Chapter 162 A Gift for My Wife
With continuous rain for days, the artisans in the East Market had already started making a ruckus.
Especially those who bring their families.
They relied on performing every day to earn some income.
When the weather is nice.
If there are many supporters, one can earn over a hundred coins.
Even if there are fewer passersby, they can still earn a few dozen coins.
Regardless of how much or how little they earn, at least they can feed their entire family.
But when it's cloudy or rainy, let alone selling your skills at a stall, it's difficult to even find a dry place to shelter from the rain.
Their situation was roughly similar to "when it rains, it pours."
Therefore, at this moment, near noon, there were quite a few people like this hiding inside the Jishi Pharmacy on the edge of the East Market.
Some are all alone.
Just like that fortune teller, he put the cloth banner down and lay half-reclined on it, saying, "Less complaining, less effort, no hunger."
Some were genuinely accompanied by their families, including three generations of grandparents and grandchildren, dressed in tattered clothes.
Perhaps because of feelings of inferiority, they huddled in a corner by the entrance, trying their best not to affect the pharmacy's business.
Some even set their sights on the pharmacy.
"Accountant Liu, it's raining so hard today, you guys are having trouble getting lunch. How about I go and run an errand for you?"
A young man dressed in shorts and with dark skin said with a grin, "Just give me some food."
Liu Quan glanced at him sideways and waved his hand impatiently to shoo him away, saying, "Go somewhere cool and don't bother me."
If Chen Yi hadn't said something like "doing things for others is doing things for yourself," he would have kicked these people out long ago.
These people originally had some money left over, enough to buy a few bottles of tea.
After so many days, they were all pale and thin, and they couldn't even afford to eat. How could they possibly spend two coins to buy Wangji tea?
"If you don't want to let me, then don't. Why are you being so fierce?"
The dark-skinned young man muttered as he sat down next to the fortune teller, squeezing onto the cloth banner beneath him, sighing repeatedly.
"When will this awful weather ever end?"
The fortune teller, with his head resting on his hands, glanced up at him and said with a smile:
"How about I calculate it for you?"
The dark-skinned young man nodded: "Free."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. You've made a mistake in trying to squeeze money out of Grandpa."
Before the young man could speak again, a burly man next to him sneered:
"Old Ji, don't you dare cause trouble for others."
"With your skills in fortune telling and marriage prediction, you barely make a few bucks a day. How can you possibly predict when it will stop raining?"
"Hey, you look down on me, huh?"
"Today I'm not steaming buns, I'm going to prove you wrong and show you what I'm capable of."
"Let Old Ji calculate it, let's see what he can figure out..."
Just as a commotion was breaking out inside the Jishi Pharmacy, the sound of gongs, drums, and suonas rang out from outside.
It sounds festive, but it doesn't sound like the kind of music played at weddings.
Before long, the drum and gong procession came from afar and stopped at the entrance of Jishi Pharmacy.
The jarring sound, combined with the noise in the hall, made Liu Quan, who was already annoyed, frown.
He immediately dropped the ledgers and abacus, strode out of the pharmacy, and questioned them rudely:
"How dare you play music and make noise in this medicine shop? If you disturb the patients, can you take responsibility?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the drumming and gonging outside the door stopped.
Then two thin old men in brocade robes, each carrying a long, rectangular object wrapped in red cloth, appeared before them. They smiled and cupped their hands in greeting, saying:
"We are here today to present a plaque to Ma Liangcai, the Divine Physician Ma. We apologize for any oversight on our part, Accountant Liu."
Liu Quan was taken aback. "Send a plaque to Old Ma?"
Realizing what was happening, his impatience vanished, replaced by a look of delight, and he hurriedly called out to those behind him:
"Old Ma, come quick, come quick, I've brought you a plaque."
"This is a good thing, a great thing."
Hearing the noise, Ma Liangcai walked out of the pharmacy with suspicion, followed by a group of artisans craning their necks to watch the spectacle.
From a distance, it looked like he had a bunch of heads growing out of his back.
Ignoring his surroundings, Ma Liangcai sized up the thin old man and frowned as he asked:
"May I ask who you are, sir?"
He didn't remember ever treating this person, and there wasn't a single familiar face in the drum and gong procession behind the old man.
The thin old man smiled and stepped forward, pulling him along, saying, "Dr. Ma, you must have a bad memory."
“You’ve forgotten that you once treated a child when you were practicing medicine at the foot of Mount Wumeng.”
At the foot of Wumeng Mountain?
Ma Liangcai felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that the visitor was up to no good.
He used to hang around the Wumeng Mountains, just freeloading.
He can cure even minor illnesses and ailments with medicine.
When he encountered difficult or complicated cases, he would simply refer the patients to doctors with better skills, earning a referral fee in the process.
A moment of silence.
Ma Liangcai forced a smile, cupped his hands, and said, "I don't remember, I hope you will reply, sir."
Seeing this, the thin old man still maintained a sincere expression: "Doctor Ma's words have put this old man in a difficult position."
"After all, you saved my young master. Even if you've forgotten, we can still accept this plaque today."
He paused, then looked at Liu Quan beside him, "Don't you think that makes sense?"
Liu Quan was unaware of the underlying reasons, but he knew that a plaque bearing the name of a renowned doctor would benefit the pharmacy's business.
So he pushed through the crowd, first whispering a word of advice to Ma Liangcai, then smiled and said:
"The old gentleman is right, we can certainly accept a plaque."
After saying that, he stepped forward to lift the red cloth covering the plaque.
Seeing this, the old man smiled and took a step back.
Just then, a calm voice came from outside the crowd:
"Wait a minute."
Liu Quan paused in his work and looked up at his surroundings.
Then they saw that a circle of oil-paper umbrellas around them split in the middle, and the person at the end was Chen Yi.
Without hesitation, Liu Quan strode over and bowed, saying, "Manager, what brings you here?"
Chen Yi glanced at him, then walked into the crowd, holding up his oil-paper umbrella.
He glanced at the old man whose smile had faded somewhat, then at Ma Liangcai whose expression was unusual, and said calmly:
"Sir, I appreciate your kind gesture, but please take the plaque back."
The thin old man was slightly taken aback, then quickly forced a smile: "You must be the manager of Jishi Pharmacy. Please forgive my poor eyesight."
"My young master specifically instructed that Dr. Ma's medical skills are superb, and the plaque must be delivered."
"I hope the shopkeeper will accept it and fulfill my young master's wish."
"wish?"
Chen Yi smiled calmly, stepped forward, lifted a corner of the plaque to glance at its contents, and then put it down.
“Old sir, please go back. It is my duty at Jishi Pharmacy to treat and save lives, not for this plaque of ‘miracle doctor’.”
"this……"
Before the gaunt old man could say anything more, Chen Yi raised his hand, signaling Ma Liangcai and the others to return to the pharmacy, and verbally instructed them:
"Liu Quan, see the guest out."
Liu Quan hesitated for a moment, but seeing that the old man had made up his mind, he asked the thin old man to leave with his men, completely bewildered.
Although the drum and gong troupe was somewhat reluctant, they had no choice but to head back home when they saw that the pharmacy owner and doctor had all returned.
Before long, most of the onlookers inside and outside the gate had dispersed.
[Witness Ma Liangcai receiving a plaque proclaiming him a divine healer. Reward: Massage Technique, +10 Luck.]
[Comment: The arrival of the person brought a great commotion and created a significant scene. This allowed Ma Liangcai to escape punishment by losing his "Divine Physician" plaque; his performance was commendable.]
Chen Yi glanced at it and understood. He then gestured for Ma Liangcai to go to the inner hall to talk.
"Write."
Ma Liangcai then wrote a few words in understanding: "Shopkeeper, he said he came from Wumeng Mountain, but I don't remember."
After reading it, Chen Yi nodded and wrote a few words for him: "Keep a low profile for a while, I will have someone investigate thoroughly."
After Ma Liangcai finished reading, he reached out and wiped the writing off the table, then said with a smile:
"The plaque that was delivered today may seem like a good thing, but it will actually put a lot of pressure on our pharmacy."
"I hope Dr. Ma won't blame me for being autocratic?"
Ma Liangcai understood and bowed, saying, "Since I am working at Jishi Pharmacy, everything is naturally up to the manager."
Chen Yi patted him on the shoulder, "Do a good job, and I'll have Liu Quan give you some silver as your bonus for this month."
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
After chatting for a few minutes, the two walked out of the inner hall.
Chen Yi also encouraged the others, instructed Liu Quan to give him some money, and then left amidst the commotion of the crowd in the hall.
"It's been a while, Manager Chen, you still look as dashing as ever."
"Still calling him Manager Chen? We should start calling him 'Mr. Qingzhou'."
"Oh right, Mr. Qingzhou, hey, I almost forgot, he's now a teacher at Guiyun Academy, and he's quite famous."
"If those scholars heard you say that, you'd be in for a good scolding..."
Chen Yi had heard some of these discussions.
However, when he left the pharmacy and headed straight for Xiao Wan'er and the others, he paid no attention to these things.
In fact.
Chen Yi, Xiao Wan'er, and the others had already arrived when the drum and gong troupe arrived at the East Market.
However, they were blocked by the people banging drums and gongs, so they obediently followed behind.
After hearing what the old man said, Chen Yi had a bad feeling. So he asked Xiao Wan'er and the others to sit quietly while he went to the medicine hall alone to deal with the situation.
The result was as he expected.
Ma Liangcai was a lame doctor with no medical skills. How could he possibly have obtained the plaque of "miracle doctor" except through other people's schemes and plots?
Chen Yi couldn't immediately figure out who would scheme against Ma Liangcai like this.
Cui Qingwu and Chen Yunfan?
It doesn't seem like it.
Hidden guards?
That's impossible.
Such pointless scheming, aside from causing trouble for the Xiao family, has no impact on the pharmacy or the Xiao family.
After much thought, it seems like something done by someone in the same industry.
Thinking about all this, Chen Yi returned to the carriage, gave a brief explanation, and then smiled and said he was hungry.
Xiao Wan'er, without suspicion, led Xiao Wuge and the others down from the carriage and said gently:
"That old shop is in the alley not far away."
"Can you smell it? It smells wonderful."
"Yes..."
Before long, the group walked into the alley and sat down at the restaurant.
What they didn't notice was that there was a beautifully decorated carriage next to the East Market.
The two people sitting inside were staring at their backs.
"Second brother, your plan has failed."
"It's just a small gift for my 'wife' to meet her; if it doesn't come true, so be it."
"Let's go over and say hello."
(End of this chapter)
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