At six o’clock in the evening, a private restaurant.
Duan Chengru, Duan Yukai, Xie Feng, a beautiful secretary, and Lu Zheng, five people in total, gathered in a small private room.
Duan Yukai first raised his glass, respectfully toasting Lu Zheng with two liang of Maotai, which he drained in one gulp.
Lu Zheng accompanied him with a drink, though there was only half a liang in his cup.
Then came Duan Chengru. Before the dishes were even served, he could not resist asking Lu Zheng about the silver needle blood-drawing technique.
And then, the explanation Lu Zheng gave almost made him think Lu Zheng was a fraud. If his own son had not personally experienced it, he would never have believed it.
“Mr Lu, did you really teach yourself all this medical skill?” Duan Chengru asked, somewhat incredulous. “And you have even developed qi sensation? You can guide it into a person’s body and draw out stagnant blood?”
Lu Zheng shrugged. “It sounds hard to believe, but it is not anything shady.”
“Not at all, not at all, this is truly…” Duan Chengru blinked, unsure what to say. “So many techniques in Chinese medicine actually require qi sensation to work properly, don’t they? Does the legendary Zhuyou branch also involve qi sensation?”
“Most do not need it, but some of the more miraculous-sounding ones do,” Lu Zheng nodded. “As for Zhuyou, very little authentic material has survived. It may be related to both qi sensation and psychological treatment, but I am not entirely sure.”
“For example, treating cancer?” the beautiful secretary chimed in.
Lu Zheng shook his head. “That relies on Chinese medicinal herbs to regulate the body, and it also depends on the patient’s own essence, qi, spirit, and immune system. It has nothing to do with qi sensation.”
The beautiful secretary nodded repeatedly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lu Zheng.
Duan Chengru asked again, “May I ask where Mr Lu is currently employed? I know a few friends in Beidu. If Mr Lu is interested…”
“Thank you for the thought, Mr Duan, but I am not looking for anything.”
Lu Zheng waved a hand. “I taught myself Chinese medicine purely as a hobby. I have no intention of practising as a doctor, especially since I do not even hold a medical licence.”
Duan Chengru, “…”
Looking at Lu Zheng, Duan Chengru suddenly did not know what expression he should show.
The concept of cultivating qi for health has existed since ancient times. Duan Chengru himself had practised qigong, although the kind he learned was not the fraudulent “special abilities” type, just a way to strengthen the body’s internal qi and improve health.
This qi was the so-called essence-qi-spirit, a person’s vital energy. Under normal circumstances, most people could not even feel it themselves, let alone control it freely or guide it into another person’s body.
In his whole life, Duan Chengru had never heard of anyone cultivating qi to the point of using qigong to treat illness and save lives. If this had been the 1980s, he would probably have called the police.
So, with Duan Yukai’s medical case right in front of him and Lu Zheng’s explanation following it, his entire worldview was overturned. When he had just offered to introduce work to Lu Zheng, part of the reason was to see Lu Zheng treat patients in person and witness it for himself.
Duan Chengru could not help sighing, “Mr Lu, it is truly a pity that you do not practise medicine!”
Lu Zheng shook his head. “There is nothing to regret. Treating illness with qi sensation is not as miraculous as legends claim. Take the silver needle blood-drawing method, for instance. Modern medicine can cure the same conditions. As for terminal illnesses that modern medicine cannot treat, qi sensation is usually powerless too.”
Duan Chengru nodded, agreeing with Lu Zheng’s view.
Fortunately Lin Wan was not present, otherwise she would definitely have rolled her eyes at Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng did not want to reveal anything extraordinary in front of the Duan father and son. After all, Duan Chengru was a master of Chinese medicine who had worked in Beidu for many years and clearly had high-level connections. Lu Zheng had no wish to get involved; it could easily lead to trouble.
Last time he had only helped because he thought Duan Yukai was a decent person and could not bear to see him paralysed for life. He did not want to put himself at risk because of it.
After successfully steering Duan Chengru away from the subject, everyone could finally enjoy the meal.
During the dinner, Duan Yukai had originally wanted to ask about the beauty-preserving pills, but seeing Xie Feng present, he held back.
…
The dinner was a great success, and everyone enjoyed themselves.
When the meal was nearly over, Xie Feng could not help glancing repeatedly at a suitcase placed in the corner of the room.
Lu Zheng smiled. Seeing that everyone had put down their chopsticks, Duan Yukai instructed the waiter to clear away the leftovers and bring a pot of Longjing tea.
“There is no rush for tea. President Xie, why don’t you first inspect the goods I brought this time?”
Pushing the teapot aside, Lu Zheng placed the suitcase on the table and casually unzipped it. A fresh earthy fragrance immediately wafted out.
When he opened the case, everyone leaned forward to look and could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
“Three wild mountain ginseng roots, each over a hundred years old. One weighs a full jin, the other two a little over eight liang each.”
“Two pieces of polygonatum, harvested from cliffs less than a month ago. Very fresh.”
“Seven pieces of poria. They look ordinary, but finding ones with real potency and age is hard. These are all over fifty years old, and these two are nearly a hundred.”
“Two pieces of lingzhi mushroom, picked from the roots of ancient trees. Both over a hundred years old, full of concentrated essence. When you get home, try their effects carefully, and don’t accidentally give too much away.”
Lu Zheng introduced each item one by one.
Xie Feng stared at the box full of treasures, his eyes shining. He nodded repeatedly and was about to tell his secretary to transfer the money when he saw Duan Chengru, eyes wide, reach out and grab one of the ginseng roots.
“Old Duan…”
Xie Feng reached out but did not dare stop him.
Although Huairen Hall was not afraid of Nan Sheng Group, Duan Chengru was old, highly respected, and had connections in high places. It was better not to offend him if possible.
“This is freshly harvested wild mountain ginseng!” Duan Chengru murmured to himself.
Although the wild ginseng Lu Zheng brought had been cleaned, it still carried the clear scent of earth and was easy to identify.
Duan Chengru swallowed, unable to resist plucking a ginseng beard and putting it in his mouth. Xie Feng watched with a pained expression.
“Superb ginseng!” Duan Chengru’s eyes lit up. “It really is hundred-year wild mountain ginseng!”
Seeing Duan Yukai’s eyes also light up as if he were about to speak, Xie Feng gave a dry cough and turned to Lu Zheng. “Mr Lu, same price as before?”
Lu Zheng nodded. “Of course.”
“Xiao Liu, transfer the money to Mr Lu. Count all three ginseng roots as a full jin each.”
“Yes, sir!”
Secretary Liu nodded and immediately transferred the amount according to the price already agreed with Lu Zheng.
Ten seconds later, the payment arrived.
Duan Yukai watched from the side but ultimately said nothing.
No rush. There would be a second time after the first. Now that they had established a connection with Lu Zheng, there would be opportunities later.
…
After dinner and tea, it was past eight o’clock when everyone finally left the restaurant.
Having politely declined offers of a ride from both parties, Lu Zheng unlocked another shared bicycle and rode away, leaving them with a dashing silhouette.
…
Back home, Lu Zheng took a shower and was about to call Lin Wan when news notifications popped up simultaneously on every platform on his phone.
“Zhao Xiaodao encounters a Northeast tiger!”
