Chapter 9

Su Fuling didn't believe in fortune-telling herself — how could she possibly read someone else's fate? And she didn't have that kind of ability. Things she didn't know, she couldn't just make up.

Ding Lanhui, seeing Su Fuling stay silent, assumed she was holding out for more money.

She immediately pulled out a few hundred more.

For any other fortune-teller, she wouldn't have been so generous. At her age, Ding Lanhui was no stranger to wariness — she believed in these things, but not unconditionally.

Yet for someone who had genuinely seen through her situation and actually helped her solve a problem, she had given more than half her trust, and pinned more than half her hopes.

Zhao Facao's eyes went wide and glassy.

Zhang Lei stared at the money and thought to himself: no wonder Zhao Facao had stayed in this business so long.

One generous client like this could match another person's entire monthly wage.

Zhao Facao couldn't keep up his dignified air any longer. He stepped forward and said, 'Little sister Su is still young after all — this kind of thing really needs my personal touch.'

Ding Lanhui, however, had already lost much of her enthusiasm for Zhao Facao.

Truth be told, she hadn't trusted any of them much to begin with.

She had only come here for a bit of psychological comfort.

If the young fortune-teller hadn't shown her hand so clearly, Ding Lanhui would never have voluntarily offered so much money.

So toward Zhao Facao, she remained cool. 'Let the young one speak first. She hasn't finished my reading yet.'

Ding Lanhui said this and turned her expectant gaze on Su Fuling.

Zhao Facao: '...'

Su Fuling's mind had already been turning things over.

She knew that today, she had to produce a result.

If she couldn't, not only would today's task go unfinished — this Auntie Ah might well end up being swindled.

And based on what the System had told her — that this woman would be so agitated tomorrow she'd faint — the outcome was almost certainly not going to be what Ding Lanhui hoped for.

She didn't know the specifics, but a hint would do.

Su Fuling said, 'Auntie, since you trust me, I won't let you down. But what I'm about to say has nothing to do with fate or fortune. It's a conclusion drawn from what your body is telling me.'

Ding Lanhui, seeing Su Fuling finally speak, immediately said, 'Please, go ahead.'

The onlookers all fixed their eyes on Su Fuling, eager to hear what she would say.

Zhao Facao, meanwhile, widened his eyes. 'Young lady, don't go talking nonsense now.'

Then he turned to Ding Lanhui: 'Since you trust her, I must first make clear — whatever she says has nothing to do with me. She and I are merely exchanging techniques, nothing more.'

Ding Lanhui said, 'Yes, yes, I know.'

Su Fuling looked at Ding Lanhui. 'Then you must promise me — go home and take your medicine. Whatever else happens, your health comes first.'

She then pressed the money back into Ding Lanhui's hands. 'I said today was free, and free it is. Just promise me you'll go home and take your medicine.'

Zhao Facao and the others: '...' Money already in hand, and she's giving it back?

Zhao Facao thought it over and decided Su Fuling simply knew her own limits — she was afraid of getting into trouble, so she refused the money. That way, if things went wrong later, no one could come after her.

Ding Lanhui, for her part, felt a sudden lightness in her chest.

She felt she had truly struck lucky — not only had she found a genuine fortune-teller, she had found a good person.

This only deepened her trust in Su Fuling.

Not only no charge for the reading — no charge for the solution either.

A fortune-teller like this was nothing like those who talked nonsense just to make money.

'I'll do as you say. I'll go home and take the medicine you prescribed.'

Su Fuling wrote out the prescription first.

A simple formula: kudzu root, salvia, Sichuan lovage, and Sichuan achyranthes — two doses in all.

She handed it to Ding Lanhui when she was done. 'Take it on schedule. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll feel better.'

Ding Lanhui tucked it away at once, not particularly concerned about the medicine itself, and looked at Su Fuling with eager eyes.

Su Fuling said, 'You want to know how to solve your problem — the answer is actually in the medicine itself.'

'Your condition stems from anxiety. Kudzu root, salvia, and Sichuan lovage treat ailments brought on by emotional strain; Sichuan achyranthes moves the blood and opens the channels, drawing qi and blood downward to relieve pressure on the mind, which in turn eases the various symptoms in your body.'

'And the reason you carry so much anxiety is that you have no confidence — you know, deep down, that the odds are against you. Given that, would you choose to press on, or to let go?'

Ding Lanhui froze. Let go, or press on?

'I've already held on for more than half a month. I can't just give up now...'

Hearing that answer, Su Fuling felt the shape of things settle in her mind. This Auntie Ah had committed herself to seeing it through.

But judging by what the System had foreseen about tomorrow's episode, the outcome was not going to be good.

So she offered a gentle nudge: 'If you have so little confidence in something — and it isn't something you absolutely must do — why do it at all?'

The words landed on Ding Lanhui like a blow to the head. Why must she do it?

Because of the greed in her heart.

The desire to make more money.

The hope of a gamble paying off.

But if she knew the odds were slim — why must she do it?

Who had made her feel she had to?

It was her mahjong friends who had pulled her in. That was why she had taken out her life savings and put them into that Stock. These past few days the Stock had been rising and falling, never quite steady — but her friends said they had reliable information: tomorrow it would surge, hit the limit up.

She looked at Su Fuling. 'Are you saying this thing of mine can't succeed? Is there really no way for you to help me succeed?'

Su Fuling said, 'I don't know what other fortune-tellers have told you. As for me — I believe the only one who can solve a problem is yourself. If you can't change the tide, whether you drift with it or change your own mind is your choice to make. I can't make that decision for you.'

Ding Lanhui heard this and understood: Su Fuling didn't think it would work out. Her heart sank a little.

Strangely, though, she found she wasn't as anxious as before.

It was like a stone had dropped to the ground ahead of time.

Zhao Facao, standing to one side, quietly congratulated himself for having distanced himself from Su Fuling early on.

This girl from the Mainland clearly hadn't spent much time in this trade. How could you speak to a client with such certainty?

You were supposed to lay it on fate — not come right out and say whether the result would be good or bad.

'Little sister, the way of fortune — I'd say it's not beyond changing. You can't speak in such absolutes.'

Zhao Facao still wanted to salvage this piece of business.

Su Fuling said, 'If fortune could be changed, would there be so many failures in this world?'

Zhao Facao: '...'

Zhang Lei and the others immediately turned to Ding Lanhui. 'You're not actually going to believe what she said, are you?'

Ding Lanhui glanced at him. 'None of your business.'

Then she looked at Su Fuling. 'Thank you for showing me the way. I'll remember this.'

Su Fuling said, 'I'm not a fortune-teller. I'm a Doctor. Everything I've said is grounded in medical reasoning.' With the scientific assistance of the System, of course.

Ding Lanhui said, 'I've heard that medicine and the dao are one — could it be that you walk both paths at once?'

Su Fuling: '...I really am just a Doctor.'

Ding Lanhui said, 'Ah, so your main practice is medicine.'

Su Fuling said, 'I'm a Doctor, not a fortune-teller.'

After Su Fuling said it several times, Ding Lanhui finally caught on — the young woman in front of her preferred to be called Doctor. 'Doctor, I understand. Might I ask your name?'

Su Fuling smiled. 'My surname is Su.'

'Doctor Su, thank you for your guidance today. Once I have a result tomorrow, I'll come back to thank you properly.'

Zhang Lei perked up at that. 'You're coming back tomorrow?'

Zhao Facao immediately said, 'She's not with me — we only exchanged techniques once, that's all.'

He was terrified someone would come looking for trouble at his stall.

Su Fuling didn't want trouble either, but as a physician she did need to follow up with her patients.

'Here's what we'll do — come back here tomorrow, and I'll be waiting.'

Zhao Facao said, 'You don't have to come here, do you?'

'I can't have patients running all over the place looking for their Doctor. I'll just come here for the follow-up.'

Zhao Facao said, 'Then you'd better come, or I'll be showing up at your house — I know where you live.'

Su Fuling said, 'I promise I'll be here.' Then she turned to Ding Lanhui: 'And you must promise me you'll go home and take your medicine, or I won't be responsible for the follow-up.'

Ding Lanhui was reassured. 'I'll go pick up the herbs right now. I'll definitely go.'

The words had barely left her mouth.

Su Fuling received a notification from the System: she had earned 3 Merit Points.

So the condition for earning Merit Points wasn't just seeing a patient — the patient also had to accept the treatment plan.

Su Fuling filed that away quietly. But she was genuinely pleased to have gained 3 Merit Points all at once.

With that, she could rent three books from the System right away. If she could see a few more patients each day, finding a master physician in the System to study under wasn't out of the question.

Ding Lanhui, her mind now at peace, stopped agonizing. She planned to pick up the herbs, take her medicine, sleep well, and then first thing after the market opened tomorrow, deal with the matter. If it weren't for the market being closed today, she would have gone to sort it out right now.

'Doctor, I'm off to get the herbs. See you tomorrow.'

Ding Lanhui walked away with a relaxed expression.

The energy about her was entirely different from when she had arrived.

The onlookers watched and felt as though they'd just witnessed a performance.

Zhang Lei and the others wanted to test whether it was really as accurate as it seemed, so they crowded around Su Fuling, each hoping she would do a reading for them — even a paid one.

Zhao Facao: '...'

Su Fuling said, 'I don't tell fortunes. I'm a Doctor. If any of you need medical attention, I can take a look at your condition. We've crossed paths today — consultations are free.'

Free clinics were nothing new to Su Fuling. They cost time and effort, but as long as she wasn't subsidizing the medicine itself, the burden wasn't great.

Her grandfather had done the same thing often.

The others assumed this was just Su Fuling's cover story — hadn't she insisted she was a Doctor right after seeing that auntie, too?

Zhang Lei immediately held out his hand. 'Doc — Doctor, take a look at me.'

Su Fuling glanced at Zhao Facao. 'May I use your space for a moment?'

Zhao Facao: '...Fine, go ahead.'

Su Fuling took Zhang Lei's pulse carefully, then asked about his symptoms.

Zhang Lei said, 'You didn't ask her any of this.'

Su Fuling said, 'Because your case is more serious.'

Zhang Lei had no choice but to honestly describe his complaints.

Su Fuling's summary: bloating and a stifled feeling in the abdomen, mental fatigue, general weakness.

She examined the color of his tongue and read his pulse. Su Fuling knew then that this was beyond her.

Based on case records her grandfather had kept from his time studying at the county hospital, this was Liver Disease — and it had progressed to a fairly serious stage.

There might be Chinese medicine treatments available, but Su Fuling didn't have that knowledge herself.

Even her grandfather probably couldn't manage it. When he had gone to the county to study medicine as the village's barefoot doctor, he'd only had the chance to document the presentation of such conditions — not to learn how to treat them with Chinese medicine.

'Your liver is the problem.'

Hearing Su Fuling's diagnosis, Zhang Lei glanced at Zhao Facao.

Zhao Facao said, 'Don't look at me. I never said a word.'

Zhang Lei said, 'You actually saw it.'

Su Fuling said, 'I saw it — but I have no way to treat it. I strongly recommend you go to a hospital as soon as possible. Don't delay. This is not a small matter.'

Zhang Lei said, 'If you saw it, why can't you treat it? You figured out that other person's problem right away and gave her a solution.'

Su Fuling said, 'I told you — your problem is more serious. I don't have a way to handle it right now.' Perhaps after further study she might find one.

But for now, Su Fuling wouldn't overreach.

A Doctor who lacked the ability to treat something had no business letting a patient's condition drag on.

Zhang Lei immediately decided Su Fuling was a fraud — the Liver Disease diagnosis had probably been fed to her by Zhao Facao beforehand.

'Hmph, I knew you were a con artist!'

He stormed off in a huff.

As for going to the hospital — it wasn't that he didn't want to. He had already been. But the cost of treatment was more than he could afford.

Seeing Zhang Lei react that way, the people still waiting for a consultation grew a little doubtful.

But since it was a free clinic, there was nothing to lose.

So they sat down, half-convinced.

The patient after Zhang Lei was a young woman in her early twenties.

She didn't think anything was wrong with her — she had just come over out of curiosity.

Su Fuling's visual examination turned up nothing, but when she took the pulse, she found the woman suffered from dysmenorrhea.

She asked a few questions.

The young woman, hearing this, was somewhat persuaded — but after Su Fuling wrote out a Chinese medicine prescription, she simply tucked it into her bag and left.

The last patient was a young man with nothing wrong with him physically. Su Fuling noticed his dark circles were severe and advised him to get more rest.

'Boring.' The young man waved his hand and walked off.

He had been hoping for a reading on his financial luck.

Instead he was just told to sleep more.

Three patients, and not a single one had earned her any Merit Points.

Earning Merit Points really wasn't easy.

Zhao Facao, standing nearby, said, 'You and that woman earlier — you weren't actually putting on a show, were you?'

One of them had been desperately pressing money on her; the other had handed it straight back. And the rest of the consultations hadn't produced anything particularly useful from this young woman either.

Su Fuling said, 'Going through all that trouble just to stage a performance? I'm not that free.'

'Then why couldn't you read the others?'

Zhao Facao said, 'Breaking into this trade isn't easy for a young person.'

Su Fuling said, 'I really only want to treat people.'

Thinking of the agreement the two of them had made earlier, Su Fuling took out ten yuan and handed it to Zhao Facao.

She had, after all, used his space today. 'Thank you for the trouble today. Please take this for tea.'

Zhao Facao's expression softened a little when he saw how considerate she was.

Su Fuling asked, 'Are there any rules about setting up a stall here?'

Zhao Facao blinked. 'You want to set up a stall here?'

Su Fuling nodded. 'Yes. I'd like to see patients here.'

She had made up her mind: from now on, she would set up a free clinic right here.

If free consultations could draw people in, she could use the same approach herself. As long as one person a day trusted her and accepted her treatment, that would be enough.

And she could tell her younger uncle she was running a stall here and making money — he'd never know how much she actually earned.

This was far better than working as an assistant at some clinic.

Zhao Facao: '...' So the whole thing earlier really had been a performance — all to build a reputation and make it easier to swindle people later?

...

By the time Su Fuling got back, her aunt Zhou Huijuan was already on her way out to look for her.

'You were gone so long, I was worried you'd gotten lost.'

Su Fuling took the child from Zhou Huijuan's arms and smiled. 'Auntie, I found work.'

Zhou Huijuan was taken aback. 'What kind of work?'

Su Fuling smiled and said, 'Auntie, I'm going to set up a stall on the street and see patients.'