Chapter 14: Chapter 14: The Charitable Old Doctor

“Brown sugar is eighty coins per pound. Are you buying or not? If you want it, speak up quickly!”

The shopkeeper of the general store, seeing the crowd inside, had an incredibly nasty attitude.

Although Qi Ercai was quick-minded, he couldn’t think of anything else he needed to buy in the heat of the moment, so he said, “As I mentioned earlier, one pound of salt, twenty feet of oil paper, and two pounds of brown sugar.”

“That’ll be one tael of silver and five hundred and sixty coins.”

The two taels of silver his mother just gave him had quickly turned into four hundred and forty coins.

The shopkeeper’s wife tore off twenty feet of oil paper, rolled it up, and handed it to Qi Ercai.

The two brothers left the general store with pitifully little in hand, where Qi Sangui was guarding the wooden cart at the door. He quickly asked, “What did you buy?”

“Just a bit of oil paper.”

Before his older brother could speak, Qi Ercai said, “The rest is too expensive; we can’t afford it.”

Hearing this, Qi Sangui couldn’t help but sigh.

He had just seen someone come out from inside, cursing about profiteering and the like—it seemed prices had indeed gone up.

Qi Dafu asked Qi Ercai, “Second Brother, what do we do now? Should we find Mom?”

“No!”

Qi Ercai took a deep breath, “Let’s go to the medicine shop!”

“Why go to a medicine shop? No one in our family is sick.”

Qi Sangui mumbled.

Qi Ercai ignored him and quickly walked towards the medicine shop.

When the three brothers arrived, they found hardly anyone there. Not even the usual attendant was around, just the old doctor busying himself behind the counter.

“Sir, how much is the medicine for colds now?”

Qi Ercai tried to make his tone sound as pleasant as possible.

The old doctor looked up, squinted at Qi Ercai, then said, “What symptoms does your patient have?”

“No symptoms yet, but we’re heading to relatives in the Prefecture City. We have children and the elderly at home, so we want to prepare in case they catch a cold on the way.”

Qi Ercai didn’t really know what his family would do next, so he just made up this lie.

Fortunately, the old doctor didn’t fuss over it. He simply said, “Without specific symptoms, we shouldn’t prepare very strong medicine. I’ll give you some regular cold medicine, and I won’t charge much—ten coins per dose.”

“Alright, please pack ten doses for me!”

He had four hundred and forty coins left, along with the hundred coins his wife secretly gave him last night, totaling five hundred and forty coins.

Ten doses of cold medicine cost a hundred coins, leaving four hundred and forty coins.

Qi Ercai pondered for a moment and then asked, “Sir, what common medicines do children often need? Could you help me think it over? I’m in such a rush, my mind is a mess, and I really can’t remember.”

The old doctor was one of the best in the city.

Not only did he charge little for consultations, but the medicine was also sold cheaply.

For the same illness, if five coins of medicine could cure it, he would never prescribe a twenty-coin remedy.

For this reason, Qi Ercai came straight here.

After hearing this, the old doctor thought for a moment and added, “If you trust me, just tell me how much you’re willing to spend. I’ll provide as much medicine as I can.”

The old doctor was well aware of the current situation in the city.

Seeing Qi Ercai’s intent, he understood what Qi Ercai wanted.

Qi Ercai didn’t hide it. He quickly took out the copper coins from his pocket, “I have a total of five hundred and forty coins, minus the cost of the cold medicine, leaving four hundred and forty coins. Sir, please prepare the medicine for me! We have a child at home, only four years old, and the elderly; both my parents are not young anymore.”

“Hmm, just leave it there.”

The old doctor waved his hand, not taking the copper coins, but turned to start gathering herbs from the shelves.

Before long, little packages of herbs filled the counter.

“There, I’ve labeled all these packages. Does anyone in your household know how to read? If not, you’ll just have to memorize by rote. I’ll mark them with colors for you.”

The old doctor rubbed his back.

Being up in age, all that reaching and bending down left him with a sore back.

Qi Ercai quickly responded, “Yes, yes, there’s someone in the family who can read.”

After speaking, Qi Ercai called Qi Dafu inside to help carry the medicine.

These medicines couldn’t be left out in the open like this; they needed to be packed inside a basket.

As the two brothers were about to leave, Qi Dafu asked Qi Ercai, “Second Brother, why is there only the old doctor in the medicine shop?”

Qi Ercai paused, turning to look at the old doctor: “Sir, are you not planning to leave here?”

“Where would I go if I left?”

The old doctor smiled ruefully, “My wife passed away early, and I have no children to speak of. Even the attendant I sent home. Now, this old body of mine has only this medicine shop left! I’m not going, I’m staying!”

The old doctor smiled and waved.

A lonely old man had chosen this way to await his life’s final moment.

Seeing him like this, both Qi Dafu and Qi Ercai exchanged glances, seeing the reluctance in each other’s eyes.

“Brother, let’s go!”

Qi Ercai finally decided to call his brother and leave the medicine shop.

But they hadn’t gone far before Qi Dafu abruptly stopped: “Second Brother, I think we shouldn’t just leave the old doctor there. Didn’t you say the people from the south are ruthless? If they really come to the city, will he survive?”

“Brother, he doesn’t want to leave, can we really just force him away?”

Qi Ercai was exasperated, “Even if we took him, then what? Can we afford to take care of him for life?”

“Whether we take care of him or not, we’ll discuss it later. Regardless, I can’t leave the doctor alone! If you want to go, go, but I’m going back to get him!”

As Qi Dafu finished speaking, he turned and started walking back.

Qi Sangui was confused, “Second Brother, what are you and Brother talking about?”

“Nothing much!”

Looking at Qi Dafu’s departing figure, Qi Ercai was also quite agitated. But when he thought about that respected old man possibly dying under the blades of rebels, or worse, dying alone with no one to even manage his remains, he felt a pang of guilt.

“We really owe him!”

Qi Ercai muttered, calling out to Qi Sangui, then quickly walked back towards the medicine shop.

In the shop, the old doctor was resting on a stool behind the counter.

When the attendant was around, this old body at least had someone to look after it.

But from yesterday morning when he dismissed the attendant, until now, he had only drunk some cold water.

Ah, he couldn’t even make tea, let alone cook a meal.

At this rate, he reckoned he could last only three to five more days before joining his late wife.

For a moment, he felt a bit dispirited.

“Sigh…hey?”

Just as he sighed, he got startled.

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