"Are you sure it's three hundred thousand?"
Song Yue was a little skeptical. "They weren't trying to fool you, were they? Did you check with the bank?"
Lin Fan pouted. "It's a life-saving favor, they wouldn't falsify this, would they?"
Song Yue shook her head. "You can never be too sure."
"Don't worry about whether it's real or not for now. Anyway, this three hundred thousand is enough to build a big house, grander than Wang Quezi's!"
Lin Fan's tone was bold, as if a beautiful life was already within reach.
Song Yue chuckled. "Well, that depends on what kind of house you want to build."
"Of course, the grander the better. Whatever's useful for the living room, sofa, TV, just buy it, just like a villa."
"It also needs a big bathroom, the kind that can fit a bathtub. It's too inconvenient for my sister-in-law to wipe herself with warm water every day."
After Lin Fan finished speaking, he giggled foolishly.
Song Yue smiled enigmatically. "You even know this?"
"I..." Lin Fan was speechless, not knowing what to say.
Song Yue laughed heartily. "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore."
"But, I don't think your three hundred thousand is enough."
Lin Fan was stunned for a moment, asking in confusion. "I remember a few years ago, for eighty or ninety thousand, you could build five big tiled houses. This is three hundred thousand, how could it not be enough?"
"You said a few years ago."
Song Yue took a deep breath and gave an example. "Back then, the most expensive pork was only ten yuan a jin. Now, the good stuff is over thirty yuan a jin. Can it be the same?"
"Pork..." Lin Fan was a bit confused. "Sand and cement aren't pork, can they double in price too?"
The confidence in his voice had diminished.
Song Yue rolled her eyes at him and said irritably. "When my family built a house, I managed almost everything. Don't I know better than you?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Fan's eyes lit up. "Then tell me, how much would it cost to build a house according to my idea?"
Song Yue thought for a moment and asked. "Your family's plot of land isn't large either. Are you planning to build a single-story or a two-story house?"
Lin Fan replied without hesitation. "Of course, a two-story one."
A grand house, how could it be single-story?
Besides, Wang Quezi's house was only one story. To be better than him, it had to be two stories!
Song Yue calculated for a while. "I estimate that just building the frame for a two-story house would cost over a hundred thousand."
"Let's say fifteen thousand for that."
"Add white wash and latex paint, you'll need at least five or six buckets, so at least sixty to seventy thousand."
"What about the plumbing and electrical renovations? That's buried in the walls and ground, you can't use too inferior materials, right?"
"Including materials and labor, it won't be less than twenty thousand."
"If you want to build a house grander than Wang Fu's, you can't use too cheap tiles either."
"He boasts everywhere that he spent over twenty thousand on tiles alone, claiming they were a big brand."
"..."
Song Yue counted, item by item, on her fingers.
When she felt she had covered most things, she asked. "How much is the total of what I just mentioned?"
Lin Fan stood there stunned, stammering a reply. "Four... it seems to be nearly five hundred thousand."
He deflated like a leaky balloon, all his confidence gone.
He no longer talked about building a house, but hung his head dejectedly and kicked open the door of the clinic.
At seven in the morning, the clinic opened.
Song Yue first placed the child on the sofa and then began to clean.
"Xiao Fan, lift your leg."
Lin Fan sat in a chair, lifted his leg, and then handed the bank card in his hand to Song Yue. "Sister Yueyue, you take this money for now."
"What for?" Song Yue was slightly taken aback. "You can't build the house, so you don't want the money anymore?"
Lin Fan shook his head and pushed the bank card forward again. "Hold onto it for me, I'll be able to save enough in no time."
Song Yue straightened up and took the bank card. "Is there really money in there?"
Lin Fan rolled his eyes. "If you have time, go check with the bank in town, and you'll know."
"Then... what about the three hundred thousand!" Song Yue was very confused. "Aren't you afraid I'll run off with the money?"
After speaking, Song Yue stared intently at Lin Fan.
Lin Fan laughed. "So what if I run off? It's just three hundred thousand, it's not much use to me now."
He said this, hugging his knees, looking indifferent.
"Stop bragging!"
Song Yue raised her broom and was about to hit Lin Fan.
But at that moment, their peripheral vision caught sight of a tall, slender figure.
This figure, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and loose wide-leg pants, appeared like a delicate lily blooming and growing larger in the misty morning light.
"Teacher Edo!"
Lin Fan recognized the person and immediately got up and walked towards her. "Teacher Edo, don't you have class today?"
Song Yue hesitated for a moment, then added. "You mean Teacher Edo from Hope Primary School, right? It's Sunday today..."
Before Song Yue could finish, Lin Fan suddenly interrupted. "Sister Yueyue, I forgot my phone. It's under the pillow on the bed in the side room. Could you get it for me? Thanks."
Song Yue didn't think much of it, nodded, and left with the child.
After she left, besides the sound of the wind, the only sounds in the clinic were the slightly rapid breaths of the two of them.
"I didn't expect you to already have a wife and child."
Edo Yuki's pretty face turned red. She didn't know what to say, and blurted out this sentence.
"That's not my wife and child."
Lin Fan poured water for Edo Yuki while explaining. "She's Song Yue, my junior high classmate, who went to a vocational school for nursing.
"I've opened this clinic, and she had some family issues, so she came to work for me."
Edo Yuki said "Oh" and then. "So that's how it is."
Her tone became lighter. "This clinic of yours... looks very new, like it was just built."
Lin Fan nodded. "It is indeed very new. You might not believe it, but this house belongs to Director Han's family in the village. It was built only a few years ago."
He smiled and then said mysteriously. "But although the house is new, my skills are passed down from the older generation. They're divine!"
Hearing the word "skills," Edo Yuki's face turned even redder.
She had been making small talk for so long, just hoping Lin Fan would bring up the topic of treatment first.
She had gathered a lot of courage to come here today, and she found it too embarrassing to speak about such a sensitive matter first.
"Cough cough..."
Lin Fan cleared his throat and said seriously. "Teacher Edo, how is your health?"
"I... my lower abdomen feels a bit bloated lately, and I have a feeling of something descending. It's... that time of the month is coming, so, so..."
Edo Yuki stammered, her jade hands nervously pressing on her knees, her ten fingers constantly fidgeting.
"I told you last time, the cold energy in your body has been stagnant for too long, and it can't be resolved overnight."
Lin Fan gave her a heads-up, so she wouldn't think he was deliberately stalling and trying to take advantage of her.
"I know."
Edo Yuki lowered her head slightly. "I saw an old Chinese medicine doctor before who said the same thing, but his medicine had too many side effects, so my parents wouldn't let me take it."
Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that she was reasonable.
"Let me examine you again."