Praise to Death
Lin Yi tensed up for a moment, then relaxed.
In broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of everyone, I figured she wouldn't do anything outrageous; at most, she'd just make a few sarcastic remarks. I'd just have to bear with it and not hold it against her.
However, Lu Yanran had learned her lesson and was no longer as arrogant and reckless as before. She didn't choose to come when the store was crowded at the beginning of its opening; instead, she chose an ordinary day, so if anything happened, it would just be a natural accident.
At that moment, Lin Yi's mind raced, considering many possibilities—how she would trip her up if she were Lu Yanran.
He remained outwardly calm and asked, "Miss Lu, what brings you here?"
Lu Yanran seemed quite frank: "I've just been feeling unwell lately, and I'm extremely tired. I heard that your clinic, Qingye, has opened, with renowned doctors on duty and Uncle Qiu as a guarantor. I figured your medical skills must be exceptional, so I came to get some treatment."
“Since you’re here for a consultation, let’s follow the rules. Miss Lu, please turn left upon entering and take a number at the counter.” Lin stepped aside to invite them in.
The maidservant from the Minister's residence grumbled indignantly, "How could they not show any consideration for the Minister's family and make you, Miss, queue up with all those other people?"
Lu Yanran simply said calmly, "Alright, that's enough."
There were many people today, and she waited in line for about half an hour before it was her turn.
Wang Chunsheng carefully examined her pulse through the silk cloth, prescribed only one medicine to regulate her qi and blood, and told her to go and get the medicine.
The clothing store eventually recruited a pharmacist. Although he wasn't very experienced, he was meticulous and never made a mistake when dispensing medicine according to the prescription.
However, fearing that Lu Yanran might cause trouble, Lin Yi did not arrange for a pharmacist to prepare the medicine. "Miss Lu, there have been many patients these days, and we are running low on a few medicinal herbs. Please go to another pharmacy to get the medicine according to the prescription."
The maidservant said angrily, "I saw that you had plenty of medicinal herbs in your cabinet, so why didn't you let us get any?"
Lin Yi didn't answer, but instead instructed Wang Chunsheng to copy another prescription. After it was copied, he watched as Wang Chunsheng and Lu Yanran signed their names at the end of the two identical prescriptions.
This whole process was flawless.
By preventing Lu Yanran from getting medicine from the clinic, the possibility of her feigning illness to extort money is eliminated. With a signed prescription on the table, even if Lu Yanran causes some trouble, she cannot secretly change the prescription and smear the clinic.
Lu Yanran thought to herself how brilliant it was, but she accepted the prescription with a smile and didn't forget to thank Lin Yi before leaving.
Xueya, who witnessed the whole thing while standing beside Lin Yi, asked in bewilderment, "Miss, why did Miss Lu suddenly have a change of heart? She was trying to make things difficult for you before!"
Lin turned around and playfully tapped her nose: "As long as we do our own thing well, we can let her do whatever she wants. But we still need to be more careful when we see her in the future. People don't change that easily."
Xueya covered her nose and said indignantly, "But Miss, you've changed so much."
Lin Yi paused slightly, then asked her, "Is it that obvious?"
"Obviously, the son-in-law asked me about it last time."
Lin Yi's fingers, hanging by her side, suddenly tightened: "What did he ask?"
Xueya tried hard to recall, "He just asked me what kind of person Miss used to be... nothing else. The young master must have felt that Miss had changed for the better and was happy about it."
Lin Yi didn't speak, she just shook her head. She knew that Xie Chengnan had already become suspicious.
This is normal. While she doesn't exactly act recklessly, she doesn't deliberately imitate Qiu Qingye's behavior either. It's likely not just Xie Chengnan, but also Qiu's parents, and many others who have come into contact with her, that's realized.
But even if they realized it, it didn't matter; no one would think of something as absurd as time travel and core replacement.
But Xie Chengnan... isn't so easily fooled.
After Lu Yanran returned, she really didn't cause any trouble.
Lin Yi then put the matter aside for the time being. Perhaps it was because she was so meticulous in her work that no one could find any loopholes.
But a few days later, many noble ladies from Mingzhou flocked to Xinglin Medical Clinic, vying to have Wang Chunsheng take their pulses.
After the free clinic, the popularity of Xinglin Medical Clinic gradually subsided. The waiting time for patients was shortened from half an hour to the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and some patients could even see a doctor as soon as they arrived. Lin Yi and his team finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, this only lasted for a few days before the number of people suddenly surged again.
The already small clinic was completely surrounded by them, preventing those who actually came for treatment from getting in.
While Lin Yi was preoccupied with other matters, he felt a vague unease, as if a storm was brewing.
Only after grabbing a noble lady and asking her did I learn that Lu Yanran had gotten a prescription from Xinglin Medical Clinic, and after taking it regularly for a few days, her discomfort completely disappeared, her complexion improved significantly, and she looked as if she had become two years younger.
Xueya suddenly realized: "So that's how she wanted to prevent patients from seeing doctors. That would definitely make them unhappy and ruin our reputation!"
Lin Yi shook his head, thinking it was probably more than that. A tall tree catches the wind; she was trying to ruin him and the medical clinic by praising them too much.
Xueya didn't understand. "Miss, what does 'praise to death' mean?"
Lin Yi thought for a moment and explained, "It's about exaggerating how amazing we are, making us and others believe it. If someone actually comes with high expectations, they'll find that we're not living up to our reputation. And when we're praised, we become complacent and more arrogant, making us more prone to making mistakes."
Xueya seemed to understand, but she could sense the sinister meaning behind it. "This... this is possible? That's too vicious!"
Lin Yi gently pinched the coiled bun on her head, half-jokingly and half-seriously saying, "Yes, there are always some people in this world who aren't so kind and can't stand seeing others do better than them. So we need to protect ourselves and be more careful in our daily lives. Got it?"
Xueya nodded vigorously.
Under Lin Yi's repeated instructions, everyone at the clinic, from Wang Chunsheng to the cleaning staff, was more meticulous than ever before, giving their utmost attention to those who came for treatment. To ensure timely care, they established Mingzhou City's first "emergency room," where critically ill patients did not need to queue, only those with urgent conditions were treated. Conversely, beauty and wellness consultations were limited to ten appointments per day.
For wealthy heiresses and wives of powerful and influential people who love beauty, the consultation fee is already more expensive than for ordinary illnesses, and this time the price has been greatly increased, but the ten appointments available each day are still quickly snapped up.
Lin Yi heard a lot of complaints.
She was somewhat puzzled, "Does this Lu Yanran really have such great abilities? As soon as she said it, the powerful and influential people in Mingzhou City actually came?"
Xueya was overwhelmed by the influx of income over the past few days. "It's clearly all thanks to your skill, Miss. If Mr. Wang hadn't done a good job, no matter how much she praised him, no one would have bought into it. We should thank her this time; she tried to harm someone but failed, and instead, she helped us increase our business."
That's right. Lin Yi knew that those people really came for the medical skills of Xinglin Medical Clinic, which was what she wanted. But if things continued like this, something bad would happen.
As the saying goes, "The tallest tree catches the most wind, and the first bird to stick its head out gets shot." These days, Xinglin Medical Clinic has been attracting too much attention.
Lin Yi's guess was confirmed a few days later.
On a drowsy afternoon, a thin but strong-looking man sneaked into the backyard of the clinic, intending to open the warehouse where medicinal herbs were stored, but was discovered by Erhei.
The two men wrestled and ended up injured. The man was taken to the authorities, where it was discovered that he was carrying a large amount of laxatives.
When asked why, he said he was poor and wanted to steal some medicinal herbs to sell. The laxative was something he had taken from the previous shop owner's house but hadn't had time to resell.
Fearing investigation, the authorities discovered that a pharmacy had indeed lost a large quantity of laxatives, and had no choice but to imprison the owner. According to the laws of Mingzhou, attempted theft only resulted in a few days in jail followed by food.
Lin Yi felt that someone must be behind this.
She instructed the people in the shop to take good care of the account books, prescriptions, and medicinal materials.
During dinner that evening, Lin Yi looked serious and ate with a detached expression.
Xie Chengnan glanced at the untouched steamed fish and frowned slightly, asking casually, "How's the clinic going?"
Lin Yi continued, "Smoothly."
Xueya was about to speak, but she was pressed down on her leg under the table, so she could only shut her mouth helplessly.
Xie Chengnan looked at the master and servant with suspicion, assuming that they were just in a bad mood because business was not good recently, so he didn't ask any further questions.
The next day, another drunken burly man smashed the clinic to pieces with a hammer. Even with Erhei, the pharmacist, Wang Chunsheng, and a patient who was seeing a doctor, the four of them couldn't stop him; the clinic was almost completely destroyed.
The matter was reported to the authorities, who discovered that the man was a petty thug with no relatives or friends in Mingzhou City. He denied taking the money, claiming he was drunk and acting out because he couldn't stand the clean shop and smashed it.
The perpetrator vehemently denied the allegations, and Minnesota law forbids forcing confessions on such minor matters, so the only recourse was to imprison him and force him to pay compensation. Unfortunately, the man was penniless and forced to perform hard labor in jail to cope with the pressure.
Lin Yi had to personally cover the losses at Xinglin Medical Clinic.
When Xie Chengnan heard about this, he didn't ask her. But from then on, he would often see Cang Xie wandering around the clinic.
Later, the thug was released by the guarantor. As soon as he saw the sunlight again, he was steadily followed by a figure in the shadows.
That's a story for another time.
The sledgehammer smashed through the counter, shattered the flowerpots displaying fresh medicinal herbs and green plants, and even dented the wooden floorboards.
The destruction can happen in an instant, but the repairs require starting from scratch with purchasing, hiring workers, and laying materials, and it can take at least seven or eight days to fix.
As a result, Xinglin Medical Clinic experienced its first closure since its opening.
The people in the clinic suddenly found themselves with nothing to do. Nobody was used to it.
No one could stay during the renovation period. Wang Chunsheng and Erhei returned to Xinglin Garden. Since agreeing to provide medical services at Xinglin Clinic for Lin Yi, the small courtyard with the crooked apricot tree had been temporarily put on hold. The villagers were very welcoming to their return. They had all heard that Wang Chunsheng had become a renowned doctor in Mingzhou City, and his reputation had soared.
Some people want to see him, but nowadays they can't afford the consultation fee, and they don't want him to treat them for free anymore.
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