NOVPUBChapter 710: Chapter 710: How to Compare
(Chapter Four)
“Alright, I’ll take your bet,” Gu Jian’an readily agreed. “I’ll add the Bronze Figure as the wager, and you’ll use this Collection of Prescriptions.”
His agreement once again shocked everyone present.
Ouyang Feifei, Gu Changwei, Wu Hongwei, and Wang Tongshan, as well as Yang Qingyin, all thought that Gu Jian’an wouldn’t accept Luo Ziling’s proposition.
Gu Changwei and Wu Hongwei knew the value of the acupuncture bronze man, especially Gu Changwei, who was very clear about the status of this Bronze Figure in the Gu Family. It was like a family heirloom!
Gu Changwei remembered that as a child, he had once sneaked in to touch the Bronze Figure, only to be severely beaten by his usually affectionate grandfather.
Normally, there were dedicated people guarding the Bronze Figure, with 24-hour surveillance, and ordinary people found it difficult to even approach the place where it was kept. If talking in terms of monetary value, he felt the Bronze Figure was worth at least several tens of millions, and that was anservative estimate.
Wu Hongwei was also aware of the Bronze Figure’s value. Although it wasn’t an authentic piece from the Song Dynasty, nor was it a Ming Dynasty replica, judging by its appearance, it should have a history of several hundred years. Both in terms of cultural and practical value, it was substantial.
Prescriptions, although also quite valuable, were not nearly as preciousmpared to rare treasures.
And indeed, among those present, only Gu Jian’an and Luo Ziling knew the true value of the Collection of Prescriptions that Luo Liansheng hadmpiled.
Any single prescription from inside, if taken to a pharmaceuticalmpany,uld be exchanged for ansiderable amount of money.
Luo Ziling’s willingness tollaborate with Ouyang Feifei, obtaining vast rights with just a few prescriptions, clearly demonstrated this point.
In Luo Ziling’s eyes, the Collection of Prescriptionsmpiled by his grandfather definitely had greater practical usage valuempared to famous medical works of the past. After all, itrrected many of the mistakes made by predecessors andmbined the wisdom of numerous renowned medical experts from various dynasties, making it in Luo Ziling’s view, a priceless treasure.
Gu Jian’an also rgnized the value of this Collection of Prescriptions, so in his eyes, if the book Luo Ziling had was indeedmpiled by Luo Liansheng, then its value must be no less than that of the Bronze Figure he owned.
More importantly, Gu Jian’an believed that he was certainly more skilled in acupuncture than Luo Ziling, which is why he dared to stake such a heavy bet.
“Good,” Luo Zilinguldn’t help but smile after adding the new wager to the document he had written earlier, “Sir Gu is a straightforward person, then there’s no need for me to beurteous anymore. Let’s have ourmpetition.”
Compared to this Bronze Figure, whether to smash that plaque or not is of littlensequence.
“Grandfather, let mempete with Luo Ziling first,” Gu Changwei saw that Luo Ziling didn’t take him seriously at all, wanting to directly challenge his own grandfather. Annoyed, he didn’t wait for Gu Jian’an to respond and spoke up first: “Luo Ziling, I’llmpete with you first.”
Luo Ziling glanced sideways at Yang Qingyin, who stood to one side looking quite arrogant, and seeing that she seemed very interested, he immediately thought about humiliating Gu Changwei in front of her. He didn’t refuse the challenge, but he didn’t agree directly, either. Instead, he asked Gu Jian’an, “Old Sir Gu, you tell me, how shall wempare our skills? Shall we let me and your grandson have a match first?”
“After you and Chang Wei have a match, you can discuss a wager with him, a stake that both of you can accept. Whatever manner of gambling you two decide on, that’s for you to determine,” Gu Jian’an thought for a moment, then laid out all his ideas, “Afterward, you and I canmpete using blindfolded needle tests. Both of us will blindfold ourselves, and stick needles on the Copper Man. Whoever hits more acupuncture points wins. How about that?”
“Okay,” seeing that Gu Jian’an was not trying to cheat, Luo Ziling readily agreed.
The others didn’t fully understand what Gu Jian’an meant, but he immediately did.
Gu Jian’an intended for both of them to use needles while blindfolded to see whould hit more acupuncture points on the acupuncture bronze man.
Hearing Luo Ziling’s swift agreement, Wu Hongwei, who hadme along with Wang Tongshan, still feltmpelled to speak out for fairness, “I think this method ofmpetition is somewhat unfair to Student Ziling. After all, Old Sir Gu has practiced his acupuncture skills on this Copper Man many times and is very familiar with its structure, so he has an advantage.”
Hearing Wu Hongwei say this, Wang Tongshan also expressed a similar opinion and asked for Luo Ziling’s thoughts, hoping he would rnsider.
Both respected elders were already aware that there must be some old grudges between the Gu Family and the Luo Family’s previous generations. Today, when the two families met, their interactions were unpleasant, and they prepared tompete in acupuncture skills with a huge stake at risk. Both Wang Tongshan and Wu Hongwei understood that the stakes were enormously high, beyond their expectation.
Wu Hongwei and Gu Jian’an were old friends of more than a decade, and although Wang Tongshan was not very close to Gu Jian’an, they had interacted several times. Moreover, given Gu Jian’an’s somewhat renowned reputation in the Yanjing medical field, many people were clear about the kind of person this old man was. Condescending and full of himself, he looked down upon average people, treated others with aloofness, but he was also quite greedy for money and cared about his reputation.
Today, Gu Jian’an was willing to bet a family heirloom and lower himself to gamble on acupuncture skills with a young person, which showed that the stakes Luo Ziling had put forward were enormously significant and something Gu Jian’an desired to win. Knowing that Luo Ziling was willing to gamble, theyuldn’t obstruct him, but they hoped that thempetition would be fair and not disadvantageous to Luo Ziling.
They knew that Gu Jian’an had earlier displayed disdain, feeling that Luo Ziling, a man two generations his junior, was not worthy to be his opponent.
From Gu Jian’an’s change in attitude before and after, namely his initiative tompete with Luo Ziling using blindfolded techniques, they fully understood that Gu Jian’an’s intention was to take advantage of Luo Ziling’s situation.
Even though Wu Hongwei had a close relationship with Gu Jian’an, he still hoped that the match would be fair and that Luo Ziling wouldn’t be swindled.
“Thank you both for yourncern, but it’s okay,” Luo Ziling, ofurse, understood the implications of Wu Hongwei’s and Wang Tongshan’s words; he was also aware that using this Copper Man as the subject for acupuncture put him at a disadvantage.
Heuld imagine how many times Gu Jian’an had practiced his acupuncture skills on this Copper Man over the past years, and even Gu Changwei probably did the same. Yet, he was not intimidated, not worried in the slightest. After thanking the two elder teachers and telling Gu Jian’an that he accepted thenditions, he turned to Gu Changwei and asked, “I wonder, Mr. Luo, how you would like tompete?”
“We’ll set a one-minute time limit and see who can hit more acupuncture points,” Gu Changwei, knowing that using their family’s Copper Man tompete against Luo Ziling in acupuncture skill was indeed an advantage, but since his grandfather didn’t object and Ziling also accepted, he guiltlessly embraced the advantage. When Luo Ziling asked him about the wagering, he promptly replied, “There are six hundred and fifty-seven acupuncture points on the Copper Man. Within a minute, whoever hits therrect points more often wins. Can you accept that?” 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
“Ofurse, I can,” Luo Ziling still agreed readily, “Then please, both teachers and my friend here, act as the judges!”
