Chapter 32: Old Man Chen's Thoughts

  "Isn't that an exaggeration? Can't be for real, right?" Seeing Wu Rui heal the old man's lumbar hyperostosis in just two or three minutes, a passerby couldn't help but raise doubts, and the scene before his eyes was somewhat unbelievable.

  "You're the one who's been helped! That Old Liu is just ahead selling salted fish, he's been complaining about his waist hurting for years. At that time, this young doctor hadn't arrived in E City yet. Two days ago, Old Liu couldn't even squat down, but now he's actually dancing with a rice-pounding pole! This Wu Rui is truly divine!" A nearby stall owner couldn't help but speak up to defend Wu Rui.

  "......Is it? He won't charge a lot, will he?" The man couldn't help but ask.

  "Hmm... I'm not really sure about that." The stall owner didn't dare to say more, because he had also heard about Wu Rui collecting several thousand yuan in consultation fees from a girl two days ago, so he didn't dare guarantee whether Wu Rui's current charges were expensive or not.

  At this time, Old Liu had finished his rice seedling dance and also thought of the medical expenses. With such a divine medical skill, the fee must not be cheap, right? He couldn't help but ask nervously: "Wu Rui, how much do I need to pay for the consultation?"

  The surrounding audience also leaned in to listen, and they were all quite sensitive to this question.

  "Wu Rui Le smiled and said: 'It's just a simple acupuncture treatment, it only costs ten bucks.'"

  "Ten yuan?"

  "Did I hear that right? Only ten bucks?"

  "You didn't seem to have misheard..."

  The surroundings suddenly became noisy.

  What can you buy with 10 yuan now? Prices are rising with time, even a tube of toothpaste costs 5 or 6 yuan. Ten yuan can't even buy a pound of pork, and it's the kind that's been watered down. The prices of medicine have also skyrocketed, especially when going to the hospital for treatment. They say there's medical reimbursement, but in reality, for the same illness and the same medication, after reimbursement, the price is not lower than it was a few years ago, but rather higher.

  Minor illnesses will pass with endurance, major illnesses cannot be treated due to lack of money, and one has no choice but to endure. This is the sorrow and helplessness of ordinary people.

  The money saved is indeed increasing year by year, but the price increase is even faster. Now a 10,000 yuan is not as good as 2,000 yuan a few years ago, what's the difference between this increase and no increase? It can only be considered a warm and hungry life, but it is far from a well-off life, once you get sick, you will inevitably return to the pre-liberation era.

  As he came to, Old Liu shook his head desperately and said: "No way! This won't do! Ten yuan is too little! Take a bit more!"

  "It's not that little, old man, you see, I basically didn't do anything, and in two or three minutes, I earned ten bucks, how can that be considered little?!" Wu Rui refused to accept it. The descendants of the Divine Farmer have rules, poor people have their own prices, rich people can fleece them if they want, but Wu Rui wouldn't exploit the underprivileged commoners, otherwise, when the time comes for him to face judgment, he would be in big trouble.

  If the purpose of treating illnesses is for money, Wu Rui can simply stay in his clinic and earn a fortune with ease. Why would he need to practice medicine on the streets and invite people's doubts?

  Just like the primitive planet's Ah Niu, what is the value of the ginseng harvested by Wu Rui on Earth? The value of just that one thousand-year-old ginseng is 1 billion.

  And today's treatment of Zizi is even more severe. The basketball-sized space stone alone is priceless, let alone the giant stone.

  If it were just for the money, a private clinic could offer Wu Rui much more. Practicing medicine is actually a kind of realm, a kind of experience, and also an essential practice in Shennongjing.

  "This..." Old Liu still felt it wasn't worth it, ten yuan for just a catty of salted fish!

  "Uncle, just stop talking and hurry up to pay the money and go sell fish, don't let others take away all your fish." Wu Rui waved his hand impatiently.

  "This...alright, thank you Wu Rui!" Old Man Liu no longer made things difficult for him, and took out 10 yuan from his pocket to respectfully hand over to Wu Rui.

  Wu Rui took it with both hands and stood up to see the old man off.

  "Wu Rui, I have rheumatism in my knee, it hurts like hell every time it rains, can you please treat me?"

  "Please, have a seat."

  "Dr. Wu, I've had asthma for over a decade, I don't know if it can still be cured?"

  "Of course, I'll give you an acupuncture treatment first, and then I'll prescribe some medicine for you."

  ……

  Old Liu had just left, and Wu Rui's business suddenly took off. People around him with minor illnesses came to see him one after another, and he treated them at a low cost of 10 or 8 yuan, which everyone didn't mind. Of course, more importantly, Wu Rui's medical skills were really good, and his acupuncture could cure diseases. Even for some difficult and stubborn cases, Wu Rui could temporarily relieve the pain, and then prescribe some medicine to ensure that every patient was cured.

  Luckily, Wu Rui's speed of seeing patients was fast enough, with an average of one patient every five minutes. The people in the queue didn't have to wait for too long, but even so, it wasn't until two or three o'clock in the afternoon that he finished seeing all the patients in the queue, having seen more than 50 people in total, and Wu Rui was exhausted.

  But Wu Rui was also happy to be exhausted, just a few days ago there wasn't even one patient, which made Wu Rui very entangled. Today he finally got his name out and felt very fulfilling, especially after sending away face after face with joyful and excited smiles. Wu Rui had a brand new understanding of the phrase "Benefiting the world", it was his own understanding, not just some theory that his master had forced upon him.

  Perhaps this is the old man's intention to let himself go through the trials of life. Wu Rui seemed to understand but not quite, as if he was thinking deeply, but he didn't dwell on this feeling that was neither here nor there. When the time is not ripe, overthinking is useless, following one's heart is the right path.

  Seeing Wu Rui finally relaxing, Old Man Chen beside him hurriedly called out: "Brother Wu Rui, Bing Xuan has already sent over the food, if you don't mind, why not eat together?"

  "Oh?" Wu Rui was taken aback by the words, looked up and saw that Old Man Chen indeed had an additional slender figure beside him. The clothes were still simple, but the eyebrows and eyes were full of spirit. At this moment, she was looking at Wu Rui with a gaze that seemed to be worshipful, which made Wu Rui slightly startled.

  Chen Bingxuan saw Wu Rui look over and suddenly looked like a startled little bird, hastily lowering her head, instantly blushing bright red, only stiffly saying: "Good Doctor Wu."

  Seeing Chen Bingxuan like this, Wu Rui felt a bit awkward. To be honest, the two were still of the same age, and being respectfully called "Divine Doctor" by the other made Wu Rui feel like an old man. He immediately suggested: "Miss Bingxuan doesn't have to call me Divine Doctor, just call me Wu Rui!"

  "This..." Chen Bingxuan was slightly moved, after all, not only did Wu Rui sound awkward, but she also felt quite uncomfortable calling him that way. She still looked at Old Man Chen, seeking her father's opinion. Father called Wu Rui "brother", if she directly called Wu Rui by name, wouldn't that mess up the generational order?

  "Hehe... each has their own, to be honest, you two are about the same age, it's just that Brother Wu Rui is young and promising!" Old Man Chen didn't mind, his slightly lecherous eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly thinking of something, then he warmly invited: "Brother Wu Rui, come move your stool over and have lunch!"

  Now, Wu Rui is already a Golden Elixir cultivator and has long been able to abstain from food, but he does not refuse food. Old Man Chen obviously had his daughter prepare two portions of food, and Wu Rui did not decline, moving a chair over to sit down.

  Braised pork, half a roasted duck, and a dish of greens, obviously prepared for himself. Chen Lao's usual meals didn't have such high standards! At this moment, he also felt moved in his heart, but he didn't say anything, just smiled and invited Chen Xuan to join him: "Miss Xuan, you come and eat too!"

  "Ah...... no need, no need, I've already eaten at home!" Chen Bingxuan shook her head repeatedly.

  "Bingxuan has already eaten, we don't care about her, come on, let's eat the dishes!" Old Man Chen hurriedly invited.

  "Hey, Old Man Chen and Dr. Wu are having a meal together! And they've even called Ice Spin over... I wonder if Old Man Chen is trying to introduce his daughter to Wu Rui?" The owner of the nearby shop, who was idle at the time, chimed in with a smile, teasingly.

  Chen Bingxuan couldn't take such teasing and her face instantly turned red like an apple, lowering her head and not daring to meet anyone's gaze.

  "Haha, if Wu Rui the divine doctor agrees, I have no objection!" Old Man Chen didn't get angry, instead his eyes narrowed into a smile as he looked at Wu Rui with a probing gaze.

  Not to mention Wu Rui's great future prospects, just because he saved his own woman, Old Man Chen had the intention of marrying off his daughter to Wu Rui. Of course, he was also worried that Wu Rui would look down on his own daughter, so he didn't dare to bring it up directly, fearing that everyone would be embarrassed. Now someone is teasing about this, which is exactly what Old Man Chen wanted.

  "Hehe, Ice Spinner is indeed beautiful and clever, but I don't have plans to find a partner for now!" Wu Rui smiled calmly and lightly brushed off this awkward probe. However, he wasn't lying either. As a cultivator, one's lifespan was unpredictable, and Wu Rui truly didn't have plans to find a wife yet, perhaps it was just not his fate yet!

  Old Chen's eyes flashed with a hint of regret, but he knew that such things couldn't be forced, so he glared at the troublemaker and then quickly invited Wu Rui to eat, tacitly covering up the awkward situation.

  Chen Bingxuan, who was lowering her head with only her crimson ear roots exposed, also had a flicker in her eyes after hearing Wu Rui's words.

  ………………………

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