“Yun Ting Ge, have some tea…”
Qi Miaomiao brought over a cup of tea. Wan Yunting thanked her and turned to look at Gu Yuanbai. His white hair had increased, and he looked much older, clearly worn out. Wan Yunting couldn't help but ask with concern, “How have you been, Old Gu?”
Gu Yuanbai took a sip of tea and waved his hand, saying, “It’s been too busy lately. We can talk more at home later. Let’s talk about you first, Xiao Wan…”
Wan Yunting’s heart sank. He could tell that Gu Yuanbai wasn't having a smooth time at the Chinese Medicine Association!
Wan Yunting briefly recounted what had happened to him in the Kunlun Mountains during this period. Since Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao also had to go to the education department, Gu Yuanbai stood up and smiled, “In that case, Xiao Wan, come over to my place tonight. We’ll have a good drink and chat.”
“Alright, Old Gu. Then I’ll accompany Luotang and Miaomiao to the education department to look at textbooks,” Wan Yunting replied with a smile.
“Go ahead.”
Gu Yuanbai nodded and saw the three of them off from his office. Wan Yunting waved goodbye and led Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao downstairs. As they were leaving, they encountered Liu He and Xue Xialan coming up the stairs. Liu He’s eyes lit up, and he greeted them enthusiastically, “Chairman Wan, you’re back.”
“Vice Chairman Liu, long time no see.”
Wan Yunting maintained a standard professional smile, shook hands with Liu He, and said, “How have you been lately?”
Liu He, dressed in a designer suit, waved his hand and sighed, “Chairman Wan, you have no idea. Ever since you resigned as chairman, Chairman Gu and I have been overwhelmed. I truly hope you can return to the association and continue to lead our work.”
Seeing Liu He put on a show of complaining and sighing, Qi Miaomiao, standing behind Wan Yunting, rolled her eyes and muttered softly, “Putting on an act…”
Gu Luotang, beside her, quickly nudged Qi Miaomiao, telling her to be quiet.
Wan Yunting smiled and said, “Vice Chairman Liu, you are so capable. In the future, you will surely lead traditional Chinese medicine towards revival and great development.”
Liu He nodded. Although he appeared amiable, his inherent arrogance and conceit were subtly revealed in his eyes.
Especially now, facing Wan Yunting, Liu He no longer needed to conceal his pretense. He smiled and said, “Thank you for your affirmation, Brother Wan. While my abilities may not match yours, as long as I work diligently, I believe I will surely bring about the revival and great development of traditional Chinese medicine.”
Liu He’s words were a veiled jab at Wan Yunting, implying that he hadn't been dedicated to the affairs of the Chinese Medicine Association in the past!
Wan Yunting smiled, of course he understood the hidden barbs in Liu He’s words, but he wondered why Liu He was targeting him now.
“Vice Chairman Liu, we still need to go to the education department, so we’ll be leaving now,” Gu Luotang said.
“Alright.”
Liu He and Xue Xialan stepped aside, allowing Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, and the others to go downstairs. Liu He smiled and said, “Brother Wan, please come back and visit often in the future.”
“Alright, as long as your people don’t stop me from coming in,” Wan Yunting replied with a forced smile, nodding, and then left with Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao.
After they brushed past him, Liu He’s expression instantly changed. He snorted coldly and led Xue Xialan upstairs…
Wan Yunting drove Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao out of the association building and back into the car. Gu Luotang sat in the passenger seat, and Qi Miaomiao sat in the back. The three of them drove towards the Ministry of Education. Wan Yunting raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but ask, “Why is Liu He acting like he’s targeting me? I don’t think I’ve offended him, have I?”
Gu Luotang said, “It’s probably about the Traditional Medicine Alliance Conference!”
Wan Yunting’s expression froze. He turned to look at her and said, “Traditional Medicine Alliance Conference? Have the representatives from those countries arrived in China yet?”
“Yes.”
Gu Luotang nodded, then explained that a while ago, the presidents and chairmen of the medical associations from Country H and the Island Nation came to the capital to convene the Traditional Medicine Alliance Conference. They discovered that Wan Yunting had already been removed as chairman of the Chinese Medicine Association. Later, Liu He wanted to succeed Wan Yunting as the chairman of the alliance but was refused.
“I think he’s targeting you, Yun Ting Ge, because of this,” Qi Miaomiao, sitting in the back, leaned forward and said to Wan Yunting, who was driving.
Gu Luotang, in the passenger seat, also nodded. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she added, “Since you left the association, Liu He has been forming factions within the association, weakening Grandpa’s influence. Some people even want Grandpa to step down quickly so that Liu He can officially become the chairman of the Chinese Medicine Association!”
“There’s such a thing?”
Wan Yunting was shocked to hear this. No wonder he felt Gu Yuanbai looked so much older when he saw him earlier. So, such things were happening within the Chinese Medicine Association.
“So, is this xenophobia?” Wan Yunting asked Gu Luotang, turning to look at her.
Gu Luotang’s pretty face was solemn. She nodded and said, “They all think we’re not from the capital and that it’s inappropriate for Grandpa to be the chairman of the Chinese Medicine Association!”
“Ridiculous, truly ridiculous…”
Hearing this, Wan Yunting’s eyes widened in anger, his face full of indignation. He couldn’t help but curse, “What a bunch of ungrateful wretches.”
“You can say that again,” Qi Miaomiao said indignantly, “Now, most of the association is filled with Liu He’s relatives. For example, Director Liu Yong, who blocked you earlier, was arranged to be here by Liu He. It has corrupted the entire atmosphere of the association.”
“Many people are also privately discussing Master. Even when Master makes a decision, the subordinates don’t listen. They are trying to sideline Master!”
Gu Luotang sighed, “That’s why Grandpa has been very tired lately.”
Wan Yunting’s expression grew increasingly serious. He never expected such serious internal issues to arise within the Chinese Medicine Association. It seemed he would have a good chat with Gu Yuanbai about this matter tonight…
At the Ministry of Education in the capital, Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, and Qi Miaomiao inspected the Chinese medicine textbooks. They were received by the Deputy Manager of the Ministry of Education, Li Liang. “Teacher Gu, Teacher Qi, and Mr. Wan, why are you here as well?”
Wan Yunting shook hands with Deputy Manager Li and smiled, “Just passing by to take a look.”
“Welcome, welcome.”
Li Liang, middle-aged and obsequious, was clearly a seasoned official. His eyes were only on Wan Yunting, the future successor of the Ouyang family, completely disregarding Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao.
“Deputy Manager Li, the textbooks are fine,” Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao told Li Liang after examining them. “Please arrange for someone to deliver the textbooks to the schools.”
“Certainly, Teacher Gu. I will arrange for someone to deliver these textbooks shortly,” Li Liang said with a smile. Then he asked Wan Yunting, “Mr. Wan, do you have any free time this evening? Our General Manager would like to invite you to a meal.”
Knowing Li Liang’s intentions, Wan Yunting smiled and declined, “Your General Manager is too kind, but I already have plans tonight. Perhaps another day.”
Seeing this, Li Liang understood and nodded obsequiously, “Yes, yes, yes. We will make arrangements whenever Mr. Wan is free.”
Wan Yunting nodded, exchanged a look with Gu Luotang, bid farewell to Li Liang, and the three of them drove directly to Jingfu Primary School…
Schools generally started in September. Jingfu Primary School was a key primary school in the capital and one of the schools involved in the reform of Chinese medicine education. Starting from the third grade, Chinese medicine was added as a subject. Gu Luotang, Qi Miaomiao, Song Sinan, and Shen Yingrui all served as Chinese medicine teachers at this school.
“Brother Wan, long time no see.”
Shen Yingrui and Song Sinan were very happy to see Wan Yunting.
“Yes, how have you both been?” Wan Yunting shook hands with Shen Yingrui and smiled at Song Sinan, asking.
“We’re doing well. Besides teaching at school, we also hold positions and help out at the association,” Shen Yingrui said with a smile.
Wan Yunting nodded with a smile and said, “Let’s gather everyone another day.”
“No problem, I’ll let everyone know in the group later,” Shen Yingrui replied with a smile. He chatted with Wan Yunting for a while longer until they went to class.
Gu Luotang held a new Chinese medicine textbook and smiled, “Yun Ting Ge, I’m going to class now. Do you and Miaomiao want to listen?”
“Sure.”
Wan Yunting smiled and said, “It’s been a while since I attended a class. I’m quite nostalgic for when I used to teach at Xingyao Primary School in Huadu City.”
Speaking of this, Wan Yunting thought of Ruan Xingwen and her daughter Song Moyi. He hadn’t been in touch with them for months and wondered how they were doing now.
Wan Yunting and Qi Miaomiao followed Gu Luotang to Class 8 of the third grade. The children were chattering noisily one moment, but the next second they saw their teacher enter, they immediately quieted down. They stood up and shouted to Gu Luotang standing on the podium, “Good morning, Teacher Gu…”
Gu Luotang, standing on the podium, was elegant and graceful, with a gentle and moving smile. She put down her textbook and said with a smile, “Good morning, students. Let’s begin the lesson. Open to page eight, today we will discuss…”
Wan Yunting and Qi Miaomiao brought stools and sat at the back of the classroom, next to two children each, listening to Gu Luotang lecture. It reminded him of when he used to lecture in the classroom, which was quite a nostalgic feeling.
A primary school student next to Wan Yunting dropped their Chinese textbook. He bent down to pick it up and casually flipped it open. He glanced at the third-grade Chinese textbook, and an illustration caught his attention. Wan Yunting looked closely at the depiction of the children in the illustration, which gave him a very eerie feeling!
The children in these illustrations were depicted with strange appearances. Wan Yunting frowned as he looked at them. His first impression of these illustrated children was "Down syndrome," giving him a very uncomfortable feeling.
“Miaomiao, look at this illustration.”
Wan Yunting handed the textbook to Qi Miaomiao, who was sitting beside him, and asked her to also look at the appearance of the children drawn in the illustration, saying, “Doesn’t it make you uncomfortable?”
Qi Miaomiao also looked at the illustration and was startled. She said, “Aren’t these drawn to be patients with Down syndrome?”
Wan Yunting raised an eyebrow and said, “There’s a big problem with this illustration.”
Qi Miaomiao also nodded and said, “The illustrations in last semester’s textbooks weren’t like this at all, and they were drawn very cutely. Why are the illustrations in this semester’s Chinese textbooks drawn so bizarrely? Who drew them?”
Wan Yunting continued to look through the textbook and saw the names of the responsible editor at the back: Li Gui, and the chief editors Cao Yun and Chen Wenxuan!
“These two are the chief editors.”
Wan Yunting pointed to the two names listed under chief editor. Qi Miaomiao quickly borrowed math, English, and other textbooks from the children and flipped through them with Wan Yunting to see if there were any problems with the illustrations.
They discovered that the illustrations in the math textbook also had issues. Not only were the children’s appearances strange, but even their private parts were depicted very prominently, giving a vulgar and uncomfortable impression. Even the content had issues with distorting right and wrong.
This made Wan Yunting feel extremely uncomfortable. He said, “I didn’t expect some people’s influence to have already infiltrated the textbooks for our next generation of children. This is cultural invasion!”