"Why do you have two desks when you’re diagnosing patients alone?" The group ca to Lin Miao’s consultation room and saw two desks, feeling a bit puzzled.
"My fiancée is also a doctor, so when I’m diagnosing patients, she helps with so minor tasks. For instance, she might be better received by female patients in certain cases..."
"Oh, is it the woman who’s been following you?"
"No, she’s my student." Lin Miao quickly explained, feeling that the term "student" was more fitting for Xia Zhu’s current status.
"You’re so young and have already taken on a student, and that young lady looks much older than you?" Cui Wanquan asked with a hint of jealousy.
"Well..."
"It’s that Xia Zhu admires Mr. Lin’s dical skills and insisted on studying under him." Xia Zhu explained herself.
"Your na is Xia Zhu, how is Xia Yuan related to you?" Guan Biyun asked, slightly surprised.
"He is my father!" Xia Zhu bowed and replied.
"No wonder. I’ve t your father once. I didn’t expect to see you here. If there’s a chance, could you take to visit your ho?" Guan Biyun nodded slightly.
"Yes, Mr. Guan."
"I had intended to use this room as a temporary treatnt room for patients, but since there are three of you here now, perhaps you’ll need a place to oversee my work..."
"I like peace and quiet, no need." Mr. Jia said straightforwardly, "Instead, let’s check out the yard at the back."
Guan Biyun also shook her head, "We’re here to supervise, not to interfere with your work. We just listen, watch, and take notes without disturbing you."
"Yes."
Upon entering the backyard, Mr. Jia remarked, "Guan Siyao, this courtyard is nice. How about we each take half?"
"This courtyard isn’t suitable for you. You tend to deal with those poisons, and if one accidentally escapes, it would be a disaster." Guan Biyun frowned slightly; she was here at Wan Bin’s request to help Lin Miao. She couldn’t openly support him but would certainly intervene when necessary.
"Don’t worry, my little creatures don’t wander off, and even if they did and bit soone, I can cure them." Mr. Jia reassured.
"Have you forgotten the ti you nearly lost your life?"
"Can we not talk about old affairs? Otherwise, you can have the courtyard." Mr. Jia’s dark face blushed slightly.
"This courtyard is not small; it should be enough for Cui and to stay here. The rooms are similar to those outside. Lin intends to set up a pharmacy and a place to decoct dicine, right?" Guan Biyun observed the layout after the rooms were connected.
"Cui, what do you think?"
"Whatever Mr. Guan says, I have no objections." Cui Wanquan wouldn’t dare oppose.
"Yes, Mr. Guan."
"I enjoy working with herbs. How about I manage the pharmacy for you in the future?" Guan Biyun proposed.
"Guan Siyao, isn’t that against the rules?" Cui Wanquan asked quietly.
"He consults and prescribes; I manage my herbs. I’m not eting patients, so do you think I would alter prescriptions without permission?" Guan Biyun retorted.
"Mr. Guan, Xia Zhu is already a pharmacist..."
"Listen, Cui, they’ve already planned it." Guan Biyun said, "When I say I’ll manage the pharmacy, it’s really about making it convenient for to access the herbs."
"Right, having a pharmacy is convenient for too." Mr. Jia agreed.
"Old Poison, keep your things out of the pharmacy; they make uncomfortable." Guan Biyun looked disgusted.
"Lin, you’re giving this courtyard to Guan Siyao and Cui. You’ve got to find a place, sothing more peaceful." Mr. Jia advised, "Preferably a separate house with its own yard."
"Alright, I’ll find a broker for your requirents," Lin Miao quickly agreed. Rejecting such a good offer would be foolish.
"We’ll pay the rent ourselves." Mr. Jia snorted, "We need to keep our relationship pure. We don’t want others to seize the opportunity to complain in the capital later."
"Old Poison, who are you talking about?" Guan Biyun coldly rebuked.
Lin Miao wasn’t foolish. He understood that Guan Biyun and Mr. Jia had a deep relationship; otherwise, they wouldn’t have t him together last night. Mr. Jia referred to Cui Wanquan, while Guan Biyun was intentionally misdirecting to make Cui Wanquan feel she wasn’t on good terms with Mr. Jia.
One was reminding himself, the other misleading Cui Wanquan.
These two were clearly friends, not foes; however, Cui Wanquan was also brought by Wan Bin, so why did he have a grievance with him?
Could it be simple jealousy because of a narrow mind?
If it’s re jealousy, that’s manageable, but if there are others behind Cui Wanquan, it would require caution.
"Xiaorou, move the stuff." Guan Biyun called to her disciple.
"Guan Siyao, you’ve been prepared..."
"Yes, I just don’t want to live at Xinglin Institute, whether we find a place today or not, I don’t want to live there."
"Mr. Lin, when will the consultation point open?" Guan Biyun asked again.
"I’m ready anyti," Lin Miao said, "If it’s convenient for the three of you, we can start tomorrow."
"Then tomorrow it is." Guan Biyun asked Mr. Jia, "Old Poison, how about you?"
"I’m easy-going; any day will do."
"And you, Cui?"
"I don’t have any objections either." With two people who had more seniority and authority agreeing, what could he say?
"Alright, I’ll go back and prepare. We’ll open for consultations on ti tomorrow." Lin Miao rubbed his hands together and agreed, finally ready to get started.
He’s been anticipating this day since he began preparing for the "Physician’s Exam."
"Cui, you and the servants will live in the west wing, Xiaorou and I will live in the east wing. We’ll split the kitchen in half, and we’ll need to fix up a new toilet ourselves. What do you think?" After carefully reviewing the house and layout of the courtyard, Guan Biyun started making arrangents.
"Alright, as you wish." Cui Jiuquan didn’t have any objections. If he didn’t stay here, he’d have to go back and forth to the outside or to Xinglin Institute, which would waste too much ti each day.
The courtyard actually has a pretty nice environnt; it’s quiet amidst the bustle.
"Our carriage. Lin, is there a service for lodging the carriage here?"
"Yes, Mr. Guan, if you trust , you can store the carriage at my ho. We have a large backyard and a stable." Lin Miao tentatively asked.
"Please don’t call Mr. Guan anymore; just call Mr. Guan." Guan Biyun said, "Since your family has space to store the carriage, that’s just perfect."
He glanced at Cui Wanquan’s face.
"My carriage is rented from the carriage agency. If I’m staying here, it probably won’t be needed; I’ll just return the carriage to the agency." Cui Wanquan explained.
"As you wish."
...
"This courtyard is a bit run-down, but if you don’t mind, the monthly rent is ten liang; you must rent for at least a year, so one hundred and twenty liang will do." The agent led Mr. Jia in Xiuyue Square looking for a house and finally located a sowhat secluded courtyard.
It’s a three-room space with two additional rooms. The courtyard isn’t large, but it’s spacious enough if just two people are living here. It’s located at the end of an alley.
The house had just beco vacant not long ago when an elderly couple lived here before.
Shortly after winter start, the old man passed away, and after burial, the old lady departed as well. Their daughter was married far away, and their son has another residence.
So the house beca vacant.
Since soone just died in it recently, though it was listed for rent at the agency, there were few inquiries.
It’s not considered a haunted house, but it’s seen as rather ominous; as long as people know soone recently died in it, they generally avoid checking it out.
This ti was also the off-season for renting, so this courtyard had been in the agency for a while without being rented out.
"This courtyard is decent; how much would it cost to purchase?" Mr. Jia examined the courtyard and though it didn’t compare to his residence in the capital, it looked pretty good. Anyway, he would stay for a year, and purchasing would save a lot of hassle.
If he bought it, fixed it up a little, at worst when leaving, he could sell it again; it probably wouldn’t be a loss.
"Two thousand liang of silver; that’s the owner’s asking price, but it could probably be negotiated."
"Fifteen hundred. If the owner is willing to sell, I’ll buy it." Mr. Jia said, "The house is too old; if I buy it, I’d still need to spend on repairs before it can be lived in."
"If you are sincere about buying, I’ll negotiate for you." The agent nodded; a sale cos down to you offering, countering, and eventually reaching a midpoint.
It’s just when no offer is made, but as long as there is an offer, negotiations can begin.
The house owner lives in Dongshan City, and both parties were sincere. Soon the courtyard’s price was settled; it sold for one thousand six hundred and eighty liang of silver.
The house contract and land covenant were agreed to be transferred at the governnt office the next day, but under the witness of the agent, the sale contract was already signed, and the deposit paid.
Thus, that day Mr. Jia and "Hui" directly moved into the courtyard.
He talked about repairs which he would do himself rather than hiring outside help.
On a business trip, incidentally investing in a property, Lin Miao found "Hui"’s ssage intriguing.
Dongshan City’s public security is stable, economic activities are sound, and property prices have slightly increased each year. So Mr. Jia believed buying this courtyard wouldn’t lose him money; who knows, maybe if he sells it when leaving next year, he might even make a small profit.
Even if it doesn’t make money, he can still save on this year’s rent, so either way he won’t lose.
Mr. Jia considered himself quite clever.
...
The next day, in the morning, during the second part of the third ti.
After being delayed for nearly half a month, Lin Miao’s Convenient dical Diagnosis Point finally officially opened for business.
There was no lion dance for the opening, nor any egg giveaway; just a normal notice posted on the bulletin board at the diagnosis point.
Xiuyue Square Convenience dical Diagnosis Point is now open to the public, with newly-appointed physician Lin Miao serving as attending physician.
Consultation fee: ten coins per person!
Throughout the morning, many visitors ca by curiously, but not one ca for a consultation, leaving Xia Zhu almost wanting to pull people in from the streets.
This was clearly against the rules.
Sitting inside the consultation room, Sun Youwei grew anxious; if they didn’t receive even a single patient on the first day of opening, it was bound to beco a joke.
Only Lin Miao sat there unmoved, and since no patients were coming, he didn’t want to waste ti and concentrated on transcribing "Soup Head Verses."
Taking advantage of the ti he had, he wanted to transcribe the dical classics he had morized in his mind one by one to avoid forgetting them over ti.
It’s important to recall old knowledge; things easily get forgotten if not frequently revisited.
This task had been ongoing, with several volus of classics already transcribed at ho, like "Lingshu Scripture," "Su Wen," Hua Tuo’s "Inner Canon," as well as "Qingnang Scripture," "Zi Wu Collection and Eight Spirit Turtle Skill," and "Difficult Scripture," among others.
As long as it’s one of the Xinglin Transmission’s Thirteen Classics, those are a must-learn in traditional dicine; teaching Xia Zhu as a disciple must uphold the title of "teacher."
He never took these out for fear of triggering unpredictable disasters; only one simplified version of "Pulse Science" based on "Vessel Scripture" was available...
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