Chapter 129

Shen Man's home was bustling at noon; lacking prior preparation, they could only boil a pot of egg noodles, using up all the remaining eggs by frying them.

Eight old gentlemen, one each.

As for her, grandfather, and sister-in-law, they had no egg, just ate the noodles.

Fortunately, the small greens in the space tasted good, fresh.

Jiang Ye's brother's fried millet and shrimp skin, scooped a spoonful into the instant noodle soup, making the broth bright and fresh; the old gentlemen said nothing, just buried themselves in eating noodles.

Old Mr. Lin finished the noodles and gulped down all the broth in one mouthful.

He let out a satisfied burp, extremely content, and said indignantly:

"No wonder Old Lu, you said you lived carefree on the Sea Island, your health much better—turns out you eat so well."

"I've only just arrived not long ago, I'm not sure, I wanted to observe my condition again before formally inviting you all.

I didn't expect you to come early, leaving me unprepared.

Old Mr. Lu gave the old comrade a sideways glance, saying, "Come if you're coming, but you came empty-handed."

His son-in-law, when at home, wouldn't even let his granddaughter enter the kitchen!

"Grandfather, I'll go wash the dishes, and let Manman keep you company for a while."

Pei Yan Ting thought to herself, "Good thing today is Saturday and I have a day off; otherwise, with the grandfathers bringing a bunch of old gentlemen to our home, relying only on Manman to entertain them would be impossible."

She has no cooking skills, but at least she can wash dishes.

"Eh, I always feel this operation of hers looks a bit familiar."

"I'll boil water and brew tea for all the grandfathers; help yourselves."

Shen Man also didn't pretend politeness with her sister-in-law, finding herself something to do.

Since the old gentlemen all like tea infused with Spiritual Liquid, she just brewed another pot.

"Good, good, good."

Old Mr. Lin's smile was radiant, as if it were free.

If his descendants saw this, they'd all think he'd been possessed by a ghost!

In front of his own descendants, he always wears a stern expression; to outsiders, he's a smiling tiger, and one must weigh one's tone when dealing with him.

"Old Lin, later I'll introduce you to Xiao Duan; he's the brigade commander of this island's Military Region, a dozen years younger than us, basically a junior brother..."

Old Mr. Lu's words were meant to tell the retired comrades on the military-political side that Duan Wujue could be entrusted.

"Alright, we came in a hurry and didn't properly prepare a greeting gift for your granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law.

"How about we go to the Guoyingfanguan tomorrow for a good meal? We'll chip in to pay the bill—what do you think?"

"Fine, then I'll bring two bottles of the grape wine my granddaughter gave me as a filial offering, to properly welcome and cleanse you."

In their discussion, the other old gentlemen had no objections, so it was settled just like that.

Shen Man added well water to the stove, waiting for it to boil, and perked up her ears to listen to the old gentlemen chatting.

For the first time, she saw so many clusters of golden and green qi intertwined, with the elderly gathered together.

Spiritual Liquid is indeed precious, but using it on these old folks, she thought, is absolutely a great merit!

Old Mr. Pei hesitated repeatedly, but still thick-skinned, called over Old Mr. Lu and whispered a few words.

"This matter, asking me is useless; you need to ask my granddaughter—if she's willing to become a disciple, I certainly won't stop her."

Old Mr. Lu's heart jumped; he hadn't expected Old Mr. Pei to take a liking to his granddaughter as an inner-door disciple.

An inner-door disciple, without surprise, is the existence that carries on the lineage's robe and bowl.

The Pei family has practiced medicine for generations; Old Mr. Pei's move signifies something, and he knows better than anyone what it represents!

What a good thing!

But, he cannot hastily agree on behalf of his granddaughter.

What his granddaughter likes, whether to become a disciple—it's entirely up to her to decide!

"Good, good, good, I'll ask Manman."

Old Mr. Pei nodded; as long as Elder Brother Lu doesn't refuse, he's confident he can accept this inner-door disciple!

Indeed, when he lowered his stature and seriously asked Shen Man, the little girl's face showed surprise, then she looked toward Old Mr. Lu, and then Pei Yan Ting.

Seeing both merely smiling at her, she immediately nodded firmly, "I'm willing!"

Her answer was decisive, her eyes holding only a yearning for medical arts and respect for her teacher.

"Master, please have some tea."

Shen Man respectfully offered the first cup of this freshly brewed tea to her newly acknowledged master.

Performing the kowtow ceremony, she formally became his disciple.

Old Pan, Old Xue, and Old Li, realizing it too late, had been preempted by Old Pei, and they sighed with regret:

"Good, Old Pei, so you've been scheming for a long time, already eyeing Manman girl as your inner-door disciple!"

"As our uncles-master, you shouldn't be happy for our master-disciple pair?

"From now on, let's all teach Manman girl medicine together, so that the specialties of our several families can be passed down—wouldn't that be good?"

This remark left Old Pan and the others speechless; it's reasonable, but Old Pei is just being smug and asking for a beating!

Not only is that heartbreaking, but even more so, with Old Pei testing Shen Man's foundation in front of them, she answered effortlessly, drawing analogies, which made them feel anguished—truly, Old Pei had picked up a fine seedling!

Old Pei's face could barely conceal his joy; his granddaughter hadn't deceived him—Manman girl's foundation is truly solid!

This girl is born to be medical material!

"Old Lu, you've hidden yourself really deep."

Old Mr. Lin stroked his beard, feeling surprised by Shen Man's excellence.

Shen Qingluo, indeed knows how to educate children; both kids are not bad!

"It has nothing to do with me; it's all thanks to Manman's mother teaching well—I can't claim credit for it."

Lord Lu gave the old partner a sideways glance, didn't hear any mockery, but felt a heavy guilt inside.

The daughter‑in‑law taught Manman very, very well.

In the end, the Lu family owes the Shen family a lot.

"Fine, come over to play chess; it's been a long time since I played chess with you. The other old fellows in Jiashuyuan aren't fun at all."

Lord Lin unintentionally offended someone, saw the situation, shifted the topic, and put his arm around the old partner—oh no, to bond.

"The little vegetable plot in this courtyard is gathered quite well."

"That was done by my grandson‑in‑law, and over at the corner they also planted cucumber seedlings…"

"Not bad, your grandson‑in‑law is quite good at making a living; why didn't we see him today?"

"He went on a mission; otherwise you could have seen him today."

"Not a problem; we've decided not to leave. From now on we'll stay at the retirement rest house on Sea Island and keep you company. How about it? Unexpected? A surprise?"

"Go, go, go, noisy."

Lord Lu complained outwardly, but inside he was overjoyed.

This person is old, just fears being away from home.

Although the grandchildren are all married and around, the kids each have their own lives to live.

He sometimes inevitably feels lonely; when the old partners come, playing chess, fishing, or just bantering becomes a fine pastime.

Over there, Lord Pei drank the master‑apprentice tea and, as if he had found a treasure, chatted heartily with the closed‑door disciples.

The others, seeing this, could only silently take the kettle, do it themselves, and have plenty.

This tea, clearly ordinary leaves, but it tastes truly fragrant.

One sip clears the mind and refreshes the spirit; two sips—wonderful.