The flight from Hangzhou to Huadu City only takes a little over two hours. Around 1 PM, the plane carrying Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, and their group slowly landed at Huadu City Airport.
"This girl, I asked her to pick us up, but she said she's busy with a meeting..."
Fang Guowen, holding his phone, had just walked out of the airport. He originally wanted Fang Yanxi to drive over to pick them up. However, Fang Yanxi claimed she was in a meeting and suggested her secretary, Lin Xiaoqi, drive them. Fang Guowen refused, as he specifically wanted his daughter to pick them up!
"No need, Uncle Fang, we'll just take a taxi back."
Wan Yunting, carrying his own duffel bag and also Gu Luotang's suitcase, walked ahead with Lu Xiaodie and Qi Miaomiao. Fang Guowen, following behind, nodded and said, "Alright, Xiao Wan, remember to come home for dinner tonight."
"Okay, Uncle Fang."
Wan Yunting smiled and nodded. The group exited the airport and hailed two taxis. Fang Guowen took Hu Tianchi home first.
Meanwhile, Wan Yunting saw Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao back, and brought Lu Xiaodie along as well, taking a taxi directly to her home.
"I say, Old Fang, is this Xiao Wan really your future son-in-law?"
Hu Tianchi, sitting in the taxi, turned to Fang Guowen and said, "It's obvious to anyone, this Xiao Wan and that girl Luotang are the perfect match."
"Oh dear, I'm troubled by this matter too," Fang Guowen said, his face filled with melancholy. "I don't know what's going on with my daughter."
Hu Tianchi shook his head and smiled, "We men understand men the best. Moreover, for someone like Xiao Wan, who is both highly capable and handsome, there must be many women who admire and have feelings for him. Perhaps your daughter already knows this!"
"Alas, how could I not know." Fang Guowen gave him a sideways glance. After all, men understood men the best. Although Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang had been acting secretively these past few days, Fang Guowen could see through them at a glance, and he had chosen to remain silent and not expose them publicly. Just as Hu Tianchi said, every man, more or less, had some romantic entanglements outside. Fang Guowen himself was no exception back then. Therefore, the most important thing now was to get his daughter Fang Yanxi and Wan Yunting married as soon as possible! Only when they were married could he truly be at ease.
On Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang's side, they soon arrived at the entrance of Gu Yuanbai's residence. Lu Xiaodie, stepping out of the car, looked at the black tiled eaves, the carved beams, the two large lanterns hanging, and a plaque in the middle inscribed with "Gu Residence." The vermilion painted main gate, with wooden pillars on either side, also bore a couplet, exuding the aura of a true scholarly family.
"Wow, Sister Luotang, is this really your home?" Lu Xiaodie's eyes widened as she looked at the grand entrance to the mansion, exclaiming in surprise, "You're from a prominent family."
Gu Luotang, who was taking the suitcase from the car, smiled. Then, the vermilion main gate slowly opened, and the old butler, Lü Hong, walked out. He smiled and said, "Luotang, you're back. Give me your suitcase."
"No need, Grandpa Lü, we can carry it ourselves." Gu Luotang naturally wouldn't let the elderly old butler carry their luggage. She then asked, "Is my grandfather at home?"
"The Master is home, and lunch is ready, just waiting for you to return." Lü Hong glanced at Wan Yunting with kind eyes and said to them with a smile. Before they flew back, Gu Luotang had called her grandfather, Gu Yuanbai, and therefore invited Wan Yunting to have lunch at home as well.
"As expected of a scholarly family, this mansion is truly grand." Lu Xiaodie, also pulling her small suitcase, intended to stay in Huadu City for a few days. She was looking around Gu Luotang's home when she turned to Wan Yunting and smiled, "If this grand mansion were to be sold, it would be worth at least a few hundred million, right?"
Her words made both Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang laugh. Qi Miaomiao said, "Sister Lu, don't forget this is Huadu City. Not long ago, there was a wealthy outsider who took a fancy to my master's mansion and offered twelve hundred million. My master didn't even bat an eye and chased the wealthy person away."
"Heavens, twelve hundred million." Lu Xiaodie's eyes widened, and she then pouted and muttered, shaking her head with a sigh, "You people in Huadu City are all truly wealthy. There's no comparison."
Seeing an aunt from the mansion coming over, Gu Luotang asked her to take her and Miaomiao's suitcases back. She then directly led Wan Yunting and Lu Xiaodie towards the living room where they were going to eat. Gu Yuanbai, hearing their return, also came out of the living room and called out with a smile, "You're back."
"Yes, Grandpa..." Gu Luotang nodded with a smile. Qi Miaomiao went up and hugged Gu Yuanbai's old arm, happily saying, "Master, Brother Yunting and Sister took first and second place in the calligraphy competition..."
"Mm, I saw the news," Gu Yuanbai nodded and smiled.
It was then that Wan Yunting came forward, bowed slightly, and said politely, "Elder Gu, has anything untoward happened recently?"
Gu Yuanbai waved his hand and smiled, "Nothing major, just routine association matters. But why did you go for so long?"
Wan Yunting sighed and smiled, "Something happened in the mountains, which caused quite a delay."
Gu Yuanbai's eyebrows rose, "I heard Sima Boyong is also in your sect!"
Wan Yunting was startled and asked, "Elder Gu, how did you know?"
Gu Yuanbai replied, "A friend told me!"
Wan Yunting nodded. Seeing his granddaughter and the others present, Gu Yuanbai found it inconvenient to discuss these matters with Wan Yunting. He then pointed to Lu Xiaodie and asked, "Who is this girl?"
"Grandpa, this is a friend we met in Shaoxing, Lu Xiaodie. She's here in Huadu City to investigate the market, so she came back with us," Gu Luotang introduced.
Lu Xiaodie, standing beside Wan Yunting, also politely greeted Gu Yuanbai with a smile. "Hello, Grandpa."
Hearing this, Gu Yuanbai nodded and smiled, "Alright, don't all stand outside. Come in and eat."
Wan Yunting and Lu Xiaodie nodded and followed Gu Yuanbai and Gu Luotang into the dining living room. The dishes were already prepared on the dining table. Wan Yunting naturally didn't stand on ceremony, as it wasn't his first time here.
Lu Xiaodie, being naturally gregarious, sat with Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao for lunch without any reservations, occasionally commenting on how delicious the dishes from the Lingnan region were.
Wan Yunting sat with Gu Yuanbai, and their conversation naturally revolved around the Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. After all, he had left the Wuliang Daoist Temple last month, then went to Shaoxing to participate in the calligraphy competition, and today was December 10th. He had been away for almost a month. However, nothing significant had happened in the Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. But one thing that should be mentioned was that the paper and insights on treating palmoplantar keratoderma that Wan Yunting wrote before he left had caused a great stir in the Chinese medical community, as well as in the entire medical field. Although palmoplantar keratoderma is a rare and difficult disease with few cases, this was only within China. Globally, the number of patients suffering from palmoplantar keratoderma was not small. Therefore, Wan Yunting curing Zhang Ruijing's palmoplantar keratoderma was considered the first person in the current medical field to successfully treat it! In fact, Wan Yunting did not break the first instance. In the past, traditional Chinese medicine had prescriptions for treating palmoplantar keratoderma, a difficult disease, but those prescriptions were later lost. However, in the past, when Wan Yunting's master, Gongsun Xiuliang, was practicing medicine, he also encountered cases of palmoplantar keratoderma. He studied ancient prescriptions and eventually restored a prescription for treating palmoplantar keratoderma, which was passed down to Wan Yunting, who then cured Zhang Ruijing's palmoplantar keratoderma.
"So, Xiao Wan, you've brought great honor to our traditional Chinese medicine," Gu Yuanbai said, putting down his chopsticks and smiling at Wan Yunting. "Many dermatologists are contacting me, wanting to inquire about your prescription for treating palmoplantar keratoderma."
Wan Yunting, having almost finished his meal, also put down his chopsticks and smiled, "Actually, this prescription was also passed down to me by my master. He told me that in the past, our traditional Chinese medicine had ancient prescriptions to treat this palmoplantar keratoderma."
"Mm," Gu Yuanbai nodded. "Later, it was lost. I didn't expect your master to restore the ancient prescription. Then, does that mean the treatment method for skin laxity was also passed down by your master?"
Wan Yunting took a sip of tea and shook his head slightly, "Not entirely. The medicinal fumigation therapy was something I came up with."
Gu Yuanbai nodded and smiled, "That's great. When you cure Wenxia's skin laxity, it will truly bring great honor to our traditional Chinese medicine on the international stage."
Wan Yunting nodded and smiled, "I'll go see how she's recovering tomorrow."
"Good," Gu Yuanbai nodded. Then, he raised his eyebrows, "However, Xiao Wan, the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Conference is at the end of this month. Moreover, Sima Wentang personally called me the day before yesterday, wanting us, the Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association, to participate!"
Gu Luotang's pretty face stiffened. "Grandpa, isn't the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Conference hosted by the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Association? Why did their chairman invite us to participate?"
"Yes." Gu Yuanbai nodded. Every year, at the end of the year, the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Association would hold a National Traditional Chinese Medicine Conference, which served as a summary of the year. However, it had always been managed by people from the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. Logically speaking, Gu Yuanbai and Wan Yunting had already separated from the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Association and established the Lingnan School of Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. Sima Wentang should not have invited them to Beijing to attend the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Conference. But the day before yesterday, Sima Wentang personally called Gu Yuanbai and invited them to participate in this year's Traditional Chinese Medicine Conference normally. This made Gu Yuanbai unable to understand why Sima Wentang was doing this.
"I'm considering whether we should go or not!" Gu Yuanbai turned to Wan Yunting and said. He raised his eyebrows, unsure of what scheme Sima Wentang was up to now. Could it be that he intended to exert pressure on the Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association at the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Conference and accuse him in front of everyone?