Chapter 13

Early next morning, after breakfast, Ye Xiaoxiao took out paper and pen and asked Grandpa to write some words for her.

Miao Fengshan chuckled, “What do you want Grandpa to write?”

Ye Xiaoxiao, “I want to ask Grandpa to help me write a sign. It says: Only see patients, no dispensing medicine, No payment, no treatment, and One yuan per consultation.”

She was planning to go to the market today to see patients and charge a consultation fee.

Besides, this was a zero-investment business. After she saw the patient and wrote a prescription, she wouldn’t care where they went to get the medicine.

In her past life, she had always provided free medical services, but now she had to use this method to make some money first.

“It sounds like a scam.”

Ye Changyuan sat in the room eating popcorn.

Ye Changsheng, “Maybe not.”

Miao Fengshan’s calligraphy was vigorous and elegant.

He simply pasted the written characters onto a piece of wood, creating a small sign.

Ye Xiaoxiao took the written sign and Grandpa’s pen, ink, and paper. Ye Changyuan carried a set of old single chairs from home. Ye Changsheng took the remaining popcorn from yesterday. The three of them went to the market on the east side of town.

There was a small market every five days and a big market once a month.

Today was the big market day of the month.

When the market was first opened, people were still hesitant, afraid of making mistakes.

After two years of adjustment, people had tasted the benefits of the market. They spontaneously gathered together without anyone telling them to.

Ye Xiaoxiao and the others arrived early, and there weren’t many stalls yet.

They found a good spot and set up their stall.

As time passed, more and more people entered the market, and the goods became more and more diverse.

There were stalls selling spices, chicken, duck, goose, and meat, grains, eggs, candied haws… There were also stalls for haircuts, renting and selling comic books, and taking pictures.

But although there were many grains, the quality was uneven. People brought things they couldn’t eat at home to trade. There was less rice and flour, as no one had much at home.

There were even more people buying things at the market. From afar, it looked like a dark cloud had gathered there.

The sounds of shouting, chatting, and laughter filled the air.

Although everyone else was also running small businesses, their stall looked even more ordinary.

Many people glanced at it and walked away, not even looking at the words on the sign.

Ye Changyuan stood there for a while and felt bored, “It’s so lively over there. I’ll go see what they’re selling.”

Young people couldn’t stay idle. Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t stop him.

Ye Changsheng continued to accompany Ye Xiaoxiao, waiting for customers.

Ye Xiaoxiao took out the leftover popcorn from yesterday and shouted loudly, “Free popcorn!”

Probably no one heard anything else except the word “free.”

Everyone turned around at once.

“Little girl, what did you say was free?”

A woman stood in front of the stall and asked curiously.

“Free popcorn, but you have to stand here and read our sign out loud three times.”

Ye Xiaoxiao pointed to the sign that Grandpa Miao had written.

“This… girl, I can’t read.”

“It’s okay, I’ll teach you. Only see patients, no dispensing medicine…”

The woman, “Only see patients, no dispensing medicine…”

After reading it three times, the woman understood what this stall was about.

“Little girl, you can see patients here? Then take a look at me. Do I have anything wrong?”

The woman didn’t care about the free popcorn, but she had been feeling unwell recently. She had just been enduring it and hadn’t gone to the hospital yet.

Ye Xiaoxiao, “Sister, please sit down. I’ll take your pulse.”

The woman’s eyes widened, “Oh, little girl, you’re a doctor? Don’t play around.”

“How could that be? You just read it. No payment, no treatment.”

Ye Xiaoxiao pointed to the words on the sign.

The woman sat down hesitantly and stretched out her hand.

Ye Xiaoxiao felt her pulse and then asked her to stick out her tongue.

“Do you often sweat at night, have nightmares, and have been getting up more often in the middle of the night for the past half month? You can’t sleep well, and you feel weak during the day.”

The woman nodded, “Yes, yes, yes…”

“I’ll write a prescription for you. Go to the pharmacy and get some medicine. There’s a Chinese medicine hall in our town. Buy two taels of chrysanthemum and ginseng and go home to make tea with them.”

Ye Xiaoxiao picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote a prescription for the woman.

Ye Changsheng looked surprised. Ye Xiaoxiao’s calligraphy was actually quite good.

The Ye family children learned calligraphy from Grandpa and Miao Cuifang. Every child started practicing at the age of three. Except for Yan Yan, who didn’t like writing with a brush, everyone else wrote beautiful calligraphy.

He didn’t expect that Xiaoxiao, who grew up in another family, also had this hobby.

“Okay, I’ll listen to the little doctor. I’ll try drinking it first.”

The woman was straightforward. After taking the prescription, she took out some money from her pocket, “Little doctor, you’re right. I should give you this money.”

Ye Xiaoxiao blinked her clear eyes, “Sister, you’re our first customer today. I won’t take your money, but please help us promote our stall.”

The woman, “What do you mean by promote?”

Ye Xiaoxiao, “Just say that I’m good at seeing patients.”

The woman slapped her thigh, “That’s easy. Wait for Big Sister to promote you.”

After the woman left, several children came over to get popcorn.

Children were loud, and each of them was like a loudspeaker.

After shouting, they didn’t want to leave. They just stood there playing.

So, they attracted a lot of people’s attention.

Although most people were just looking for a show, there were also some who came to try their luck, hoping to get treated.

The woman had actually gone to promote them. Several patients who came to ask for a consultation were introduced by her.

Anyway, the sign said, No payment, no treatment.

People came to try their luck, sitting at the table.

No matter who sat there, Ye Xiaoxiao smiled warmly and asked about their condition carefully. She then gave them a prescription and told them where to get the medicine.

Gradually, the onlookers discovered that she seemed to be right.

Mr. Zhang from the neighboring village of Daliushu had an old ailment for decades, and she had figured it out. She didn’t talk nonsense. She just said that the illness needed to be treated. It was impossible to cure it unless he went to a big hospital for surgery.

But he was old and in poor health. The risk of surgery was high, so it was better to take care of it slowly.

People whispered among themselves.

“This girl is pretty good. That Mr. Zhang is definitely not a plant. He’s from our village.”

“Look at her. She doesn’t look like someone from the village. Maybe she’s a doctor from a big hospital in the city.”

“This is a rare opportunity.”

“That’s right. I have to bring my mom to see her. She’s been having headaches lately.”

They didn’t know how it spread, but everyone thought Ye Xiaoxiao was a doctor from a big hospital. People came one after another, and a long queue formed in front of their stall.

Ye Changsheng’s hands were full of money.

Just as Ye Xiaoxiao was busy, a jeep drove past from the main road, passing by the Songlin Town market.

But the market was in the field by the side of the road. Now that it was winter and there were no crops in the field, the location was open and didn’t block the road.

“Brother Lu, it’s so lively here.”

There were two men sitting in the back seat of the jeep. The one wearing a leather jacket and slicked-back hair, who was particularly flamboyant, had lowered the car window and was looking at the market with great interest.

The other man, wearing a green army coat, was sitting with his legs crossed, eyes closed, and leaning back in the seat.

Hearing the noise, he opened his eyes and glanced at the other man.

The man was tall and strong, with short, crew-cut hair. His face was completely exposed, revealing all his features and contours. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding a heroic aura.

That glance was full of intimidation, making the man in the leather jacket chuckle and reach out to close the drafty window.