Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1093 Want to buy Sea Dragon Needle? Want to claim kinship without bringing gifts? (Bonus chapter for monthly votes: 3K)

Fang Yan replied in a low voice:

Thank you for your concern, everything is fine.

After speaking in dialect, he gestured with his eyes, indicating that Director Liao next to him was still speaking, so he would stop for now.

He You smiled, nodded knowingly, and said nothing more.

He seemed to know that Fang Yan was already aware of his situation.

They didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

Fang Yan, however, was thinking about how to talk to He You later.

I was trying to guess what he would say and how I should respond.

He thought quickly and came up with several possibilities.

She had already rehearsed several dialogues in her mind, making sure that her great-uncle was well taken care of.

After Director Liao finished speaking, as with the previous segment, the kitchen began serving dishes. Fang Yan was called up by Director Liao to toast everyone and get acquainted with the returning overseas Chinese businessmen.

Due to health reasons and the presence of dialect, Director Liao opted to drink tea instead of alcohol.

This is the only time in all these instances that tea has been used instead of alcohol.

However, no one here is so tactless as to say, "If you don't drink, you're looking down on me." Fang Yan did drink quite a bit today, but he's in good health, so he didn't feel any discomfort when he returned to his seat.

The dean, who was with them, didn't choose to drink tea this time; instead, he drank quite a bit.

After all, he was getting old and his physical functions had declined significantly. When he returned to his seat, Fang Yan took out silver needles and began to help the dean sober up.

He You and Huang Qiming, who were standing nearby, were immediately struck by the sight of the sea dragon needle in Fang Yan's hand.

"Is this the Tanka people's shamanic acupuncture needle?" Huang Qiming asked in the dialect.

"Yes." Fang Yan nodded. "Sea Dragon Needle" is another name, and "Danmin Witch Doctor Needle" is also correct.

"I didn't expect you to know this even in England?" The dean felt much better while receiving acupuncture in Fangyan and asked Huang Qiming curiously.

Huang Qiming's expression was serious, and he forced a dry laugh:

"Haha, there are quite a few Chinese in Britain. Although there are no statistics, a conservative estimate is close to 100,000."

“The majority of people who came from the coastal cities here are from there. These kinds of things are kept like family heirlooms by some local old doctors. We often deal with these people.”

Fang Yan felt uncomfortable looking at his forced smile; this guy was practically a fake.

The dean didn't seem to care about that and asked them:

"Professor Huang teaches Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University of Liverpool. What do you teach in British TCM schools? Do you teach foreigners or your own people?"

Huang Qiming said:
“When I teach Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University of Liverpool, most of the students are from the UK. They study Traditional Chinese Medicine for various reasons.”

"The majority of students are from the UK, and their motivation for studying Traditional Chinese Medicine is very practical."

“Some people suffer from stubborn eczema or migraines, and Western medicine has limited effectiveness in treating them, so they want to find solutions in traditional Chinese medicine. There are also young people studying nursing or physiotherapy who see that acupuncture is effective in relieving pain and want to work part-time at the clinic to earn extra income. Of course, there are also some who are simply attracted by Eastern mysticism.”

"Can they accept our Yin-Yang and Five Elements theory?" Fang Yan asked.

Huang Qiming said:
"Most people in Britain think in terms of evidence and practicality. If I were to teach the general public about Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, I would compare it to the human body's positive and negative charge balance system; when talking about the five internal organs, I would draw a diagram to correspond to the functional relationships of organs in Western medicine."

"But when I teach university students, they ask me to teach in the original style, because if they don't fully understand the original version, they won't be able to know the true nature of traditional Chinese medicine. This may be different from what you think."

The dean nodded thoughtfully. It was quite interesting that Western universities were teaching pure Traditional Chinese Medicine, while some people in China were promoting the integration of Chinese and Western medicine…

Next, Huang Qiming turned to Fang Yan and asked:

"I wonder if Dr. Fang could sell me this set of Tanka people's witch doctor's needles? I'm very interested in these unique silver needles."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan responded:
"I'm sorry, this set was a gift from a good friend, so I can't sell it."

Huang Qiming was taken aback, not expecting Fang Yan to refuse so decisively.

In fact, his original plan was for him to ask to buy the needles, and Fang Yan would give them to him directly. He knew that people in China liked overseas Chinese who had returned to China very much, and that no matter what request he made, they would try to fulfill it.

Unexpectedly, the plan backfired.

However, he maintained his composure and nodded, saying:

"I should indeed keep the gifts from my friends carefully; I was being presumptuous."

"It's alright," Fang Yan smiled.

He secretly thought to himself:

You want to buy sea dragon needles as soon as you arrive? Why don't you just fly to the moon?

Even I don't know where to buy it.

At this moment, He You asked Director Liao:
"Director Liao, do you know where in Beijing I can buy this kind of needle?"

Upon hearing this, Director Liao glanced at Fang Yan. He knew who had sent the needle and also knew that it was extremely difficult to obtain.

However, he pretended to be an amateur and said:
"As for the silver needles, I'll have the hospital send each of you a set later."

After saying that, he turned to the dean, who was sobering up, and asked:
"is that OK?"

"Of course, it's just two sets of silver needles, no problem, no problem." The dean was also a master of playing dumb, and happily agreed.

He You and Huang Qiming wanted to explain that this was different, but Director Liao told them to start eating quickly. After saying that, she changed the subject and asked them about He You's visit to his family.

This interruption made it difficult for the two to continue the conversation, so He You had to pick up where he left off and start talking:
“I left home and went abroad very early. I started in Southeast Asia, then went to the United States, and then settled down in England…”

He paused here, then immediately changed his words:
"However, I still remember where my home is. As people get older, they think about returning to their roots and going back to the place where they grew up. But now it has changed a lot."

“None of my old friends are here anymore.” He You sighed.

Then he spoke in dialect:

"However, seeing the younger generation in my family achieve such success when I come back is quite gratifying."

Before some of those present could react, he addressed the crowd:

"The main reason I came back to visit my family this time was that I heard stories in the local dialect."

"At the time, I knew that a very talented young TCM doctor had emerged in China, attracting many overseas Chinese businessmen to return to China for treatment. Later, I heard more news about him and was impressed by his talent. But I never expected that after asking around, I would find out that he was actually the grandson of my third brother, He Xiu."

"I was a little dazed when I heard it. I couldn't believe there were such coincidences in the world."

"Then, even more coincidentally, I heard from my old friend Huang Qiming that Professor Müller at the University of Basel in Switzerland was going to nominate a dialect. So I made up my mind that no matter what, I had to come back and see my third brother's descendants."

"I also want to let the younger generations in my family see the place where I used to live."

At this point, he had essentially admitted to his connection with dialects.

Everyone present turned their attention to Fang Yan, wanting to see his reaction.

Fang Yan didn't make any big movements, just nodded, and then called out to He You:
"Grand Uncle".

It is remarkably smooth.

He You probably hadn't expected Fang Yan to change her way of addressing him so quickly. He was momentarily stunned, and it took him several seconds to react before he said to Fang Yan:

"Hey, good boy!"

Then Fang Yan stared at him with a smile.

He You suddenly had a bad feeling, wondering if he had forgotten something.

At this moment, the dean asked with a smile:
"When Mr. He publicly acknowledged his kinship with everyone, what kind of gift did he plan to give to his grand-nephew?"

"England is a wonderful place; I bet you brought back a lot of exotic things, right?"

He You then remembered that in this kind of situation, one should have to give something to someone to acknowledge a relative.

Shouldn't we at least give them a gift?
If you don't give a gift and yet you formally acknowledge your kinship in front of so many people, are you trying to show off how great you are, or how much face you have because of the dialect?
The problem is that He You was led astray when he said those words; he genuinely hadn't prepared anything.

Huang Qiming, who was standing to the side, noticed He You's embarrassment, but he didn't have anything in his hand either.

Well, He You was now in an awkward situation.

He finally had no choice but to say:
"People get forgetful when they get old. I left the things in the room. (Fangyan) Uncle will give them to you later."

Fang Yan didn't hesitate at the time, waving his hand and saying:

"It's out of the way."

In this situation, facing He You's embarrassment, Fang Yan generously said "it's no problem," which is to turn the "owing a gift" into a moral bargaining chip.

If He You subsequently proposes a trade for the secret recipe, Fang Yan will openly refuse, and others can use the argument that "the elders have failed in their duties" to counterattack and seize the moral high ground.

You're acknowledging someone's kinship without bringing any gifts, and you even expect them to hand over their secret recipe? What kind of person are you? It's perfectly normal for them to refuse you.

Even if the old man tries to act superior in the future, he doesn't need to speak in dialect; others will still criticize him behind his back.

However, since nothing had started yet, He You felt something was amiss, but Fang Yan didn't press the matter, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Next, the dean's drink had mostly sobered up, and then everyone started eating and drinking.

When they were halfway through the meal, Lin Wenfeng and Lin Suxin, the siblings, arrived with a group of people, one of whom was carrying a large suitcase.

When they arrived, they first greeted Director Liao, and then Director Liao got up and asked Secretary Gao to call the reporter who was recording the day's events.

The camera and video recorder were set up here, pointing this way.

Then Lin Wenfeng said loudly:
“On behalf of my fellow TCM practitioners in Malaysia, I have come here specifically to thank Dr. Fangyan for his contributions to promoting TCM. I have brought back a batch of ancient TCM books that have been lost overseas as a gift to Dr. Fangyan!”

P.S.: I owe you 34000 words after finishing this chapter.

That's all for today, please come early tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)