Noticing her movement, Miss Hua and Lu Nanyue were startled.
Lin Zhiqing, however, had already handed over the prescription: "The first course of treatment is almost done. Now we can proceed to the second course."
"Course of treatment?" Miss Hua asked, stroking Little White's fur: "It's only been a few days. Shouldn't we wait longer?"
Lu Nanyue agreed. As doctors, they usually emphasized "nourishing to cure," and the speed of treatment should not be too fast.
"It's enough," Lin Zhiqing said, handing the prescription to Lu Nanyue first: "If you continue with this treatment method, I'm afraid you'll go from skin hunger to Little White hunger."
The root of treating an illness is to solve the problem, not to turn one problem into another.
"Are you afraid I'll become dependent on Little White?" Miss Hua understood Lin Zhiqing's meaning.
Lin Zhiqing nodded, but before she could speak, Lu Nanyue beside her tugged at her sleeve: "Little Qing'er, can Ragdolls also treat illnesses?"
"What? Ragdolls?" Miss Hua stopped stroking the civet cat and quickly waved her hand: "If you say civet cats, I can accept it, but Ragdolls are out of the question."
Lin Zhiqing was a little confused: "Why?"
A cup of tea later, looking at the paper-doll-like Ragdoll on the table, Lin Zhiqing fell silent.
Do people in Shengjing City have no aesthetic sense?
Could this pale-faced, heavily rouged, wide-mouthed doll really be called a Ragdoll?
No wonder Miss Hua was so resistant. If it were Lin Zhiqing herself, she probably wouldn't want to hug something like that to sleep either.
"Fine, I'll make a Ragdoll for you myself," Lin Zhiqing said, somewhat helplessly.
"You can do that?" Miss Hua was pleasantly surprised.
Lin Zhiqing smiled: "My nanny is skilled with her hands; my needlework isn't good."
Miss Hua nodded.
Seeing this, Lu Nanyue lightly coughed: "Miss Hua, making the Ragdoll is an additional charge."
Miss Hua waved her hand grandly: "No problem!"
She agreed very readily this time, after all, the treatment had indeed been effective.
After seeing Miss Hua off, Lu Nanyue looked at the fifteen silver ingots on the table, her mouth stretching into a wide grin.
One silver ingot was ten taels of silver.
Under Lu Nanyue's eloquent persuasion, the original consultation fee of one hundred taels remained unchanged.
But Lin Zhiqing's two prescriptions were priced sky-high, each costing fifty taels.
This time, Miss Hua paid the full two hundred taels.
Lin Zhiqing's gaze was fixed on the silver on the table, her meaning quite clear.
Lu Nanyue pouted, counted on her fingers, and then, with evident reluctance, separated five silver ingots.
Seeing Lin Zhiqing still looking at her, Lu Nanyue, with a pained expression, took out another one: "No more!"
Lin Zhiqing smiled and accepted the sixty taels of silver.
While Lu Nanyue was counting money, Lin Zhiqing mentioned to her her idea of making money through psychology.
"Working at a clinic?" Lu Nanyue wiped the silver with a handkerchief: "Your eldest uncle won't agree."
"If I don't reveal my identity, he shouldn't say much," Lin Zhiqing took a sip of tea.
Lu Nanyue sighed: "Little Qing'er, aside from the Lin family, I have to remind you, you won't encounter people like Miss Hua every day. Remember what I told you about the Princess of Huainan last time?"
Lin Zhiqing nodded. The Princess of Huainan's youngest son had some symptoms of autism.
Lu Nanyue sighed, a hint of regret in her expression: "The little prince has always been treated as an inauspicious person and kept confined in the royal palace. The Princess of Huainan, at her age, still wants to have another child."
"They'd rather do that than invite a doctor to see the little prince. Anyone who mentions it will incur the Princess's resentment."
"Little Qing'er, the higher a person's position, the more they care about appearances. Very few people will seek help, so it's not worth it."
Lin Zhiqing listened and found it somewhat useful.
She had previously adhered to the idea that "if you're sick, you should find a doctor," but she had forgotten that this world was different.
The two were silent for a moment.
Just as Lin Zhiqing was about to get up and leave, Lu Huai entered.
He held an abacus and pointed to the silver in Lu Nanyue's arms.
Lu Nanyue gritted her teeth: "I haven't even warmed up to this money yet, and you're already so quick."
"A total of ninety taels. Adding interest, you still owe me five thousand eight hundred and twenty-one taels." Lu Huai's abacus clattered away.
When the topic of money came up, Lin Zhiqing instinctively took out a silver ingot and placed it before Lu Huai.
Lu Huai, however, merely glanced at it and pushed the ingot back.
"Hey, what do you mean by that? You're happy enough to take your sister's money." Lu Nanyue slapped Lu Huai's hand.
Lu Huai didn't even raise his head: "Why are you comparing yourself to her? Last time I went to the Lin family, I didn't even get a good cup of tea."
His words clearly implied the Lin family was poor.
Lin Zhiqing quietly put away the one tael of silver: "Nanyue, next time I earn money, I'll invite you to tea again. For now, let's reconsider the idea of working at a clinic."
"Working at a clinic?" Lu Huai finally directed his gaze towards Lin Zhiqing: "The powerful families in Shengjing City are not all like Miss Hua, willing to humble themselves. And those who are willing to come are common folk, you won't earn much."
"That's a good point. I'll think of another way," Lin Zhiqing nodded.
"Hey, little Qing'er, I forgot to ask you, are you really short on money lately?" Lu Nanyue asked, her hands not idle, still reaching towards the silver.
Lu Huai mercilessly hit her hand.
Lin Zhiqing watched, the corner of her mouth curving into an arc: "It's nothing major. It's just rather boring always staying in the courtyard, so I want to earn some money to improve my life."
Lu Nanyue nodded repeatedly: "Right? You finally feel that way. It's strange if you're not bored facing your eldest uncle's gloomy face every day."
Lu Huai, on the other hand, was much more serious: "If you just want to earn money, why not set up a clinic in your own courtyard?"
"In the courtyard?" Lu Nanyue was the first to object: "Wouldn't that be stifling!"
Lin Zhiqing's eyes, however, lit up. Right, why didn't I think of that myself?
Having a clinic in her own courtyard had an advantage: she would only need to wait for patients to come to her.
This way, Lin Congli wouldn't be able to say anything about her, and it would also be convenient for her.
The key was... Lin Zhiqing glanced at Lu Nanyue. There would be no middleman taking a cut.
But this also presented a problem: she had no patient source.
As if sensing Lin Zhiqing's thoughts, Lu Huai put away his abacus: "Lin Zhiqing, let's talk business."
Half an hour later.
Lin Zhiqing pressed her handprint onto the newly drafted contract.
She would be responsible for treating illnesses, and Lu Huai would look out for patients with psychological problems for her.
In fact, birds of a feather flock together. Lin Zhiqing still had to share money with the Lu family.
However, Lu Huai was more conscientious, only asking for a ten percent cut, which was within Lin Zhiqing's acceptable range.
"Then it's settled. I'll come to your door at the beginning of each month to refer patients." Lu Huai seemed to be in a good mood.
Seeing Lin Zhiqing nod, a flicker of something passed through his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.
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