Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2009 Listen to what's behind your back
Located in Xiaohulu Hutong, Lane 9, East Kaizheng Street, the third store from the south, "Yugang Xiaocang" is a popular online store. It is the only one in the entire Lijin City, with no other branches.

The shop owner is an elderly man in his sixties. It's a husband-and-wife shop, and his wife usually helps out. The old man has a son and a daughter, both of whom have been married for many years. His son teaches at a middle school, not a third-year university, and has a lot of free time, so he often comes to the shop to help out.

My daughter works as a lawyer at a fairly large law firm in the city. She had dealt with Qi Yuewei a few times before. She was a very honest person, but not very talented. She had managed to get by without making any mistakes by being diligent and hardworking. She seemed to be a fairly simple person. Qi Yuewei would occasionally take care of her. Because of her, Qi Yuewei had eaten at the "Fishing Port Warehouse" restaurant run by Lao Zhang's family a few times and was very impressed!
Bian Mu and his companion arrived a bit early. They couldn't see upstairs, but downstairs there were only a few elderly diners sitting here. Judging from their demeanor, they were probably the kind of loyal customers who had been eating the same bowl of breakfast noodles for decades.

The shop owner's daughter wasn't helping out at the shop at the moment. Her younger brother was busy adding broth to the pot. When he saw the eldest daughter of the Qi family suddenly arrive, he quickly grabbed a clean cloth, wiped his hands, and walked over to Qi Yuewei to exchange a few polite words.

Knowing the identity of Miss Qi, the proprietress called out to her husband, and the two of them, while busy with their work, exchanged a few polite words with Miss Qi in unison.

The shop owner's son, Teacher Zhang, tidied up a table further inside and invited Bian Mu and his companion to sit down. He also specially prepared a new pot of good tea for them.

Before going to the stall with the shop owner's son, Bian Mu chose his own toppings. The toppings mainly consisted of seafood such as swimming crabs, mantis shrimps, and smoked fish chunks. He could also choose condiments like daylily buds and wood ear mushrooms. The noodles were homemade hollow noodles made by the Zhang family, and the alternative was fish powder purchased elsewhere. All the seafood was lightly fried in oil and placed on top of the noodles. Finally, the Zhang family's secret broth was poured over the noodles, and a fragrant bowl of so-called seafood noodles was served.

Following Qi Yuewei's suggestion, Bian Mu ordered a deluxe large bowl of seafood noodles. The bowl was thin yet quite deep; one bowl would be enough to fill Bian Mu up, given her appetite. The price was clearly marked on the wall: 210 yuan for a bowl! A bit pricey!
Bian Mu and his companion each took a small bowl and shared the deluxe seafood noodles like they were eating hot pot. It's said to be a trendy way for couples to eat together these days. The early autumn morning was a bit chilly, but the two of them ate the flavorful noodles warmly, chatting and laughing, and suddenly seemed much closer.

Bian Mutian was born with a deep and calculating nature; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to delve so deeply into the exploration of new traditional Chinese medicine. However... when it came to romance, he became much more reserved, rarely showing his emotions. Sometimes, Qi Yuewei found him quite annoying.

"Why didn't you order mantis shrimp?! Their mantis shrimp is my favorite!" Qi Yuewei said, feigning annoyance, as she ate.

"Mantis shrimp disappears by late May. Even if they are farmed, they are already out of season. Most of the ones available now are wholesale or retail from cold storage. The shrimp are cold in nature, and the cold storage can easily upset your stomach!"

"Good heavens! There are so many rules to follow when eating noodles, isn't that exhausting!"

"If you think of it, pay attention. The cooking time for these smoked fish pieces is just right. Eat more!" As she spoke, Bian Mu used serving chopsticks to put two more pieces on Qi Yuewei's plate.

Teacher Zhang also gave us two complimentary servings of Three Treasures Pickled Vegetables, supposedly a secret recipe from the owner's family. Each serving contains six ingredients and usually costs 35 yuan, making it a "luxury" dish among side dishes—a bit pricey! It was refreshing and palatable, truly top-quality. Bian Mu enjoyed it, thinking that despite the family's hard work, they should still have a profit of 300,000 to 400,000 yuan after taxes each year. As the saying goes, a small shop with big profits, keeping a low profile is quite good!

As the two were eating, Bian Mu overheard two elderly men behind him talking about a physical examination.

"Has your hemoglobin level gone up a bit lately?" one of them asked the other.

“Alas! It’s quite strange! All these years, it’s still 99, neither up nor down, just unable to break through the hundredth place. It’s really amazing!” The other old man replied in a deep and ancient tone.

"Logically speaking, your son is a proper head doctor of the TCM department at a top-tier hospital. Can't he even handle this little thing?!" the old man who asked the question replied with a smile.

"A doctor can't heal himself! Xiao Le's hemoglobin level is only a little over 100, it seems to have been low since he was a child." The old man with a hoarse voice replied casually. "Doesn't your elders have some connections with the Meng family? Didn't you ask Meng Shulan to take his pulse or something? I heard she's very skilled at treating blood diseases!" The old man who asked the question suggested with a smile.

Hearing that the two were having a rather interesting conversation, Bian Mu noticeably slowed down his eating pace. Bian Mu usually ate with a bit of a leisurely pace, and Qi Yuewei didn't notice at all, continuing to talk about the hardships of making money in the business world recently...

"I've seen her! At first, she was alright, very polite, but then I never saw her again. She was directly referred to her students. After all, there's a generation gap, so they're practically strangers." The old man sighed a few times, but he didn't say anything bad about Meng Shulan.

"So... is it working at all?"

"Not bad! It was even lower before, the lowest it got was only 78, but now it's been raised to 99! But it's kind of strange, why isn't it 98? 97? 101? 102?! Why is it stuck at 99?!"

"Didn't you go to a few more hospitals to compare them?! What if the machines aren't calibrated to the correct standards? Right?"

"I went! I compared at least five companies, and the results were all pretty much the same."

"Well... why didn't you go to the 'New Concept' Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic to make an appointment and ask? I heard the young owner there is quite skilled, specializing in treating all sorts of difficult and complicated diseases!" the old man asked with a smile.

"No need to bother! My Xiao Le said that guy surnamed Bian is probably a swindler, and who knows what kind of tricks he's up to! These kinds of people are all flashes in the pan, just you wait and see! His business will collapse in no time!"

"No way... I heard that the young owner of the restaurant has excellent medical skills!"

Qi Yuewei overheard the two old men sitting opposite her suddenly mention Bian Mu's name. Without making a sound, she put down her chopsticks and listened attentively for a few moments.

"How many days will the newly built outhouse smell good? It's only been open for a few days! Is it meant to house people?" The old man, whose tone had always been sullen, suddenly became quite unpleasant.

Qi Yuewei had no intention of acting out. Out of curiosity, she wanted to hear what people were saying behind her back, hoping to glean some unexpected insights.

Bian Mu picked up a piece of cucumber with hot and sour sauce and chewed it with relish. He wanted to hear how he had offended the father and son behind him.

“A neighbor upstairs applied for a pharmacist job there, and she was rejected outright. She has both a diploma and experience. If they're that strict with screening people, their job selection must be pretty good, right?!” The old man asked the question in a kind tone.

"Hey! You're just too kind-hearted, always easily swayed, you believe whatever people say! No wonder you only managed to become a deputy director when you retired! Hey! With him stirring things up like this... assuming he really has the ability to influence people, do you think the TCM industry in this city will get better or worse, or will it be more likely to decline?! I've heard that Old Cen's clinic is almost closing down, and Old Nie has practically retired to cultivate immortality! Many TCM-based health and wellness centers are becoming less prosperous..." The old man, with his aged and senile tone, started to accuse Bian Mu of wrongdoing.

Hearing this, Bian Mu frowned, unable to understand what he had done to offend this family. Why were they slandering him like this in public?