After finishing her meal at Yingxianglou, Li Mai visited Doctor Niu and brought him some New Year's gifts that she had bought for him in the capital.
When Doctor Niu saw her arrive, he raised an eyebrow and snorted coldly, "Your apprentice is busier than me, her master. She hasn't come to see her master for months."
But when he saw Zhou Quan, with the carriage tied up behind him and three children watching over him, enter the pharmacy, Doctor Niu's eyes lit up. "It seems you're much better now?"
Zhou Quan responded with a "yes," bowed respectfully to Doctor Niu, and expressed his gratitude. He felt that Doctor Niu had played a significant role in his quick recovery, and as Doctor Niu was Xiaomai's mentor, it was only right that he be grateful and respectful to him.
Doctor Niu smiled and told him not to stand on ceremony. He then personally took his pulse and said that his health was now as good as it could be.
The fact that Zhou Quan has recovered so well shows that his apprentice has taken good care of him.
Therefore, he was very satisfied with Li Mai.
Of course, Li Mai's visit today also meant he couldn't escape his master's test.
It's almost the end of the year, and Li Mai also has to take exams.
There happened to be a patient waiting to have his pulse taken, so Doctor Niu immediately asked Li Mai to sit down so he could take his pulse.
After examining Li Mai, he examined her again, and then he looked at Li Mai's medical records and treatment methods to determine whether her medical skills had improved or regressed.
Fortunately, although Li Mai was busy drawing and traveling, she did not forget to study medicine. She looked through the medical notes that Doctor Niu had given her over the past few decades. These things were the most valuable to her, who knew some medical skills, and were more useful than following her master around all day.
After examining Li Mai's pulse, Doctor Niu nodded, wrote out a prescription for the patient, and after the patient left, he gave Li Mai a satisfied smile. "Not bad. It seems you've read the notes I gave you carefully."
Li Mai nodded and hummed in agreement. She then told him about Madam Chu's condition, as well as what prescription she had given based on the case analysis in his notes, and what had been taken over the past few days.
After listening, Doctor Niu nodded, "Hmm, there's no problem with that prescription. It seems you'll be studying your master's notes carefully when you have time."
"Take another box back later; those are what Master recently sorted out." Doctor Niu went to the back to find the box.
After receiving the heavy box of Dr. Niu's medical notes, Li Mai thanked Dr. Niu again with great gratitude.
She said she had found some rare medicinal herbs, but it was too cold outside to bring them out. She would bring them to him when she visited him for the New Year next year, saying that she was currently growing them in flowerpots.
Doctor Niu nodded, without much expectation. He had seen too many herbs over the decades, and even the rarest herbs were just a few of the same kind.
"Oh right, Master promised to make you braised pork, but because of the flood that happened in the village, he's been busy building new homes and hasn't been able to make it for you yet. I'll make it for you when I visit you during the Lunar New Year," Li Mai added, remembering this.
"Okay, I understand!" After hearing that Zhoujia Village had suffered a disaster, Doctor Niu had no intention of making braised pork.
It seems we'll need to prepare more pork for the Lunar New Year.
It was already late afternoon when Li Mai left Dr. Niu's clinic.
Li Mai sent Zhou Quan to the official brokerage office to inquire if there were any families in town who wanted to sell their mansions.
As it turned out, the broker said there were currently no empty mansions for sale.
Li Mai left him two taels of silver, asking him to inquire about wealthy families with multiple houses during the first month of the lunar year, and whether any family was willing to sell one. She didn't have high requirements; a two-courtyard house with a side courtyard would suffice, and a large mansion was fine too.
Seeing that Li Mai was quite good at handling people, the shopkeeper readily agreed.
Li Mai also said that if he could help her buy a house during the first month of the lunar calendar, he would receive a separate commission and a thank-you gift.
The shopkeeper naturally agreed. Such a generous person must be after those benefits. He'll have to make more trips these next few days.
"Don't worry, young master and madam, I'll take care of this." The shopkeeper, surnamed Bai, was in his thirties and was a distant nephew of the town's magistrate.
After securing the official brokerage through his cousin's connections, he made a considerable fortune. He also maintained good relationships with wealthy households in the town, and they frequently sold their shops through him, obtaining the land deeds in the process.
After thanking him, Li Mai said he would come to hear news on the eighth day of the first lunar month.
Shopkeeper Bai chuckled and agreed, "But if a suitable match had been available a year ago, where would I have gone to find the young master and his wife?"
"You can go to Jin Yu Ge and find Manager Cui. He knows how to send me a message," Li Mai said, without revealing Zhou Jiacun's identity.
Manager Bai agreed; it turned out he was a relative of Jin Yuge.
After Li Mai and the others came out, they found a shoe shop and bought shoes for everyone in the family. Then they drove the horse-drawn carriage back to the village.
What they didn't know was that not long after they left, Lu was transferred to the official brokerage office.
He hadn't originally arranged for anyone to follow Li Mai and the others, but things just happened to be like this. Manager Bai had a good relationship with his father, and in one of Manager Bai's notebooks, he remembered that the family with the most vacant houses was the Lu family.
He naturally sent the waiter to invite Lu Qian over.
After all, everyone in town knows that the young master is the one who handles most of the Lu family's affairs, while the head of the Lu family basically enjoys his retirement in the inner quarters, or occasionally comes out to give his son some guidance.
Moreover, Manager Bai had also heard some things about the competition between Lu Ji and Jin Yu Ge. He felt that this was a good opportunity for the Lu family to raise the price of the house, so that he could get more commission from the Lu family.
The more Bai Zhanggui thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He had already brewed tea and was waiting for Lu Qian's arrival.
Lu Qian only becomes fearful and flustered when facing someone like Li Mai, who can see through his thoughts with just one glance. But when facing Manager Bai, the young master of the Lu family still has his head.
Manager Bai got straight to the point and explained why he was being invited.
When Lu Qian heard that someone wanted to buy a house, but no one in town had come to him to sell, he knew that Manager Bai wanted the Lu family to sell one of their houses.
He chuckled, "Manager Bai, do you think our Lu family is short of money right now?"
Shopkeeper Bai was taken aback, and quickly waved his hand, "No, I didn't call Young Master Lu here to imply that the Lu family is broke, but rather because I think Young Master Lu might be interested in this buyer."
Lu Qian responded with an "Oh," and asked, "Who is it?"
"I don't know their specific names either. They didn't say. They only said that if anyone wants to sell, they should go to Manager Cui of Jin Yu Ge. He knows how to notify them." Manager Bai finished speaking and waited to see the excited look on Lu Qian's face.
As expected, he guessed correctly, but what Lu Qian said next left him in disbelief.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
