The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 389 Asking
Zhao Xiaochui was well aware that his complex feelings toward Elias Wolff and his people were largely a product of the information age explosion.

His phone was bombarded day after day with fragmented information and heated discussions, and before he knew it, he had been brainwashed.

But are they really that clever and intelligent?
Hmm~ A people who have endured nearly two thousand years of displacement, constantly being slaughtered like pigs by various dominant ethnic groups, endlessly engaging in cycles of dependence, rebellion, and purges... are intelligent and wise~
To say they're bad?
If you randomly pick a few true villains from China's five thousand years of history, their cruelty and viciousness would probably exceed tenfold.

But can we say they're good?

Similarly, in this land that reveres "benevolence and forgiveness," there is no shortage of sages and heroes whose virtues have shone through the ages.

They are said to be clever and wise...

What about that civilization that held the top spot in the world for most of its five thousand years?
Moreover, this civilization, this land, gave birth to a bizarre and extremely xenophobic superpower...

Zhao Xiaochui had long ago discovered the peculiar nature of the heat flow within his body.

Because of this eccentricity, he, an ordinary young man who grew up in a peaceful and prosperous era, was able to fight to the death with those desperate criminals who licked blood from the edge of a knife in a short period of time.

The enthusiasm only manifests itself among Chinese people, such as the jubilation for top-level teachers and the disgust and judgment of Old Lou. As for outsiders...

It was dismissive and refused to express any emotion.

Fortunately, thanks to Chen Guifen, the easy and convenient appointment channel has always been connected to the port of 'a certain company'.

This company knows all too well the temperament of passionate young people.

Foreigners applying for appointments usually reveal one or two important pieces of information, telling Zhao Xiaochui why this person was able to pass our screening.

The purpose was simple: to prevent the possibility of accidentally letting in a guest that Zhao Xiaochui didn't like, in which case the kid might take out his anger on them. Preemptively addressing this was both a way of giving instructions and distancing themselves from the situation.

So there's a reason why the old man was able to get the appointment approved.

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was funded not only by public funds such as the National Institutes of Health in the United States, but also by this old man.

Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak's fundamental research into how telomeres and telomerase protect chromosomes opened new doors to understanding human life processes.

To some extent, this old man is beneficial to the lives and health of the Chinese people.

That's why he can lie on this massage bed.

Elias Wolff has a good foundation; in order to fight aging and maintain his youth, he has been working out like crazy for years, so he can still be quite energetic despite having such a difficult disease.

But it was this relentless training that caused the problem. Five years ago, he twisted his leg while training, but he didn't take it seriously at the time. As a result, he developed complex regional pain syndrome, which has been tormenting him ever since.

Under normal circumstances, after the body is injured, the immune system and nervous system will initiate a repair process, accompanied by pain and inflammation, and the signal will stop once the injury is healed.

However, in patients with CRPS (the disease), this reaction is out of control and amplified to an extreme degree.

The sprain has healed, but your brain thinks you're not. The brain and nerves are working in sync, constantly sending signals to your entire body:
"It hurts~ It hurts~ It hurts~"

Therefore, even a slight touch or a gust of wind can trigger excruciating pain.

Simply put, his nervous system was continuously giving false alarms, keeping his body in a state of perpetual illusion that he was still recovering from a serious injury. At that moment, the old man happened to have a seizure, gasping for breath, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

Seeing the old man enduring the pain, Zhao Xiaochui's impatience suddenly vanished, and he officially stepped into the role of a masseur—regardless of the old man's identity, he was now his customer!

Zhao Xiaochui quickly uploaded the designed plan to the system based on the examination results. Looking at the old man's appearance, he suddenly asked:

How did you find out about me?

Elias was taken aback, his pain subsiding for a moment. He then realized, this kid's English was so fluent?! So it wasn't a language barrier earlier, he was just too lazy to talk to him?

He didn't answer, but instead squinted at Zhao Xiaochui and said, "Your English is very fluent."

Zhao Xiaochui's ears burned, and he mumbled, "I learned it randomly online..."

Elias, a shrewd man, saw through most of his thoughts upon seeing his expression and shook his head with a smile.

"When you were making a name for yourself in San Francisco, a friend of mine got wind of it..."

The old man looked at the young man before him, his tone gentle yet full of meaning:
“You know, at our position, we always have to leave room for maneuver. Before sending someone to find you, he deliberately tested the waters with a patient—only saying he had a headache, concealing his true condition…”

Zhao Xiaochui suddenly realized why eight out of ten foreign clients who had recently come to his door complained of headaches.

He scratched his head in frustration: "What's the situation with that person who hid their illness?"

“Essential tremor with writer’s cramp.” Elias said solemnly, his eyes filled with expectation. “Like my problem, it’s all in the central nervous system.”

Zhao Xiaochui was speechless for a moment.

The cunning of these wealthy people is more intricate than the acupuncture needles used in acupuncture, both domestically and internationally.

Just then, Pan Xiaoli walked in carrying a tray with several small and exquisite porcelain bottles neatly arranged on it, containing single essential oils.

These porcelain vases were specially redesigned by "Easy Walk". Their shape imitates inside-painted snuff bottles, and they are small and round, just the right size to hold in one hand.

Although advertised as an intangible cultural heritage craft, it is actually a mass-produced, semi-handmade, semi-machine-made product. The workmanship is indeed exquisite, but it is not a unique, one-of-a-kind piece.

The most subtle change is the volume, which has been quietly changed from the previous standard 5ml to a somewhat strange 3.87ml.

The implication of this number is that future customers shouldn't expect to have any essential oils left as souvenirs when they leave the store.

Want it? Sure. You'll have to spend 48888 to buy it—and that's the international price, in US dollars.

Zhao Xiaochui picked up a bottle of single essential oil and confirmed, "Mr. Wolf, you should have received the Customer Information Guide after your appointment. To prevent any misunderstandings later, I need to clarify the fees with you again: the price of each bottle of this type of single essential oil is $48,888. I will make a custom blend for you, and the blending service fee is also $48,888. The price and volume of the blended essential oil will also be calculated according to this standard."

He paused briefly, then added, "It should also be noted that reasonable losses of single essential oils during the blending process will be included in your final cost. Please be aware of this."

(End of this chapter)