Chapter 14: Flattery "That kid Yan Heng really praised you guys...
"Boss, the people we sent to Yancheng are back." The steward pushed the door open and walked in.
Two days ago, Pei Yixue returned to Xitang County from Taoyuan County.
He stood in front of the window, holding a piece of letter paper in his hand, and asked, "How is it?"
"These officials only talk nice words, but when something happens they turn hostile faster than anyone else," said the manager indignantly.
"Si Ji and his companions were stopped outside the gate when they went to look for someone. They thought it was the gatekeeper who looked down on them. But after blocking them for two days, they finally met Governor Fan to explain the reason. Governor Fan lied and said that only Master Xie had objections to the results of the provincial examination. Because there was only one person and no solid evidence, they couldn't make a big fuss.
But Yan Heng, who topped the list this time, is notoriously uneducated and unskillful. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is something wrong with him being at the top of the list. Others dare not say anything, and everyone knows the reason.
A few candidates with some ability were afraid of the money power of the Yan government in Qingzhou and dared not speak out. Most candidates knew their own strengths and weaknesses and did not care who ranked on the list. However, as the governor, he had the responsibility to investigate the matter thoroughly for both public and private reasons.
Besides, my Liming Pharmacy saved his life, but now he doesn’t even give me the slightest bit of face and instead treats me like this. Are all the words he said in the past about going through fire and water for me in the future just bullshit?
At the beginning, he was chased by his enemies, seriously injured and poisoned, and was penniless. He came to us for help. We should have closed the door and kept him out to let him fend for himself. We should have avoided providing him with good food and drink for most of half a month and having the escort agency escort him back to Yancheng, but in the end we rescued such an ungrateful person.
The Qingzhou Yan family is so unscrupulous because of their wealth and power that people in the surrounding area are used to it. Governor Fan is probably colluding with officials and businessmen of the Yan family. "
The manager kept talking on and on, saying that he had never suffered such humiliation since the Dawn Pharmacy became famous, and he was even stabbed in the back by the person who had been pulled back from the gates of hell by the Pharmacy. The thought of this made him even angrier.
But most people are like this. What is life-saving grace? People will only be grateful to the benefactor when they pray to God and Buddha before receiving this grace and strive to survive, and when they confirm that they have been successfully rescued after receiving the grace.
After we have gotten through the quagmire of struggle, as time goes by, this kindness becomes increasingly insignificant and less memorable.
It is only normal to choose to break off with a former benefactor in the face of greater interests.
"It's just a small episode. Don't take it too seriously." Pei Yixue smiled and handed the letter in his hand to the manager.
The steward took the letter and unfolded it. He scanned the lines of black words, then relaxed his brows and said with a proud tone, "It turned out to be a letter from the nobleman in the capital? Now Governor Fan will have to investigate thoroughly even if he doesn't want to."
Pei Yixue had a smile on his face and tapped the windowsill with his fingertips. In order to ensure that this matter was foolproof, he not only sent people to Yancheng for help, but also delivered a letter to the capital.
The Yan family really always runs into his trap.
He didn't know what kind of punishment Yan Heng, the eldest son of the Yan family, would receive for cheating in the provincial examination. He was just waiting to see.
In addition, the governor's inaction this time was directly discovered by his superiors, so it should not be easy for him to evade responsibility.
The next day, news of a thorough investigation of the provincial examination was released and spread throughout the streets and alleys of Qingzhou.
Within two days, the thorough investigation produced results.
The governor of Lingyi Province was demoted to prefect and transferred to Yuanzhou for dereliction of duty and fined two years' salary; the former prefect of Qingzhou was dismissed for taking bribes and exiled to the bitter cold of Heijiang for five years; Yan Heng, the son of Yan Fu of Qingzhou, had his results in the prefectural examination invalidated for taking bribes, and was sent to a border town as a soldier, with half of Yan's family property confiscated.
The position that Yan Heng bribed to take over originally belonged to Xie Yushu.
While one family is happy, several families are sad. Everyone gathers together in the Wang family's ancestral home, while the families that were punished are filled with hatred and have no way to express their grievances.
Xie Yushu had no power or influence, and he only moved to Qingzhou a few years ago and didn't know many people. They had clearly been looking for such an easy target at first, but they never expected something like this to happen.
The news coming down from above indicated that this matter was closely related to Liming Pharmacy. They didn't know how Xie Yushu could convince the miracle doctor of Liming Pharmacy and go to so much trouble to pass the news up at the risk of offending several officials and wealthy people, but the feud between them and Liming Pharmacy was completely settled.
If the Dawn Pharmacy hadn't meddled in their affairs, their secret operation would have gone unnoticed by anyone, and they wouldn't have ended up like this.
With this anger in their hearts, the former governor of Lingyi Province, the former prefect of Qingzhou, and the Yan family, the richest man in Qingzhou, were all looking forward to an opportunity, a chance to send Liming Pharmacy to hell.
Now the former governor of Lingyi Province dares not act rashly, and the former prefect of Qingzhou is unwilling but powerless for the time being. On the other hand, the Yan family has nothing to worry about. Master Yan had a son in his old age and has always spoiled this baby to the point of lawlessness. Now, because Liming Pharmacy was sent to such a difficult place for exile, the Yan family will certainly not let it go.
Half of the Yan family’s property was confiscated, but the remaining half should not be underestimated.
They turned to the most competitive pharmacy in Qingzhou - Pei Family Pharmacy.
The Yan family is willing to provide unconditional financial support to the Pei family pharmacy, on the condition that the Liming pharmacy disappears from Qingzhou as quickly as possible.
In the private room on the second floor of Liming Pharmacy, the manager had a worried look on his face. “Today, there were only two patients who came to the pharmacy. They were regular customers who bought two sets of medicine for injuries and sprains to take care of their business because of the ‘miracle doctor’. In addition, there were five people who came to the ‘miracle doctor’ to treat difficult and complicated diseases. The total income was less than two taels of silver.
This mad dog from the Yan family in Qingzhou is planning to die with us!
The Pei family has the financial support of the Yan family, so they recruited many doctors to conduct free clinics. Now it has been more than a month, and there is no way out for other pharmacies. Small and medium-sized pharmacies in Qingzhou, such as Sichentang, Wanhetang, and Huichuntang have announced their closure one after another, and the Liming Pharmacy is also running out of money every day. What should they do if this continues?
With the financial resources of the Qingzhou Yan family, if they insist on fighting us to death, it will probably take until next year, and we may not be able to hold on until then."
Not only was the pharmacy running out of money, but half of the medicinal materials in the herbal fields contracted by Pei Yixue were "sold" to the Liming Pharmacy. In the past, Liming Pharmacy's business was booming and the rate of consumption of medicinal materials was alarming. Now that the business has plummeted, this half of the medicinal materials is also stuck in his hands.
The sales of the remaining half of the herbs were also not going well. The business of the cooperating pharmacies was just as bad as that of the Liming Pharmacy. Some of them had to close down, and some of them could not even see a single patient during the rest of the day. How could they need herbs?
The only pharmacy in Qingzhou that needed to repurchase medicinal materials was the Pei family pharmacy. However, due to the relationship between the Pei family and Pei Yixue, the Pei family would naturally not buy Pei Yixue's goods.
The Pei family would not feel bad if they did not spend their own money, and they would do things according to their heart. For so long, the Pei family pharmacy had consumed a huge amount of medicinal materials, and the medicinal materials in Qingzhou had long been out of supply. The Pei family had to spend a lot of money and effort to purchase medicinal materials outside Qingzhou.
It can be said that there is no possibility that the medicinal materials in the hands of Qingzhou medicinal materials merchants will survive until the next day, except for Pei Yixue.
At this moment, the Pei family was waiting for Pei Yixue to come to them and beg them so that they could humiliate him severely and make Pei Yixue realize how ungrateful he was in the first place, thinking that he could challenge the Pei family by having a way of selling medicinal materials.
If Pei Yixue had agreed to the Pei family's proposal at the beginning and let the medicinal field belong to the Pei family, Pei Yixue would still be able to do the job of managing the medicinal field steadily now, and how could he face the crisis of sleeping on the streets?
The Pei family gave Pei Yixue a chance, but he refused it. It's too late to regret now.
They will definitely make Pei Yixue suffer a lesson this time so that he knows exactly how much he is worth. Then they will make Pei Yixue penniless and heavily in debt, and then they will take over this business of buying and selling medicinal materials.
As for Pei Yixue, since he was so principled in the beginning, he has to bear the consequences of speaking against the Pei family.
Go to the beggars' den and fend for yourself!
After half a month, the Liming Pharmacy was deserted, and the Pei family was not as prosperous as it seemed.
"Yan Heng praised you to the skies at first, but now a month has passed and there is still no improvement. I took great pains to introduce you to the Governor, but now it seems that you are no different from those crappy quacks on the street.
The final three days are over. If you still can’t see results, don’t blame me for turning my back on you!” Inside the private room of the Pei Family Pharmacy in Yuanzhou, the former Qingzhou governor waved his sleeves and left angrily.
Pei Jun was a famous doctor in this area after all, and he was so embarrassed by this humiliation that his face turned pale and his lips trembled with anger.
But the people do not fight against the officials, not to mention that they are running a pharmacy to do business. If they offend these officials, there may be ten thousand reasons waiting for them to close down.
"Father, you don't have to argue with these people who don't understand medical knowledge." Liao Qiubai handed him a cup of tea, "Calm down."
Pei Jun shook his head and didn't take the tea. "Governor Fang's old illness has not been solved yet. Now there are only three days left before the end of the mission. What should we do? Prefect Fan was already angry about being demoted, and he was waiting to find a good way out by holding on to Governor Fang. If we can't help him get this line, I'm afraid it will not end well."
A few days ago, they could still think of walking and looking for solutions, but now so much time has passed, Governor Fang has lost trust in them, and Prefect Fan is even more anxious.
Pei Jun sighed, and Liao Qiubai hesitated and said, "Father, I have a plan, but..."
"What method?" Pei Jun looked up suddenly.
"A few days ago, Liming Pharmacy treated a patient. I heard that his symptoms were roughly the same as Governor Fang's. After consulting that miracle doctor, he showed signs of improvement. Perhaps we can start from here."
After listening to Liao Qiubai's words, Pei Jun's face turned pale and blue. Starting from Liming Pharmacy, it was an acknowledgement that his medical skills were not as good as those of an old country man who came from nowhere.
It was simply blatantly tearing apart in public the fame he had accumulated over decades.
But now it seems there is no other way to go.
"We are at loggerheads with Liming Pharmacy, how can they be kind enough to help us? Moreover, Governor Fan and Liming Pharmacy have long been at loggerheads. Not to mention that Liming Pharmacy cured Governor Fang and helped Governor Fan to establish connections, I'm afraid they will even step on Governor Fan a few times. Governor Fan will definitely hold us responsible for this when the time comes."
While exchanging glances with Pei Jun, Liao Qiubai smiled confidently, "Father, don't worry too much. We will naturally have to treat the patient. Liming Pharmacy will never have the chance to appear in front of Governor Fang."
…………
Liming Pharmacy in Xitang County.
"Boss, there is a patient who has been waiting in the pharmacy for a long time. Doctor Wang, who is on duty, said that there is nothing serious. But the patient keeps saying that he feels uncomfortable and insists on asking the miracle doctor to see him. What do you think?" the steward asked softly.
"It's nothing, just bring it here. Most likely you scared yourself and came to see the miracle doctor for peace of mind." Pei Yixue has been in the medical field for many years and has seen all kinds of patients, some of whom are not sick but have become ill due to their own imagination.
The manager behind him agreed and soon brought in a middle-aged man.
"A miracle doctor." The middle-aged man rushed to Pei Yixue excitedly, "I've been feeling a tightness in my chest lately and having trouble breathing. Can you cure it?"
"Don't worry." Pei Yixue motioned for the man to sit down at the table.
When the middle-aged man handed over his hand, Pei Yixue took his pulse as usual and said, "It's nothing serious. Just pay attention to rest more on weekdays."
"It's no big deal. That's good, that's good." The middle-aged man seemed to be thinking about something.
Pei Yixue responded. It was just a formality, and there was nothing much to say. When he was about to see him off, the middle-aged man asked, "Doctor, I have a distant relative who sometimes has trouble breathing. His home is too far from Xitang County, so it is inconvenient for him to come here. I would like to ask him for help?
He has dull pain in his chest, as well as pain in the back of his shoulders, arms, and thighs. In addition to the pain, he also feels stuffy in his chest like me, and his breathing is not smooth, and his heart is beating fast. Can it be cured?"
Pei Yixue raised his eyebrows. He had never encountered a disease that he could not cure. He said without hesitation: "Of course I can."
"How to treat it? What medicine to use?" the middle-aged man asked anxiously.
After speculating on the possible cause of the middle-aged man's relative's illness, Pei Yixue said, "Maybe only medicine is needed, or medicine and acupuncture are needed. The diagnosis process of observation, auscultation, and palpation is indispensable. Without seeing the patient, no doctor dares to easily give a treatment plan."
The middle-aged man suddenly became excited: "But my relative really can't come. He is suffering from illness. Doctor, please be kind and give him a proper plan. Just tell me how to treat him? What kind of medicine to use? Which acupuncture points to insert?"
Which acupuncture points should be pierced? Do you want to do it yourself? Pei Yixue just found it funny. No one dared to give this treatment plan. If something went wrong, it would only cause trouble.
He refused to give in, so the middle-aged man had to leave in anger.
The next day, shortly after the Liming Pharmacy opened, the middle-aged man brought another man to see the miracle doctor.
Pei Yixue did not ask too much about why the patient who was unable to come to Xitang County arrived in Xitang County the next day and went straight to taking his pulse.
This patient looked like a middle-aged man and was not sick at all.
Pei Yixue sighed. What's this? Isn't it true that people from the same family should stay in the same house? This family is afraid of death, so why are they here worrying about nothing?
He told them the truth, but he didn't expect that the two of them would insist on asking him to take medicine for treatment, and would not give in no matter how much they tried to persuade him.
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