Chapter 60

Early the next morning, just as Su Fuling came downstairs, she was stopped by Granny Sun, who was sitting below chatting with the old uncles and aunties.

"A-Ling, perfect timing—take a look at how my cold is doing. After taking your medicine I feel much better. Does that mean I can stop taking it? I recovered so fast this time. In the past, other cold medicines always took seven or eight days to work, but this time I felt better after just two doses."

Hearing this, Su Fuling naturally checked her pulse on the spot.

"Granny, you still need to keep taking it for a few more days—it's best to finish the full five days of medicine. Your improvement right now is only a temporary appearance; you need to keep taking the medicine to root it out completely. It would be best to follow up with some nourishing tonic soup for a while, to thoroughly condition your body."

Granny Sun said, "I'll listen to you."

Su Fuling smiled. "Then I'll get going—the clinic is waiting for me to open up."

"Good, off you go. You really are capable, opening a clinic at such a young age—even more promising than your uncle."

Su Fuling hurried off.

Granny Sun didn't forget to continue praising Su Fuling to her old friends.

"If you don't believe me, go ask A-Jing. That girl A-Jing is so picky—she bought a pile of medicine from across the street for her old man's illness before, and it did nothing. Wasted so much money. Now after taking A-Ling's medicine, not only does her leg not hurt, her complexion is much better too."

"From now on, when you're sick, go see A-Ling—don't waste money across the street. In a bit I'm going over there to demand a refund. They couldn't cure anything and still had the nerve to charge."

Granny Sun didn't just say it—she actually did it. The moment she saw the clinic across the street open its doors, she marched over to settle accounts with its doctor.

Her family wasn't well-off to begin with, and treating a cold had cost money over and over. She had thought her own body was just weak—turned out this big clinic's medical skill was no good and had delayed her recovery. Of course she had to demand justice!

George's Clinic was the largest private clinic in Yau Ma Tei. The boss was named Qiao Zhinan, English name George. His family had some money, so he went abroad to study medicine for a few years, and after returning he opened his own clinic. His medical skill wasn't great, but his advertising was excellent. Plus, his drug supply channels were indeed better than the small clinics', so he'd made a name for himself in Yau Ma Tei and earned quite a bit.

If things went smoothly, his clinic would remain the biggest in Yau Ma Tei and keep making money. After all, there were no other big clinics around. That kind of monopoly business was very profitable. Even poor people, when faced with illness, could only dig out money for treatment.

But Qiao Zhinan felt that all of this was now ruined. Having this unreasonable old woman come make such a scene had utterly trashed George's Clinic's reputation. Who knew how much money in advertising it would take to win it back? So Qiao Zhinan was determined not to let Granny Sun keep making trouble.

Qiao Zhinan said to her, "Granny, what you're doing is making an unreasonable fuss. I'm a properly registered doctor, graduated from a world-famous university—look, here's a photo of me with my classmates. They're all world-renowned doctors. The medicines you get from me are the newest and most effective. And this Doctor Su you mentioned—which school did she graduate from? Does she have any published papers?"

Granny Sun was momentarily speechless, and said somewhat weakly, "She's a Chinese medicine doctor from the mainland. Her medical skill is just good."

Qiao Zhinan found this utterly ridiculous. A Chinese medicine doctor from the mainland, a third-rate practitioner, daring to compare with him?

"Perhaps you were already cured by my treatment before you took her medicine, and you mistakenly credited her skill."

Granny Sun was dumbstruck—she really didn't understand these things. "But... her medicine really did work better for me."

"Then you were deceived. Some Chinese medicine practitioners love to cheat people. I have plenty of cases here of patients harmed by Chinese medicine. I advise you not to take her medicine."

"Bullshit!" Uncle Tang stepped out of the crowd of onlookers, his face full of fury.

He hadn't planned to get involved—just watch the show. But seeing Qiao Zhinan slander Su Fuling like this, he couldn't stand it. Whether Su Fuling's medical skill was good or not, no one knew better than him. He pointed at his leg. "Remember this leg of mine, Doctor Qiao? My daughter spent several thousand dollars at your place buying me medicine, and it did nothing at all. Every visit you just prescribed more medicine and told me to keep taking it, but nothing ever changed."

He looked around at the neighbors. "Everyone knows about this old problem of mine. Before, it hurt so badly I was practically walking like a cripple. But after A-Ling prescribed me medicine, within a few days it didn't hurt nearly as much, and now I walk normally. Do you all think I could be lying?"

Hearing Uncle Tang's words, the onlookers began murmuring among themselves, wondering whether this George's Clinic was really all show and no substance.

To say it was a complete fraud wasn't quite fair—he could indeed cure some minor illnesses. Colds and fevers could be treated. But charging such high prices really didn't match his treatment results.

Qiao Zhinan waved his hand dismissively. "Hmph, you're all making an unreasonable scene—this is extortion. Hong Kong law doesn't even recognize Chinese medicine now, yet you people blindly trust these swindlers. If you delay your treatment in the future, don't blame me for not warning you."

With someone backing her up, Granny Sun got her spirit back. "Then pay me back!"

Qiao Zhinan certainly wasn't going to pay. "I didn't sell fake medicine—why should I refund anything? Don't make trouble, or I'll call the police to arrest you. My friend is an inspector at the police station! I pay protection money to the Sifang Society every year—are you people trying to start something?"

Hearing Qiao Zhinan's words, Granny Sun's expression changed, and she didn't dare keep making trouble. She could only curse, "You heartless bastard, you'll get your retribution sooner or later."

Then she stormed off. She planned to badmouth this clinic everywhere from now on, so no one would come for treatment.

Uncle Tang also spat and left.

The crowd dispersed and the matter settled, but Qiao Zhinan's face was still dark. He knew that after this scene, his future reputation would surely suffer.

"A-Li, go investigate that Doctor Su—find out what her deal is. Snatching business right from under my nose—she really doesn't know her place." He felt today's episode was a conspiracy. He was no stranger to this kind of business competition. Since that was how it was, don't blame him for striking back.

...

At noon, Su Fuling watched Zhang Lei drink down the first bowl of medicine.

She herself was fairly confident, because this time she had adjusted the prescription based on the system's variations and arrived at an optimal formula. And the merit points had come through—a full 30 points.

That meant the prescription was effective.

Having just finished drinking it, Zhang Lei naturally didn't feel any major change. He only felt the medicine was warm, and after drinking it, his insides felt warm and comfortable.

No wonder elders always told you to drink hot water when you were sick—drinking this kind of warm medicinal soup really did feel quite comfortable.

Zhang Lei drank every last drop, not daring to waste a bit. This medicine was expensive.

Su Fuling asked, "Nothing feels uncomfortable?"

Zhang Lei shook his head. "Doctor Su, thank you. Just being able to take medicine makes me happy. At least it gives me a bit of hope—better than waiting to die. So if it doesn't cure me, don't feel pressured."

Su Fuling said, "Have confidence in yourself, and keep a positive mindset. Although your illness takes a long time to treat, it can be treated. You'll need to take medicine every day from now on. I'll record your condition daily. Go home for now, and come back this afternoon so I can check your pulse again."

Zhang Lei quickly nodded. "I'll definitely come this afternoon."

After Zhang Lei left, Su Fuling recorded his pulse readings from before his first dose, along with the time he took the medicine, as her observation diary for this condition.

As long as she cured Zhang Lei, she believed she would have sufficient experience with this type of illness from then on.

Zhao Facai came in from outside. "Shifu, I went to look at the shop—it's very spacious."

Ever since Su Fuling agreed to bring him along for the move, he had become very enthusiastic about relocating, having firmly decided to be the new shop's head steward.

Su Fuling asked, "Do we need to buy furniture and such?"

Zhao Facai said, "No need. I looked inside the shop—it has everything, even medicine shelves."

Chen Shasha thought to herself: Of course it does—Brother Shan had people move everything in overnight.

Su Fuling could roughly guess the reason too. After a moment of silence, she said, "Then so be it." At worst, next time she treated someone from the Sifang Society, she'd deduct it from the treatment fee.

Su Fuling had another new idea. Since the shop was fairly large, she wanted to purchase Chinese medicinal herbs herself to sell, so future patients could fill their prescriptions directly from her. On one hand, she could help patients control costs; on the other, she could earn a bit from the medicine fees.

After all, with a bigger operation came bigger expenses. The money from making ointments and brewing medicine alone was nowhere near enough.

She couldn't just live on air—she had to start expanding the business.

"Uncle Fa, you're more familiar with Hong Kong—could you help me find out where the best place is for wholesale Chinese herbs?"

She felt embarrassed asking that Chinese medicine shop owner about this, since once she sold herbs herself, they'd be competitors.

Zhao Facai immediately said, "Shifu, leave it to me, no problem. Back in the day I sold medicinal plasters for decades—I know this market well."

Chen Shasha burst out laughing. "You mean you ran scams for decades."

Zhao Facai insisted, "The plasters were real! Right, Shifu?"

Su Fuling: "..."

As they were talking, someone suddenly walked into the shop.

The newcomer wore a suit, but the suit didn't match his bearing at all.

Chen Shasha sensed something off at a glance and quietly warned Su Fuling, "Shifu, he looks like a triad guy. Gangsters from our society look just like that in suits—they can't even walk naturally. But this guy isn't from our Sifang Society."

Su Fuling nodded.

He was here for treatment; she wasn't going to concern herself with his identity.

The man sat down and deliberately pitched his voice. "I'm here for treatment. Heard your medical skill is pretty good. Take a look at my illness—I've been feeling unwell all over lately."

Su Fuling said, "Let me check your pulse first."

The man sat down and asked, "Which hand?"

"Both need to be checked."

Only then did the man clumsily hold out his hands.

Su Fuling carefully checked his pulse—she didn't even need to look at the test results to know he was sick.

And it was a fairly familiar problem for her: like Chen Shan and Huang Bao, this man had accumulated many injuries without conditioning his body, so both his qi and blood were deficient. It seemed this line of work really was a high-risk occupation.

While Su Fuling checked his pulse, the man was secretly sizing her up, and sizing up the shop too. He wondered inwardly why Third Master Long had sent him to investigate—what was there to investigate? Such a young pretty girl definitely wasn't really some amazing doctor. Being this pretty, she must have caught Huang Bao's eye. That's why he was deliberately getting close.

The Sifang Society really was all pretense—even chasing girls they put on this whole act, deliberately currying favor.

If it were him, Xu Dafei, who took a fancy to someone, he'd just pester her directly until he won her.

After examining him, Su Fuling asked, "Do you usually have night sweats?"

Xu Dafei said, "Night sweats? What are night sweats?"

Su Fuling said, "Sweating in your sleep."

"Oh, that. Yeah, that does happen, but that's because I'm healthy—my internal fire is strong. I've got more fire than other people, so my body is better."

Su Fuling: "...Occasional dizziness."

Xu Dafei said, "Yes, but that's because I sleep well. Eating well and sleeping well is a blessing."

Su Fuling: "...Prone to nightmares."

Xu Dafei said, "I often fig—I mean, often watch people fight." After saying this, he looked at Su Fuling strangely. "Doctor, how did you know?"

Su Fuling said, "Because you're sick—these are your symptoms. Deficiency of both qi and blood; your body's foundation is damaged."

Xu Dafei's mouth fell open. "Doctor, no way." He genuinely didn't believe he was sick—wasn't all this perfectly normal? Occasional dizziness, some sweating—how was that an illness? As expected, this pretty-girl doctor's skills were no good.

Su Fuling said, "You really are sick. If you don't believe me, you can go to the hospital for a checkup. It's not a disease of any specific organ, but if you neglect it long-term, your body will easily weaken in the future. I'd guess you have quite a few injuries on your body—it's all caused by those injuries."

Hearing this, Chen Shasha, standing nearby, suddenly had a thought stir in her heart. She wanted to ask something, but held back in the end.

Hearing these words, Xu Dafei finally began to take Su Fuling seriously as a doctor. This doctor actually knew he had many old injuries on his body. To hide his scars, he had deliberately worn a suit today, suffering in the heat. He hadn't expected this doctor to see through it. "I'm really sick?"

Su Fuling said, "That's right."

Xu Dafei: "I don't believe it. You just take one look and I'm sick? I was perfectly fine before I came. I'm telling you—if you're playing me, I won't be nice about it."

Chen Shasha immediately said, "What do you mean, not nice? Trying to make trouble on Sifang Society turf, are you?"

Hearing this, Xu Dafei suddenly remembered he was here to gather intelligence. He adjusted his expression. "Who's making trouble? I just don't believe I'm sick. I'm not getting treated."

With that, he left.

He couldn't believe he was sick, and he couldn't let anyone know his health was poor—otherwise how would the big bosses think highly of him in the future?

After Xu Dafei left, Chen Shasha said, "That guy's sick and won't even admit it."

Then she quickly asked Su Fuling, "Doctor Su, my brother used to get injured a lot too. Will his body develop that kind of illness?"

Su Fuling said, "Does your brother look sick to you?"

Chen Shasha thought about it. "My brother has always been really strong, of course. He's amazing at fighting. So my brother isn't sick, right?"

"Anyway, make sure he stops getting hurt so often. Otherwise his health will definitely suffer." Su Fuling answered ambiguously.

Chen Shasha said, "I'll definitely keep a close eye on him from now on!"

Zhao Facai watched from the side, thinking that being a simple-minded person was truly a blessing.

Meanwhile, Xu Dafei hurried to the Longhu Society's Mong Kok branch to report.

"That woman doctor is really young—looks like a schoolgirl—and her medical skills are terrible. She tells everyone who walks in that they're sick," Xu Dafei said gloomily.

Long San said, "Oh? So this so-called doctor's skills are no good? Then how did she become Huang Bao's benefactor? Even Old Keng Wen went to see her."

"Must be Huang Bao's scheme—either that, or Chen Shan from Yau Ma Tei is behind it."

Long San still found it strange. But ever since Huang Bao's bomb incident last time, the plants around Huang Bao had all been pushed to the periphery. Now Huang Bao acted cautiously, and getting inside information was hard.

As for Chen Shan, that was even harder. That man was very good at winning people's loyalty—those around him were nearly impossible to buy off.

And planting anyone around Old Keng Wen was even more out of the question.

Seeing Long San hesitate, the dog-headed strategist beside him offered a suggestion: "Third Master, rather than sitting still, better to make a move—why not test the waters? Send someone to stir up trouble. They're Sifang Society people anyway, so causing some trouble can't hurt. Maybe it'll make the Sifang Society lose their cool and strike first. Then we can get the Dragon Head to agree to take them down."

Hearing this, Third Master Long raised an eyebrow.

...

That afternoon, Su Fuling noticed more patients coming in. Upon asking, she learned they had been recommended by Granny Sun.

These people were all old customers of George's Clinic. After Granny Sun made that scene at the clinic that morning, they decided to come give Su Fuling a try.

Hearing this, Su Fuling felt a bit of a headache. Although she hoped people would come to her for treatment, this way of doing things could easily cause friction with a fellow practitioner.

That afternoon when she went home, she again ran into Granny Sun downstairs, denouncing George's Clinic.

That afternoon, just from seeing the new patients, Su Fuling had earned twenty extra merit points. This was all thanks to Granny Sun's "publicity," but she still felt a bit awkward about it.

She pulled Granny Sun aside to talk. "Granny, every doctor's treatment situation is different. You can't use me to put others down. People will think I deliberately sent someone to make trouble."

Granny Sun said, "But your medical skill really is better than his. He cheated me out of so much money before. I don't want other people to keep getting cheated by him either." Just thinking about it made her heart ache.

Su Fuling said, "With treating illness, sometimes it's fast, sometimes slow—it can't be explained so simply. And it's not like I can cure every disease either. Granny, you can't praise me this way anymore. Although it brought me a lot of business, it'll be very awkward when I run into that doctor in the future."

Granny Sun also remembered that doctor saying he had connections at the police station and that he paid money to the Sifang Society.

Only now did she realize that offending George's Clinic might bring trouble for Su Fuling. "Then I won't say it anymore."