Chapter 938: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 938: Tooth for a Tooth, Identity Exposed (3)
By the time breakfast rolled around, Cui Ping’an had barely managed to chop a few logs. Worried that his frail body might collapse from hunger, Li Yan, with Mo Yan’s silent approval, brought him a bowl of porridge and some steamed buns.
However, Cui Ping’an refused, declaring that he wouldn’t eat until he finished chopping the firewood. He insisted that as a man, he had to follow through on his word.
Li Yan tried to persuade him for a long time, but it was no use. Left with no choice, she brought the food back.
Mo Yan said nothing, merely instructing Mao Tuan to keep an eye on him. If he collapsed, it was to drag him back into the house.
Mao Tuan, having enjoyed its rewards from the previous night, readily agreed. Once it had eaten its fill, it sprawled under the eaves, keeping a close watch.
Cui Ping’an mistakenly assumed that Mao Tuan was there to monitor his work, and frustration welled up in his chest—he felt like Mo Yan didn’t trust him. Fueled by indignation, he put even more force into his swings, increasing his efficiency.
Unfortunately, the young master’s delicate body wasn’t built for this kind of labor. Not only did his soft, pampered hands quickly develop large blisters, but after chopping just twenty logs, he was completely spent. In the end, he couldn’t even hold onto the axe, collapsing onto the ground, his face pale as paper, drenched in cold sweat.
Bored out of its mind, Mao Tuan perked up at the sight and immediately rushed over, dragging him back into the house. It also called out to Mo Yan, who was in the courtyard drying medicinal herbs.
Mo Yan took one look at Cui Ping’an’s pitiful state and checked his pulse. Seeing that it was still steady, she knew he was simply exhausted from unfamiliar labor rather than suffering from any serious ailment.
Sure enough, before long, Cui Ping’an recovered on his own. However, having skipped breakfast, his body remained weak and sluggish.
When Mo Yan brought over porridge and steamed buns this time, he didn’t refuse. Instead, he sincerely thanked her before devouring the food ravenously.
Seeing that he was fine, Mo Yan returned to handling the medicinal herbs in the courtyard. The sun wasn’t too harsh yet, and the air was dry—perfect conditions for drying the herbs before the midday heat set in.
These herbs were fairly common—some harvested from her medicine field, while others were discreetly taken from her space under the guise of gathering wild herbs in the mountains.
The ones from her medicine field were watered with diluted spiritual spring water, making them more potent than ordinary herbs but still inferior to those from her space. She always dried them separately and sold them at two different price points to Du’s Medical Clinic.
Initially, Mo Yan hadn’t planned on accepting payment for the herbs, but Old Physician Du refused to take them for free. He insisted on paying and even offered a rate 30% higher than the market price because the herbs’ effectiveness was well worth the cost.
Every ten days, Mo Yan delivered a batch of medicinal herbs, earning her household an additional two hundred taels of silver per month. With the superior medicinal effects, more and more patients were successfully treated, drawing in even more people. As a result, Du’s Medical Clinic’s reputation soared, gradually becoming the most renowned clinic in the capital.
Aside from occasionally helping out at the clinic to hone her skills under Old Physician Du’s guidance, the clinic had also hired two more physicians to keep up with the workload. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to manage.
In Mo Yan’s original plan to accumulate merit, the medical clinic played a crucial role. However, running a clinic could easily lead to disputes. Without a strong backing to deter malicious individuals, she hadn’t dared to act rashly.
After the Chongyang Festival, once she had settled the three hundred soldiers at the border, she intended to shift the credit to Chu Heng. If he was willing to accept it, then the clinic would be secure. At that point, she could discuss with her master the possibility of leveraging Du’s Medical Clinic’s growing reputation to expand into nearby towns—or perhaps, if the timing was right, even establish clinics across the entire Da Chu.
(End of Chapter)
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