Chapter 64: Reconciliation
The first day Lu Weiqing was away, I missed him.
Jiang Ran didn't expect that after spending so much time together, she had already gotten used to Lu Weiqing's care, and she was not used to it after he left for just one day.
She fumbled for a piece of letter paper, wrote a letter home, and asked Taoli to send it.
Lu Zhaoyang happened to pass by and said exaggeratedly: "Brother hasn't gone far yet, it would be faster if you rode your horse to deliver it yourself."
Jiang Ran was teased by her and snatched the letter away embarrassedly.
"Who said it was given to him? No."
After a big fuss, Jiang Ran asked her to go with him to do something important.
The two prepared gifts, bought a banner, and went to Baiyun Medical Clinic to express their gratitude in a grand manner.
"Miracle doctor! Thanks to you, my husband's illness was cured so quickly."
As soon as Jiang Ran entered the room, he saw the old doctor who had come to the mansion to treat patients that day, and he went up to him and started praising him.
"That's right. My eldest brother was seriously ill a while ago. Fortunately, the doctor was very skilled and cured him in time."
"After taking a few doses of medicine, he's now much better and can even go to Qingzhou on business. If it weren't for you, my brother would have had to go there sick, with a bumpy journey, and I don't know if he would ever be able to come back."
Lu Zhaoyang was even more exaggerated, howling and wiping tears at the same time, as if Lu Weiqing had been terminally ill and almost died.
The doctors in the clinic were all shocked.
When he heard that the Lu family came to invite him that day, he hurried to find the most experienced doctor.
The old doctor came back and said it was just a common cold, so why is the Prime Minister's wife praising them now as if they were miracle doctors who could bring the dead back to life?
Seeing that they were such a large group, the clinic manager hurried out to greet them and led them into the living room at the back to talk.
Jiang Ran clasped his fists and complimented him a few times, then followed the steward inside.
At this time, a little maid came to the door and asked the doctor to get medicine to maintain the pregnancy.
"My wife has had a poor appetite recently, and the baby in her belly is very fussy. She wants to take some medicine to help with the pregnancy." She seemed to be very familiar with a young doctor, and walked straight over to greet him.
Taoli was sharp-eyed and immediately recognized that it was Lin Buqiu's personal maid, so she quickly tugged at the corner of the lady's clothes.
Jiang Ran glanced at her and signaled that he understood, but it was not convenient to make it public at this time.
After a few people sat down, a young apprentice came to serve tea.
The manager had no idea why Jiang Ran came, so he just picked up some gossip to say.
After chatting for a while, Jiang Ran inadvertently mentioned that the price of medicinal materials has increased a lot recently, and the pharmacy business is not doing well.
The manager suddenly became suspicious and thought she was here to collect debts, so he complained bitterly.
"Boss Jiang, you've seen it too. Although many people come to my clinic for treatment, most of them are ordinary people from small families. There are only a few people like you who are from wealthy families."
"Ordinary people don't have much income to begin with. Getting sick is like the sky falling. Medical fees are delayed as much as possible."
"And those wealthy families all suffer from diseases of the rich, which require years of careful treatment before they can recover. They don't care what we say, they insist on settling the bill once the illness is cured."
"There are so few people as straightforward as you. Our Baiyun Clinic is struggling to keep up business! If it weren't for our family's medical heritage and our wealth, we would have collapsed long ago."
"I also want to preserve this brand passed down from my ancestors. Otherwise, I'd rather find another way out. Isn't it better than this hard work?"
The manager would complain, and his words would be well-reasoned, eloquent and moving.
Lu Zhaoyang had never done business before and was a simple person. After hearing the manager's pitiful words, he thought Jiang Ran was really here to collect debts and wanted to say something to persuade him.
She was afraid that Jiang Ran had other plans, so she held back her words and looked very uneasy.
Jiang Ran listened patiently to the steward's words before speaking softly, "So that's how it is."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm here just to say thank you, nothing else."
"All the affairs of Ji'an Hall are handled by the shopkeeper, and I don't ask much."
"It sounds like the clinic is having some difficulties. Feel free to tell me. I'll give the owner a few words and ask him to take care of it."
When the steward heard her say this, he immediately felt that he was lucky to have met such a beautiful and kind lady.
He considered it for a moment, and a look of difficulty appeared on his face.
"Just say it, you're welcome." Jiang Ran added.
Now that things have come to this, the manager can no longer hide it and tells the whole story.
"Then I'm sorry for being so presumptuous. Please forgive me, Boss Jiang, if I'm wrong."
"We only charge 3% interest a year on the medicinal materials we buy on credit from Ji'antang, which is indeed lower than other places. But when patients buy on credit from us, we don't pay any interest at all."
"We at Baiyun Clinic have always paid on time and have never been late for a single day. If you could be flexible and reduce the interest rate a little bit, that would be great."
Hearing him mention the three-tenths interest rate, Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow. The account books for the past three years showed no interest being collected from Baiyun Clinic. Furthermore, sometimes the principal collection was delayed.
After making his request, the manager rubbed his hands together, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Other pharmacies charged at least a 5% profit margin, so Ji'an Tang was already quite lenient.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Ran not only did not scold him, but also readily agreed that from now on, Baiyun Medical Clinic would only need to pay back the principal for any credit sales.
The steward was overjoyed and sent them away with many thanks. He also said that in the future, when the Lu family came to see a doctor, they would not have to pay for the consultation.
As soon as Jiang Ran walked out the door, he put away the casual smile on his face.
She is easy to talk to, but that doesn't mean she can tolerate others treating her like a fool.
Jiang Ran immediately called in the shopkeepers and accountants of several other drug stores and took them to every medical clinic that had a cooperation with Ji'antang to check.
In just over an hour, the results came out.
The shopkeeper would charge the clinic 4 or 5 percent interest, and would record it as 2 or 3 percent interest in the account book. Those who charged 2 or 3 percent interest would write down that they only collected the principal.
Not only that, he would record many of the payments that were collected on time as delayed, lend them to others, and pocket the interest.
In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Jiang Ran collected evidence and reported it to the police directly. He had the shopkeeper thrown in jail and completely eliminated this parasite.
It was the first time that Lu Zhaoyang saw Jiang Ran’s decisiveness, and he was full of admiration throughout the whole process.
After the matter was settled, she still had the look of a little fangirl, and kept asking Jiang Ran to teach her how to do business.
Jiang Ran scratched his head embarrassedly.
"Doing business is easy. I'm just afraid your family and your future husband's family wouldn't mind you learning this."
Lu Zhaoyang's eyes widened, and he took her hand. "How could it be?! A woman with a skill can not only support herself, but also provide so many people with opportunities to make a living. It's quite remarkable, isn't it?"
She was in high spirits and urged Jiang Ran to take her to check the accounts. She was more excited than checking her own property and ran for three hours without stopping.
Later, Jiang Ran kept shouting that his leg was broken and he couldn't go on. He was finally pardoned and allowed to continue tomorrow.
Things are progressing smoothly here, and nothing has happened with Lu Weiqing.
It was Lu Yu's first business trip, and he was very cautious. He couldn't eat or sleep well every day, and he wanted to keep an eye on the relief food and silver all the time.
After traveling for six or seven days and reaching the border of Qingzhou, he couldn't help but relax his vigilance.
Just then, something happened.
It's a big deal that could cost you your life.
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