Merchant and doctor

Chapter 1918 No Glory Amidst Ruins

Living a life of luxury, the Lu family's lifestyle was beyond the imagination of ordinary wage earners. Ironically, the wealthier the family, the simpler their illnesses tended to be.

Bian Mu chatted with Lu Yisi's mother for a while via video call on his phone before hanging up.

"Your family usually likes to eat raw food, right? Does the nanny often prepare sashimi or something for you?" Bian Mu asked with a smile.

"Pretty much! My mom is from the South, and she especially loves to eat it that way, saying that the nutrients are lost if it's steamed or boiled for too long."

"No wonder... Well then, starting tomorrow, every day before using any tableware, all tableware must be rinsed with boiling water. Note! The water must be boiling continuously. If you turn off the heat after the water boils, it won't work! The water must be continuously boiling. Secondly, even when eating cold dishes, please have the housekeeper rinse them with cooled boiled water. In other words, for the next six months, Auntie cannot eat anything without raw water."

"That's it?! Don't you need to take some herbal medicine to regulate your body?" Lu Yisi seemed a little uneasy.

"No need! Just abstain from drinking raw water. After six months, you can return to normal. If the mild diarrhea symptoms persist, then abstain from raw water again. During festivals, when your aunt goes back to her parents' home, she can eat there. Just follow the local customs. The practice of abstaining from raw water will then be ineffective."

"Oh... what's the logic behind this?" Lu Yisi asked sincerely.

"In our traditional Chinese medicine view, raw and cooked are two different worlds. Raw ingredients and cooked food are inherently from two different yin and yang worlds. Do you usually read old works such as the Book of Songs, the Spring and Autumn Annals, and the Analects?"

"I don't really watch it, what do you mean?!" For a moment, Lu Yisi was confused and felt like she had short-circuited.

"Old works like the Book of Songs record many details of daily life. Before the Qin Dynasty, nobles always paid great attention to the quality of their food and almost never ate raw or cold food. Later, in the Han Dynasty, although life seemed to be richer, this was not the case. Some dietary habits actually regressed quite a bit. Taoist teachings have many points to this. Whenever food is discussed, the word 'fire' is indispensable. Don't underestimate boiled water. It is still properly boiled water. Food washed with it is a different world. To put it simply, people who mainly eat warm and cooked food and those who mainly eat raw and cold seafood live in two completely different worlds. For example, one person lives on Mars for a long time, while the other lives on the moon for a long time. These are two completely different lives. Traditional Chinese medicine is quite sensitive to this and can tell the difference at a glance."

"Wow! That's so complicated! No wonder you've only been in the business for a few days! You've practically swept through the entire Lijin pharmaceutical industry; your knowledge is truly remarkable! I admire you!"

"Hey! You're joking! The medical principles behind it aren't complicated once you understand them. Let's get back to Miss Yu. All my efforts were just airlifting her from the moon to Mars. If I had unilaterally used the six techniques of traditional Chinese medicine to treat her, the effectiveness would have been greatly reduced. She took the initiative to travel between the moon and Mars, which saved me more than half the effort!"

"That makes sense! Absolutely right... I'll accompany my mom to your esteemed establishment for a pulse diagnosis sometime!"

"Hey! We're on the same side, so it's probably better if I pay a visit and do some house calls!"

"It wouldn't be right for you to come all this way!"

"You're joking, the soup's a bit cold, please!" Bian Mu said with a smile.

Chatting and laughing, the two ate quite well. Lu Yisi began to be wary of Bian Mu's medical skills. In his opinion, Bian Mu was an absolutely one-in-a-million miraculous existence.

……

That evening, the patients' conditions were relatively simple, so Bian Mu closed his stall more than half an hour early. In a good mood, he gave the male intern surnamed Shang 1000 yuan, telling him to take the other two female interns out for a quick bite and drink. The three young interns thanked their boss and happily went out to choose a suitable restaurant for their get-together. After buying some local specialties at a nearby shop, Bian Mu called Old Liang, the forest ranger. It had been a while since they'd seen each other, and Bian Mu was thinking of visiting the old man. His children were all making a living abroad, and the old man lived alone in the city, which must have been quite lonely.

"I'm getting old, and it's dinner time again. I won't be able to eat much. Let's make some wontons. I'll roll out the wrappers now, and you can take care of the rest."

"Okay! Do you like the fruit salad?" Bian Mu asked with a smile over the phone.

"It's alright! Make less, it's a waste to leave too much, and fruit isn't cheap these days."

"Okay! I'll be there soon!" With that, Bian Mu hung up the phone.

……

They prepared bread and grilled fish, a cold dish of three kinds of delicacies, and a fruit salad. For their main course, they ate wontons. The father and son chatted and laughed as they busied themselves in the kitchen for a long time. Old Liang was clearly much happier.

The two chatted while eating at the small restaurant.

“It seems the Cen family’s businesses are doomed to collapse. Nine out of ten of their children will have to change careers. I’ve got my eye on one of the health clubs. Once I get it, it won’t cost much to renovate it. Brother Qiang can handle the building materials. Can you help me decide if this is taboo?” To be honest, Bian Mu was still a little uneasy.

With a faint smile, Old Liang glanced at Bian Mu through his narrowed eyes.

“Tell me, why won’t you take over Old Cen’s remaining business entirely! As for what you said about him hanging on by a thread… that’s true, but there’s also humanity involved. Old Cen is much more mature than you think. A hundred years ago, he squandered his entire family business on his own. To be honest, he wasn’t really prepared. However, he’s incredibly shrewd, and he’s much better at maneuvering and maneuvering than you imagine! Don’t worry about that. No matter what happens, he wants to live longer than anyone else! Now, let’s talk about the more important taboo.” Old Liang seemed to know everything and immediately pointed at Bian Mu.

Hearing this, Bian Mu immediately felt a little embarrassed.

"Hehe... As you know, it's impossible for Rome to regain its former glory on the ruins."

"I knew you'd have something on your mind! Hahaha... Go on..."

"Zhao Xicheng and his group are only focused on the auspicious location, and they haven't considered other negative factors enough. For example, with the downfall of the Cen family, all sorts of negative energy have surfaced. No matter who takes over, they will have to spend a lot of manpower and resources to offset those negative factors as soon as possible. To put it bluntly, isn't that just helping the Cen family get rid of their debts? I don't have much money to begin with, so why should I help them eliminate their negative energy?! Don't you think that makes sense?"

Old Liang put down his spoon, nodded slightly, and without replying, casually pointed his finger, signaling Bian Mu to continue.

"After all, Old Master Cen is a generous family. He has painstakingly managed his family for most of his life. All the auspicious lands and the tangible and intangible assets he has accumulated after the disaster are tightly bound to the Cen family's finances, connections, and business practices for decades. If I were to take over everything, I would immediately have to use a lot of manpower, resources, and social connections to untie all those things. It would be too much trouble!"

"Kid! Not bad! You've already mastered this skill through self-study and practice. That's right, people are always eager to take advantage of others' wealth, naively thinking it's an unexpected bargain. Little do they know that if not handled properly, negative energy will immediately follow. Many people have suffered greatly because of greed in this regard. Take Mr. Bi, that patient of yours, he suffered a similar loss back then. His knee was almost ruined! If it weren't for your ingenious method and their family's wealth, where would he have gone to recover?! He would be crippled by now!" For some reason, Old Liang spoke with a hint of schadenfreude.

Upon hearing this, Bian Mu froze. Could it be that he had really missed something on Chairman Bi's end?!