Chapter 25: The Bai Family Visits

After a workout, he was drenched in sweat by the time Su Yunjin finished cooking the meal.

Chen Jie had also finished his morning practice. Su Yunjin brought him a basin of warm water and gently handed him a towel.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Chen Jie smiled at Su Yunjin, and she gave him a sweet smile in return.

Chen Jie was captivated by her smile, only to notice that her face was flushed...

"Why is your face so red? Are you getting sick?"

Chen Jie asked with concern, naturally pressing the back of his hand against Su Yunjin's forehead. His large hands, fresh from his workout, carried the lingering warmth of a man's hormones.

This caused Su Yunjin's temperature to spike again, and she retreated into the house as if fleeing.

"I—I'm going to wake Ruirui up!"

Then, she vanished in a flash.

"Why is she being so strange today?"

Chen Jie muttered to himself and began wiping his body. His eighteen-year-old body was still somewhat thin, but because of that, he lacked the beer belly or waist fat of his previous life, which was a redeeming quality.

"Still too thin. I need to eat more meat and protein to build some muscle," Chen Jie thought as he wiped away the sweat, put away the towel, and dressed himself.

On the other side, Su Yunjin had woken up the little one. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, the boy saw that Chen Jie had finished washing up and asked, "Brother-in-law, you're up early today. Are we going up the mountain?"

Hearing this, Su Yunjin looked at Chen Jie with concern.

The back mountain was not a safe place; normally, no one dared to go up there easily because of the wolves, and there were even rumors of tigers. In the past, people were often eaten by wild beasts; unless they were truly starving, few people went up the mountain voluntarily.

Chen Jie said, "We aren't going today."

"That's good then."

Su Yunjin breathed a sigh of relief, but the little boy was somewhat disappointed. In his simple mind, going into the mountains meant entering a treasure trove where one could freely pick up rabbits and all sorts of delicious things.

The reason Chen Jie wasn't going was that his intelligence indicated that Physician Bai would come today to recruit him as an apprentice. Wasn't that the very reason he had worked so hard yesterday?

At such a critical moment, he couldn't afford any distractions, so he planned to wait it out.

After breakfast, Chen Jie practiced the Yangchun Formula once more. This technique was indeed remarkable; with every cycle, Chen Jie felt he gained new insights. Occasionally, an inconspicuous minor movement could have a significant effect on a specific organ in the human body.

After one cycle of the Yangchun Formula, Chen Jie rose feeling refreshed, just as a knock suddenly came from outside.

The sound startled Chen Jie and alerted the neighbors.

When everyone saw who was knocking on the Chen family's door, they were stunned. How could it be her!

Physician Bai's daughter, the wife of Wu Zhong—the manager of the fish market—and the most distinguished woman in Xiantao Town, bar none!

Of course, the last part was a bit of an exaggeration, but it wasn't entirely untrue.

In Xiantao Town, the two most powerful people were Wu Zhong, representing the Fishing Gang, and Yu Biaojun, representing the Canal Gang. Therefore, the most distinguished women were their wives.

However, one must not forget that Wu Zhong was essentially a man who married into a family; his rise to power relied on the connections his father-in-law, Bai Wenjing, had within the Fishing Gang. Consequently, Lady Bai held a very high status in the Wu household. Wu Zhong was very grateful to his wife and father-in-law and treated them with great respect.

Yu Biaojun, however, was different. He had come up from the county's Canal Gang, and his wealth was built by his own hand. As such, he paid little attention to his wife and even had three concubines. Thus, Yu Biaojun's wife could not be compared to Lady Bai.

The fact that Lady Bai was knocking on Chen Jiu-si's door immediately piqued the curiosity of the gossiping onlookers.

*Creak~*

The door opened, and Chen Jie poked his head out. Seeing Lady Bai, he understood immediately—his opportunity had arrived. Though he was momentarily stunned, a look of joy quickly surfaced on his face. "Auntie Bai, what brings you here? Yunjin, boil some water, let's prepare some good tea..."

Lady Bai was very satisfied with Chen Jie's attitude. She smiled and said, "Hahaha, Jiu-si, don't bother. I'm just dropping off a fish and leaving."

Chen Jie replied, "Oh, Auntie, how can I accept a fish from you for nothing!"

Lady Bai frowned. "You child, what do you mean 'for nothing'? If it weren't for you yesterday, my old man would have been in danger. Besides, it's nothing valuable. Your uncle doesn't have many skills; catching a fish isn't a big deal."

Chen Jie wanted to say more, but Lady Bai interrupted, "Are you going to just let your auntie stand here holding it?"

Helpless, Chen Jiu-si could only reach out and take the large carp Lady Bai offered. It was indeed heavy, weighing about seven or eight catties.

As Chen Jie welcomed Lady Bai into the house, Su Yunjin and the little boy came out to greet her at the door. The boy's eyes immediately locked onto the large fish. He swallowed hard, unable to look away.

Seeing this, Su Yunjin patted the boy, thinking he shouldn't make a scene, but the boy didn't care; his mind was already picturing the large carp being tossed into a pot.

"Oh, so this is Yunjin. You've grown into a beautiful young lady indeed."

"Auntie."

Su Yunjin immediately offered a polite smile and gave the boy a nudge. Although the boy was greedy, he wasn't foolish; prompted by Su Yunjin, he immediately chirped, "Auntie Bai!"

"Oh, what a cute little fellow."

Lady Bai affectionately pinched the boy's cheek before entering the house. Su Yunjin hadn't boiled the water yet, and the only vessels in the house capable of holding water were rice bowls; there wasn't even a teacup. It was a bit awkward.

Seeing how simple the house was, Lady Bai said nothing, but she looked at Su Yunjin, thinking it wasn't easy for a lady from a scholarly family to live such a hard life.

After a few moments of polite small talk, Lady Bai stated her purpose.

"Jiu-si, my old man is getting on in years, and he was injured yesterday. Therefore, the clinic needs an apprentice to help out. Are you interested?"

As soon as Lady Bai finished speaking, except for the little boy, both Su Yunjin and Chen Jie's eyes lit up.

There was a saying in ancient society: "If one is not a great statesman, one is a famous physician."

The social status of doctors has been high since ancient times. Two days ago, Chen Jie was still a gambling addict; even if he learned a trade, the family had no land. If he continued on his current path, he would end up as nothing more than a local loafer.

But being an apprentice to Physician Bai was different. After a few years, Chen Jie could practice medicine, and his life would completely turn around.

This was a massive opportunity. He hadn't expected it to fall into his husband's lap today; truly, his mother-in-law in heaven was watching over them.

Su Yunjin was incredibly excited. Although Chen Jie had known from his intelligence that he would be recruited, he was still thrilled, for the first step of his life plan had succeeded!