"The noodles are ready! The noodles are ready!"
As Li Ang locked up the wooden box containing all their money, Chai Cuiqiao emerged from the kitchen carrying two bowls of steaming egg noodles.
The master and servant began to eat. Perhaps due to being scarred by poverty in her childhood, Chai Cuiqiao had a hearty appetite. Even a simple bowl of plain noodles without oil was devoured with enthusiasm, accompanied by loud slurping sounds.
"Slow down, don't choke," Li Ang reminded her with a gentle smile.
Chai Cuiqiao merely hummed in acknowledgment and continued to bury her head in her meal, alternating bites of noodles with vegetables. Only when a perfectly intact poached egg and a little soup remained did she reluctantly bite into the crispy edge of the egg and finish it off with the soup.
THUMP, THUMP.
A knock on the door shattered the momentary tranquility. Li Ang frowned slightly and looked towards the entrance of Security Hall.
The mourning period just ended; who would visit now?
He glanced at Chai Cuiqiao, who understood immediately. She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, stood up, picked up the wooden box filled with coins from the floor, and went into the backyard.
Only after Chai Cuiqiao had left did Li Ang clear his throat, walk to the door, and ask, "Who is it?"
"Is young Mr. Li of the Li Family at home? I am Yu Jie, an assistant from Qing'an Hall in East City. You may call me Yu Liu, Mr. Li."
The voice outside continued, "My master sent me to deliver the gift box distributed at the last Xinglin Society meeting."
"Your master? Qing'an Hall?"
Li Ang narrowed his eyes. Qing'an Hall in East City, much like Security Hall, was a medicine shop and clinic. Its owner, surnamed Yu and named Miaoshui, was one of the most sought-after "Fortune Doctors" in Yizhou City.
A Fortune Doctor wasn't someone from Fu Province, nor did it mean they were prosperous. It referred to a doctor believed to possess "good fortune."
Having grown up in a clinic, Li Ang had a profound understanding of the medical system of his era.
The medical resources of Yu Country could generally be divided into two categories: official and civilian.
The official side was primarily represented by the Chang'an Imperial Medical Bureau, the Chamber of Imperial Medicine, and the Medicine Storage Bureau. The Pharmacy Bureau and Medicine Storage Bureau served the Emperor and the Crown Prince, respectively. Sometimes, upon the Emperor's command, they would also treat ministers, concubines, and high officials.
The Imperial Medical Bureau, on the other hand, was responsible for national medical governance and education.
These three central institutions were meticulously organized, concentrating medical elites, and their level of medical care was arguably second to none in that era. However, this contrasted sharply with the backwardness of local medical care throughout Yu Country.
The fifth volume of "Yan Family Precepts" from the Former Sui era, titled "On Frugality," describes those who are "knowledgeable but not proficient" as follows: "...in divination and archery, hitting the mark three times out of six; in medicine, five out of ten treatments failing; in music, ranking below dozens of others; and in archery, being merely one among hundreds..."
Sun Simiao, the medical saint of the current dynasty, also stated bluntly in the preface of "Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces": "Today's Doctors only know how to diagnose and prescribe. They do not understand the proper seasons for harvesting herbs, nor are they familiar with their places of origin, their properties, or whether they are fresh or old. This is why, when they treat ten patients, not even five or six recover; this is truly the reason."
If not even five or six out of ten recovered, it meant that most Doctors had a cure rate below fifty percent.
It's important to remember that the medical system of this era lacked detailed data for reference, such as a patient's constitution, age, physical condition, specific type of illness, the severity of symptoms before seeking medical help, and the duration of the illness.
Many ailments were conditions from which patients could recover on their own through their body's immunity, and these cases were also counted as successful treatments. This meant the actual cure rate for most Doctors was likely even lower.
The overall mediocrity of Doctors seriously dampened the public's willingness to seek medical treatment, leading to widespread criticism and ridicule in numerous texts.
The "Han Shu·Yi Wen Zhi" states: "...and for those who misapply treatment, they add heat to heat, and cold to cold. The Essence Qi is injured internally, though not visible externally; this is their unique failing. Thus, the proverb says, 'It is often better to go untreated than to fall into the hands of an average doctor.'"
This long-standing popular proverb implies that it's better to remain untreated than to receive mediocre treatment, which is still preferable to being misdiagnosed and harmed by an incompetent doctor.
"Though unable to cure minor ailments completely, it is still better than mistakenly taking harmful medicine."
This sentiment stemmed essentially from a distrust and mockery of incompetent doctors. As for the so-called advice to "not take medications blindly, adhere to the unity of heaven and man, and allow for natural healing," this was actually a misinterpretation of the sarcastic saying, mistaking criticism for praise.
In summary, the overall backwardness of the medical system in Yu Country gave rise to various chaotic situations. Many common people, when they fell ill, would stay at home copying the "New Bodhisattva Scripture" or the "Exhortation to Virtue Scripture," hoping to dispel their diseases by transcribing Buddha Sutras and accumulating merit through good deeds.
Copying Buddha Sutras instead of seeing a doctor was, naturally, akin to waiting for death. However, relying on Medical Books wasn't much better. The Medical Books of the time were of inconsistent quality, often containing self-contradictory statements, ambiguous language, and even bizarre folk remedies.
For instance, the "Supplements to the Materia Medica," compiled in the early part of this dynasty, claimed that "human flesh can cure wasting diseases" (possibly referring to tuberculosis). This led to "many filial sons and daughters, benevolent mothers and fathers, scraping their own flesh to feed the sick," resulting in countless tragic deaths.
All these circumstances contributed to the emergence of "doctors with good fortune," or "Fortune Doctors."
These kinds of doctors had no real Medical Skill. They simply became famous by coincidence, "curing" a few patients (most likely through the patients' own natural recovery), and were suddenly sought after by everyone. As soon as they prescribed a remedy, thousands would rush to buy it, regardless of whether it was appropriate for their condition.
If a patient recovered after taking the medicine, it was attributed to the doctor's good fortune, which was believed to have been transferred to the patient through the medicine, leading to their recovery.
If, however, a patient did not improve after taking the medicine, it was considered fate. The patient's own "thin destiny" prevented them from benefiting from the doctor's good fortune.
Even if the patient died, no one else was to blame.
No matter how one looked at it, Fortune Doctors always came out on top.
Yu Miaoshui was a typical Fortune Doctor.
Six years ago, he was just a penniless Jianghu itinerant doctor in tattered clothes who had wandered into Yizhou City. He became famous overnight, earning a fortune daily, by treating hundreds of patients with a so-called "Divine Medicine" that allegedly "cured a thousand ailments upon ingestion"—his Divine Medicine was mung bean soup.
That's right, initially, Yu Miaoshui only prescribed one remedy: mung bean soup.
Stomach ache in children? Drink mung bean soup.
Headaches and fevers? Drink mung bean soup.
Imbalance of qi and blood? Drink mung bean soup.
Gynecological disorders? Drink mung bean soup.
Yu Miaoshui instructed patients seeking his medicine to drink it in the morning, in the evening, before meals, after meals; to cook it into a thick porridge, a thin porridge; to drink it hot, drink it cold. His prescriptions caused the price of mung beans in the city to skyrocket.
Within Yizhou City, there existed the Xinglin Society, a self-established guild of folk doctors.
Faced with Yu Miaoshui, an outsider who disregarded rules and blatantly deceived naive men and women, the Doctors of the Xinglin Society were naturally indignant at first and wanted to teach him a lesson.
However, as time went on, an increasing number of common people claimed that drinking mung bean soup daily made them feel healthier. This caused the Doctors of the Xinglin Society to have second thoughts.
Less skilled Doctors were skeptical but began to believe that Yu Miaoshui might genuinely be a "Fortune Doctor" blessed with good fortune.
The more adept Doctors, though aware that Yu Miaoshui was a charlatan deceiving the public, were powerless to stop the fervor of the naive common people. Patients themselves would offer "proof" on Yu Miaoshui's behalf, citing ancient texts: mung beans are sweet and cooling; when boiled and eaten, they clear the gallbladder and nourish the stomach, relieve summer heat and quench thirst, promote urination, cure dysentery and diarrhea, strengthen the intestines and stomach, improve vision, treat headaches, stop vomiting, heal rashes, and reduce swelling...
If drinking mung bean soup didn't work, it simply meant one hadn't drunk enough.
Yu Miaoshui knew how to seize an opportunity. After becoming a "Fortune Doctor" by selling mung bean soup, he knew when to quit while he was ahead. With his first pot of gold, he bought a storefront in Yizhou City, opened a medicine shop and clinic, and actually hired a proper doctor to see patients. He himself rarely made house calls anymore, generally preferring to expound on the theory that "mung bean soup cures all illnesses."
Li Ang quickly reviewed Yu Miaoshui's background in his mind and, with a silent 'tch' in his heart, reached out, unbarred the door, and opened it.
He had absolutely no favorable impression of such Jianghu charlatans who deceived the world. However, he was surprised that the Xinglin Society had actually allowed Yu Miaoshui to join.
What happened outside during the four months of mourning?
"Yu Liu, correct?" Li Ang nodded towards the gray-clad young servant outside the door. "The items from the Xinglin Society..."
"They're here." With a smile, Yu Liu presented a copper-edged wooden box with both hands.
Li Ang took the box, opened it, and glanced inside. It was the same as the gift boxes distributed at every regular meeting of the Xinglin Society in the past, containing small gifts like saltpeter and ginseng.
"Thank you." Li Ang closed the box and looked at Yu Liu, who remained standing in place. Frowning, he asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Ahem, it's like this." Yu Liu cupped his hands, feigning hesitation. "My master wished for me to ask you if you... have any intention of selling the Security Hall shop in the near future."
"What?" Li Ang's eyes narrowed. He gripped the doorframe and said coldly, "No. Please leave. I won't see you out."
Seeing Li Ang about to close the door, Yu Liu hurriedly said, "My master is willing to offer 180,000 coins for Security Hall!"
One hundred and eighty thousand coins—one hundred and eighty strings—was enough to buy forty to fifty acres of medium-grade farmland outside the city, or two similarly sized residences in a slightly more remote part of Yizhou City.
BANG!
The door slammed shut. Outside, Yu Liu bit his lip and stomped his foot. "One hundred and eighty thousand coins, plus a house in the city..."
"I won't sell, no matter how much you offer," Li Ang said coldly from inside. "Go back."
"You..." Yu Liu took a deep breath, calmed himself, and cupped his hands outside the door. "In that case, my master will pay a visit later this evening to discuss this with you personally."
With that, he pressed his lips together tightly, flicked his sleeve, and departed, leaving a chilling "Just you wait" hanging in the air.
Hearing the footsteps gradually recede, Li Ang turned around with an indifferent expression and casually placed the gift box on the counter.
"He's gone?" Chai Cuiqiao's small head peeked out from behind the beaded curtain. "What was that about? Does Yu Miaoshui want to buy our house?"
"He's probably after this storefront." Li Ang waved his hand. "This street along the river is near Yishui Bridge and has a lot of foot traffic. If Yu Miaoshui wants to expand, he'd need to move here from East City."
"Then..."
"Of course, we can't sell it to him." Li Ang scoffed. "Sending a servant to inquire about the price right after my mourning period ended clearly shows he's banking on the fact that I haven't had my capping ceremony yet and supposedly lack the means to support myself. We both run medicine shops; a quick look at the customer flow is enough to estimate revenue and net income. He probably thinks we don't have much savings and are afraid of depleting them, so we'd sell to him without hesitation, right? Hmph, Yu Miaoshui. He has business acumen but lacks a doctor's heart and ethics. Letting him get his hands on a prime location would only be helping a villain."
"Exactly, exactly! That fellow is too vile!" Chai Chai nodded in agreement, clenching her small fists and punching the air a few times as if to pummel Yu Miaoshui from afar.
Besides... Li Ang walked to the table, picked up the now-cold tea, gazed at it for a moment, then drained it in one gulp, silently adding in his heart, This Security Hall... holds a secret.
Li Ang remembered very clearly: his first awakening of memories from an Otherworld had occurred four months ago, right after drinking water from the well in the backyard.
Although he wasn't sure if there was truly a connection between the two, this concerned his greatest secret. He couldn't risk it, no matter what.