Yeoju stared at Ganghyuk . She was a beauty unlike Changgweon, but she was surely his daughter, resembling him a lot .

Therefore, Ganghyuk even felt as if Changgweon was staring at him there .

"Do not look at me with those eyes . "

"Sir, you came to my room many times . "

"Yes, I did . "

It was her mistake if she wanted to bind him with that . He was ready to escape from the situation if not caught red handed .

"You must have seen the paintings that I drew . "

"Ah!"

"I don't want to boast about myself, but I am not too bad, right?"

"Not bad at all . "

As a matter of fact, her paintings were very good . In particular, she was really good at precision painting . He even wondered why she was not famous and known to him with such a skill .

"I would like to draw a painting of you . "

"Painting my examination?"

Ganghyuk looked around the room . As paintings were hanging on all the walls, he did not need to choose one direction .

'Painting… It is good . '

How long could he examine and operate alone? He needed to teach some fellows .

'I will do interesting and difficult ones then . '

He often let Dolseok do the operation in case of simple boil . The latter followed well and seemed to have a talent . The problem was when it came to the textbook, and a painting would help him .

"Painting…"

"Yes, sir . I drew my wound here . "

Yeoju gave him a small piece of paper . She had apparently drawn a painting when the pains had become tolerable . She expressed her lesion very well as a small hole and the shade . The sole looked just like that of a real foot .

'She caught the characteristics very well . ' With just black and white, she had described it very well .

"En… Professor will not be here, eh?" Then, it will probably not be really dangerous . It might draw attention when she traveled from home to the clinic . But ,there were talents who could help in her trip… such as Makbong .

"Okay . But, do not come every day . Come when I call, alright?"

"Thank you!" Yeoju showed her grat.i.tude by bowing slightly .

"Okay . We cannot stay here any longer, so let's go now . "

"Yes, sir . "

With that, Ganghyuk and Yeoni came out of the room, where Dolseok greeted him gladly .

"Sir, we may not be able to eat chicken . We need to hurry up . "

"We can go now . You eat chicken nearly every day . Why are you so greedy?"

Half of the chicken that Ganghyuk earned went into the stomach of Dolseok .

Additionally, he had dried beef and fish . Ganghyuk did not stop him, so he could eat nearly everything from the clinic . As he ate so well these days, even his face had become oily .

"Not every day . "

"Nearly every day… Anyway, let's go . I will have dinner together with father tonight . "

"Yes, yes . "

"Makbong, drop by the clinic on the way to the inn and get some for your fellows . "

"Do you want to give more to them? You are too generous . " Dolseok pursed his lips . Although it was Ganghyuk who earned it all through clinic work, Dolseok was still quite stingy .

"If we keep something for too long, it will go bad, and then n.o.body will be able to eat it . Makbong, do not hesitate to get the things from the clinic . "

"Thank you, sir . We owe you too much .

"No, if it were not for you, how I could wander like this? And, Yeoni needs to eat better . "

"Thank you . " Yeoni bowed in grat.i.tude . Her p.r.o.nunciation was not very clear, showing that her mouth had already watered at the prospect of the food .

It was natural, as these were the times when not just meat, but even rice was quite dear .

"Ok, we can part here then . "

"Yes, sir . . "

With that, Ganghyuk and Dolseok hurried their steps . Particularly, Dolseok walked very fast .

"Sir, come quickly . "

"Ok, ok . " However, Ganghyuk was quite relaxed . They said that Chilhyanggye was a tasty food, but to him, it was just a chicken . He only took it for the intake of protein .

'I would like to have fried chicken . ' Even without seasoning, he wanted fried chicken . When he thought of the savory juice of chicken, he even ended up drooling .

"Dolseok"

"Yes, sir?"

"Do we have oil?"

"Yes, we have a lot . The governor gave us the last time . "

"Oh! Then, let's fry a chicken . "

"Fry?" Dolseok did not understand at all .

Frying a chicken? Not grilling?

"Yes! I want to fry a chicken . "

"I think n.o.body has done that before . "

"I will do that . "

"Sir? No… Great master will be angry . "

"Why?"

"We have a kitchen servant . Don't go around the kitchen . "

He felt stiffed . Even though he was a n.o.bleman, there were too many things that he could not do .

'Law and face . '

Ganghyuk came back home with a sullen face . Due to that, Dolseok was not happy either . He was the master, anyway . He was somewhat curt, but he treated the latter very well . As a result, Dolseok always felt that he must pay back to Ganghyuk somehow .

Although, it was frankly ridiculous!

"Sir, I will fry . "

"Can you?"

"Let me know what I should do . "

"Then, I will draw out the process roughly . Just follow it . "

"Ok . You are very picky . "

"What?"

"No, no . . . We are here . " Dolseok said hurriedly as he looked up to the big gate . It was too high for the people on the horses to pa.s.s without getting off . It could be seen from the distance, reflecting the status of Baik family in Suwon .

These days, Ganghyuk was earning some big money, and the wealth added some more power to the family . Obviously, their wealth was rowing every day .

"Open the gate . " Dolseok shouted after taking in a deep breath . Everybody in the house knew his voice, even though there were many new servants . Hence, several men rushed to the gate and opened it promptly .

"Master, welcome home!"

"Why are you so late? Sir, please come this way . "

"Okay . Let's go . " Ganghyuk went into the house following Dolseok .

Although the yard of the clinic was quite large, it could not be compared with the yard of the house . And at this moment there were several iron pots in this huge yard .

Chickens were boiling in each iron pot, filling up the house with the typical smell .

Okseok ran through the pots and came to Ganghyuk . He looked very healthy, as if he did not have any illness at all .

"Sir, welcome home!"

Ganghyuk asked him while waving steam with his hands, "Is father in?"

"Yes, sir . He is in the main building . I will guide you there . "

"Okay . Dolseok, you can take a rest here . "

On the floor of the main building were Seungmun and Suns.h.i.+n . Ganghyuk felt very good on hearing laughter of two people from the distance . He went first to his father and greeted the latter .

"Father, I came back . "

"Oh, did you? Come up here . "

"Yes, sir . "

It seemed that they had drunk a lot . Suns.h.i.+n looked normal, but Seungmun's face was all red .

"You are a bit late . "

"Yes, sir . I had gone to examine the status of the daughter of professor Changgweon . "

"Yes, I heard of it . You did a good job! How could you treat a patient without seeing her? It is hard to imagine what level of knowledge and skills you have in medicine . "

Ganghyuk felt guilty about it, but he smiled without showing it on his face . "I was lucky . "

"No, no… Thanks to you, Changgweon can now go to Hyanggyo with a light mind . "

Yeoju was right; Changgweon might not able to come around here for some time .

"Then, what did you talk about?"

"We were talking about "Jeongs.h.i.+mjang" of the Daehak . "

Jeongs.h.i.+mjang?

What was that? He did not know what Seungmun was talking about . But, he could not say anything and just blink his eyes . Fortunately, Suns.h.i.+n answered almost immediately .

"There was a phrase that if one is angry, fearful, glad, or worried, one cannot stay on the righteous path . I told him that his mind was like this because of thinking about you . "

On the opposite side, Seungmun laughed to show his gladness .

"There was no time when I did not worry about you after you grew up . But nowadays, I recite this phrase day and night, and worry about you less, which has made things better . "

Although Ganghyuk did not understand it fully, it did not seem unfavorable to him . He said that he would worry about him less, which meant that he probably would not nag much .

Thinking this, Ganghyuk smiled as he sat between them . "I always told you not to worry about me . "

"Yes, you are right . It would be better if you study though . "

He mentioned the phrase from Daehak one minute ago, but he nagged again . Clearly, nothing can beat one's worry for children . He was a famous Confucian scholar, but even his Confucian phrase could not make him less worried .

'If I don't answer, I will be in trouble . '

When he investigated Seungmun's personal history, he found that the latter worked in Hongmungwan . As he used to give a lecture to the King, he made it a habit to teach people .

For those who are ready to learn like Suns.h.i.+n, he was a good teacher . But, Ganghyuk did not want to learn Confucianism .

Thus, he answered before Seungmun could add some more, "Yes, father . "

"Good! Anyway, all the servants and I had a good time thanks to you . "

After a while, Okseok and kitchen maid came inside along with tables . On each table was a a portable kitchen .

'The tradition of a chicken per person was developed long ago . '

It was no wonder, because the daily intake per person was quite huge .

"Let's have it . "

"Yes, sir . "

Ganghyuk ate while trying not to make any noise . There were many table etiquettes for n.o.blemen, and one of them was not to make any noise . At first, he did not know that and drank the soup while making some slight sound, only to be hit on the forehead with a spoon .

As he was eating slowly, he observed Seungmun as a doctor .

'En… He has a lot of insect bites . ' He was asked to take a bath, but he only washed his face . It was no wonder .

'It may be fine… Itchy, but… a mosquito bite would not kill a person I guess,' he thought . Ganghyuk then ate all the food without thinking anymore about it .

"Father, I will retire now . "

"Yes, read a book before going to bed . "

"Yes, sir . "

At this moment, Ganghyuk finally got to come back to his room . Dolseok was waiting for him here as he had ordered .

"Sir, would you like to fry now?"

"Ugh! They gave me too much . "

"I am full now as well . "

"Save the oil . We will fry in the clinic tomorrow . "

"Ah! Okay, sir . En? Okseok is coming here . "

"Is he?"

Okseok normally did not come to Ganghyuk's place . He was very busy looking after Seungmun . Additionally, he did not run around like that .

But, he was breathless when he arrived at Ganghyuk's place .

"Sir, sir!"

"What happened?"

"The great master is trembling a lot . "

1) Daehak - One of the Four Books of the Confucian Cla.s.sic Scriptures

Yeoju stared at Ganghyuk . She was a beauty unlike Changgweon, but she was surely his daughter, resembling him a lot . Therefore, Ganghyuk even felt as if Changgweon was staring at him there . Do not look at me with those eyes . Sir, you came to my room many times . Yes, I did . It was her mistake if she wanted to bind him with that . He was ready to escape from the situation if not caught red handed . You must have seen the paintings that I drew . Ah I don 39 t want to boast about myself, but I am not too bad, right Not bad at all . As a matter of fact, her paintings were very good . In particular, she was really good at precision painting . He even wondered why she was not famous and known to him with such a skill . I would like to draw a painting of you . Painting my examination Ganghyuk looked around the room . As paintings were hanging on all the walls, he did not need to choose one direction . 39 Painting It is good . 39 How long could he examine and operate alone He needed to teach some fellows . 39 I will do interesting and difficult ones then . 39 He often let Dolseok do the operation in case of simple boil . The latter followed well and seemed to have a talent . The problem was when it came to the textbook, and a painting would help him . Painting Yes, sir . I drew my wound here . Yeoju gave him a small piece of paper . She had apparently drawn a painting when the pains had become tolerable . She expressed her lesion very well as a small hole and the shade . The sole looked just like that of a real foot . 39 She caught the characteristics very well . 39 With just black and white, she had described it very well . En Professor will not be here, eh Then, it will probably not be really dangerous . It might draw attention when she traveled from home to the clinic . But ,there were talents who could help in her trip such as Makbong . Okay . But, do not come every day . Come when I call, alright Thank you Yeoju showed her grat.i.tude by bowing slightly . Okay . We cannot stay here any longer, so let 39 s go now . Yes, sir . With that, Ganghyuk and Yeoni came out of the room, where Dolseok greeted him gladly . Sir, we may not be able to eat chicken . We need to hurry up . We can go now . You eat chicken nearly every day . Why are you so greedy Half of the chicken that Ganghyuk earned went into the stomach of Dolseok . Additionally, he had dried beef and fish . Ganghyuk did not stop him, so he could eat nearly everything from the clinic . As he ate so well these days, even his face had become oily . Not every day . Nearly every day Anyway, let 39 s go . I will have dinner together with father tonight . Yes, yes . Makbong, drop by the clinic on the way to the inn and get some for your fellows . Do you want to give more to them You are too generous . Dolseok pursed his lips . Although it was Ganghyuk who earned it all through clinic work, Dolseok was still quite stingy . If we keep something for too long, it will go bad, and then n.o.body will be able to eat it . Makbong, do not hesitate to get the things from the clinic . Thank you, sir . We owe you too much . No, if it were not for you, how I could wander like this And, Yeoni needs to eat better . Thank you . Yeoni bowed in grat.i.tude . Her p.r.o.nunciation was not very clear, showing that her mouth had already watered at the prospect of the food . It was natural, as these were the times when not just meat, but even rice was quite dear . Ok, we can part here then . Yes, sir . . With that, Ganghyuk and Dolseok hurried their steps . Particularly, Dolseok walked very fast . Sir, come quickly . Ok, ok . However, Ganghyuk was quite relaxed . They said that Chilhyanggye was a tasty food, but to him, it was just a chicken . He only took it for the intake of protein . 39 I would like to have fried chicken . 39 Even without seasoning, he wanted fried chicken . When he thought of the savory juice of chicken, he even ended up drooling . Dolseok Yes, sir Do we have oil Yes, we have a lot . The governor gave us the last time . Oh Then, let 39 s fry a chicken . Fry Dolseok did not understand at all . Frying a chicken Not grilling Yes I want to fry a chicken . I think n.o.body has done that before . I will do that . Sir No Great master will be angry . Why We have a kitchen servant . Don 39 t go around the kitchen . He felt stiffed . Even though he was a n.o.bleman, there were too many things that he could not do . 39 Law and face . 39 Ganghyuk came back home with a sullen face . Due to that, Dolseok was not happy either . He was the master, anyway . He was somewhat curt, but he treated the latter very well . As a result, Dolseok always felt that he must pay back to Ganghyuk somehow . Although, it was frankly ridiculous Sir, I will fry . Can you Let me know what I should do . Then, I will draw out the process roughly . Just follow it . Ok . You are very picky . What No, no . . . We are here . Dolseok said hurriedly as he looked up to the big gate . It was too high for the people on the horses to pa.s.s without getting off . It could be seen from the distance, reflecting the status of Baik family in Suwon . These days, Ganghyuk was earning some big money, and the wealth added some more power to the family . Obviously, their wealth was rowing every day . Open the gate . Dolseok shouted after taking in a deep breath . Everybody in the house knew his voice, even though there were many new servants . Hence, several men rushed to the gate and opened it promptly . Master, welcome home Why are you so late Sir, please come this way . Okay . Let 39 s go . Ganghyuk went into the house following Dolseok . Although the yard of the clinic was quite large, it could not be compared with the yard of the house . And at this moment there were several iron pots in this huge yard . Chickens were boiling in each iron pot, filling up the house with the typical smell . Okseok ran through the pots and came to Ganghyuk . He looked very healthy, as if he did not have any illness at all . Sir, welcome home Ganghyuk asked him while waving steam with his hands, Is father in Yes, sir . He is in the main building . I will guide you there . Okay . Dolseok, you can take a rest here . On the floor of the main building were Seungmun and Suns.h.i.+n . Ganghyuk felt very good on hearing laughter of two people from the distance . He went first to his father and greeted the latter . Father, I came back . Oh, did you Come up here . Yes, sir . It seemed that they had drunk a lot . Suns.h.i.+n looked normal, but Seungmun 39 s face was all red . You are a bit late . Yes, sir . I had gone to examine the status of the daughter of professor Changgweon . Yes, I heard of it . You did a good job How could you treat a patient without seeing her It is hard to imagine what level of knowledge and skills you have in medicine . Ganghyuk felt guilty about it, but he smiled without showing it on his face . I was lucky . No, no Thanks to you, Changgweon can now go to Hyanggyo with a light mind . Yeoju was right Changgweon might not able to come around here for some time . Then, what did you talk about We were talking about Jeongs.h.i.+mjang of the Daehak . Jeongs.h.i.+mjang What was that He did not know what Seungmun was talking about . But, he could not say anything and just blink his eyes . Fortunately, Suns.h.i.+n answered almost immediately . There was a phrase that if one is angry, fearful, glad, or worried, one cannot stay on the righteous path . I told him that his mind was like this because of thinking about you . On the opposite side, Seungmun laughed to show his gladness . There was no time when I did not worry about you after you grew up . But nowadays, I recite this phrase day and night, and worry about you less, which has made things better . Although Ganghyuk did not understand it fully, it did not seem unfavorable to him . He said that he would worry about him less, which meant that he probably would not nag much . Thinking this, Ganghyuk smiled as he sat between them . I always told you not to worry about me . Yes, you are right . It would be better if you study though . He mentioned the phrase from Daehak one minute ago, but he nagged again . Clearly, nothing can beat one 39 s worry for children . He was a famous Confucian scholar, but even his Confucian phrase could not make him less worried . 39 If I don 39 t answer, I will be in trouble . 39 When he investigated Seungmun 39 s personal history, he found that the latter worked in Hongmungwan . As he used to give a lecture to the King, he made it a habit to teach people . For those who are ready to learn like Suns.h.i.+n, he was a good teacher . But, Ganghyuk did not want to learn Confucianism . Thus, he answered before Seungmun could add some more, Yes, father . Good Anyway, all the servants and I had a good time thanks to you . After a while, Okseok and kitchen maid came inside along with tables . On each table was a a portable kitchen . 39 The tradition of a chicken per person was developed long ago . 39 It was no wonder, because the daily intake per person was quite huge . Let 39 s have it . Yes, sir . Ganghyuk ate while trying not to make any noise . There were many table etiquettes for n.o.blemen, and one of them was not to make any noise . At first, he did not know that and drank the soup while making some slight sound, only to be hit on the forehead with a spoon . As he was eating slowly, he observed Seungmun as a doctor . 39 En He has a lot of insect bites . 39 He was asked to take a bath, but he only washed his face . It was no wonder . 39 It may be fine Itchy, but a mosquito bite would not kill a person I guess, 39 he thought . Ganghyuk then ate all the food without thinking anymore about it . Father, I will retire now . Yes, read a book before going to bed . Yes, sir . At this moment, Ganghyuk finally got to come back to his room . Dolseok was waiting for him here as he had ordered . Sir, would you like to fry now Ugh They gave me too much . I am full now as well . Save the oil . We will fry in the clinic tomorrow . Ah Okay, sir . En Okseok is coming here . Is he Okseok normally did not come to Ganghyuk 39 s place . He was very busy looking after Seungmun . Additionally, he did not run around like that . But, he was breathless when he arrived at Ganghyuk 39 s place . Sir, sir What happened The great master is trembling a lot . 1 Daehak One of the Four Books of the Confucian Cla.s.sic Scriptures