"A letter from Yangcheng has arrived."
After hearing the report from his clerk early in the morning, the shopkeeper of Deshengchang's Beijing branch finally relaxed his frown after several days and was even a little surprised.
"So soon?"
The letter describing the business status of Miss Jun's Jiulingtang was sent out just the day before yesterday.
"The letter that was just sent out must not have been received yet. This should be the reply to the letter saying that Miss Jun is going to open Jiulingtang and when it will open." The steward took the letter and said, carefully verifying the wax seal and the seal on it.
"That's fine. I'm waiting too." said the shopkeeper, rolling up his sleeves.
It was time to eat, but he didn't roll up his sleeves in the face of the table full of food. Now he rolled up his sleeves while asking the waiter to remove the untouched food in front of him.
"It's really frustrating. I opened a clinic, but he doesn't sit in the clinic every day. He either goes out to play or sleeps at home." He sighed to the managers sitting next to him.
"Yes, the young master has been ill for so many years, and he just happened to take over the family business. He has no time to spare every day and has to worry about everything." A manager said, "Even the young ladies in the family are still running the business, and they don't just sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor."
"That's not right. First of all, Miss Jun is a girl and a relative. Moreover, she has done a great favor to the Fang family." The shopkeeper waved his hand and said, "And it's not that we care how much money she spends. It's just that we are businessmen. No matter how much money we have, we have to spend it on useful things. It's always wrong to waste it."
The stewards all nodded and watched the shopkeeper open the letter.
"She is a girl who doesn't know how to do business. She is a daughter of an official family and is very noble. It is difficult for us to make decisions for her. But now, she has received instructions from her family. We should follow them." The shopkeeper said as he looked at the letter. The smile on his face disappeared and his relaxed brows were twisted into a pimple.
"What's wrong?" the stewards asked hurriedly.
The shopkeeper put the letter on the table and sighed.
"The young master has ordered that we must follow Miss Jun's arrangements in everything and not act rashly without her instructions," he said.
The stewards looked at each other.
"What kind of arrangement is this?"
"Shopkeeper, when the young master wrote this letter, he hadn't seen the new message you sent. He didn't know that Miss Jun hadn't made any arrangements."
Everyone started talking again.
The shopkeeper shook his hands.
"No, no, no." He said. "This is the second time that Master has said this. When Miss Jun first said she wanted to open a clinic, Master sent the plaque. It shows that he knows exactly what Miss wants to do and has thought of everything. He said this even though he has thought of everything, which means he really wants us to do it."
The stewards nodded.
"I don't think there's anything to worry about. Miss Jun was able to come up with such a series of strategies to resolve the Fang family's crisis. She must be very confident in what she does." A manager said with a smile.
When these words were spoken, everyone present looked a little strange.
That extraordinary woman, Miss Jun, saved the Fang family from danger. Isn't that just a joke?
Can we believe what is said in the play, whether it is true or false?
"Is Jiulingtang open today?" the shopkeeper asked the waiter.
The guy nodded and shook his head.
"It's open," he said, "but Miss Jun is still not in the hall."
The shopkeeper exhaled.
"What about this time? Did you go out to play or sleep in the house?" he asked.
"He went out to play early in the morning." the waiter replied.
…
In the early morning, a clear bell rang in the alley far from the main street, attracting the attention of the children playing in the alley. They saw two girls walking slowly towards them, one of them carrying a banner with words written on it in a very colorful way. The children didn't recognize them either, and their eyes fell on the girl behind them.
The girl had a small box on her shoulder and was shaking a bell in her hand, from which the clear ringing sound came.
The children saw the banners and the box and immediately gathered around.
"Are you the candy seller?" they shouted in unison.
"It's not candy, it's medicine." Liu'er said, "Do you want to sell medicine?"
Taking medicine is a scary thing for children, so they ran away immediately.
Miss Jun laughed and put away the bell in her hand.
"There's sugar, there's sugar," she said, opening the medicine box with one hand.
The children looked at her warily and did not come over until they saw Miss Jun grab a handful of preserved fruits wrapped in flowery paper from the box. Then they all came over happily.
Miss Jun shared the candy with them.
"Don't just focus on eating candy, go and ask if anyone in your family is sick and needs to see a doctor." Liu'er said from the side.
As she finished speaking, a woman who had heard the noise came out. When she heard these words and saw Miss Jun handing something to the children, she cried out in surprise.
"What are you doing?" she said, waving at the child, "Erbao, come back quickly, or you'll get hit by Hanako."
The candies had already been distributed, and out of fear of Hanako, the children all ran back.
"Mom, there's candy." A child said, holding up the candied fruit he had just been given.
The woman took a look and saw that the flowered paper had been opened, revealing a piece of something glistening and honey-colored. It looked very tempting and smelled sour and medicinal.
"Oh, what is this?" She quickly raised her hand and hit him.
The candied fruit fell to the ground and rolled into a ball with the dust.
The child immediately started to scream.
Liu Er also stared.
"Hey, what are you doing! This is our Jiulingtang's special preserves, it's very expensive." she shouted.
The woman looked disgusted.
"What is Jiulingtang?" She said, pulling the child behind her cautiously, "Where did this liar come from?"
Liu'er wanted to say something, but Miss Jun pulled her back and took a step forward.
"Sister, I'm not a liar, I'm a bell doctor." She said softly, shaking the bell in her hand and pointing at the banner Liu'er was holding, "Look."
The woman looked in the direction her finger pointed.
"I can't read." She said, without even looking at the banner. She only looked at Miss Jun and curled her lips. "You are a clean little girl. Why do you want to learn something else but become a liar?"
After saying that, she picked up the child and walked home, glaring at the other children.
"Don't talk to weird people, and don't ask for other people's things. Be careful, I'll put bugs in your stomach and bite you to death."
Having worms in the stomach was very scary. The children immediately dropped the candied fruit on the ground and ran home in all directions.
Looking at the discarded candied fruit, Liu Er stamped her feet in anger.
"These people are going too far," she shouted.
Miss Jun remained calm and closed the box.
"There's nothing wrong with this," she said. "It's natural and not surprising. Just take your time."
She said and continued walking forward, the little bell in her hand ringing again, and Liu'er followed her.
…
Shopkeeper Liu stood on the street, looking at the girl walking in front of him. The clear ringing sound echoed along the way as she walked.
"Manager Liu, you see, he really is a bell doctor." A clerk whispered, "It's been several days, wandering around the city, giving candy to children everywhere, and many families have come to see him."
"So, they all know about Jiulingtang?" said Shopkeeper Liu.
The young man twitched his lips.
"Yes, Miss Jun told people that she was from Jiulingtang, so those people came here." He said, lowering his head, "They said that if Jiulingtang continues to disturb the people like this, they will release the dogs."
Release the dog… Shopkeeper Liu’s eyebrows twitched.
"It's considered famous now." He murmured.