As the crowd gradually dispersed, Gu Yitong found herself unable to keep them there. They simply didn't believe her account.
"Hey, hey! Hurry and think of a way to make them stay! I spent a lot of effort yesterday to get them here today. Quickly, think of something!"
"Me?" Lu Yu pointed to herself, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"Yes, you! Who else could it be? Hurry, hurry, hurry! If everyone leaves, this will be a great opportunity for our clinic to gain fame."
"Uh..." Lu Yu finally understood. Seeing her anxious hopping, she felt a smile tugging at her lips and decided to tease her a little.
Seeing Lu Yu hesitate and waver, occasionally glancing at her with a knowing look, Gu Yitong understood. Gritting her teeth, she decided to splurge. "If you can find a way to keep them all here, I'll give you double pay today."
"No problem!"
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Lu Yu readily agreed and let out a loud shout.
"Everyone, please don't leave, don't leave! Even if you're not here to see a doctor today, you can come in and have a look."
"We won't force you to get medicine here. Think of it as a free health check-up."
"I guarantee you, every word I say is true, honest to goodness."
These few sentences managed to turn the tide of the crowd once more.
"Shall we go take a look?"
"Let's go, let's go see."
"Come on, come on."
...
"Please, Doctor Lu, save my father!"
Lu Yu, who was examining a patient, was drawn by the desperate cry.
A man dressed in vibrant clothing and an elder, about forty years old, lay on the ground.
Zisu sat on the ground, trying to help the elder up, but repeatedly failed. The cry he had just let out had exhausted all his strength.
Gu Yitong rushed forward to help the elder up. Seeing his pale face, emaciated body, and the weakness that prevented him from even opening his eyes, she quickly beckoned to the two young attendants inside the clinic, signaling them to carry the elder inside.
The elder was on the verge of death, his breathing shallow and infrequent. It was highly unlikely he could be saved. Seeing them carry the man into the clinic, the surrounding people began to murmur, believing that on its very first day of opening, the clinic was already about to ruin its reputation. This man was clearly beyond saving.
Someone in the crowd recognized Zisu. "Isn't this Zisu, the top performer at Yumanlou who sings and dances?"
This bombshell news further captured everyone's attention.
The outside chatter had no effect on Lu Yu, who was focused on saving the elder. She applied the same acupuncture technique she had used to treat Madam Li on the elder's head, stabilizing his life. If they hadn't arrived in time, the elder would likely not have survived the day.
"Is it done?" Zisu stared intently at Lu Yu's hands as she performed the acupuncture. As she withdrew the needles, he spoke urgently.
"His life is temporarily out of danger. I'll write you a prescription shortly. Take the medicine according to this prescription for seven days, then come back for a follow-up."
"Thank you, Doctor Lu, for saving his life. Thank you, Doctor Lu." Hearing that his father's life was out of danger, Zisu was overcome with emotion. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, startling Lu Yu. She jumped aside, and together with Gu Yitong, helped the man up and comforted him.
Lu Yu sat by the table, slowly sipping tea to regain her strength.
Each time she performed this acupuncture technique, it consumed a significant amount of her energy. She hadn't expected to encounter such a difficult patient on the very first day.
"Your father's cold wasn't severe originally. How did it progress to this point before seeking treatment?" Gu Yitong also knew Zisu. He was the renowned top performer at Yumanlou, known by everyone.
Yumanlou was the most famous pleasure house in town, where the men were performers, not prostitutes, unlike the male courtesans in other brothels.
"As you know, I am a man from a pleasure house and cannot be home often. I didn't expect to find my father so gravely ill after not being home for many days." He was about to shed tears again.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Your father is out of danger now. You don't need to worry or blame yourself so much." Gu Yitong, flustered, didn't know what to do.
"Let your father rest in our clinic for now. Moving him would be detrimental to his health," Lu Yu interjected at the opportune moment, rescuing Gu Yitong from her predicament.
Seeing her give her a thumbs-up, Lu Yu raised an eyebrow and accepted it with pleasure.
However, she was somewhat surprised by Gu Yitong's absolute trust in her, her certainty that she could cure him.
She gave Gu Yitong a meaningful look and pulled her aside, speaking quietly away from Zisu.
"How can you be so sure I can cure him? What if I can't...?"
"Impossible!" Lu Yu was interrupted by Gu Yitong's confident assertion before she could finish.
"You can even cure consumption, so how can a mere cold possibly defeat you?" Gu Yitong appeared completely confident, as if she herself were the one treating the patient.
"How do you know it's a cold?"
"You don't have to eat pork to know what it tastes like." Gu Yitong gave her a look as if she were an idiot. Did this person have no brains? Although she couldn't treat people herself, she had run a pharmacy for so many years; she could tell what symptoms were at a glance.
"They didn't arrange this, did they?" Lu Yu eyed her suspiciously.
"How could that be? How could I possibly control when they would fall so seriously ill?"
"Perhaps you prevented them from seeking treatment when their illness was mild, deliberately waiting until I arrived today."
"Hey, hey, hey! Is that how you see me? Someone who would do anything for money?"
Lu Yu gave her a meaningful look and nodded quite solemnly.
"There are still people waiting for me in the main hall. I'm leaving." Seeing her wide eyes, she didn't give her a chance to retort, waved her hand, and turned back to the hall to continue treating patients.
"Hey! You explain yourself!" Gu Yitong was left behind, watching Lu Yu's retreating back and shouting indignantly.
Seeing this, the two attendants, suppressing their laughter, quickly slipped past her to the front hall.
"Such ungrateful people." Gu Yitong, from behind, pointed her fan at their retreating backs and laughed as she scolded them.
The news that Lu Yu had cured the critically ill elder caused a stir among the crowd. The news spread like wildfire, and more and more people began to queue up to see Lu Yu, and the number of people collecting medicine also increased.
Some were still skeptical, so they took Lu Yu's medicine to other clinics for consultation. They all received praise, and the people were finally reassured.
Even at Shenshi, there were still many patients. In fact, there weren't originally this many sick people. It was just that in the morning, hearing the news of Lu Yu curing the critically ill elder, everyone came out of curiosity.
Upon arriving and discovering that they were offering free medical consultations, people, driven by the mentality of not taking advantage of freebies, lined up for all sorts of ailments, big or small.
Even those who were as strong as bulls and in good health came, claiming to want Doctor Lu to help them recuperate.
Recuperate, my foot!
"If you continue to supplement like this, you'll have excess nutrition."
"Really? Then why do I always feel weak? Doctor Lu, please examine me again."
You're just lazy. Lazy and gluttonous, no wonder you feel weak. Your body is all flab.
Lu Yu's inner eye-rolls were about to reach the heavens, but she maintained a stiff smile and patiently explained, "Perhaps you could try exercising. It might help."
"I exercise regularly, but only at night, hehe..." The woman scratched her head, looking a little embarrassed.
Heh heh. You're really something! I'm so angry, so angry!
Lu Yu really didn't want to waste any more words with her. She forced a smile at her, "It's the turn of the next patient. Please move aside."