Seventh Chen reined in his horse in front of Jiuling Hall, turning back to help Fang Jinxiu, but she had already jumped down.
"This place seems quite deserted," Seventh Chen commented, frowning again.
"A medical hall isn't a marketplace, it would be bad if it were crowded with customers," Fang Jinxiu replied.
Seventh Chen shrugged and said nothing more, and the two of them walked into the hall.
Inside, two workers were sitting together, eating melon seeds and chatting and laughing so absorbedly that they didn't notice the newcomers.
Fang Jinxiu also furrowed her brows slightly.
She had managed a money business before, and even when there were no customers, the workers always sat up straight.
Such lazy behavior from the workers could only prove one situation: the medical hall had always been quiet with hardly any business, or the owner didn't care and didn't run it seriously, thus everyone had become accustomed to it.
Could it really be failing?
Seventh Chen clucked his tongue twice and coughed.
Only then did the two workers look over.
"What is it?" one of the workers asked.
What a question!
What else could bring them to a medical hall? Seventh Chen frowned.
"Miss Jun..." he began.
But before he could finish, a voice came from the doorway.
"Miss, let's have this for lunch today, I bought a lot."
Liu'er.
That annoying voice was unforgettable.
"Sure," Miss Jun's voice responded.
Fang Jinxiu took a deep breath and turned around.
They looked at the servant and her mistress standing at the door.
They hadn't seen each other for several months, and at first glance, they looked both familiar and a bit strange.
"Jun..." Seventh Chen also started to smile, preparing to greet them.
But someone outside beat them to it.
"Miss Jun, Miss Jun." It was a woman's urgent call.
Miss Jun stopped and looked toward her.
She must be here for medical help—such urgency seemed to indicate they weren't totally out of business.
Seventh Chen and Fang Jinxiu stepped to the doorway, and the woman also approached Miss Jun.
"Miss Jun," she said with a hopeful look, "do you see any ominous signs in me?"
What the devil?
Seventh Chen and Fang Jinxiu widened their eyes.
Ominous signs?
Was she asking for a fortune-telling?
Seventh Chen looked up at the sign again; no mistake, it was indeed Jiuling Hall. Could it be that Jiuling Hall had stopped being a medical hall upon arriving in the capital?
Fang Jinxiu just rolled her eyes.
She knew there would be something odd about it.
.............
The backyard of Jiuling Hall became lively due to the arrival of Fang Jinxiu and Seventh Chen.
"Why are you walking so slowly?"
"The living quarters are ready; I personally cleaned them."
"Try this. It's a snack from the capital, you must never have tasted it."
Liu'er's voice kept ringing out, interspersed with Seventh Chen's responses. Miss Jun and Fang Jinxiu, however, said little.
"Shall we wash up first, take a rest?" Miss Jun asked.
"No need, I'm not tired," Fang Jinxiu replied.
The two exchanged gazes and fell silent again.
"Do you have any ledgers here that I need to check?" Fang Jinxiu spoke first, "Is there any business?"
Seventh Chen coughed softly from behind.
Don't start a meeting with such sentiment-damaging words.
It was hard enough to come here; to be sent away immediately wouldn't be good.
Miss Jun laughed.
"There is," she said.
As if to prove her words, a worker came from the front hall.
"Miss Jun, someone wants to buy Concentration Pills," he reported.
So there really was business.
Just sell the pills already, why even ask, were those two workers just for decoration?
Seventh Chen frowned.
"I'll have a look," he said.
The worker glanced at him, then at Miss Jun.
"Follow Young Master Chen's lead," Miss Jun said.
The worker nodded and followed Seventh Chen out.
"These pills are running low, Miss instructed not to sell more than three bottles a day, this is the last one for today," he told Seventh Chen.
If the pills are running low, just make more; what kind of business doesn't seize opportunities?
Was she making the pills herself? Was she too delicate and unwilling to work? It seems that a delicate Miss can't handle the hardships of business.
Seventh Chen walked to the front of the hall, where a decently dressed woman was waiting. She didn't recognize him but looked at him respectfully.
The people of the capital were well-behaved, which seventh Chen found satisfying.
"Big sister, you're out of luck, there's only one bottle left," he also said respectfully.
The woman's expression suddenly became frantic as she stepped forward and grabbed Seventh Chen's sleeve.
"You must sell it to me," she shouted.
Seventh Chen was startled.
What kind of medicine is this, an Immortal Pill? Is it necessary to act like this?
"Okay, okay, big sister, don't get excited," he steadied his mind and said, "There's one more bottle, and since you want it, naturally I will sell it to you."
The woman nodded happily.
"Go get it," Seventh Chen told his assistant.
The assistant obediently went to fetch the medicine, and the woman took out money from her sleeve.
"Here is the money for the medicine..." she handed it over respectfully.
It seemed to be quite a lot of money.
Seventh Chen looked at the silver banknote being handed over.
Buying medicine also requires using a silver banknote? People in the capital are really rich.
Does this need change?
The assistant brought the medicine, and Seventh Chen saw that it was a small bottle the size of a palm, not knowing how many pills were inside.
"These are Concentration Pills," the assistant said, "The cost is a thousand taels."
Seventh Chen didn't have any tea in his mouth, but he sputtered all the same.
He looked at the woman and the assistant in front of him with a face full of astonishment.
Just this, a small bottle, a thousand taels.
Are they selling Immortal Pills?
It was not until nightfall that Seventh Chen, still holding a lamp in the front hall, had not come out except to eat.
"What are you doing?" Fang Jinxiu came in from behind and asked.
Seventh Chen, standing in front of the tall medicine cabinet, was counting with his fingers and turned his head when he heard her.
"Jinxiu, have you looked at the ledger?" he asked in a low voice, ignoring her question.
Today Miss Jun had hosted a meal to refresh them from their journey. Because of Fang Jinxiu's status, Manager Liu did not come personally but sent two cooks instead, and the accommodations were all set up. After dinner, Miss Jun had given the ledger to Fang Jinxiu and then went off with Liu'er to make medicine. After being busy with that, they went to sleep without much interaction with them.
This was exactly what Fang Jinxiu preferred.
They really didn't have much to talk about.
"I've looked at it," Fang Jinxiu said.
"How is it?" Seventh Chen hastily asked, "Are we going to make a fortune?"
Fang Jinxiu sat down and stroked the table.
"The consultation fees are very high," she said, "But to say it's a fortune is not quite right. First, there aren't many transactions, and with the shop's expenses, the assistant's wages, and daily food and drink, it turns out to be quite a loss."
"The expenses are not important; we are definitely going to make a fortune here," Seventh Chen said, pointing at the medicine cabinets, "I've looked at all the prices of the medicines here. This isn't just a medical clinic; it's more like a rare treasure shop."
"You're talking nonsense again," Fang Jinxiu said.
"I'm not talking nonsense. Do you know how much this medicine costs?" Seventh Chen gestured around, the shock from selling a bottle of pills earlier not only hadn't dissipated but had grown even bigger, "Easily a thousand taels of silver each, these aren't even fully stocked yet. If they were, we really would be making a fortune."
Fang Jinxiu had looked over the ledger and naturally knew the prices of these pills.
They were indeed outrageous.
"Can these medicines miraculously resurrect the dead?" she looked at the medicine cabinet, puzzled, "Why are these people crazily spending so much money on medicine?"
"To exchange for a cup of incense ashes water from the temple, people throw in thousands and thousands for incense money," Fang Jinxiu said, tapping the table, and couldn't help but roll her eyes.
An ominous sign.
It wasn't about being sick; it was an ominous sign.
An ominous sign indicated a disaster in life, and treating life was of course much more expensive than treating illness.
This guy, when did he start playing a charlatan again?
"You shouldn't think like that," Seventh Chen disagreed, "Did she cure the illness?"
Of course, she cured them, otherwise there wouldn't be those three shocking amounts of consultation fees recorded in the ledger.
"It's just treating illness, not deceiving," Fang Jinxiu said.
"If she can't cure, it's deception; if she can cure, everyone is willing to be deceived by her," Seventh Chen said, staring at the medicine cabinet, his eyes shining, "This is really big business."
"I just hope the big business doesn't bring big trouble," Fang Jinxiu said.
"That's not the right way to think," Seventh Chen said, "In life, when dealing with people, we are always in trouble. Trouble won't avoid you just because you hide. With real skills, there's no fear of trouble."
Fang Jinxiu glared at him.
"This is really what you wished for," she said, "As for any grand ambitions, let's first get some sleep and talk later."
...............…
When it was bright and early, Imperial Physician Jiang entered the Imperial Hospital. As the head of the Imperial Hospital, he rarely treated people personally. There weren't many who could request his service; mostly, he heard his subordinates and disciples discuss medical cases and provided some guidance.
As usual, after discussing the medical cases, the subordinates went their separate ways, but Imperial Physician Jiang, sitting on his chair, always felt he had forgotten something.
He flipped through his medical records; the Empress Dowager and the empress had their routine consultations yesterday, and the medicines for the nobles in the palace had also been checked.
"Did I agree to treat someone at any household?" he asked his disciple.
The disciple shook his head.
"Recently, apart from Marquis Dingyuan's household, there hasn't been any," he said.
Marquis Dingyuan's household.
Imperial Physician Jiang remembered.
The illness of Marchioness Dingyuan needed another visit.
Considering the medication had been taken for a while, there should be some relief, and it was time to reassess the pulse and discuss further treatment.
But recently, no one from Marquis Dingyuan's household had come to urge him.
*****************************
A new month, seeking baseline monthly tickets.
Thank you to the Ice of the South for rewarding a hefty amount of silver.
Thank you to MD12 for rewarding a Spirit Beast Egg.
Thank you to Feng Rin for rewarding a Ling Jiu...
Currently, I can only see these rewards on the page because the damn backend is not loading again. When it recovers, I will update the missed reward list.
Thank you, everyone.