Chapter 262: Chapter 262: Picking Faults
262 Picking a Fight
At this moment, another patient came to pay—the old woman who had been waiting in line.
Sun Daji clicked the abacus beads. "Grandma, the total is twenty coins."
Upon hearing this, the old woman handed twenty-six coins to Sun Mei.
She immediately chimed in, "That strong man is right; you absolutely must keep this pharmacy open! It’s been so difficult for us to get medicine when we’re sick all these years. Take today, for example. If I were to buy this medicine from Xiangfu Medicine Hall, it would cost me a good seventy or eighty coins!"
Zhao Dong and Sun Mei listened, their expressions growing thoughtful. It seemed their pharmacy wouldn’t have a peaceful start!
Just as this thought crossed their minds, a commotion suddenly erupted at the entrance. A portly, round-bellied man, accompanied by a servant, strode in with an air of immense arrogance.
He held a fan and, upon entering the main hall, first squinted his small eyes as he surveyed his surroundings.
This man was none other than Niu Baishun!
Many people recognized him.
When the old woman saw Niu Baishun enter, she lowered her voice and whispered to Sun Mei, "This is bad, really bad! See that man who just came in? He’s the pharmacy tyrant of North Street, Niu Baishun!"
"He must be here to cause trouble!"
After saying this, the old woman clutched her medicine and quickly left the pharmacy.
Zhao Dong and Sun Mei, of course, recognized the newcomer. He was, after all, the favored son-in-law of their stepmother, Mrs. Wang!
Niu Baishun squinted, scanned the pharmacy, then clicked his tongue. "Xiao Guizi, look here. A new pharmacy on our North Street, eh? And quite a few patients, I see!"
His subordinate, Xiao Guizi, who trailed behind him, simpered obsequiously. "Yes, quite a few. But this pharmacy is so wretchedly shabby, it can’t compare to ours at all."
Niu Baishun guffawed and strode directly toward Zhao Zhitong, who was presiding at the consultation desk. "Well, well! Is there no one else? Letting a mere slip of a girl manage consultations? That’s rich! HAHAHA!"
Xiao Guizi echoed his master’s laughter.
Zhao Zhitong was currently taking a patient’s pulse and paid him no mind.
"Hey, you little brat! How dare you ignore me?" Niu Baishun advanced, reached out, yanked the patient being examined out of the chair, and shoved him aside.
The patient staggered back several steps, nearly collapsing.
Seeing someone treat a patient so callously, Zhao Zhitong frowned. Looking up, she saw it was her detestable uncle-in-law.
Her displeasure intensified. "For a grown man, you are incredibly vulgar! Did you never attend school?"
Then, after a pause, she declared loudly, "I advise you to perform more good deeds. Your complexion is currently sallow and dark, an inauspicious sign. I fear you’ve committed too many misdeeds, and toxic qi is now invading your body."
Niu Baishun was already seething from being called vulgar. Now, being cursed with illness, the coarse flesh on his face quivered with rage.
"Heh! You little brat, you dare curse me with illness? I think you’re tired of living! Let me teach you a lesson today!"
Saying this, he raised his hand to strike her.
Startled, Zhao Dong from one side, and her maternal uncles and cousins from behind the counter, all rushed out.
Zhao Dong grabbed Niu Baishun’s arm, preventing the slap from landing on Zhao Zhitong.
But Zhao Zhitong was clearly unafraid. She glared and shouted, "You *are* sick! If the poisoned blood isn’t expelled, within three days, you will surely develop virulent sores!"
"Heh, you little vixen, you’re getting bolder! Let me tell you, even if all of you fall ill, I, your master, will not!" Niu Baishun was furious, but with Zhao Dong and the others blocking him, he couldn’t reach Zhao Zhitong.
"Exactly!" Xiao Guizi chimed in. "Do you even know who my master is? My master can make heaps of silver with a flick of his finger! How dare a little slip of a girl like you curse my master with illness! You deserve a good slapping!"
Zhao Dong’s expression turned grim. "Niu Baishun! This is a pharmacy. If you’ve come to see a physician and one finds you are ill, you may choose not to seek treatment, but there’s no need for such anger."
Hearing Zhao Dong’s voice, Niu Baishun snorted coldly, wrenched his arm free from Zhao Dong’s grasp, and straightened his clothes.
Then, looking at Zhao Dong with feigned surprise, he exclaimed, "Well, well! Isn’t this my wife’s second elder brother from her maiden family? This pharmacy, is it yours?"
Zhao Dong did not give him a pleasant look. "Pharmacist Niu, to what do we owe the honor of your visit to our humble little shop? What guidance do you have for us?"
Niu Baishun, acting as if he hadn’t heard the sarcasm, puffed out his large belly, waved his hand dismissively, and said, "Ah, ’guidance’ is too strong a word. I’m merely here to inform you of the rules—the rules of our North Street!"
As he spoke, he squinted his small eyes and glanced around. The common folk present fell silent as cicadas in late autumn, full of anger they dared not voice.
Niu Baishun looked at Zhao Dong again. "As for this rule... it’s simple. Patients your clinic diagnoses must fill their prescriptions at my pharmacy. Alternatively, your pharmacy must procure all its medicines from my pharmacy."
The moment Niu Baishun announced this ’rule,’ all the Sun Clan members frowned. Sun Youwei stepped out from behind the counter, incensed. "On what grounds?! Where does such a rule even exist? This is utterly tyrannical!"
"On what grounds?" Niu Baishun sneered. "On the grounds that *I* set this rule! On the grounds that *I* am the biggest medicine merchant on this street! You should have asked around! What medicine entering or leaving Anyang County doesn’t pass through my hands?"
"Exactly, exactly!" Xiao Guizi, his master’s power emboldening him, preened from the side. "You people clearly have no discernment! My master’s touch is like gold; any medicine that passes through his hands becomes a treasure!"
"What’s wrong? Unwilling to comply?" Niu Baishun sneered coldly again. "In that case, I can’t guarantee how long this pharmacy of yours will remain open on North Street."
The threat, both explicit and implicit in his words, was palpable.
Anyone could tell he was coercing them into submission.
The surrounding commoners shook their heads and sighed, all feeling that the Sun Family’s new shop, alas, was likely doomed before it even truly began.
Seeing Niu Baishun’s smug, assured-of-victory expression, the Sun Family members were deeply angered.
Sun Youwei retorted defiantly, "And what if we refuse?"
Seeing the Sun Family members so obstinate, Niu Baishun tapped his palm with his fan, a look of utter disdain on his face. "Heh heh, in that case, I’m afraid your little shop won’t see tomorrow."
Zhao Zhitong fumed, finding her uncle-in-law even more detestable now!
Her eyes darted thoughtfully. She then turned and trotted to the backyard, shouting to Sun Youli and Zhao Yu, who were moving medicine baskets, "Uncle! Xiao Ge! Stop what you’re doing! Grab your tools and come to the pharmacy! That pharmacy tyrant, Niu Baishun, is about to wreck the place!"
At these words, the burly and powerful Sun Youli instantly erupted in fury. He slammed the medicine basket onto a shelf, then snatched up a nearby iron pitchfork. "Does he think our Sun Family has no one to stand up for it?!"
With that, he gripped the iron pitchfork and charged menacingly towards the front courtyard.
Zhao Yu also tossed his medicine basket to the ground, grabbed his nearby sword, and dashed forward in a few quick strides.
Zhao Zhitong followed closely behind them.
Zhao Cheng, Zhao Ya, Sun Xiaoyu, Sun Xiaoxue, and the other children scrambled around the courtyard, some grabbing sticks, others picking up stones.
Then, shouting, they charged into the front courtyard. "Cousin, wait for us!"
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