Chapter 2: Senior Sister

The midday sun was somewhat blinding.

After leaving Qingshui Pavilion, Luo Zijun headed straight back to the Pharmacy, not giving the matter any further thought.

The Pharmacy was named "Bao'an Hall" and was run by a grandfather and his grandchild.

Including him, there were only three people in the shop; besides diagnosing and treating illnesses, they also sold various medicinal herbs.

Usually, the Senior Sister was responsible for tending the shop, while he and the Master were responsible for running around.

Of course, he was only responsible for carrying the Medicine Chest and writing out prescriptions.

At this moment, there were no customers in the shop.

Master Su Dafang seemed to have gone out for something, leaving only Senior Sister Su Qingling alone in the shop.

Su Qingling was wearing a plain white dress that fit the style of the Pharmacy quite well, and at this moment, she was lowering her head behind the counter, fiddling with an abacus.

This girl was tall and beautiful with an elegant temperament, and her chest was exceptionally magnificent, so she often attracted men to come to the shop to buy medicine, and every time, she would ruthlessly swindle them.

Many people, for the sake of their pride, had no choice but to force a smile and pay, only to be met with her icy face; after a few times, they dared not come again.

And she seemed to have very few emotional fluctuations.

Luo Zijun saw that this girl often wore an icy, "keep away" face, so he rarely took the initiative to speak to her.

Seeing her busy with her head down, he didn't dare to disturb her; after putting down the Medicine Chest, he went to the bookshelf in the right corner, picked up a Medicine Canon at random, and began to flip through it.

Who would have thought that just as he had turned a few pages, a sweet scent of medicine suddenly wafted from behind him.

Luo Zijun turned his head to look; it was a cold, beautiful face.

Just as he was about to speak, a fair, jade-like hand suddenly reached out and pinched his butt.

"Hiss..."

Luo Zijun immediately gasped, and hurriedly asked, "Senior Sister, what's wrong?"

This girl, she actually pinched his butt???

Su Qingling looked at him with icy eyes: "I heard from Grandfather that you just went on a blind date?"

Luo Zijun nodded: "Yeah, what about it?"

Su Qingling's fingers suddenly increased their force, causing Luo Zijun to "hiss" again in pain, and he hurriedly begged for mercy.

"Senior Sister, how did I provoke you?"

Luo Zijun felt it was inexplicable.

He went on a blind date, what did that have to do with her?

Could it be that this girl liked him?

That was obviously unlikely; the two of them had only known each other for a few days.

Su Qingling said coldly: "Just because you went on a blind date and didn't come back to help me, I miscalculated the accounts just now and gave someone an extra copper coin in change. I'll pinch you to death!"

As she spoke, she pinched him hard again.

"Ah..."

Luo Zijun finally remembered.

This girl's arithmetic was terrible; she even had to count on his fingers for seven plus eight. For such a person, it was truly something that the Master actually felt at ease letting her handle the accounts and money.

But, what did that have to do with him?

"Senior Sister, how about I handle the accounts and money from now on?"

Su Qingling heard his words and snorted coldly: "In your dreams!"

As she spoke, she pinched him fiercely again.

Luo Zijun was in so much pain that he felt this girl had to be taught a lesson.

If she could pinch him, why couldn't he pinch her?

So he immediately reached out his hand and also gave her butt a fierce pinch.

"Ah!"

Both of them cried out together.

Su Qingling's eyes widened instantly: "Luo Zijun, you... you... you actually dare to pinch my butt?"

"Senior Sister, you... you... you actually also dare to pinch my butt?"

Luo Zijun would not indulge her.

To hell with men and women not touching!

Are women allowed to make a move, but men aren't?

Su Qingling looked at him in disbelief, as if she suddenly didn't recognize him, and then her fingers suddenly twisted with force: "I'll pinch you to death!"

Luo Zijun was not to be outdone, and his fingers also suddenly twisted with force: "I'll pinch you to death too!"

"Ah..."

The two of them cried out in unison once again.

"Let go!"

"You first!"

"Ah..."

Amidst their screams, the two of them finally let go of each other in pain.

"Luo Zijun! You're dead! I'm telling you, you're dead!"

Su Qingling rubbed her bottom while retreating into the counter, then suddenly grabbed a feather duster and rushed toward him.

Luo Zijun had been prepared, and immediately grabbed the Broom in the corner.

A great battle was about to break out.

At this very moment, a burst of footsteps suddenly sounded at the entrance.

Just then, an old woman wearing coarse cloth clothes walked in from the doorway; judging by her complexion and the way she walked, she seemed to be ill.

Seeing this, the two of them hurriedly put down the weapons in their hands.

Su Qingling glared at him resentfully and returned behind the counter; one hand continued to pretend to fiddle with the abacus on the table, while the other hand secretly rubbed her aching buttocks behind her back, hissing through her teeth from the pain.

The old woman entered the shop and, seeing the young girl behind the counter was beautiful but had a cold expression on her face, she immediately felt a bit timid and dared not speak.

Luo Zijun hurriedly rubbed his buttocks and walked over.

Usually, when his master was away, he would occasionally help patients with their ailments; if it wasn't too serious, he would just prescribe some medicine, and if he couldn't tell what was wrong, he could only wait for his master to return.

"Ma'am, are you here to see a doctor, or to get medicine?"

Luo Zijun walked up to her and asked.

The old woman glanced at him, then glanced at his hand hiding behind his back rubbing his buttocks, seemingly feeling a bit guilty and embarrassed; she lowered her head and said, "To... to see a doctor..."

Luo Zijun glanced at her complexion and said, "First, tell me your symptoms."

If it were a young woman or a little girl, he would lead her to the room inside and ask in a low voice to avoid making the other party feel embarrassed to speak; for an old woman of this age, there was naturally no need for such trouble.

Besides, there was no one else here except for him and his senior sister. The old woman's face revealed a painful expression, and after hesitating for a moment, she said, "This old woman hasn't been to the outhouse for five days in a row. My stomach is hard as a rock, and it's terribly uncomfortable, but I can't go. I can't eat well, and I can't sleep well..."

She mentioned a few more symptoms, then suddenly began to cry.

"I fear I have contracted some incurable disease. There is still a mentally disabled son at home; if I were to kick the bucket, what would become of him?"

After hearing her symptoms, Luo Zijun had a rough idea in his heart; he reached out to take her pulse and comforted her, "Ma'am, set your heart at ease. This is a minor illness, not some incurable disease. It is likely liver Qi stagnation, where the flow of Qi is obstructed and the rising and falling are out of balance, leading to indigestion and constipation. Let me get you some medicine; go back, boil it, and drink it, and you will surely improve within two days."

As he spoke, he went behind the counter himself, preparing to get the medicine.

When he walked behind Su Qingling, a foot wearing a white embroidered shoe suddenly stepped hard onto his foot.

"Collect the money first."

Su Qingling kept her head down, her expression cold as she fiddled with the abacus, as if she were not the one speaking, while her other hand continued to secretly rub the buttocks he had pinched in pain.

Luo Zijun had no choice but to turn and look at the old woman outside the counter, saying, "Ma'am, the consultation and medicine fee come to twenty wen in total."

Upon hearing this, the old woman's gaze darted around; she lowered her head, her hands nervously clutching her clothes and then releasing them, then clutching them again, repeating this, with nowhere to put them. Her face was full of embarrassment and shame, and she said in a trembling voice, "This old woman... this old woman has no money on her for the moment..."

Luo Zijun glanced at her rough hands full of cracks and her patched coarse cloth clothes, then thought of what she had just said about having a mentally disabled son at home; he paused, said nothing more, and turned to get the medicine.

!

Su Qingling remained with her head down, her fair, slender fingers continuing to fiddle with the abacus; the sound was clearly louder than before, and her expression was even colder.

Luo Zijun took the medicine, wrapped it up, handed it out from the counter, and said to the old woman, "Go back and treat your illness first; just come and pay when you have money later."

He often went out with his master to see patients; when they encountered poor people, his master would occasionally waive the consultation fee, but would whisper to him, "After we go back, you must never tell your senior sister."

Upon hearing this, the old woman's eyes immediately turned red, and she said tremblingly, "This... this..."

Seeing that she was too embarrassed to take it, Luo Zijun had no choice but to walk out from behind the counter, stuff the medicine into her hands, and say, "It's fine, go on."

The old woman looked at the medicine in her hands and listened to his gentle voice; she suddenly fell to her knees with a "thump" and cried, "Young Master, you... you are truly a living Bodhisattva. This old woman... this old woman..."

Luo Zijun hurriedly helped her up, offered a few more words of comfort, and sent her out.

The old woman wiped her tears and left.

When Luo Zijun returned to the shop, he was greeted by a pair of cold, icy eyes.

Before the other party could speak, he spoke first, "Just deduct it from my allowance at the end of the month."

He worked here as an apprentice to help out and received fifty wen every month.

After all, he did more than half of the work in the shop, and he often carried the Medicine Chest, running about in the wind and sun following his master.

Su Qingling sneered and said, "You certainly are kind-hearted. Do you know that this street is where our shop has the worst business? And you're giving things away for free. Isn't the allowance I give you earned from selling medicine?"

Luo Zijun didn't speak again and silently walked to the corner to wash his hands.

Su Qingling looked at his back and said, "Why aren't you saying anything? Do you know you were wrong?"

Luo Zijun was silent for a moment and said, "I know."

He was indeed wrong; after all, this was not his Pharmacy.

Actually, he felt that running a Pharmacy shouldn't just be about making money; as long as it could sustain itself, that was enough. It would be a good thing if fewer and fewer people came to the Pharmacy to buy medicine and fewer people came to see a doctor. But he also knew that this kind of thinking was not very realistic and was very selfish; even if it were his own Pharmacy, he feared it wouldn't be possible, unless he didn't mind going out of business.

Seeing the old woman just now, he couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy and thought of his former self.

His former self, in that world, had suffered from a terminal illness, had no money for treatment, and in the end, could only end up bankrupt with his family destroyed...

Looking at the ripples gently swaying in the washbasin and thinking of his own past experiences, he trance-like recalled those two lines he had once seen and couldn't help but mutter, "Would that there were no illness in the world, what matter if the dust gathers on the medicine on the shelves..."

Su Qingling was slightly stunned, and just as she was about to speak, a voice suddenly rang out from the doorway: "A fine poem! A fine poem! This young doctor has the heart of a healer, noble aspirations and clean conduct; at such a young age, to have such great virtue, I admire you! I admire you!"

A young man wearing a Confucian robe and looking dashing, holding a folding fan, walked into the Pharmacy. He looked at Luo Zijun with a face full of admiration and bowed, saying, "Just based on those two lines the young doctor just said, your honorable name is enough to be passed down for generations!"

He then hurriedly introduced himself: "I am Su Bie, merely a poor, pedantic scholar. I have a few copper coins at home and a little bit of ink in my belly, and I was originally self-satisfied and looked down on others. Today, hearing the young doctor's words, I realize that there is such a selfless, noble, and virtuous person in this world. I am ashamed, truly ashamed!"

"A scholar?"

Luo Zijun originally didn't want to pay him any mind, but upon hearing that this person was a scholar, his heart stirred, and he hurriedly bowed in return.

Scholars from the same place have a high probability of knowing each other.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he asked directly, "Brother Su, do you know Brother Xu Xian?"

Sure enough!

Upon hearing this, Su Bie was startled, then clapped his hands and laughed, "Of course I know him; not only do I know him, but we are also good friends! What a coincidence, does the young doctor also know Brother Xu?"

Luo Zijun felt a surge of joy in his heart and hurriedly said, "How could I know Young Master Xu? I have only heard people speak of him, saying that Young Master Xu is a brilliant writer with overflowing talent, and that is why I kept it in my heart."

Su Bie laughed heartily and said with a somewhat strange expression, "The young doctor has only heard of him; if you were to meet Brother Xu in person, you would know his true literary talent!"

Luo Zijun hurriedly invited him to sit to the side.

Su Bie had originally come to get medicine, but having just heard those few lines from this young doctor, he immediately felt a sense of respect and was therefore willing to chat with him.

The two chatted for a while about Xu Xian, then chatted about other things.

After Luo Zijun deliberately discussed a few poems, Su Bie couldn't help but slap the table and stand up, both surprised and delighted, "I didn't expect Brother Luo to not only be a doctor, but your skill in appreciating poetry is also so remarkable! If given time, you will definitely catch up to me!"

This guy really is a braggart...

Luo Zijun thought to himself.

However, in order to get to know Xu Xian, he was naturally very cooperative.

Thus, the two of them quickly became close friends who talked about everything.

Until the sun set in the west.

Only then did Su Bie take the medicine and leave, still feeling unsatisfied.

At parting, he said reluctantly, "Meeting Brother Zijun today is truly a great joy in life. When you have free time in the future, we brothers shall meet again."

Luo Zijun saw him to the door, watched his dashing departing back, and thought to himself: The mission has finally advanced a step.

When he returned to the shop, Su Qingling suddenly asked, "You know poetry?"

Luo Zijun said, "I've read some in books, just spouting nonsense."

"Who is Xu Xian?"

"A scholar."

"Do you want to take the scholar examination too?"

"Mm."

"You? Hmph."

Su Qingling curled her lips, looking completely unconvinced.

(End of this chapter)