Grandpa looked smug as he talked about all this.
But after hearing the names of the Chinese medicinal herbs Grandpa listed, I felt a little awkward.
I studied medicine, after all, and had minored in traditional Chinese medicinal theory.
Every one of those herbs Grandpa mentioned was an aphrodisiac. No wonder our blood and qi had become so vigorous after drinking it.
If a young boy drank that, he would definitely get a nosebleed...
Still, the proportions and formula for that medicinal wine had clearly been well made.
After drinking it, aside from our vigorous blood and qi, we had genuinely been nourished and replenished. It was not merely a temporary, superficial surge.
Grandpa did not seem inclined to say more, so I did not press him.
We had fish for lunch. The fish was so big that it was made into five dishes.
Fish head soup, braised fish, boiled fish in spicy broth, pickled cabbage fish, spicy fish ribs, plus some cured meat and side dishes. The table was completely full.
As soon as we sat down, we each downed half a bowl of infused liquor.
This time, Grandpa did not need to urge anyone to drink.
Grandpa was all smiles, a very kind and gentle old man—apart from being so energetic and fond of drinking.
Otherwise, he was exactly like any other elderly person left behind in the village...
But after spending the past two days with him, I felt that my grandpa was both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar.
The reason for this inexplicable feeling
was that after coming back, I had learned things I had never known during the previous twenty years.
I already knew that Grandpa had once made his way around the Shanghai Bund and transported cargo by boat along the river.
But over the