The scar on her face looked very hideous, startling at first glance.
"Replying to Madam, the scar on my face was from being scalded by boiling water when I was four years old."
The girl said, lowering her head, with a touch of shyness and inferiority on her face. The long hair that fell by her temples seemed to want to conceal the scar.
"You don't need to be inferior. The scar on your face is your misfortune, but you can't be self-pitying and underestimate yourself because of this scar, understand?"
Feng Jin spoke to enlighten the woman, reaching out to tuck the hair by her temples behind her ear, revealing half her face covered in scars. The other half was fair and beautiful. If not for these scars, she would likely have been a beauty.
"I will help you remove the scars on your face, don't worry."
"Thank you, Madam, thank you, Madam." After the girl finished speaking, she was about to kneel down and kowtow to Feng Jin, but Feng Jin quickly supported her.
"No need for that. I am a healer, and healing the sick is my duty. What is your name?"
"Replying to Madam, my name is Yun Niang."
"That's a good name. It will take some time for the scars on your face to heal. Stay at the clinic with peace of mind."
"Thank you, Madam."
"All of you too, I will help you treat the scars on your faces and give you new lives."
Feng Jin summoned Cai Qing and the others for two reasons: first, to remove the scars on their faces for free, and second, to use them as living advertisements to promote the clinic.
"Thank you, Madam, for your great kindness."
"Ling Muzhu, take them down, arrange rooms for them, and I will treat them later."
Feng Jin now treated Ling Muzhu like a servant, ordering him around with great ease.
"Cai Qing, you've miscalculated this account. Angelica is two liang a jin. How did you record thirty liang for twenty jin? It should be forty liang. Take it and correct it."
Cai Qing stepped forward, looked, and indeed, she had made a mistake: "I'll go and correct it now."
Holding the ledger, Cai Qing made modifications. After finishing, she said listlessly, "Young Madam, bookkeeping is too difficult. Can I do something else?"
It took her half a day to figure out one account, and sometimes she made mistakes.
"Such simple accounts, and you find it difficult."
The calculations involved were all elementary school level. Cai Qing, being born into a household with specialized tutors for managing domestic affairs, was still stumped by these simple accounts, which Feng Jin had not expected.
"Madam, these accounts are certainly difficult. My arithmetic is not good, please assign me some simpler tasks."
Fearing mistakes, Cai Qing absolutely did not want to do this anymore.
Someone volunteered. Ling Muzhu heard the commotion and quickly said, "I am good at arithmetic. Why don't you let me do the bookkeeping?"
Doing bookkeeping was much easier than cleaning. Ling Muzhu's calculations were running smoothly.
Feng Jin looked at Ling Muzhu with a suspicious gaze, not entirely trusting: "You... are you capable?"
"Of course, I am. My arithmetic is quite good."
After hesitating, Feng Jin decided to give Ling Muzhu a chance: "Then you try. Here is the ledger."
Ling Muzhu took the ledger and scanned it continuously.
It took half an incense stick's time to finish: "Done. Take a look."
Feng Jin only glanced at the ledger and quickly calculated the answer in her mind.
"All correct..." She hadn't expected this foolish boy to be somewhat useful.
"From now on, you will be responsible for bookkeeping."
"No problem." Escaping manual labor, Ling Muzhu was overjoyed and quickly agreed.
However, bookkeeping like this was still too time-consuming. Feng Jin took a piece of paper and wrote down the multiplication table.
"Take this table back and memorize it. This will make your bookkeeping faster and less prone to errors."
Ling Muzhu took the paper and his expression instantly changed from calm to surprised, and finally to disbelief: "How did you write these things? This is a lost arithmetic secret scripture."
Feng Jin, who was drinking water, almost choked on her tea. How did this multiplication table become an arithmetic secret scripture here?
"Legend says this scripture was lost long ago, and even the imperial library only has incomplete parts. Countless scholars have racked their brains but could not deduce it completely. How do you possess this?"
Ling Muzhu asked eagerly, wanting to know how Feng Jin got this secret scripture.
Feng Jin coughed lightly, her eyes darting as she considered for a moment before saying, "My master taught me all of this. My master is a hidden master, and I don't know where he got it from."
She couldn't show off too much, so it was better to attribute it to someone else. She preferred to be a diligent bee.
"So that's how it is. It seems you couldn't have come up with such profound secret scripture yourself."
Ling Muzhu completely believed Feng Jin's words and, in passing, belittled Feng Jin.
Feng Jin's mouth twitched uncontrollably, suppressing the urge to kick Ling Muzhu away.
It's okay, she could understand. Some people just couldn't accept others' excellence and always found countless excuses to protect their self-esteem.
"You should memorize this secret scripture first." Feng Jin instantly regretted teaching Ling Muzhu the multiplication table and wished she had just let him use an abacus.
"Madam, is there anything I can do?" Yun Niang's voice was weak from behind. She stood there timidly, a hint of fear on her face.
Feng Jin did not refuse Yun Niang. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Go help Cai Qing wash the vegetables and help prepare the meal. We will eat soon."
"I understand, Madam." Yun Niang replied with a smile and busied herself in the backyard.
After the meal, Feng Jin began to treat the scars on Yun Niang and the others' faces.
After examining the scars on their faces, Feng Jin prescribed them medicine to apply. They would fade in a short time.
But when it came to Yun Niang, Feng Jin became somewhat worried.
"Madam, is it that the wounds on my face... cannot be healed..." Yun Niang noticed the worry on Feng Jin's face and asked softly, her heart filled with apprehension.
She had seen many doctors before, and they all said the scars on her face were too deep to be removed.
She should have resigned herself long ago and not harbored any hope.
"It's not that. It's just that the scars on your face are too deep and have been there for too long. It's difficult to recover completely by simply applying medicine. It requires surgically removing the scar tissue and then allowing new granulation tissue to grow. However, the process is somewhat painful. Can you endure it?"
"I can endure it. As long as my scars can be removed, I can endure any pain or hardship."
Yun Niang's voice was somewhat excited. As long as her facial scars could be removed, she could endure any pain or hardship.
"Alright... Tomorrow, I will help you remove the scars on your face."