He started by killing his abusive father, and from then on, he embarked on the road to wealth.

Chapter 34 What are the benefits of being an apprentice?

Someone else said, "Yes, yes, if it weren't for Qing'er, Doctor Zheng would probably have had to stay on the mountain another night. If he had encountered wild animals, it would have been terrifying!"

"Qing is really something, she managed to pull Doctor Zheng out of the pit all by herself."

……

The voice praising Meng Fuqing buzzed in her ears, gradually becoming harsh and shrill. Meng Linlang's mind went blank for a moment, and her face turned ugly.

She forced a smile and said, "It turns out my cousin had already found Dr. Zheng. We are so grateful to her."

At this point, she stopped smiling, lowered her head, and said sadly, "If only I had discovered it sooner and told the village chief sooner, then Dr. Zheng wouldn't have had to suffer so much."

Meng Qian quickly comforted his younger sister, "Linlang, you've done a great job. If it weren't for you, Doctor Zheng wouldn't have been able to come down from the mountain so early."

The men exchanged glances and laughed it off.

"Yes, yes! They are all good children!"

"Absolutely!"

In fact, they hadn't climbed more than a few steps when they ran into Doctor Zheng and Meng Fuqing. Meng Fuqing was supporting an old man with a cane, and he didn't seem tired at all. He just looked indifferent and didn't seem to want to talk to Doctor Zheng.

As they talked, they walked down the mountain.

As Meng Qian and his sister gradually fell behind the crowd, Meng Qian saw that his sister looked listless and comforted her, "Linlang, you also contributed to saving Doctor Zheng, so don't blame yourself."

Meng Linlang shook her head. "Brother, it's good that Dr. Zheng came back safe and sound. I'm thinking about something else, I'll tell you later."

She wondered why things were so different when she encountered Meng Fuqing compared to everything in her dream. She had a terrible thought, and her mind became somewhat confused.

Meng Fuqing, who was walking ahead, was also thinking about how Meng Linlang had discovered that Doctor Zheng had gone up the mountain to collect herbs and had not returned all night.

Dr. Zheng's place is closest to the back mountain, on the edge of Mengjia Village. He has no relatives at home, and it is common for him to go out to collect herbs and not return home for a whole day. Only the village chief's family is close to Dr. Zheng. Even the village chief did not know how Meng Linlang found out.

On the way back to the village, the group ran into the village chief again. Everyone praised Meng Fuqing, while Meng Linlang stood aside listening to them, her fingernails digging red crescents into her palms.

In her dream, she was the one being fawned over, not Meng Fuqing. At that moment, her disgust for Meng Fuqing reached its peak.

She was never someone who cared about these things, neither in the past nor in her dreams, but once something that should have been hers fell into someone else's hands, she couldn't control herself.

After being praised so much, Meng Fuqing rubbed his nose and said to Doctor Zheng on Hu Zi's back, "Doctor Zheng, don't forget what you promised me. I'm going home now."

"Hey, wait a minute." Zheng Yi called out to her, feeling a little awkward about what he was about to say.

"I consider myself to have good medical skills, but unfortunately there is no one to pass them on. I have always wanted to take on an apprentice and teach him carefully. Your village chief knows best that I have very high standards. Now that I see that you can recognize so many herbs without being taught, I think you must have some talent. So I will reluctantly take you on as my apprentice. There is no need for you to be too grateful."

Meng Bochang was somewhat surprised. He had previously wanted his grandson to study medicine under his wing so that he could take care of him. However, the old man was very stubborn and refused, insisting that his grandson was obviously not cut out for medicine. This made him feel terrible whenever he saw his eldest grandson.

Unexpectedly, my old friend relented on Qingya's request. Considering this family of orphans and widows, it wouldn't be bad if someone could learn medicine from my old friend, at least it would provide them with a livelihood.

Meng Linlang, biting her lip, watched silently as Meng Fuqing easily obtained the opportunity she had schemed for but failed to get, feeling as if she had swallowed a fly.

Meng Fuqing wondered what was so good about being taken as his disciple. "What are the benefits of being your disciple?"

The old doctor, who had lost a leg, probably took her in as an apprentice, not so much to make her a gofer.

Before everyone could recover from the shock of Doctor Zheng wanting to take on a female apprentice, Meng Fuqing's words nearly made them fall flat on their faces.

In their rural areas, if a person has a skill to rely on, they will never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of their life. Even if they can no longer work, they can pass on their skills to their children and grandchildren.

Not to mention that people in the countryside are honest and kind. As long as a doctor has good medical skills, he will be respected by people from all around. After all, who can go through life without seeing a doctor?

Meng Fuqing actually turned down such a great opportunity?!

Meng Linlang was also having the same question on everyone's mind, and she was so angry that she almost vomited blood.

Doctor Zheng was so angry he almost jumped off Hu Zi's back. "Hey! You little brat... Do you know I've spent most of my life in the army, dedicated to studying morbid diseases? I'm not bragging, but even the imperial physicians in the palace might not be able to compare to me. Those old geezers look down on morbid doctors, bah! If they're so capable, let's have a contest! They're truly ignorant..."

After hurling insults for a while, Doctor Zheng realized he had gone off-topic, so he awkwardly turned to Meng Fuqing, glaring at her, "You too, you don't know anything!"

Meng Fuqing listened silently, thinking to himself, "You've had too much energy drink, and you still have the energy to curse."

“If you live a long life, those old imperial physicians will certainly not be as good as you. As for me,” Meng Fuqing smiled, “I am vulgar. Even as someone’s apprentice, I want to find someone from the imperial palace. You should find someone else.”

Doctor Zheng was speechless at those words. On one hand, he felt that Meng Fuqing was wishing him a long life, so he couldn't get angry. On the other hand, he felt that this little girl was indeed vulgar and he looked down on her.

At the same time, his rebellious spirit surged up, "I refuse to believe I can't take you down! Just you wait and see!"

Meng Fuqing: ...

Meng Bochang: ...

Everyone: ...

I've seen people eager to become apprentices, but I've never seen anyone eager to become a master.

Tiger, carrying him, had a bitter expression on his face. Meng Fuqing must have some kind of magic potion, because a few words made a limp old man who was listless on the mountain become energetic. If someone hadn't been supporting him, he might not have been able to carry him steadily.

Meng Linlang closed her eyes and tugged at Meng Qian's sleeve. "Big brother, let's go back first. I'm a little tired."

Meng Qian didn't know Meng Linlang's initial plan. He only noticed that his sister's complexion had been off since she met Doctor Zheng, and assumed she was feeling unwell. So he quickly said, "Okay, let's go home."

After the brother and sister left, Meng Fuqing thought again and realized that she still had to get the ginseng seeds. Otherwise, given how stingy Old Man Zheng was, not even willing to give her a ginseng root after saving her life, she was worried that she wouldn't even get the ginseng seeds.

So she followed the group to Doctor Zheng's house.