Old Lady Hu knew that Jiang Yuqing was bored stiff at home. Fortunately, the weather today was good, a rare sunny day in spring, so she persuaded her a little and did not stop her anymore.
She only repeatedly told the two daughters-in-law and Li Chun and Guyu, the two maids, to be sure to keep an eye on this little ancestor.
With Old Lady Hu's permission, little Dumpling picked up her palm-sized basket and shovel, and took Bai Xiaojiu with her, both trotting off happily.
There were many mushrooms on the sandbank by the river, and many people were picking mushrooms too. Lin and Zhu came out late, so all the good spots had been taken by others.
Therefore, after turning around for half a day, they did not find many. Jiang Yuqing was afraid that there would not be enough delicious mushroom soup to drink, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
She casually leaned against a tree trunk, her abilities spreading out like the tide, instantly covering the entire sandbank.
The mushrooms were like dangerous goods under a security scanner, instantly exposed.
Dumpling seemingly casually rummaged around, but she was actually heading straight for her target.
As a result, it didn't take long for her to find several clusters, filling two large baskets full, making the two aunties praise her good luck. It also attracted many envious eyes.
Thanks to her heaven-defying "luck", for several days in a row, Lin and Zhu took her along when going out to pick mushrooms. Compared to being at home, Dumpling preferred running around freely in nature without a care in the world.
As the Dragon Boat Festival approached, more and more red, green, and porcini mushrooms grew on the mountains.
The village girls and young daughters-in-law who didn't have work would form groups and carry baskets up the mountain to pick mushrooms.
Wild mushrooms tasted fresh, and any extras could be sold for money. The Jiang family did not lack this amount of money, they just wanted to have some fun.
Any that were not finished could be dried and kept until winter to stew with chicken, the taste was truly indescribable.
Today, Jiang Yuqing took Bai Xiaojiu and followed Old Lady Hu, the two aunties, Li Chun and Guyu the two maids, a total of six people to Qili Mountain north of Xijin ferry.
There were many shrubs and trees here, relatively few pine trees.
Because villagers often came here to gather firewood, the forest was not deep, so there were only some small herbivorous animals, and large animals were extremely rare. Relatively safe.
As soon as Bai Xiaojiu entered the woods, he frolicked everywhere, chasing chickens and rabbits, occasionally letting out a roar, showing off his future king of the mountains aura.
Jiang Yuqing did not restrain him, and let him play freely. Although she had adopted him, she always felt that he belonged to the mountains and forests.
The elders were busy picking mushrooms, while Jiang Yuqing used a small shovel to dig up herbs everywhere. When no one was paying attention, she also planted a lot in her spiritual realm.
The mountain was rich in medicinal herbs, and although the quality was not as good as those in her spiritual realm, they were still very good.
"Little girl, what are you doing?" Jiang Yuqing was digging enthusiastically when an old man suddenly jumped out next to her, startling her.
After reacting, she hurriedly stood up and took a few steps back, looking at him warily.
The old man seemed to realize that he had startled her, and quickly made a soothing gesture, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I'm just like you, picking herbs."
Saying so, he took the large basket off his back and placed it in front of her. Jiang Yuqing glanced at it and saw that it was indeed full of medicinal materials, and she relaxed a little.
She turned her head to look at the elders. They seemed to have noticed the old man too, and were unanimously running towards them.
Old Lady Hu was the closest to her and the fastest to arrive. She immediately shielded her granddaughter behind her and said warily, "Brother, did my granddaughter unintentionally offend you?"
Although she spoke like this, anyone with a brain could understand the meaning behind it - she was protecting her grandchild.
The old man quickly said, "Sister-in-law, don't be afraid. I am a doctor, Fang Yuqian of An Tang Clinic is my junior fellow disciple.
Just now I was surprised to see your child recognizing herbs at such a young age, so I came over to take a look."
When Old Lady Hu heard that he was the senior fellow disciple of Doctor Fang at An Tang Clinic, she was halfway relieved. She laughed and said, "Let me tell you.
My granddaughter has been different from other children since birth. She doesn't like embroidered clothes and jewelry, she just likes to tinker with these strange flowers and plants. Please don't laugh at her!"
The old man said, "No, no. I like clever and insightful children."
Then he smiled and asked Jiang Yuqing, "Child, let me test you. If you can answer correctly, I'll give you all the herbs in this basket. How about it?"
Jiang Yuqing didn't say yes or no, she just tilted her head and asked him, "Sir, are you very knowledgeable?"
The old man chuckled smugly, "Of course. I am the Valley Master of Bianque Valley, known as Doctor Qiu. The current Director of the Imperial Medical Bureau is my chief disciple."
Jiang Yuqing's eyes lit up instantly. She did not know what Bianque Valley Master was, but she did know the Director of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
To be able to take the highest medical position in the country, he must be an absolute genius.
This old man was able to teach such an outstanding disciple, he must be even more amazing.
Moreover, she was lacking a "master of the mystic arts" as a master. It would be good to trick him into becoming her master, and substantiate her medical skills with a proper origin story.
Thinking of this, little Dumpling immediately nodded, "Okay!"
Doctor Qiu took out five herbs from the basket and let little Dumpling identify them.
Little Dumpling only glanced at them and accurately named them: "Lonicera, plantago, bulrush, mint, perilla." Not a single mistake.
Although they were all common herbs, it was still remarkable for a two year old child.
Doctor Qiu was instantly dumbfounded, staring with his mouth wide open.
It took him a long time to recover, excitedly jumping up and down, shouting to the sky, "A genius, a true genius!"
Seeing the women around looking at him like he was crazy, his face reddened slightly.
He tried hard to calm himself down, squatted down, looked at Dumpling with especially gentle eyes and asked, "Child, who taught you this?"
If she didn't have a master, such a genius must be brought under his tutelage. Even if she had a master it didn't matter, having one more wouldn't hurt.
Little Dumpling was delighted, success! It looked like tricking this master was already halfway done.
With a little more effort, this divine doctor would be in her pocket.
The Jiang elders also saw what was going on, and were happy to see it happen.
They saw Dumpling scratch her little chubby head, shake her head and say, "No one taught me, I read books." Doctor Qiu was even more delighted, "Oh, you can read? What books have you read?"
Dumpling counted on her fingers, "Shennong's Herbal Classic, Huangdi Neijing, that's all."
That was already very knowledgeable. Doctor Qiu smiled with narrowed eyes, "Child, since you like medicine so much, would you like to apprentice under me?"
Dumpling didn't speak, she just turned to look at her mother.
Lu and the others had heard of Doctor Qiu's reputation.
They didn't expect to meet this legendary recluse on Qili Mountain today.
It was rare that he even wanted to take their daughter as a disciple, it was truly a windfall.
Lu was delighted and quickly nodded at her daughter.
Only after her mother's prompting did little Dumpling nod in agreement, "I'm willing."
Doctor Qiu laughed heartily, "Good, from today on, you are my closed door disciple."
Under the guidance of Lu and the elders, Jiang Yuqing knelt down and kowtowed three times to Doctor Qiu, completing the apprenticeship ceremony.
Lu felt that the apprenticeship ceremony was too simple, afraid it would slight Doctor Qiu. She said she wanted to choose an auspicious day, prepare tea gifts, invite many guests, and formally take him as master.
Old man Qiu repeatedly shook his head saying he did not care for such false courtesies, no need to make a big fuss. If she really wanted to show gratitude, when they got home Jiang Yuqing could just pour him a cup of tea.
Lu quickly nodded in agreement.
However, unexpectedly finding a divine doctor master for her daughter while picking mushrooms, it was truly an indescribable twist of fate.
When Jiang Yuqing got home, she took the best tea from the director's office and brewed it herself to serve Doctor Qiu, paying respects to this master.
Doctor Qiu was all alone, having travelled for years healing others without a permanent home.
But this time he actually accepted a super young genius disciple, and decided to just stay at the Jiangs' so he could teach and nurture another divine doctor.
It was only after settling down at the Jiangs' that Doctor Qiu realized his new young disciple was the daughter of Jiang Wenyuan, prefect and count of Qingzhou, who was ennobled for growing high-yield crops - Jiang Yuqing.
No wonder his little disciple was so smart, with such a prestigious scholar for a father.
What's more, his little disciple also kept a cute little white tiger, Bai Xiaojiu, just as adorable and friendly as she was.
The two little cuties bounced around in front of him every day, playing and frolicking, and he felt his aging heart grow younger watching them.
After becoming a disciple, little Dumpling's life became regular.
She got up every morning at dawn to practice Tai Chi with her master, strengthening her body.
The Jiang adults and children thought it looked fun, so they joined in too.
After breakfast every day she would recite medical texts and study medical principles and drug properties. The afternoons were free time.
In her previous life she had focused on Western medicine and only understood the basics of Chinese medicine. Now, starting over from the beginning with her teacher, she gradually built up a solid foundation.
Like a dry sponge thrown into the vast ocean of Chinese medicine, she eagerly absorbed knowledge.
As her knowledge steadily grew, many problems that had troubled her in her previous life were now easily solved.
Doctor Qiu felt that for one so young, not only did his precious disciple have a photographic memory, she was also extremely disciplined.
But too much studiousness is not good for a lively child, so she needed an outlet for her high spirits. Thus he only gave her half-day lessons.
In the afternoons she would take Bai Xiaojiu to see her vegetable garden,
watering her beloved vegetables with spiritual water and abilities to help them grow better. Or she would take her master to inspect her watermelon fields.
When Doctor Qiu heard that these green vining plants were the winter melons once offered as tribute by the Barbarian States, he was quite shocked.
But considering that his precious disciple's family could grow grain with yields of thousands of catties per mu, producing tribute fruits didn't seem so surprising after all.
