31 – Luck and Change

As soon as he entered the house, Lu Qing saw a brand new large iron pot placed there.

Old Doctor Chen then returned to the inner room and took out a cloth bag.

“These silver taels are from selling the Red Moon Carp, keep them safe.”

The old doctor handed the cloth bag to Lu Qing.

When Lu Qing took it, he felt its heavy weight and couldn’t help but be surprised.

“So much, Grandpa Chen, how much did the Red Moon Carp sell for?”

“You are quite lucky,” the old doctor said, “The nobleman I delivered the medicinal herbs to has a wife who is currently weak and needs nourishment. When he heard that I had a Red Moon Carp, he bought it for one hundred taels of silver without hesitation.”

“One hundred taels?” Lu Qing’s eyes widened, “Grandpa Chen, didn’t you say before that my Red Moon Carp was too big and its value had decreased?”

He remembered the old doctor had said earlier that the best Red Moon Carp was only worth one hundred taels at most.

“That’s why I said you are lucky,” the old doctor stroked his beard and said, “Normally, only the best Red Moon Carp is worth one hundred taels.”

“But that nobleman cares deeply for his wife. Besides tasting extremely delicious, the Red Moon Carp also has excellent nourishing effects. Therefore, the nobleman bought it directly at the highest price.”

Such a coincidence.

After hearing this, Lu Qing had to agree with the old doctor’s words.

His luck was truly remarkable.

“I got all one hundred taels in cash for you. After deducting the ten taels of silver for your previous treatments and medicines, five taels for buying the iron pot and salt, there are still eighty-five taels of silver left.”

Lu Qing opened the cloth bag and saw the shiny silver taels inside, which were somewhat dazzling.

There were almost all silver ingots, some big, some small. The big ones were ten taels each, the small ones were five taels each, and there were also some broken pieces of silver.

Obviously, considering his daily needs, the old doctor had exchanged part of it for broken silver.

As for the fifteen taels spent, Lu Qing didn’t really mind.

The old doctor charged ten taels for medical fees and medicines, which might sound expensive.

But given his understanding of the old doctor, he suspected that the old doctor had undercharged him.

As for the expenses for buying the iron pot and salt.

Salt aside, he had anticipated the iron pot to be expensive.

After all, in his memories, when the original owner sold the family’s iron pot, it fetched quite a sum.

Even now, not many families in the village could afford to use an iron pot.

It was clear how valuable the iron pot was.

But no matter how expensive the iron pot, Lu Qing had to buy it.

Ever since he arrived in this world, almost everything he ate was either boiled or stewed, and his taste buds were becoming bland.

With an iron pot, he could cook a variety of dishes.

He didn’t mind wearing clothes that were a bit worse, but eating well was a principle he firmly adhered to.

“Also, I seasoned the iron pot for you last night, so you can use it immediately without needing to season it yourself,” the old doctor added.

When Lu Qing looked at it, sure enough, the inside of the iron pot was shiny and smooth, completely seasoned.

“Grandpa Chen, seasoning a pot requires a lot of oil, let me pay you,” Lu Qing said as he opened the cloth bag.

“No need.” Old Doctor Chen waved his hand, “Just a couple of pieces of fatty pork, it’s not worth much. I’m too lazy to cut silver for you.”

Seeing that the old doctor didn’t want to accept it, Lu Qing had no choice but to give up.

He knew that in this world, people had a disdainful attitude towards pork.

Especially the upper-class nobles, who considered pork beneath them and thought it was something only the poor and lowly would consume.

Those with a little bit of money preferred to eat beef and mutton.

Therefore, the price of pork in this world was not considered high.

Of course, this ‘not high’ was only in comparison to beef and mutton.

For the common people at the bottom, as long as it’s meat, it won’t be cheap.

So even pork is not something they can eat often.

Only during the holidays or when they have extra money, or when guests come to their home, do they buy some to eat.

But Lu Qing also knew that the old doctor was obviously not short of money. Two pieces of fatty pork were probably nothing to him.

“Thank you, Grandpa Chen.”

“Alright, don’t be so fussy about such a small thing.” The old doctor said indifferently, “Lie down on the bed first, I’ll give you acupuncture.”

Lu Qing obediently took off his shirt and lay down on the wooden bed.

The old doctor took out silver needles.

He said, “Today is the third time I’m giving you acupuncture, and it will be the last time. After this, you won’t need any more treatments.”

“Grandpa Chen, are you saying my body is fully healed?” Lu Qing asked in surprise.

“It’s not completely recovered, but your vitality is basically stabilized. In the future, you only need to eat well and rest properly, and you will recover slowly. This Vitality Needle treatment won’t be needed anymore.”

“Thank you, Grandpa Chen.”

“Alright, relax your mind and don’t move.”

The old doctor started the acupuncture. After a while, the silver needles were finished, and Lu Qing also fell asleep.

The old doctor looked at the sleeping Lu Qing with a slight frown.

Although Lu Qing had been recuperating well with him during this period, he still couldn’t find the reason why Lu Qing suddenly got better initially.

During this period, he had also carefully examined Lu Qing’s body while giving acupuncture.

Indeed, there was nothing abnormal in his body, and no underlying diseases were left.

This made him quite puzzled.

After thinking for a while and still not finding any clues, the old doctor finally relaxed his brows.

It didn’t matter if he couldn’t find the reason. Fortunately, Lu Qing’s body had been recuperated well in the end, and all his efforts were not in vain.

“Grandpa Chen, is my brother asleep?” Xiao Yan asked softly.

After seeing Lu Qing have acupuncture a few times, the little girl was no longer as scared as before.

But she still didn’t dare to look when Grandpa Chen was doing acupuncture.

“Yes, he’s asleep. Let’s go, we shouldn’t disturb your brother’s rest. Let’s go outside. Yesterday, Grandpa bought some pastries from the city, I heard they taste very good.”

“Really, what kind of pastries?”

“They’re called Osmanthus cakes…”

When Lu Qing woke up from his deep sleep, he felt his whole body was full of energy.

And he was certain, this time it was not an illusion like the first time he had acupuncture, but that his body had really recovered almost entirely.

All of this was thanks to Old Doctor Chen.

As he was thinking, Lu Qing heard Xiao Yan’s laughter from outside the courtyard.

He smiled slightly, put on his shirt, and walked out of the courtyard.

He saw Old Doctor Chen and Xiao Yan still sitting on the stone bench. The little girl was holding a piece of pastry, swinging her legs and laughing happily without knowing what they were talking about.

This scene was almost identical to what Lu Qing saw the first time he woke up after acupuncture.

However, at that time, he was weak, had nothing, and even survival was a challenge.

But now, his body had basically recovered, and he had just earned over a hundred taels of silver.

Moreover, he had the opportunity to learn medicine from Old Doctor Chen in the future.

Everything had changed.

This chapter is to make up for yesterday’s; I had a headache and couldn’t finish it. Sorry, there will still be two updates tonight.