27 – Simple Folk, And Their Bedtime Stories

When Lu Qing brought Xiao Yan back to the village and saw the villagers gathered under the big tree chatting…

He was greeted with smiling faces.

“Ah Qing and Xiao Yan are back?” a villager said cheerfully.

“Yes, we just came back from Grandpa Chen’s place.” Lu Qing nodded, somewhat puzzled, “Why is everyone gathered here? Did something happen?”

“No, no.” The villagers shook their heads repeatedly.

“Ah Qing, you must focus and learn well from Old Doctor Chen!” an elder said at this moment.

“Yes, if you encounter any difficulty, just tell us, we are all from the same village, no need to be so polite.”

“It’s rare for Old Doctor Chen to be willing to teach you medicine; you must seize this opportunity!”

Other villagers chimed in.

Looking at the villagers’ concerned expressions, Lu Qing felt a bit dazed.

He recalled what Old Doctor Chen had said to him before he went down the mountain.

“Lu Qing, do you know why I chose to settle in your village out of all the surrounding ones?”

“Lu Qing doesn’t know.”

“That’s because I really like the folk customs of your village.”

“I’ve traveled far and wide for decades, seen and lived in countless villages, maybe not a thousand, but at least eight hundred.”

“Among these villages, whether wealthy or poor, righteous or xenophobic, there’s a wide range.”

“But your village’s customs are exceptionally simple and honest.”

“United and mutually helping, harmonious and supportive.”

“Although villagers occasionally quarrel, they never become enemies. When someone needs help, they always lend a hand.”

“Such a harmonious village is rare even in all my life of traveling.”

“When I first arrived in your village, I was attracted by this simplicity and honesty, and finally decided to settle here.”

Hearing Old Doctor Chen’s words, Lu Qing was reflective.

Indeed, even he could feel that the villagers were very simple and honest.

Otherwise, if it were a village with worse morals, he and Xiao Yan would have long been treated with coldness or even bullied.

How could they live peacefully in their home as they do now?

“Grandpa Chen, from what you said, the villages outside seem different from ours?” Lu Qing asked at the time.

“Very different. Other villages, even if harmonious, do not support each other and show such righteousness as yours.”

“Then why is our village different from others?”

“Well, I am not quite sure. Perhaps you can ask the elders in the village in the future.”

Recalling the conversation with Old Doctor Chen and looking at the villagers in front of him, who were showing genuine concern for him…

Lu Qing suddenly smiled and nodded earnestly, “Rest assured everyone, I will definitely put my heart into learning medicine from Grandpa Chen.”

After bidding farewell to the villagers, Lu Qing held Xiao Yan’s hand and walked home, feeling very joyful.

He felt somewhat fortunate.

Fortunately, he was reborn in the current village.

If he had been reborn in one of those villages with bad morals mentioned by Old Doctor Chen, he would have faced a lot of trouble.

Now, although life was a bit hard, there weren’t as many vexing issues.

Moreover, as he became more familiar with this world, he believed that life, too, would continue to improve.

After returning home, Lu Qing let Xiao Yan play by herself while he took out the Herbal Scripture and continued reading.

Knowing the value of the Red Moon Carp, he no longer felt an urgent need to find ways to make money.

Once Old Doctor Chen helped sell the Red Moon Carp, there would be a sum of silver coming in, enough to support him and Xiao Yan for a while.

What he valued most now was still Old Doctor Chen’s test…

As long as he passed the test, he could officially start learning medicine from the old doctor. He had to seize this opportunity.

Therefore, even though he had already memorized the entire ‘Herbal Scripture’ with the help of his special abilities, Lu Qing still didn’t relax and continued to diligently study its contents.

Time slowly passed as Lu Qing read his book.

During this period, some villagers came over, wanting to ask him about fishing.

After all, the two big fish he caught yesterday were quite impressive to everyone.

Some people wanted to come and learn from him.

But when they saw Lu Qing reading in the courtyard, they didn’t dare to disturb him and quietly left.

Lu Qing still made fish for dinner, along with some wild vegetables he picked from the courtyard.

After dinner, it got dark. Lu Qing read for a while longer until it was completely black outside.

The household couldn’t afford oil lamps, so he put the book away as soon as it got dark.

However, after an entire afternoon of studying, he became even more familiar with the ‘Herbal Scripture.’

Except for a few terms he still couldn’t fully understand, he had almost no doubts about the content.

‘Herbal Scripture’ is ultimately just an introductory book on herbs, a popular science medical book. It doesn’t involve complex medical theories, so it wasn’t hard to comprehend.

Not to mention Lu Qing had his special abilities to help.

He believed he could pass Old Doctor Chen’s test even if it was given immediately.

After putting the book away, Lu Qing prepared to put Xiao Yan to bed.

This otherworld was unlike the bustling, colorful world of his previous life, where nightlife started at midnight.

Here, going to bed at ten pm was considered late.

Generally, everyone slept around eight or nine pm after nightfall.

“Brother, Xiao Yan isn’t sleepy yet.”

The little girl lay in bed, covered with a small quilt.

Moonlight shone through the window onto the bed, illuminating her round eyes.

“Xiao Yan, be good and sleep early. We have to go to Grandpa Chen’s place tomorrow.” Lu Qing coaxed.

“But I can’t fall asleep,” the little girl whined.

“What should we do then?” Lu Qing was at a loss.

“Brother, tell me a story. I want to hear the monkey story from last time!” the little girl demanded, revealing her intention.

“Alright.” Lu Qing sighed. “Where did we leave off last time?”

He regretted it a bit.

A couple of nights ago, Xiao Yan woke up in the middle of the night crying and couldn’t be comforted, so he ended up telling her a story. He didn’t expect she would become so addicted to it.

“Last time you talked about the monkey wanting to become a king!” Xiao Yan remembered clearly.

“Okay, so that day, the monkeys were playing by the mountain stream when they accidentally discovered a Water Curtain Cave…”

Indeed, Lu Qing was telling the story of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

However, he hadn’t read the original novel seriously in his previous life, so he didn’t remember the exact details of the plot.

He could only rely on his impressions and improvise the story.

Fortunately, the Monkey King’s story was irresistibly attractive to children.

Even with his omissions and simplifications, Xiao Yan still listened intently, thoroughly enjoying it.

But in the end, she was just a child. She got drowsy quickly, especially with the calming effect of the Green Armored Fish Stone.

She couldn’t stay awake to hear the part where the little monkey officially became king before her eyelids grew heavy and she fell into a deep sleep.

Lu Qing gently tucked her in and was about to return to his own bed.

Suddenly, he heard a sound from outside.