Medicine Hall

Suddenly.

Cheng Buzheng frowned slightly; the noisy commotion outside seemed to have interrupted his deep thoughts.

Not long after, there was a knock at the door, accompanied by a youthful voice from outside:

"Senior Brother Buzheng, come out quickly! Something has happened!"

Cheng Buzheng turned and walked toward the door. Opening it, he saw a medicine boy dressed in the same coarse cloth robes. The boy looked about the same age as him, but with slightly chubby cheeks that made him look quite adorable.

Cheng Buzheng, however, did not feel the slightest bit of urgency. Hearing the volume of the arguing downstairs, he could roughly imagine what was going on.

A gentle smile appeared on his face. Habitually, he reached out and pinched the boy's cheek, saying:

"Xiao Li, what is it?"

"Ouch, stop pinching!" A look of anxiety appeared on the boy's chubby face as he said:

"Senior Brother Buzheng, Xiao Hua and Xiao Ming are arguing again. They're about to start fighting! You need to go down and take a look!"

Although Cheng Buzheng wasn't worried, he did feel a bit of a headache. These two little guys seemed to be natural enemies; they had a big fight every three days and a small one every two. When they got worked up, they would even resort to fisticuffs.

Since they had only just started arguing and were still a while away from actually throwing punches, he remained unhurried.

The doctor was currently out on a house call, and since he was usually quite gentle with them, they acted without restraint. Fortunately, the few medicine boys were quite convinced by Cheng Buzheng's leadership, and it helped that there were only five medicine boys in the Medicine Hall in total.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to manage these energetic little rascals.

"Sigh," Cheng Buzheng let out a sigh with the air of an old man, saying:

"Let's go down and take a look."

As he spoke, he stepped out of the room and strode toward the direction where the voices were becoming increasingly intense. Xiao Li followed closely behind, taking small, hurried steps like a little tail.

Before long.

Cheng Buzheng saw two youths, one tall and one short, glaring at each other while arguing fiercely.

The taller one, who looked quite young—about eleven or twelve years old—was Xiao Hua, his face currently filled with defiance.

The shorter one, with bright, piercing eyes and a sharp look about him, was Xiao Ming, who wore an equally defiant expression.

Both were the same age, so they were evenly matched in strength. Their fighting skills were identical, having been learned from each other, so they had each won and lost in the past. This was something he had learned from the victors each time.

This was also one of the few amusements Cheng Buzheng had in his daily life. Of course, if he caught them arguing, he would still intervene.

He wasn't willing to let them fight just for the sake of a little amusement; he still possessed that much sense of responsibility.

"You two, stop for a moment. What is the reason for it this time?"

Cheng Buzheng found it somewhat amusing as he watched the two little ones, their eyes red and faces flushed.

"Senior Brother Buzheng... it was supposed to be me going out with the doctor for the house call this time!

It was Xiao Hua who caused trouble and messed it up."

Xiao Ming spoke up cleverly and immediately, wanting to win his Senior Brother over to his side right away, while glaring indignantly at Xiao Hua.

"Senior Brother Buzheng, don't listen to his nonsense; he brought it on himself.

Last time, it should have been me going out with the doctor for the house call, but it was Xiao Ming who interfered."

Xiao Hua was not to be outdone and immediately retorted, fearing that his Senior Brother would believe the other's slander, while simultaneously lifting his head to stare back at Xiao Ming without showing any weakness.

The two traded words, constantly recounting each other's faults. Before long, they were digging up old grudges, yet they didn't mention their own mistakes in the slightest.

The two explained for a long time, each shifting the blame, but he roughly understood the ins and outs of the matter.

"I understand the gist of it. You two are fighting over who gets to accompany the doctor on house calls this time!

How about this! From now on, regardless of who goes out with the doctor, neither of you is allowed to sabotage the other. Let's call it even for this incident, how about that?

Otherwise.

From now on, if you two keep interfering with each other, neither of you will be able to go out with the doctor!

You both know that those who can afford to have the doctor make house calls are all wealthy patrons, and they have good food and fun things to entertain the doctor with!

What do you think?"

As Cheng Buzheng spoke, he tempted the two little ones. He knew that simply telling them to stop was absolutely impossible, so he had to identify the desires they couldn't bear to give up.

Sure enough.

The scene fell silent at once.

The two thought for a moment, and eventually, the thoughts of good food and fun things gained the upper hand.

"I'll listen to Senior Brother Buzheng."

"Senior Brother Buzheng, I'll listen to you too!"

Cheng Buzheng looked at the two little ones, who were still unconvinced by each other, and prepared to use labor to burn off their excess energy.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be long before they started bickering again. He wanted some peace and quiet for his own ears; this was based on his experience, but the results were usually quite effective.

Then, Cheng Buzheng spoke up.

"Alright!"

Xiao Ming, go collect the dried medicinal herbs from the backyard.

Xiao Hua, process the commonly used herbs. Xiao Li, you and I will take inventory; we need to purchase whatever is running low to prepare for any emergencies!

Hearing this, Xiao Hua and Xiao Ming exchanged a glance.

"Hmph!"

"Hmph!"

Immediately, both of them held their heads high, turned around, and went off to busy themselves.

Just as expected, the two did not quarrel for the rest of the day.

The next day.

Early morning, Bairen Hall.

Cheng Buzheng opened his door and walked downstairs toward the Medicine Hall.

"Clack, clack." His heavy footsteps echoed through the quiet hall as he descended the wooden stairs.

The layout of the Medicine Hall on the first floor was very traditional. On both side walls stood massive medicine cabinets, their heights nearly reaching the ceiling. Every drawer in the cabinets held processed medicinal herbs, with red paper labels pasted on the outside, inscribed with the names of the herbs stored within.

Beside the cabinets sat a bamboo ladder to help the medicine boys store and retrieve the herbs.

Because herbs had been stored there for years, the entire Medicine Hall was filled with a faint, medicinal fragrance.

Behind the counter, Xiao Li rested his chin in one hand, looking drowsy as if he hadn't fully woken up. Hearing the noise, he rubbed his eyes and turned to look toward the stairs.

"Senior Brother Buzheng, it's not your shift today. Why didn't you sleep in a bit longer?

Waking up early is really exhausting!"

At the mention of the shift, Xiao Li's chubby, baby-faced cheeks were filled with unhappiness.

Cheng Buzheng walked behind the counter, reached out, and pinched Xiao Li's cheek, smiling:

"Ouch, ouch. Senior Brother Buzheng, stop pinching my face every time! It hurts!"

"So you know it hurts? Even if there's no one here in the morning, you still need to stay alert!

Otherwise, if the herbs go missing, you won't be able to escape a 'Bamboo Cane Stir-fry' when the doctor returns.

I'm doing this for your own good!"

Xiao Li rolled his eyes at Cheng Buzheng and muttered under his breath:

"Every time, you manage to find a different excuse."

Cheng Buzheng looked at the medicine boy, Xiao Li, before him and smiled.

"There is nothing to be done today. Tell Xiao Hua and Xiao Ming that they can go out and play.

But they are not to leave the town, and they must return by nightfall. I will not be manning the Medicine Hall today, and I may return late."

Cheng Buzheng stepped out of the Medicine Hall. Upon entering the street, he saw shops of varying heights lining both sides. Walking through the bustling crowd, he did not dally and headed straight for his destination.

PS: Setting out my bowl, a polite triple request (seeking collections, seeking recommendations, seeking votes).

Fellow Daoists who truly like the medicine boy, feel free to join the group: 547741836