Chapter 74

"Doctor Qin, I'll call you that. Yes, the illness in my legs is a legacy from my younger days. When Wenxiang was eight, his father passed away, and all the farm work fell on my shoulders alone."

Old Lady Yan opened up when Qin Lang asked her this. "One year, while transplanting rice seedlings, I fell ill and had a high fever for several days. But seeing that everyone else had finished transplanting their seedlings, and our paddy field was still untouched, I was anxious. If the water in the paddy field leaked, it would be impossible to transplant the seedlings. In my anxiety, I went to the field despite my illness. I didn't expect to feel dizzy and fall into the paddy field. Fortunately, someone passed by, or I might have drowned."

"Later, the villagers, out of pity for our mother and son, helped me transplant the seedlings. But since that year, my illness has worsened year by year."

"Mom—Why have you never told me about this before!" Wu Wenxiang looked at his mother with regret. If it weren't for Qin Lang's question, he wouldn't have known the reason for his mother's illness. At this moment, Wu Wenxiang's tone changed, clearly moved.

"You were too young back then, why would I tell you these things?" Old Lady Yan said, "I've managed to get through all these years, but I never thought that in my old age, my body would fail me and I wouldn't be able to handle it anymore."

"That's how it is—Old Lady, your condition is due to cold and heat arthralgia. When you were ill back then, you didn't receive proper treatment, leading to blocked meridians, which is why your condition has worsened year by year. I used bee venom therapy to stimulate your meridians and suppress the cold and heat toxins, which is why you no longer feel pain. However, this is not an acute condition; to fully recover, you need to take some herbal medicine for a while." Qin Lang said, "Also, you need to be careful with your diet. In old age, it's best to eat light and avoid greasy foods."

"Doctor Qin, you're absolutely right! My son always makes me eat all sorts of tonics every day. With so many tonics, I feel dizzy and lightheaded, and I'm not as agile as before. In the past, I had no problem doing housework..."

"Mom, I'm just thinking about your health," Wu Wenxiang said with a bitter smile, genuinely concerned.

"Occasional tonics are fine, but not every day," Qin Lang said with a smile, taking the paper and pen Wu Wenxiang handed him, writing a prescription and giving some instructions. Wu Wenxiang thanked him repeatedly.

Wu Wenxiang knew that he owed Qin Lang a great favor this time, but he also knew that Qin Lang was not an ordinary person, so he didn't want to owe him a favor. Therefore, after Qin Lang wrote the prescription, Wu Wenxiang took out 6,000 yuan from his room and handed it to Qin Lang: "Doctor Qin, this is a small token of my appreciation for your consultation fee."

"Mayor Wu, what do you mean by this! Put it away—do you think that curing the old lady's rheumatism and allowing her to walk properly is only worth a few thousand yuan? And if the old lady has any discomfort in the future, you won't invite me to treat her?" Qin Lang deliberately put on a stern face, thinking that Wu Wenxiang didn't want to owe him a favor, but he was determined to make him owe one.

"This... Doctor Qin, that's not what I meant!" Wu Wenxiang quickly explained, "As a doctor, you should charge a consultation fee, right?"

"Speaking of consultation fees," Qin Lang said with a serious face, "I rarely treat people, but my master charges a thousand gold coins for each consultation, not paper money, but real gold. He won't even take a pulse without a thousand gold coins!"

Of course, the old poison master rarely treated people, but in the past, there were those who asked him to detoxify. Those who could afford it could even offer ten thousand gold coins, and the old poison master might not even agree to help.

However, Wu Wenxiang didn't think so, thinking, "A thousand gold coins, do you really think you're the reincarnation of Hua Tuo or Bian Que?" Of course, Wu Wenxiang only thought this and didn't dare to say it out loud, knowing that although Qin Lang's words were grand, his medical skills were genuine.

Qin Lang seemed to see through Wu Wenxiang's thoughts and said confidently, "Mayor Wu, you must think I'm boasting. Let's put it this way: if I hadn't treated the old lady, her medical and nursing costs for the year would be more than ten thousand yuan, right? Over ten years, how much would it be? And can health be bought with money? In traditional Chinese medicine, it's all about fate. If you hand over the money, the fate is gone."

"Wenxiang! How can you do this and upset Doctor Qin! I must tell you, Doctor Qin is my savior. You don't know how much the rheumatism has made me suffer over the years! Take your money away. With Doctor Qin's excellent medical skills, he won't be short of your money," Old Lady Yan firmly stood on Qin Lang's side.

Wu Wenxiang had no choice but to take the money back, knowing that he now owed Qin Lang a favor.

Afterward, Wu Wenxiang left the old lady to rest and watch TV in the room, and he and Qin Lang went to the study.

"Doctor Qin, with your excellent medical skills, why do you want to mix with the underworld?" Wu Wenxiang couldn't help but ask his question.

"Where do I mix with the underworld?" Qin Lang countered.

Wu Wenxiang smiled, "Doctor Qin, I'm asking this because I genuinely want to help you, not for any other reason."

After seeing Qin Lang's medical skills, Wu Wenxiang knew that he and Qin Lang might have some "fate" and that there might be a day when he would need Qin Lang's help. It was better not to offend such a person. Therefore, Wu Wenxiang invited Qin Lang to the study to give him some advice.

"Then, what advice do you have, Mayor Wu?" Qin Lang asked calmly.

Wu Wenxiang thought for a moment and said, "There is white and black in every society, and the underworld exists in every country, having been deeply rooted in China for thousands of years. However, the state's tolerance for the underworld is not as lenient as it used to be. If you mix with the underworld, constantly fighting and killing, you might end up in a dire situation, unable to have a good ending."

Qin Lang knew that Wu Wenxiang was telling the truth. He didn't really want to be involved in the underworld, but the old poison master had forced him down this path. With the situation as it was, Qin Lang had no choice but to ask Wu Wenxiang for advice on the "mysteries" of it, "Mayor Wu, how can one have a good ending?"

"This... in society, it's hard to be completely black or white. For example, in this anti-underworld campaign, many officials in Xiayang City were involved. What I mean is that the white can turn black, and the black can turn white. Look at Hong Kong and Macau before their return. They were once places where the underworld was rampant, but now many underworld organizations have disappeared. Do you know why?"

{Piaotian Literature}