Chapter 50: A Huge Profit

Wu Yinghai smiled and nodded, patting Han Dongsheng on the shoulder. “If this girl is your sworn sister, then she is also my sister. Sister, feel free to pick any horse you like. Since it’s our first meeting, I’ll give you the best price—I’ll offer you a half price for both the horse and the cart.”

Hu Zhaodi didn’t like taking advantage of others, nor did she want to owe anyone a favor for it. She scrutinized Wu Yinghai for a moment and asked, “Brother Wu, do you enjoy drinking?”

Wu Yinghai was taken aback but laughed. “How did you know?”

“Looking at your face, the reflection zone corresponding to your liver seems a bit dull, so I guessed that you might enjoy drinking,” she replied.

Han Dongsheng looked on in disbelief. “Sister, you understand medicine?”

Hu Zhaodi nodded. “I know a little. Based on the liver reflection zone on Brother Wu’s face, it seems there might be a small issue with his liver right now. Brother Wu, extend your hand. I’ll check your pulse.”

Wu Yinghai extended his left hand, and Hu Zhaodi placed her fingers gently on his pulse. After a moment, she withdrew her hand. “Indeed, there’s a small problem. If you leave it untreated, it will only worsen and could endanger your life. Brother Wu, let me write you a prescription. When you get the medicine, soak it for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, then boil three bowls of water down to one. Take it three times a day after meals for a month. During this time, avoid alcohol, spicy foods, and anything cold or sour. After a month, there should be significant improvement, and I’ll help you adjust the medication then.”

Wu Yinghai stood stunned. Although this girl was his friend’s sworn sister, she looked only a little over ten years old—how could she have such medical knowledge? Should he trust her?

But he knew Han Dongsheng’s character too well; if this girl didn’t have some skills, he wouldn’t be so invested in her matters. If he neglected his health because of his dismissal, he would be the one suffering.

Realizing this, Wu Yinghai decided to thank Hu Zhaodi sincerely, no matter her medical skills. After his good friend took her away, he would visit the doctor himself for a check-up. After all, it was a matter of his health, and he needed to take it seriously.

With a grateful expression, Wu Yinghai said, “Thank you so much, sister. I have paper and ink inside; please come with me to write the prescription.”

Hu Zhaodi nodded and followed Wu Yinghai into the house, with Mr. Ji and Han Dongsheng close behind.

Wu Yinghai found paper and ink and personally ground the ink for Hu Zhaodi. Once the ink was ready, Hu Zhaodi picked up the brush and neatly wrote out the prescription.

As they watched Hu Zhaodi’s graceful and beautiful handwriting, Mr. Ji, Han Dongsheng, and Wu Yinghai were all astonished—especially Mr. Ji.

Having watched Hu Zhaodi grow up, he was already shocked that she could read and understand medicine. Now, to see her write so beautifully left him speechless.

It seemed this girl had been hiding her talents all along!

To endure humiliation and hardship in the Hu family for eleven years, suffering all that time, required a resilience that even many adult men might struggle to possess. No wonder she could earn so much silver so quickly.

Heaven does not disappoint those who work hard!

After writing the prescription and allowing the ink to dry, Hu Zhaodi handed it to Wu Yinghai.

Wu Yinghai thanked her again. “Thank you, sister. Now, let’s pick out a horse!”

Led by Wu Yinghai, Hu Zhaodi and the others arrived at the stable.

At a glance, Hu Zhaodi spotted a tall and robust chestnut horse.

Han Dongsheng pointed excitedly at the chestnut horse and said, “Sister, that chestnut horse looks great. How about we choose that one?”

Hu Zhaodi smiled and nodded. “Yes, Brother Han, I also like that horse at first glance. It’s so beautiful!”

“Brother Wu, how much do you want for that chestnut horse?”

Wu Yinghai’s lips twitched slightly. That was his favorite horse, one he wanted to keep for himself. It was understandable that Han Dongsheng liked that horse, but now that Hu Zhaodi also had her eyes on it, he felt a pang of regret. He had thought Hu Zhaodi was just a country girl looking to save money by picking a cheaper horse. Who would have guessed she would choose the most expensive one? But since she was his good friend’s sworn sister, he couldn’t raise the price too high. Sigh! What a troublesome friend!

Wu Yinghai forced a smile. “Sister, this horse is the best one I have here. Since you like it so much, I can only part with it. Just give me twenty taels of silver!”

“If you choose the largest and best cart, it’ll be quite expensive. The biggest and best one, after discount, would be around thirty taels, so all together it’ll be fifty taels of silver.”

Han Dongsheng heard this and laughed brightly. “Sister, you’ve struck it rich this time! Brother Wu is taking a huge loss. Quickly, quickly, pay him before he changes his mind! Hahaha…”

Hu Zhaodi smiled happily and thanked him, quickly taking out the banknotes to hand to Wu Yinghai. “Thank you, Brother Wu. I’m very grateful.”

Wu Yinghai accepted the banknotes, his heart bleeding. His beloved steed had just been sold to Hu Zhaodi at a historical low price.

Although Hu Zhaodi wasn’t very familiar with horse and cart prices, she knew that getting such a good horse along with a luxury cart for fifty taels was definitely a big bargain.

Ordinary horses were priced a bit over twenty taels, while good horses could reach hundreds or even thousands of taels depending on their breed and quality. The horse Wu Yinghai sold to Hu Zhaodi, while not a rare breed, was definitely worth fifty taels.

The price of carts ranged from ten to sixty taels. Wu Yinghai had only counted thirty taels for the luxury cart, so he was losing out!

Mr. Ji was already stunned, having been taken aback by the situation. Hu Zhaodi might not understand the prices of horses and carts, but he certainly did. He felt as if he were dreaming at the thought of buying such a good horse and such a large, luxurious cart for just fifty taels.

Wu Yinghai, pained, led the chestnut horse over. “Come on! I’ll help you hitch up the cart.”

Han Dongsheng thanked him with a grin. “Thank you, Brother Wu! You’ve really taken a loss today!”

Wu Yinghai rolled his eyes. “Not a loss. I’ll just come to eat at your place another day.”

“Always welcome! Sister Zhaodi even taught the chef some new dishes, so you should come by to try them sometime.”

“Absolutely! I need to eat back what I lost today; otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep for a long time,” Wu Yinghai replied jokingly.

Han Dongsheng playfully punched Wu Yinghai on the shoulder, fully aware that his brother was just joking.

Once the cart was hitched up, Han Dongsheng let Hu Zhaodi and Mr. Ji get on first while he personally drove the cart back to Fumanlou.

After the three left, Wu Yinghai took the prescription Hu Zhaodi had given him and went to the best medical clinic in the county.

After checking his pulse, the doctor sighed and said, “Your problem is with your liver. I can only prescribe some medicine for conditioning. I can’t guarantee if it will completely heal.”

Wu Yinghai asked, “Doctor, what exactly is my illness? Is it serious?”

“You have a drinking problem, but it’s not too serious yet,” the doctor replied.

Wu Yinghai was shocked to hear this. He quickly took out the prescription that Hu Zhaodi had written and handed it to the doctor. “Doctor, could you take a look and see if this prescription is suitable?”