After Rebirth, the Buddha-like Star Is a Medical Expert - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Recognizing Herbs

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Becoming a four-year-old child again and living in her grandfather’s house, Youguang got into the groove of things pretty quickly.

Although she was relaxed, the elders of the family were not.

After Xie Haitang’s private phone call with her sister-in-law, the entire family spent a few days interviewing nannies.

“This auntie is too noisy. She’ll make me lose my focus.” After politely sending off another nanny, Little Youguang poked at her milk bottle and said to Xia Rong and Xie Haitang. They were sitting side by side on the sofa and listening to her comments.

“A child’s focus is very important. That won’t do,” Xia Rong said sternly.

“… ?” Xie Haitang was frowning. “That’s the sixth nanny.”

Because of Auntie Huang’s incident previously, Xia Youqing deliberately cautioned her father and sister-in-law to be careful when hiring a nanny for her daughter this time. She also asked them to check with Youguang regarding the matter.

Even without Xia Youqing’s reminder, Xia Rong and Xie Haitang knew to choose the nanny with extra care. They just weren’t sure why she would leave the final decision to a child. However, they were still very willing to seek out the child’s opinion.

“Alright, then I… ” Xie Haitang was about to say that she would look some more when she was interrupted by Little Youguang.

“Can I not have a nanny?”

“How can you not have a nanny? There’s no one at home to accompany you.”

“I don’t need company.” Youguang tossed the empty milk bottle into the trash can.

“How will that do?”

“How will we know if we don’t try?”

“… ” Xie Haitang looked at her father-in-law awkwardly.

She couldn’t make that decision.

“Then there’s no need for a nanny,” Xia Rong said after a moment’s thought. “It’ll be New Year soon. I’ll push back my commitments before New Year, then I’ll have extra time to stay at home with You You. The child will be in school after New Year, and she’ll be with Dai Dai every day. Things will be fine without a nanny.”

“Then I’ll also push back any engagements I have. The extra time can be spent with You You. However, I’ll be relatively busy before the new year. Dad, in the meantime we will have to count on you to take care of You You.”

After some time, Xia Rong and Xie Haitang realized that they were worried for nothing. They also managed to work out a schedule to hang out with Little Youguang.

It was more than that.

As the child spent more time at home, they discovered that she spoke very little, to the point of not speaking unless necessary.

She was quiet every day. If no one looked for her, she could sunbathe alone in the yard, looking at the flowers, fish, and trees in the garden.

The weather in Jin City in winter was cold and humid, and the wind was chilly.

The five-year-old child didn’t make a fuss about going out to play. She would often pull on a cashmere blanket and sit obediently by the window, watching the snow or listening to the rain. Her delicate face was so calm and quiet that it was scary to watch.

She was so quiet and so self-contained, that when people wished to talk to her, they were worried about startling or disturbing her.

After observing her little niece for a while, Ruan Qiulan couldn’t help but ask the people around her, “Does this child have depressive and autistic tendencies?”

Her question made the adults in the family even more anxious.

However, they also realized that other than being quiet and reserved, the child was not uncommunicative.

She would eat and sleep on time. Her daily routine was similar to that of an old man, and she was more well-behaved than many adults.

‘Do you think there’s a psychological problem, or not?’

It was a pity that even though there were so many doctors in the family, not a single one of them was a psychologist.

The two women in the family were even more anxious about the child’s upbringing issues. They wondered how they could give this child a happier childhood.

After silently observing his granddaughter for a while, Xia Rong felt relieved and came up with a conclusion. He said to his son and daughter-in-law. “Quietness begets stability and stability begets wisdom. This child will be blessed with wisdom in the future. You don’t have to worry too much. Give her more space and respect her subjective consciousness. In addition, try to satisfy her needs. This is an extraordinary child.”

Since the old man had spoken, the Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle, together with their spouses were finally no longer at a loss as to how to treat the child.

…

At that time, smartphones had yet to be popularized, and no one used the Internet much. Phones were the most common modes of communication.

Xia Youqing had set off for filming and was gone for a month or so. Once she left for work, it was as if she was lost from civilization.

After her daughter was left at her maiden home, she had complete peace of mind to focus on her own matters.

Moreover, she already knew that her daughter was not an ordinary child, so she might as well treat her like an adult.

On the other hand, the elders of the Xia family realized that Youguang would take the initiative to call her mother every week and ask about her life.

The child did the same with her father. She maintained the same frequency, calling him once a week. Her actions and her daily routine were run like clockwork—she was unstoppable.

But there was a difference between the two unreliable parents.

Sometimes, when Ning Yi missed his daughter, he would take the initiative to call the Xia family and chat with his daughter.

That didn’t happen with Xia Youqing.

Ever since her daughter had taken the initiative to call her, no one had seen this young lady call home even once.

“Just outrageous!”

Xia Rong called his daughter angrily, insisting that she must show more care for his granddaughter. He urged her to call her child more often.

Xia Youqing had told him that her daughter was not an ordinary child. She did not need to say so much to her.

But Xia Rong didn’t think so.

After which, Xia Youqing began to chat awkwardly with her daughter. Soon, Youguang picked up cues on how to strike up a conversation with Xia Youqing and learnt a lot about her in the process.

It was an unexpected bonus.

… .

It was nearing the end of the year, and it was a fine day.

The herbs at home were getting slightly damp. Xia Rong got up early in the morning to empty out all the Chinese herbs in the medicine cabinet, so that he could sun them in the courtyard.

In the yard, the workers had laid out the tools required for drying the herbs.

Xia Rong laid out the herbs in succession and allowed them to dry in the sun. A little girl dressed in white velvet pants, was helping him to spread out the herbs that the workers had poured out. With her delicate and exquisite features, she looked almost like she was carved out of jade.

“Don’t touch those with thorns. Be careful not to get pricked,” Xia Rong reminded her granddaughter.

“I’ll be careful.” Youguang nodded obediently. Her movements were unhurried but nimble.

“Miss Youguang is really capable. She even knows how to help Grandpa with drying the herbs,” Auntie Li praised.

“That’s right. In the past, Miss Bei Bei and Young Master Dai Dai used to help Master too. But they handled the herbs like they were scattering flowers, unlike Miss Youguang who is doing such a good job.” Auntie Zhang walked over with a box of herbs.

“Just bring the herbs over and place it by the side. Don’t worry about the rest.” Xia Rong also felt that his granddaughter was extremely smart. When he heard the workers praise the child, he didn’t utter a word, but his eyes and brows were beaming with joy.

In traditional Chinese medicine, there were about 2,000 to 3,000 types of Chinese herbs that were commonly used in China. As a family of doctors, the Xia family’s ancestors were all Chinese medicine practitioners. The legacy of Chinese medicine had been passed down for generations within the family.

There had never been a lack of Chinese herbs in the Xia family and in their wide collection, they had about four to five hundred types of Chinese herbs. In the past, whenever he had to sun the herbs, Xia Rong would gather a few workers to help out so as to get the job done quickly.

But today, Xia Rong only wanted to sun the herbs at a leisurely speed.

After hearing the instructions, Auntie Zhang and Auntie Li stopped working on the herbs in the courtyard and went into the house to move out the remaining ones.

“You You, do you want to learn how to identify herbs from me?” Xia Rong asked his granddaughter after the two workers left.

His question was casual, but he didn’t know that Youguang was wishing for him to ask that.

“Sure.” In her previous life, she was a Chinese physician, so she naturally knew all these Chinese herbs.

Therefore, she did not think much of the worker praising her for a job well done. She was even thinking about how she could legitimately make her family know that she understood these things.

Grandpa’s suggestion was really timely.

Youguang’s lips curled into a happy smile.

… .

That night, everyone in the Xia family arrived and got together for dinner.

The eldest uncle saw that the worker had placed a bottle of homemade ginseng lingzhi wine on the table and asked with interest, “What is the occasion today? Why is there wine?”

As a family of doctors, the Xia family were very health conscious. They did not usually drink at home.

“Yes, yes. I’m very happy today.”

“Oh?” Everyone in the family couldn’t help but prick up their ears.

Within the next moment, the whole family had found out that Youguang managed to identify 200 Chinese herbs in the same day.

“You know them all?!” Second Uncle was dumbfounded.

“Yes, She knows them all. I taught her two hundred types of herbs today.”

Xia Rong didn’t finish his words. The child might have remembered more.

“Oh my God.” Xia Xiqing walked stiffly to his little niece, who was sitting on the sofa. Although she looked calm, she was feeling extremely embarrassed. He slowly stroked her little head and sighed. “What kind of luck was it that Little You You would come into our family?”

“That is so true.” Everyone concurred.

From then on, Little Youguang started reading books without any inhibitions. What were the books that she read?

There was Xie Haitang’s child psychology, Elder Uncle’s quantum mechanics, and Grandpa’s collection of metaphysics.

The Xia family was stunned.

At first, everyone thought that she was just browsing casually. Later on, they realized that she was really reading. She could understand everything.

They all asked her, “How do you know so many words?”

Youguang said, “Grandma Huang reads to me every day, so I got to know the words.”

What a tall tale. It was good enough that Auntie Huang didn’t allow her to watch lousy drama serials every day. To think that she would read to her?

“‘Nicely made up!”

Second Uncle picked up his little niece with adoration.

“My precious You You. Had the heavens been biased and given you the IQ that originally belonged to your mother? She was a lousy student who failed her exams when she was young. Other than relying on her looks to make a living in the entertainment industry, her IQ is really a constant worry.”

Grandpa Xia was still nodding in agreement with his second son at first, but his face turned red when he heard the rest of what his son said.

Xie Haitang and Xia Duqing could not help but laugh at the sight.

Ruan Qiulan glared at her husband. “What nonsense are you talking about? You You is smart, but Qing Qing isn’t as bad as you made her out to be.”