After calculating, Xiaolan has been studying at the clinic for more than half a month, and she will probably face the final assessment in a few days.
Whether I can stay or not in the future depends on the outcome of this.
The group disembarked from the carriage and stood outside the fence, gazing into the distance.
The large courtyard was almost entirely filled with racks for drying herbs. Even standing outside, you could smell the strong aroma of herbs.
However, no one disliked the herbal scent; on the contrary, they found the subtle aroma quite pleasant.
Liu Chuyu muttered, "These herbs smell so good, why does the medicine taste so bitter after brewing it?"
Inside the fenced yard, there were about a dozen schoolchildren of varying ages. They were all wearing gray clothes issued by the clinic and hats on their heads.
At first glance, it was impossible to tell whether they were boys or girls. The children varied in age, ranging from seven or eight to ten years old.
Zhao Denglong took a few steps forward, tiptoeing to peer inside, trying to spot Zhao Xiaolan among the crowd.
Zhao Yanniang also craned her neck and came up. She looked left and right, "Hey... I don't see Xiaolan here."
Liu Chuyu then knocked on the door of the clinic, and soon a young apprentice came to open it.
Liu Chuyu bowed and asked, "Is Doctor Qi here?"
The young apprentice who opened the door was probably about seven years old. He was likely young and was ordered around by the older children to open the door.
The young apprentice scratched his head. "Looking for our master... but our master went up the mountain to gather herbs."
Liu Chuyu looked at the sky, which was getting dark. Are all doctors this hard-working? It's already so dark and they still haven't returned.
"Do you know Zhao Xiaolan?" Liu Chuyu asked directly.
The young apprentice nodded vigorously, "I know you, I know you. Are you looking for Sister Xiaolan? Wait here, I'll go call her for you."
With that, he dashed back.
Liu Chuyu paced back and forth at the entrance of the clinic, bored, while the others gathered around the carriage, nervously watching the clinic's door.
After waiting for quite a while, Zhao Xiaolan finally came out wearing a gray medical clinic uniform.
"Sister Xiaolan." Zhao Denglong greeted her happily.
Little Mingzhu was also babbling in He Tiantian's arms, trying to rush over.
Elaine Chao was overjoyed to see her family visiting, and she excitedly grasped Zhao Denglong's hands.
"Lantern, Auntie, Grandma, Aunt Zhao, you're all here!" Zhao Xiaolan's voice was filled with excitement.
"Hey, why didn't you see me?" Liu Chuyu pointed at himself and leaned closer, dissatisfied that Zhao Xiaolan hadn't called him.
"I've come to see you too, and I even brought you some snacks!" Liu Chuyu held up three packets of snacks wrapped in oil paper in front of Zhao Xiaolan.
"That was clearly made for Sister Xiaolan, wasn't it?"
“But I carried those things all the way here, so they’re mine. Didn’t you bring other things too?” Liu Chuyu said shamelessly.
Zhao Denglong rolled her eyes at him, then took out a string of bright red candied hawthorns from her bosom.
"Sister Xiaolan, I bought this for you on the way here. We kept saying we wanted to eat it last time, but we didn't have time to buy it."
Elaine Chao accepted the candied hawthorn with great emotion, saying, "Lantern, thank you."
Chen and Zhao Yanniang stood aside watching, their hearts filled with many emotions.
"Children grow up so fast. I think Xiao Lan has become even prettier."
Madam Chen nodded in agreement and asked with concern, "Xiao Lan, how are you doing here? Are you settling in with the food and lodging?"
Zhao Xiaolan looked at Chen Shi, deeply moved. She said, "Grandma, I'm doing very well here."
"Dr. Qi is teaching us to identify medicinal herbs now, and there are so many kinds. Each herb corresponds to a different ailment, and sometimes multiple herbs are needed to treat a single disease. My task now is to memorize the names of these herbs and what they look like..."
He Tiantian nodded; this was indeed the most basic thing.
"Did Doctor Qi say how the end-of-month assessment will be conducted? Will it involve recognizing these medicinal herbs?" He Tiantian pressed.
Zhao Xiaolan nodded, "That's not all. At the end of the month, in addition to the assessment of recognizing 500 kinds of medicinal herbs, we also have to close our eyes and try to identify the smell of these herbs."
"Wow, five hundred kinds!" Zhao Yanniang exclaimed in surprise.
It seems like nothing is easy to do! Five hundred kinds of medicinal herbs to be identified within a month? When Zhao Yan was in school, he couldn't even read five hundred books in a month.
"And then what? Will the one you recognize the most be the one who gets to stay?" Liu Chuyu asked casually.
He just found all these things to remember annoying; nothing beats the fun of shooting arrows every day.
Previously, he would get a headache just from memorizing a single page.
Zhao Xiaolan nodded solemnly, a hint of worry appearing on her small face.
Although she had been studying hard day and night, she still couldn't recognize any of the five hundred kinds.
The timeframe is too short; it would be great if we could have another month.
Zhao Denglong encouraged her, "Sister Xiaolan, I believe you can do it. Think about it, we all have the same amount of time, if you can't do it, then others certainly can't either."
Zhao Denglong's words made Zhao Xiaolan laugh, and the pressure in her heart was relieved a little.
"By the way, Xiaolan, the weather is getting colder and colder. We brought you some warm clothes and blankets today. Shall we take them inside?" He Tiantian took a large package off the carriage.
Liu Chuyu sighed and stepped forward to snatch the huge package into her own hands.
“It’s so heavy you can’t carry it yourself, I’ll take it inside for you. Let’s go.” With that, Liu Chuyu easily picked up the package and walked inside with her head held high.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
