Chapter Twenty-Five: A Melody of Heroic Spirit

  One morning, the medicine shop was packed up in just half a time, and the owner of the medicine shop moved away with his family and belongings. As soon as the owner's family left, Dong Qing and Xiao Yun happily hugged each other, then went to the backyard to clean and arrange things.

  Lu Tianhua was also delighted, smiling: "This shop is not bad, but Xia Qi, you acted too hastily. If we had negotiated carefully, we could have gotten a better deal. I think the original owner wanted to sell it."

  Lu Qi shook his head and smiled, "Brother, if you were the original owner who spent 120 taels to buy this shop initially, now I'm willing to buy it from you. Would you sell it to me at a price lower than the original?"

  Lu Tianhua was taken aback, and Lu Qi shook his head, saying: "Brother, you won't be able to sell it. The reason is that the original owner didn't actively want to sell, and when he sees someone wanting to buy, he will be even less willing to sell at a low price. The more we haggle with him, the more he'll think the medicine shop is valuable. At that time, we won't be able to get it for 150 taels, and if he finds out that we're trying to take over the medicine shop, we won't even be able to get it for 200 taels today."

  Lu Tianhua listened thoughtfully and nodded, "Things have value when they are needed. A common medicine is only worth a penny, but if many people need it, selling it for one or two coins wouldn't be expensive."

  Lu Qi smiled and said, "That's the principle. However, selling medicine can't be about making a huge profit, and even if the medicine is in short supply, it can't be sold at an exorbitant price. Making a fortune from medicine will lead to resentment from all sides. A doctor must have medical ethics, and selling medicine can't be done with a black heart. If we make a big profit at first but then provoke a group of angry people to smash our shop and take our lives, that would be a loss."

  Lu Tianhua was shocked and looked at his younger brother, who had not seen him for five years. This younger brother's understanding of the world was so profound, and he had surpassed himself in many ways. It is indeed true that reading ten thousand volumes is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles.

  The brothers briefly discussed and started to sort out, the medicine shop had just been taken over and couldn't be closed, Lu Qi called Xiaoyun to lead the sorting of medicines, he assisted as a deputy, and also asked Dongqing to go to the Zhou family to inform them, asking relatives to come and take a look.

  Soon, relatives arrived, and Old Man Zhou was delighted. As an elder, he couldn't help but remind them not to forget to do good deeds and accumulate virtues. The Lu brothers naturally accepted his teachings, stating that doing good deeds came first and making money second. After finishing speaking, Old Man Zhou left with his wife, leaving behind two experienced male servants to help out.

  Everyone was delighted when the medicine shop was opened, and they happily helped to tidy up the house. Soon, patients came one after another to buy medicine. Xiaoyun carefully inquired about the patient's condition and introduced the available medicinal materials according to their illness. Lu Qi secretly nodded in approval. As the saying goes, "long illness makes a good doctor", and this also applies to those who have been prescribing and dispensing medicine for a long time. The young girl was clever and kind-hearted, so he finally felt at ease handing over the management of the medicine shop to Xiaoyun.

  He asked Xiao Yun to make a list of the essential items that were missing based on the existing medicine combinations, and prepare to go to nearby high-priced places to buy them first. The existing medicines would be sold with the new ones, so as not to let the existing medicines go bad due to lack of matching ingredients. Medicinal materials also have an expiration date.

  It had been bustling until nearly noon, and the pharmacy was already in order. At this time, two unexpected guests arrived, one of whom was Xin Niang, an elderly lady from the Zhou Manor, accompanied by a 17 or 18-year-old beautiful and elegant maid.

  Xin Niang's arrival immediately became the focus, Lu Mu, as the hostess, smiled and greeted her with courtesy. The younger generation naturally came forward to pay their respects. Lu Qi looked at Xin Niang, who was 27 or 28 years old, with a fair complexion, a melon-seed-shaped face, curved eyebrows, almond eyes, a straight nose, and rosy cheeks. She wore a light purple pomegranate skirt and was a stunning beauty at first sight.

  Xin Yiniang faced the crowd with a gentle smile, giving people a very approachable feeling. In Lu Qi's heart, because of Ning'er's affairs, he had already labeled Xin Yiniang as a shrewish woman. But when he saw her in person, he was greatly surprised. Xin Yiniang's appearance didn't show any signs of being shrewish at all.

  After the courtesy, Xin Niang carefully looked at Lu Qi without any strangeness, making Lu Qi's face slightly hot and his heart a little hairy. However, being stared at for a couple of more seconds wasn't anything out of line, so he retreated to one side with a calm expression.

  Xin Niang smiled softly and said: "Mrs. Lu, your young master is indeed majestic, worthy of being the descendant of a military family."

  The son was praised by Lu Mu, and naturally he was delighted. He smiled and said, "Mrs. Xin, you're overpraising."

  Xin Niangniang turned her head to scan the structure of the pharmacy, and smiled softly: "Wangjiangbao has always lacked doctors and medicine, if Lu Furen takes over this shop and the medicine source is sufficient, it will be a great fortune for the people of Wangjiang."

  Lu Mu sincerely said: "We also hope to bring good luck to the people of Wangjiangbao, and we will ask Mrs. Xin to take care of it in the future."

  "Landlady Lu can rest assured," said Xin Niang softly with a smile, "we are relatives, and as long as the pharmacy doesn't break any laws, no one will dare to cause trouble."

  Lu Mu sincerely said: "Thank you, Mrs. Xin."

  Lu Qi listened to the side and thought that this Xin Niang was a straightforward person, daring to speak so bluntly, which shows that Xin Niang's status in the old Zhou Fu is definitely not low, at least she is the favorite concubine of the old master of Zhou Fu.

  Just as he was thinking, he suddenly heard Xin Niang softly laugh and say: "Lu Qi Gongzi, I want to ask you some things, can you answer truthfully?"

  Lu Qiyan was taken aback and raised her head, calmly bowing to say: "Aunt Xin, please ask, Lu Qi will definitely answer truthfully."

  Xin Niang's gentle smile said: "I heard from Mrs. Lu that you got the official position by making meritorious deeds in the army, why didn't you stay in the army for further development?"

  Lu Qi was stunned and didn't understand why Xin Niang asked him this. He thought for a moment and replied in a soft voice, "Xin Niang, I'm afraid to answer this question as the truth would be taboo."

  Aunt Xin smiled gently and said: "Everyone here is a relative, no one will speak randomly. Aunt Xin really wants to hear your true words."

  Lu Qi looked at Xin Niang and saw that she wouldn't budge, so he thought for a moment before speaking frankly: "I didn't stay in the army mainly because of two reasons. Firstly, I missed my family; secondly, although I had made achievements, the imperial court valued civil officials over military ones, so my achievements could only get me a loose official title and reward. As I had no backing or support in the army, it was difficult for me to obtain a real position or promotion. Considering these two reasons, I left the army and returned home to seek development, hoping to use business as a way to gain some ordinary wealth and honor."

  Aunt Xin nodded and said in a soft voice: "You can see your own shortcomings and know how to adapt, your future achievements will definitely be great."

  Lu Qi said: "I'm just a mediocre person with no great ambitions, I'll be content as long as I can get some immediate benefits."

  Aunt Xin smiled gently and said, "The road is walked out step by step, and high positions are climbed up level by level. The benefits in front of us cannot be grasped, and having great ambitions often ends in nothing being accomplished."

  Lu Qi listened and was stunned, involuntarily raising an eyebrow to take a deep look at Xin Niangniang. He had a very high opinion of this beautiful woman in front of him, who belonged to the category of virtuous women.

  Xin Niang lowered her eyes and smiled softly: "Lu Qi Gongzi has a treasure fan on his waist, doesn't he like music?"

  Lu Qi was taken aback again, touched the bamboo flute at his waist and said in harmony: "The junior likes music, but only adjusts his mood during leisure time, and is not proficient."

  He had just finished speaking modestly when his sister-in-law, Zhou Yue'er, suddenly said: "Xin Auntie, my seventh brother's sheng playing sounds extremely good."

  Lu Qi was taken aback and turned his head to look at his sister-in-law, but saw Zhou Yue'er smiling and winking at him. Suddenly, Lu Qi somewhat understood and his face immediately flushed with excitement, his heart racing with energy.

  Xin Niang laughed and said: "Really? Can Lu Qi Gongzi play a tune to bring some good fortune to Xin Niang's ears?"

  Lu Qi hesitated for a moment, holding the flute in his hand. He had no good reason to refuse Xin Niang's gentle voice and smile, playing a tune wouldn't hurt anything. Holding the flute, he harmonized with her voice: "Please, Xin Niang, point the way."

  The bamboo flute arrived at the entrance, a strand of soft and delicate sound appeared with it, causing everyone's heart to relax, involuntarily leaning in to listen carefully. The soft sound was low and subtle, yet clear and audible, like a thin stream flowing gently into people's hearts.

  Gradually, amidst the faint sounds, pearls of sound occasionally jump out, crisp and short, like a spring bubbling over. The sheng sound gradually grows louder, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, as if a mountain spring is swirling and splashing about. As the spring water splashes, the sheng sound's complex tones increase, like a small mountain stream growing into a mighty river, carrying an unstoppable momentum that strikes rocks and beats against wood, rushing down the great mountain, pouring into the great river, and in the turbulent muddy waves, struggling to flow on, unwilling to sink.

  Before he knew it, half an hour had passed, and the sound of the flute gradually came to a stop as it merged into the great river. The crowd's excited emotions suddenly returned to reality. Lu Qi put down his bamboo flute and said in a harmonious voice: "Aunt Xin, I have made a humble offering."

  Aunt Xīn gazed at Lù Qī in astonishment, staring blankly for several seconds before exclaiming: "This is the 'Quán' melody from the score, you can actually use the shēng to convey the majestic momentum of a spring flowing into a great river. Your musical skills are by no means inferior to those of famous musicians."

  Lu Qi listened and felt a little proud in his heart, humbly saying: "I'm just somewhat insightful about playing the Xiao, but compared to real musicians, I still have a long way to go."

  Xin Niang praised: "Lu Qi Gongzi is a rare talent with both literary and military skills."

  Lu Qi immediately shook his head and said: "Aunt Xin says so, Lu Qi dare not be, Lu Qi just likes some elegant essays, and has some confidence in military affairs."