"I bet he can slice at most two hundred and fifty pieces!"
"Haha, two hundred and fifty is too many."
Dong Yuanlang turned his head to respond to the young physician behind him, pointing at Wan Yunting, who was sitting at the slicing knife, "Him, at most two hundred pieces!"
This remark made all the young physicians present laugh. Wan Yunting hadn't even started slicing, and these people were already eager to mock him.
Jiang Yichun's old face was gloomy, while Weng Dehai looked smug. Only Gu Yuanbai looked at Wan Yunting with a meaningful smile!
Wan Yunting gripped the knife handle with his right hand, making two practice cuts. His technique was very clumsy, indicating he was a complete novice, which made everyone laugh even harder. Dong Yuanlang sneered, "Brother, you wouldn't happen to have never sliced Bai Shao before, would you?"
Wan Yunting nodded and smiled at them, saying, "It's my first time slicing."
Xu Yuanhang, standing nearby, stepped forward and instructed Wan Yunting with a smile, "It's okay, hold the knife like this, and place the Bai Shao on the blade like this. With each slice, you need to rotate the Bai Shao to adjust the thickness. Don't rush, take your time..."
"Okay, thanks."
Wan Yunting followed Xu Yuanhang's instructions, turned to him, and thanked him sincerely.
"Try it, slice one piece and let's see."
Xu Yuanhang stepped back, making a gesture as if he had transformed into a teacher in a classroom, with Wan Yunting as the student.
Wan Yunting nodded, then awkwardly pressed down the slicing knife, cutting a slice of Bai Shao. He lifted it and pressed down again, cutting another slice. His movements were very slow, a stark contrast to Xu Yuanhang's earlier skilled and rapid slicing.
"Just this?"
Dong Yuanlang immediately stepped forward, picked up a slice of Bai Shao that Wan Yunting had cut, held it up for everyone to see, and said with a loud sneer, "This thickness must be a millimeter. At this thickness, one inch of Bai Shao can yield at most one hundred and fifty pieces."
"Haha..."
Everyone burst into laughter, especially the young physicians, who pointed at Wan Yunting with mocking expressions.
Jiang Yichun's old face was grim. He hadn't expected Wan Yunting to be slicing Bai Shao for the first time.
"Old man Jiang, is this what you call giving opportunities to young people?"
Weng Dehai seized the opportunity, pointing at Wan Yunting and satirizing Jiang Yichun, "With him slicing such thick Bai Shao slices, if they were put into a decoction, it would take until tomorrow to fully extract the medicine."
"Haha..."
This remark made others laugh. Jiang Yichun's old face turned red with anger. He cast a fierce glance at Weng Dehai, but he was unable to refute.
Xu Yuanhang, standing nearby, saw how Wan Yunting was slicing and felt relieved. He turned to Gu Luotang, who was standing beside him with her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and said, "Actually, it's quite good for him to slice like this for the first time. With diligent practice, he'll become skilled in no time."
Hearing his intentionally encouraging words, Gu Luotang didn't respond. Instead, her gaze remained fixed on Wan Yunting, who was engrossed in slicing the Bai Shao. From his initial clumsy and slow strokes, by the fiftieth slice, his innate dexterity allowed him to learn anything very quickly. Thus, he soon mastered the rhythm and feel of slicing with the knife.
By the time he sliced the hundredth piece, the thickness of the Bai Shao slices had reached the normal thickness of Bai Shao slices sold in pharmacies.
After slicing one inch of Bai Shao, Wan Yunting looked up and smiled at Xu Yuanhang, "Let me try another one!"
Xu Yuanhang's expression faltered. Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao couldn't help but step forward and pick up the more than sixty slices of Bai Shao that Wan Yunting had just cut. They were surprised, "The thickness is very standard. If he could maintain this thickness, one inch of Bai Shao should yield two hundred and ninety slices!"
At this, Dong Yuanlang and the others were astonished. They immediately stepped forward and examined the last section of Bai Shao that Wan Yunting had sliced. Indeed, the thinness was worlds apart from what he had sliced earlier.
"Xiao Wan, are you sure this is your first time slicing?" Jiang Yichun was surprised.
"Yes, perhaps I learn things quickly."
Wan Yunting displayed a sincere, innocent smile of a good student, making everyone believe he was indeed slicing Bai Shao for the first time.
"Not bad, not bad. Little Xu, pick another piece of Bai Shao that has been properly soaked and let him try again."
The older generation of physicians like Gu Yuanbai also couldn't help but want to see what Wan Yunting, who was slicing Bai Shao for the first time, would achieve with his first piece.
"Oh, okay..."
Xu Yuanhang, who had just reacted, felt a bit uneasy.
After all, Wan Yunting's first Bai Shao slice had reached a thickness that exceeded the standard by the end, a thickness that most people couldn't achieve. This gave Xu Yuanhang a sense of crisis!
It made him suspect if this guy had intentionally faked being a first-time Bai Shao slicer.
Dong Yuanlang felt the same. So, he immediately followed Xu Yuanhang to the side to select those Bai Shao pieces that had been soaked in warm water. After exchanging a look, they picked out one that was even shorter than an inch by a millimeter! Moreover, the soaking water wasn't very good. They returned and handed it to Wan Yunting with a smile, saying, "This one hasn't been soaked very well. Why don't you try it first?"
Wan Yunting, holding the Bai Shao, pinched it with his fingers and found that it was indeed a bit dry.
Jiang Yichun expressed his displeasure, "Little Xu, why didn't you pick a properly soaked Bai Shao?"
Xu Yuanhang smiled helplessly, "Director Jiang, this batch of Bai Shao was soaked earlier. Should I soak a few more pieces again..."
"No need, this piece isn't a big problem. We're just slicing for fun anyway, no need to waste the medicinal materials."
Wan Yunting, holding the Bai Shao, smiled at Jiang Yichun and Xu Yuanhang. He then placed it on the blade, adjusted his posture, and prepared to slice.
Hearing this, Jiang Yichun had nothing more to say. Thus, the elder physicians like Gu Yuanbai and Weng Dehai, along with the younger physicians such as Gu Luotang, Qi Miaomiao, Dong Yuanlang, Xu Yuanhang, and Lin Xin, gathered around again to watch Wan Yunting slice his first piece, eager to see how many slices he would produce this time.
Gripping the handle of the slicing knife, Wan Yunting focused all his attention in the next moment, blocking out all surrounding noise, and began to slice the Bai Shao!
The first slice fell like a peach blossom petal blown down from a peach tree by the wind, descending slowly.
Following that, the second, third, and fourth slices drifted down in succession...
Dong Yuanlang couldn't help but step forward, pick up a slice of Bai Shao, and hold it up to his eyes. The thinness, almost as transparent as a cicada's wing, left him stunned on the spot.
Xu Yuanhang, who also picked up a slice, was slightly taken aback. Although his expression wasn't as obvious as Dong Yuanlang's, a tempest raged within his heart.
Because the Bai Shao slices Wan Yunting was cutting this time were too thin!
"Wow, Senior Sister, look, it's so thin."
Qi Miaomiao handed a slice of Bai Shao to Gu Luotang. Gu Luotang looked at it and nodded with a slight smile.
"Not bad, not bad. This is the first time I've seen such thin Bai Shao slices!"
Gu Yuanbai, Jiang Yichun, and the other elder physicians also held the Bai Shao slices that Wan Yunting had cut and nodded in praise.
Even Weng Dehai was speechless. His gaze towards Wan Yunting grew gloomier, and he felt even more resentful.
Because this kid had once again brought glory to Jiang Yichun.
Soon, Wan Yunting finished slicing the second piece of Bai Shao. Since he had been slicing quickly and no one was counting, he didn't know how many pieces he had cut.
"Let me count..."
Qi Miaomiao quickly stepped forward and quietly counted the Bai Shao slices.
"I estimate there should be over two hundred and ninety pieces!"
"More than that, the thinness of these slices is even thinner than what Brother Xu cut earlier!"
The young physicians behind them whispered amongst themselves, but their words still reached Xu Yuanhang, filling him with gloom and unease.
"Two hundred and ninety-eight pieces. Master, do you have another piece in your hand?"
After counting the Bai Shao slices, Qi Miaomiao turned and called out to Gu Yuanbai. Gu Yuanbai then smiled and handed over the Bai Shao slice he had been examining earlier. Qi Miaomiao called out again, "Does anyone else have one? That makes two hundred and ninety-nine pieces!"
"No, no..."
Everyone around shook their heads. However, Dong Yuanlang quickly crushed the Bai Shao slice in his hand into powder, a stiff smile on his face as he shook his head at Qi Miaomiao.