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Chapter 4. It was well past lunchtime, and everyone was back to the grind. Su Jueming was well-liked, and he greeted the acquaintances he encountered along the way with a smile.

The air remained thick with a medley of aromas. The streets were crowded with vendors, and there were at least a few stalls selling sweet soups alone.

No wonder people said Hong City was so prosperous. It is so lively, System, is it like this where you are from? The System replied: It is even livelier than this.

We have a massive population, so we have developed many planets for habitation. The administrative scale of a single planet is equivalent to your provincial governing bodies here.

The interstellar era was a world beyond Su Fuling’s comprehension, yet it sounded extraordinary. She had heard that the United States had reached outer space; she had not believed it before, thinking it impossible for humans to ascend to the stars, but now, hearing the System speak so matter-of-factly, she wondered if the United States had truly reached space.

Su Fuling sighed, wondering when her own motherland would be able to ascend to space like the United States and discover new planets. But these were long-term goals for the future, not things for a small person like her—who could not even dictate her own fate—to worry about.

What Su Fuling was thinking about now was: When will our Mainland be as lively as Hong City? The System said: Judging by the timeline, it will be very soon.

Su Fuling’s eyes lit up. Really? As lively as Hong City? The System replied coldly: Yes. But that simple affirmation was enough to make Su Fuling’s heart brim with joy.

Even with her steady temperament, she could not help but laugh out loud. Su Jueming had just finished greeting someone and, hearing his niece laugh beside him, he smiled as well.

See? It is lively, is it not? Tomorrow, I will have your aunt take you out for a stroll. Aunt is too busy, I can go out by myself, Su Fuling said, trying not to add to the family’s burden.

Her aunt was already exhausted enough with three children. Su Jueming objected: You cannot go alone. This place… well, it is different from the Mainland.

He looked around mysteriously and added: There are many bad eggs here. See those punks with the tattooed arms? Stay far away from them.

They are capable of anything. Su Fuling looked around and indeed felt a different, hidden undercurrent beneath the bustle.

Su Jueming’s Medical Hall was tucked into a small corner; the storefront was tiny, and the sign was even smaller. If not for being led by an acquaintance, Su Fuling felt she would never have noticed a clinic there even if she passed by.

Yet, even such a modest Medical Hall was the result of Su Jueming and Zhou Huijuan’s hard work. Walking into the clinic, Su Jueming felt refreshed.

Su Fuling followed him inside and looked at the layout; it was small, but packed with items, appearing quite cluttered. What intrigued Su Fuling most in the clinic were the shelves, which held various medications.

Most were Western drugs, though there were also some medicinal wines. Su Fuling asked curiously: Uncle, did you not study traditional Chinese medicine?

Did you learn Western medicine as well? Su Jueming replied: I studied traditional Chinese medicine under my master, but in a place like Hong City, one must learn some Western medicine, so I later enrolled in classes to learn a bit.

When the neighbors have a cold or a fever, it is convenient for me to give them an injection. Su Fuling’s eyes brightened.

Uncle, I know Western medicine too. I had to give injections when I worked at the village health center. Why don’t you let me be in charge of the injections from now on?

If she started with injections and became familiar with the patients, would she not be able to start treating them? And would the Merit Points not follow?

Su Jueming said: Ahem, let us wait until you are settled in. He himself did not know how many people would actually come in for injections.

Su Fuling’s heart filled with anticipation, and she busied herself helping to tidy up the shop, preparing for business. She was truly professional, acting with more order and method than Su Jueming, the Doctor himself.

Su Jueming immediately wondered if he should send his niece to nursing school. If she could work in nursing in Hong City, having a somewhat respectable job would surely make things better.

But this was something he would have to discuss with Zhou Huijuan. Schooling cost money, alas. Once Su Fuling finished her work, she stood at the entrance and looked outside, only to discover a George Clinic diagonally across the street.

It looked distinctly modern and Western. The sign across the way was larger, and the storefront was grander. The key was that business was truly booming; there were even people queuing on chairs at the entrance.

She turned back to look at her uncle, Su Jueming, who was reading the newspaper, and decided against saying anything that might embarrass him. Although Su Fuling had not spent much time with her uncle, in this short while, she had already seen that he was a man who cared deeply about his reputation.

This was normal; who did not want to return home in glory? But it seemed business at her uncle’s clinic was not good. Indeed, imagination was beautiful, but reality was always cruel.

Merit Points were not so easy to earn. About an hour later, just as Su Fuling was beginning to think there would be no business today, a man in his fifties walked in, limping.

Su Fuling hurried over to support him. The man was startled and waved his hand, indicating he did not need help. It is an old ailment, I can walk myself.

He then said to Su Jueming: You hired someone? He knew that to save money, Su Jueming never hired anyone at the clinic. Given the current situation, he certainly had no money to hire help, and no one was willing to be an unpaid apprentice.

Su Jueming smiled: This is my niece, A-Ling, she just arrived. He then said to Su Fuling: This is Tang Bo, he lives in our building.

Su Fuling greeted him quickly: Hello, Tang Bo. Tang Bo looked Su Fuling over: You look a bit like your uncle. You can tell you are related.

Su Jueming laughed heartily. He knew Tang Bo was just being polite. Tang Bo, sit down, let me take a look. Su Fuling also helped bring him some hot water.

Tang Bo exclaimed that it was his first time enjoying such treatment, and he asked Su Jueming: Is there a charge for this tea? Su Jueming rolled his eyes: I have treated you for free so many times, and you still ask that?

Tang Bo drank the tea and said: The place across the street has this service, they call it a tea fee, I was afraid you had started doing the same. Upon hearing this, Su Jueming was speechless: If they charge so recklessly, why are you still willing to go there for treatment?

Tang Bo laughed: Heh, I was taken there by my daughter. She wants to be filial, you see. She says my foot never gets better, so I should see more doctors.

I am still more used to coming to you. As he spoke, he rolled up his pant leg to reveal his joint. Su Fuling took a look and saw the blue-purple discoloration on the joint; this was a type of contusion or injury.

Su Jueming skillfully brought out the medicinal wine and began to massage it. It made Tang Bo sigh with comfort, but after sighing, he added: It feels good, but the pain returns once I get home.

Su Jueming said: It is like that when you get older. You refuse to admit your age and go off playing sports. Tang Bo said: I am only fifty-one, how am I old?

It was just playing ball, how was I to know I would fall? Su Fuling asked: Uncle, did you fall while playing ball? How long has it been?

Tang Bo said: It has been a year. They say it takes a hundred days for bones and tendons to heal, so why is it that even after three hundred days, I am still not better?

Su Fuling looked at the man’s face, and as he spoke, she faintly noticed that his tongue was pale. She immediately recalled her experience accompanying her grandfather on house calls; Tang Bo’s condition was very similar to a case record she had seen.

However, without taking his pulse, she could not be entirely certain. Sometimes, the same symptoms did not necessarily mean the same illness.

Su Fuling’s hands were itching; she wanted to try treating him herself. But with her uncle present, if she took over a case he had not yet cured without asking, it would be a slap in the face to him.

Tang Bo was already chatting with Su Jueming. The two were talking about how expensive the fees were across the street. Previously, the old man had gone there for treatment, and they had charged him one thousand Hong City dollars for a single course of treatment.

Tang Bo’s daughter had bought him a course of medication, but Tang Bo himself felt it was useless; fearing his daughter would worry, he lied and told her it had some effect. Su Jueming said: If you lie to your child like that, she will just get scammed again next time.

Alas, I have no choice. If I do not lie to her, she will nag me about falling while playing ball again. My leg will never get better, so she is bound to nag me for the rest of my life.

Although Tang Bo’s expression was bitter, one could hear the pride in his tone—he had a capable and filial child who was willing to spend a thousand Hong City dollars to treat his illness. After the massage, Tang Bo took out ten Hong City dollars.

Compared to the thousand-dollar course of treatment across the street, this fee was indeed low. After seeing Tang Bo out, Su Jueming said proudly: See?

This is the trust of neighbors. Even if they get scammed outside, they know to come back to me. Su Fuling: Uncle is amazing!

Su Jueming laughed heartily. Su Fuling poured him a cup of tea: Uncle, what exactly are the symptoms of Tang Bo’s condition?

Is it just from falling? Yes, he is over fifty and refuses to admit he is old, went to play tennis, and fell, injuring his leg.

Su Jueming took a comfortable sip of hot water and added: It is like that when you get older, bones do not recover easily. His daughter even called me a fraud for not being able to cure him, but she went across the street and spent a thousand dollars, and that did not cure him either.

Su Fuling asked: What are his usual symptoms? Bone pain, weak legs, fear of cold—all the symptoms of a bone injury. It is fine, I have a secret medicinal wine, and paired with my unique massage technique, a rub can manage it for a while.

Su Fuling: … It felt like her uncle was not very professional. Uncle, I actually saw symptoms like this with my grandfather.

Do you think it is possible it is the same condition? Su Jueming asked curiously: What symptoms? Su Fuling said: Tang Bo’s condition looks like a sequela of a sports injury.

A family in our town had a child who was injured while training for the provincial team; the person had been injured for a year, yet still had leg pain, weakness, and a fear of cold. My grandfather was called to see him.

Su Jueming had only been listening out of curiosity, but hearing this, and realizing the symptoms were indeed identical, he became serious. Was he cured?

Of course, my grandfather cured him with one medicinal plaster, and it did not recur for years. The family even brought gifts to thank my grandfather.

Su Jueming felt a wave of regret; his father was truly talented. How was he cured? Seeing that he was serious, Su Fuling felt a glimmer of hope: By using the Blood-Stasis-Resolving and Meridian-Unblocking Decoction, with added cinnamon twigs…

Wait, he has to drink herbal medicine? Su Jueming asked. Su Fuling: Of course, this is an internal issue; external treatment alone cannot cure it.

Su Jueming thought for a moment and waved his hand: Forget it, no one here wants to drink herbal medicine. Su Fuling felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.

People here do not drink traditional Chinese medicine? Su Jueming said: It is not that, it is just that Western medicine treatment is more common.

There are clinical trials, and people trust that more. As for traditional Chinese medicine, the barrier to entry is too high… people do not dare to take the medicine casually.

He could not bring himself to say that his own skill level was not high enough and his reputation not great enough to earn people’s trust. He did not explain it clearly, but Su Fuling understood.

Su Fuling: … This is a disaster. She had originally thought that relying on her uncle’s clinic would be a way to earn Merit Points, but it seemed it would not be that easy.

If they would not take the medicine, how could she cure the illness? How could she earn Merit Points?