Chapter 7

When Li Qingyun's college entrance exam scores came out that year, the old principal Zhou Deping visited the Li family village multiple times, persuading his parents to let him review for another year to aim for Peking University the following year. He promised that if Li Qingyun got into Peking University, the school would provide a substantial reward, at least 20,000 yuan.

Li Qingyun's parents were hesitant because Li Qingyun was not willing to review. So, the old principal went to the town's Chunqiu Medical Hall and discussed with his grandfather. After several back-and-forth discussions, the two became quite familiar. Although they ultimately failed to persuade Li Qingyun to review, Zhou Deping and Li Chunqiu became occasional chess-playing and chatting friends.

A few days ago, Zhou Deping's condition had become very serious, and there was no improvement at the county hospital. Out of necessity, he came to Li Chunqiu's medical hall for treatment. After the consultation and prescription, Li Chunqiu initially did not charge any money, but after much insistence, he finally quoted a price of 1,200 yuan.

When the price was mentioned, Zhou Deping was taken aback, feeling slightly unhappy as he thought it was expensive, but he still paid the money with a heavy heart. His son, who accompanied him, was even more dissatisfied, almost ready to lose his temper on the spot.

Originally, Li Chunqiu did not charge any money, but after much insistence, he became annoyed and quoted a price. If they did not pay, it would be very embarrassing. However, after the fact, it lingered in their minds like a thorn, and they had to make a fuss to feel better. Just as they were taking the medicine on the third day, a problem arose, giving them an excuse to cause trouble.

When Li Chunqiu saw his grandson recognize Zhou Deping, he turned to the doctor beside him, Zhao, and said, "What do you think of the prescription I wrote? One dose of the medicine is to be decocted and taken over three days, twice a day, morning and evening. Ten packets of medicine should be taken over thirty days. Although I am not very skilled, I can guarantee that his lung disease will be completely cured. If he takes good care of himself, it will not recur for at least seven to eight years."

"The old principal is old and frail. Although the prescription from the divine doctor is mild, medicine is always somewhat toxic. The old principal might not be able to withstand it, so I added a slice of a hundred-year-old ginseng. His condition is such that he cannot tolerate excessive tonics, so the divine doctor instructed that one dose be taken over three days. Is that correct?" Doctor Zhao, known as an expert at the Chinese medicine hospital, was as cautious as a primary school student in front of Li Chunqiu.

"Yes, your skills are quite good," Li Chunqiu nodded, somewhat satisfied, patted Doctor Zhao on the shoulder, and said, "Then ask Zhou Deping's family how they decocted and took the medicine. Was it effective on the first night as I instructed, and then did they take one dose per day starting from the second day? Ah, fortunately, it was only three doses. If they had taken two more, it might have been fatal."

Without waiting for Doctor Zhao to ask, Zhou Deping's family, who were standing nearby, heard clearly and remained silent, their faces as red as monkeys' bottoms.

"Then, what should my father do now? Divine Doctor Li, can you take a look again?" A woman who had been the most vocal pointed to the old man on the ground, who was coughing uncontrollably.

Li Chunqiu snorted coldly and ignored her. Although a doctor should have a heart like a parent, some people are not worth treating. Zhou Deping's reputation was very good, but his children's reputations were far worse.

Li Chunqiu was in a bad mood and found it difficult to put on a smiling face.

At this moment, it was Li Qingyun's turn to step in, echoing his grandfather's cold snort, and said, "Just now, you wanted to smash the shop and the sign. Now, you have the nerve to ask my grandfather what to do? The old principal has children like you, what a sin! Look at how uncomfortable he is now. You still have the heart to cause trouble and demand compensation, regardless of the old man's life and death?"

The previously aggressive Zhou Deping's family members lowered their heads, rendered speechless by Li Qingyun's questioning. Just as they were about to plead for mercy, they heard a commotion of footsteps and a loud voice from outside: "Move aside, move aside, don't delay our law enforcement! Where is the unlicensed fraudster's medical hall?"

The police, tax, industry and commerce, and health departments conducted a joint law enforcement operation, and four types of uniformed personnel appeared in the small Qinglong Town, causing quite a stir. The onlookers, still in shock, made way for them to rush in.

The leader of the joint law enforcement team was a young man in a well-tailored suit, accompanied by a tall and beautiful woman. The young woman, panting, ran to the most vocal woman and asked urgently, "Aunt, how is my grandfather? The law enforcement team is here, so if the shop needs to be sealed, it will be sealed, and if people need to be arrested, they will be arrested. Let's quickly send my grandfather to the city hospital, don't delay here."

As soon as Li Qingyun saw this woman, his body trembled. Qin Yao, his ex-girlfriend, was actually here? The world is so vast, yet so small. He thought he would never see her again in his life, but he never expected to meet her under such circumstances.

"Yao Yao, don't talk nonsense. The situation has changed; it's not the divine doctor's fault." The woman quickly covered Qin Yao's mouth, clearly feeling guilty. In front of the wild mountain people, she was afraid of any further accidents.

"What? Didn't you tell me to find someone..." Qin Yao, following her aunt's gaze, saw the calm and composed divine doctor and Li Qingyun beside him. Her face changed abruptly, and her expression became somewhat unnatural.

Li Chunqiu, being a seasoned old man, noticed the change in his grandson and Qin Yao and asked, "Do you know that girl?"

"She is Qin Yao, my ex-girlfriend," Li Qingyun said with a bitter smile, not saying much more.

"Tsk tsk, a very pretty girl, but her eyes lack spirit. It's a pity to lose such a treasure. She will regret it in the future," the old man said, trying to comfort Li Qingyun, who looked unhappy.

"You're just boasting. My grandson isn't that fragile," Li Qingyun replied.

At this moment, the young leader of the team stepped forward and said, "I am Xu Jingshou, the leader of this joint law enforcement operation. Who is the person in charge of the Chunqiu Medical Hall? Please come out and cooperate with our investigation. If you are innocent, we will clear your name..."

Li Chunqiu suddenly said, "Zhou Deping's family, if you want to treat the illness, don't delay any longer. I will decoct another dose of medicine to relieve his cough and allow him to speak. As for the remaining seven doses, if you don't want them, I will refund all the money. Hmph, some people would break their heads to get them."

Doctor Zhao, hearing this, immediately chimed in, "I want to buy, I want to buy..."

Xu Jingshou, interrupted, was very angry but, having been trained in the government compound, sensed that the atmosphere was not right and asked Qin Yao in a low voice, "Isn't Doctor Zhao the one you hired? Why is he speaking for the Chunqiu Medical Hall?"

"I don't know," Qin Yao's gaze was fixed on Li Qingyun's injured arm and some new, not very noticeable scars on his forehead. Her mind was in turmoil, and she hadn't noticed the strange atmosphere.

Zhou Deping's family would not let a 10,000 yuan mountain ginseng medicine go to someone else. They immediately hugged the medicine and said, "We won't return the medicine. It's our fault for not following the divine doctor's instructions. Please, sir, quickly prescribe more medicine to treat my father's cough."

"What about these officials?" The older generation still referred to minor officials as "officials" or "public servants."

"This is all a misunderstanding. I will explain it to them," said a fat man, running to Xu Jingshou and whispering a few words.

Xu Jingshou's expression changed several times, and he finally nodded. However, he still harbored resentment over Li Chunqiu interrupting him and said, "Since that's the case, we will wait until the divine doctor treats the patient."

"The title of divine doctor is too much. Saving lives and healing the sick is my duty," Li Chunqiu said without giving the young man any face. There was no other reason; he simply disliked the young man for appearing with Qin Yao.

Li Chunqiu patted Li Qingyun's shoulder and said, "Three grams of licorice, decocted over a strong fire. Three bowls of water should be reduced to one bowl. Go ahead."

"Sure, I'll do it right away," Li Qingyun nodded and walked into the back of the medical hall.

In the courtyard, his mother was talking to his grandmother, softly comforting her. His grandmother was an ordinary person, and his mother was afraid she would get upset, so she was constantly reassuring her. Li Qingyun handed the two puppies to his mother to take care of and clearly told her that one was named Gold Coin and the other Copper Coin.

Chen Xiuzhi smiled and said, "This child, he's so money-minded that even his dogs are named after money. Go ahead, go ahead, decoct the medicine and get rid of these people quickly; they are so annoying. Oh, but this little dog is really beautiful..."

"..." They are hunting dogs, okay?

Li Qingyun, having grown up by his grandfather's side, although not directly taught by him, knew a lot about traditional Chinese medicine. He had memorized many formulas and herbal knowledge. He quickly weighed out three grams of licorice and poured it into the decoction pot. To be safe, he used space spring water instead of ordinary water.

Licorice, unless otherwise specified, is usually raw licorice, which is neutral and non-toxic, good for clearing heat and detoxifying, and particularly effective for moistening the lungs and stopping coughs. It does not conflict with the effect of space spring water in removing impurities from the body, so Li Qingyun dared to use it.

Using a gas stove, it took only about seven to eight minutes to reduce three small bowls of water to one small bowl. He filtered out the residue and poured the medicine into a blue porcelain bowl, then immediately took it out. After a moment's thought, he returned to find a regular small spoon, stirred the bowl to speed up the cooling process.

In just ten minutes, the number of onlookers had more than tripled. Most of them had received Li Chunqiu's help before and were glaring at Zhou Deping's family, ready to roll up their sleeves and intervene if anything went wrong.

"Look, the medicine is ready! Fuhua is bringing it out."

"The Li family is really righteous. City people come here to cause trouble, and he still helps treat them. I say, those people with no conscience should just die!"

"It's a pity about those slices of hundred-year-old mountain ginseng. They are life-saving treasures..."

All kinds of comments were made. As soon as Li Qingyun came out, the noise reached its peak, and everyone was criticizing the ugliness of Zhou Deping's family.

Li Qingyun walked to the stretcher and said calmly, "The medicine is ready. Feed it to the patient while it's hot, but be careful not to burn him."

Qin Yao, as if possessed, took the medicine and asked softly, "Is this your grandfather's medical hall? What happened to your arm?"

"Car accident." The first question was a known fact, and the second was answered with the simplest words.

"I'm sorry!" This was not about the car accident but about her deliberate distancing and breaking up.

"You don't need to say sorry. When we were together, having you in my life was wonderful; now, not having you in my life is also wonderful. Since we can't reach the end together, it's a beautiful thing to say goodbye and wish each other well when parting ways." After saying this, Li Qingyun took a half-step back to create some distance.

Qin Yao's face darkened, and she pursed her lips, no longer looking at Li Qingyun, and squatted down to feed the medicine to the old principal Zhou Deping.

These words were too straightforward, almost saying, "Since I've seen your true nature, we are not the same kind of people, and it doesn't matter whether you are in my life or not!"

When I loved you, whatever you said was right; when I don't love you, what you say doesn't matter.