Chapter 55: Some tricks
Manager Tang was right. The Xie family was a well-established shop with a long history. All the well-known medical clinics in the city were regular customers of the Silver Lion Street herbal medicine shop.
What's more, the two young ladies of the Xie family have been ill for several days, and they have repeatedly invited doctors to their home for treatment. The doctors with some fame in the city have been frequent visitors to the Xie residence recently.
Seeing Xie Yuduo dismounting in front of the clinic, Doctor Zhuo hurried out to greet him.
"Why did the Second Master come here in person? Is the Second Madam still feeling unwell?"
Doctor Zhuo is old, with white hair and beard. A few days ago, he went to Xie's house to take Shen Qi's pulse.
"Thank you for your concern. My wife is now safe and sound. I came here today to express my gratitude."
Behind him, Xiaowu was holding two boxes of thank-you gifts in his hands.
"Oh my, Second Madam's condition is mild. Even without medicine, she will recover after two days of rest. There's no need to thank me! Second Master, you are so polite. Come in, come in."
Xiaowu put down the thank-you gift and stayed outside to watch the horses.
The host and the guest entered the clinic's guest hall one after the other, and immediately a thin young man came over with a tea tray.
Tea was being poured here, and for some reason, the young man glanced at Xie Yuduo sideways, and perhaps he was distracted, and he even knocked the teacup over.
"Be careful."
Xie Yuduo gave the young man a hand, and he came to his senses. He hurriedly wiped the water off the cup, poured a new cup of tea, and then retreated with the tea tray.
After the greetings, Xie Yuduo chatted for a few minutes before he mentioned the payment for the medicinal materials intentionally or unintentionally.
When this was mentioned, Doctor Zhuo looked embarrassed.
"Alas, Second Master, being a doctor is a difficult job! On a normal day, when we see patients, wealthy families like yours naturally pay the full consultation fee on the spot. But those with smaller families always want to delay payment a little longer. The more serious the illness, the more expensive the medicine, and the longer the delay! They say that doctors have a kind heart, but I've never seen a doctor refuse to see a patient because the patient delayed payment."
Doctor Zhuo stood up, poured Xie Yuduo another cup of tea, and sighed again.
"There are also some families whose patients have been ill for a long time and can only be slowly recuperated with decoctions. At first, it's okay, but after a long time, they insist on waiting until the disease is cured before settling the medical fees. There's no end to this! Therefore, it was not until after the Chinese New Year that we could gradually collect some of the medical fees from the previous year. Alas, Second Master, we have no choice but to delay the payment of the medicine!"
Xie Yuduo had a smile on his face and looked very understanding.
"I see. Doctor Zhuo, I've only been home a short time, so I don't know much about these businesses. Uncle Tang is in charge of the shop, so if he doesn't tell me about things like this, I won't know either."
He changed the subject.
"But, speaking of it, our two families have been friends for generations, and you've cured my wife's illness, so I'm truly grateful. In my opinion, Uncle Tang is a reasonable man. If you have any difficulties, I'll go talk to him. I think it will be of some use."
Hearing this, Doctor Zhuo hesitated to speak.
Xie Yuduo saw through it and expressed his sincerity.
"If it's so kind of you, old man, I'll bring my wife home tomorrow to thank you."
After hearing this, Doctor Zhuo thought about it for a moment and then said it out loud.
"Oh, no, no, how can I trouble Second Madam to come here! Speaking of the payment, since Second Master is willing to take care of it, there is one thing that is really a bit difficult for me. If you can talk to Master Tang, maybe he can help me a lot."
"Doctor Zhuo, please feel free to speak."
"Well... according to the law, we can't charge more than five cents per month for lending money here. Your family's medicinal materials are charged three cents per month, which is really not much compared to the market price. However, when my patients pay their bills, they don't pay any interest. As for this clinic, I have to buy, prescribe, and sell medicine. So, if you calculate it this way, I have to make up for it quite a bit every year! It's really hard to do this!"
Xie Yuduo heard what he wanted to hear, and he understood, and finally put down the cup he had been playing with.
"It's a small matter. Since you've spoken, I'll definitely keep it in mind. Don't rush to pay for this year's goods. Once I figure things out, I'll definitely give you an explanation."
After hearing this, the old doctor thanked him repeatedly. Xie Yuduo stopped talking and exchanged a few words. Then he stood up to say goodbye, called Xiaowu, and rode away on horseback.
Inside the Zhuo Family Clinic, the young man who had just poured the tea was wiping the counter. He stared at Xie Yuduo's back as he was walking slowly while holding the reins, and was stunned for a long moment.
When Doctor Zhuo came over, he put down the rag and went over to ask.
"Dad, the guest who just came... is he from the Xie family on Silver Lion Street?"
"Um."
"Xie family... the second one?"
"It's the Second Master of the Xie family. Do you know him?"
The young man lowered his head in panic.
"No...I don't know him. What is he doing in our house?"
"He said he came to thank me for curing his wife's illness."
"What disease did his wife... suffer from?"
"Nothing serious, just a panic attack. Just two doses of medicine will cure it. He's a young man who's probably never been through anything before, so he was so frightened that he sent for several doctors. I went to see him, and it's nothing serious. He's fine now. Even for that, you're so polite to come and thank me in person. I don't understand!"
"oh……"
The young man was thoughtful.
"However, most of the herbs we use to make our medicine are purchased from his shop. Hey, not just ours, every clinic within a few dozen miles around doesn't buy their herbs from his Silver Lion Street herbal medicine shop. He's so rich!"
"Although I've never been to his herbal medicine shop, I heard that it's run by...Mr. Xie?"
"That was before. A few years ago, this second master was not at home. I think he only came back to manage the shop last year. In the past, it was indeed the eldest master who was in charge. Ha, I think he was a bit out of tune. This second master, don't look at his young age, hey, I heard that he is quite capable!"
Seeing that the young man was a little absent-minded, Doctor Zhuo came over again and whispered some advice to him.
"You'er, if you meet this Second Master on the road in the future, take the initiative to talk to him. If we can establish some friendship, it will be of great benefit to our clinic!"
The young man was in a bad mood and responded softly.
"By the way, has Baozhu felt better recently? Is she still vomiting?"
When his pregnant wife was mentioned, the young man raised his head slightly.
"She took some medicine and is feeling better now. She can eat a little bit and sleep well at night."
"Well, it seems the medicine you prescribed is good. Let her take a few more doses. Only if she can take it, the child will grow well!"
"Dad, I remember."
On this side, after fulfilling his father-in-law's words, Xu You, who had been married for more than two years, looked at the busy street behind the counter and thought of the daughter of the Shen family who had been broken off by his family.
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