They didn't know how long they had slept, but they were suddenly awakened by a deafening noise downstairs. Lan Yamei and Qiu Zeyu woke up at the same time.
"What's all the noise outside?" Lan Yamei asked groggily, rubbing her eyes that were still half-closed.
Qiu Zeyu yawned widely, still sleepy-eyed. "I don't know, let me see." He got up, walked to the window, and looked out.
A group of people seeking medical advice surrounded the clinic, shouting and clamoring. The Li father and son kept explaining and bowing, but the crowd only grew larger.
The shopkeepers around watched the commotion from afar, their expressions unreadable, neither friend nor foe.
"What's going on down there? What happened?" Lan Yamei asked, sitting up.
Qiu Zeyu closed the window and said, "It seems something happened at the clinic. Let's go take a look."
"A clinic?" Lan Yamei's mind raced through a hundred possibilities. Someone died? Zhao Zhicheng was discovered? Qiu Kongkong's poison relapsed? Or were Aunt Guan and Uncle Ouyang beaten up?
In a rush, I quickly dashed down.
As they stepped out of the barbecue restaurant, the owner, Mr. Wang, quickly stopped them and pushed them back into the shop, whispering, "What are you doing out here now? Let them say whatever they want! They'll disperse once this blows over. I've seen this kind of thing many times; the more you explain, the worse it gets."
"What exactly happened?" Lan Yamei asked anxiously.
"They said the clinic is out of doctors and can't see patients today, so those who came from afar are making a fuss!" Manager Wang said, seeing that he couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she could be prepared.
"No doctor? How is that possible! There are three doctors!" Lan Yamei said as she rushed out.
As soon as they arrived at the clinic, they saw that the door was tightly closed. The Li father and son stood at the door, advising, "Please go back first. There is no doctor in the clinic today, so we really cannot see any patients. Please understand."
Several family members in rough clothes, their beards twitching with anger, retorted, "What do you mean there are no doctors? Just say it directly, are you trying to raise prices? It's not that we can't afford it, it's just that our illnesses can't be delayed. Hurry up and open for business."
Someone in the crowd chimed in, "That's right! They're just playing tricks. If they want to make money and raise prices, they should just say so. We'll tighten our belts to cover the extra costs. The problem is that some people have become famous in the surrounding villages and don't want to treat ordinary people like us anymore!"
"That's right, they look down on us poor people!" said a red-faced woman. "Yesterday I was the last one to get a number, and they told me it was too late and to come back tomorrow. Today, they just won't open. They really don't treat us poor people like human beings! Are they playing a trick on us? If anything happens to me because of you delaying my treatment, I'll never forgive you."
Everyone was talking at once, mostly expressing dissatisfaction with the clinic, but no one seemed to consider things from the clinic's perspective.
The Li family father and son dared not offend anyone, and were so anxious that they could not explain themselves, so they kept apologizing and begging for everyone's understanding.
The crowd refused to leave, and their emotions became even more agitated.
Lan Yamei squeezed through the crowd and said to the Li father and son, "Leave it to me!"
He turned to the crowd and said, "Everyone, please be quiet. I am the second-in-command of this clinic. Please listen to me."
Upon hearing that she was the second-in-command, everyone immediately turned their anger towards her.
"Can your word be counted?" a hunched old man asked.
"Why doesn't it count? Old man, you're too old to cause trouble here. The clinic is closed today! Everyone, please go home!" Lan Yamei showed no politeness to this old man who was taking advantage of his age and pushing his luck.
The old man, annoyed, jabbed his cane into the ground. "Little girl! You're too arrogant! Don't put on airs just because you're a little famous. Let me tell you! Your livelihood depends on us patients! Without us, you'd be going out of business!"
The crowd regrouped and protested loudly.
With the support of the crowd, the old man uttered even more arrogant words, "Listen to me, everyone! If this clinic doesn't open today, we'll make it close forever! Doctors are supposed to be benevolent, but this clinic is utterly immoral and untrustworthy!"
Speaking of which, not many people actually get back together. Everyone has their own agenda: coming here for treatment is indeed cheap and effective. It's just that they couldn't see a doctor today, and they're still upset.
Seeing this, Lan Yamei stood on a higher step and said to everyone, "Listen to me, everyone! How many crops are grown in a year?"
This question left everyone completely bewildered: what does growing crops have to do with seeing a doctor?
A farmer said, "I know that we have four distinct seasons here, and we can grow two crops a year."
“Good, well said! There are four seasons in a year, but only two crops can be grown. Why?” Lan Yamei asked again.
"Sigh, the land needs a rest, and we need to spread some manure to store up energy so that we can grow good crops." After answering, the farmer seemed to think of something and lowered his head.
Lan Yamei continued, "What this brother said is absolutely right! The earth needs rest, let alone people!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd that had been causing trouble seemed to understand something, and some quietly withdrew from the crowd and dispersed.
Lan Yamei continued, "To be honest, all the doctors at the clinic are exhausted, and the clinic will be closed for the next three days! The reason we didn't tell everyone directly is that we didn't want any misunderstandings. Now that the clinic is famous, it's inevitable that some people will be envious and jealous. If these people knew that our doctors were all sick and exhausted, who knows what kind of slander they would do against us!"
After he said that, some people, feeling ashamed, secretly left.
The burly men at the head of the group understood somewhat and bowed, saying, "We're sorry, Second Manager! We were just anxious to see the doctor and lost our composure for a moment. Please forgive us! We'll wait three more days, we'll stay nearby and wait patiently." After saying that, they turned to the people who hadn't left and said loudly, "Everyone, disperse! Doctor Mei will not abandon us once she has recovered! Come back in three days."
The group had no choice but to help their sick members and prepare to leave.
Lan Yamei said loudly, "Don't worry, everyone, our clinic will never raise prices! Please leave!"
The group finally dispersed with peace of mind.
Qiu Zeyu then walked up to her, gave her a thumbs up, and said, "What a talent! You solved the problem with just one word! I was so anxious just now that I was gripping my sword tightly."
"Don't act recklessly. Think things through. I don't want the imperial court to arrest you!"
Qiu Zeyu thought she had finally learned to care about people, and his ears couldn't help but burn.
Who knew she would then say, "I haven't even learned kung fu yet! You can't die!"
Qiu Zeyu was so angry that his smile vanished. Wang Fengyang covered his mouth and secretly laughed, earning two flicks on the forehead from his master.
Lan Yamei asked the Li family father and son, "Why isn't the store open today?"
"Normally, Dr. Mei and Dr. Ouyang would have arrived by this time, but for some reason, they're late today," the Li father and son said anxiously.
"Where is Doctor Zhao?" Lan Yamei asked.
"Dr. Zhao is still asleep; he didn't go to bed until almost dawn," said the Li family father and son.
“Okay, write two notices. The first one should say that the store will be closed for three days. The second one should say that a doctor is being hired with a high salary.” Lan Yamei quickly made the arrangements.
The Li father and son quickly got to work.
Leaving Wang Fengyang at home to look after Qiu Kongkong, Qiu Zeyu and Lan Yamei rushed to the Ouyang family's ancestral home without even having time to go upstairs to check on Qiu Kongkong's condition.
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