Chapter 386 This is called Chinese Red
The next morning at nine o'clock, Crook personally went to the gate to greet him.
Chairman Zheng introduced Liu Qiming to him. The three of them chatted and laughed, with Tang Man beside them occasionally interjecting. I just wondered if I understood. It was very awkward.
Tang Man forgot that she was a translator. She gave up her job and joined an English-speaking group, where she was very excited.
Chairman Zheng noticed this and turned to me and said, "Mr. Crook said Cruz is waiting in the lobby and he's very happy."
Tang Man stuck out her tongue at me and kept saying, "I'm sorry. I'll correct it right away."
Cruz stood in the living room and extended his hand. President Zheng stepped forward, shook his hand tightly, and said, "Congratulations, Professor, on becoming a standing giant."
Tang Man stood beside me and translated simultaneously.
Cruz's face flushed as he said, "This is all the good luck you brought. You are the eternal giant."
President Zheng stepped aside, and Liu Qiming stepped forward to shake Cruz's hand. President Zheng introduced him, and Tang Man translated for me: "This is Mr. Liu Qiming, who practices acupuncture in Manila. He's a Chinese doctor who can directly issue acupuncture licenses."
Cruz nodded: "Mister Liu and my doctor, Mister Wan, are equally worthy of respect."
Everyone laughed at Cruz's quick response.
Liu Qiming said: "Doctors deserve respect, especially people like you."
Cruz nodded and smiled, "Mistvan, why don't you come up and shake my hand?"
Seeing how humorous and witty he was, I stepped forward to greet him, just like the other two did.
He said a lot of words that I couldn't understand. Tang Man waited until he finished speaking before translating:
"I disagree with what Mister Liu said. I am not worthy of respect because I can't cure my own illness. Mister Wan is the one who deserves respect."
This made me blush. I said, "There's an old Chinese saying: A doctor can't cure his own illness; he lives to cure others' illnesses."
After Tang Man finished translating, he smiled and said, "China is very wise. They found a way out for people like me."
Everyone applauded Cruz for his quick thinking.
I was afraid he would collapse if he stood for too long, so I quickly said, "Sit down, please."
Everyone sat down and exchanged pleasantries. Sometimes they talked in groups of two, sometimes three, sometimes four. Tang Man was definitely too busy to handle it all, so she just listened for a while and then explained the gist of the conversation.
Tang Man kept telling me: They exchanged pleasantries, words of greeting and well-wishing. Crook was saying how amazing your medical skills were, how attentive you were in your treatment, and he praised my professionalism...
After a while, the conversation started to slow down and get down to business. President Zheng said that Mr. Liu Qiming was proficient in acupuncture and acupressure, and would perform acupressure on Dr. Wan in the morning.
Cruz was very happy to hear this, because he usually received two acupressure sessions every day.
We walked into Cruz's hospital room together.
Liu Qiming massaged Tang Man and me while he taught us. As expected, some things must be taught in person. He learned by watching videos, while I learned through written descriptions. There was a thin layer of paper between the two. Without his guidance, I wouldn't grasp the essence of the subject.
Liu Qiming pressed it once and said, "You try it."
As I pressed, he occasionally supported my hand and pointed out that the pressure in certain places was not strong enough. After about ten minutes, Cruz's acupressure was completed.
Chairman Zheng said to Crook, "I want to talk to Professor Cruz alone."
Crook nodded, and we all retreated back to the living room.
Because of the convenience of communication, Crook and Liu Qiming sat together to discuss something. Tang Man whispered to me: "It's not worth translating."
Since we didn't need to translate, Tang Man chatted with me. She asked, "You can heal illnesses and read faces, but what are the other eight things I don't know?"
"Eight items?"
"Yes, didn't President Zheng say last night that I know less than one-tenth of you?"
"Oh. I have a father, a mother, a wife, a son..."
"There's also a car, a house, 100,000 fans, and a 100 million yuan deposit. Is that what you want to say? You don't have to, I'll help you get all eight."
Now it was my turn to laugh. It was only at Crook's that I stopped laughing. Then I said, "The first four are true, but three of the last four are false."
"If you don't want others to know you, just say no. I'll recommend a good job for you."
"What kind of work?"
"You are fully qualified to be the most skilled Tai Chi spokesperson in the world."
"Yeah, I thought you were quite a lady, but you're actually quite amazing."
"I learned it from you."
At this time, Chairman Zheng and Cruz came out together. Chairman Zheng sat down and whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, there's no problem."
I asked, "Are you still going to talk to Crook?"
Chairman Zheng said softly, "That's not necessary. Cruz still has the final say in this family. Although he doesn't run the business, he has many contacts with politicians and his prestige is higher than Crook's. As a doctor, no matter how high a person's position, a sick person is a patient in his eyes."
I whispered, "Thank you."
At this time, Crook said something, saying that he would hold a banquet at home to welcome Mister Liu who came for the first time, Mister Zheng who came frequently, Mister Wan who came every day, and the beautiful Miss Tang.
I said to Tang Man, "Beautiful Miss Tang, you told me that yourself."
She said, "Teacher Wan, this is called literal translation."
I won't talk about how delicious this lunch was. It's the same as some people bragging about how delicious Chinese food is, while foreigners just try it occasionally for fun.
The most stubborn thing in the world is appetite.
However, the atmosphere was quite good, a first for me since coming to Bohol. Although Cruz couldn't drink, he still raised his juice, clinked glasses frequently, and accepted everyone's blessings.
Finally, Phil pushed out a giant seven-layer cake on a cart. I thought it was Cruz's birthday, but it wasn't, because they didn't play the English song "Happy Birthday," which every Chinese person can sing.
Tang Man explained to me that this was their most solemn etiquette. I wondered, why seven layers? Do foreign countries also follow the Chinese principles of "seven up, eight down" and "every seven brings change"?
Crook stood up and said, "Between 6000 and 4000 BC..."
When Tang Man heard the opening, which began before Christ, she knew it was going to be a long speech, so she stood up as well. Kruk knew she was going to translate it simultaneously, so he slowed down his speech.
The Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia, observed the waxing and waning of the moon. They discovered that it took seven days from half-moon to full moon.
They set a week of seven days and worshipped the gods of the sun, moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn in turn. This is the origin of Monday to Saturday.
This seven-layer cake carries our family's best wishes for Professor Cruz—from half to full. Let us worship the God in heaven and bless Professor Cruz, my eldest brother, with health that will be like the moon after seven days, at its fullest and brightest. Let us share this sweet treat together."
He personally prepared the cakes, and the maids brought them to everyone. A piece of music started playing in the living room. I couldn't understand the lyrics. It played on a loop. But I knew it was a song of blessing. Tang Man translated it for me:
My heart sings for you,
My spirit is strong because of you,
Your love shines in my body,
I will ride the stormy waves,
…
Cruz's face was flushed. He was surrounded by blessings and beautiful music. I also felt a sense of happiness and accomplishment.
Tang Man was eating when she glanced at me, surprised, and asked, "Why is your face so red too?"
Professor Cruz was in excellent spirits. Noticing Tang Man speaking to me with a surprised expression, he asked, "Miss Tang, what are you talking about?"
Tang Man repeated it in English. Everyone looked at me, a mixture of Chinese and English. "Yeah, why is your face so red?"
I was sure Cruz and Crook understood, so I stood up and said:
"This is called Chinese Red"
Due to professional habit, Tang Man habitually translated: This is called Chinese red.
Laughter rang out in the living room, and they felt that her translation was unnecessary. Cruz, like an old naughty boy, said to Tang Man, "Teach me again."
After learning it once, he said word by word:
"China, country, red."
Even the maid standing nearby clapped with us.
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