Merchant and doctor

Chapter 1823 Lijin Migui
In traditional Chinese medicine clinics, an excellent pharmacist is far more than just someone standing at the counter dispensing medicine. In the old days when traditional Chinese medicine was prevalent, pharmacists and clinic owners or pharmacy owners always addressed each other as fellow apprentices. It might not be the case outside the shop, but inside, they were definitely treated with great respect. During festivals, the owner would even have to prepare a decent gift for the family.

In a traditional Chinese medicine clinic, pharmacists are pillars of the medical profession, far from being just ordinary, dispensable partners.

Normally, when Bian Mu, Liang Xiangyin, and Dr. Ning prescribe medicine, most patients will take the prescription to the pharmacy to negotiate the price with Zhang Jinsi. Some people feel that the price of the medicine is too expensive and go elsewhere to get the medicine themselves. Most patients will stay and get all the medicine from Zhang Jinsi.

For different symptoms and prescriptions, Zhang Jinsi often communicates with patients in a very professional way, explaining which medicines should be decocted first, which should be added later, the decocting time, and the heat – all of which are standard operating procedures.

Zhang Jinsi's strength lies in his ability to dispel almost all the doubts that patients may have. He meticulously fills in any gaps in the understanding of the logical relationship between the patient, the prescription, and the three doctors, including Bian Mu. In a sense, Zhang Jinsi strives to minimize the risk of doctor-patient conflict.

Zhang Jinsi became the last line of defense for the "Xin G20" Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.

Bian Mu was always aware of this, and the salary he paid Zhang Jinsi was never low.

Moreover, Zhang Jinsi was responsible for dispensing medicines for patients on behalf of Bian Mu. These were traditional Chinese medicines produced in-house with complete documentation, including pills, powders, ointments, elixirs, and various new types of liquid preparations. To be fair, in terms of daily workload alone, Zhang Jinsi was definitely number one among his colleagues. However, in terms of average salary, he did not earn much more than Luo Zhanqi and Nurse Ye.

"Xin G Twenty" Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic has never had the habit of working overtime. From time to time, Zhang Jinsi has to bring some of the pharmacy business home to continue working, often until late at night. Even so, Zhang Jinsi has never shown any signs of complaining or asking for a raise, whether in front of others or behind closed doors.

The pharmacist Bian Mu is about to hire must be at least as good as Zhang Jinsi in every aspect.

Clearly, the pharmacist surnamed Mei in front of us is not quite right in terms of physiognomy.

As one of the top traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Lijin City, Bian Mu's face reading is not the kind of charlatan tricks that quacks use. Bian Mu's face reading focuses on "observing the spirit"!
Strictly speaking, this can be considered a certain extension of the six skills of traditional Chinese medicine.

The pharmacist surnamed Mei had a "bitter" look in his brow bone, and hiring such a person was considered unlucky, as it would bring negative energy into the clinic.

Traditional Chinese medicine clinics are dedicated to practicing medicine, helping the needy, and saving lives—that's their sacred duty, no doubt about it. However, as small private businesses, clinics also have to run their own businesses to make a living, which often leaves them looking quite distressed… It wouldn't be suitable to work with them; it could easily lead to financial losses!

Bian Mu guessed that Dr. Mei's family must be a mess. Zhang Jinsi was kind-hearted, and if her family encountered any difficulties in the future, such as borrowing money today, taking leave tomorrow, or asking the clinic to help her with some troublesome matters the day after, that would be troublesome.

If we intervene, it might cause delays; if we ignore it, it would be unreasonable, difficult to swallow, and could damage the clinic's reputation. Rather than going through all that trouble, it would be better to respect Nurse Ye's wishes, which would only cost the cost of a meal, and simply turn her away.

Observing his expression, Nurse Ye couldn't help but feel secretly pleased for a long time. Clearly, Master Bian didn't think much of Dr. Mei at first glance.

"Please have a seat! Where's your daughter? Didn't she come with you?" Nurse Ye greeted her very politely and asked Dr. Mei to sit down next to her.

"You're too kind! My mom's helping to look after them; they should be having lunch at her place right now!" Dr. Mei's voice was pleasant and melodious, like a school teacher's. "Oh! Your family bought a house in the city!" Nurse Ye casually struck up a conversation.

"No, we can't afford the housing prices here. We rent a small two-bedroom apartment. My mother lives with us. Besides helping to pick up and drop off the kids, she mainly does some handicrafts at home to supplement the family income." Dr. Mei was very polite. She knew that Nurse Ye was ostensibly making small talk, but in reality, she was indirectly assessing her family background. If anything wasn't quite right, she would be rejected today.

"Oh my! Taking care of a child is so tiring. So... are you still working?"

"I worked temporarily at a pharmacy, a day-to-day job. I signed a contract for day-to-day work, which was quite flexible. As you all know, that kind of place is not a place to stay for long. If I stay there for too long, my professional skills will definitely become rusty, and it will be difficult to pick them up again after a few years..." Dr. Mei replied truthfully.

Hearing this, Bian Mu couldn't help but glance at Dr. Mei. He felt that the female pharmacist in front of him had a good temperament, was refined and gentle, and must have some pursuit in her profession. In addition, her intelligence should also be online.

"That's right, that's right... If we become colleagues in the future, won't it be a burden for your daughter?" Nurse Ye asked frankly.

"No, my mom was worried that she would delay me from finding a decent job, so she came all the way from our hometown to help me for a few years. Actually, my mom has a certain income back home. Sigh! It's all my fault for being incompetent and a burden on my family..."

“Hey! You can’t say that. Everyone encounters problems in their life, haha… So… what’s the minimum salary I should pay you?” Nurse Ye asked bluntly.

"Is 3500 okay? The pharmacy's monthly rent is around 2800, and our rent is 1800 a month. My mom helps me pay 800, so we're barely making ends meet."

“3500?! After deducting rent, you’ll only have 1700 left. With the elderly and the young, plus basic expenses like water, electricity, and gas, you might actually end up with nothing by the end of the month!” Zhang Jinsi chimed in from the side.

Clearly, Nurse Ye was leading Dr. Mei in a negative direction; it was obvious she didn't want her to work at the clinic! Zhang Jinsi thought highly of Dr. Mei and couldn't help but say a few words in her defense.

“3500 is a bit low. Rice is very expensive in Lijin! I also came from a small rural county to make a living, and I have experienced the hardships of it for a while. Well... let’s order some food first!” Regardless of whether or not to invite the person into the restaurant, Bian Mu did not want to embarrass Dr. Mei too much. He wanted to have a proper meal first.

Amidst laughter and conversation, everyone began ordering food.

Dr. Mei seemed a little reserved and only ordered two inexpensive vegetarian dishes.

During the meal, Bian Mu thought that since he didn't plan to recruit anyone into the academy anyway, he might as well just give Dr. Mei a difficult question to make her give up. Seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Bian Mu spoke up.

"Dr. Mei! How much do you know about the matter of refining medicine in the cauldron?"

Upon hearing this, Dr. Mei's face lit up with joy, and the restraint on her face gradually faded.