are a first-generation disciple, and your son is a second-generation disciple."
"Disciple understands!"
“I plan to select a place to build a mountain villa in the area where Tai’an Prefecture and Jinyang meet. If you have suitable people, please help me train a group of them.”
“If Master needs anything, I will do my best. Although I am not rich or noble, I have a few useful people in my family. Master can give them orders at any time.”
"Okay, once we've chosen someone, I'll have them delivered!"
After finalizing the basic details, Doctor Liu and his son returned home. Xie Yushu had originally planned to go shopping and buy some things before heading back, but since she had suddenly taken on two apprentices and needed to prepare some lessons, she had to be delayed for a day or two. So, she and Qu Xiaodie took Nanxing to buy paper and pens.
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