Peninsula: My pet is my idol

Without saying a word, the child knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times.

The child said, "Please, Dr. He, I really can't get an appointment with you. My family doesn't have any money left to buy an expensive scalper's appointment. This is the only way I can see you."

The child said: "Please, save my last remaining family member."

"They're teenagers, in high school, going through puberty, the time when they care most about their image..."

"I knelt before a traditional Chinese medicine doctor I'd never met, and he had no idea I could save his family."

"I never asked how many times he had knelt down before me. I never asked how many people had rejected him before me, driving him to the brink of desperation, until he had to beg the head of an acupuncture and massage department."

"I've been thinking about it ever since that day..."

"A man's knees are worth more than gold, especially for children educated in the new era, who value dignity even more."

"The ancients said: Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher. I have received three bows from this child, and there is a karmic connection between us, so I cannot ignore it."

"Being born into poverty is not a disgrace; a true man is one who can bend and stretch."

"He knelt down for his family; even in his teens, he was already a responsible man, a true gentleman."

"Later, his family still left. I told him: It won't cost much to sponsor your high school education. If you can get into a university of traditional Chinese medicine, come find me."

"A year later, he came to the provincial hospital with his admission notice and gave me 6147 yuan."

"6147 yuan... I still remember the exact amount of that money, with both the exact amount and the exact number."

"I couldn't sleep no matter what I did, so I used some connections to investigate how he got the money."

"It was money he earned after he graduated from high school, when he worked the night shift sorting of express packages at a logistics park for more than a month."

"Only gamblers, bankrupts, and desperate people would go to that kind of place, that kind of working environment. I only found out how tiring it was afterward; before that, I never imagined that there could be such a tiring job."

"He was only eighteen years old then, how tiring it must have been..."

"He could have given me six thousand, or given me gifts, but he specifically gave me a total of 6147 yuan... He put the money in a thank-you note, left it there, and left."

"In the letter, he also said that he would find a way to repay me for the help I had given him."

"Not a single word was mentioned about how the 6147 yuan came about."

"Later, I still found him and told him: I didn't suffer those three kowtows for nothing."

"From that day on, he became my apprentice."

"This child is all alone at home..." He Dan picked up his wine glass and clinked it with the professor's: "Me too."

The professor downed his drink in one gulp and asked, "He's a lot like you, isn't he?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Master He shook his head: "This child has had a much harder life than me. I've had a smooth life so far and have never experienced hardship, but he tasted the pain of losing loved ones before he even came of age."

"He doesn't have much talent in traditional Chinese medicine, but he excels in his character."

"He's a tough nut to crack."

"A person becomes an orphan in high school, with no one to rely on but the road ahead."

"He doesn't need to prove himself to his family because he's all alone. He lost his drive to improve himself before he even reached adulthood."

"However, he did not let himself go or give up on himself. Instead, he forced himself to study and take the college entrance examination."

"Two or three years ago, I was invited to Seoul for a permanent exchange program. He never said it outright, but I knew he was very uneasy and didn't want to come."

"When I came to Korea, I thought I could have a carefree life in Seoul for a few years. I was so excited at the time that I didn't care about his feelings at all."

"If he's feeling unwell, let him be unwell; he can just keep it to himself."

"Looking back now, I realize that I was actually bullying a child who had just come of age."

"But this year I wanted to send him back to China. I paved the way for him and explained everything that needed to be explained, but he refused to go back."

He said he liked Seoul and didn't want to go back to his country.

He's lying.

"Although he never said it, I know he really dislikes the environment in South Korea."

"He came to Korea because of me, and now he refuses to leave... still because of me."

Ultimately, he was worried about his master being alone in South Korea.

Master He examined the wine glass and said softly:

"For so many years, I've lived this way by myself so as not to hold other women back."

"Perhaps it was because Heaven saw that I had helped and healed many people in my life that it bestowed upon me a disciple of good character when I was fifty years old."

"I planned that after retirement, I wouldn't have to worry about minor illnesses, and I'd just die from serious illnesses..."

"Looking at it now... it's not bad."

The professor asked, "Since you value it so much, why don't you carry it with you more often?"

"What's the point of keeping him around? To serve me?" Master He said with a laugh and a scolding tone.

"I'm not so old that I can't walk yet!"

Taking on apprentices is about passing on the mantle and teaching skills... not about raising slaves!

I don't care what others do, but for me...

He knelt before me to become my master, so as his master, I must ensure that his future is filled with a fine horse, a stable saddle, fine clothes, and the warmth of spring breezes.

……

Nighttime, Gangnam District, Seoul, in a villa.

Tang Xin wiped the fine sweat from her face with her own handkerchief, squatted down, and said with a smile:

"Grandma Li, your acupuncture treatment is now complete. Afterwards, whenever you have free time, you can massage this acupoint on your thigh. If you can't reach it, have your caregiver massage it; it'll do the same thing. You should still pay attention to your diet and lifestyle."

Grandma Li held Tang Xin's hand and said, "Oh, doctor, you've only had one course of acupuncture treatment. Do you need a few more?"

"More treatments aren't necessarily better; acupuncture is only an auxiliary treatment," Tang Xin reassured her.

"Your condition is not that serious. A two-week treatment course is the most appropriate approach. Afterward, you just need to change your habits and maintain the frequency of massage."

I've already discussed the specific massage techniques with Aunt Park, the nanny.

If you have any further questions, please contact me so I can come over. I can't go against my conscience and deceive you and your family into undergoing unnecessary treatments.

Grandma Li patted Tang Xin's hand, looked up at the nanny Aunt Pu, and instructed, "Take out that gift box and let Dr. Tang take it away."

Tang Xin quickly refused, saying, "No, no, you mustn't."

Then came another very common doctor-patient dispute.

For patients, giving gifts to doctors is a way of showing goodwill and social courtesy.

The gift may not seem valuable to the patient, but any doctor with professional ethics would generally not accept it.

In the medical profession, accepting gifts may seem like a small matter, but it is actually a very sensitive issue.

Even though Tang Xin isn't a formally licensed doctor yet, he's practicing medicine under his master's name, and he can't let his master down.

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