readytorunbook Chapter 742: Only familiarity
Chapter 742: Only familiarity
Lu Yangyang listened to his questions one after another, feeling both amused and exasperated.
She was only two days late, and she didn't know what Mingxiu had said to him that made him so anxious.
Lu Yangyang smiled and said, "Uncle-Master, my elder brother told me on the way here that you had someone buy a sheep. I'm looking forward to eating a whole roasted lamb. Why don't we eat and chat at the same time?"
"Come, come, come!" Uncle Fang immediately perked up and waved his hand, "What are you all standing there for? Call the kitchen to slaughter a sheep! Forget about roasting a whole lamb, if you want to eat dragon liver and phoenix marrow right now, Uncle Fang will have someone inquire about it for you!"
Lu Yangyang waved her hands repeatedly: "That won't be necessary, Master Uncle, you've gone to so much trouble."
“What do you mean by ‘going to great lengths’? Yangyang, you…” Uncle Fang looked at her expectantly.
Lu Yangyang quickly said, "Uncle-Master, don't worry, I've come here today to discuss something very important with you."
Uncle Fang's eyes lit up. "Let's go, let's go roast a whole lamb!"
The group then entered the door.
It was only then that Lu Yangyang was able to introduce her newly accepted disciples to them. Huang Sumu greeted them one by one, which made Uncle Fang look on with envy, "Good nephew, why don't you accept me as your disciple as well?"
Lu Yangyang immediately refused: "Uncle-Master, if my master finds out that I've messed up the seniority, please don't come after me and scold me!"
This is indeed something Wen Yu is capable of doing.
But Uncle Fang still remembered that junior brother's personality, "I bet he'd love to do it himself!"
“Uncle-Master, there’s always something to learn from others. Let’s not worry about titles. I will tell you everything you want to know. I have a lot to learn from you too!” Lu Yangyang said sincerely.
Uncle Fang laughed heartily, "It's been over two years, and you've gotten quite the smooth talker!"
As they were talking, the group arrived at the training ground in the manor. Since they wanted to roast a whole lamb, the place couldn't be too small, so the people in the manor quickly brought over tables and chairs. As everyone sat down, the two lambs were also brought over.
Lu Yangyang rolled up her sleeves, walked over and took the butcher knife from the guard leading the sheep, then called Huang Sumu over.
"Watch how I slaughter the sheep, then you can have the next one," Lu Yangyang said casually.
Huang Sumu's eyes widened. "Kill, kill the sheep?"
Lu Yangyang casually plunged a knife into the sheep's body, holding the sheep up so the blood dripped into a basin. "It's not just about killing sheep," she said.
Lu Yangyang called out to Jing Chao, who was joining in the fun, "Brother Jing, could you please make some arrangements? Starting tomorrow, take him to the slaughterhouse. It doesn't matter if it's a pig or a sheep, anything is fine."
Jing Chao nodded with great interest: "No problem, leave it to me!"
Huang Sumu was still staring at Lu Yangyang's hands. While Lu Yangyang was talking to them, her hands were never idle. She deftly cut and then skinned the sheep. The whole set of movements was smooth and fluid. He didn't even see the sheep struggle. It was as if she had done this action a thousand times.
Lu Yangyang explained to him, "I used to be a butcher for several years. I slaughtered all the pigs in the surrounding villages. If you want to be able to use the knife in your hand in the future, you must be able to make your knife so precise that you can't miss a single blood vessel or tendon. If you're off by even a fraction, your knife won't save a life, it will kill one. You know that when a woman has a difficult childbirth, it often results in the death of both mother and child, but few people dare to perform a cesarean section to remove the baby because no one believes it will be successful. So your knife must be perfectly accurate to save a life."
"Before you truly begin learning, your hands, your eyes, and your heart must be completely in harmony. Only when you are confident that you will never make a mistake can you put your knife to the table. And the simplest way to do this is through practice. Practice makes perfect. Once you have done something a thousand or ten thousand times, you will be so skilled that you won't make a mistake even with your eyes closed."
Huang Sumu nodded thoughtfully, "Thank you for your guidance, Master."
Lu Yangyang finished killing one and handed the knife to Huang Sumu, saying, "Come on, you do it. If you encounter any problems or don't understand something, feel free to ask."
Huang Sumu took the knife, gripped it firmly, and tried to hold down the sheep, which was aware of the danger. However, the sheep began to struggle, and he was momentarily flustered. He wondered how Lu Yangyang had managed to do it. Fortunately, although he was inexperienced and not very strong, he had enough composure. He quickly found the opportunity and stabbed the sheep in with the knife, fast, accurate and ruthless!
But blood still splattered all over him.
The sheep struggled a few times before dying. He was exhausted and disheveled, with beads of sweat on his forehead. The knife was stuck and he couldn't pull it out.
Lu Yangyang nodded in agreement, "Not bad. To be able to do this well on your first attempt shows real talent. It seems my judgment was pretty good after all."
Huang Sumu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fang Shibo, who had come over to join in the fun, asked Mingxiu, who was standing to the side, "Xiu girl, have you ever slaughtered a sheep before?"
Mingxiu quickly shook her head.
Lu Yangyang laughed upon hearing this: "Uncle-Master, this isn't Mingxiu's forte, but she's exceptionally good at accounting. She can handle the accounts of an entire county like it's nothing."
Everyone has different strengths. When Lu Yangyang and the others took Mingxiu as their apprentice, they actually wanted to find a suitable path for this smart girl. Mingxiu was intelligent and learned things very quickly. She followed them around and learned a little bit of everything, but what she learned best was mathematics.
No one else could calculate as fast as her mental calculations using an abacus. When Aunt Jing learned about this, she enthusiastically gave Mingxiu a bunch of math books that she said she had brought back from the West, saying that if Mingxiu were to specialize in research, she might be able to reach the heavens in the future.
Lu Yangyang and the others didn't understand what this had to do with the heavens. Only their aunt smiled without saying a word, her eyes filled with nostalgia. Then she kept Mingxiu by her side and imparted all the mathematical knowledge she had learned to her.
Upon hearing Lu Yangyang's words, everyone else looked at Mingxiu in surprise, while Mingxiu, embarrassed, said, "I only know a little bit."
"Haha, Xiu'er, don't be modest. If Yangyang praises you, you must be exceptionally talented," said Uncle Fang.
Upon hearing this, Sheng Junyao glanced at Mingxiu, seemingly lost in thought.
Under Lu Yangyang's guidance, Huang Sumu finally managed to slaughter the sheep, albeit with some stumbles. Despite the chilly early spring in the Northwest, he was drenched in sweat, but for some reason, he felt a strange sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
He looked down at his still trembling hands, knowing they were just the right amount of practice.
He slowly clenched his fingers, making a silent resolution.
Jing Chao patted his shoulder, "Come on, let me take you to change your clothes first."
Huang Sumu quickly cupped his hands in thanks, "Thank you very much."
Jing Chao laughed and said, "Don't be so polite. You are our young lady's disciple, so you are family. Relax and don't bother with all the thanks!"
Huang Sumu laughed along. He never imagined that his ordinary life would have such an opportunity. But whether now or many years later when he is old and gray and has become a leading figure in the new generation of medicine, he will never forget this memorable evening.