“Why are you all in such a hurry?”
Facing the sarcastic remarks from Weng Dehai and his disciple, Jiang Yichun rolled his eyes at them.
However, he couldn't help but want to call Wan Yunting and ask why he hadn't arrived yet.
“Heh heh, young people can be a bit arrogant, but being too arrogant and complacent is excessive.” Weng Dehai chuckled sarcastically.
“Exactly, we arrived and prepared early, but look at him, he's putting on more airs than Chairman Gu. Does he think he's the main character of this conference and will make the final entrance!” Dong Yuanlang scoffed mockingly.
He was clearly saying this deliberately to make everyone mistake Wan Yunting for an arrogant and conceited person.
Jiang Yichun's old face showed displeasure, and he snorted, “As the master, so the disciple. With little skill, they resort to slander and defamation. What scoundrels!”
“You…”
“And you!”
Jiang Yichun then pointed unceremoniously at Weng Dehai’s nose and scolded, “Aren’t you just upset because young Wan cured President Fan’s daughter’s strange illness the other day, stealing your limelight? This can only be blamed on your inferior skills, Weng Dehai!”
“My inferior skills…”
This hit a nerve with Weng Dehai, and his old face instantly turned red. He pointed at Jiang Yichun, furious, “You old undead Jiang, didn't you also fail to cure President Fan’s daughter’s illness?”
“I admit my medical skills are not as good as young Wan’s, otherwise, why would I invite him to see President Fan’s daughter?”
Jiang Yichun readily admitted it, gave Weng Dehai a disdainful look, and sneered, “Unlike you, who at your age still relies on your seniority and puts on a show, only thinking about how to grab the spotlight. But what’s the result? Worse than a young person!”
“So I say, the future of our traditional Chinese medicine relies on young people. We should give them more opportunities, not always expect them to surpass our reputation and end up making a fool of themselves!”
“Haha, Director Jiang is right!”
A middle-aged man below laughed loudly in agreement, and others followed suit.
Because everyone knew that Jiang Yichun and Weng Dehai had a feud. Every time a conference was held, they would have a verbal spat.
But every time, Weng Dehai was at a disadvantage, so everyone was used to it and just laughed it off.
“You old undead Jiang, shut up…”
Weng Dehai was so enraged by shame and anger that his old face flushed and paled. He pointed at Jiang Yichun and roared, but he couldn't refute him.
“Alright, alright, Director Jiang, Vice President Weng, stop arguing.”
Immediately, people around them went to pull them apart and said, “It’s already nine o’clock, and the conference is about to start. Let’s call Chairman Gu to ask when he’ll arrive. Should we start the meeting first, to avoid everyone sitting here waiting?”
“Yes, hurry up and call him…”
Because in previous conferences, Gu Yuanbai had always arrived early and never been late.
Thus, Jiang Yichun and Weng Dehai ceased their quarrel. Jiang Yichun also took the opportunity to step aside, take out his phone, and call Wan Yunting to ask why he hadn't arrived yet.
“Chairman Gu is here!”
Just then, someone shouted.
Gu Yuanbai entered, leading Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, and Qi Miaomiao.
“Chairman Gu, you’ve arrived…”
Instantly, everyone in the hall stood up and cupped their fists in greeting to Gu Yuanbai, showing that Wan Yunting, who followed him, caused some confusion.
He looked so unfamiliar, could he be a new disciple of Gu Yuanbai?
However, Jiang Yichun and Weng Dehai recognized Wan Yunting and were puzzled why he came with Chairman Gu.
“Come, Yunting, you can sit here.”
Upon entering the hall, Gu Yuanbai pointed to an empty seat in the first row and invited Wan Yunting to sit. This stunned the surrounding physicians.
Although no one explicitly requested anyone to sit in that particular spot, everyone consciously left the first and second rows for the highly respected and famous senior physicians.
Because many young physicians also attended the conference, but they could only sit in the back seats.
But now, Gu Yuanbai invited Wan Yunting to sit in the first row, which immediately caused an uproar among all the young physicians, who started whispering and discussing.
Jiang Yichun came down, tugged at Wan Yunting, and asked, “Little Wan, why did you come with Chairman Gu?”
“Oh, we met on the way, so we came together.” Wan Yunting smiled.
Gu Yuanbai pointed at Jiang Yichun and said with a smile, “Old Jiang, you’ve struck gold this time!”
Jiang Yichun was surprised and asked, “What do you mean, Chairman Gu?”
Even Weng Dehai and the others were surprised. Why did Gu Yuanbai praise Wan Yunting so highly?
Was it just because he cured Fan Xingfa’s daughter’s strange illness? And the minor cold of the richest man Kang Hongwen’s mother?
“Alright, time is up, let’s start the meeting first.”
However, Gu Yuanbai didn’t elaborate. He waved his hands to everyone in the hall and then turned to go up.
Weng Dehai and the others couldn’t say anything more. They glared fiercely at Wan Yunting and hurried to follow.
“Chairman Gu asked you to sit here, Little Wan, so sit down.”
Jiang Yichun also said a word to Wan Yunting, then went up to his seat.
“Senior sister, let’s sit here too.”
Qi Miaomiao pulled Gu Luotang, and there were three empty seats by the front row.
“Luotang, you’re here.”
At this moment, a well-dressed young man walked over and said with a smile to Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao, “There are seats over there, why don’t you come with me?”
Seeing that the person was Xu Yuanhang, a teacher from the school, Gu Luotang slightly shook her head and pointed to the chair next to her, saying, “We’ll sit here.”
Wan Yunting had already sat down. Qi Miaomiao pulled Gu Luotang and had her sit in the chair to Wan Yunting’s right.
“Alright.”
Seeing this, Xu Yuanhang could only give up. However, as he turned, he cast a clearly unfriendly glance at Wan Yunting before leaving.
This made Wan Yunting raise an eyebrow. From Xu Yuanhang’s gaze at Gu Luotang, he knew he was a suitor!
But it was understandable. Gu Luotang, with her serene elegance, her beauty that could shame the moon and flowers, and her ethereal presence as if she were an immortal detached from the mortal world, would naturally be admired and pursued by men.
Let alone one Xu Yuanhang, even all the young physicians in the hall, seeing Wan Yunting sitting next to Gu Luotang, had eyes filled with envy and jealousy.
But Wan Yunting didn’t care about any of this. He turned to look to his left and realized that apart from himself, Gu Luotang, and Qi Miaomiao sitting in the front row, all the other young physicians were seated in the back!
Looking to his left, at a very elderly physician who was looking at him with contempt, Wan Yunting smiled helplessly.
It was understandable that Gu Luotang could sit in the front row, as she was recognized as a talented woman in the Chinese medicine community of Huadu.
But what was he, Wan Yunting, compared to them?
Could it be that just because he had become famous recently, he could sit as an equal with those senior experts?
“Hong Sheng hasn’t arrived yet?”
Gu Yuanbai, sitting above, glanced at the table next to him where a nameplate reading ‘Deng Hongsheng’ was placed, indicating he was the vice president of the Chinese Medicine University.
“Hongsheng greeted me. His wife’s illness has flared up, so he needs to look after her at home to prevent her from running out again…” Weng Dehai sighed and said.
Hearing this, Gu Yuanbai sighed and said no more. Then, he patted the microphone in front of him, and as the sound came through the speaker, he began, “Everyone, please be quiet. The 17th Chinese Medicine Conference officially begins.”
Immediately, everyone in the hall gradually quieted down.
“I’ve looked around, and there are many people participating in this conference,”
Gu Yuanbai looked at everyone present in the hall and said with a smile, “Especially the young faces, which makes me particularly gratified. This shows that more and more young people are beginning to inherit our traditional Chinese medicine…”
This opening speech evoked mixed feelings among the audience.
For young people like Wan Yunting, who were attending such a formal conference for the first time, they couldn’t help but feel excited.
Therefore, they all had serious expressions, like model students with bright eyes, looking at the group of influential figures like Gu Yuanbai on the stage…