Jirentang Pharmacy.
Xu Xian told Hao Jianghua that his master had a letter for him to take to the owner of Jiren Tang Pharmacy. Hao Jianghua was straightforward and took Xu Xian to Jiren Tang Pharmacy in Wujia Lane without saying anything.
"So you are Fengshan's apprentice. Well, Fengshan's vision is really good. He said in the letter that you are a rare medical genius and asked me to cultivate you well." Wu Renjie, the owner of Jirentang Pharmacy, read the letter brought by Xu Xian, then looked Xu Xian up and down and nodded with satisfaction.
Xu Xian bowed hurriedly and said with great trepidation, "I have only skimmed through a few medical books. Master, you are too kind to me. I will need Uncle Wu's guidance in the future."
Wu Renjie stroked his long beard and said with a smile: "I can't say I can teach you, but I can teach you everything I know."
Xu Xian was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you very much, Uncle Wu."
Wu Renjie smiled and nodded, then he paused for a moment, walked to Hao Jianghua, and whispered, "Hao, let's talk for a moment." The two men came to a corner, and Wu Renjie took out a lot of silver from his pocket, and said with a smile, "Hao, please accept these silvers. We are not outsiders, so I will speak frankly."
Hao Jianghua said: "Boss Wu, you can speak frankly, as for these silver coins—"
"Haotou, you must accept these silver coins, otherwise I will be embarrassed to ask you for help."
"In that case, I will respectfully obey your order." Hao Jianghua put the silver in his arms, patted his chest and said generously to Wu Renjie: "If Boss Wu needs me, Hao Jianghua, as long as I am capable, I will definitely not refuse."
Wu Renjie was waiting for Hao Jianghua to say this. He laughed and said, "Hao, this Xu Xian is my brother's apprentice. My brother asked me to take care of him, so I naturally cannot let him down. You see, Xu Xian is just a weak scholar who made a mistake. We might as well give him a chance to correct his mistakes. How about this? My medicine shop happens to be short of manpower, so you can let Xu Xian stay in my medicine shop to help. First, I can take care of Xu Xian and will not let my brother down; second, you can save yourself the trouble. How about this?"
"Well, about this..." Hao Jianghua hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said loudly, "Okay, let's do as Boss Wu says." He had to give this face to Wu Renjie.
Wu Renjie smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Haotou."
Hao Jianghua's face straightened, and he said, "But Boss Wu, I have to make it clear first, if Xu Xian is fine in your house, I won't ask anything, but if he is dishonest in the slightest, you must let me know immediately."
Wu Renjie echoed: "Of course."
With Wu Renjie's help, Xu Xian stayed in Jirentang Pharmacy. Compared with when he was in Qiantang, he only had a little less freedom, but everything else was the same.
One day, Xu Xian was busy in the medicine shop when he suddenly heard a familiar woman's voice:
"Mr. Xu!"
Xu Xian looked up and saw the two people in front of him. He was suddenly overjoyed and said excitedly: "Miss Bai, Miss Qing! How could it be you? You...how did you come to Suzhou?"
Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing looked at each other and said with a smile: "We came to Suzhou to visit a friend."
Hearing this, Xu Xian exclaimed, "You two really have a wide range of friends. You even have friends in Suzhou."
Bai Suzhen smiled faintly, glanced around Jiren Hall, and said, "Qing'er and I passed by this pharmacy just now, and unexpectedly saw you, Mr. Xu, in the pharmacy, so we came in to say hello. By the way, shouldn't Mr. Xu be in Qiantang County? Why are you here again?" Bai Suzhen pretended to know nothing about Xu Xian's experience, and looked at him with confusion in her eyes.
Xu Xian's face darkened, and he said hesitantly: "This... Oh! It's a long story. I'll explain it to the two girls when I have a chance." He really didn't know how to tell Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing about his experience. He was afraid that even if he told them the truth, they might not believe it completely. After all, it was hard to convince others that he was wronged when he was caught red-handed. Moreover, he didn't want to leave a bad impression on Bai Suzhen, so he couldn't clear his name, so it was better to conceal it for the time being.
It's a long story? Humph! Can't you just make it short? He obviously didn't want to admit in front of his sister that he was exiled to Suzhou!
Xiaoqing glanced at Xu Xian with disdain, and her impression of him became even worse.
Bai Suzhen saw that Xu Xian didn't want to talk about being exiled to Suzhou, so she stopped asking. At this time, a woman suddenly ran out from the inner hall. She rushed to Xu Xian and shouted happily, "Brother Xu, I—" Just as she was about to speak, she caught a glimpse of Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing beside her. She was startled and asked Xu Xian, "Brother Xu, who are they?"
"Oh, this is Miss Bai, and this is Miss Qing, they are both my friends. Miss Bai, Miss Qing, her name is Yulian, and she is the daughter of the owner of this medicine shop." Xu Xian hurriedly introduced them to each other.
Wu Yulian looked at Bai Suzhen hesitantly, then at Xiaoqing, and her expression suddenly dimmed. She said "oh" and murmured, "So they are all your friends, Brother Xu."
At this time, Xiaoqing, who had not spoken a word, suddenly said, "We have only met him a few times, so we are not really friends!"
"Qing'er!" Bai Suzhen glared at Xiaoqing in a reproachful manner, feeling both angry and amused. She just didn't understand, as she had clearly explained it clearly. She only regarded Xu Xian as her savior, nothing more. But why did Qing'er still dislike Xu Xian and speak against him? She didn't know when she would be able to change her willful temper. Sighing secretly, Bai Suzhen looked at Xu Xian, who was looking embarrassed, and said apologetically, "Mr. Xu, Qing'er means no harm, please don't be offended."
Xu Xian waved his hands quickly and said, "It has nothing to do with Miss Qing. I was just lying."
"So you and Brother Xu have known each other for a short time." Wu Yulian was inexplicably happy after hearing Xiaoqing's words. She seemed relieved and suddenly became enthusiastic towards Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing: "Anyway, since you two know Brother Xu, you are not strangers. Please take a seat first. I will serve you tea."
"Miss Yulian, you don't have to be polite." Bai Suzhen called Wu Yulian, turned her head and looked at Xu Xian, saying, "Mr. Xu, it's a blessing that I can meet you here. Suzhen just happened to have something that she would like to ask Mr. Xu for help. I wonder if Mr. Xu could spare me a moment to talk?"
Xu Xian nodded and said, "If I can help Miss Bai, I will do my best. However, apart from knowing a little bit of medical skills, I know nothing else. I am afraid I may not be able to help Miss Bai."
Bai Suzhen smiled and said, "Mr. Xu will definitely be able to help Suzhen."