The five-and-a-half-year-old baby doctor comes to the city to cure those who refuse to listen.

The crackling sound of firecrackers finally stopped.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, making people cough.

Manager Zhao wasn't choked; he had already been carried away by a group of people, like a dead dog, without even a struggle.

The remaining pharmacy owners who had come to stir up trouble were all pale-faced, and they looked at Chu Chen as if they had seen a living Yama.

They exchanged a glance, not daring to utter a sound, and slunk away into the crowd.

The onlookers didn't run away; they practically trampled the threshold of Jishetang.

"Little miracle doctor, give me a super-powerful pill!"

"Me! I was here first! My back has been hurting for ten years!"

Wang Dequan and his men were so busy they were practically running around, their voices hoarse from shouting.

Looking at this scene, and then at the plaque at the entrance that read "Unparalleled Hero of the Nation," Lin Jianguo felt a surge of heat in his chest and almost burst into tears.

He walked over to Chu Chen, squatted down, and seemed about to say something.

Chu Chen tossed aside the bamboo skewer of candied hawthorn in his hand and clapped his hands.

"Grandpa, I want another one, with sesame seeds."

Lin Jianguo's words were stuck in his throat, and in the end, he could only let out a sigh that was both funny and sad.

The next day, Huichuntang not only did not close its doors, but also set up a platform at the entrance that was even higher than a stage for opera.

They were banging drums and gongs, making a bigger commotion than Jishetang setting off firecrackers.

A waiter stood on the platform, holding a small porcelain bottle in his hand, and roared with all his might.

"Don't miss out! Huichuntang's ancestral secret medicine, the all-purpose miracle oil, is making its debut today!"

"Apply some, and my backache and leg pain are gone. I can climb five flights of stairs without any effort!"

Below the stage, an old man who had been "limping" for half his life had some magic oil smeared on his legs by the waiter. He immediately threw away his cane and started jumping and hopping on the stage, even performing a set of military boxing.

The crowd was instantly ignited.

"Really? That's amazing!"

"Even more potent than that miracle drug from Jishetang?"

Manager Zhao was wearing a brand-new silk robe, and his face was covered with thick powder to hide his haggard appearance from yesterday.

He stood on the platform and bowed to the crowd.

"Fellow villagers! I, Zhao, acted rashly yesterday and offended Jishetang! But the century-old reputation of Huichuntang is not based on boasting, but on the genuine efficacy of its medicines!"

"My miraculous oil is a secret royal formula! Today, to apologize and salvage my reputation, I'm selling it for only five dollars a bottle, originally ten!"

A great reward will surely attract brave men; great profit will surely attract fools.

Seeing the lively "crippled man" on stage, many people were tempted and pushed forward, ready to take out their money.

Just then, a childish voice drifted over slowly.

"Manager Zhao, something's not right with this medicine."

The crowd automatically parted to form a path.

Chu Chen sat on a small stool, holding a handful of sunflower seeds, slowly cracking them open.

Beside him was a small winnowing basket filled with sunflower seed shells.

When Manager Zhao saw Chu Chen, his heart tightened, and he almost dropped the porcelain bottle in his hand.

He forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace, trying to appear calm.

"Mr. Chu... what brings you here? Are you here to watch the excitement?"

"Your performance is quite lively; I've come to take a look."

Chu Chen spat out the sunflower seed shells from his mouth, stood up from the stool, and strolled down to the bottom of the platform.

He looked up at Manager Zhao on the stage with his little face tilted back.

"You're saying this is a secret royal recipe?"

"Of course!" Manager Zhao retorted, sticking out his neck.

"Why does it smell like lard and chili powder?"

Chu Chen sniffed, looking completely innocent.

Manager Zhao's face turned pale instantly.

The crowd below the stage stirred and began to whisper among themselves.

"What? Lard and chili powder?"

"No way, it looks pretty amazing to me..."

"Quiet down." Chu Chen raised his small hand, his voice not loud, but it silenced everyone.

He pointed to the still lively "Tuo'er" on the stage.

"Grandpa, please stop jumping. Aren't you tired from jumping so high?"

The "tuoer" froze, a hint of panic flashing across her face.

"Have him come down," Chu Chen said to Manager Zhao. "I have a way to verify on the spot whether your miracle oil is real or fake."

Manager Zhao was caught in a dilemma; with everyone watching, he dared not refuse.

He gritted his teeth and made the "tuo'er" walk off the stage.

Chu Chen ignored him and instead spoke to an older woman watching the commotion.

"Auntie, could I borrow a bowl of vinegar from your kitchen?"

The woman was puzzled, but she quickly brought over a bowl of yellowish rice vinegar.

Chu Chen placed the bowl of vinegar in front of "Tuo'er".

"Manager Zhao, do you dare to let your magic oil touch this bowl of vinegar?"

Manager Zhao broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

"What...what do you mean! Pharmacological interactions, don't you understand?! My magic oil can't be touched by acids!"

"Oh? Is it that you can't handle sour foods, or that you're afraid to touch them?"

Chu Chen chuckled and picked up a small wooden stick, dipping it in the vinegar bowl.

"My mother said that lard is most susceptible to acidity. Once it comes into contact with acid, it becomes useless."

"If your 'miracle oil' is real, then of course I'm not afraid. But if it's fake..."

Chu Chen paused deliberately at this point, then suddenly jabbed the vinegar-soaked stick into the leg of the "tuo'er" that had been smeared with magic oil.

"ah--!"

The girl screamed as if she had been pricked by a needle, and jumped up while clutching her leg.

However, he wasn't in pain.

The burning sensation on his legs vanished the moment he came into contact with the vinegar.

That feeling was like a fire being suddenly extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

He was stunned.

Everyone in the audience was stunned.

Chu Chen threw the wooden stick on the ground and clapped his hands.

"The so-called 'miracle oil' is nothing more than lard mixed with chili water. When you apply it to your body, it burns and makes you think that the medicine is working."

"Actually, it's completely useless."

"What do you call this? This is called an 'IQ tax'."

The crowd fell silent.

A few seconds later.

"Refund!"

A burly man slammed the bottle of "miracle oil" he had just bought onto the ground and roared.

"You bastard Zhao Quan! You've lied to us again!"

"Smash his shop!"

"Arrest him and hand him over to the authorities!"

The angry crowd, like a tidal wave, instantly overwhelmed the stage and surged towards the gate of Huichuntang.

"Bang!"

"Clang!"

The counter was overturned, the medicine cabinet was smashed, and the precious medicinal herbs were scattered all over the ground, trampled into mud by countless feet.

Manager Zhao and his employees were overwhelmed by the angry crowd.

Amidst this chaos.

No one noticed that a figure dressed as a clerk from Jishetang quietly slipped out the back door and headed straight for the police station in the west of the city.

The man ran very fast, carrying a thick object wrapped in oilcloth in his arms.

It was Lin Fu.

Not long after, the sharp sound of police sirens grew louder as they approached.

Several uniformed police officers pushed through the crowd and rushed into Huichuntang, which had been reduced to ruins.

Lin Fu followed behind them, pointing at Manager Zhao, who was being held down on a broken counter by two burly men, and shouted loudly.

"Officer! I'm reporting someone!"

"Zhao Quan of Huichuntang has been manufacturing and selling counterfeit medicines for a long time, profiting at the expense of lives! This ledger records all his shady dealings!"

"I also know that their warehouse for storing counterfeit medicine is in that abandoned kiln three miles outside the city!"

Manager Zhao was pressed firmly against the wood chips, his face covered in blood from the cuts.

He looked up and saw Lin Fu outside the crowd, and saw the undisguised flattery and pleasure on his face.

"Lin Fu...you dog!"

With his last ounce of strength, Manager Zhao let out a beast-like roar.

Lin Fu gave him a humble yet cruel smile.

At the entrance of Jishetang.

Chu Chen remained seated on his small stool, slowly finishing the last handful of sunflower seeds.

He listened to the deafening cries and curses from across the street without even lifting an eyelid.

He stood up, emptied the sunflower seed shells from the winnowing basket into the trash can next to him, then turned around, his back to the mess.

He stretched and mumbled something in a childish voice.

"A real man never looks back at an explosion."

Lin Jianguo, standing behind him, stumbled upon hearing this and nearly lost his balance.

Looking at his grandson's small back, he felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Chu Chen turned around and tugged at Lin Jianguo's sleeve.

"Grandpa, we're home."

"Grandma Wang's braised pork hock next door should be ready by now."