When Ethan Bennett and his group came here, servants had always delivered meals to their rooms on time. But maybe they had discussed it when they were soaking in the cold spring that day and felt that it was boring to eat alone and the dishes were monotonous, so they proposed to have a meal together every day. They asked tentatively and found that the Jiang family readily agreed and specially assigned two famous Huaiyang chefs to cook for them.
Ethan Bennett naturally felt that this was a waste of time and too extravagant, but he couldn't make any decisions on his own and had to go with the flow.
So at mealtime he could only go to Taoguang Hall not far away to dine with them. It was also the first time that day that he met everyone. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Xu Jianqing and couldn't help but frowned.
Ethan Bennett didn't expect that the Jiang family would keep this person as well, so he couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.
They had already started eating and had left a place for Ethan Bennett. When they saw him coming, they all looked up but did not greet him and continued chatting, laughing, eating and drinking.
"Sit here." Brandon Lee called him softly, "Come earlier next time."
Ethan Bennett nodded silently. He had wanted to greet everyone on their first meeting, but he did not expect the situation to be so awkward.
Ethan Bennett felt out of place in such an atmosphere and had no appetite at all. He only picked up the dish in front of him with his chopsticks.
"What's your name? Who is your teacher?"
Ethan Bennett looked up and found that the person sitting in the main seat opposite him was asking him a question. The man had a distinct Jiangyou accent, was not tall, and looked to be in his thirties or forties. He had an ordinary appearance, but it was obvious that he had the highest status among the crowd.
Ethan Bennett quickly put down his chopsticks and replied, "I am Ethan Bennett, from Jiangcheng. My family has passed down some basic medical knowledge, which is not worth mentioning."
"Jiangcheng?" The man nodded and said, "I went there once ten years ago. It's a small place."
Brandon Lee glanced at Ethan Bennett, pulled his clothes and introduced him: "This is Doctor Zhang Chengshan, the eighth-generation descendant of the genius doctor Zhang Ji, the number one doctor in Fukangyuan, and everyone in Jiangnan West Road knows him."
Miracle doctor Zhang Ji! Ethan Bennett was filled with mixed feelings. Zhang Ji was a miracle doctor worshipped by everyone in the medical field for two hundred years. He had superb medical skills and wrote many famous works. The most important thing was that he was kind and upright throughout his life. He was born in troubled times and was used to seeing the people being displaced and suffering from injuries and illnesses. So he was determined to practice medicine and save lives. For decades, he treated countless people without considering personal gain. He was recommended to be an official several times, but refused several times. Finally, he couldn't refuse anymore, so he actually examined the people in the lobby of the government office, and spent his whole life just to live for the people.
The name "JiSh!tang" of the Pei family was written by Pei Jingran, the grandfather of Ethan Bennett, in order to remind future generations to follow Zhang Ji's legacy and practice medicine to save the world throughout their lives.
However, more than two hundred years have passed. Ethan Bennett had no idea how capable the so-called "successor of Zhang Ji" was and how much responsibility he had. But he had heard of the reputation of "Fu Kangyuan". There was Baicaozhai in the north and Fu Kangyuan in the south. Fu Kangyuan started in Linchuan and opened branches in the eighteen cities of Jiangnan. As long as there was a prosperous city, there would be a plaque of his shop. Although there was no shortage of famous doctors, the consultation fees and medicine costs were quite expensive. It was not a place that the lower-class people could go to.
But it seems that the successor of Zhang Ji only passed on medical skills, but medical ethics is hard to come by. After all, how many Zhang Jis with both virtue and art can there be in the world? Even in the Pei family's JiSh!tang, only Ethan Bennett still insists on free clinics. Other doctors simply don't bother to do this. His father is becoming more and more like a businessman, and his stepmother is even more profit-driven.
Ethan Bennett still clasped his fists and said respectfully: "Hello, senior. The genius doctor Zhang Ji is our lifelong role model. I am lucky to meet Zhang Ji's successor today. I hope that the senior will give me some advice in the future."
Suddenly someone sneered, "Young people nowadays are really two-faced and don't know the rules at all. Everyone here is your senior. If you really wanted to learn from them, you would have come to their house in person. But now you have been here for more than ten days and you haven't even shown up. You can't even invite them to come."
Ethan Bennett looked up at the man, who had a square face but spoke in a sarcastic tone. He was sitting next to Xu Jianqing, and most likely he knew about the grudge between him and Xu Jianqing and was trying to embarrass him on purpose.
Ethan Bennett was a lowly person and did not bother to argue with him. He said tolerantly, "It is true that I was rude. I am young and ignorant. I apologize to all the seniors here."
Someone else tried to smooth things over, "That's not right, we are all friends, we should be more considerate of young people. But Xiao Pei, you are late for our first meeting, it would be a shame not to have a drink, right?"
Hearing this, Brandon Lee picked up the wine pot and poured a glass for Ethan Bennett. He touched his arm and whispered, "There's nothing I can do. Drink it."
Ethan Bennett thought there would always be one or two reasonable people at the table, but he didn't expect it to be like this. He thought for a long time, and had no choice but to pick up the wine glass and drink it all, and then said: "This glass of wine is an apology to everyone."
"Hahahaha." The whole table laughed. Someone placed five or six cups filled with wine in front of Ethan Bennett and said, "One cup of apology is not enough. Are you sincere?"
Even clay figures have their own temperaments. Ethan Bennett clenched his fists and said patiently, "I really can't drink much. We are guests here. If I get drunk, it will not only delay things, but also cause trouble for others. It is really not advisable to drink too much..."
As soon as Ethan Bennett finished speaking, the hall immediately became quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone seemed to be examining him with disdainful and unfriendly looks.
"What's the point of playing with a young boy?" Xu Jianqing said leisurely while holding a wine glass: "What can such a person who talks about morality and justice afford to play with? Forget it. We are all poisonous, but he is a gentleman."
Xu Jianqing's words caused everyone at the table to laugh in low voices. Ethan Bennett felt like a thorn in his back. He just wanted to stand up angrily, but he didn't want to expose his feelings.
Suddenly, someone came in from outside the door. Ethan Bennett saw that the person looked familiar but could not recognize him. Brandon Lee whispered, "Hey! It's someone from Xiyuan!"
"Xiyuan" is Blake Harrison's residence, and the person who came is the one who served Blake Harrison. Everyone was silent and looked at the person eagerly.
Someone at the table stood up, cupped his fists and said with a smile: "What do you want, young master? Is the master here to summon us?"
The man waved his hand and said, "I see that you doctors are in high spirits, so I'll send you some fine wine from our cellar. Our master hasn't given any instructions yet, so you just stay here and have a good time. If you need any help with food, clothing, or other expenses, please let me know."
Several people smiled and took the wine jars and said, "How could we be inconsiderate? Thank you for your hard work, young master..."
"You're welcome." The man looked around the table while speaking, looked at Ethan Bennett twice, and asked knowingly: "Who is Doctor Pei?"
Suddenly, everyone present turned their eyes to Ethan Bennett, with some doubt and temptation.
Ethan Bennett quickly stood up and said, "I am Ethan Bennett."
"Okay." The man smiled and said, "Little Doctor Pei, after dinner, go to the Zhaixing Tower in the West Garden and wait for your instructions."
Ethan Bennett was stunned for a moment. Before he could even respond, he felt the atmosphere on the table become frozen. The group of people who were playing and making noise just now became so quiet that even the breathing could be heard.
Ethan Bennett felt like a thorn in his side, and quickly clasped his fists and said, "I've finished my meal, I'll excuse myself now."
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