Big Data Cultivation

“I’m not spouting nonsense,” Yuan Huapeng spread his hands, feeling somewhat resentful towards his sister-in-law’s husband, “That guy from my second sister’s family is too opportunistic. Now that Grandpa’s condition is deteriorating, he doesn’t even show up anymore.”

“Aren’t you talking rubbish?” The second sister couldn’t agree, her anger raising her eyebrows, “Hua Peng, you work for a state enterprise and can easily take half a month off, can your brother-in-law do the same?”

“Cut it out,” Yuan Huapeng sneered, “If it were his own father who was in this situation, do you think he wouldn’t have the time?”

“You’re just being argumentative!” The second sister shouted, growing increasingly frustrated, “A biological father and a father-in-law… How can you compare the two? If all the men of the Yuan family were gone, would it be his turn to step in?”

Yuan Huapeng continued to smirk, “Remember when Dad broke his leg seven or eight years ago? He was all over that very diligently… Did I say anything wrong?”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the doctor known as Elder Ye waved his hands and gave a wry smile, pleading, “This is a hospital ward, please could you all speak a bit more quietly?”

“Alright,” the eldest sister stepped in to mediate, “Both of my younger brothers, Ruofang, Li Ting are here… and so is Youwei. Let’s all stop arguing.”

Yuan Youwei had already taken time off, but with his classes in English, traditional culture, martial arts, and calligraphy, he didn’t have much free time.

That’s the thing, the so-called “joyful education” is just a way to bamboozle the general public; the next generation of the Yuan family are registered for all manner of extracurricular classes.

Xiao Youwei had visited once the day his grandfather became critically ill, and today was his second visit.

Boys are usually quite carefree, and Yuan Youwei was no exception, but he knew very well that his grandfather loved him the most, and seeing the frail old man lying unconscious on the hospital bed, he couldn’t help but cry again.

Then he heard his uncle arguing with his aunt, his father quarreling with his second aunt, and he felt even more upset.

However, he still pricked up his ears to listen. Xiao Youwei was almost thirteen in the latter half of the year and considered himself an adult. He hoped to find some flaw in his second aunt’s argument to solidly back up his dad.

He didn’t find any flaws, but he did hear a familiar term from his uncle’s mouth—”meridians.”

He turned his head and whispered to his mother, “Mom, what are ‘meridians’? Are they like channels?”

Li Ting was not medically trained, and couldn’t give a precise answer, but she did her best to explain to her child.

When Yuan Youwei heard that his grandfather had become comatose and subsequently vegetative due to blocked meridians, he blinked solemnly and asked, “Then wouldn’t it be fine if the meridians were cleared?”

“Everyone wishes it were that easy,” Li Ting replied softly, stroking her son’s head, “Youwei, you’re absolutely right. But clearing the meridians… it’s very hard.”

Yuan Youwei blinked in confusion and asked, “Why do I think it sounds easy?”

“Because you don’t understand how difficult it is to clear the meridians,” his second aunt turned to him and spoke seriously.

She did not mean to be hard on the child. They were family, after all, and on a normal day, she would have teased her nephew. But her mood was also poor today, so she felt the need to caution him to prevent any misunderstandings about the world.

“It really is easy, Second Aunt,” Yuan Youwei pressed urgently, “I just want to know, can clearing the meridians wake Grandpa up?”

“You child…” His second aunt was growing impatient, “Hua Peng, take Xiao Youwei away to calm down. Everybody is in a bad mood.”

Yuan Huapeng gave her a discontented glance and cast an irritated look at his son, “You’ve seen Grandpa; now go home and do your homework… Don’t interrupt when adults are speaking. What kind of behavior is that!”

Feeling wronged, Yuan Youwei pouted and, wheeling his eyes, he quietly tugged at his mother’s hand.

Li Ting returned his glance with a soft voice, “Xiao Youwei, stop it, you’re a big kid now, you have to be polite.”

“I’m really not being naughty,” Yuan Youwei muttered sulkily, “Isn’t it just about unclogging the channels?”

“Hmm?” Li Ting turned her head to look at him, feeling a sense of déjà vu about the term—perhaps she had heard it somewhere, or in a TV show? “Do you really know?”

Yuan Youwei rolled his eyes dramatically and patted his belly, asking in a whisper, “Mom, have you forgotten how my weight went down to 130?”

“Uh,” Li Ting was suddenly taken aback.

“Hmm?” Yuan Huapeng was engaging in a debate with his second sister but overheard this remark and couldn’t help but turn to look, “You mean…”

“Shh…” Yuan Youwei put a forefinger to his lips.

“Oh, Master Feng,” Yuan Huapeng realized and then remembered how Master Feng had repeatedly warned them not to disclose anything—after all, Xu Ruofang’s brother had been scolded by the Master for leaking information.

He glanced at Li Ting, “That medicine from the Master, can it… unclog the meridians?”

“It seems to be… Body Tempering Pill?” Li Ting answered uncertainly. In fact, her memory was quite average, but because the Pills related to her son’s health and she might need them in the future, she managed to remember this name.

Motherly love is just that magnificent; even with her poor memory, she remembered what concerned her son.

However, she really didn’t know if the Pills could clear the meridians—Master Feng had an imposing presence and rarely offered any explanations.

Yuan Youwei’s eldest aunt’s eyes brightened immediately when she heard this, “Oh, Xiao Youwei really has lost weight… Has he cleared his meridians?”

“Yes,” Yuan Youwei nodded, proudly replying, “Master Feng said that the Body Tempering Pill can strengthen muscles and bones, clear meridians, and up to now, I haven’t even caught a cold.”

The eldest sister had not yet spoken when the second sister hurriedly chimed in, “Hua Peng, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and invite him over.”

“Hold on,” the eldest sister stopped them, turning her head to look at the Ye named doctor, “Elder Ye, you have knowledge of both Chinese and Western medicine, have you ever heard of this medicine?”

“No,” Elder Ye shook his head decisively—strengthening muscles and clearing meridians, isn’t this the way of charlatans?

But that was what he thought to himself and didn’t dare to say out loud, for a simple reason: all of the Yuan Family’s children had taken this medicine.

He wasn’t sure about the effectiveness of the medicine, but he was well aware that the current children at home were like little emperors—who would dare to feed an emperor something dubious?

So he answered cautiously, “My understanding of Chinese medicine is just superficial, to tell the truth, many folk remedies are unheard of.”

“Let me ask,” Yuan Huakun took the initiative to speak up, “Elder Ye, about these pills that clear meridians… Are they appropriate?”

“This… how should I put it?” Elder Ye gave a wry smile, “According to Chinese medicine, a cerebral infarction is a type of stroke, and medicines that expel Wind and promote blood circulation to soothe muscles will have some therapeutic effect.”

Upon hearing this, the second sister became anxious and asked, “Then can my father take this medicine?”

This question made Elder Ye roll his eyes inwardly, is this how you ask someone? If you were me, how would you respond?

Rationally, he did not believe in such pills, so many top-tier hospitals in the capital didn’t house any such medicine or therapy, was this normal?

But emotionally, he was inclined to suggest they try it, anyway, the man was already in that condition, what harm could trying do—it would be no big deal if it proved to be useless.

However, as an expert, he could neither recommend taking it nor outright deny it, he had to be responsible for every word he said.

After some thought, he ventured to ask, “Do you have the prescription for this medicine the child took? Could I take a look at it first?”

Yuan Huapeng and his wife exchanged glances before Yuan Huapeng shook his head, “No, the child took prepared medicine.”

Elder Ye pondered for a moment before asking again, “Then would it be possible to get… the underlying principles of the treatment?”

Originally, he wanted to continue asking for the prescription, but it occurred to him that it was already a prepared medicine, meaning no need to adjust it for different patients and conditions, implying that having the prescription could enable production, and consequently, profit.

Asking directly for the prescription was like robbery, not appropriate, but inquiring about the pathology and solution was less sensitive.

Yuan Huapeng hesitated, then shook his head again, “That… might be difficult; that person isn’t easy to deal with.”

The moment the second sister heard this, she became impatient and spoke out, “Give me the phone number, I’ll talk to that Master.”

She was preoccupied with her husband’s business since this was the critical moment for his career. If he missed this chance, he would be perpetually behind. Should anything go awry, and he fell from grace, that would be his lot in life.

“Stop making a fuss, okay?” Yuan Huapeng looked helplessly at his second sister, “With your temper, you’ll start a quarrel with him in no time.”

He was very clear about Master Feng’s temper, which was quite peculiar.

“Eh…” The second sister was not convinced and was about to say more when Yuan Huakun spoke up, “Hua Peng, do you think this Master Feng is competent?”

“Oh dear…” Yuan Huapeng pondered for a moment, but ultimately shook his head, “It’s hard to say.”

The persistent second sister interjected, “Whether it’s hard to say or not, you should at least make a call to ask.”

Seeing her pressuring him, Li Ting couldn’t help but speak up, “Hua Peng, shall I ask Master Feng?”

“You ask then,” Yuan Huapeng said with a resigned shrug, “I wouldn’t dare disturb him casually given his temper.”

He would have braced himself to make the call if it really could cure his father, but… he wasn’t optimistic about it.

Li Ting quickly made the call, and surprisingly, she found that the Master was in a good mood that day.

However, regarding Li Ting’s request, Master Feng still declined very clearly, “The patient is over eighty years old, it’s not possible… setting other things aside, are you sure he can withstand the pain of tempering the body when taking the elixir?”

It was at this point Li Ting remembered, when her precious son took the medicine for the first time, he was tied to the bed by Master Feng, screaming in agonizing pain so much so that Gao Qiang had a fight with the Master over it.

Old Master Yuan was now over eighty years old; should anything untoward occur, as a daughter-in-law, she couldn’t shoulder that responsibility…

She thanked him and hung up the phone, then relayed the situation.

Xiao Youwei kept nodding in agreement with his mother, “That’s true, it does really hurt.”

Yet the second sister impatiently asked, “Never mind if it’s painful or not, did he say if it can be cured or not?”