Chapter 80 part 1
Xiao Shan: “…”
“Isn’t this… a bit too much of a sacrifice?”
Luo Shizhen didn’t think it was a big deal at all.
“Itâs just a fake report, itâs not real.”
To solve the problem once and for all, he had originally wanted to pin this medical report directly onto the wall of the consultation room, but he had been stopped by Sui Laoshi.
Luo Shizhen was very good at taking advice. He knew that his ideas were sometimes a bit different from others, so although he felt pinning it to the wall would be more convenient, he still followed Sui Laoshi’s instructions and decided to only tell those people in private.
Xiao Shan took the fake report and walked out, his expression looking quite dazed.
Luo Shizhen put on his gloves. “Alright, let’s begin today’s treatments!”
Zou Tangzheng was indeed a scammer, but it had to be said that he was a very industrious one. To scam more money, he often rushed between multiple locations in a single day.
Luo Shizhen, who was imitating him using all his data, naturally practiced this same level of industry.
The patients who came were varied, and their symptoms ranged from mild to severe. Most of them had tried every possible method but were ultimately hopeless, which was why they had come running the moment they saw the news.
There were even those who were fasterâAwakeners or contaminated individuals who had returned from abroad. Some didn’t just come back alone; they brought along foreign friends suffering from the same ailments.
To be honest, even as they stood here, they remained half-skeptical about TCM’s ability to treat contamination.
It was just that they had reached such a desperate point that if there was even a glimmer of hope, they were willing to try.
In addition to the patients lining up, there were also some reporters and internet celebrities present. They weren’t here for medical treatment; now that the Zhen Family Hall was incredibly popular, they had naturally come to interview and record on-site videos.
Everyone waited according to their queue numbers. The Zhen Family Hall wasn’t large and couldn’t hold so many people, so the rest of the patients waited outside.
When the first patient entered, dozens of pairs of eyes followed them. No one played on their phones or chatted; they simply waited in silence.
When Patient Number One came out, almost everyone swarmed forward, looking at him with eyes full of hopeful longing.
“How was it? Are you cured?”
“How was it so fast? How do you feel now?”
“Does your body still hurt?”
Patient Number One had been cured of his physical pain and was in an excellent mood; the smile on his face was unstoppable.
“Cured, cured! My body doesn’t hurt at all now! He truly is a divine doctor! He just gave me a few pokes with silver needles, and that pain vanished instantly!”
As soon as these words came out, all the patients in line showed looks of joy.
There were foreign patients who didn’t understand the Xia language, and they repeatedly asked their friends what he was saying. After receiving the translation, their faces were also filled with delight and impatience.
However, not everyone believed it immediately. After all, there were too many fake things these days; that first patient could have been a shill.
Until… the second patient came out.
Then the third patient came out, the fourth…
Luo Shizhen transformed into a heartless contamination-clearing machine, treating them as they came, one by one or in pairs.
He had treated so many now that he had gained considerable experience. He had evolved from needing roughly ten minutes per patient to needing only five.
However, although TCM could sometimes cure illnesses very quickly, being too fast wasn’t good for bragging rights. Therefore, after these patients were cured, they would be arranged in a side room to “inhale medicinal fragrance.”
Under the beautiful name of “needing to be tempered by medicinal fragrance to stabilize the results,” he basically just found a bunch of TCM-related terms and puffed them up.
These patients had finally found hope for a cure, so every one of them was cooperative to the extreme. They did whatever they were told. When told they needed to inhale medicinal fragrance to consolidate the efficacy, they did nothing else, closing their eyes and inhaling deeply.
If someone accidentally inhaled toward their side while breathing, they would even get angry that the other person was crossing the line and stealing their medicinal fragrance.
Luo Shizhen’s speed increased, and by the end of the morning, he had actually cured all thirty patients.
At noon, Cheng Yunshao, acting as the assistant, came in to deliver lunch.
Even for someone like him, who was equally focused on the mission, he felt Luo Shizhen was being excessively diligent.
“You’re tired, aren’t you? Take a good rest this afternoon.”
Luo Shizhen washed his hands and started eating. “It’s fine. This is nothing. I used to be able to work in the fields all day without feeling tired. Let’s keep the queue open this afternoon.”
Cheng Yunshao looked at the person buried in his meal. “Don’t you find it hard?”
“It’s alright.” Luo Shizhen truly didn’t think there was anything hard about it. “There’s air conditioning here and a place to sit. I just need to help people purify a bit; it’s not that tiring.”
Rounded off, wasn’t this the kind of “cushy office job” his grandmother used to talk about?
“And so many people have traveled from very far away specifically to find me. They’ve been in pain all this time. If I help them sooner, they can get better sooner.”
Just using needles and utilizing his Qi to swallow contamination allowed him to help so many people; Luo Shizhen didn’t feel tired at all.
He even had an assistant.
The food was brought in by Cheng Yunshao. Even the takeout boxes were all opened by Cheng Yunshao, and the chopsticks were set out before he called Luo Shizhen to eat.
Luo Shizhen smiled at Cheng Yunshao. “You’re the one whoâs worked hard. Quickly, sit down and eat.”
Cheng Yunshao helped him take the chopsticks out of the wrapper but didn’t take his own.
Luo Shizhen habitually helped Cheng Yunshao unwrap his chopsticks and placed them on the bowl in front of him.
Cheng Yunshao had to admit that Luo Shizhen’s personality was indeed likable.
He took a bite of food, and his expression suddenly changed slightly.
“The taste of the food has changed.”
“Hm? Has it?” Luo Shizhen looked down at the food, took three large bites, chewed, and swallowed. “I can’t tell.”
“The greens are overcooked, the meat wasn’t properly de-gamed, and even the appearance and texture of the rice are different.”
As Luo Shizhen listened to him, he took large bite after large bite of the dishes Cheng Yunshao mentioned.
“No, I still can’t taste the difference.”
Not being a picky eater became a disadvantage here; Luo Shizhen couldn’t taste the discrepancy at all.
“Look at the rice in this photo. The grains are distinct; itâs obvious the boss added oil for a better appearance, which makes the cooked rice look plump and beautiful.”
Cheng Yunshao directly pulled up a photo on his phoneâit was of Luo Shizhen buried in a bowl of rice.
Comparing it with the rice on the table, it indeed looked different.
Luo Shizhen looked closely at the phone for comparison. “Really, it is different. Is it because the boss isn’t in top form today?”
Cheng Yunshao analyzed, “Poor heat control while stir-frying can be called an off-day, and the rice can be blamed on forgetfulness. But they run a restaurantâhow could they forget the most important step of removing the raw smell from the meat? Either they changed staff, or…”
Luo Shizhen’s spirit jolted. He looked left and right first to ensure no one was around before lowering his voice and whispering:
“Is it related to the Bizarre?”
Cheng Yunshao nodded. “Although the Zhen Family Hall hasn’t been open for long, we basically always order from this place. This isn’t a secret. Itâs possible that something has truly targeted us and chose to start with this restaurant.”
Luo Shizhen: “Then what should we do? Has something already gone wrong at the restaurant? We should save the people first, right?”
Cheng Yunshao thought for a moment. “Saving people is a must, but we can’t go ourselves. We are still in the disguise phase; if we strike now, itâll be easy to waste all our previous efforts.”
“Find Yongzhou. Every district has Awakeners on patrol. Let them find any excuse to go to the restaurant and investigate…”
He was still speaking seriously about the plan when he saw Luo Shizhen naturally take out his own phone and dial a number.
“Hello, is this Hua-laoshi? Do you have a moment? Itâs like this: weâve noticed something wrong with a restaurant and wanted to trouble you…”
Luo Shizhen described the situation in extremely concise language. After receiving a response from the other end, he immediately gave a relieved smile.
“Okay, okay. Then weâll wait for your news. Thank you, Hua-laoshi.”
He hung up the phone and saw Cheng Yunshao staring at him.
Luo Shizhen: “What’s wrong?”
Cheng Yunshao: “How do you have Hua Yi’s contact info? No, when did you get so familiar with him? How can you just ask him for favors directly?”
Luo Shizhen: “We aren’t that familiar. Itâs just that last time Hua-laoshi came over, he gave me his number. He said Sui-laoshi is too busy and can’t look after me for many things, so he told me to just find him if I need anything.”
“Besides, isn’t the South Ward Hua-laoshi’s jurisdiction? He said so himself last time. Shouldn’t we be looking for him?”
Cheng Yunshao: “…”
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