If it was Long Xiaotian who killed the person, and Long Xiaotian was the one who saved Xin Yifei, then it was clear that Long Xiaotian and Long Xiao were in cahoots.
Long Nian had not yet figured out why Long Xiaotian would help Long Xiao.
Long Xiaotian's power was too terrifying, and Long Nian did not dare to act against Long Xiao before understanding the reason.
The second day Sun Sizhu stayed at Xinglin Caotang, he began to work.
The news of Sun Sizhu's return to Donghai spread quickly. Xinglin Caotang was flooded with patients, with over ten thousand people making appointments in a single day.
In the morning, Long Xiao looked at the long line of people at the entrance with a troubled expression. In the past, Mi Tianfu and Ming Yue each saw a hundred patients a day, but now there were over five hundred people in line, stretching all the way to the alley entrance.
Zhang Eryong and Bao Tie ran back and forth, telling people in line that they didn't need to queue if they hadn't made an appointment for today. However, no matter how much they shouted, the people in line ignored them.
Sun Sizhu ate breakfast and went to the front yard to head to his examination room. Xue Meiqin told him about the situation at the entrance, and he also felt that his decision was wrong.
"This is going to be a big problem, why are there so many people?" Sun Sizhu said, looking at the closed gate.
Xue Meiqin secretly glanced at Long Xiao, who was discussing countermeasures with Mi Tianfu and Ming Yue not far away. She whispered, "It's all Long Xiao's fault. The registration fee is fifty yuan per patient, and the medicine is only charged at cost, with no other fees."
"You mean, if it's acupuncture or massage therapy, it's only fifty yuan?" Sun Sizhu asked.
Xue Meiqin nodded and said, "Yes, that's right. With such cheap treatment fees, even people with minor ailments are coming."
Sun Sizhu thought for a moment and said, "This needs to be changed, or I'll be exhausted to death."
A minute later, Sun Sizhu said, "Tell Long Xiao that from today onwards, for anyone who makes an appointment with me, the registration fee will be ten percent of their annual income."
"This might not work, who will truthfully report their annual income?" Xue Meiqin shook her head.
Sun Sizhu thought again and said, "If they don't truthfully report their annual income, and are found out, they will be blacklisted, and Xinglin Caotang will not accept them in the future."
"Will Long Xiao agree to you doing this?" Xue Meiqin asked.
Sun Sizhu nodded and said, "He should agree. This way, the poor will spend less on medical treatment, and we at Xinglin Caotang can earn more."
Sun Sizhu went to the examination room to prepare, and Xue Meiqin relayed Sun Sizhu's idea to Long Xiao.
Long Xiao thought carefully and understood Sun Sizhu's intention. He said, "Meiqin, this is a good method. From today onwards, you will open a separate window specifically for registration and appointments. Also, the rules for online appointments should be changed according to Elder Sun's method."
"Are you really agreeing to do this?" Xue Meiqin asked, looking at Long Xiao in surprise.
Long Xiao nodded and said, "This method is good. If we don't do this, people with minor ailments will all come for appointments, and those with serious illnesses will be delayed."
Xue Meiqin nodded and thought for a moment, "Why don't we have different tiers for registration fees? For Master Yao Wang Sun's appointments, we'll charge ten percent of annual income. For Master Mi and Ming Yue's appointments, we'll charge five percent. For other doctors' appointments, it will be fifty yuan."
"Other doctors, besides the three of them, where else do we have other doctors?"
Xue Meiqin pointed to the back courtyard and said, "Isn't there Tong Hui? He's an internal medicine specialist."
Long Xiao looked at Xue Meiqin and said, "Clever. Tong Hui has been cultivating for so long, it's time for him to step out and gain some experience."
Long Xiao went to the back courtyard. Tong Hui was preparing to cultivate. When Long Xiao told him to see patients to gain experience, he agreed without hesitation.
With ten minutes before opening, Long Xiao hurriedly asked Mi Tianfu to find a large piece of paper and write down the revised registration rules to post on the wall. He, along with Ming Yue, Xue Meiqin, and Chen Meijia, found a room for Tong Hui and moved tables and chairs to set up a consultation room.
Everything was ready. As soon as Tong Hui entered the consultation room, Chen Meijia opened the main gate.
Patients entered in an orderly fashion. Mi Tianfu stood on the steps and announced the newly established registration rules.
After hearing this, the patients started discussing amongst themselves.
Some said that Xinglin Caotang had gained Master Yao Wang, so the registration fees had increased. Others said that the rule was well set, as it allowed people of all financial statuses to afford medical treatment and prevented people with minor ailments from queuing.
Over ten thousand people had already registered online and offline. Only after these ten thousand people were seen would the new registration rules be implemented.
To treat these patients as quickly as possible, Long Xiao set up a table in the courtyard and began seeing patients himself.
Ming Yue had one consultation room, Sun Sizhu had one, Tong Hui had one, and Long Xiao treated patients at his table in the courtyard, allowing them to see four patients at once.
Xue Meiqin was responsible for calling out the numbers. Patients who were called could choose any doctor they wished for treatment.
Initially, everyone who was called chose Sun Sizhu. As a result, Sun Sizhu was the only one seeing patients among the four doctors.
Long Xiao looked at Ming Yue, then at Tong Hui. There was no one in either of their consultation rooms, and there was no one in front of his table either.
While he was feeling dejected, Luan Jiping walked in from outside.
"Long Xiao, what are you doing? So many people are lining up to see a doctor," Luan Jiping said, pointing at the queuing patients.
Long Xiao explained the situation. Luan Jiping burst into laughter and said, "Little brother, you're such a divine doctor, yet no one wants to see you."
"Sister, people in Donghai only believe in the three divine doctors of Donghai. What am I?" Long Xiao pouted.
Luan Jiping scanned the people queuing for medical treatment and said, "I have a way to get patients to come to you."
"What way?" Long Xiao asked.
Luan Jiping pointed to an elderly man in a wheelchair and said, "Cure him, and let him walk out of Xinglin Caotang on his own. Your line will be full immediately."
While this might be a bad idea for other doctors, for Long Xiao, it was indeed a good plan.
Long Xiao stood up and approached the elderly man in the wheelchair. The elderly man had been queuing for an hour. He had come today specifically to see the Medicine King, Sun Sizhu.
"Elderly sir, are you here to see Medicine King?" Long Xiao asked with a smile.
The young man behind the elder nodded and said, "Yes, we are here to see Medicine King Sun. My father is paralyzed and has difficulty speaking. I apologize."
Long Xiao smiled and asked, "Tell me, if Medicine King Sun treats this elderly gentleman, can he immediately stand up and move freely?"
The elder's son shook his head and said, "Probably not. Traditional Chinese medicine takes time to show results, it might take a few days to see any effect."
Long Xiao also shook his head and said, "The speed at which traditional Chinese medicine works is faster than Western medicine. Your belief that traditional Chinese medicine is slow is a misunderstanding of it."
A middle-aged man behind the elder's son said indignantly, "Young man, traditional Chinese medicine is indeed slow to take effect. If Western medicine wasn't so expensive, I wouldn't be here seeing a Chinese medicine practitioner."
The middle-aged man's voice was hoarse. Long Xiao could tell at a glance that he was suffering from excessive anger, which had affected his throat, causing it to swell.
"My friend, according to Western medicine, your condition is tonsillitis, which requires antibiotic treatment. Am I right?"
The middle-aged man nodded and said, "You are right. Any doctor can diagnose my condition."
Long Xiao said, "My friend, the three of you come with me. Let's see how long it takes me to cure you."
The middle-aged man hesitated for a long time before leaving the line and following Long Xiao to the table where Long Xiao was seeing patients. The young man, looking confused, pushed the elder and followed them.