Chapter 122 Calm and peaceful. Last time I even got PTSD from all that...

The sensation caused by Zhang Xiu becoming the empress in "Back to the Ming Dynasty" in the newspapers lasted for a long time. Even after Yao Xiaoyu's new article was published, people did not shift their attention. The reason was simple: although Yang Shunxin's story was as smooth as ever, it was rather unremarkable compared to the previous stories.

Their family wasn't particularly poor or rich, their parents weren't particularly good or bad, and their lives weren't particularly busy or leisurely—just an ordinary life. But if they wanted to see the lives of ordinary people, they could just look at themselves in a basin of water; why bother buying newspapers?

Even the critics didn't seem to care much about Yang Shunxin. The newspapers published a few symbolic articles praising a small fish for having lost its talent, and then their attention turned to Zhang Xiu. But Yao Xiaoyu didn't care. Pi Kangxiu said that although Yang Shunxin's story wasn't as popular as the previous protagonists, the newspaper's sales hadn't dropped much.

That's enough.

Holding the forty-five silver dollars she had received, Yao Xiaoyu thought about how Yang Shunxin's story had been successfully published and her fee had increased to four yuan and fifty cents per thousand words. However, Pi Kangxiu had also secretly told her that the Novel Daily could only offer a maximum fee of five yuan for long stories, and that she should be prepared.

Yao Xiaoyu had already prepared herself mentally. Although she was inevitably a little disappointed, she was mostly happy. If the payment was five yuan per thousand words, she could get fifty yuan a week, which would be more than two thousand yuan a year. Adding royalties and some miscellaneous expenses, no wonder she was spending money so much, yet her suitcase was getting heavier and heavier. She couldn't spend it all, she simply couldn't spend it all.

As for "Yang Shunxin's Medical Practice"... she didn't expect Yang Shunxin to become an instant sensation. Yao Xiaoyu was even a little afraid of the story's initial success—modern medical disputes were already terrible enough, and she didn't expect the situation in this era to be any better. She didn't even dare to use the medical knowledge in the sample book as a selling point, even though they had been repeatedly verified by different doctors.

Yao Xiaoyu admits that she is very timid. In modern times, she has seen medical disputes where people throw tantrums and make a scene without knowing the facts. In this era, she has also seen families crying and screaming outside clinics, causing people to die. She does not want to go out one day and see someone rushing towards her with a knife, shouting that she is a murderer.

At Yao Xiaoyu's insistence, the beginning and end of each published story about Yang Shunxin emphasized that the medical knowledge contained therein was for reference only, and that one must see a doctor if one is sick. As she had expected, the story did not make much of a splash, which made Yao Xiaoyu breathe a sigh of relief as she looked at the flowchart of her plan.

Following the general trajectory of things, the knowledge points in Yang Shunxin's story should go through a series of processes: it seems interesting/makes some sense → doubt → simple trial/desperate measures → it really works! → after the secret is kept hidden/shared with relatives and friends/spread far and wide, it becomes a household tip for ordinary people.

Each process takes time, and given that different people have different personalities, Yao Xiaoyu estimates that the knowledge points that don't require much investment or effort will be rolled out on a large scale in about a month, while some of the more challenging ones will be tested briefly in about two months. As for gaining the trust of most people in Shanghai... Yao Xiaoyu doesn't want that day to come.

Because when such a thing happens, it means that many people have exhausted all other methods and can only gamble once, following the methods in the story—and Yao Xiaoyu has only seen such a large-scale all-or-nothing gamble in one scenario, which is an epidemic, specifically an epidemic with a highly contagious disease.

Ordinary people in this era already have it tough enough; there's no need to make things worse.

As the days went by, the attention of the little fish in the newspaper inevitably shifted to Yang Shunxin. However, perhaps because they were tired of the "open window theory," they became more tolerant of Yang Shunxin. Occasionally, a few articles about the little fish realizing its mistakes were even published in the newspaper. Some prophets even touted the virtuous and kind-hearted heroine of the next story.

Yao Xiaoyu ignored all the comments and focused solely on writing, racking her brains to integrate various pieces of knowledge with Yang Shunxin's story.

...

Xu Wenzhu was a doctor. One day, while she was out shopping, her apprentice brought her a copy of a daily novel newspaper. She had never been interested in this kind of newspaper, but the apprentice insisted that she take a look.

"This time, A Little Fish is writing a story about a doctor."

The young apprentice stared wide-eyed at Xu Wenzhu. She knew that Doctor Xu couldn't stand this expression of hers, but this trick couldn't be used too often. Now, as a trump card in a critical moment, it really came in handy.

"...I will read it."

Even if the person you brought back is a pain, you have to put up with it. Xu Wenzhu sighed inwardly at her bad luck and began to read the story with a critical eye. Monks can't stand articles about bald monks, doctors can't stand stories about doctors, and people in any profession can't stand writing about that profession. That's how people have always been.

Xu Wenzhu wasn't always like this. But when she saw the white rat spirit climbing a tree at night to collect moon sand to cure the scholar's illness, and the general taking the beauty to admire the placenta all over the mountains, her heart shattered. From then on, she lost all her filter for novels and stories, and developed the habit of not being able to read a story if she saw a fallacy in it.

It wouldn't have been a big deal if she had this problem, since most people in this world have quirks. However, when novels first became popular, the main contributors were bookish people who wrote with a little wine. Writing long, rambling, and pointless pieces was a minor problem. The key issue was that they were unwilling to look up anything they didn't know. They would just grab a pen and write quickly, as if it were a random thought.

They were carefree, but poor Xu Wenzhu read a book where a man with no arms was burying his head in his hands, and another where the protagonist cried out in regret why he was mute. Her minor ailment worsened, so she gave up reading those newspaper stories altogether, except for purely medical books. She only occasionally picked up some strange tales to read.

"Dr. Xu, you must see him."

The young apprentice outside was urging her on again. Xu Wenzhu tried to focus her gaze on the article, but she couldn't help turning her head away—no, the psychological trauma this author had left on her last time was too great, she just couldn't accept it!

The last work Xu Wenzhu saw by Yao Xiaoyu was "Back to the Ming Dynasty," which featured a scene where Zhang Xiu's family of three made a thousand pork buns, a thousand cabbage buns, and a thousand potato buns every day, and even started a punctual delivery service in the small town. This gave Xu Wenzhu, who already couldn't stand the flaws in the story, PTSD.

"Dr. Xu—"

The young apprentice was calling out like it was a death knell. Xu Wenzhu sighed, forcibly turned her head towards the newspaper, and strained her eyes, deciding that she would give up reading once she found a single error.

One line, two lines, three lines...

Xu Wenzhu looked at it again and again, and apart from the fact that she was really unsure whether the prescription inside would work, she couldn't find any flaws. Yang Shunxin's living environment and habits were exactly like those of a doctor's daughter.

Is this really an article written by the same person?

Xu Wenzhu still had doubts, but that didn't stop her from changing her opinion of the little fish. She also memorized the prescription and wondered when she could try making it. After all, the ingredients weren't anything valuable, and if it didn't work, it wouldn't cost more than a few copper coins. But if it did work, many people would be in luck.

The clinic was quiet in the afternoon. After finishing their work, the apprentices couldn't sit still, as if they had nails stuck to their butts. Xu Wenzhu was annoyed by this, so she took a few copper coins from each of them and chased them out.

"I just wander around this area. When guests come, I come back to entertain them. If I see a newsboy, I ask him to buy the first few issues of Yang Shunxin's story."

Xu Wenzhu said in a serious tone, as if what she said had nothing to do with "Yang Shunxin thought of what his father had said before and washed his hands before eating". The two children had indeed not thought of this. When they heard that they could go out to play and get money, they immediately jumped and ran away.

A Chaozhou-style stall recently opened nearby. The stall owner is extremely skilled at making deep-fried pork intestines. Not only are they not dirty at all, but they also have a perfect balance of crispy and savory flavors. She takes on even the smallest orders, so adults can buy more to enjoy with drinks, while children can buy just one copper coin to try. The stall owner will skewer the intestines with bamboo sticks and then dip them in her homemade sour and spicy powder. One bite is incredibly satisfying.

It's because the number of large intestines we can receive each day is limited. If you go to the stall later, you won't be able to buy any, but it's still early now!

The two left the house gleefully, but returned dejectedly. Xu Wenzhu was somewhat surprised, her mind already racing with thoughts of several little tyrants who had bullied her medicine boy.

"What's wrong?"

Xu Wenzhu asked gently, intending to repay evil with kindness as soon as she heard the culprit's name—by tying the person up, blindfolding them, and force-feeding them bitter herbs. If the person's body was not in a good condition, she would use other bitter herbs to ensure that everything they ate would taste bitter for a week!

The two children looked at each other and then burst into tears.

"Newspapers are so expensive!" After buying the newspapers that Xu Wenzhu wanted, they had no money left to buy fried pork intestines!

Xu Wenzhu was a little puzzled: weren't newspapers always one or two copper coins a copy? Not to mention that newspapers after the day's issue were usually bought by weight and used to paste on walls and windows.

This was true for other newspapers, but it was especially different for Fiction Daily, particularly when it published the story of A Little Fish. A Little Fish's works were so popular that Fiction Daily always sold out no matter how many copies it printed. Even if there were one or two leftovers, they would be bought up the next day or even a few days later at the original price or even a higher price.

Some savvy business people would buy several copies of a small fish artwork each time they saw it, hoarding them and waiting for the price to rise so they could make a little money. This practice has evolved to the point that, although "Yang Shunxin's Medical Practice" has been serialized for several issues, it already has a standard scalper price.

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Author's note: I finally decided to get my laptop repaired today. The keyboard keys were broken. I thought it would just be a matter of replacing two keys, but the model I bought online wasn't compatible, so I had to replace the whole keyboard. It took over eight hours. When I got home and tried pressing the spacebar, it wouldn't spring back! [pill]

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