Though there wasn't a large amount of silver, the sentiment behind it was abundant.
As agreed, Lin Zhiqing collected the fabric that evening, deciding to take it to the tailor shop the next day to have it made into a ruqun (a traditional Chinese skirt and top set).
She could draw, but when it came to making clothes, she wasn't proficient.
The embroiderer she had collaborated with during the Spring Banquet had excellent craftsmanship. She had inquired and learned that the embroiderer owned a tailor shop in the western part of the city.
With everything prepared, Lin Zhiqing left the house the next day.
Perhaps because she had won the top prize, Lin Congli and the others did not stop her.
She first went to the West Market, gave the fabric to the embroiderer, and then strolled around, looking at a few shops.
When the time was right, she headed to the Lu Family Medical Clinic in the East Market.
Today, the clinic wasn't too crowded, and observing their attire, it seemed mostly common folk were visiting.
Logically, with such a large daily footfall, the clinic's revenue shouldn't be so little.
Upon entering the inner room, Lin Zhiqing found Lu Nanyue doing accounts.
After a few clicks of the abacus, she propped her chin and sighed.
Before she could even speak to Lin Zhiqing, the maid outside delivered a message: someone had been bitten by a snake and was being carried in for treatment.
Lu Nanyue moved quickly, immediately going out to assess the situation, and Lin Zhiqing followed her.
She initially thought it was a young master or lady who had been bitten by a snake, but a glance at the patient's coarse clothes told her it was a commoner.
Because she intended to open her own medical clinic, Lin Zhiqing had scouted all the clinics in the East Market.
She found that most of them were only open to the wealthy, with very few catering to ordinary people.
As she visited the Lu Family Medical Clinic more and more, Lin Zhiqing realized that they also served common folk.
"Doctor, please save my husband! Our family truly can't make ends meet, which is why he went up the mountain to gather wild vegetables to fill our stomachs. I never expected him to be bitten by a snake!" a sallow, emaciated woman cried out.
"Quick, carry him to the inner room, open the doors and windows, I'll be right there." Lu Nanyue arranged things while deftly grabbing a few commonly used medicinal herbs, and soon entered the inner room.
Lin Zhiqing didn't follow her in, but observed from outside.
In less than half an hour, the number of ordinary people coming and going was already too many to count on one hand.
Moreover, Lin Zhiqing also noticed that several people in very plain clothing came in to get medicine without having to pay.
The maid merely looked at their faces and then recorded the cost of the medicine in their ledger.
"They can actually run a tab?" Lin Zhiqing asked thoughtfully.
The maid looked helpless: "Though times are good, there are countless people who can't afford medicine. My young mistress is too kind-hearted and always can't bear to turn away such people, so she can only keep a record of the debt."
"But lately, there have been more and more such people. The old debts haven't been cleared yet, and this month's wages have already been delayed by several days."
Upon saying this, the maid looked at Lin Zhiqing with anticipation: "Miss Zhiqing, you have a good relationship with my young mistress. Can you think of a way to persuade her? Everyone needs to eat, after all."
"Were the wages ever delayed before?" Lin Zhiqing asked.
"Never." The maid shook her head: "Precisely because of this, the sudden halt in wages is causing everyone to be anxious."
Lin Zhiqing recalled the silver Lu Nanyue had given her yesterday, and her heart understood.
The medical clinic had been in a state of long-term deficit, barely managing to maintain its current operations.
Lu Nanyue giving her money naturally meant she couldn't make ends meet.
"Don't worry, the wages will definitely be paid." Lin Zhiqing offered a few words of comfort.
Just as they were talking, the door to the inner room opened, and Lu Nanyue emerged with the sallow, emaciated woman:
"Fortunately, it was just a common venomous snake. If there had been another quarter of an hour's delay, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to save him."
"Thank you, Doctor, thank you, Doctor. I've already been to several clinics, but they saw my ragged clothes and wouldn't let us in." The woman gripped the corner of her clothes tightly as she spoke, looking constrained.
Lin Zhiqing keenly caught the subtle expression on her face.
Her head was tilted forward, her eyelids were raised, and her lips were gently pursed, showing both nervousness and anticipation.
Her words just now were a test of Lu Nanyue.
Sure enough, Lu Nanyue took a handkerchief to wipe her hands: "Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. It's nothing major. Although the person has been saved, they still need medicinal herbs to recuperate, otherwise, it might lead to other complications."
"Do you have money to buy medicine now?" She put down the handkerchief and looked at the woman.
The woman became even more constrained, the corner of her clothes already crumpled in her grasp: "No... I don't."
She had heard that medicine was free here, and had come to try out of utter desperation.
Lu Nanyue nodded: "Then you can go get the medicine first, leave your information here, write an IOU, and pay for the medicine when you are more well-off."
When the woman heard this, her hand clutching the corner of her clothes immediately relaxed.
What those people said was actually true, so she wouldn't have to pay any silver, would she?
Her eyes darted around, only thinking that the IOU was a trivial matter: "No wonder everyone says Doctor Lu is our little Medical Immortal of Shengjing City. Now I see it's true. Thank you, little Medical Immortal!"
As she spoke, she was about to kneel and kowtow.
"Wait, don't kneel yet." Lin Zhiqing saw the cunning expression on her face, having gotten a bargain, and naturally wouldn't let Lu Nanyue suffer a loss:
"You can take this medicine, but the content of the IOU needs to be changed."
Lu Nanyue didn't understand Lin Zhiqing's meaning, but her trust in her friend prevented her from interrupting.
The woman's expression was a bit unpleasant, but she only thought Lin Zhiqing was a mere young girl who couldn't explain herself, so she gracefully nodded:
"The little Medical Immortal is our savior, whatever our savior says, goes."
Lin Zhiqing glanced at her: "Do you often go up the mountain?"
The woman didn't expect the topic to shift so quickly, and after a moment of dazed, she nodded: "We common folk live off the mountain and the water. If not for life's necessities, who would be willing to scratch for food in the dirt?"
Lu Nanyue heard this, and a trace of pity appeared in her eyes.
But Lin Zhiqing's expression remained unchanged: "I'll have a maid organize the characteristics of some common medicinal herbs to give to you. If you have nothing to do, you can go around the mountain. The medicinal herbs you collect can offset your consultation fee and medicine costs, how about that?"
Hearing Lin Zhiqing's proposal, Lu Nanyue's eyes lit up. Why hadn't she thought of this approach before?
The woman's expression froze. Her nostrils flared, and her eyebrows raised, clearly a little displeased.
But then she reconsidered, thinking she could just casually make an excuse about being too busy with farm work to gather herbs: "Of course, it's only right to repay debts."
"Good! Truly an open and honest person." Lin Zhiqing smiled: "If, within three months, the medicinal herbs you collect cannot offset all the consultation fees and medicine costs, then I will directly send the IOU to the government for them to decide."
"Nanyue, did you take note?" Lin Zhiqing had seen through the woman's thoughts earlier, so she deliberately brought it up.
"Noted." Lu Nanyue shook the paper in her hand.
Lin Zhiqing nodded. This method, in her previous world, would be called "work-relief."
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