Chapter 414: Chapter 414 Clinic Income
"Then just take 20 yuan. If you have it, toss it here, if not, we can talk about it some other day."
"Doctor Liu, you’ve really saved my life. How could I not pay you? Don’t worry."
As he spoke, he fumbled in his pocket for a long time until he finally managed to gather 20 yuan, which he casually threw onto the table.
"Master, these last few days, I’ve suddenly realized that your prices are so low. Sometimes, for a prescription for the common cold or fever, it costs only about three to five yuan."
"Yes, don’t forget, this is the countryside. Besides, these people are all farmers who spend their days working the soil. They labor all year round and don’t earn much money. I can’t be demanding money from them. So, I generally only charge them the cost price. Moreover, as you can see, most of the medicines are formulated by me, and they barely cost anything at all."
"Master, if that’s really the case, then even your profits for the month can’t be much. And yet, you are still willing to offer me subsidies at this time. I think I better not take it. I’ve done a rough calculation these past couple of days, and your total income is probably only a little over 100 yuan."
"Yes, it’s just over 100 yuan. Besides, all it cost was a bit of effort. Most of these medicines, as you can see, were compounded by me. They virtually have no cost because I forage for them in the mountains. So, with a little over 100 yuan, you can make around a hundred or so. Moreover, this house was left to me by my brother and sister-in-law, so there’s no rent to pay."
"But I still feel that in the end, you are the one who loses out. How about this, let’s forget about the money. Just provide me with meals, and I’ll be completely content. Also, my sister mentioned that she is going to clean out the old house. Then, I can temporarily stay there, and that takes care of my living situation."
"These aren’t things you need to worry about, so don’t think about them. Logically speaking, everyone knows me, I’m somewhat famous in this area. And with so many patients coming to see me, one would think I’d have some savings put away. But honestly, I’m not afraid of ridicule, my savings are pitifully small. If it weren’t for your sister stepping in to help, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to handle the village affairs."
"Right, Master, now that you mention it, I also want to ask you. Have you never been into the mountains to gather herbs? And when you do go, what time or day do you choose? Should I come with you? I can’t promise anything else, but as for gathering herbs in the mountains, I’m absolutely sure I can do it."
"Currently, there should still be some stock left, probably enough to last about 10 days. After 10 days, we’ll pick a date, and then we’ll enter the mountain. However, I don’t go into the mountains like other people do—I go at night and come out the next morning. That way, the herbs I pick are the freshest."
"You mean, you’re looking for ’yin’ herbs?"
"It seems you do know a bit about this. Correct. Gathering herbs is also about the yin and yang. The herbs I use now are those gathered at night, and they tend to absorb better."
"Hmm, my grandfather mentioned this to me before. But he finds it difficult to do at times and harvesting can be challenging. It’s true that identification can be difficult at night."
"Yes, so at night, I mainly rely on my sense of smell rather than my eyes to identify them. It’s only this way that I can be sure whether what I’m picking is really what I want."
"Just using your sense of smell? My goodness, Master, your nose is so incredible! Even my grandfather can’t do that. He still needs to use his eyes and carefully observe and identify."
"Ha ha, perhaps it’s due to doing this for many years. Plus, during the day, I’m usually at the clinic and I don’t have time for these things. Moreover, it’s harder to find the herbs during the day. It’s only at night that it becomes more convenient. Alright, when the time comes, I’ll take you with me. You’ll understand then."
"Alright, I got it. By the way, Master, how’s the medicine coming along? Is it ready yet?"
"Yes, it’s already prepared, and there should be no problem now. I’ll take it to the town tonight so that the elderly can take it as soon as possible. Only then can we temporarily solve our problem. Also, there’s one more thing—we might really have to find the person who poisoned them."
"We’ve got to ask who could have such a grievance with them. Why would there be such deep hatred to the extent of poisoning someone?"
"Actually, I’ve been thinking about one thing. That is whether the person who poisoned and the one who sent the flowers are the same. If they are the same person, why would they act separately? And if they are not the same person, how would the sender of the flowers know about the toxic substance inside their body?"
"If that’s the case, some things still cannot be explained clearly. Think about it. If the poisoner really wanted to harm him, why choose such a weak poison? If there weren’t those specific flowers and plants to act in combination, that substance would have caused no reaction at all in the old lady’s body."
"So, I’ve always found this case very strange. Did you know what occurred to me last night? I haven’t told you, but there was a period when, in our village, there were several cases of poisoning. When they came here, I would quickly detoxify them, but the poisonings were all very mild, and didn’t pose any harm to people’s lives."
"Are you saying that there were also such cases in the village? It was previously just in the town, but now in the village as well—Does all of this have a necessary connection?"
"I don’t know, and I’m also unclear about what’s going on. Why would people do such things? I just can’t figure it out."
