Top Scholar

Chapter 72 Living a Good Life

The clothes of the three men, including Cai, were torn and tattered, and their legs and arms were covered with dark red scabs, caused by dampness from the wounds.

The old man had fought in the deep mountains and forests for half his life, and he was very experienced in this area. As soon as he saw the three men in such a miserable state, he knew what they had gone through.

But since Su Youcai didn't want to bring it up, he didn't ask. However, the hidden dangers they carried needed to be addressed promptly. Back in the army, many brothers had suffered similar fates—seemingly harmless, yet developing fevers and ultimately collapsing from exhaustion.

He asked his aunt to boil two pots of water, one to boil and let cool, and the other to be heated with wood ash until steaming. He went back to his room for a while, then carried some bottles and jars to the courtyard.

The old man first helped Su Youcai sit on a recliner, propping his legs up. He then carefully wiped away the scabs with a boiled white cloth soaked in lukewarm water. Seeing the redness and swelling around the wound, he picked up a porcelain bottle, took a mouthful of strong liquor, and sprayed it onto the wound.
Su Youcai let out a terrible scream and almost jumped off the recliner.

"Bear with it, don't embarrass me!" the old man snapped.

Su Youcai could only bite the back of his hand, lying there like a dead fish, while the old man treated his wounds.

After spraying on the strong liquor, the old man picked up a small porcelain bottle and carefully sprinkled the medicinal powder on it. "This is the wound medicine that the army used to prepare. It contains Coptis chinensis and borneol, which can suppress the inflammation of the wound."

Su Youcai didn't dare to ask which "back then" it was, or if it was ten years ago.
The old man tore off another piece of clean linen and wrapped it tightly around his left leg, saying, "Don't take it off tonight, or it will be so swollen by tomorrow morning that you won't be able to stand up."

After treating the wounds of the three men in turn, the old man gave them Huoluo Dan (活络丹) and Xingjun San (行军散). The former was to clear the meridians and reduce swelling, while the latter was to remove miasma from their bodies.

Just then, the water in the kitchen boiled, and as the old man had instructed, the eldest aunt added angelica root, chuanxiong rhizome, and dried ginger slices to the pot. The old man then sprinkled a packet of brown sugar into the medicinal soup and told the eldest aunt to serve each person a large bowl, saying:
"Drink it while it's hot! This is a prescription for treating fatigue during marches. Angelica sinensis invigorates blood circulation, and Ligusticum chuanxiong removes cold from the muscles and bones. Drinking it will make you sweat profusely, so the fatigue won't accumulate in your body."

After the three men finished drinking, the old man ordered them to lie down on the bed and began to massage their uterus to improve blood circulation.

The first person to experience the old man's acupressure technique was Su Lu. The old man used acupressure, the force penetrating his body in waves. Su Lu felt an intense, tingling sensation, shaking his head and tail, screaming like a pig on a chopping board…

"Bear with it, don't embarrass yourself!" Su Youcai admonished his son for a moment, then asked curiously:

"Dad, you haven't been in the army for so many years, how come you're still so well-equipped?"

"You raise an army for a thousand days to use it for one; only by being prepared can you avoid trouble. If war breaks out again someday, where will you get these supplies?" the old man said calmly. He then said to Su Lu, "Young man, bear with it, the big one is coming!"

As he spoke, he placed two knuckles on the Weizhong acupoints behind Su Lu's knees. Su Lu let out a yelp and almost stood up straight...

"Sigh, the kid is just useless." Su Youcai shook his head and sighed, feeling that his son was too good for him.

Soon it was his turn, and he roared even louder than Su Lu, at least as loud as two pigs squealing at the same time...

"If you were to end up in prison looking like this, they'd make you say whatever you want," the old man complained to his second son.

Under his repeated massages, pig-like screams rang out one after another, and the dogs in Erlangtan also started barking. The commotion continued until midnight, when the exhausted father and son fell into a deep sleep under the covers.

The dogs at Erlangtan were also exhausted and fell asleep...

The old man dragged his weary body out the door, utterly exhausted. He'd poured all the energy he'd accumulated over the past few months into this one go.

"Damn it, who knows how long we'll have to rest..." the old man cursed, trying to take out a betel leaf roll, but his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't get it out.

The old lady helped him take one out and put it in his mouth, then took off his shoes and helped him onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Being an old person is truly a never-ending worry, an endless burden." The old man lay flat on the bed, slowly chewing on a betel leaf roll, and sighed after a long while:

"Fortunately, I'm willing..."

"What? You peed all over the floor?" The old lady was already lying down when she was so frightened that she quickly sat up to check.

"Just lie down, it's not time for that yet," the old man said irritably. "I'm just chatting with you because I'm bored."

"You can't pee in the courtyard either!" the old lady hurriedly said. "Wait for me to get you a chamber pot."

"No need, I'm done peeing." The old man turned over and ignored her...

~~
Fortunately, the old man handled it well. Su Lu neither developed a fever nor was unable to get out of bed the next day, and was even able to go to school.

His walking posture was rather unrefined, like a duck that had just come ashore. Naturally, his walking speed also slowed down. Su Dan carried his book bag on his back, and the two of them were lucky enough not to be late.

When he arrived at the academy, no one laughed at him; instead, they were shocked that Su Lu had made it back so quickly...

"You took leave on the fifth day of the lunar new year and returned to work on the tenth." Ma Zhaizhang canceled Su Lu's leave in the attendance book and said with a shocked look, "You only took five days in total, how did you manage to do that?"

"That's how I did it." With Li Qiyu's help, Su Lu slowly walked back to his seat and sat down. Even sitting down was extremely difficult, and his thighs ached terribly...

"That's incredible! It's almost as fast as the Swift Traveler!" Li Qiyu said admiringly. "Back then, it took my father and me four whole days to get to Luzhou."

"You guys aren't in a hurry, but I'm in a rush to get back to class!" Su Lu said with a wry smile. "I'm already a struggling student, and if I fall behind in even more classes, I'll be completely out of luck on the exams." "Excuse me, Su Lu, may I ask you a question?" the effeminate Cheng Wanzhou asked politely. "Is Luzhou City south of the Yangtze River or north of it?"

"Hahaha." Su Lu couldn't help but laugh, his stomach cramping as he laughed. He clutched his stomach and said, "Why didn't you just ask me directly if I've been to Luzhou? Why ask so euphemistically?"

"It's mainly because he's been slapped in the face too many times, so he's learned his lesson," Su Dan sneered. "He gets restless if he doesn't stir up trouble."

"Don't talk nonsense, I'm just curious." Cheng Wanzhou naturally denied it.

“People here tend to assume that Luzhou is on the south bank of the Yangtze River, just like us,” Su Lu said to Cheng Wanzhou with a smile. “The fact that you asked this means you know that it’s actually on the north bank. Even though I’ve never been there, I know the answer.”

"Hmph, that's not what they meant at all." Cheng Wanzhou turned his head away and ignored him.

At this moment, Su Dan placed a neatly written handout on Su Lu's desk: "Brother, this is what the teacher has been teaching these past few days. I've written it down for you."

"Good brother, thank you very much." Su Lu smiled and clasped his hands in thanks. "I'll treat you to something delicious later." He had originally wanted to say Dan Ying Sweet Dew, but he figured it was probably no longer available.

At this moment, Lin Zhihong turned around and said to him, "You can ask me if you don't understand anything."

"That's what I was going to say too," Qiao Feng said with a smile.

"Ask away, ask away," Su Lu said with a smile. "There are so many things I don't know. I'll treat everyone to a good drink after the exam."

"Okay!" the classmates replied happily, except for 30,000, of course.

He was thinking to himself that he needed to discuss it with his godmother; this time, the promotion could finally be done. Otherwise, he really couldn't afford it... But then he heard Ma Zhaizhang say boldly:
"No need, you're short on money, I'll treat you!"

She smiled at him and said, "I haven't thanked you yet for helping me so much."

He wasn't talking about helping to pack the books...

"Then I won't stand on ceremony with the Abbot." Su Lu also frankly laughed and said, "I did regret it a little after I said it."

"Hahaha..." The classmates also burst into laughter. Unbeknownst to them, Su Lu had already integrated into Sheng Shen Zhai, and it seemed that he was quite popular.

Just then, the sound of the whiteboard signaling the start of class rang out.

Master Ma immediately adopted a serious expression and said, "Stand at attention!"

The study immediately fell silent as the students stood up and watched Mr. Zhang slowly walk in.

Mr. Zhang stood behind the podium, first glancing at the corner of the study by the window. Seeing that his beloved students had finally returned, he breathed a sigh of relief. After the students greeted him, he said in a deep voice, "Sit down and let's begin the lesson."

"Yes." The students then sat down and began the lesson. Su Lu also sat in the last row by the window, listening attentively to the teacher's lecture.

The warm April breeze caressed his face, and the rhythmic lecturing of Mr. Zhang, along with the clear reading voices of his classmates, made Su Lu feel as if he were in another world, yet also deeply at peace...

Three months into the semester, Mr. Zhang today lectured on the last chapter of the Analects, "Yao Said." After explaining Zhu Xi's commentary and various exam points, he repeated the final paragraph to his disciples:
Confucius said: "Without knowing destiny, one cannot be a gentleman; without knowing propriety, one cannot stand; without knowing words, one cannot know people."

"'Knowing one's destiny, knowing propriety, and knowing how to speak'—these are the essentials for a gentleman's conduct and dealings with the world. The last chapter of the Analects discusses the character of a gentleman, explaining that the sage's purpose was to cultivate gentlemen with ideal personalities and to nurture virtuous and ambitious individuals who could govern the country, bring peace to the world, and achieve prosperity." Then he said earnestly:
"However, how many can truly attain mastery and govern the country? Most of us are trapped in the imperial examinations our entire lives, exhausting ourselves yet failing to achieve success. Does this mean we have wasted our time and wasted our studies?"

"I pass on these six words to you. Even if you cannot govern the country and bring peace to the people, you can still make your own contribution and live a life that is respected by others by using them to educate the people and correct your own words and deeds."

After saying that, he smiled and said, "So, ten years of hard study won't have been in vain."

"Yes, we will follow your teachings," the disciples replied in unison.

~~
During lunch break, Zhang Yanqiu called Su Lu to the preparation room and asked him, "You came back so quickly, are you feeling alright?"

"It's alright. My body was tired on the way, but my mind got a rest. On the way back, it's the opposite. I feel an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Please, teacher, assign more homework." Su Lu said, bowing with eager anticipation.

"The exam is in a few days." Mr. Zhang said worriedly, "If you don't get a good score this time, it will be a real problem."

“Indeed.” Su Lushen agreed, and couldn’t help but smile wryly: “If we don’t get points this time, we have to get full marks next time, but how is that possible?”

As everyone knows, theoretically, there's no hope of advancing...

"Don't be too anxious. You can't write a good article if your mind is in turmoil," Mr. Zhang comforted him, handing him a stack of manuscript paper. "Don't write the whole article these next few days. Focus on practicing your parallel structure."

"Yes." Su Lu hurriedly took it with both hands, and asked without understanding, "Isn't the lecture supposed to be about the prose section?"

"Can't essays use parallelism?" The teacher shook his head helplessly. Why were this student's strengths and weaknesses so alarming? Couldn't he just balance them out?
(End of this chapter)