Chapter 22: Chapter 24: An Interlude at the Pharmacy
Xu Jiekang smiled, "Mr. Liang, three hundred thousand is a bit expensive, how about two hundred and sixty thousand?"
Liang Chengwang hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded with difficulty, "Fine, I\'ll sell it to you for two hundred and sixty thousand. Brother, I\'m not really making much profit here, consider it a thank you for all the support you\'ve given my business over the years."
In just a few minutes, a nearly three hundred thousand yuan deal was done.
Qin Hao marveled to himself, the world of the wealthy really is different.
Two hundred and sixty thousand yuan would almost amount to all the savings for Qin Hao\'s family.
Xu Siyao noticed the look of envy and jealousy in Qin Hao\'s eyes and disdainfully curled her lip, "What are you ogling at, bumpkin."
Qin Hao furrowed his brow and looked at Xu Siyao, "I thought you were pretty and cute, but who knew you were so ill-mannered."
Upon hearing his words, Xu Siyao\'s face changed instantly, "Bumpkin, who are you saying is ill-mannered? Say it again if you dare."
Xu Jiekang quickly held his daughter back, saying sternly, "What did you promise your dad before you came out? Apologize to this young man."
"Why should I apologize, he insulted me first, saying I\'m ill-mannered," Xu Siyao struggled, flailing her arms and legs.
If it wasn\'t for her father holding her back, she might have landed her punches and kicks on Qin Hao.
Qin Hao couldn\'t be bothered with such a shrew, "Let it be, I don\'t need an apology from someone who\'s about to die."
Instantly, the pharmacy fell silent, and all four people turned to look at Qin Hao.
Xu Siyao was furious, "You bumpkin, how dare you curse me to die. I\'ll have you know, if this were in Jianghai City, you\'d be finished, got that?"
Xu Jiekang\'s expression also soured, "Young man, mind your words. Some things are not to be joked about lightly."
Qin Hao looked at Xu Jiekang, "Do you think I have time to joke with someone so unreasonable?"
Xu Siyao was enraged, "Bumpkin, who are you calling unreasonable? Don\'t think just because this isn\'t Jiangshan City that I can\'t deal with you."
Qin Hao didn\'t respond to her, but instead said to Xu Jiekang, "Uncle, you seem like a nice man, but your daughter\'s upbringing isn\'t quite there. Seeing as you can discern right from wrong, I\'ll give you a piece of advice: Take the time to find someone to treat her illness."
"You\'re the sick one, your whole family is sick," she retorted.
…
Xu Jiekang\'s piercing eyes gazed at him, his thick eyebrows furrowed, "Young man, what do you mean by that? Could you clarify?"
Qin Hao spoke, "If I\'m not mistaken, she must have been a premature birth."
Liang Ya and Liang Chengwang were stunned, a premature birth? Could he really tell?
Xu Jiekang was also taken aback, and although he didn\'t know how Qin Hao knew, he still nodded.
Xu Siyao also stopped her outburst, curious to see what else this bumpkin could come up with.
Getting the correct response, Qin Hao grew more confident in his medical skills—if he had been wrong on his first guess, that would have been embarrassing.
He continued, "When she was still unborn, her mother had already passed away, hadn\'t she?"
The moment those words were uttered, Xu Jiekang\'s body shook, and he looked at him with disbelief.
Because what Qin Hao said was exactly right—when Xu Siyao was born, her mother had indeed died.
How could he possibly know this? Could he have researched me thoroughly? Trying to get close to me in one go?
A myriad of thoughts flashed across Xu Jiekang\'s mind instantaneously.
Qin Hao: "It\'s precisely because of this that her Innate vital energy is deficient. Your family is well-off, so you must have let her take plenty of tonics when she was young, right?
Even so, she must have been very prone to illness as a child, getting sick more often than her peers.
Now, many tonics are no longer effective for her, so the drawbacks of her Innate deficiency are starting to show. It will probably break out by the end of the year at the latest. If she starts to recuperate now, there might still be a chance."
As soon as he spoke these words, Xu Jiekang was greatly shaken, because what Qin Hao said was almost perfectly accurate.
How could he know? Could he be an expert in ancient medicine?
But have you ever seen an ancient medicine expert who is only eighteen or nineteen years old?
Xu Jiekang\'s attitude had softened considerably: "Young man, how did you figure this out?"
Qin Hao: "Ancient medicine emphasizes observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking. Just by looking at her complexion, I can tell her physical condition, and by listening to her voice—although shrill and loud—it lacks sufficient breath. These two points alone are enough."
After saying that, he added another sentence: "If uncle doesn\'t believe me, you can go back and consult an expert in ancient medicine."
Liang Chengwang and Liang Ya were completely baffled. Look at the complexion? They thought Xu Siyao looked perfectly normal, no different from an ordinary person.
And her voice—as far as they could tell, Xu Siyao\'s voice sounded normal. How did he discern a deficiency in her breath?
…
Xu Jiekang was now nearly eighty percent convinced by what he said, since Qin Hao\'s words were so uncannily accurate that he couldn\'t help but believe them.
After swiping his card to pay for the red ginseng, he hurried off with Xu Siyao.
Qin Hao watched as the two departed, shaking his head nonchalantly. He no longer felt as repulsed by Xu Siyao as before.
Her mother had passed away at her birth, and given her tendency to be sickly as a child, her family surely indulged her every whim, which must have shaped her present personality.
Qin Hao sighed. Life is full of disappointments, and right now, he couldn\'t even assist his own family, let alone concern himself with others.
He said to Liang Ya, "Are we settled now? Licorice, angelica, Polygonatum... I\'ll take a pound of each of these eighty-one medicinal herbs."
"Ah, sir, please wait a moment," Liang Ya said, her tone much more respectful than before.
After Qin Hao repeated himself countless times, she finally gathered all the herbs.
Liang Chengwang, curious, looked at him: "Young man, someone in your family practices medicine?"
Qin Hao\'s expression stiffened, and he shook his head: "I\'ve read a few medical books."
Liang Chengwang: "You don\'t seem like someone who has only read a few books. I\'ve met some experts in ancient medicine, and you outdo them all."
"Uncle is too kind," Qin Hao humbly replied, but he felt a sense of caution in his heart.
It seems he shouldn\'t display his medical skills carelessly, or it would reveal many flaws. How could someone from an ordinary family have such profound medical knowledge?
He considered whether he should buy some medical books when he returned.
Liang Chengwang quickly asked, "Young man, can you check if there\'s something wrong with my health?"
Qin Hao chuckled and said, "Uncle, you take so many supplements every day, your health is very good. However, you could cut down on the deer antler a bit. While deer antler nourishes vital energy and blood, it also strengthens kidney yang. If you over-nourish without releasing it, it\'s not good for the body."
Liang Chengwang\'s face turned red upon hearing this and was simultaneously startled. This youngster could even tell what supplements he had taken: "Young man, you are remarkable, you have a promising future."