Fen Lin left disappointedly, and just as he was about to step out of the grand hall, he heard a courteous voice from up ahead: "Is this young master here for medical treatment?"
"Huh?" Fen Lin was taken aback, turning to look at him, a young man wearing luxurious clothes. He had a powerful aura yet seemed to be quite gentle.
Fen Lin didn't know him, "May I ask who you are...?"
The attendants recognized him and were about to bow, but were stopped by a look from the assistant-in-charge.
"Oh, I'm from Huichun Hall." The assistant-in-charge replied with a cheerful face, "Is there anything wrong with you, young master?"
Fen Lin shook his head: "No, I'm not sick, I came here on behalf of my classmate for consultation."
"May I ask your name, young master?"
"My name is Fen Lin." Fen Lin replied with a slight bow.
"My surname is Hu." The assistant-in-charge reciprocated with a bow.
"So you're Dr. Hu." When the man claimed to be from the medical hall, Fen Lin naturally assumed him to be one of the doctors here.
The assistant-in-charge didn't correct him, he just smiled and said, "So, what seems to be the problem with your classmate?"
Fen Lin sighed, "His leg was injured six months ago and several doctors couldn't find a cure. I thought only Dr. Zhang from the Medical Hall could heal him. But I heard that... Dr. Zhang is no longer coming to the Medical Hall."
"Who said he's not coming?" The assistant-in-charge coughed lightly and said, "He will be here, day after tomorrow!"
"Consultation fee..."
"It's a fixed price, 100 wen!"
Cough!
All the attendants in the room were choked up.
Fen Lin also choked: "One... one hundred wen?"
"Is it expensive?" The assistant-in-charge blinked, and quickly said, "I misspoke, it's ten wen!"
Fen Lin: "..."
The attendants: "..."
Even the daftest Fen Lin knew that medical treatment was expensive, let alone a consultation with Dr. Zhang from the Capital City. Not even a itinerant doctor from the countryside would do anything for just ten wen.
"Didn't they say that Dr. Zhang's out-of-hall consultation fee was ten taels?" He asked doubtfully.
The assistant-in-charge answered without batting an eye: "In-hall consultations are cheaper than out-of-hall."
"Cheaper... by that much?"
"Our medical hall has had some patient deaths, business isn't doing well, it's off-season!"
Fen Lin once again: "..."
The attendants once again: "..."
--
Fen Lin immediately went to the village and told Xiao Liulang about the consultation: "Consultation fee is only ten wen, and the cost of herbal medicine is separate. Their business is bad, I guess the cost of herbal medicine won't be too expensive."
Indeed, the medical hall's business had taken a hit, but to be this cheap was still unbelievable.
In high spirits, Fen Lin said: "I also asked shopkeeper Wang after that, and he said the same thing, there won't be any deception, you just wait. I have a day off at the end of the month, I'll accompany you then!"
As the date had been set, it seemed like it was really happening.
Three days later, the exam results were released. Gu Dashun came in second.
The candidates in this exam came from all over the country, and there were hundreds of them, including the children of wealthy families.They had had private tutors since they were young and had much better learning conditions than Gu Dashun. Considering this, Gu Dashun achieving second place was a grace to the Gu Family.
Especially since the examination papers were personally set by the head of the academy. The rumor in the academy was that the head of the academy was considering settling down and taking some of these examinees as his personal disciples.
Gu Dashun felt that his prospects were good.
"How did Liulang do on the exam?" Old Master Gu asked.
Gu Dashun smiled and said: "He also passed."
He also came in second, but he was second from the bottom.
Out of the one hundred accepted applicants, Xiao Liulang was ranked ninety-ninth.
Considering that Xiao Liulang had been left so far behind by him, Gu Dashun couldn't help but feel a bit proud. However, he simply said, "He hasn't been to private school for half a year, and he studied hard by himself at home. It's already impressive that he got this score."
"It took him such a long time to study so hard, but he almost didn't make it, which shows that academic achievement depends on talent. On this point, you are much stronger than Liulang." Old Master Gu rarely said such a long sentence. Originally, he didn't hold great expectations for Gu Dashun, but now that the results are out, he believes Gu Dashun will no doubt perform well in the autumn examination next year.
Old Master Gu was very happy and let his second son fetch two jin of pork belly from the town.
Today, it was the turn of the second branch of the family to cook. Mrs. Liao knew that most of the pork belly that was served would end up in Gu Dashun's stomach, so she sneakily hid two pieces in a jar.
"Mother, you're hiding meat!"
Gu Xiaoshun's sharp eyes spotted her.
Mrs. Liao was scared into dropping the jar and, turning around, she smacked Gu Xiaoshun once: "You! Keep your voice down! Why are you yelling!"
Gu Xiaoshun raised his eyebrows: "I want to eat meat."
"No!" Mrs. Liao turned away and tightly covered the jar.
Gu Xiaoshun huffed: "If you don't give it to me I'll tell Grandpa and Grandma that you're hiding meat!"
"You..." Mrs. Liao was so enraged that she clenched her fists. Other people's sons were there to bring blessings, but her son was here to annoy her.
Mrs. Liao knew that Gu Xiaoshun was capable of exposing her, reluctantly she opened the jar and cut a small piece for him.
Before Gu Xiaoshun could even taste it, it was gone: "Why only give me half a mouthful? There are two big pieces in the jar!"
"That's for Dashun!" Among her two sons, only Dashun was willing to study. Mrs. Liao was counting on Dashun to achieve something in the future so that she could bask in his glory. There was no hope for Xiaoshun. He was just a rascal and, as long as he didn't waste the family's wealth in the future, she would be grateful.
Gu Xiaoshun wanted to get his sister some meat, but he couldn't just grab the jar from his mother. While she was distracted, he lifted the lid of the pot, quickly grabbed a few steamed buns, and ran off!
"Little beast!" Mrs. Liao was furious.
Even the white flour steamed buns were a luxury, only Gu Dashun could eat them. The others could only eat the ones made of cornmeal.
Mrs. Liao chased after him with a stick, but Gu Xiaoshun was quick as a flash, and disappeared into thin air in an instant.
Gu Xiaoshun didn't stop running until he reached his sister's place, his hands red from the hot steamed buns.
"Sister!" He burst into the kitchen, but suddenly stopped in his tracks, as he smelled something.
He sniffed, "It smells so good, sis, what are you cooking?"
"Wild chicken."
She had hunted three wild chickens last time and sold two of them. She had kept this one for several more days before slaughtering it today.
"What are you holding?" Gu Jiao looked at his hands.
"Steamed buns." Gu Xiaoshun hung his head. He originally wanted to bring a little treat for his sister, but who would have guessed that her own place was already serving chicken. The few white steamed buns suddenly felt impotent...
Gu Jiao gave him a bowl to place the steamed buns in, and got a basin of cold water, "Your hands, put them in."
"Oh." Gu Xiaoshun didn't ask why, and obediently did as he was told. Once his hands were in the water, the pain immediately subsided.
"Have your meal here." Gu Jiao told him again.
"Huh?" Gu Xiaoshun was startled.
"I saved a bowl for you, and I was just thinking about how to deliver it. Now that you're here, it saves me a trip." As she spoke, Gu Jiao reached into the cupboard and took out a bowl of chicken, poured it back into the pot.
As Gu Xiaoshun looked at the bowl of chicken, he realized that his sister hadn't just made small talk because he showed up, she really meant to save him some food.
In that bowl, there was a complete chicken leg, he saw it all.
Suddenly, Gu Xiaoshun's heart felt a little sour.
He moved behind Gu Jiao, bending down to rest his forehead on her back, rubbing it gently, "Sis, why are you so nice? What if you are actually my real mother?"
Gu Jiao: "....."