Opening Ceremony
The woman looked visibly disappointed, but she still accepted the note and bowed to express her gratitude.
Wang Chunsheng took a sip of tea and exclaimed, "I've really learned something new. How can a brothel and a medical clinic cooperate and achieve a win-win situation?"
"Mr. Wang, this is nothing. Yesterday, our young lady went to the East Market to recruit a pharmacist. Two of the three people didn't know any medicine. Our young lady asked the remaining person what he was good at, and he said that he was best at subtly tampering with medicine, which would turn a minor illness into a major one, making the patient unable to leave our clinic."
Wang Chunsheng shook his head and sighed inwardly, "The world is going to the dogs."
"Xueya, stop for now, take this young man to settle the bill at Zuixianlou."
Lin Yi's gaze swept subtly over the person behind the screen, then settled on the last of the three. "And you?"
The man was the most anxious, but he insisted on being the last to speak: "Miss Qiu, the batch of medicinal herbs you ordered in southern Anhui has arrived, but there's been a problem. The shopkeeper said he wants you to take a look."
It was nearly noon, just an hour before Xinglin Medical Clinic opened, but unfortunately, there was another problem with the medicinal herbs. Lin Yi hurriedly followed the pharmacy clerk out.
"Miss! I'll go prepare the carriage."
"The carriage is too slow." Lin Yi suddenly stopped, as if he had remembered something. "Young Marquis, could you give me a ride?"
Xie Chengnan neither agreed nor disagreed. He went to fetch the horse on his own.
"Young Master? When did you arrive?"
Xie Chengnan nimbly mounted his horse, and once settled, he extended his hand to Qiu Qing, saying, "Get on."
After Lin Yi grasped it, the hand slowly exerted force, pulling the person in front of him.
"Xueya, go to Zuixianlou. Guard Cang, please keep an eye on things for me."
"Don't worry, Miss."
This was Lin Yi's first time riding a horse, but she was anxious and worried about the batch of medicinal herbs, and for a moment she didn't care about being afraid.
Xie Chengnan wanted to tease her, but seeing her serious expression, he knew she was anxious, so he changed his words: "There are too many people on the street, so we can't walk fast. We'll be fine once we get past this street."
The two rode together, Xie Chengnan sitting behind her, his hands outstretched, holding the reins. It was a position where he held her close, so their voices were very close. Lin Yi could feel the warm breath from his lips brushing against her ear.
That initial impatience quickly dissipated, replaced by the nervousness of riding a horse for the first time.
The streets were noisy, but Lin Yi could only hear the sound of horses' hooves pounding in unison with his own heartbeat.
A long official road separated the east and west markets. Riding through the west market, just as Xie Chengnan had said, the road became much sparser.
"Giddy up!" Xie Chengnan flicked his wrist, the reins jingling on the horse's back, and the horse's hooves pounded even faster.
Amidst the jolting, Lin Yi reached out and braced herself against the horse's back. The soft yet frizzy mane felt magical to the touch; through the fur, she could almost feel the horse's strong muscles and bones beneath her palm.
A mix of nervousness and excitement rose within her at the same time.
The wind swept through the street, through the horses' manes, and then onto my face, ruffling my hair.
At that moment, Lin Yi felt as if she were free, as if the road beneath their feet led not to a small shop, but to an endless wilderness. On the other side of that wilderness lay her hometown and her place of belonging.
The horse galloped faster and faster, while the people behind her shielded her from half of the jolts.
Lin Yi suddenly wanted to see his face, and she did just that.
The young man saw no dazzling sunlight, only the road ahead; the official road appeared as a tiny dot to him. And on his face was a confident, triumphant smile.
He was just as dazzling. Lin Yi turned to look at him and suddenly became distracted.
The boy noticed the movement of the person in his arms, looked down to meet her gaze, and asked, "What's wrong?"
The words were easily torn apart by the wind, and those eyes held only her in them.
Lin Yi couldn't hear clearly, but she knew what he had asked. She turned her head and answered softly, "Nothing."
Xie Chengnan didn't hear him and raised his voice, asking, "What did you say?"
"I said, it's nothing!" Lin Yi shouted loudly.
It was really nothing; she just felt relieved. But after the relief, there was a slight sense of loss. He probably really didn't think it was anything.
"Miss Qiu, you've finally arrived!"
The pharmacy owner led Lin Yi straight to the medicine warehouse. "The batch of medicinal herbs you ordered arrived this morning. Yesterday, the heavy rain in the south of the city soaked them all. Take a look—" Xu Youtian lifted the curtain, revealing a pile of herbs scattered on the ground.
Lin Yi didn't even need to touch them; the herbs were dark in color and damp, spread out on the paper, making it clear at a glance that they were unusable.
"Although the boatman took precautions to waterproof it, the rain last night was just too heavy," Xu Youtian said regretfully.
Lin Yi asked him in a deep voice, "How much is left to use?"
"It's all wet, it's all here."
Lin Yi remained silent, lost in thought. Yesterday, the rain in Mingzhou was light, stopping after about half an hour, so she thought it wouldn't be a problem. Now everything was wet, and with the clinic's opening imminent, she didn't have time to find another pharmacy to renegotiate.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, the young shop assistant picked up a medicinal herb in a fawning manner, "It's almost dry. You see, it can still be used if you let it air dry. Just use it for now."
Xu Youtian raised his eyebrows and glared at him: "What do you know! Soaking these herbs in water weakens their medicinal properties by half, how can you use them?!"
The young waiter was taken aback and couldn't help but shrink back. "Then what do you suggest, sir?"
Xu Youtian wiped the sweat from his brow. What could he do? This was the first time in over ten years of working in the industry that he had encountered such a situation; all he could do was try his best to compensate his employer for their losses.
“Miss Qiu, this time we made a mistake in our arrangements. How about this, we will refund your deposit in full, and you can take any medicinal herbs from my shop that you think are useful.”
Those medicinal herbs were specially ordered from southern Anhui by Miss Qiu, who knew that Qiancaotang had connections, which is why she contacted him. The medicinal herbs from southern Anhui are of better quality, and the price is naturally higher. Xu Youtian could only grit his teeth and take the loss upon himself.
Xu Youtian is right. Not only are medicinal herbs prone to becoming damp and moldy after being soaked in water, but their medicinal properties are also greatly reduced. Using them to make medicine could, at best, ruin one's own reputation, and at worst, delay treatment and endanger lives. Lin Yi would never use them.
She originally wanted to create a unique medical clinic by using higher-quality medicinal materials. The soil in southern Anhui is fertile and the climate is suitable, resulting in the purest quality of the herbs grown there. This is why she chose Qiancaotang – a chain operation with branches throughout Anguo, which allows her to source the medicinal materials from southern Anhui that she needs.
If you were to purchase medicinal herbs from elsewhere, this wouldn't have this unique feature.
"I'll pay you the price. I'll take all the medicinal herbs from southern Anhui that you have in your shop." Lin Yi still wanted to try and negotiate.
“The medicinal herbs in southern Anhui are good, but the price is high. Few private households use them. Instead, they are mostly used by the imperial court. Therefore, my shop doesn’t keep many in stock… Your clinic has just opened. I wonder how business is…” Xu Youtian counted on his fingers, “It can probably last for a day or two.”
"One or two days..." One or two days may solve the immediate problem, but what about after that?
The worst thing a clinic can do is change the quality of medicine midway through its service. Medicinal herbs from southern Anhui need to be ordered at least seven days in advance, and even if shops send people to search for stock, they probably won't be able to find enough for five days. Is she really going to post a notice saying, "This shop is temporarily closed due to a shortage of medicinal herbs," right after opening?
"That's enough."
"Um?"
"One or two days should be enough. I'll figure out the rest." Xie Chengnan leaned against the doorpost with his arms crossed. He hadn't entered the room since earlier, only glancing in from outside, but now he readily agreed. Lin Yi was a little suspicious. Did he even know what they had been talking about all this time?
"I need a large quantity of medicinal herbs from southern Anhui. Do you have a way to get them?"
"Yes, there is. As luck would have it, I happen to know someone from the Anhui branch of Qiancaotang. Write down the names and dosages of the medicine, and it will be delivered to you first thing on the third day."
Hearing this, Lin Yi felt reassured. It would take at least three days to deliver the goods from southern Anhui to Mingzhou, not counting the time it would take to send a message, but since Xie Chengnan had guaranteed it, it would definitely be delivered on time.
The opening ceremony finally took place as scheduled in the afternoon.
This was Lin Yi's first business opening. He had planned to prepare well and hold a grand opening, but because of the special nature of the medical clinic industry, he did not set off firecrackers or gongs like a typical shop opening. He simply hung two lanterns and a couplet at the entrance and decorated the surrounding area with a few pots of flowers, which looked rather deserted.
But this neglect has completely disappeared as the sun gradually moves westward.
"Is this Xinglin Medical Clinic?" An elderly couple stood arm in arm at the door, peering out.
Lin Yi stood at the door to greet the guests, a perfectly timed smile on his face, polite yet genuine. "This is Xinglin Medical Clinic. Come in and have a look. Even if you're not sick, you can still have your pulse taken and checked. We're having a three-day free clinic as a grand opening promotion."
"See, I told you it was this place, it's been renamed."
"I wonder how good their medical skills are. I hope they don't end up like the last one."
"It's not a free clinic, just take a look, it's free."
"Let's go, let's go inside and take a look."
"Um... is this where I get the sachets?" a little girl asked timidly.
"It's here, on the cabinet to the left when you come in." Lin Yi smiled and pointed inside.
"Thanks."
...
Instead of fresh fruits, the clinic had tables set up with homemade loquat candy, cooling tea, gingerbread, and other healthy snacks, which were quite appropriate for the occasion.
With a loquat candy in his mouth, Xie Chengnan mumbled, "Your young lady is quite something, she's making quite a show of things."
"Of course! Our young lady has a real business mind!" Whenever her young lady was mentioned, Xueya would praise her without thinking, just like a fangirl.
Xie Chengnan asked cooperatively, "How so?"
“This is an invitation sent out by our young lady. Look at this, sir, how could this person not come?”
Xie Chengnan knew when he arrived in the morning that Qiu Qing had already sent out invitations to various restaurants and inns such as Zuixianlou, but he did not see the contents.
The name card didn't boast about his medical skills; it simply stated: "May 21st, after noon, Xinglin Medical Clinic on Guanglu West Street, all kinds of sachets are free to take!"
Below is a line of smaller print: Made by a renowned doctor, it can ward off evil spirits and ensure peace, calm the mind and aid sleep, refresh the spirit, and leave a fragrant scent with every step.
Xie Chengnan chuckled: "With so many people here, are all your young ladies being given away for free?"
"Send it."
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