Chapter 8: Discussing a Prescription

  Bai Feng Building is the largest hotel in Baizhao City, with a five-story building, carved beams and painted buildings, and a colorful corridor in front of the door, which is very luxurious. This restaurant has a theater, combining dining and entertainment, and is extremely popular among guests.

  It's not long after noon, and the inside is already bustling with people. The first floor is a snack bar, where customers are drinking and chatting at tables, while waiters, tea masters, and small vendors weave in and out, selling their snacks, wine, small dishes, and dried fruit.

  There was a young waiter who didn't use paper or pen, yet he could remember every dish ordered by each table of customers. He would report dozens of dishes to the kitchen in one breath, his tone rising and falling like singing, never annoying anyone. Every time the waiters came out of the kitchen, they had over a dozen plates balanced on their shoulders and palms, running up and down the stairs without spilling a single drop of soup.

  On the stage, juggler Xu Duoqi was performing his skills, more than 20 large bowls were thrown into the air like shooting stars, and the onlookers' eyes were dazzled. In the corridors on both sides, some heavily made-up courtesans sat waiting for customers to call them, while singing girls accompanied by men playing stringed instruments slowly ascended the stairs to solicit business in the upstairs private rooms.

  The third floor and above are much quieter and more elegant, with a completely different level of decoration compared to the first and second floors. The waitresses and prostitutes who entertain customers have no qualifications to come upstairs. Those who dine here are all wealthy merchants or local officials, who care about their cultural refinement.

  At this time, in the elegant room on the fourth floor, Ding Tingxun and his good friend Li Yuchang both looked a bit embarrassed. These two elders, in order to make this meeting between the young couple not seem too abrupt, had especially invited many of the leading figures of Baizhou City to join them for drinks, so that when the two youngsters met, it would seem more natural.

  Just as the wine had gone around three times, Ding Chengye still hadn't appeared, and Ding Tingxun's face couldn't hold back his anger, secretly scolding his unfilial son. Meanwhile, Li Yuchang saw that Ding Chengye wasn't coming and secretly let out a sigh of relief. He also had his own troubles, having carelessly mentioned the blind date to his niece that morning, only to have her refuse to come after finding out it was for her sake, leaving him in an awkward situation.

  "Alas, this child has been spoiled by my sister since she was young, without a father. Now Li Yuchang is really regretting taking on this matter, being a matchmaker is not easy."

  Just then, the Ding family's carriage stopped under the Baifeng Building. Xue Liang put down the footboard, and Ding Chengye tightened his leather cloak and slowly got out of the carriage. He stood up straight, turned his head and asked: "Which room is the old master in?"

  Ding Hao replied: "Tell Young Master, Old Master is in the Tianzi room on the fourth floor."

  "Hmm." Ding Chengye looked up at the majestic and grand wine house, pouted his mouth and said: "You guys wait here." After finishing speaking, he stepped forward into the building.

  Watching him enter the building, Ding Hao immediately said to Xue Liang: "Piggy, you watch the carriage, I'll be right back."

  "Wherever you go, don't wait for Master Young to come back and still can't find you."

  "It's okay, I'll just find a place to relieve myself." Ding Hao waved at him and ran into a small alley.

  He knew the truth that nice guys finish last and only the tough get going since he was a child growing up in an orphanage. The special living environment taught him to fight back when necessary, to endure when necessary, and never to take reckless action when outmatched.

  At that time, the temperament of those service objects in the community was something he couldn't help. He wasn't a narrow-minded person and couldn't go around getting angry with some mentally unstable people all day. But Ding Ershao was different. Nowadays, Ding Hao wasn't the kind of person who had been oppressed since childhood. Although he knew he couldn't mess with this young master openly, once he got the chance, he would still vent his anger. The problem was that in the big Ding family courtyard, who else could see through such a sinister trick?

  "Jiangnan... **store? This one is not bad, it's the one." Ding Hao raised his head to look at the sign of "Jiangnan **store", pressed down his worn-out hat, wrapped his scarf tightly around his face, revealing only a pair of eyes, and then swaggered into the pharmacy.

  As soon as Ding Hao heard that they wanted to send Ding Chengye to Baifeng Building for a blind date, he was thinking of ways to deal with this arrogant and domineering young master and vent his anger. The method really made him think of it, and the idea came from a rascal in the community where he worked.

  That rascal was bullying people at the early market in the residential area, and Director Niu fined him. In revenge, he framed Director Niu, making his life miserable for a while. During that time, Director Niu's face was scratched by his wife like a flower cat, and he couldn't rest at home. At work, he couldn't lift his head, feeling embarrassed in front of colleagues and the public. It wasn't until two months later when the rascal bragged about it after drinking that the truth came to light, and Director Niu's name was cleared. By then, Director Niu's original 34-inch waist had shrunk to 26 inches, with a tendency to become even smaller.

  Master Ding, Tingxun, and Dajun are not good at saving face, are they? This method will make the father and son completely lose face. Let their relatives take a good look at this precious son of theirs and see what kind of virtue he has. Give them a loud slap in the face!

  The weather was cold, and there were many passersby dressed like him, so the shop assistants didn't pay any attention. Because of the cold weather, many people had caught a chill and were running a fever, so business in the pharmacy was booming. The assistants were busy weighing out medicine, grinding pills, and every now and then the sound of customers coughing could be heard as they came for consultations, making it all seem very noisy.

  Ding Hao wandered around the store for two circles, and slowly walked to the side of an old man who was sitting with a cup of hot tea, savoring it with relish. The old man smiled slightly as he watched several middle-aged men take the pulse and prescribe medicine for the patient, but he himself rarely took action, apparently being a master.

  "Cough! Old sir, I... want to ask you for a prescription..." Ding Hao said in a deliberately timid voice.

  The old man raised his eyelids and glanced at him, drawing out his voice: "Where is the patient?"

  "The patient... hasn't come."

  "You haven't come yet, how can I write a prescription for you?"

  "This illness... he doesn't need anyone to come." Ding Hao suddenly leaned in and whispered a few words into the old man's ear. The old man listened with a knowing smile, casting a sympathetic glance at him, thinking: "Look at your sneaky appearance, I've eaten more salt than you've had rice, do you think you can deceive me? What's this about your friend having an unmentionable disease, it's probably you yourself. Not very old, but quite pitiful really, men who get this illness, truly can't hold their heads up."

  The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote out a prescription. Ding Hao leaned over to take a look, and asked hesitantly: "Sir, will this prescription... work?"

  "Haha, it works, of course it works! I've been a doctor for decades and I still have this grasp. This prescription is called 'Linggui Zhanshi'. You can take it and prepare the medicine according to the prescription. I guarantee that after taking it three times, you'll be full of energy and vigor. Even if you're just a weakling, it will turn you into a mighty warrior who can conquer demons and monsters! Think about when I was young... cough, cough, I've been sitting in this Jiangnan Spring Hall for 20 years, don't you trust me?"

  The old man seemed to have misspoken, and hastily lowered his head to write, putting the four beautiful regular script characters "Linggui Zhanshi" neatly on the prescription, to cover up his own embarrassment.

  "Uh... and... sir, can you give me another prescription for treating flowers... uh, that willow... cough, cough...?" Ding Hao said with a twisted expression.

  The old man's face suddenly sank after hearing this, he hesitated for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote down a prescription "Liu An Hua Ming" with a stern expression. He said solemnly: "Young man, you should take care of your body, if you continue to indulge in such reckless behavior, even an iron-clad physique will not be able to withstand it."

  "Yes, yes, thank you, old sir, thank you," Ding Hao picked up the prescription and squeezed into the crowd, pretending to want to buy medicine at the counter, but with a timid and embarrassed expression that didn't dare to show the prescription. The old man saw his unimpressive appearance and disdainfully turned his head away.

  After a while, taking advantage of the old doctor's pulse-taking for the patient, Ding Hao quietly left the pharmacy. He hurried to a secluded corner and took out a package of medicine from his pocket, which was the medicine given to him to cure his illness with fever and chills, because he suddenly recovered, this dose of medicine was left over, still wrapped in paper.

  Ding Hao untied the paper string, stacked the two prescriptions neatly, and placed them on top. He deliberately arranged the names of the two prescriptions in a symmetrical pattern, then retied the package and walked towards Baifeng Building with a swagger...