Grandpa Ouyang and Grandma Guan were tidying up the medicine cabinet. They looked like they had gotten up very early, busy and covered in dust. Seeing Lan Yamei come in, Grandma Guan spoke first, "I didn't see you when I came back yesterday. Where were you?"
"I went to find Qiu Zeyu, and it was already dark when I came back. How are things at the Murong residence?"
Grandpa Ouyang had a backache, so he stretched and started fiddling with the herbs.
Aunt Guan continued working, saying, "Miss Lan is doing well, but her nutrition isn't right. I gave her a diet plan and gave her a few acupuncture treatments, and she's not in pain anymore. I also went to see Young Master Bai. Tsk tsk tsk, what a pity. Such a handsome and elegant young man, now he's completely dejected and doesn't speak. His body is fine, but he just won't talk to anyone and only drinks in silence. It seems like he doesn't want to live anymore."
"Alas!" Lan Yamei could only sigh. What is love in this world that makes people willing to die for it? Just when things were getting better, they were suddenly separated by death. It was truly a blow. She could only hope that he would get over the pain of unrequited love and regain his senses soon.
"Why are you up so early? You've made a lot of dust." Lan Yamei fanned the dust and went to the side to drink some tofu pudding. "It's delicious! You guys should go and have some breakfast too."
"How can I eat! Yesterday, the shop received three hundred patients seeking medical advice and medicine. I don't know when we'll be able to finish today. The medicine cabinet is almost empty, and I don't know if we'll have enough for today." Aunt Guan was extremely anxious, fearing that she wouldn't be able to pack enough medicine for the patients today.
Lan Yamei overlooked this problem. Where could she find so many kinds of medicinal herbs in such a short time? She could only say casually, "That's easy. Today, we will still see patients and prescribe medicine as usual. If we have enough herbs, we will get them for the patients. If we don't have enough herbs, we will tell the patients that we are out of herbs and can only charge a consultation fee. They can take the prescription to other pharmacies to get the medicine."
"Get medicine from other pharmacies? How could you even think of that! You've hired so many people, you have to pay them wages, provide food and lodging, if you don't make money, this clinic probably won't be able to stay afloat." Aunt Guan refused without even thinking.
Grandpa Ouyang's eyes lit up, and he stopped what he was doing, saying, "I think Lan'er is right. If we don't worry about sourcing medicinal herbs, we'll avoid these troubles. Besides, the medicinal herb market fluctuates frequently, with prices rising and falling, making it difficult to control costs. It would be better to sell that business out, and we could just focus on treating patients and prescribing medicine, which would make things much easier. Furthermore, our business is booming, and sooner or later the neighbors will become envious, which is not good for us. Why not let them make some money too? Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"
Lan Yamei quickly gave a thumbs up, saying, "When it comes to doing business, you still have to look to Uncle Ouyang!"
Aunt Guan finally put down her work, straightened her back, and felt a little sore. She reached out to massage it. Uncle Ouyang quickly went behind her and gently massaged her back a few times, continuing to persuade her, "You know how old we are, how many more years can we keep doing this? It won't cost much money. As long as we can cover this clinic and everyone has food to eat, that's enough, don't you think?"
Aunt Guan then pouted and said, "You two are both right. I'm tired too. If this keeps going on, I'm afraid I'll be the first to collapse. Fine, fine, I'll listen to you."
At this moment, the Liu family father and son also came downstairs, looking exhausted.
Lan Yamei called out from afar, "You've worked hard! You've worked hard!"
The two men were flattered and hurried downstairs, smiling憨厚ly as they said, "Business is so good, our legs are almost broken. We've been weighing and packing herbs all day, and our hands are almost worn raw." As they spoke, they walked toward the medicine cabinet, ready to refill the empty boxes with herbs.
"The rules have changed today!" Aunt Guan exclaimed to stop it.
The two men paused, asking, "Why?" They were afraid of losing their jobs.
The three of them just laughed and looked at the two. Grandpa Ouyang stepped forward and said, "Let's go have breakfast first, and I'll tell you something while we eat."
Aunt Guan also said, "Go on, eat first."
After the three left, Aunt Guan sat down and complained, "I'm old, and my brain isn't as sharp as yours. You should come up with ideas earlier next time. I've wasted so much of my time. I had to get up before dawn to work, afraid I wouldn't finish before opening for business. My back is about to break." She patted the dust off her hands as she spoke.
Lan Yamei put down her bowl of tofu pudding, chuckled, and said, "We can't say anything carelessly, or people will think we can't even cure a little backache."
The two of them burst into laughter.
Aunt Guan then asked, "Has Nanfang Nan been caught?"
Lan Yamei didn't hide anything from Aunt Guan and told her everything she knew. After listening, Aunt Guan just sighed, "It's too complicated. Luckily, I only know how to treat illnesses."
"All I know how to do is grill barbecue!" Lan Yamei chimed in playfully, and the two of them burst into laughter again. Then, Lan Yamei said to Aunt Guan, "The courtyard you live in is too quiet and there are few people. I was tied up before I even saw it. I won't let you live there again. Sell it."
"That's right, we ate at the clinic last night."
"Let's sell it! Add some more money and buy Hua Man Lou. We'll open a chain store. We'll make the business bigger and stronger, and with all the money we can't spend, we can hire a few maids to serve us. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Lan Ya Mei boldly spoke her mind. Since transmigrating, she had either been starving or narrowly escaping death. It was time to enjoy life.
"Ah! But we don't have nearly enough money to buy Hua Manlou. It would take at least a million taels." Aunt Guan didn't dare to think about it. Although the two shops had made some money, they hadn't even earned back the principal they owed Qiu Zeyu. Moreover, they had spent a lot of money these days, and their accounts were in dire straits.
"One million it is, I'm determined to get it." A bold idea sprouted in Lan Yamei's mind: she wanted to exchange it for the treasure box.
"You make it sound so easy. Have you forgotten how hungry we used to be?" Aunt Guan said earnestly. "Besides, that was a brothel. How can you possibly change people's impression of it? That's very difficult. The most important thing is that Master Qiu can't empty his pockets to help you. He also has his own business to run."
“He doesn’t need to pay. I have a brilliant plan. So, are you in? Let’s do something big. This place is too small. More and more people will be seeking medical treatment in the future, and it won’t be able to accommodate them all,” Lan Yamei asked confidently.
Seeing that Lan Yatou had already made up her mind, Aunt Guan could only smile bitterly and say, "It seems that I still can't escape Hua Manlou and will have to go back in the end. Fine! I'll listen to you. Whatever you say, I'll do it! Anyway, I've already treated you like a daughter. No matter what, I'll always stand by you."
"Hehe, what about Grandpa Ouyang?" Lan Yamei teased deliberately.
"He listens to me, and I listen to you."
The two laughed heartily, feeling relaxed and at ease.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
