Chapter 27

'Aling jie, is that miracle doctor outside actually you?'

Su Fuling had barely stepped through the door when her two younger cousins, just back from school, swarmed around her.

David said, 'Mommy told us you were the one running a stall out there. Your surname is Su too, and you work in medicine — it has to be you, right?'

Little Wei gazed at Su Fuling with undisguised admiration.

Neither boy was very old, but in their eyes, anyone who could appear in that kind of advertisement was impressive. And their cousin had only just arrived in Hong City, yet she was already advertising — even more impressive than their father.

Zhou Huijuan came out of the inner room carrying the baby and scolded both boys back to their homework.

Then she turned to Su Fuling. 'Aling, I saw the advertisement in the corridor. You put one up?'

Su Fuling felt a flicker of embarrassment. 'It was Master Zhao, actually. He wants to study medicine under me, so he thought he'd help spread the word — the more patients, the more money.'

Zhou Huijuan said, 'That's not a bad thing. Still, the way that advertisement reads, the tone is a bit much.'

Su Fuling had to agree.

Worried that her young niece might be too proud to hear it, Zhou Huijuan softened her voice. 'All right, just be a little more careful going forward. And your medical skills really are good. I've been drinking the medicinal broth you prescribed — only two days of it — and I already feel more energetic.'

Su Fuling smiled. 'That formula is meant to ease the mind and strengthen the spleen. It works through food rather than medicine, so it's very gentle. In a few days we'll switch you to a wellness tea. Auntie, your constitution is fundamentally sound — the main thing is to keep your spirits up day to day.'

'I know, I know. My mood has been quite good lately.' Zhou Huijuan was genuinely happy. Since her niece had arrived, the girl's work had been going smoothly — no need for her or Aming to worry. And crucially, Aming's income had been better than before. With the financial pressure eased, there was simply less to fret about.

Zhou Huijuan handed the baby to Su Fuling. 'Watch Shanshan for me a moment — I need to bring your uncle his dinner. He has to work late again tonight.'

Su Fuling said, 'Uncle has been coming home so late every night lately.'

Zhou Huijuan went to the kitchen to pack Su Jueming's meal. 'Yes, apparently a new batch of clients has come in recently — white-collar workers, all of them, who only have time to see a doctor after they get off work. When you're running a business, you follow the customer's schedule.'

Su Fuling nodded.

It occurred to her that she still had one diagnostic slot left unused for the day.

She felt it was a bit of a shame — she simply hadn't had the opportunity to use it.

As for the family members here, none of them were targets in her assigned tasks. It was a pity the System didn't allow slots to carry over; if they could be saved, that would be ideal.

Zhou Huijuan finished packing the food and was about to head out. Su Fuling immediately offered to go in her place. She was living under this roof, after all — whatever she could take off their hands, she would. Besides, she was quietly hoping that if she went to her uncle's clinic, she might run into a patient seeking a consultation, which would let her use the remaining slot. Even if she couldn't treat the patient herself, she could at least add another case to her records.

Her little cousin Soo San saw her heading for the door and stretched out both arms, wanting to be carried along — she wanted to go out and play.

Su Fuling cupped the small round cheek in her hand and smiled. 'It's too late tonight. Next time I'll take you out.'

Soo San broke into a grin, her eyes curving into little crescents.

Su Fuling noticed that Soo San's expressions bore a faint resemblance to her mother's. Blood ties really were a remarkable thing.

She thought of her own mother, far away. She had been wanting to write to her for some time, yet never knew quite what to say. Even so, she felt she really ought to send a letter — to tell her mother that she was doing well here, so her mother wouldn't spend her days worrying over the distance between them.

Over at the Su Family Medical Office, things were rather lively at this hour. Tang Bo had finished his dinner with nothing to do, so he'd wandered over to find Su Jueming for a chat.

The topic, naturally, was the advertisement plastered in the corridor.

The surname Su, working as a Doctor — what a coincidence. If he hadn't read the text carefully, he might have assumed it was Aming offering free consultations. He'd even been bracing himself for the thought that Ahui would surely be furious at home.

Ahem — he was really just here to watch the fun.

Tang Bo said, 'Ahui mentioned your niece has been running a street stall and seeing patients. Surely that's not her in the advertisement?'

Su Jueming himself wasn't entirely sure. No wonder several people had come by that afternoon asking whether he was offering free consultations — he'd assumed someone had been spreading rumours. It hadn't occurred to him that it was connected to Aling's side of things.

He genuinely hadn't expected his niece to have started advertising already. Aling moved fast — she'd barely arrived, and she'd already put up flyers. And without asking him for any help at all.

He said vaguely, 'Perhaps so.'

Tang Bo said, 'Is she really that capable? Last time I saw her, she seemed quite young.'

Su Jueming smiled. 'She's been studying medicine since she was small.'

Tang Bo said, 'Even so, studying from childhood only gets you so far at that age. Aming, as her elder you ought to keep a closer eye on her — you can't let her go off and make mistakes. She's young; she can't afford to throw away her future the way you did.'

Su Jueming: '...' Shameless Tang Bo — saying to his face that he had no future.

'Uncle, Tang Bo.' Su Fuling spotted Tang Bo the moment she reached the doorway and greeted him at once. She left early and returned late every day, so she'd had almost no chance to see him. Even so, she still remembered his situation clearly.

Acting on her principle of never wasting a daily diagnostic slot, she opened the scanning function and swept it over Tang Bo. His case was well worth studying. Sequelae from traumatic injury weren't something she encountered often, but if she could resolve this kind of problem, she would have a thorough grasp of the whole category of conditions.

[Name: Tang Jiafu, Sex: Male Age: 58 Primary Condition: Post-traumatic sequelae Symptoms: Persistent pain in the right joint, weakness and buckling of the leg. Worsens with cold; local sensitivity to chill. Classified as blood stasis from external injury. Projected Progression: Persistent pain with mild intensification.]

Broadly consistent with what Su Fuling had observed before, though Tang Bo's case was somewhat more serious. Not surprising — he was, after all, at that age.

Tang Bo had no idea his condition had already been laid bare to Su Fuling.

He asked, 'Aling, I hear you've set yourself up as a miracle Doctor now?'

Su Fuling handed the meal box to Su Jueming. 'Just an ordinary Doctor — I couldn't claim a title like that. Tang Bo, please don't tease me.'

Tang Bo laughed. 'I saw the advertisement myself. Are you saying that wasn't yours?'

Su Fuling: '...' Uncle Fa really did have a gift for getting things done...

'Dad, time to go home.' Tang Bo's daughter Tang Jing appeared suddenly at the doorway of the Su Family Medical Office, her expression cool and flat.

Tang Bo hadn't expected his daughter to come looking for him the moment she got back. He rose quickly and headed home.

Tang Jing didn't leave immediately. She turned toward the interior of the clinic and said, 'Aming ge, we're all neighbours here — please stop leading my old man astray.'

Tang Bo felt the sting of it and waved her off. 'What are you talking about? Come on, let's go.'

Tang Jing thought of her father refusing to take his medicine and letting the condition drag on, and the frustration rose in her chest. But seeing that Su Fuling was also there, she couldn't be bothered to make more of a scene. She said her piece and left.

Watching this unfold, Su Fuling glanced at Su Jueming. 'Uncle, what's going on with Tang Jing?'

Su Jueming cleared his throat. 'Your Tang Bo told her he'd gone across the street to buy medicine, but he never actually did. She found out — and she also found out he's been coming here every day for massage therapy. She thinks I'm the one who told him not to take the medicine. It's all a misunderstanding. Don't worry about it.'

Su Fuling said, 'Doesn't that make things very unfair to you?'

Su Jueming laughed it off. 'What's unfair about it? A Doctor has to have a broad heart. Otherwise you'd be driven to an early grave by the frustration.'

Su Fuling laughed too. Her little uncle's temperament was rather like their grandfather's — both of them even-keeled, slow to anger.

Curious, she asked, 'So the medicine Tang Bo was taking really had no effect? What was he prescribed?'

'Oh, I had a look — just some bone-density supplements, and a Plaster for the traumatic injury. The packaging was quite impressive, but Tang Bo said it was expensive and useless.' Su Jueming could only shake his head in envy at people who knew how to make money. Medicine priced that high, and people still paid for it. Meanwhile, he was out here struggling to sell his own ten-yuan Plaster.

Su Fuling: '...The approach is wrong entirely. No matter how much of that medicine he takes, it won't help.'

Su Jueming said, 'I know — you mentioned that Tongbi Decoction last time. But do you think I dare bring it up?' He'd actually been tempted before to suggest Tang Bo try Chinese medicine, a last resort if nothing else. Then Tang Jing had snapped at him. They all lived in the same building; he didn't want things to turn ugly.

Su Fuling thought of the way Tang Jing had looked, and it was no wonder her little uncle was wary.

Su Jueming sighed again. 'And she hasn't had it easy, either. When she was small, the family was poor — her mother died because she couldn't bring herself to spend money on medicine. Back then they were still living in a shantytown; they hadn't even managed to move into a place like this.'

Su Fuling: '...'

...

Tang Bo had barely made it home before Tang Jing was pointing a finger at him. 'Stop running off to that clinic all the time. If he had any real ability to treat you, you wouldn't have been dragging this out so long. I told you to buy medicine and you won't even do that — are you trying to drive me to my grave?'

Tang Bo had no desire to see his daughter upset, and rushed to explain. 'Ajing, I've told you — it has nothing to do with Aming. I just don't like taking medicine. That stuff doesn't seem to do anything; taking more of it would just be throwing money away. The reason I go to Aming's is because my leg hurts and I need him to massage it for some relief.'

'If you took your medicine properly, it wouldn't hurt.' Tang Jing suddenly began to cry. 'They told me that medicine has to be taken consistently to work. The massage is just a palliative — it gives you temporary relief, nothing more. It can't cure you. What happens if the condition gets worse? You're the only father I have. Are you going to leave me the way Mommy did? She left so early because she wouldn't spend the money on medicine.'

Hearing that, Tang Bo grew anxious. 'All right, all right, all right — I'll do whatever you say. I'll start taking the medicine again tomorrow.'

Tang Jing wiped her tears. 'Don't let people talk you out of it again. Everyone out there is only after money; there isn't a single one with good intentions.' She sold property for a living — what kind of person hadn't she seen? People would scheme against their own colleagues for the sake of a commission.

Tang Bo wanted to say that wasn't necessarily true — there were decent people among the neighbours too.

But seeing his daughter's grief, he hadn't the heart to argue, and simply kept agreeing.

Su Fuling spent another evening reading, that same feeling of having sat down to a full feast washing over her.

Once she had enough Merit Points, she was determined to level up first — then spend them on lectures from master practitioners.

She ate the morning tea Zhou Huijuan had made and hurried out early. Her uncle, having worked late the night before, no longer left the house at quite such an early hour.

Zhou Huijuan called after her from the doorway: 'Make sure you heat the food before you eat it.'

Su Fuling smiled back. 'I know. I'll warm it up as soon as I get to the shop.' Otherwise in this weather the food would spoil easily.

She had barely stepped outside when she saw Tang Jing coming downstairs, eyes slightly swollen. The sight of her brought back what her little uncle had said the night before. Poor thing — none of it was easy.

Tang Jing saw Su Fuling too, and noticed the medicine case on her back. Her expression shifted.

'You're young, you've just arrived in Hong City — you'd be better off finding a proper job. Anything would be better than working as your little uncle's assistant.'

She thought Su Fuling was the assistant? Su Fuling caught on immediately. Remembering yesterday's misunderstanding, she felt she ought to set the record straight — for her uncle's sake.

Her little uncle might not be the most capable Doctor, but he was no quack. The treatment he'd been giving Tang Bo might not be producing dramatic results, but it was at least addressing the symptoms — without it, Tang Bo would only be in more pain. Nobody was a fool; if Tang Bo truly felt it was doing nothing, he wouldn't keep going back every day.

'I heard Auntie call you Ajing, so I'll call you Ajing jie. Ajing jie, you shouldn't draw conclusions about things you haven't fully looked into. Do you really understand Tang Bo's condition?'

Tang Jing said at once, 'Of course I care about my father. I've taken him to hospitals and large clinics. They all prescribed medicine.'

Su Fuling said, 'But has the medicine helped Tang Bo?'

Tang Jing shot back, 'Medicine has to be taken consistently.'

'If you're taking the wrong medicine, it doesn't matter how consistently you take it.'

Tang Jing laughed in exasperation. 'Do you have any idea how much I spent on that medicine?'

Su Fuling said calmly, 'The wrong medicine is useless no matter how expensive it is. Tang Bo's condition is clearly post-traumatic sequelae — blood stasis obstructing the meridians. Giving him bone supplements is throwing money at the wrong problem, no matter how much you spend.'

Tang Jing knew nothing about medicine, but she had a deep-seated conviction that expensive meant good.

So she held her ground. '...Are you saying a Doctor from a big clinic is worse than your little uncle's practice?'

Su Fuling said, 'This has nothing to do with my little uncle's clinic' — she had no intention of sending this woman to make trouble for him — 'I'm speaking for myself.' She pointed to the flyer above them. 'See that? That's my clinic. I see somewhere between eight and ten patients every day, and not one of them has ever told me my prescriptions didn't work. A large clinic doesn't make a Doctor skilled.'

Tang Jing stared wide-eyed at the flyer, then back at Su Fuling, convinced the girl had lost her mind. 'You've opened a clinic too?'

Su Fuling said, 'Give me your hand.'

Tang Jing said, 'What for?'

'To prove I'm not bluffing.' Su Fuling had more of a temper than her little uncle, but she was soft-hearted. She didn't want a devoted daughter to spend the rest of her life regretting that she'd given her father the wrong medicine and let his condition worsen. Some regrets, once they happen, can never be undone. And wasn't Tang Jing, standing right here, already trying desperately to make up for one? Since the System had come into her life, Su Fuling had thought about it herself — if she'd had the System sooner, perhaps her father wouldn't have left either.

Tang Jing extended her hand, and Su Fuling took her pulse.

This was no casual gesture. The moment she'd looked at Tang Jing's face, she'd known the woman's health was not good. Tang Jing wore makeup, but her complexion and her breath both gave her away. So even as they'd been arguing, Su Fuling had already activated the scan.