Chapter 318 The Bet of Three Incense Sticks

Two days later.

The story of Qian Hao kneeling at the gate of the compound, serving tea and admitting his mistake, spread like wildfire throughout the upper echelons of Beijing.

The sudden change of ownership of Derentang overnight has become a topic of conversation for many people.

Su Wantang ignored this and continued to eat and drink as usual, focusing on her pregnancy.

It wasn't until that morning that she put down her book and said to Lu Jingyan, who was peeling an apple for her, "Jingyan, I want to go and take a look at my new shop."

Lu Jingyan paused in his apple-peeling motion, the blade coming to a steady stop.

He didn't ask which shop it was, but said directly, "I'll have Qin Zheng prepare the car, and he'll go with you."

"Okay." Su Wantang smiled, took the apple he offered, took a bite, and found it crisp and sweet.

Half an hour later, a military green jeep discreetly parked at the back door of Derentang.

Qin Zheng got out of the car first, opened the car door, and carefully placed his arm on the roof of the car.

Su Wantang was dressed in men's clothing as usual. A large black trench coat covered her protruding belly, her long hair was tied up and hidden in her hat, and she wore a pair of large sunglasses, only revealing her small chin.

She exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay, just like the demeanor of "Mr. Bai Shu".

Sister Lan was already waiting at the back door. When she saw Su Wantang, she was excited and a little nervous. She quickly bowed and greeted her.

"Sir, you've arrived."

"Hmm." Su Wantang uttered a single syllable from her nose and stepped inside.

Qin Zheng followed her closely like a moving iron tower, his gaze sweeping around like a hawk's.

After passing through the backyard filled with medicinal herbs, you arrive at the main hall of the medicine shop.

Upon entering, Su Wantang paused in her steps.

Inside the main hall, dozens of people, from the accountant to the pharmacy assistant and the sweeping apprentice, stood in two neat rows. When she entered, they all bowed in unison.

"Welcome, sir!"

The voice was fairly loud, but the curiosity, scrutiny, and resentment in many people's eyes were impossible to hide.

Sister Lan had already sorted out the basic information about the shop and was about to report it when she noticed something extremely discordant in the crowd.

At a square table directly opposite the entrance, an elderly man with a goatee and wearing a gray long gown sat upright, drinking tea without even lifting his eyelids, as if he hadn't seen the person who came in.

Lan Jie's expression changed slightly. She quickly took two steps and whispered the introduction in Su Wantang's ear.

"Sir, this is Master He, the chief physician of our Derentang Pharmacy, a renowned pharmacist in Beijing. He... his medical skills are top-notch, but his temper is a bit strange."

The implication was that this was the store's pillar of strength, and not to be offended.

Before she could finish speaking, Master He slammed his teacup heavily on the table with a loud thud.

He finally raised his head, his cloudy yet piercing eyes staring straight at Su Wantang.

“Sister Lan, you don’t need to introduce me to a businessman. In my life, I, He, will only serve those with high medical skills, and I will not serve opportunists who rise to the top through scheming and trickery.”

These words were extremely blunt, implying that "Bai Shu" was unworthy of his position and had no right to be his employer.

The air in the lobby instantly fell silent, and the dozens of waiters didn't even dare to breathe.

Everyone knew that Master He had a bad temper, but no one expected him to be so outspoken, daring to openly criticize his new master.

Qin Zheng's face darkened. He stepped forward, releasing the murderous aura that seemed to have crawled out of a pile of corpses without reservation, heading straight for Master He.

Master He's face turned pale, and his hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, but he still stubbornly refused to back down.

"What? You're resorting to violence just because you can't win an argument? I'd like to see if you dare to beat this old man who's been practicing medicine for fifty years to death in broad daylight!"

Just as tensions were about to rise, Su Wantang raised a hand and gently placed it in front of Qin Zheng.

Qin Zheng instantly withdrew his imposing aura, took a half step back, and stood behind her again.

Bai Shu took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of cool and indifferent peach blossom eyes.

She walked up to Master He, her hoarse voice revealing neither joy nor anger.

"I understand Master He's rules."

"For doctors, skill comes first. How about we have a contest?"

Master He was taken aback when the young man not only didn't get angry, but instead issued a challenge. He paused for a moment, then sneered.

"Compare? How? By who has more money, or by who has the stronger fist?"

"Let's compare medical skills," Bai Shu said calmly.

These words sounded like the biggest joke to Master He. He looked Su Wantang up and down, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"You? A mere kid who hasn't even grown his first hair, dares to talk to me about medicine?"

"Whether they're a good match or not, we'll only know after the comparison." Bai Shu remained calm.

This composure, however, made Master He uneasy.

His eyes lit up, and an idea came to him.

"Fine! Since you're determined to humiliate yourself, then I'll grant your wish!"

He pointed towards the backyard, his voice suddenly rising in pitch.

"In the woodshed in the backyard, there was a patient lying there. I picked him up from the street three months ago. He was covered in pustules, had a persistent high fever, and was delirious. I tried hundreds of methods and examined him for three months, but I couldn't even find the root cause of his illness."

He stared at Su Wantang and said, word by word, "The bet is simple. If you can tell me the cause of his illness and come up with an effective treatment within three days, I, He, will kowtow to you in front of all the other guys and pledge allegiance to you. From then on, if you tell me to go east, I will never go west!"

“On the contrary,” he changed the subject, a smug look on his face.

"If you can't do that, get out of Derentang immediately and return the shop to the Qian family!"

These words caused an uproar in the room.

All the men were whispering and gossiping among themselves.

"Master He is pushing people to their deaths!"

"I know that patient. He's like a living dead person, his whole body is almost rotting away. Who would dare touch him?"

"Even Master He himself couldn't do it, how could this new employer possibly succeed?"

Lan Jie was sweating profusely with anxiety and came over to try to persuade her, but Bai Shu stopped her with a look.

Meanwhile, at Courtyard No. 1.

In the study, Lu Jingyan was frowning as he looked at a book titled "Encyclopedia of Childcare".

The pages are adorned with various smiling faces of infants and toddlers, accompanied by dense text covering topics such as "neonatal jaundice," "how to properly burp," and "the order of introducing complementary foods."

These things were more complex than any battle map he had ever seen.

He slammed the book shut in frustration and took out a palm-sized piece of boxwood and a carving knife from the drawer.

He specially asked someone to find this, wanting to carve a toy rocking horse for his unborn child by hand.

The man's long, strong fingers gripped the small carving knife with a slightly clumsy air. He was completely focused, carving each stroke with extreme patience.

Without warning, the tip of the knife slipped on the wood, and the sharp blade cut open his left index finger, causing blood to gush out immediately.

"hiss--"

Lu Jingyan subconsciously put his hand behind his back without even frowning.

Just then, Meng Wan walked in carrying a bowl of white fungus soup and immediately noticed his hand-hiding gesture and the drop of blood on the ground.

"Jingyan! What are you doing? Let me see your hands!"

Meng Wan quickly put down her bowl, took her son's hand and looked at it, feeling both heartache and exasperation.

"Look at you, how old are you, still acting like a child. You could command thousands of troops, why are you so picky about a block of wood?"

She deftly retrieved the first-aid kit from the cabinet beside her, cleaned his wounds, applied medicine, and bandaged them, all while muttering to herself.

“Taking care of a child is not like carving wood; it’s a million times more delicate. You’re already all flustered and overwhelmed, but you’ll be in for a world of trouble once the baby is born.”

Lu Jingyan listened to his mother's "lecture" without saying a word, but looked at his fingers, which were bandaged somewhat clumsily, with a gentle gaze.

He experienced it.

Raising children is not easy.

Inside Derentang.

Sister Lan had already retrieved the patient's medical record and presented it to him with both hands.

All eyes were on Bai Shu, waiting for her to take on this hot potato.

Master He crossed his arms, looking on with amusement.

Bai Shu took the thin few pages of paper, glanced at them, and calmly closed them.

She looked at Master He and, under everyone's gaze, slowly began to speak.

"Three days is too long."

"I only need three incense sticks."

Her cool voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

The room was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned by her earth-shattering words.

Three incense sticks? Are you kidding me!

Master He stared wide-eyed at her, pointing at her, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Bai Shu ignored everyone's reactions and turned to Sister Lan, instructing her:

"Prepare the needles."