This scene was witnessed by Liu Cai’er, who stared with wide eyes.
Ah Jiu was acting spoiled.
Looking at Wang Shi, she didn't seem angry either, merely wearing a look as if she were looking at a fool, even with a hint of affection:
“You don’t believe what I said?”
“I’m a little skeptical,” Ah Jiu admitted frankly.
“That’s right, you shouldn’t believe me.” Saying this, she went to the backyard with her hands behind her back, leaped onto the courtyard wall, and ascended to the roof as if walking on clouds.
“Mother, you’re too unreliable,” Ah Jiu stamped her foot in the courtyard.
“Child, do you know you’re rather dim? Hmm?” Wang Shi said leisurely.
“I know I’m not smart, but I don’t brag,” Ah Jiu was so innocent and direct. At least she was more grounded in her words and actions than Grandma.
“Your mother was grumbling today about having no money. I just bragged a little to attract patients, and you treat them and collect some consultation fees, what’s wrong with that?”
Upon hearing Wang Shi’s words, Ah Jiu’s eyes lit up.
Liu Cai’er, who had followed them, was still full of questions, but she had to admit that her grandmother's boast was quite reasonable.
“Wait, that’s not right,” Ah Jiu murmured. “What if they insist you treat them with farting? What would you do? What would we do?”
“Yes, Grandma, the people from Yipin Tang are not to be trifled with. If we offend someone like that, we won’t be able to stay in Nanming City.”
Liu Cai’er tentatively suggested in a low voice. In the past, when Wang Shi lost her temper, she could beat Meng Nanxing to the point he couldn’t get out of bed for three days.
They were fleeing famine now, and it was Wang Shi who told Meng Nanxing to send her away. However, Liu Cai’er left without a word. She was naturally not someone who would endure humiliation.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Wang Shi said impatiently.
As expected, the very next day, right after breakfast, two carriages from Yipin Tang conspicuously stopped outside Hualan Medical Hall.
From the more luxurious first carriage alighted the hall master and the elders who had visited yesterday.
From the dilapidated carriage behind, four or five emaciated, withered patients, resembling dried corpses, were helped out.
Ah Jiu was still horrified at the sight.
Before long, the onlookers outside had completely blocked the street in front of Hualan Medical Hall, their murmurs rising and falling.
Many of them had never seen what someone with such a disease looked like. Fearing contagion, they could only observe from a distance.
“This is too frightening.”
“I wonder if it’s contagious.”
“Yes, it’s too terrifying.”
“Where is that shrew from yesterday?” the hall master said calmly, hands behind his back.
Ah Jiu glanced at the roof of the backyard. Her grandmother disappeared during the day and stayed on the roof at night, perhaps to avoid being seen.
“Sister Cai’er, make arrangements,” Ah Jiu did not answer the hall master, handing Liu Cai’er a pre-prepared water pouch:
“Let’s do it together.”
“Okay.” Liu Cai’er and Ah Jiu had already discussed this last night before sleeping.
Since Grandma was unreliable, they wouldn’t push it to the extreme of pretending not to hear and treating with farts. In any case, their goal was to cure these people in front of everyone.
This would not only bring them great fame but also prove that their formula was effective.
“Hall Master, please watch carefully. This is ordinary water.”
Liu Cai’er first poured some into a bowl and handed it to the hall master.
These procedures were all discussed by the aunt and niece.
The hall master took it and took a sip: “Hmm, good, it’s ordinary water.”
“This is the venom of the Cobra King.” Liu Cai’er had the hall master and the elders authenticate it first throughout the process.
The snake venom was also extracted by Ah Jiu from the earthworms last night.
However, Ah Jiu had a new discovery. She found that the earthworms’ venom had doubled. She wondered if it was the effect of the spiritual spring water.
The two of them split into two examination rooms and soon there were noises. However, the hall master and the elders were aware of this, so they were not surprised.
The buckets were also kept busy. After one patient was seen, the examination room was cleaned, as the ejected matter was truly unbearable to look at.
“Done?”
“So soon?”
“Don’t push me, let me see…”
People outside saw this and, as they entered the examination rooms, each person held onto the door. Their skeletal bodies trembled with each step.
One of them was even carried in.
But as they came out, their complexions had improved somewhat. The person who was carried in walked out on their own, trembling unsteadily.
“The medical skills of Hualan Medical Hall are indeed superb.”
“Yes, it’s simply a miracle cure, a living Bodhisattva.”
“This…” The hall master and several others exchanged glances.
Seeing the look of disbelief on their faces: “This is impossible.”