Back to the 1980s: Transmigrated as the Bigshot's Pampered Wife-Chapter 146: Memories Always Bring a Smile
"Not at all. Back then, we couldn’t afford enough food or clothes. She was timid, not arrogant like she is now. If I could, I’d rather we had never been brother and sister."
Second Brother Gu had only just heard from Professor Li during dinner today how arrogant Sheng Yueyue was.
Although he had long since lost all hope for Sheng Yueyue, hearing it relayed by others still left him utterly disappointed.
He recalled the past. Those days of feeding pigs felt like a lifetime ago, yet the happy times of his childhood seemed like just yesterday.
His eyes filled with nostalgia and longing, but unfortunately, his memories from before he was seven were all a blur.
It was mainly things his mom and her older brother told him about, and they always sounded so happy and sweet.
Many warm memories from when he was seven to ten years old surfaced in his mind, and he couldn’t help but smile at the recollections.
Back then, their family was considered quite well-off in the Imperial City, and his father taught at Qingcheng University.
During holidays and festivals, their family of five would return to the Imperial City to visit their grandfather and the families of their second and third uncles.
Then, when they returned to Qing City, his mom would always be carrying bags big and small, but she would take most of them to their maternal grandfather’s house.
His step-grandmother and two maternal aunts treated him and his sister with the kind of enthusiasm reserved for the attendants of the God of Wealth.
Later, when their family was sent to a farm to feed pigs, those happy days were gone forever, and they never went to their maternal grandfather’s house again.
They ate chaff and wild vegetables, and when they got sick, there was no money for treatment; they could only tough it out...
The only time they went to their maternal grandfather’s house was a month ago, and they were thrown out by their step-grandmother.
She said the Dong Family didn’t welcome poor relatives and told them not to bother them again in the future.
Especially after they had poured their hearts and souls into raising their sister, only for her to turn around and say she didn’t know them.
This made Second Brother Gu feel incredibly wronged, but he could only endure it and say nothing.
Thinking about the happy times of his childhood and the hardships of those years, Second Brother Gu’s feelings were complicated.
But he was very happy now because he had Jiaojiao. All of this was real, not just a dream.
"Second Brother Gu, why are you crying?" Sheng Shiwu asked in a quiet, flustered voice when he saw the tears on his cheeks.
Second Brother Gu wiped his face with his hand—there really were tears. "I’m not crying. It’s the spicy food making my eyes water."
After muttering this, he snuck a glance at Gu Jiaojiao. Seeing her happily chatting with He Shen Yi and Professor Xia, he felt relieved.
"I know. You feel like crying when you remember the time you spent with Yueyue, right?
It’s the same for me, actually. I often think about the happy times our family of six used to have. Every time I remember, I want to smile..."
Sheng Shiwu said with deep empathy. He was too embarrassed to admit that thinking of Yueyue made him want to cry.
No one else noticed the two of them whispering. They were all straining their ears to listen to He Shen Yi and the others discuss medicine.
After dinner, He Shen Yi and the others wanted to stay and chat at the Su family’s home, while Uncle Dong took a large bowl of braised donkey meat and headed home.
"You all take your time chatting. I’ll come back at nine to take you to the guesthouse. By the way, a phone was installed at Shuo Ci’s house today, so you can call me if you need anything."
"Go on, you can go get busy. We’ll call you when we want to leave," Li An said with a wave.
Sheng Shiwu also took a bowl of braised donkey meat back to the Sheng Family home. The backpack on his back was stuffed with the ham sausages and spicy strips he planned to sell tomorrow.
Gu Jiaojiao took out insulin for Xia Qiuming to give Li An his shot. She then continued her discussion with He Shen Yi about the vast and profound field of Chinese medicine.
He Shen Yi, in a showy manner, brought up the He Family’s most precious liniment for bruises and sprains.
No matter how severe the injury, even an old one from decades ago, applying the He Family’s liniment could draw out the stagnant toxins and heal it completely.
"I’ve heard of that miraculous liniment before. I never thought it was your He Family’s heirloom, hehe..."
"A mere liniment isn’t quite our He Family’s heirloom. Our family also has a precious hemostatic medicine formula, which we already donated to the country in the early years."
He Shen Yi said proudly. ’Finally, I have some formulas that surpass Gu Jiaojiao’s!’
Grandpa Gu saw his granddaughter’s eyes light up as she looked at He Shen Yi, and he leaned in to whisper in Gu Jiaojiao’s ear.
"Jiaojiao, don’t be envious of your Grandpa He. Your own grandpa has mysterious formulas and ancient medical texts, too. They were left by your grandmother."
Gu Jiaojiao understood instantly. She had heard her grandfather remark several times that her medical talent was inherited from the Ye family.
’Only I know that everything I have was gained through diligent study in my past life; I’m not some naturally gifted prodigy.’
’None of these facts matter. The result is that my medical skills are indeed superior to Xia Qiuming’s.’
’But in terms of Chinese medicine, I’m still no match for He Shen Yi. And yet, he insists on calling me ’Senior Sister’!’
This troubled Gu Jiaojiao greatly.
Gu Jiaojiao was truly unwilling to accept such a thing.
Although she was a medical doctor at a young age, she also understood what it meant to respect the old and care for the young.
Having a white-haired old Divine Doctor call her ’sister’—just the thought of it felt ridiculous.
But He Shen Yi’s insistence was too strong, so Gu Jiaojiao decided to ask to become his disciple. "He Shen Yi, are your family’s ancestral secret formulas passed on to outsiders?"
"They are not passed to outsiders, only to disciples of the He Family." He Shen Yi still hadn’t grasped Gu Jiaojiao’s meaning.
"That’s such a shame. I was hoping to become your disciple and learn some ancient medical techniques from you~"
"Jiaojiao, you want to become my disciple? But your medical skills are superior to mine!" He Shen Yi’s blood boiled with excitement.
"I might be decent when it comes to Western medicine, but Chinese medicine is vast and profound, and the He Family’s secret formulas have much that is worth my learning."
Gu Jiaojiao said sincerely. She was not an arrogant or conceited person; if she knew something, she knew it, and if she didn’t, she would learn.
"Jiaojiao, your medical skills are already so advanced. Why bother learning that dry and tedious Chinese medicine? Come study painting with me instead."
No one could surpass the painting skill of the traditional Chinese painting master, Cheng Tao. He wanted to take on a final disciple.
This was also his purpose in coming to Qing City this time—to find a promising talent.
Gu Jiaojiao could see that Cheng Tao was serious. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Professor Cheng, then how about I paint an Autumn Maple Creek Painting for you to see?"
In her previous life, when Gu Jiaojiao was just a few years old, her grandfather had hired a renowned master of traditional Chinese painting to teach her for several years.
Later, in her spare time from work, she also enjoyed collecting famous paintings, which she would copy and study at her leisure.
She was skilled in traditional Chinese painting, which uses brushes dipped in water, ink, and colors to paint on silk or paper.
Its subjects could be divided into figures, landscapes, and flowers-and-birds, while its techniques could be divided into representational and expressive.
The content and artistry of traditional Chinese painting reflect the ancient people’s understanding of nature, society, and related aspects such as politics, philosophy, religion, morality, and literature.
"Jiaojiao, you’ve seen the Autumn Maple Creek Painting?" Cheng Tao asked, incredibly excited.
"Obviously! If Jiaojiao hadn’t seen the Autumn Maple Creek Painting, how could she paint it? I think all that painting has made your IQ worrisome, and you still want to be Jiaojiao’s teacher!"
Having received his shot, Li An was in high spirits and a good mood as he dissed his friend.
’Besides being a good doctor, Jiaojiao can also paint?’ the others thought, stunned.
Su Shuochi had been watching his wife with a look of adoration the whole time. He was thinking something similar to Li An, but as a member of the younger generation, he didn’t dare say it out loud.
