[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-from-the-god-of-medicine-a-journey-through-film-":3,"chapter-from-the-god-of-medicine-a-journey-through-film--from-the-god-of-medicine-a-journey-through-film--chapter-8":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","From the God of Medicine: A Journey Through Film and TV Worlds",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2333934,4564,"Chapter 8","from-the-god-of-medicine-a-journey-through-film--chapter-8",8,"\u003Cp>Wang Yan was woken by his mother, Zhang Xia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He got up and saw it was only eight o’clock, rubbed his face, and got dressed for the morning routine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat down at the table to eat; the meal was leftover dumplings from yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Wang Yan was about to pick up his chopsticks, Zhang Xia, who knew him well, stared at him in surprise: “Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drawn by her voice, Wang Yan paused and looked at his mother curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xia studied him again: “You haven’t lost weight. Why do I feel like something’s different about you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t surprising. In the world of *I Am Not a Pharmacist*, Wang Yan had gradually developed an aura—born of increased experience, accumulated knowledge, growing wealth, rising status, having managed a company with tens of thousands of employees, and his own deep self-confidence. We usually call this kind of presence “demeanor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for demeanor, it’s truly fucking mysterious. When we know someone’s status and wealth, we inevitably feel a subtle pressure from them. Even when we don’t know those things, such people still give us the impression they stand out from the crowd—we just sense they’re not ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Wang Yan was exactly this kind of person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Wang Yan’s heart trembled: “She’s really my mom—her instincts are spot on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He explained: “Ah, Mom, you’re just seeing things. Too much phone scrolling? I told you before—stop staring at that thing, go get glasses if you need to.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Zhang Xia began to doubt her own feeling and dropped the subject, scolding him with a laugh: “You little brat, getting bold now, telling your own mother what to do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan just chuckled dumbly, said nothing, and kept eating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Zhang Xia began lecturing Wang Yan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that she wanted to ruin his New Year’s Day—she hardly saw him all year, so now that she had the chance, she had to give him a proper talking-to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason for the lecture? Nothing but his lifelong marriage prospects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan was twenty-eight now; most of his friends were already married with kids, let alone Zhang Xia’s friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xia was desperate for grandchildren. She’d arranged countless blind dates, but none had clicked—she was beside herself with worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this regard, Wang Yan’s father, Wang Dong, handled it well. Though he also wanted grandchildren, he never said a word. Wang Yan guessed it was mainly because Zhang Xia was so fierce—he knew he couldn’t match her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A father’s love, compared to a mother’s, isn’t as obvious—but it’s far heavier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After graduating, Wang Yan had matured and gradually started talking more with his father. Many people are like this—only when truly grown up do they understand their father’s silent sacrifices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for why, Wang Yan and his friends had discussed it. They felt it was simply about discipline—no other special reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most parents from the 80s and 90s still rely on lectures, emphasizing education through fun, so many children get along well with their parents, treating them like friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wang Yan’s father’s generation were mostly uneducated roughnecks. Their method of education was beating—and so Wang Yan had once feared his father. Now that he’s grown and understands, he doesn’t get beaten anymore. Wang Yan believes this is also the beginning of a parent’s decline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xia kept talking, and Wang Yan was well practiced in responding to her—he’d been training since childhood. His father, however, had even more experience—he’d lived with her for over thirty years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan just muttered “Mm-hmm” and “Uh-huh,” letting one ear in and the other out. Seeing him nodding but saying nothing, Zhang Xia eventually ran out of steam and fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marriage and children? Wang Yan did want them. But finding the right person was hard—extremely hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forget other factors—Wang Yan’s own conditions were average: ordinary looks, modest income, a typical family. Both parents were ordinary laborers with low pay. He’d never asked, but he guessed they had maybe two or three hundred thousand saved. The only thing that eased his mind was that despite years of physical labor and minor health issues, they’d never had any serious illness—that saved him a mountain of worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For an ordinary guy like Wang Yan, getting married and having kids wasn’t just difficult—it was daunting. You can’t just decide to get married and it happens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Find someone ordinary? Even ignoring past relationships or character, their demands were anything but ordinary. Find someone extraordinary? Wang Yan was ordinary—he couldn’t meet their standards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And lately, girls had become increasingly proud and demanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Wang Yan didn’t want to spend his parents’ lifetime savings just to get married.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Wang Yan could only take it one step at a time, waiting for fate to guide him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After breakfast, he went around visiting relatives—distant aunts, uncles, cousins—and called those who lived far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whole day passed with nothing but “Happy New Year!” echoing everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting the next day, Wang Yan began attending one gathering after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All sorts of friends—good and bad—would host dinners one day, organize parties the next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were the hardest days of the year: drinking one meal into the next, sleeping drunk, waking up drunk, never sober.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It lasted until the sixth day, when everyone had to return to work, and only then did the holiday truly end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid his parents’ concern and reluctance, Wang Yan boarded the train to Lüda.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan rented a three-bedroom, one-living-room, one-kitchen, one-bathroom apartment near his workplace, shared with two others. He lived in a smaller south-facing bedroom—about ten square meters, which was enough, since he only slept there and rarely stayed home. Rent was 1,300 yuan a month; because his store’s location was relatively busy, he didn’t want to live too far and endure early mornings and late nights. In a less central area, a larger place would cost about 1,000 yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other two roommates were both men—he didn’t even know their names. Wang Yan had barely seen them; their schedules barely overlapped. In today’s fast-paced society, no one had the patience to waste time with a stranger, especially another guy. Not every shared apartment is *Friends*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the apartment, it had been empty for a long time. He opened the windows for ventilation and did a quick tidy-up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slumped against the window, thinking about his future plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan had never considered changing jobs. Before the system, he’d thought about switching—but now he genuinely liked his current job.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, given his background, finding any job outside sales was nearly impossible—his education alone disqualified him. Though Wang Yan was no longer the same man, he still needed opportunities. If you can’t even get an interview, what’s the point of dreaming?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His current job as a real estate salesperson? Aside from other things, its freedom alone outshines many other professions. If you perform well, you can do whatever you want—no office hours, no boss nagging you all day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for poor performance? That didn’t apply to Wang Yan anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought it through and understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First: sell houses, earn money, pay off the few ten-thousand-yuan debts, then talk about anything else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To earn money, the first step was to move cities and switch companies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why switch companies? Because this was the internet age—and real estate sales had gone online too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The market was dominated by just one platform: shared listings, open to franchises. Wang Yan had previously worked for the industry leader, mainly because he was inexperienced and the company had a large platform, good reputation, and public trust. Now, while these factors still mattered, they weren’t the most important to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Wang Yan planned to join another franchise with higher commissions. Given his current skill level, he might not match top sales stars, but he’d easily outperform most salespeople. If he performed well, the difference in earnings wouldn’t be just thirty or twenty thousand—it’d be far more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, Wang Yan told his manager he was quitting. The manager made a token effort to persuade him, then approved it. Wang Yan’s performance hadn’t been great—only one or two sales every couple of months. The manager gave him a perfunctory nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, he went to headquarters and completed the paperwork smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day, he packed up, contacted his landlord to end the lease, and bought a ticket to Beijing for the next afternoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why Beijing? Obviously—property prices were high. And with high prices came high-income buyers. We won’t judge their character—high income doesn’t guarantee high quality, but they were generally decent, and that’s the kind of resource Wang Yan needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention, as Wang Yan sold more and met more people, most of them would be elites from various industries. Even if they weren’t elites themselves, their families were his target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more people Wang Yan knew—and the more they trusted him—the more his role would expand beyond mere real estate sales. Of course, not everyone could be maintained; without incident, most deals were one-offs. But Wang Yan was confident—he would reach that level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, he met with some friends to say goodbye. The next day, he flew straight to Beijing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t tell his parents. He was an adult now—why make them worry? He didn’t need to guess: if he told them, they wouldn’t sleep well until they were certain he was settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After arriving in Beijing, he didn’t rush to rent. He checked into a hotel and paid for three days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he searched for a suitable company. Two days later, he found a store in Xicheng—a franchise of a real estate website. That meant the manager was the owner, a man named Zhao, who could make all decisions—giving him plenty of room to operate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long talk with Boss Zhao, Wang Yan, seasoned by years of experience, found the boss lacking in several areas beyond sales ability. Zhao liked him, and their conversation went smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final agreement: Wang Yan paid Zhao 5,000 yuan monthly. After the website’s cut, he kept the full commission. He didn’t need to clock in—he could work however he wanted. Five thousand yuan was acceptable—he’d inquired before leaving Lüda, where the rate was only two thousand. Factoring in operating costs and property prices, Wang Yan thought five thousand was fair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both sides agreed. The contract was drawn up, and he was immediately hired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, Wang Yan found a place farther away and rented a single room for 3,000 yuan a month, with one month’s deposit and three months’ rent paid upfront. The surroundings were good, the layout similar to his old place—but this one had the living room partitioned into a separate room. Four people shared the apartment; Wang Yan lived in the partitioned living room. Top floor, facing south, bright inside, comfortable to stay in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, Wang Yan began working, focusing on Xicheng. Whether new or resale, he visited wherever prices were high. The advantage of his high spirit showed again—he could memorize listings faster and in greater numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He researched housing policies, household registration rules, school district policies, loan policies, and more. He studied the pros and cons of different school districts, understood the buyer demographics of each development, and learned what kinds of people lived where.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan was desperate. Moving cities was expensive. His credit cards were nearly maxed out—if he didn’t get income soon, he’d have to ask friends for help. He didn’t want to do that. Whether they were true friends or not, if they’d hung out together, that was a bond—he didn’t want to test it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that he couldn’t borrow—he had a couple of real brothers, after all. But he wasn’t at that point yet. He could still hold on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan’s life settled into a steady rhythm: wake early, run and exercise, spend half the day viewing properties, spend the other half making nuisance calls, exercise again at night, read and study, sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for nuisance calls, Wang Yan hadn’t found any other effective method. He’d tried online platforms, but they were full of fake listings—buyers were tired of scams, and results were minimal. He could only keep calling, and if someone showed interest, he’d talk to them properly. That was it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This job was pure luck at first—even a top sales star couldn’t change that. Only someone with hypnotic-level persuasion skills—maybe a pyramid scheme operator—might succeed. No one could make someone who didn’t want to buy a house actually buy one, especially under current national policy restrictions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan kept calling, kept arranging viewings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The diligent are never forsaken by heaven—finally, after more than twenty days of effort, luck came.\u003C\u002Fp>",2109,"2026-06-20T21:08:40.823Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","9a12bb3324eee45f236d00353ff64f2354ffd9a4e45c9a636133bf10da519641","from-the-god-of-medicine-a-journey-through-film--chapter-9","from-the-god-of-medicine-a-journey-through-film--chapter-7",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffrom-the-god-of-medicine-a-journey-through-film--cover.jpg"]