The Benevolent Heart Medical Hall opened early today.

All the neighbors on West Street knew that the Du family’s young master was a lazy good-for-nothing. Before his father’s death, he had inherited a substantial family fortune, but unfortunately, Young Master Du lacked ambition. He spent his days gallivanting with a group of good-for-nothing companions, riding dogs and horses, lingering in brothels until he had completely squandered the massive family fortune. When he finally came to his senses, all that remained was a small, dilapidated medical hall on West Street, operating at a loss and on the verge of collapse.

But today, the medical hall seemed somewhat different from usual.

The signboard above the door had been wiped clean. Though the characters remained crude, they appeared brighter. The long yellow wooden table that had blocked the shop entrance had been moved inward slightly, making the storefront appear less cramped. The medicine cabinets had been cleaned thoroughly inside and out. At a glance, the previously narrow and old-fashioned shop had become neat and spacious overnight.

However, what caught everyone’s eye most was the young lady standing in front of the medicine cabinet.

A strange young lady had arrived at the Benevolent Heart Medical Hall.

This young lady was very beautiful, with skin like ice and jade, clear-spirited and elegant in bearing. She wore a thin gray cotton dress, with black hair braided obliquely across her chest. Apart from a frost-white silk flower in her hair, she wore no ornaments, yet she outshone other young ladies who had taken great pains with their appearance.

The sight of the beautiful young lady standing before the medicine cabinet, head lowered as she organized the medicines, caught the attention of people from all the surrounding shops.

The tailor Ge from next door, whose elderly mother suffered from intestinal problems, came to buy croton seeds. He pulled Du Changqing aside and, looking at the young lady by the medicine cabinet, asked in a low voice, “Changqing, who is this?”

Du Changqing glanced at Lu Tong, who was sorting medicines, and snorted with a laugh, “This is the resident physician this young master has invited, Doctor Lu!”

“Resident physician?” Tailor Ge looked at him in shock. “A lady doctor?”

“What’s wrong with a lady doctor?” Du Changqing said unhappily. “Did she offend you?”

“How can a woman be a doctor? Besides, she looks younger than you?” Tailor Ge thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up with understanding and he revealed a knowing smile. “I get it, she’s your sweetheart, right? If she’s your sweetheart, just say so. Why be so mysterious?”

“Stop talking nonsense,” Du Changqing retorted irritably. “She’s a proper doctor! She can diagnose illnesses and prepare medicines. Not everyone is as shameless as you!”

Tailor Ge, having been unexpectedly ridiculed, left sullenly with his croton seeds.

Du Changqing watched his boulder-like back retreat, cursed “A dog’s mouth can’t produce ivory,” then looked at the lotus-like young lady by the medicine cabinet with both guilt and pride.

After a while, he muttered to himself, “What’s wrong with a lady doctor? Isn’t she more pleasing to look at than those old bark faces at Apricot Grove Hall?”

He spat, unclear whether trying to convince himself or others.

“This young master wouldn’t even want an ugly one!”

“What do you know!”

…

The news that a beautiful young lady had arrived at Benevolent Heart Medical Hall spread throughout West Street in the blink of an eye.

The shop owners on West Street were all old acquaintances who had been doing business for over ten years, seeing each other daily. When Old Master Du had first started his business on West Street before moving away after making his fortune, the neighbors had felt both envious and jealous. Now that his younger son had fallen on hard times and returned to his father’s starting point, the neighbors felt both sympathy and pity.

However, this sympathy didn’t last long. When Du Changqing invited a beautiful young lady to be the resident physician, the people of the four neighborhoods began to look down on his conduct.

It seemed Young Master Du would inevitably squander the family fortune completely.

Indeed, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!

In the nearby Apricot Grove Hall, Manager Bai Shouyi sat at a table in the inner shop, leisurely sipping his tea.

Bai Shouyi was forty this year, with a fair complexion and a slightly plump build. He wore a sapphire blue straight robe with a colorful silk belt at his waist. He always wore a slight smile when meeting people, appearing kind and approachable, but his eyes revealed his shrewdness.

He had started by selling miscellaneous medicinal materials, gradually accumulated some wealth, and then acquired a large shop space on West Street to establish Apricot Grove Hall. The hall was spacious, with a wide variety of medicines and a steady flow of customers. But Bai Shouyi wasn’t satisfied with just this.

He had long had his eye on Benevolent Heart Medical Hall. Though old and dilapidated, it occupied a prime location right on the street corner. Bai Shouyi wanted to acquire the shop to make it a dedicated clinic, while Apricot Grove Hall would focus on selling medicines. This way, all the patients in West Street would belong to Apricot Grove Hall, and money would flow steadily into his purse.

However, Benevolent Heart Medical Hall’s owner, Du Changqing, refused to sell the shop no matter what.

Bai Shouyi deeply despised Du Changqing. Old Master Du had left Du Changqing such a large fortune, yet he had managed to squander it all. If it had been him, he would have multiplied the family fortune several times over. Du Changqing had wasted half his life, and now suddenly claimed to have seen the light, playing at being a prodigal son returned – who was he trying to fool?

He wasn’t worried about Du Changqing’s refusal to sell the medical hall, since Benevolent Heart Medical Hall’s monthly customers could be counted on one’s fingers. Du Changqing probably couldn’t hold out much longer, and when he was forced to sell at a low price out of desperation, Bai Shouyi would offer an even lower price.

Bai Shouyi was just waiting for the day when Benevolent Heart Medical Hall would close and Du Changqing would come crying to him, but today he heard from others that Du Changqing had somehow invited a beautiful young lady to be the resident physician.

It made one curious.

Wenyou, Apricot Grove Hall’s assistant, returned after gathering information and reported every detail to Bai Shouyi: “… a young lady is standing in the medical hall, quite beautiful too. Oh right, that young lady came to Apricot Grove Hall some days ago and bought medicine from Doctor Zhou.”

Bai Shouyi paused while holding his teacup and looked toward the man at the medicine cabinet: “Old Zhou, is this true?”

This man was called Zhou Ji, formerly the resident physician at Benevolent Heart Medical Hall. After Old Master Du’s death, Zhou Ji saw Du Changqing’s decline and found an excuse to leave for Apricot Grove Hall.

It was after Zhou Ji left that Du Changqing completely gave up and almost turned the medical hall into just a medicine shop.

Zhou Ji was thin and wiry, with a sallow complexion and some whiskers, wearing a silk robe that made his body look like a bamboo pole swaying in clothes. He relied on his medical skills to treat the shop assistants arrogantly but was extremely flattering and deferential to the owner Bai Shouyi.

Hearing Bai Shouyi’s question, Zhou Ji thought for a moment before answering: “A few days ago, two women from out of town did come to sell carbonized pollen. They also wanted to consign some medicinal tea. The carbonized pollen was barely acceptable, but I didn’t dare use the medicinal tea and had people throw it out.”

Bai Shouyi nodded with satisfaction: “You’re a sensible person. Apricot Grove Hall is not like those small medicine shops – we can’t use items of unknown origin, lest we damage our reputation.”

“Manager, about Benevolent Heart Medical Hall…” Zhou Ji probed.

Bai Shouyi put his teacup down on the table and spoke slowly: “An out-of-town woman and Du Changqing dares to let her be the resident physician. I see he’s lusting after beauty, seeking his death. Just watch, in a few days, Benevolent Heart Medical Hall will become the laughingstock of the entire medical community in the capital.”

He adjusted the silk belt at his waist and smiled contemptuously: “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear – why bother with him?”

…

Du Changqing didn’t know that he was just a sow’s ear in neighboring Bai Shouyi’s mouth.

But even if he had known, he wouldn’t have had time to care right now.

In the medical hall, Lu Tong was picking the finished medicinal tea pills one by one into jars. On the yellow wooden table outside, about ten or more jars of medicinal tea were already stacked, looking like a magnificent small tower at a glance, quite impressive.

However, even though Du Changqing had been hawking energetically for half a day, while many came to look at the beautiful young lady, no one inquired about the medicinal tea.

Yinzheng pulled Du Changqing aside: “Master, with business so slow at the front, can’t you think of other methods? For example, having people compose the medicinal tea into songs to spread around, or invite some young ladies to attract business at the front – anything would be better than sitting here idly, right?”

Du Changqing rolled his eyes: “Miss Yinzheng, this is a medical hall, not a brothel. How can we be so frivolous?”

Yinzheng’s expression changed slightly, and she didn’t continue speaking.

Du Changqing remained oblivious, just muttering: “…I told your young lady before, that people might not accept a woman practicing medicine as a resident physician. Look at those bastards, they’re all here to watch the show. Since they don’t trust a lady doctor, naturally they won’t try the new medicinal tea either. We’ve been open for half a day and haven’t sold a single jar.” As he spoke, anxiety appeared in his eyes.

Just as they were worrying, Acheng suddenly called from outside: “Estate Manager Hu is here!”

This was truly like a living Buddha appearing in a desperate situation. Upon hearing this, Du Changqing’s eyes lit up, and he immediately put on a smile. Taking a few quick steps to go out and welcome the visitor, he called: “Uncle!”

Lu Tong looked up to see a middle-aged man wearing a square kerchief and dressed as a scholar walk in.

As this Estate Manager Hu was being supported by Du Changqing into the medical hall, he had just called out “Changqing ah—” when he caught sight of Lu Tong by the medicine cabinet, and a look of confusion appeared on his face: “This is…”

Du Changqing led Estate Manager Hu to sit in the inner shop and called for Acheng to make tea. Now that the shop had been cleaned and the medicine cabinets rearranged, it appeared much more spacious. Estate Manager Hu looked around and was extremely surprised: “Changqing, your shop looks much better than before.”

Du Changqing smiled: “Just tidied up a bit.”

“Not bad,” Estate Manager Hu was very pleased: “It seems you took my words from last time to heart and have made quite some progress.”

Du Changqing smiled along.

Estate Manager Hu looked at Lu Tong again: “This person is…”

Du Changqing smiled and said: “This is the new resident physician your nephew has invited, your tea is…”

“Nonsense!”

Before Du Changqing could finish speaking, Estate Manager Hu suddenly stood up and rebuked: “How can an ignorant woman practice medicine as a resident physician?”