Chapter 27 Free Lunch

Shen Shichun rarely frowned. “Little apprentice, this isn’t something you should get involved in. It’s too dangerous.”
Her young disciple was still too tender to be exposed to the darker sides of human greed. The medicine hall had racked up a lot of bad debt. Back when times were better, she always tried to help people—everyone had it hard. But now, she could no longer keep the hall running. She could be alone and endure hardship, but she couldn’t let her three disciples down. They were all good children. She had to be responsible for them.

Shen Shichun’s calm eyes dimmed slightly as she stepped forward to shield Xue Qingdai from the hysterical mother and daughter on the ground, worried they might lash out. “I said, if you don’t pay, I won’t treat you anymore. Consider what I did before just a rare act of kindness.”

Xue Qingdai shook her head as she listened. That past money still counted! That was part of her own “slacking off” salary, after all.

The mother and daughter clearly weren’t planning to give up on freeloading. They scrambled to their feet, heading toward the clinic door to stir up trouble, only to find it locked. They were dumbfounded.

“What? Are you trying to lock us in until we pay?”

Xue Qingdai jingled a ring of keys and replied cheerfully, “Not exactly~”
“If I let you eat three free meals a day, you should thank me.”
“I’m only sharing this opportunity with you two.”

The moment the mother and daughter heard the words “free meals,” they immediately stopped crying. Their aches and pains vanished, and they were suddenly full of energy.

“Where? Where? Take us there!”
“Dr. Shen’s new apprentice is really kind. She cares for poor folks like us.”
“Those other two apprentices are no good—only want us to pay, not a bit of compassion.”

Shen Shichun rubbed her forehead. Her little apprentice had whispered something earlier, but now it was obvious—Xue Qingdai had cleverly labeled these two as thieves. The amount they owed could earn them over three years of prison time—which, in a way, was free food.

Even as composed as Shen Shichun was, her clever apprentice managed to make her laugh.

“Yes, my little apprentice is good.”

The two women exchanged a look—if Dr. Shen said her apprentice was good, that must mean they’d keep getting free treatment—and now free food too!

Xue Qingdai sat at the desk, dipped her brush, and carefully wiped away excess ink. Black ink bloomed softly across the paper.

“All right then—confess and you’ll get leniency, resist and you’ll face harsh punishment.”
“List every single time you racked up debt. The more you owe, the more free meals you’ll get—so be honest!”
“My master’s watching, you know.”

Xue Qingdai knew this kind of patient well. Ironically, victims like her often forgot the exact amount of money they were owed, but the debtors always remembered down to the last cent—they just didn’t want to pay. This mother and daughter likely knew better than Master Shen just how much they owed.

“Master?”
Shen Shichun had already lowered her head, flipping through a medical book, deeply immersed as if the world outside didn’t exist.

Xue Qingdai: “…”
She was going to starve at this rate under her master’s wing.

The ragged mother and daughter looked over at Shen Shichun, who seemed deeply focused on her work, not intending to push the issue. Eager for free meals, they became remarkably cooperative.

“Well, we don’t really know what that ‘leniency or harshness’ thing means…”
“But we do remember every single time we got treatment without paying.”
“Oh! I even wrote it down in my old notebook.”
“Ma, let’s include what Dad owes, too. Might as well count it all.”
“Hey, does this mean we won’t need to pay for food for the whole year?”
“Definitely! That apprentice is such a kind person. She understands how tough things are for us.”
“Oh, and the money we owe from when your two little brothers had fevers—let’s add that too.”

Xue Qingdai didn’t need to write anything herself—they kept a detailed list of every cent they owed across the entire family. The oldest debt dated back 15 years.

Xue Qingdai: “???”
Did they misunderstand something?

The total bad debt climbed higher and higher—655.96 yuan. That was four or five years of income for an average household. Yet this bizarre family seemed delighted, proud of how much they had gotten away with.

Holding their list, Xue Qingdai turned to leave and report it to the police. The women quickly grabbed her hand.
“Doctor, don’t forget to add that extra 35 cents!”
“No need,” Xue Qingdai replied generously. “I’ll round it down for you.”

“No! It must be added—don’t round!”

Xue Qingdai: “Fine. Later, when you collect your free meals, each person has to take one item.”

“I suggest everyone in your family take one each—then everyone gets their own free lunch.”

They nodded wildly.
“Of course! The whole family will be there.”
“Dr. Shen, your apprentice is really a great person.”
“She’s good-looking and kind—just like a living Bodhisattva.”

Shen Shichun glanced at the thick stack of IOUs in her apprentice’s hands, complete with red clay thumbprints. Then she calmly went back to reading, pretending she saw nothing. Compared to the frustration of dealing with those two, she’d rather let her young disciple vent a little.

“Make sure you explain everything clearly tomorrow,” Xue Qingdai warned. “Otherwise, they might not give you your free lunch.”

The older woman patted her chest confidently.
“Don’t worry—I know exactly how much I owe. Better than the creditors do.”

Xue Qingdai opened the door.
“Go home now. Come back tomorrow to collect…”

“…a pair of handcuffs each.”

After they left, the air felt noticeably fresher. Shen Shichun handed her a new medical book.
“You’re really going to report them?”

“Master, they’ve gone too far. Once they knew they could rack up credit here, the whole family came in one by one for treatment—and none of them ever paid.”

“People are inherently greedy. They still want to eat for free, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world,” Xue Qingdai said.
“Besides, if you don’t charge them, it’s unfair to the other patients.”

“If that ridiculous family pays what they owe, of course I won’t report them,” she added matter-of-factly.

Xue Qingdai laid both her good and bad sides bare for her master to see. After all, the ultimate purpose of running a medical clinic was still to earn a living. Doctors with a conscience like Master Shen were rare. When bad money drives out good, the whole system suffers.

In her own time, plenty of shady clinics made money under the table—especially during those critical three years. As for the safety of the medicine they used, she couldn’t verify every single case. She once exposed a fake medicine seller, reporting it straight to the Intermediate People’s Court, but she ended up provoking a powerful interest group behind them. The incident resulted in an accidental death, and there was nowhere for her to seek justice.

Kindness must come with principles. If people take your kindness for granted, then let the law deal with them.

Being a decent person was hard. Being a good doctor was even harder.

Her master, this honest and principled woman, was truly rare.

Xue Qingdai still wanted to say more, but Shen Shichun’s gentle gaze was full of warmth as she said,
“Alright. We’ll do as you say.”

“No!” Xue Qingdai panicked. She still wanted to slack off—if everything went her way, that was too much responsibility. She was the youngest apprentice—shouldn’t she be the one lying flat and carefree? Those tiny shoulders couldn’t carry everything.

“Master, if we get the money back, I want an extra drumstick this month.”

She fiddled with the abacus, lips tightly pursed. That absurd mother and daughter really did have accurate bookkeeping.

Shen Shichun wasn’t sure whether her apprentice meant a real chicken drumstick or just extra pay.

“If you want both, you can have them,” she replied. “I only ask them for medical fees because I need to support you three apprentices.”

“I’m old now. I won’t be able to keep going for much longer. If you have some money to fall back on, that’s always a good thing.”

Xue Qingdai flopped onto the table, arms and legs sprawled.
“Master, you’re not old—you’ll live to be ninety-nine!”

That got another chuckle out of Shen Shichun, who reached over and gently patted her head. Her little apprentice was so mischievous—she wondered if a wild one like this could really master traditional Chinese medicine. But her mind was so sharp.

“How far have you gotten in memorizing Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing (The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture & Moxibustion)?”

Xue Qingdai spread her hands. That twelve-volume book had taken her half a year to memorize in her past life.

“Second volume…” she replied, hoping to buy more time to slack off.

Shen Shichun’s eyes lit with surprise.
“You’ve already finished one volume in just two days?”

“Your senior brother and sister took an entire month, and I was still praising them as rare prodigies.”

Xue Qingdai: “…” Uh-oh, she slipped up?

“Don’t push yourself too hard, child. Just take your time. Watching me treat patients will help you learn too. When your senior brother and sister get back, I’ll have them do the heavy lifting.”

“To be honest, you’re already ahead of them when it comes to theory—those classic texts you memorized before are no joke. I just want you to learn as much as possible.”

With Master saying that, Xue Qingdai had no need to pretend anymore—she’d openly slack off tomorrow, sticking close to her master and secretly absorbing medical techniques.

When Xie Yan came to pick her up, most of the snow outside had already melted.

He leaned against his military bike in full uniform. The passing pedestrians couldn’t help but glance his way. It wasn’t just the aura of uprightness he carried—he was also genuinely handsome. With sword-like brows and bright eyes, defined features, and a striking masculine energy, he gave off a dependable vibe.

He was the type of man the older generation approved of for a son-in-law, and the younger girls blushed for.

The moment he saw Xue Qingdai, the usual chill in Xie Yan’s phoenix eyes softened into a smile. His thin lips curved slightly, and his slender fingers gently brushed her fringe from her forehead.

Xue Qingdai pouted in protest. That gesture was way too intimate.
Wasn’t public hand-holding still frowned upon in this era?

Unable to resist, Xie Yan pinched her soft, round cheeks.
“Still so squishy.”

Xue Qingdai wasn’t about to let that slide—she was going to tell her third brother to beat him up when they got home.

Just as Xie Yan was about to take her back, he heard Xue Qingdai suddenly say,
“Xie Yan, come on—let’s go to the police!”

…Daidai, are you… going to arrest me?