"Whoa, two hundred ninety-nine slices? That's the same as Xiao Xu!"
Upon hearing the number, everyone around gasped.
Wan Yunting, a beginner, managed to slice two hundred ninety-nine pieces from his second white atractylodes root. This was a direct slap in the face to everyone who had mocked them earlier.
Xu Yuanhang, in particular, felt a burning sensation on his face at that moment.
Even though he didn't know Dong Yuanlang had already ground one slice of white atractylodes root into powder, when he was selecting the watered white atractylodes, the second root Wan Yunting sliced was clearly a millimeter shorter than the standard inch!
This meant that if it had been a standard one-inch white atractylodes root, Wan Yunting could have sliced three hundred pieces by now!
The most crucial point was that the root he was slicing now was a watered one, making it difficult to cut!
This striking contrast left Xu Yuanhang utterly humiliated in front of everyone.
After all, he had used a standard one-inch root and the best watered white atractylodes to achieve his two hundred ninety-nine slices.
But now, Wan Yunting, a novice at slicing white atractylodes, had surpassed him with his second attempt!
And most importantly, this happened right in front of Gu Luotang, which made it impossible for Xu Yuanhang not to feel resentful!
"Haha, Xiao Wan, you're amazing."
Jiang Yichun happily patted Wan Yunting's shoulder. "Your first slicing attempt yielded two hundred ninety-nine slices. You're practically a prodigy pharmacist!"
"Yes, he truly is a genius."
Even Gu Yuanbai didn't hesitate to offer Wan Yunting his affirmation and praise.
An elder named Sun Yutang, the heir of the Sun family's medical school from Leihua City, Lingnan Province, also nodded in approval. "With your talent, young friend, you'll surely surpass the First Blade Wang, Pharmacist Ding's, record of three hundred slices in time!"
"Haha, if old Ding knew, he'd come all the way to Huadu to snatch him away!" another elder physician chuckled.
"He can dream."
Jiang Yichun's old eyes narrowed, and he patted Wan Yunting's shoulder, scoffing at everyone. "Xiao Wan is with our Southern Traditional Chinese Medicine department. No one is going to take him!"
"It's just slicing white atractylodes root, after all."
Weng Dehai snorted dismissively, giving Jiang Yichun a sideways glance. "What's there to brag about? It's like someone's actually trying to steal him."
Jiang Yichun turned and glared at him, pointing at Dong Yuanlang. "If you have the guts, have your disciple give it a try."
"Director Jiang is joking. I can't slice like that..."
Dong Yuanlang said with an embarrassed smile, waving his hands repeatedly. He didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of everyone.
"Useless good-for-nothing, what use are you?"
This made Weng Dehai even angrier. He shot a fierce glare at his useless disciple, leaving Dong Yuanlang looking mortified and smiling wryly.
Meanwhile, Xu Yuanhang, standing aside, felt as if he had been forgotten by everyone. Especially when he saw his beloved Gu Luotang actively asking Wan Yunting for advice, which made Xu Yuanhang feel even more displeased.
Naturally sensing his resentful gaze, Wan Yunting couldn't help but smile, cupping his hands in deference. "Teacher Xu, I've conceded!"
This remark made Xu Yuanhang's face even more grim.
He recalled how he had just taken on a teacher's attitude to guide Wan Yunting in slicing white atractylodes root, and now, with his second attempt, Wan Yunting had sliced two hundred ninety-nine pieces. Compared to himself, who had been learning to slice medicinal herbs since childhood, he had been utterly defeated.
However, with Gu Yuanbai, Sun Yutang, and other elders present, Xu Yuanhang could only forcibly suppress his displeasure, forcing a smile onto his face. He cupped his hands in return, saying, "Doctor Wan has extraordinary talent. I am truly impressed."
"You flatter me. I just accidentally sliced this many."
Wan Yunting wore a disarmingly innocent and sincere smile, which almost made Xu Yuanhang spit out a mouthful of blood. His face was a picture of awkwardness.
Just as he was feeling uneasy in front of everyone, a sudden shout came from outside: "Crazy woman, what are you doing, ah..."
"Teacher Huiping, please stop! He didn't kill your son, don't hit, don't hit..."
"Oh no, Huiping has gotten out..."
Hearing the commotion outside, Jiang Yichun's expression changed.
"Let's go out and see..."
Gu Yuanbai quickly went out, followed by Jiang Yichun, Weng Dehai, and the others. This left Sun Yutang and the other visiting physicians confused, wondering what was happening.
Wan Yunting naturally followed Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao out. Outside, they saw a disheveled woman with her hair unbound, being held tightly by a man.
At the same time, several young physicians were sitting on the ground, one of them clutching his bleeding forehead, clearly having been hit by a stone thrown by this woman.
"Give me back my son, give me back my son..."
The woman, as if driven mad, was screaming at the young man, as if she wanted to devour him alive. The surrounding people were visibly frightened, pointing at the woman and discussing her, calling her crazy...
"Huiping, calm down. He's not the one who killed our son..."
Vice Principal Deng Hongsheng, holding his wife Xu Huiping tightly, was trying to placate and comfort her.
Gu Yuanbai and Jiang Yichun's group arrived. Weng Dehai further reprimanded, "Hongsheng, how could you let her get out and injure people? Look, everyone is terrified..."
"I'm so sorry, so sorry..."
Deng Hongsheng, tightly embracing his mentally unstable wife, quickly apologized to Gu Yuanbai and Sun Yutang. "It was my fault for not keeping a closer eye on her, letting her get out and injure someone. I'll take her back now."
"Hurry and go. Teacher Zhao, please help young Deng and escort Huiping back."
Gu Yuanbai asked two female teachers for assistance. He and Deng Hongsheng then led his wife back towards the school's faculty dormitory building.
"Yuanlang, go quickly and check on the injured people. Apologize to them immediately."
Weng Dehai immediately instructed Dong Yuanlang to check on the two injured visiting physicians, as the incident had truly frightened everyone.
"Old Weng, you take everyone to the cafeteria for lunch first. We'll go and check on Teacher Huiping."
Gu Yuanbai said to Weng Dehai.
"Alright."
Weng Dehai nodded and immediately signaled the visiting physicians to go to the cafeteria for lunch.
"Old Sun, I'll trouble you to come with us." Gu Yuanbai turned to the elder physician Sun Yutang.
Then, as if remembering something, he turned to Gu Luotang behind him. "You should come with us to see Teacher Huiping as well."
"Yes, Grandpa."
Gu Luotang nodded. Wan Yunting, standing beside her, felt Gu Yuanbai's gaze and understood that he was also inviting him to follow.
So everyone followed Deng Hongsheng and his wife, heading towards the teachers' dormitory building.
Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, and Qi Miaomiao walked side-by-side. They curiously asked why the woman had gone mad.
"Sigh, it's a long story..."
It turned out that more than a month ago, Vice Principal Deng Hongsheng's wife, Xu Huiping, had gone to pick up her son from kindergarten one afternoon. However, on the way home, a car accident occurred, and her five-year-old son was killed on the spot.
Since then, unable to bear the grief of her son's death, coupled with her constant yearning for him, Xu Huiping had gradually lost her mental faculties, eventually being diagnosed with a mental illness.
Consequently, Gu Yuanbai, Jiang Yichun, and others had treated her, prescribed medication, and Deng Hongsheng had even taken her to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. However, due to Xu Huiping's deep obsession with her son's death,
neither traditional Chinese medicine nor Western medicine had improved her mental condition; instead, it had worsened.
Just recently, she had run out and injured students and teachers, just like today.
Therefore, some teachers, unable to bear it any longer, suggested that Deng Hongsheng send her to a psychiatric hospital.
However, Deng Hongsheng couldn't bear to send his wife to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. So, he kept her confined at home, not allowing her to go out, and took care of her himself.
But just now, when he went downstairs to the cafeteria to get food, he might have forgotten to lock the door, which allowed Xu Huiping to escape and injure the young visiting physician with a stone, leading to this situation.
"That's what happened," Qi Miaomiao explained to Wan Yunting.
"Alas, Sister Xu is a pitiable soul. Her son's death was too devastating for her, which is why she became like this."
Speaking of this matter, Gu Luotang's eyes welled up. She had a very good relationship with Teacher Xu Huiping, and seeing her like this now made her feel deeply distressed.
What was once a happy family had been shattered by this incident, and anyone who saw it would feel heartache.