frightfiction Chapter 27 I want to grow these chives myself.
Chapter 27 I want to grow these chives myself.
As soon as Wu Defa made his suggestion, Boss Liu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he gripped the rag in his hand tightly.
Opening a branch? This was something he never even dared to dream of.
Although Kangning Pharmacy has just suffered a setback, it is a well-established brand in this area. Its store is more than twice the size of Renxin Pharmacy, and it is located in a prime corner location.
If they could swallow it, Renxin Pharmacy could immediately upgrade from a "fly restaurant" to a "flagship store".
"Little Wang... no, Brother Wang!" Boss Liu's voice trembled with excitement as he frantically winked at Wang Minyu, his eyelids almost twitching. "This is like a pie falling from the sky! Old Wu has been so sincere, we..."
Wang Minyu ignored Boss Liu's naive and unsophisticated demeanor.
He slowly picked up the chipped enamel mug, blew away the tea leaves floating on the surface, and took a sip.
Amidst the rising steam, he glanced up at his two once arrogant colleagues.
"Boss Wu, I understand how you feel. You want to find a powerful patron to shelter under, and incidentally, clear your name, right?"
Wu Defa blushed and bowed even lower: "Dr. Wang, you are wise. We are like rats in the street now, we have no other way to survive but to rely on you. As long as you nod, Kangning Pharmacy will immediately be under your control! The employees, the medicines, the customer list, everything will be yours. We two old brothers will even be your errand boys!"
Sun Jiren quickly clasped his hands in greeting: "Yes, Dr. Wang. I wish I could stay by your side, even if it's just sweeping the floor or decocting medicine. As long as I can learn even a single skill, my life will be worthwhile."
The two of them sang in unison, their posture so humble it was almost groveling.
Boss Liu was overjoyed and wished he could agree on Wang Minyu's behalf.
"I won't open any branch stores."
Wang Minyu put down his teacup, the porcelain bottom tapping against the glass countertop with a crisp sound.
That sound shattered Boss Liu's newly awakened dream of getting rich.
"Why...why?" Wu De was stunned. Why wouldn't he eat the meat that was practically being offered to him?
"Because chives are easier to harvest when they grow in your own yard," Wang Minyu said, leaning back in his chair with a languid expression.
The three looked at each other, completely unable to follow this man's train of thought.
Wang Minyu got up and walked to the door, pointing to the old street outside that was dilapidated and full of local flavor.
As the sun sets, the streets are lined with all sorts of struggling little shops: a foot massage parlor with pink lanterns, a teahouse where only old men play chess, and a blind massage parlor with dismal business.
"What do you think is the secret to Renxin Pharmacy's current popularity?"
"His medical skills are superb!" Wu Defa blurted out.
"Superficial." Wang Minyu shook his finger. "No matter how skilled I am, I only have two hands, and I can only see twenty patients a day at most. Do young people come to me for treatment? No, they come to post on social media, for that unique experience of being 'tortured' by a strange doctor."
He pointed to the banner on the wall that read "Specializing in Curing Pretentiousness".
"If I open branches and turn it into a chain with standardized service, with 'Welcome' at the door and 'Goodbye' at the door, that sense of mystery and exclusivity will be gone. In that case, I'll just be a doctor with a slightly better business, which is no fun."
Wang Minyu paused, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes: "I won't open any branches, but I plan to take over this whole street."
"Cough cough cough!" Boss Liu almost choked to death because he couldn't catch his breath.
Wu Defa and Sun Jiren gaped open, their chins almost hitting their feet.
Acquire the entire street?
Although this street is run-down, it has dozens of shops of all sizes, and the transfer fees alone would be astronomical! Was this kid drunk from drinking tea earlier?
"Xiao Wang, are you alright?" Boss Liu reached out to touch Wang Minyu's forehead.
"I'm perfectly clear-headed." Wang Minyu slapped his hand away, looking at the street as if he were looking at his own backyard. "I want to turn this place into a 'Traditional Chinese Medicine Health and Wellness Theme Street.' Or rather, a 'Health and Wellness Playground' for adults."
He began gesturing in the air, speaking slowly, but his words sent chills down the spines of the three men.
"Kangning Pharmacy will be transformed into a 'Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum.' Old Sun, you should stop seeing patients and instead wear a long gown and tell tourists stories, like how ginseng can kill without consequence and rhubarb can save lives without merit—tell them as mystical as possible."
"Zhang's Massage next door has been upgraded to a 'Bone Setting and Stress Relief Center.' Nowadays, many office workers have neck problems. Going in and listening to some music is more stress-relieving than going to a concert."
"Turn that foot massage parlor across the street, which isn't doing its proper business, into a 'medicinal bath center.' I'll provide the formula; it'll cure athlete's foot, insomnia, and kidney deficiency. One bath will make them feel so good they'll leave their bodies."
"And that teahouse, turn it into a 'medicinal cuisine shop.' Sell those ridiculously expensive health porridges, give them fancy names like 'Forget-Me-Not Water' or 'Regret Medicine,' and I guarantee those internet celebrities will scramble to buy them."
"We could even set up a 'venting room.' Anyone who's upset can pay to go in and smash things, or yell at the boss while facing a punching bag. After venting, they can come out and have a cup of my 'soothing tea' to feel refreshed."
Wang Minyu spoke more and more fluently, and the blueprint had already taken shape in his mind.
Wu Defa and the other two were stunned.
This isn't just opening a pharmacy; it's practically setting up a Disneyland for traditional Chinese medicine!
"How much...how much will this cost?" Boss Liu counted on his fingers, his head aching from the calculation.
"Money is no problem." Wang Minyu laughed, a laugh like a fox guarding a granary. "Lin Wan'er's face, Qian Dafa's kidneys, Zhang Yimou's brain—these are all my ATMs. If I want, this street can be owned by the Wang family tomorrow."
"But... those shop owners might not be willing to sell," Wu Defa questioned. "Some old fogies won't move even if you offer them money."
"They'll sell it." Wang Minyu turned to look at Wu Defa, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "Because each of them has some kind of problem, more or less. And I happen to have the medicine."
Wu Defa felt a chill run down his spine. He thought of his nearly ruined cervical spine and Sun Jiren's obviously rotten stomach.
No one can keep a secret from this young man. He doesn't hold a scalpel in his hand; he holds the key to manipulating people's hearts.
"Dr. Wang..." Wu Defa swallowed hard, completely convinced this time. "You've played a very big game. We two old brothers are willing to do it! Even if it's just as a doorman, we'll accept it!"
"Very good." Wang Minyu nodded. "The first step is for Kangning Pharmacy to be officially closed tomorrow. The official announcement will be... in response to the call for internal restructuring and upgrades."
"They have to close down again?" Wu Defa's heart ached.
"No destruction, no construction." Wang Minyu turned back to the counter. "I want everyone to know that the traditional drug-selling model is dead. Next, it's time to harvest the韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting consumers)... oh no, it's time for a new era of health management."
……
In the afternoon, the sun was beginning to set.
Li Siyuan and Zhao Na, like thieves, bypassed the long queue at the main entrance and slipped into the back alley of Renxin Pharmacy.
They happened to run into Wang Minyu carrying two large bags of trash.
"Dr. Wang... Dr. Wang." Li Siyuan quickly went to greet him, wanting to help but not daring to reach out.
Wang Minyu glanced at the two of them, his gaze settling on Zhao Na's face.
The girl had a rosy complexion, and the "resentful look" that used to be on her face was gone; her skin had a healthy glow.
"What? You finished the red bean and barley water? Still no effect? You brought people to cause trouble?" Wang Minyu casually threw the trash into the bin and dusted off his hands.
Zhao Na's face flushed bright red. She pulled a crumpled medical report from her bag, handed it over with both hands, and bent over at a ninety-degree angle.
"Dr. Wang, I'm so sorry! I was wrong!"
The loud voice startled a passing stray cat.
"Your prescription is amazing! All my indicators are back to normal, and even the acne on my face has cleared up. We were so blind and arrogant before... we didn't recognize your talent."
Wang Minyu didn't take the report, but just glanced at Zhao Na's sincere head: "Knowing your mistakes and being able to correct them means your brain isn't dead yet."
"Dr. Wang," Li Siyuan bowed as well, his attitude even more respectful than when he last met his mentor, "We want to learn clinical skills from you! We don't need a salary, we'd even pay you! We'd be content if you just let us do odd jobs and copy prescriptions!"
After this slap in the face, they finally understood that what they learned in school was theory, while this guy held the truth in his hands.
Looking at the two delicate-skinned medical students, Wang Minyu began to make his own plans.
That grand "Traditional Chinese Medicine Street" plan definitely can't be done with just Wu Defa and his two old hands. What's needed is a young man with theoretical knowledge who is easy to fool... cough, easy to train, to do the hard work.
"Want to learn from me?" Wang Minyu raised an eyebrow.
"Yes! We can do it even if it means staying up all night to brew medicine!" Li Siyuan said confidently.
"You guys don't have the expertise to brew medicine," Wang Minyu said, pointing to the mountain of discarded medicine boxes and plastic bottles piled up in the corner. "See that pile of stuff?"
The two nodded.
"Your first practical lesson is to sell these scraps to me."
"Huh?" Zhao Na was dumbfounded. She looked at her newly done French manicure, then at the pile of dusty cardboard boxes. "Sell...sell junk?"
They are graduate students from prestigious medical universities, future chief physicians, and they've come here to collect scrap.
"What? Feeling ashamed?" Wang Minyu's face darkened. "Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes 'observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation,' revealing the true nature of things from the smallest details. You can't even see the value in garbage, yet you expect to understand the pathogenesis of the human body?"
Li Siyuan paused for a moment, then a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. Could this be some kind of unique cultivation method? Like carrying water and chopping wood at the Shaolin Temple?
"Dr. Wang wants to test our character!" Li Siyuan finished his own interpretation, then tugged at Zhao Na, who was still in a daze, "Let's do it!"
"Very good." Wang Minyu pointed to the dilapidated tricycle that rattled everywhere except for its bell. "The vehicle is over there. There's a recycling station at the end of the street. You have two hours to get rid of these. Remember, don't make me lose money."
After saying that, the "strict teacher" strolled back into the shop with his hands behind his back to have some tea.
Two bright students who should have been tinkering with test tubes in the lab were left standing there, bewildered and disoriented, facing a mountain of garbage.
"Senior brother, is this really cultivation?" Zhao Na pinched her nose and picked up a mineral water bottle.
"Probably... I guess so." Li Siyuan gritted his teeth, took off his suit jacket, and said, "Let's do it! Even if we're just collecting scrap, we'll do it at a graduate-level!"