Chapter 16: Chapter 15 Female Doctor_1
Renxin Medical Hall opened its doors early today.
Everyone on West Street knew that Young Master Du was a lazy and gluttonous man. His late father left him a considerable family fortune, but sadly, Young Master Du was incompetent. He spent his days with a group of good-for-nothings, hunting with dogs and horses, and lingering in modest households, squandering the sizeable family wealth into nothing. When he finally came to his senses, all that was left was a small, dilapidated medical clinic on West Street, operating at a loss, barely surviving, and seemingly on the verge of shutting down.
But today, the medical clinic seemed different.
The signboard over the door had been wiped clean, and though the writing was sloppy, it looked somewhat brighter. The long yellow-wood table that blocked the entrance had been pushed back, making the storefront appear less cramped. The medicine cabinets were cleaned inside and out, making the previously narrow and old space look tidy and spacious overnight.
However, what was most eye-catching was the young woman standing in front of the medicine cabinet.
Renxin Medical Hall had a new face, a beautiful young woman.
This young lady was very pretty, with skin as clear as ice and bones as delicate as jade, dressed in a plain, light-colored cotton gown with her black hair brushed diagonally into a braid resting on her chest. Apart from a frost-white silk flower beside her temples, she wore no other adornments, yet she outshone the deliberately dressed-up young ladies of other households.
The sight of the beautiful girl arranging the medicinal herbs in front of the medicine cabinet caught the eyes of the people from the surrounding shops.
Next door, Tailor Ge from the tailor shop, whose old mother was suffering from intestinal obstruction, came to buy croton seeds; he took the opportunity to pull Du Changqing aside and asked softly while looking at the girl at the medicine cabinet, "Changqing, who is that?"
Du Changqing glanced at Lu Tong, who was dispensing medicine, and snorted with a laugh, "She is the Resident Doctor I’ve employed, Doctor Lu!"
"Resident Doctor?" Tailor Ge looked at him in astonishment, "A female doctor?"
"What’s wrong with a female doctor?" Du Changqing was displeased, "Did the female doctor offend you?"
"How can a woman be a doctor? And she looks even younger than you," Tailor Ge pondered, his eyes rolling before revealing a knowing smile, "I get it now, she must be your sweetheart, right? If she is your sweetheart, just say so. Why all the mystery?"
"Keep your nonsense to yourself," Du Changqing rebuked irritably, "She is a proper doctor! She knows how to treat illnesses and prepare medicine, unlike someone as shameless as you!"
Tailor Ge, unjustly ridiculed, left with his croton seeds, sulking.
Du Changqing watched his figure, stout as a stone block, and cursed, "Can’t expect pearls from a dog’s mouth." Then, glancing at the girl in front of the medicine cabinet, who was as fresh as a blooming lotus, he felt both guilty and proud.
After a while, he muttered to himself, "What’s wrong with a female doctor? Isn’t she more pleasing to the eye than those old bark-skinned fellows in Xinglin Hall?"
He spat disdainfully, not sure if he was trying to convince himself or others.
"Young Master Du wouldn’t even want an ugly one!"
"Knows nothing!"
...
The news of Renxin Medical Hall having a beautiful new girl spread like wildfire through West Street.
The shopkeepers on West Street had been in business for over a decade, familiar faces to each other. Old Master Du had started his business on West Street, then moved on after rising to wealth, leaving the neighbors both envious and jealous. Now that his youngest son had fallen from grace and returned to the starting point of his father, they felt pity amidst their sighs.
However, this pity didn’t last long before Du Changqing employed a beautiful lady to sit in the clinic, and the neighbors in the four wards began to look down on his actions.
It seemed that it was only a matter of time before Young Master Du squandered his family fortune.
Indeed, a rotten beam can’t prop up a wall!
Not far away, Bai Shouyi, the manager of Xinglin Hall, sat at his desk inside the shop, sipping his tea leisurely.
Bai Shouyi was forty years old this year, with a fair complexion and slightly plump figure, clothed in a precious blue robe and tied with a colorful silk sash at the waist, and always bearing a smile on his face when he met people. He looked amiable and kind but had a pair of shrewd eyes.
He had started his business with loose medicinal herbs and gradually accumulated some capital. He rented a spacious storefront on West Street and established Xinglin Hall. With a wide space and a rich variety of medicinal materials, the customer flow was substantial. But Bai Shouyi was not content with just that.
He had set his sights on Renxin Medical Hall; despite its dilapidated state, its prime location at the street corner was excellent. Bai Shouyi wanted to take over the shop to create a clinic specializing in treating patients, with Xinglin Hall mainly selling medicinal herbs. In this way, he could command all the patients on West Street, and silver would continuously flow into his pockets.
However, Du Changqing, the owner of Renxin Medical Hall, wouldn’t sell the shop no matter what.
Bai Shouyi looked down on Du Changqing in his heart; Old Master Du left such a vast fortune to Du Changqing, and yet he managed to squander it. If it had been Bai Shouyi, he would have multiplied the family wealth several times over. Du Changqing had been a waste for half his life, and suddenly he was trying to turn over a new leaf—whom was he trying to impress?
He wasn’t worried that Du Changqing wouldn’t sell the medical hall; after all, the patrons visiting Renxin Medical Hall each month could be counted on one hand. Du Changqing probably wouldn’t hold out for long, and when he was forced to sell out of desperation, Bai Shouyi’s offer would only be lower.
Bai Shouyi was only waiting for the day that Renxin Medical Hall would close its doors and Du Changqing would come to him begging with tears in his eyes, but to his surprise, he heard from others that Du Changqing had invited a beautiful girl to become the Resident Doctor.
It really piqued one’s curiosity.
Wen You, a clerk from Xinglin Hall, gathered some information and reported back to Bai Shouyi in detail, "...There’s indeed a young girl standing in the clinic, quite pretty. Oh, right, she also visited Xinglin Hall a few days ago and bought some medicine from Doctor Zhou."
Bai Shouyi paused while holding his teacup and looked at the man in front of the medicine cabinet, "Old Zhou, is this true?"
The man known as Zhou Ji used to be the Resident Doctor at Renxin Medical Hall. After Old Master Du passed away, Zhou Ji, seeing Du Changqing’s downtrodden state, found an excuse to leave and switched to Xinglin Hall.
It was after Zhou Ji’s departure that Du Changqing practically gave up, running the medical hall almost like a drugstore.
Zhou Ji was skinny and sallow, with some stubble on his dark, yellow complexion, and wore a cocoon silk gown that swayed around his body like a bamboo pole. He was arrogant towards the clerks of the medical clinic because of his medical skills but was extremely flattering and obsequious to his employer, Bai Shouyi.
Hearing Bai Shouyi’s question, Zhou Ji thought for a moment before answering, "A few days ago, there were indeed two foreign women who came to sell Puhuang Charcoal. It seemed they also wanted to consign some herbal tea. The Puhuang Charcoal was just passable, but I didn’t dare to use the herbal tea, so I had someone throw it out."
Bai Shouyi nodded in approval, "You are a sensible man. Xinglin Hall is not like those small drugstores— we cannot use products of unknown origin, lest we ruin our reputation."
"Master, that Renxin Medical Hall..." Zhou Ji tentatively asked.
Bai Shouyi put his teacup on the table and said slowly, "A foreign woman, and Du Changqing actually dares to let her act as Resident Doctor. I think he’s lusting after her beauty and seeking his own death. Just watch, in a few days, Renxin Medical Hall will become the laughingstock of the entire Shengjing medical community."
He straightened his waist ribbon and sneered contemptuously, "Useless mud that won’t stick to the wall, no matter what they do."
...
Du Changqing was unaware that he was a pile of useless mud in the mouth of his neighbor, Bai Shouyi.
But even if he had known, he would not have had the time to bother with it right now.
In the medical hall, Lu Tong was carefully placing the freshly made herbal tea pills one by one into jars. On the outermost yellowwood table were stacked about a dozen jars of herbal tea, forming a small but majestic tower to behold.
However, despite Du Changqing’s efforts in shouting his lungs out for the better part of the day, while many people came to see the beautiful girl, no one showed any interest in the herbal tea.
Yin Zheng pulled Du Changqing aside, "Master, with the front door this deserted, can’t you think of something else? For example, getting someone to turn this herbal tea into a jingle that can be sung, or inviting a few girls to drum up business at the entrance. It’s better than just sitting here idly, isn’t it?"
Du Changqing rolled his eyes, "Miss Yinzheng, this is a medical hall, not a brothel. How can we act so frivolously?"
Yin Zheng’s face changed slightly, and she fell silent for a moment.
Du Changqing, oblivious, prattled on, "...I’ve already said this to your family’s girl, it’s not certain that people will accept a woman practicing medicine. Look at those bastards, they all came to see the spectacle. They don’t believe in female Doctors, so naturally, they’re not willing to try the new herbal tea. We’ve been open for half a day, and not a single jar has been sold," he said, his own eyes beginning to reveal a hint of anxiety.
As he was worrying, Ah Cheng suddenly shouted from outside, "Official Hu is here!"
Like a Living Bodhisattva in a desperate situation, Du Changqing’s eyes lit up, and he immediately put on a smile, quickly stepping outside to greet him and saying, "Uncle!"
Lu Tong, who was packing the herbal tea, looked up and saw an elder with a square cap and the attire of a scholar entering the door.
This Official Hu, who was being assisted into the clinic by Du Changqing, called out "Changqing—," and upon seeing Lu Tong in front of the medicine cabinet, a look of puzzlement crossed his face, "Who is this...?"
Du Changqing ushered Official Hu into the back room to sit down and called for Ah Cheng to brew tea. The shop had been tidied up and the medicine cabinets rearranged, which made it look much more spacious. Official Hu looked around in surprise and exclaimed, "Changqing, your shop looks much better than before."
Du Changqing smiled, "I’ve tidied up a bit."
"Not bad," Official Hu was quite pleased, "It seems that you took to heart the words I said last time, and you’ve made some progress."
Du Changqing chuckled along.
Official Hu looked over at Lu Tong, "This one is...?"
Du Changqing smiled, "This is the new Resident Doctor I’ve just hired, and the tea is..."
"Nonsense!"
Before Du Changqing could finish his sentence, Official Hu stood up abruptly and scolded, "How can an ignorant woman practice medicine as Resident Doctor?"