Chapter Eighteen: Xiao Mo and His Sister

  "You're indeed good at making money" Yang Bo coldly gazed at the beggar: "Swindling, cheating, and stealing, you're proficient in all of them..."

  Yang Bo said, after finishing speaking, he felt a little regretful. In this world, whoever speaks up is just a bunch of tears and snot. The honest man's days are not easy to pass, can't I be noble enough?

  The beggar's facial muscles twitched slightly, but what made Yang Bo curious was that the beggar bit his lip tightly and didn't say a word.

  "You still have some pride, and you're quite stubborn?" Yang Bo's eyes showed a hint of appreciation. Since the beggar didn't want to say anything, he didn't bother asking either: "No matter what you did before, now you belong to me..."

  Yang Bo said that he found it interesting and couldn't help but burst out laughing, the beggar saw Yang Bo's face full of evil spirit and couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

  "If you think I'm easy to talk to, then you're wrong..." Yang Bo picked up the teacup and poured himself a bowl of tea, took a light sip, and glanced at the beggar with a slanted eye.

  The beggar's hair was disheveled like wild grass, his body thin to the bone, with black and yellow patches on his face. The back of his headscarf had already stained some blood, but his face showed a strong will that didn't match his age.

  The room fell silent for a moment...

  After a while, there was a knock at the door, and the fellow brought over some food, tea soup, and several pieces of clothing.

  A good saying goes: A man is judged by his clothes and a horse by its saddle.

  Although it's just an ordinary blue cotton robe, after hastily changing into it, Yang Bo somehow felt a bit more refined and elegant. He spread his arms and tilted his head as he walked around the room a few steps, feeling quite pleased with himself.

  "Alas, I've lost so much weight..." Yang Bo sighed and looked around in front of the copper mirror "Is this still the same Chao Ge who was so handsome that he got fired by his boss?"

  Just then, the door burst open and a man walked in with his head held high and his nostrils facing upwards. It turned out that several idle rascals had invited Wang Dafu, who was famous throughout the region, to come over. Yang Bo went forward and briefly explained the situation, whereupon Wang Dafu stepped forward to examine the beggar's wound. Yang Bo also leaned in to take a look, and saw that the wound wasn't too serious, just a small, narrow cut.

  According to Yang Bo's judgment, the beggar's physical weakness caused by long-term malnutrition would be fatal if it led to wound infection. Wang Daifu sat at the edge of the table, stroking his beard, and after a moment of contemplation, he opened a prescription for Zhang Liang. The apprentice brought hot water, and Wang Daifu quickly cut off the tangled hair on the back of the beggar's head, then rinsed it several times with hot water, ignoring the beggar's cries of pain. Finally, he applied some astringent herbs to the wound and bandaged it up.

  Yang Bo watched with a cold eye as he handled the situation, and in his heart, he also nodded secretly. Except for the use of medicine being different, other treatments were not much different from those of later generations.

  Just as Yang Bo was about to send the doctor out and hand over the prescription to the shop assistant, the beggar suddenly got up from the bed, knelt on the ground and knocked his head against Yang Bo several times "Please... please young master save my sister..."

  Yang Bo stopped his foot that was suspended in the doorway and turned around to look at the beggar, "Your sister? What's wrong with your sister?"

  Originally, this beggar had some fellow beggars who lived in the Chenghuang Temple in the north of the city and begged for food to make a living. But recently, for some reason, it's been very difficult for him to get food by begging, his sister has gone hungry for several days, and her mind is also somewhat confused.

  "Is he starving or sick?" Yang Bo asked again "Does his forehead feel hot?"

  That beggar shook his head in a daze, but his eyes looked at Yang Bo with great expectation.

  "So you just went and committed theft with a reckless abandon? And in the end, you even sold yourself off?" Yang Bo finally understood the whole story, but the beggar didn't respond, only continuing to knock his head against the wooden board with a loud thudding sound.

  Yang Bo fell silent for a moment before turning to Wang Daifu, who was watching the commotion: "In that case, I'll have to trouble you again, sir. Let's go take a look at the patient's condition together, shall we?"

  "Very well, young master," Wang Daifu replied, stroking his beard, "but as for the consultation fee, that will have to be extra..."

  What can Yang Bo say when he encounters a doctor who only recognizes silver? In his heart, he is indignant and says, "Damn it, if I don't get enough to eat tomorrow, I'll go act as a doctor too. My brother is an ancestral traditional Chinese medicine doctor, specializing in treating boastful nonsense..." Yang Bo doesn't know what's wrong with the beggar girl's sister, but he only knows that his wallet will be unlucky again.

  Under the guidance of the beggar, Yang Bo and others came to this dilapidated temple located in the northern suburbs of the city. It was estimated that it had been abandoned for a long time and had collapsed by more than half, with only one room standing alone. As soon as they entered the broken temple, Yang Bo was surrounded by a strong stench.

  On the floor, a person was lying on a heap of black moldy straw, and it was impossible to see his appearance even in the dim light. The whole person was curled up like a shrimp, and he was still wrapped in a cotton-padded jacket full of holes on a hot day.

  The beggar quickly ran up and gently stroked the person's back, saying: "Sister, brother is back, and has also invited a doctor to see you..."

  That seemingly lifeless sister appeared to have heard the shout and stirred slightly, taking half a day to weakly reply with "Brother..."

  Yang Bo saw Wang Dafu covering his nose and frowning at the door, so he said to Tie Niu: "Go find a stretcher, carry her outside for the doctor to diagnose."

  When several people worked together to lift the door panel, everyone was shocked in their hearts. The younger sister of this beggar was so light that she had almost no weight, and it was unknown how long the two siblings had been hungry. When they walked out of the door, Yang Bo could only vaguely see her face, a head of straw-like hair blocking her waxen face, countless lice crawling in her hair, making Yang Bo's hair stand on end, and her black greasy cotton-padded jacket hadn't been washed for who knows how long, emitting a sour smell. Her small body looked like it was only seven or eight years old.

  Although Yang Bo had also experienced such a scene, he still couldn't bear to see it now. Just then, Yang Bo suddenly discovered that there were a few strands of blood on the tattered pants of Qi Er's sister!

  The faint red color had dyed a patch of straw on the wooden board red. Yang Bo glanced over silently, his face still with a faint expression, and the beggar's gaze was also staring fixedly at the bloodstain, his mouth already biting out a thread of blood.

  Yang Bo hummed in his heart, but didn't say much.

  Wang Daifu's expression was somewhat disgusted, but he was professional. He reached out to brush away the messy hair on her forehead and then placed two fingers lightly on her wrist, closing his eyes without a word.

  "How?" Yang Bo asked anxiously

  "It's nothing serious, just a case of hunger causing dizziness and weakness. Just have some rice porridge to revive yourself, and then take it easy for a while...". The doctor looked up at Yang Bo, but didn't continue speaking, instead fixing his gaze on the patient's legs.

  Yang Bo nodded secretly, and it was clear that Wang Daifu had also discovered the inappropriateness. He stood up from his seat, took out some pastries he had brought with him from his pocket, and handed them to Qi'er. Then, he turned around and said, "Tie Niu, go ask for some water at a nearby house, first let her eat something to fill her hunger." Tie Niu listened and ran off quickly.

  Wang Daifu stood up and pulled Yang Bo's sleeve, nodding his head towards the outside...