The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

After finishing up Xia Huai's affairs, Doctor Jia had Xixin move a chair for him, and he sat in front of the thatched cottage, squinting in the sun.

A little later, Lu Jing woke Xia Huai, fed her the medicine, and after watching her fall asleep again, he also came out of the hall and walked to Doctor Jia's side.

"I thought that with your personality, you would ask us for money before you were willing to treat us."

Doctor Jia didn't open his eyes, but said faintly, "Can you afford the medicine and consultation fees?"

"I can't afford it," Lu Jing said honestly. The money he had earned from carrying goods last time had already been spent by him these days, and now he only had three copper coins left. He originally planned to study his inner strength today, and at the latest tomorrow, he would have to go into the city to find work.

On the other hand, Xia Huai was even worse off. The silver she had brought, along with her sect's healing medicine and other things, had all been confiscated.

So the two of them were now poorer than each other.

"Then that's it," Doctor Jia sighed, "Anyway, I have to save people sooner or later. If you have money in the future, you will definitely give it to me. If you don't have money, what's the use of me asking early, except to make myself feel bad?"

Lu Jing was surprised to hear this, "These words don't sound like they would come out of your mouth."

Considering this guy's previous bad habits, he had originally planned that if it really didn't work, he would first take out the gold silk bellyband he was wearing as collateral. He didn't expect Doctor Jia to be worthy of his appearance as a reclusive expert this time.

"Bullshit! In your eyes, am I the kind of person who would stand by and watch someone die?" Doctor Jia was also angry, and opened his eyes from the chair.

Lu Jing was very innocent, "But isn't your rule of collecting consultation fees before seeing patients known throughout the surrounding villages? A few days ago, when I passed by the entrance of the village, I even heard the children singing a nursery rhyme about you, 'Doctor Jia, Doctor Jia, only money makes a real doctor.'"

"You little brat, what do you know," Doctor Jia said, his anger still not subsided, "The villagers are crude and suffer from the hardships of daily life, so they have developed the habit of taking small advantages."

Speaking of this, he sighed again, "I can't blame them for this. Careful calculation is their way of survival. If I don't establish the rule of collecting money before seeing patients and put on a stingy appearance, then someone will always cry to me about their family's poverty after seeing the doctor. Even if they have money in their hands, they are unwilling to pay me. If every family is like this, what will Xixin and I eat?"

"Although I have established this rule, I am not an inflexible person. If I really encounter a situation where a family can't come up with money and it is a matter of life and death, wouldn't I make an exception? Am I just going to stupidly watch the patient die in front of me?"

Lu Jing was stunned when he heard this, and then put away the frivolous look on his face, cupping his hands and saying, "I have been taught. Today I met a few villains who were full of grand righteousness, but I didn't expect to encounter a meticulous gentleman… Eh, wait, that's not right, this still doesn't explain why you charged me twice as much money before?"

Doctor Jia coughed, "It's stupid not to make money when you have the chance… I just saw that you were unfamiliar with the place and didn't have any friends."

"… … … …"

"Forget it, it's all in the past." Lu Jing didn't bother to argue about this matter anymore. Having lived two lives, he naturally knew that people were very complex. Most people in the world are contradictory beings who have both shining points and bad habits.

However, Lu Jing then remembered another thing, "Speaking of making money, with your medical skills, you should already be able to open a clinic in the city, right? Wouldn't that earn you more than being a village doctor here?"

"Hmph, you little brat, you do have some discernment, but it's best not to inquire about things you shouldn't inquire about." Doctor Jia looked mysterious.

But after a while, he couldn't help but say, "Forget it, I'll tell you. My ancestors used to be imperial physicians. Later, it was said that a monster in the palace killed a noble person, and someone had to be caught to take the blame. My ancestor was unfortunately chosen. Although he managed to save his life in the end, his family was destroyed.

"He left the sad place of the capital alone and went south, choosing a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters to retire to the mountains and forests. After that, he married and had children, and passed down his medical skills. But in order to avoid the tragedy that had happened to him from happening again, he made an agreement with his descendants that we should not have any contact with those high-ranking officials. However, he didn't say that we couldn't live in the city, but compared to the prosperity of the city, I really prefer the rustic charm of the countryside." Doctor Jia stroked his beard proudly.

Lu Jing smiled at this, thinking that Old Jia was too good at bragging. Imperial physician or something was fine, but a monster was causing trouble? Could it be that he was not in a martial arts world, but a Xianxia world?

However, the technological level of this era was not high, and too many things could not be explained. It was common sense to attribute it to ghosts and gods. Lu Jing didn't take it to heart. Anyway, he had been here for more than nine months, and he hadn't seen any sword immortals or demons except in picture books. Naturally, he wouldn't change his worldview because of a village doctor's ancestral story.

But Lu Jing didn't expose Doctor Jia's bragging. It was just a story. It was good to let the old man occasionally inflate himself and be happy, after all, he had just saved someone.

Xia Huai woke up in the afternoon. The acupoints had naturally been unlocked. After all, the old fisherman was only a third-rate expert. The acupoints he tapped could not last for more than half a day. However, as soon as Xia Huai woke up, she shouted that she was hungry.

It happened that Doctor Jia was in a good mood today, so he asked Xixin to cook two more bowls of porridge and steam four steamed buns for Xia Huai and Lu Jing.

So Lu Jing handed her the remaining steamed bun in his hand, "Then you eat it."

Xia Huai quickly waved her hand, "No, no, Master said that a gentleman does not take what others like."

"But I don't like this thing very much." Lu Jing stuffed the steamed bun into Xia Huai's hand, "You eat first, I'm not as hungry as you, and there's still food at the residence."

Xia Huai then took the steamed bun, but after thinking about it, she broke it in half and shared it with Lu Jing.

"Okay." Lu Jing didn't refuse and shared the steamed bun with Xia Huai.

After eating, Xia Huai lowered her voice and quietly asked Lu Jing, "Did the old man tell you how much the consultation fee and medicine cost? Why don't you not say anything later and let me talk to him? Although everyone in the pavilion didn't take my words to heart, almost everyone can't bear to refuse my request. As long as I can ask the old man to give me four or five days of credit, I can pay him double when I go to Wujiang City to borrow money from my senior brother."

Lu Jing was a little surprised, "Is your senior brother also in Wujiang City?"

"Yes, if I remember correctly, it seems to be called the Green Bamboo Gang. Everyone is going there for it."