Chapter 240: Business Sense

"Divine Doctor An, forget about the matter of marrying into the family. However, regarding Lord Han's side, I will put in a word for you. Whether you can obtain Lord Han's protection still depends on Lord Han's decision."

"I know, but if you marry into my An family, you would surely try even harder to handle this matter well. After all, protecting the An family would be the same as protecting your own home."

Divine Doctor An seemed to want to keep persuading, but under Fang Yue's insistence, he finally gave up the idea.

From their time together these past days, he still knew Fang Yue's temperament.

After thinking for a moment, he opened the door and exchanged a few words with the servant outside.

Before long, a girl of fifteen or sixteen, looking cute and endearing, plump and round, skipped into the main hall.

"Grandpa, you wanted me?"

"Mm, Dong'er, come here and pay your respects to this big brother."

"Hello, big brother!"

Dong'er, being very obedient, her chubby little face immediately broke into a smile as she bowed to Fang Yue.

Fang Yue looked at Divine Doctor An, his face showing puzzlement.

Divine Doctor An then said, "Her name is An Dong'er. Among the younger generation of my An family, she has the best aptitude. Since you're unwilling to marry into my An family, taking her as a sworn younger sister isn't too much to ask, is it?"

Why should my seniority suddenly drop a notch for no reason…

Just as Fang Yue was feeling depressed, Divine Doctor An waved his hand grandly.

"Then it's settled. Dong'er, remember this big brother's face. From now on, call him Brother Ye. If one day you run into some trouble you can't solve, go to Gu Yue Cun to find him."

"Dong'er understands."

"Mm, nothing else. You may go out now."

"Okay."

Dong'er secretly raised her head to sneak a few peeks at Fang Yue, then retreated out.

After An Dong'er left, Fang Yue looked at Divine Doctor An.

"What's the meaning of this? Out of nowhere giving me an extra sworn younger sister."

"Dong'er is my most beloved granddaughter, and also the future of the An family. I'm simply leaving a way out for the An family. If one day something truly happens to the An family, I hope she'll go to you for shelter. Of course, if nothing happens, having a sworn younger sister in a distant village doesn't seem to be a problem, does it?"

That's easy to say… but Fang Yue still felt a bit awkward about it.

Forget it, she's just a sworn younger sister in name only anyway.

After that, Fang Yue chatted with Divine Doctor An for quite a while about recent events before finally getting up and leaving the An family.

Divine Doctor An gazed at Fang Yue's retreating back, lost in thought.

It wasn't until people on the street started pointing and whispering at him that his expression darkened slightly, and he gave a cold snort before entering the mansion.

"Isn't that Divine Doctor An? I heard he was heavily injured and on the verge of death at Luoye Cun, and was forcibly pulled back from the brink by Divine Doctor Luo's miraculous hands!"

"No way! Could Divine Doctor Luo of Luoye Cun actually have higher medical skills than Divine Doctor An?"

"Hmph! You lot don't know this, do you—Divine Doctor Luo and Divine Doctor An were originally equally renowned doctors. It's just that Divine Doctor An debuted earlier, so his reputation is louder. If we're really talking about medical skill, it was always an unknown. But judging from the rumors at Luoye Cun, Divine Doctor Luo has already firmly secured the title of the number one Divine Doctor of the Heiqing Shanmai. Divine Doctor An has to accept that he's getting old!"

"I see, so it looks like Luoye Cun is going to rise to prominence again!"

……

On the road, Fang Yue also caught bits and pieces of many people discussing the medical-skill rivalry between Divine Doctor Luo and Divine Doctor An.

This was Mo Cun, Divine Doctor An's turf. Logically speaking, most people should be on Divine Doctor An's side.

But Divine Doctor An's appetite was far too greedy. How many people in Mo Cun had been squeezed dry by his exorbitant consultation fees? After all these years, who knew how much hidden resentment had piled up.

It's just that Divine Doctor An held absolute dominance, and no one dared to step forward and say anything.

Now that rumors had come out of Divine Doctor Luo being a notch above Divine Doctor An, they were naturally happy to have a bit of fun. After all, it was just normal gossip about rumors—they even dared to gossip about the Captain, so why couldn't they gossip about Divine Doctor An's affairs?

Still, this news really did spread awfully slowly.

Fang Yue and the others had already been back in Mo Cun for many days, yet the news that Divine Doctor Luo had outdone Divine Doctor An in medical skill—setting aside the rivalry between doctors, giving his all to save lives, embodying the benevolent heart of a healer—had only just reached Mo Cun.

Fang Yue didn't think this was a big deal. In the short term, Divine Doctor Luo's name would indeed overshadow Divine Doctor An's, but this was Mo Cun after all, Divine Doctor An's turf. He would surely find a way to restore his reputation. As for the other villages, fame and reputation are built by word of mouth, so reclaiming the title of number one Divine Doctor would be rather difficult.

But how old was Divine Doctor An anyway? In a few more years he could retire and take it easy. He didn't need to care that much about empty reputation, did he?

Leaving An Fu, Fang Yue went to look for Blood Hunter.

But no matter how many times he asked, no one knew where he had gone.

This left Fang Yue a bit frustrated. As expected, once Mo Cun elected a temporary substitute Captain for the Fire Captain, he would be heading back to the village.

With no other choice, unable to find the person, Fang Yue could only wander around Mo Cun for a while. As a result, in front of a tailor's shop, he spotted a familiar figure.

"Niu Niu?"

He saw Niu Niu, like a deaf-mute, going "ah-bah, ah-bah" at a group of fellows holding little red flags.

Those words were like encrypted Morse code—no one else could understand a single thing—but the group holding the little red flags all understood perfectly.

Following Niu Niu's directions, that group entered the tailor's shop in order.

"Oh! Big Brother Niu is here!"

The tailor shop owner, upon seeing Niu Niu, immediately cried out joyfully, enthusiastically inviting him in and pouring him hot tea.

Meanwhile, the people Niu Niu had brought all dispersed, wandering around the tailor's shop, pausing now and then to observe.

Fang Yue's brow furrowed slightly as he walked into the tailor's shop.

Niu Niu, who had been lounging with his legs crossed and sipping hot tea, immediately choked with a couple of coughs and sprang to his feet.

"Ah-bah, ah-bah?!"

He excitedly walked toward Fang Yue and hurriedly sent a message.

"Brother Ye, what brings you here? Looking for something that fits? Pick one, it's on me!"

How generous!

After just a few days apart, Fang Yue saw on Niu Niu a unique quality only a nouveau riche possessed.

Mm, not long ago, Fang Yue himself had carried that same quality.

Still, he had already started to lay low—a nouveau riche should keep a low profile, after all!

Although this was Fang Yue's own impression of himself, after acquiring a fortune worth tens of millions, he really hadn't shown much of the face a parvenu ought to have.

"No need to treat me, but what are you doing here?"

"Oh, my startup project hit a bottleneck, so right now I'm actively developing new projects, undergoing a commercial transformation, seeking new career breakthroughs, and defining the team's business direction."

"... Speak human!"

Niu Niu went silent for a moment, then sent a message.

"Group-buying is hard to run anymore. Those people spontaneously organized their own group-buys, and even found strong, reputable people to act as guarantors, kicking me, the founder, out. Now, relying on the connections I'd built up before, I'm doing promotional activities with small shops that don't have much name recognition—tailor shops, blacksmith forges, that sort of thing. I take a little commission, service fees, stuff like that, to get by."

Ah, this…

This guy, although he doesn't practice diligently, does have a decent business head on his shoulders.

"Business is going pretty well, huh? Lots of people."

(End of chapter)