Chapter 10

Su Fuling said nothing of what she had actually been through that day. She simply told Zhou Huijuan that she had set up a stall outside a shop belonging to a relative of her acquaintance Zhao Hongxia, so the two of them could look out for each other.

Besides, she had helped someone with a medical consultation that very day, which proved there was real business to be done.

The venture required no start-up capital. If it worked, it would be a decent livelihood.

As for Su Fuling's decision, Zhou Huijuan thought it was worth a try. In a place like Hong City, surviving meant being industrious and bold.

But it was not her call to make — after all, this was a matter involving her husband's side of the family.

'Ask your uncle's opinion tonight,' she said.

Su Fuling: '...'

'I won't allow it!' Su Jueming came home from work that evening, and the moment Su Fuling laid out her plan, he opposed it outright.

In his view, running a street stall was grueling work.

And the streets were not safe — what if she ran into trouble?

Even David, who had been bent over his homework, looked up to urge Su Fuling against it. 'Ah Ling jie, don't go set up a stall. You're such a pretty girl — what if the triad boys take notice? They're very good at tricking pretty girls.'

Zhou Huijuan smacked him on the head. 'Do your homework and stop talking nonsense.'

David pursed his lips and went back to his homework with an aggrieved air, though inwardly he refused to be convinced — that was exactly how it always played out on television, so how was it nonsense?

Su Jueming, for his part, thought his son's worry was not entirely without merit. The world outside was complicated; what if someone deceived her? He tried to reason with Su Fuling. 'Your mother called me. She asked me to take good care of you.'

Su Fuling was startled. 'Mama contacted you?'

'She did. She went into town today and made a special trip to the post office to call me. She asked me to look after you properly — if I let you go and set up a stall, how am I supposed to answer to her?' Thinking of his elder sister Su Yunying, Su Jueming felt even less willing to let his niece suffer.

Su Fuling felt a pang of regret that she had not been able to speak with her mother herself.

It had been a long time since she had been in contact with her. The last time they had seen each other was when her maternal grandfather passed away — her mother had rushed back for a few days, seen that Su Fuling was working at the village clinic and had found someone she was seeing, felt reassured, and left.

Ever since her father had gone, her mother had spent very little time at home.

Su Fuling had always had a feeling that her mother did not particularly love her.

Later, when her grandfather had been gravely ill on several occasions and let slip things from the past, she came to understand that her parents' marriage had not been born of love.

She had simply been the child her grandfather had hoped for.

That was also why, when she decided to leave, she had come to find her little uncle rather than her mother.

Su Fuling pressed her lips together and held her ground. 'Little Uncle, I want to set up my own stall and work as a Doctor. I know you worry about me, but I can't stay a child forever.'

Su Jueming said, 'You're still young — there's no rush to earn your own money. I've actually already been thinking about it: I'd like to send you to school.'

At those words, Zhou Huijuan snapped her gaze toward him.

Su Jueming did not dare meet her eyes. He had meant to discuss it with her when he got home that evening, but there had been no chance yet...

Still, he had already made up his mind to take on some off-the-books work; he would earn more that way and be able to support the family.

Zhou Huijuan's mouth pressed into a thin, flat line.

Su Fuling quickly refused. 'I don't want to go to school. Little Uncle, I really don't want to go to school.'

She had the System helping her now — why would she waste her days sitting in a classroom? There were tasks to complete every day; if she was stuck at school, how was she supposed to treat anyone?

'Little Uncle, if I had wanted to study, I would have stayed and done it back home.'

Su Jueming said, 'But you're young, and without qualifications, finding work won't be easy. Hong City places a great deal of weight on credentials.'

'That's exactly why I want to set up my own stall,' Su Fuling said. 'I actually did give someone a consultation outside today — right there at the stall belonging to Aunt Xia's relative.'

Su Jueming: '...You gave someone a consultation? And they actually let you?'

Su Fuling smiled. 'I demonstrated my skills first, and the patient was willing to trust me after that. Little Uncle, don't underestimate me. I've been learning medicine from Grandfather since I was small, and I went on to work as a Doctor at the village clinic.'

'Hong City is nothing like home,' Su Jueming said. 'If something goes wrong with a patient, people will come after you.'

'Little Uncle, I know my own limits. What I can treat, I'll treat; what I can't, I won't take on. Little Uncle, just let me try. I promise — if I haven't earned any money within a month, I'll go find something else.'

Then she played her emotional card. 'Little Uncle, this is also what Grandfather hoped for. I don't want to betray the teachings he spent so many years giving me. I don't want to let his knowledge go to waste.'

Su Jueming: '...'

That move landed squarely.

Su Jueming truly had no way to tell Su Fuling to disregard the old man's wishes. He himself had let the old man down in his day, and now Su Fuling was the old man's only heir...

He could only relent, grudgingly. 'All right — one month. If you haven't earned any money by then, you go to school.'

If she couldn't earn anything, it would mean Ah Ling simply wasn't ready to practice medicine in Hong City yet, and the old man couldn't blame either of them for that.

Su Fuling smiled. 'Little Uncle, don't worry.'

Zhou Huijuan, who had been silent throughout, let out a quiet breath of relief.

She found herself thinking, once again, that this niece of theirs was a sensible girl.

That night, however, Zhou Huijuan still managed to shoot Su Jueming a few cold looks in private. She felt he had not respected her as his wife.

Su Jueming knew he was in the wrong and kept smiling apologetically.

Not wanting Zhou Huijuan to worry, he said nothing at all about his plan to take on off-the-books work.

Zhou Huijuan did not know what he was planning, but she seized the moment while Su Fuling was in the bath to share her own thoughts with Su Jueming.

'There are so many children in this household. We really can't afford to support everyone.'

Su Jueming sighed. 'I know. I'll work harder from now on and earn enough to keep the family — I won't let any of you suffer.'

Zhou Huijuan tilted her head, unconvinced. He was just too soft-hearted for his own good.

And yet it was precisely that soft heart of his that had once reached out and given her a way to survive. Thinking of who she used to be, Zhou Huijuan sighed. 'Once the children are a bit older, I'll go find a job. And we can let Ah Ling learn a trade — she's still young, she can afford to wait.'

Su Jueming was moved all over again by his cool-faced, warm-hearted wife. He pulled Zhou Huijuan close. 'I'll work hard. I'll make sure you all get to live well.'

Su Fuling could sense the undercurrents between the two of them, but she pretended not to notice.

Inwardly, she was still set on moving out.

However good her uncle and aunt were to her, she needed to start living independently as soon as possible — she could not be a burden on this family, or let her presence put a strain on their life together.

That night, Su Fuling lay down on the bed and slipped into the System.

First she checked her Merit Points — four in total.

She could not spend them all freely. She would keep one Merit Point to exchange for money, keep two more as a safety net — in case there ever came a day when she could not take on any cases, she would still have Merit Points to draw on.

That left one. Su Fuling could not resist any longer, and she began browsing for books inside the System.

The System held an astonishing number of books.

Some of them were even medical texts she had heard of before.

'System, your medical books are the same as ours.'

The System replied, 'The three thousand worlds all branched from a single origin.'

Su Fuling marveled, 'How extraordinary.'

The System said, 'You are rather extraordinary yourself. Many people, upon learning they live inside a novel, suffer a complete mental collapse — they cannot accept that their world is a fiction.'

Su Fuling said, 'It is hard to accept, in a way. But then I think: my grandfather was real. The neighbors back home were real. I myself am flesh and blood — who can say any of that is false? To you it may be fiction; to me it is as real as anything can be. Life still has to be lived.'

Su Fuling had always been an optimist, and having witnessed so much suffering and death among her patients, she had long since learned to hold most things lightly. Real or not, she still had a life to live — she could hardly just stop. And if she had to live it, she intended to live it well, and with meaning.

In order to live well, Su Fuling naturally threw herself into the medicine she loved.

When it came to choosing a book, she did not reach beyond her grasp — she started with pharmacology.

Traditional Chinese medicine is a discipline without end. Even her grandfather, with his many decades of practice, could never have read every pharmacological text in existence.

Su Fuling was determined to keep working steadily to fill in her knowledge of pharmacology.

She read through the entire night without sleeping a wink, and was still reading when daylight broke the next morning. It was her aunt calling her to get up that finally brought her back.

And yet she felt completely alert!

The System was an absolute treasure!

Su Fuling was overjoyed. She felt full of anticipation for the future she was building in this trade.

Seeing Su Fuling so happy, Su Jueming could not bring himself to dampen her spirits. He supposed his niece must genuinely love the idea of setting up a stall and treating patients.

Let her go out and hit a few walls first — then she would understand that Hong City was not so easy to get by in.

'Finish your breakfast and I'll walk you over. I'll stop in to say hello and bring a little something as a gift. It never hurts to be courteous,' Su Jueming reminded her.

Su Fuling nodded quickly. 'Thank you, Uncle.'

Su Jueming sighed. 'What good is thanking me when you won't listen to a word I say.'

Su Fuling smiled and kept eating. There was truly nothing she could do about not being able to follow her uncle's advice.

After breakfast, Su Jueming had Su Fuling get her things ready, then reminded her: 'Western medicine is very strictly regulated here — you have to pass an examination and register before you can practice, and unlicensed practitioners can be prosecuted. So you can only practice Chinese medicine; there are no such regulations for that.'

Su Fuling heard this and let out a breath of relief. At least she was not required to sit for a license before she could see patients. She simply did not have the time for that.

Still, it was something she would need to deal with eventually.

She would see patients and complete the System's tasks, while at the same time working as quickly as possible to obtain whatever certifications she needed — before the rules had a chance to change.

Master Zhao had barely unlocked his door that morning when Zhang Lei appeared. He had come to watch the show.

He was convinced Su Fuling was a fraud, and today he intended to see whether she would even dare show up.

Master Zhao thought to himself: perhaps the two of them were in it together?

She had only just set up yesterday, and here she was making it official today.

But Master Zhao kept that thought to himself. He was hardly a man of upright business himself, and he was not about to go around wrecking someone else's livelihood.

Besides, that little sister had agreed to pay him ten yuan a day for the pitch.

He was renting this spot himself, and having someone share the cost was genuinely a blessing.

Still, he did have one small nagging doubt this morning: he was not entirely sure whether Ding Lanhui and Su Fuling had been in on it together. If they had not been, and Ding Lanhui came back today having realized she had been deceived, would she not come and tear the whole place apart?

For a moment, Master Zhao found himself genuinely impressed by this young person. If it had all been an act, yesterday's performance had been extraordinary — better than any professional actor he had ever seen.

No — when she arrived, he would have her sign an agreement first. Whatever she got up to was entirely her own affair and had nothing to do with Zhao's Divine Reckoning.

He was still mulling this over when Su Fuling appeared, all smiles, walking over with her little uncle Su Jueming.

Su Jueming had been sizing up the area the whole way there, his heart full of misgivings.

If it were not for the fact that he knew someone here, he would never have agreed to this.

Su Fuling, however, was in excellent spirits.

The question of work was settled. Now it was time to roll up her sleeves and get on with it — no more of the aimlessness of the past two days.

So when she caught sight of Master Zhao, she broke into a wide smile. 'Master Zhao, good morning!'

Master Zhao fanned himself with his feather fan and gave a deep, inscrutable nod.

He glanced at Su Jueming and recognized him at once — this was Su Fuling's relative. In his line of work, a good memory was essential; one look at a person was enough to leave an impression.

Su Jueming politely presented the gift he had brought for Master Zhao.

At the sight of the gift, Master Zhao's expression softened somewhat.

Listening to Su Jueming's courteous words, he played along with equal courtesy, saying that they were all from the Mainland and ought to help one another.

'That said, certain things do need to be made clear from the start — not only should our signs be kept separate, but we ought to sign an agreement as well, so that neither party interferes with the other.'

Su Fuling smiled. 'Of course. Master Zhao thinks of everything.'

Su Jueming thought the suggestion was a good one too. He could see that this Zhao fellow was not running a particularly legitimate operation — better to keep things clearly separate from Ah Ling's business.

Early that morning, with Su Jueming and Zhang Lei as witnesses, the two parties signed a co-tenancy agreement.

Su Fuling would occupy only a small portion of the space at the front of the awning. She had no connection whatsoever to Zhao's fortune-telling, and everything she did was entirely her own responsibility. The reverse was equally true.

And so the agreement was settled.

Su Jueming even helped Su Fuling set up her stall — a small table and two stools, both rented from Master Zhao.

Su Fuling wrote out a sign: 'Su's Charitable Clinic — Free Consultations.'

Su Jueming said, 'Free? How are you supposed to earn money like that?'

'Little Uncle, I'm too young,' Su Fuling said. 'I need something like this to draw people in. Once I've built a reputation, I can start charging.'

Su Jueming heard this and thought it made sense. Besides, he had never really expected Su Fuling to earn money. A charitable clinic was fine — she could treat it as practice. If she couldn't earn anything, she would give up on her own.

'Do as you see fit. If anything comes up, come find me. If it's urgent, call. You have the number memorized?'

Su Fuling nodded quickly.

Su Jueming had his own shop to open and could not afford to linger. Before he left, he said a few more kind words to Master Zhao, asking him to keep an eye on things.

Master Zhao gave a lofty, enigmatic reply: 'Of course, of course.' Inwardly he thought: you have no idea your niece is a master of deception — and today there may well be a very large problem heading her way. Hmph.

After Su Jueming had gone, Master Zhao waved his feather fan, glanced at the words on Su Fuling's sign, and gave a quiet, slow shake of his head.

Su Fuling had just taken a tin of medicinal ointment from her medicine case and set it on the table. Seeing his expression, she humbly asked, 'Master, what wisdom do you have to offer?'

Since arriving in Hong City, Su Fuling had come to realize just how unfamiliar she was with this place.

Even her habits and mannerisms felt out of step with everything around her. She did not know this world, and she knew it — which meant she had to be humble, to learn, and to work hard at fitting into its rules.

Master Zhao smiled but said nothing.

Su Fuling: '...Master, have you eaten? I'll treat you to morning tea.'

Seeing that she knew how to play the game, Master Zhao gave a satisfied nod. 'Morning tea is five yuan. If you're serious, pay first.'

Su Fuling had never encountered anyone quite so brazenly mercenary.

But she paid up all the same.

Now that she had Merit Points, she was not without resources. The money Zhou Huijuan had given her was not even spent yet.

Master Zhao said, 'First of all, your appearance is a problem. Dressed like that — by Mainland standards, you look like a little girl. Even if it's free, no one will bother coming to you.'

Su Fuling looked down at her outfit — the same plaid shirt as always.

To be fair, it was the most presentable thing she owned.

But it did look thoroughly out of place on this street.

'Thank you for the guidance, Master. Anything else?'

'Scarcity creates value,' Master Zhao said. 'If you want to draw people in for consultations, you can't make everything free. Better to do what I did yesterday — limit the number of spots, so people feel they have to compete for the chance to get in for free.'

Master Zhao carried himself with the air of a true sage. He had been working this street for many years, and the fact that he now had his own premises was not down to a glib tongue and a thick skin alone — he had learned a great deal along the way.

Su Fuling sat quietly for a moment, thinking it through, then bowed to Master Zhao with a cupped-fist salute, genuinely grateful. 'Thank you for your guidance, Master. It's like a fog lifting from my eyes.'

Master Zhao grew even more pleased with himself. 'Young one, you still have much to learn.'

Then he glanced over at Zhang Lei, who was sitting to one side waiting for the entertainment to begin, raised his fan to cover his mouth, and asked in a low voice, 'Ah Ling, tell me — were you and that woman yesterday putting on an act together?'

Su Fuling shook her head. 'No. I only just arrived in Hong City — you know that. How would I have the means to arrange something like that?'

Master Zhao said, 'You managed to arrange me yesterday, didn't you?'

Su Fuling said, 'But everything I told you was the truth.'

Master Zhao studied her for a moment, and something in him began to believe her.

In that case, today might well bring some genuine excitement.

He straightened up. 'Well then — good luck to you.' And with that, he retreated briskly into his own shop, putting some distance between himself and Su Fuling.

Zhang Lei, who had been growing bored waiting, turned to Su Fuling. 'Fake Doctor, is that woman actually going to show up today or not?'

Su Fuling ignored him and instead began adding words to her sign: 'Free consultations before noon each day — after that, 3 yuan per person.'

She had taken the lesson to heart and adapted it. Rather than setting a cap on numbers, she set a time limit — worried that if she capped the spots, some people might assume the quota was already full and not bother coming. A time window made it clear: arrive before noon and it's free.

Zhang Lei asked, 'Why are you ignoring me?'

Su Fuling said, 'Who are you talking to? There's no fake Doctor here — only Doctor Su.'

Zhang Lei: '...Doctor Su, when is that woman from yesterday going to show up? You're not going to make me wait all day, are you?'

Su Fuling said, 'How would I know? And you shouldn't be here waiting around — you should be at the hospital getting yourself looked at.'

Zhang Lei: '...'

This girl from the Mainland had some nerve — not the least bit shy, and not the least bit polite either.

Having been rebuffed, Zhang Lei was even less inclined to leave. He wanted to see exactly how this Doctor Su was going to get herself into trouble.

He just hoped that auntie from yesterday would actually show up.