Chapter 6: A Hundred-Year-Old Wild Ginseng

Li Qingyun, having received two puppies and bought over a dozen palm-sized carp, felt his wish fulfilled and walked towards the Spring and Autumn Medical Hall with satisfaction. He had already thrown the carp into the small pond in his spatial pocket and even fed the puppies with the spatial spring water. It was quite miraculous; the puppies, who had been sickly just a moment ago, were now able to open their eyes and rub against Li Qingyun affectionately, their little eyes shining, as if they wanted more water.

"You two greedy devils, aren't you afraid of getting bloated from drinking too much?" Li Qingyun scolded with a smile, ignoring their playful antics. "We're almost home. I'll give you both names first, or my mom will take the naming rights. With her naming skills, she'll make you suffer for life. She named me Fuwa, and she might name you two Huwa."

After a quick look, he found one male and one female puppy. After some thought, Li Qingyun said, "Your fur is golden, so the male will be called Gold Coin, and the female will be called Copper Coin... Hmm, not bad, shiny Gold Coin and shiny Copper Coin... But is there even a word for 'shiny copper'?"

"Gold Coin on the left, bark once for your master to hear!"

"Whine... whine..." Little Gold Coin didn't understand what Li Qingyun meant. Seeing his master looking at him, he thought it was time for a treat and immediately opened his watery eyes, wagging his tail.

"Idiot, I asked you to bark once, not to keep whining. You're not obedient at all." After saying this, Li Qingyun turned to the puppy on the right, "Copper Coin, bark twice for me to hear?"

The female puppy was relatively quiet, or rather, gentle. She licked her nose with her pink tongue but didn't make a sound.

"You two idiots... Oh, forget it, maybe you're too young. The intelligence ranking of ordinary mixed-breed dogs is around 50th, but this ranking isn't accurate. There can be a huge difference between individuals of the same breed. I've seen a few Border Collies, which are ranked first in intelligence, but they weren't that great in reality. It all depends on the training methods of the dog owners."

As he approached the Spring and Autumn Medical Hall, the crowd on the street suddenly dispersed, which surprised Li Qingyun. He looked up and saw that many people were gathered at the entrance of the medical hall, and there seemed to be shouting.

"Are they causing trouble?" Thinking this, Li Qingyun rushed over and squeezed through the crowd.

Several well-dressed city dwellers were shouting at the entrance. Behind them, a nurse in a white coat was carrying a stretcher with an elderly man on it. The man was about seventy, emaciated, with sparse, silver hair. He looked very weak, coughing continuously, unable to open his eyes, and sometimes his face turned red from the effort, leading to unconsciousness.

Beside the elderly man was a doctor in his fifties, wearing a name tag indicating he was the chief of the internal medicine department at the county hospital. He had a stern face and remained silent, only touching the patient's chest when he coughed.

"Ridiculous quack, I think you're a fraud. You charged us 120 yuan for a single dose of herbs and prescribed ten doses. My father was blind to believe in Dr. Li. Pah!"

"If you have any sense, return the money and apologize in front of everyone. Don't run your medical hall anymore. The county's business administration and health bureau are on their way to shut you down."

"I heard you don't even have a medical license. Smash his sign, and see if he dares to cheat people!"

The villagers, who had initially gathered to watch the commotion, were suddenly enraged when they heard about smashing the sign. In Qinglong Town, who hadn't been sick, and who hadn't received help from Dr. Li? Even if a single dose of medicine cost 120 yuan, it was far less than what they usually paid.

This sign, though no one knew who had given it, was a matter of honor for Li Qingyun's grandfather, and he would fight to the death to protect it. Despite Dr. Li's calm demeanor, his temper in his youth was well-known throughout Qinglong Town.

"Who dares to smash Dr. Li's sign? They'll have to step over my dead body first!"

"Get the tools, Erdan, go home and get the pig-killing knife. Today, I'll fight for these bastards. Your mother was saved by Dr. Li during a difficult childbirth!"

"My rolling pin isn't for show. If you dare to cause trouble in Qinglong Town, you're asking for death!"

Seeing the situation about to get out of control, Li Qingyun quickly jumped in to mediate and called for his grandfather to come out. He knew the villagers' fierce and bloodthirsty nature; if they really fought, it would be like hunting, and they would kill without hesitation. Most adult men had seen blood in the deep mountains, and their low education and weak legal awareness meant that if someone died at the medical hall, it would not only close the hall but also land his grandfather in legal trouble.

"Stop!" Dr. Li, who had been silent, suddenly stepped out and bowed to the villagers, saying, "Thank you all for your support. But please don't act rashly; I will handle this."

The troublemakers, three men and two women, were frightened by the sudden anger of the crowd. Their faces turned pale, and they sweated, retreating to the side of the stretcher. They kept shouting, "What do you want to do? This is a law-based society, and the police will be here soon. This fake doctor cheated us, and we have the right to demand an explanation!"

Li Qingyun, hearing their accusations, couldn't help but respond, "If my grandfather wanted to make money, why would he need to cheat you for a few doses of medicine? Medical experts from the province have invited him multiple times, but he refused, saying the villagers can't do without him."

"Then how do you explain these doses of Chinese medicine? He charged us 120 yuan per dose!" A heavily made-up middle-aged woman asked shrilly.

"Didn't you bring an expert from the county hospital? Let him check and see if the medicine is worth the price." Li Qingyun trusted that his grandfather would never cheat people for profit. He charged city dwellers more, but it was still a reasonable market price, much lower than what city doctors charged.

"Fine, I'll ask Dr. Zhao from the city to expose your fraudulent quack." The woman took out a packet of Chinese medicine and handed it to Dr. Zhao, whispering something to him.

Dr. Zhao sighed, glanced at Dr. Li, and opened the paper-wrapped medicine. Just a quick look made him gasp, and he picked up a thick, ginseng-like object, sniffed it, and jumped up, "This, this... This is a hundred-year-old wild ginseng? Real wild ginseng from the Sichuan mountains? I can't be wrong, can I?"

"You have some discernment." In the field of Chinese medicine, Dr. Li was very confident, nodding slightly to acknowledge Dr. Zhao's guess.

Dr. Zhao exclaimed, "What a waste! Two years ago, a VIP at the city hospital needed a major surgery and was afraid of complications. They spent 10,000 yuan to get a thin slice of a hundred-year-old wild ginseng to stabilize the patient. The surgery was completed without any issues. It wasn't that they couldn't afford the whole ginseng, but it was unavailable in the market. Sir, do you have any more hundred-year-old wild ginseng? I'll pay 10,000 yuan per slice, as thick as this one."

The crowd was shocked and began to exclaim in admiration.

"10,000 yuan per slice? Good heavens, how much would the whole ginseng cost? I must go into the mountains tomorrow; maybe I can find a few."

"Nonsense, I go hunting in the mountains almost every day and have never seen wild ginseng. I've seen chicken head ginseng, but it's only a few years old and not worth much."

"Chicken head ginseng is just yellow essence; what's so special about it..."

Unlike the town's residents, the troublemakers were speechless, their mouths agape.

"Dr. Zhao, are you sure? This slice of ginseng is worth 10,000 yuan? Then the ten doses he prescribed for my father are worth 100,000 yuan?"

"Exactly, how could there be such a foolish doctor? Selling 100,000 yuan worth of medicine for just over 1,000 yuan?"

Dr. Zhao's face turned red with anger, "I'm the fool, being called here for nothing. If you don't believe me, sell me these packets of medicine. 10,000 yuan each, will you sell them?"

There were seven packets left, and Dr. Zhao lined them up, ready to write a check on the spot.

The crowd, stirred by the commotion, also came to their senses and shouted, "Dr. Li, take back the medicine. It's too cheap to give it to them. You sold 10,000 yuan worth of medicine for just over 100 yuan, and they still cause trouble. Don't treat them, let the old man die. A hundred-year-old wild ginseng is rare..."

"Exactly, I, Zhang Daniu, have never seen such foolish people. They're real ingrates..."

"Um, Dr. Zhao, I actually have a wild ginseng from the mountains, but it's only seven or eight years old. How much do you think it's worth? Ah, only a few hundred yuan for seven or eight years, but that's not bad. I've already soaked it in wine, can it still be sold?"

Dr. Zhao's lips twitched, almost cursing, "Don't even mention wild ginseng less than 20 years old, especially if it's been soaked in wine."

After saying this, he hurriedly approached Dr. Li, bowing and smiling, "Dr. Li, how much more hundred-year-old wild ginseng do you have? I'll pay a high price. I have a senior in the provincial health department who can sell it for a high price."

Dr. Li didn't answer but asked his grandson, "Fuwa, do you know why I sold the wild ginseng so cheaply? Why I treated the hundred-year-old ginseng like sweet potatoes?"

"How would I know? You always kept that half of the hundred-year-old ginseng as a treasure. When I was sick as a child, I only got to eat three or five slices, and you were heartbroken for days." Li Qingyun didn't know the price of the hundred-year-old ginseng; otherwise, selling half of it would have been enough for a down payment on a house in Yunhuang City.

Dr. Zhao almost fainted, "Only three or five slices? How much would that cost? When did rural people stop caring about money?"

Dr. Li chuckled, ignoring his grandson's subtle criticism, and pointed to the elderly man on the stretcher, who was still coughing, "Look closely, do you recognize him?"

"Huh?" Li Qingyun had felt the man looked familiar but hadn't paid much attention. Hearing his grandfather's words, he became even more puzzled. The man's features and demeanor were very similar to a certain teacher he remembered, "It seems to be... the old principal of County No. 1 High School? I haven't seen him in years, how did he get so sick? I didn't even recognize him!"

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