respectively
Not long after Pei An left, Sun Yulin came to visit.
Xu Ruoyan and he looked at each other, and it took them a while to realize that today was the day Sun Yulin was coming for a follow-up visit.
Pei Jue hadn't left yet, so Xu Ruoyan called him over, intending to introduce the two of them.
“This is the Brother Sun Yulin I told you about, my business partner,” Xu Ruoyan said with a smile, standing between the two men. “Brother Yulin, this is my husband, Pei…”
She suddenly turned her head to look at Pei Jue.
If we were to reveal Pei Jue's name like this, wouldn't it cause trouble? After all, Sun Yulin isn't entirely trustworthy at the moment.
Xu Ruoyan choked up, then changed the subject and said, "His name is Pei Er."
Sun Yulin immediately bowed and said, "I have long admired Brother Pei's name, and seeing you today, I can confirm that it is indeed well-deserved."
Xu Ruoyan silently turned her head away, unable to bear watching this scene.
I've heard so much about that person, but this is the first time I've ever heard of them...
Pei Jue stood upright and returned Sun Yulin's greeting: "It is truly an honor for our family's small clinic to have Brother Sun's support. In the future, we will also need Brother Sun's help in running the business."
Sun Yulin quickly waved his hand, smiling brightly: "Oh, you're being too polite. Come, let's sit down and chat."
Xu Ruoyan reacted quickly and grabbed Sun Yulin's arm.
"What are you sitting for? Hurry up and go sit on the chair in the back room. Take off your shoes and socks."
Once Sun Yulin's figure disappeared behind the door, Xu Ruoyan turned around and lowered her voice, saying, "If I go to Guo Yuan's residence tomorrow, is there anything I can do for you?"
Pei Jue paused for a moment, then patted the back of her hand to comfort her, saying, "Madam, don't rush. This trip is only to gain Guo Yuan's trust for Pei An and for both of us. If we can get Guo Yuan to owe Pei An a favor this time, things will be much easier in the future. As for the rest, we don't need to take action now."
Xu Ruoyan nodded. She knew that haste makes waste, so she stopped insisting.
"So what are your plans for this afternoon?"
"I've found almost everyone on the list that Zhuying gave me. I don't have anything to do for the time being. If Madam is too busy, I'll stay and help. If Madam doesn't need me, I'll go back and sort out what I have to do."
Despite saying that, Pei Jue's hand tightened little by little, gripping Xu Ruoyan's fingers tightly, clearly indicating that he wanted to stay there.
Xu Ruoyan gave a wry smile, forcefully pulled her hand away, and pushed Pei Jue out with both hands: "My room is too small, it can't accommodate so many people. You should go back first and plan out what we should do next."
Although the current situation is somewhat unclear and someone should make a complete plan, Pei Jue was still disappointed when he saw that the lady did not need him. His eyebrows and eyes drooped, and he looked like he had been wronged.
Xu Ruoyan pretended not to see it, patted his shoulder and said "good luck" before pulling her head back and slamming the pharmacy door shut in front of Pei Jue.
"Madam, come and see how we're doing!" Banxia ran out of the back room excitedly, carrying a small bamboo basket in her hands.
She held the small bamboo basket in front of Xu Ruoyan, her face clearly saying "I want praise."
Xu Ruoyan looked down and realized that it was the knee pads she had asked the two children to sew a few days ago.
After the last free clinic, Xu Ruoyan discovered that many elderly people were suffering from chronic leg pain due to neglecting to keep warm. Since spring was still some time away, Xu Ruoyan decided to make some knee pads to distribute. It just so happened that Banxia and Rendong were currently unable to see patients independently, so they did some handicrafts when they weren't busy. Both of their hands were surprisingly skillful; they had already sewed so many in just one day.
Xu Ruoyan smiled and patted Banxia's head: "You guys are great. Here's what you'll do: find a big piece of paper, write down 'Free knee pad with every consultation,' and stick it on the wall outside the clinic."
Banxia nodded obediently and skipped off to find Rendong.
So Xu Ruoyan went to the back room. Sun Yulin, who had been lying there for a while, exclaimed as soon as he saw her, "You're finally here! Why did you leave me here for so long!"
Helpless, Xu Ruoyan picked up a bottle of medicinal wine from the cabinet next to her, poured some onto a cotton ball, then found the acupoint, disinfected her left hand and inserted the needle with her right hand. Her movements were swift and efficient, and she finished the treatment in just a few minutes.
"Get up. Have you been controlling your diet these past few days?"
Sun Yulin blinked guiltily and began to twirl his fingers.
"I was so hungry, I couldn't resist eating a little bit more..."
Xu Ruoyan felt like she was about to faint from anger.
Did you eat a little more at one meal, or a little more at every meal?
Sun Yulin felt even more guilty and tried desperately to shrink back, but there was nothing that could stop his massive body.
Enraged, Xu Ruoyan jumped up, grabbed his ear, and yelled at him, "If you dare disobey me again, you can fend for yourself!"
Sun Yulin screamed and covered his ears. Xu Ruoyan used a lot of force this time, and tears streamed down his face from the pain, but he still shouted loudly, "You can't do this to me! I'm your partner!"
Xu Ruoyan was so angry she laughed, and she raised her voice to yell at him, "Even if the King of Heaven himself came, he would still have to follow the doctor's orders! Anyone who doesn't follow the doctor's orders will be dragged out and beheaded!"
This roar turned Sun Yulin into a huge ball of flesh. Not only did he shrink up, but his facial features were also squeezed together, and his whole face was wrinkled, making it look like he was about to cry at any moment.
Xu Ruoyan, both amused and exasperated, pulled him to sit down in the outer room, poured him a cup of tea, and explained in a gentler tone, "Your illness has been dragging on for a long time, and if it's not treated in time, it will only get worse. If you don't cooperate, these few acupuncture needles I've given you won't be of any use, will they?"
She really felt like she wasn't a doctor anymore, but a kindergarten teacher. There were almost no adults around her, only children. Every day she was busy coaxing one child after another.
"By the way, I've been thinking about it. If we want to spread the reputation of our clinic as quickly as possible, we can't go head-to-head with Qingrentang. We have to find another way."
Sun Yulin leaned closer with great interest: "What good idea have you come up with?"
"I'll probably be going to the Minister of Personnel's residence tomorrow or the day after to treat his wife." Xu Ruoyan nudged him with her elbow. "Does Minister of Personnel Guo Yuan know about this?"
Sun Yulin nodded hurriedly: "I know, the whole capital has heard about his wife's illness after giving birth. Do you have a solution?"
Xu Ruoyan's eyes darted around, and she continued Sun Yulin's words: "Yes, I also heard about this, so I sent a visiting card to their residence. I should have a way to treat his wife's illness."
Sun Yulin let out a long "Aww," winked at her playfully, and retorted in the same manner as Xu Ruoyan: "I knew I hadn't misjudged you. I never expected you to be so capable. The Imperial Hospital couldn't come up with a solution even after racking their brains!"
Xu Ruoyan clutched her stomach and slowly closed her eyes.
Sun Yulin had no idea about his own weight and strength; that last blow almost made her stomach acid come up.
She let out a long breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was barely audible: "Actually, I'm not entirely sure, but there's a 60-70% chance. You have a wide network of connections, can you help me think of any other opportunities?"
Sun Yulin frowned and thought for a while, then sighed, "I have a ready-made solution. My aunt has a problem, it's not serious but it's been going on for a long time and she hasn't recovered. I don't know much about it. If you can succeed this time, I'll introduce you to her."
"Is that your aunt in the palace?" Xu Ruoyan had a good memory and remembered it immediately.
“Exactly,” Sun Yulin said. “If you can win over these two, it will be very easy to make a name for yourself among influential people. Then making a lot of money will be a piece of cake.”
He sneakily approached Xu Ruoyan, gesturing excitedly as if it could happen tomorrow.
Although Sun Yulin wasn't very reliable, what he said made a lot of sense. Xu Ruoyan secretly made up her mind to cure Guo Yuan's wife.
That evening, while Xu Ruoyan and Pei Jue were having dinner, Qingdai ran over and said that someone had delivered a letter to them.
Xu Ruoyan's heart skipped a beat. She opened the letter and, as expected, it was a letter from Pei An.
"Your younger brother is quite efficient and does things very well," Xu Ruoyan said, not holding back her praise for Pei An. "Tell me to wait for him in front of the Guo residence at Chenshi tomorrow."
She handed Pei Jue a piece of paper attached to the letter: "Here, your salt permit has arrived too."
Pei Jue took it and examined it carefully; there was nothing wrong with it.
"What do you plan to do?" Xu Ruoyan couldn't help but ask. "Take the salt permits to the official granary to get salt? That probably won't be enough."
Pei Jue replied, "That's right. So salt permits are just a facade. If we want to do big business, we can't follow the rules."
Xu Ruoyan pouted.
To put it nicely, it's just smuggling goods without regard for the law, but with Pei An protecting them in the court, as long as they're careful, nothing serious will happen.
“Alright then, you know what you're doing,” she said. “Where are you going to get the extra salt?”
"There was still more than a month before the imperial examination. During this time, I had nothing to do, so I took a trip to the coastal areas."
"The coast?" Xu Ruoyan frowned. "That's so far away. My pharmacy is very busy, so I probably can't go with you. When do you plan to set off?"
“If we hurry, we can set off tomorrow. I’ve already asked Zhuying to make the arrangements,” Pei Jue said, noticing Xu Ruoyan’s worry. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be back before the imperial examination.”
Pei Jue had already made his plans, so Xu Ruoyan didn't say anything more. She only told him to be careful and to send a letter home every few days, and to come back as soon as possible. After all, she had been with Pei Jue ever since she transmigrated, and now that she was suddenly told that they would be separated for a while, she was really not used to it.
Pei Jue didn't find it troublesome and agreed to each request.
He used to hear his colleagues complain about how annoying it was when their wives were controlling and meddlesome, but now he actually wanted Xu Ruoyan to nag him a bit more.
It feels really good to have someone care about you.
“The carrier pigeons trained by the Shadowless Pavilion can make a round trip in about three days. I guarantee that I will send a letter to Madam every three days.”
Xu Ruoyan was quite satisfied with his explanation.
“When I’m not around, the Shadowless Pavilion’s guards will be on standby. They will appear when you blow this whistle, Madam.”
Xu Ruoyan took a small white ceramic whistle, put it to her lips and tried to blow it. The next second, the door was kicked open with a "bang".
"Master, Madam." The man knelt down abruptly and bowed to the two of them.
Xu Ruoyan was startled and hurriedly put the whistle away, giving an embarrassed smile: "I was just trying it out."
Pei Jue turned his head to the side, covered his mouth with his hand, and chuckled softly.
After the guards left, Pei Jue stepped forward and tentatively took Xu Ruoyan's hand. Seeing that she did not pull away, he slowly tightened his grip.
"Madam, do whatever you want to do. I'll take care of everything."
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