Chapter 39: The Bald Head

Gu Xiankun finally found Zeng Yi's clinic and pushed the door open. Zeng Yi was sitting inside, engrossed in a book.

"Director Zeng, guess what happened?" Gu Xiankun walked in with a smile.

Zeng Yi stood up and found a chair for Gu Xiankun, inviting him to sit down. "Judging from your appearance, I guess the stone lions in front of your old house have grown legs and come back!"

Gu Xiankun looked at him with admiration. "Director Zeng, you are truly a master of prediction!"

Previously, when Gu Mingzhu was at her sickest, Gu Xiankun had wanted to privately negotiate with his second uncle to see if they could replace the stone lions with smaller ones. However, Cui Shiyi had refused first, and later, when Gu Mingzhu found out about this, she severely reprimanded him. It wasn't until the stone lions returned on their own that Gu Xiankun began to understand.

Some principles must be upheld. It's better to have only one lion than to compromise the pride and dignity of the Gu family. If you give in easily, you won't gain respect; instead, people will think you are easy to bully and might make even more unreasonable demands next time.

Gu Xiankun didn't understand this before, but now he fully grasped it. When the stone lions were placed back, he felt a heavy sigh of relief, and he felt incredibly refreshed. Gu Mingzhu even made a rare appointment to play mahjong, something she hadn't done since she fell ill.

"Is Chairman Gu's condition any better?" Zeng Yi asked.

"After crying at the ancestral hall, I felt she improved a lot and became less irritable," Gu Xiankun smiled. "Your treatment methods are truly miraculous, making my mother's long-standing illness improve in a short time without any prescriptions or medication."

Zeng Yi smiled. "It's just a matter of adapting to the situation."

He had anticipated this. High-ranking officials value their dignity above all. Sometimes, they fight over trivial matters like a nightclub hostess or an extra drink, not because they lack anything, but because they must defend their dignity. If they don't, they will lose face and be seen as easy to bully, leading to even more unreasonable demands in the future.

What is dignity? Dignity means that if I say I want to place large stone lions, I must place large stone lions. If I replace them with others or use different ones, I won't place them. If you don't let me place them, I'll make you place them yourself.

This time, Gu Mingzhu not only regained her dignity but also earned a reputation for being reasonable in Cui Shiyi's hometown. After a good cry, the pent-up anger in her heart dissipated, and her illness improved significantly.

Zeng Yi took a prescription from the book and said, "I've already written the prescription. Follow it, take two doses a day, and after ten doses, I'll come for a follow-up visit."

Gu Xiankun took it and carefully put it away.

Zeng Yi added, "This is a classic prescription from the Qing Dynasty physician Wang Qingren's 'Medical Forest Revisions,' called 'Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang.' It is the most suitable for treating Chairman Gu's condition."

Zeng Yi wasn't showing off his extensive knowledge but rather explaining that for wealthy families, medical treatment is not as simple as just taking medicine. They value their lives greatly and won't easily take medicine of unknown origin unless they understand where it comes from and what it treats. This was also mentioned in Zeng Yi's grandfather's notes.

Gu Xiankun thanked him. "Thank you for your efforts, Director Zeng."

"There's no need to thank me. Healing the sick is my duty."

Gu Xiankun changed the topic. "By the way, when will your clinic open?"

"Soon. Once the equipment I ordered is ready, it will open."

"Make sure to let me know. I'll definitely come to congratulate you." Gu Xiankun said politely and stood up. "I'll go get the medicine first. I'll come back to bother you later."

"I'll see you out!"

Zeng Yi escorted Gu Xiankun to the door. He knew that when Gu Xiankun said he would come back, it meant he would definitely come back with a significant thank you. The Gu family wouldn't often say "thank you," but they would never owe anyone a favor.

Shortly after Gu Xiankun left, the door was pushed open again. A woman in her early thirties entered, dressed fashionably with a foreign flair. She was not tall but wore high heels that were at least ten centimeters high, clicking as she walked in. She asked, "Are you opening a clinic here?"

Zeng Yi was puzzled. His clinic hadn't even hung a sign yet, so how did someone find him? Could someone have spread the word for him? He responded warmly, "Yes, the clinic will open soon. Do you need to see a doctor?"

"Who is the owner here?" the woman asked.

"I am," Zeng Yi replied.

The woman looked Zeng Yi up and down a few times before asking, "Have you ordered the herbs for your clinic?"

Zeng Yi laughed. It turned out she was a herb salesperson, and she had already found out about his clinic before it even opened.

The woman took out a business card from her handbag and threw it on the table in front of Zeng Yi. "From now on, get your herbs from me!"

"Sorry!" Zeng Yi pressed the card down. "I've already ordered the herbs."

"Then cancel the order!" The woman's eyebrows shot up, and she placed her hand on her hip, looking down at him. "Cancel the order with whoever you ordered from. If they don't refund you, tell me, and I'll make them refund you. They won't dare not to."

Zeng Yi laughed. He thought this woman was quite bold, perhaps because she had connections. He said, "I'm sorry, but in business, at least some basic integrity is required. I've inspected the herbs, and they are of good quality. The contract is signed, and there's no reason to cancel it."

"Why do you need a reason?" The woman glared at Zeng Yi, snorting. "If you want to open your clinic here, you must get your herbs from me. Decide whether you want to open or maintain your integrity."

Zeng Yi frowned and bowed. "Sorry, I've already ordered the herbs. You should try other places." He picked up the card and handed it back to her.

The woman "hmmphed" and said, "Keep it. In a couple of days, you'll be calling me."

With that, she swayed her hips and clicked out in her high heels.

Zeng Yi didn't even look at the card and threw it in the trash. He never wasted words on such aggressive people, let alone do business with them.

After the woman left, she never appeared again. The next day, the medicine cabinets Zeng Yi had ordered arrived. The owner was very enthusiastic and brought two workers to help install the cabinets. He also gave Zeng Yi many small items, such as small drawers for picking herbs and a sand pot for boiling herbs.

"Mr. Zeng, if you have any business, please take care of me!" After installing the cabinets, the owner smiled and took out a stack of money from his handbag. "This is the deposit you paid. Please count it."

Zeng Yi was surprised. "What does this mean?"

"The money has already been paid by someone else, the leader who was with you at the medical equipment market that day."

Zeng Yi then remembered it was Hu Guangliang, the director of the provincial government service office. Zeng Yi took the money, frowning. How could he return the money? If he returned it to Hu Guangliang, he wouldn't accept it, and he couldn't give it to the government office. If he returned it to the government office, he would be betraying Hu Guangliang.

Well, he would consider it as a running fee from the service office for now and find a way to return it later.

Zeng Yi politely saw the owner off. As he stepped out, he saw Chen Long's police car approaching. Chen Long got out of the car, opened the back door, and took out a sign with three large gold characters: "Sheng Sheng Tang."

Zeng Yi hurried over. "Brother Chen, how did you get the sign?"

Chen Long laughed. "I was just doing some business nearby and saw your sign was ready. I thought I'd bring it back for you to save you a trip. I have a car, so it's convenient!"

Zeng Yi helped and also took out two door couplets from the car, placing them at the entrance.

"Hey? The cabinets are already here?" Chen Long was surprised. "Why didn't you let me know? I could have brought people to help you. How could you move so many cabinets by yourself?"

"The owner of the cabinets brought people to help," Zeng Yi smiled. "You have work at the station, so I didn't want to trouble you."

"That's too formal. I can help others, but I must help you, Brother Zeng!" Chen Long put down the sign and found a cup to pour himself some water. "Do you want to hang the sign now? I can call people to bring the equipment right away. The renovation team is ready."

"Not yet, let's wait until the herbs arrive," Zeng Yi smiled and sat down. "You look good today. Is there good news?"

"Maybe, maybe!" Chen Long chuckled, unable to hide his excitement. After Chi Jian Gang's misfortune, a deputy director position in the district police