The business of Badaotang is getting better and better. From early autumn to late autumn, people and cars and horses are bustling in front of Badaotang every day, making it very lively.
The number of reservations at Bad Hall has expanded from 500 to 800, and the demand is still in short supply.
During this period, Su Ling and Du Heng were very busy, as well as the four soldiers.
Su Ling had to make medicine and see patients, so she was unable to do anything at the same time. Fortunately, Du Heng was running around and coordinating the busy schedule.
Although Du Heng is rough, there is detail within the roughness. Especially this business is closely related to him, so he takes care of everything and manages it well. He has the demeanor of a great butler.
Even so, Du Heng has lost a lot of weight these days. His skin is much darker than usual, but he still shows a bit of strength.
The people lining up outside were in an orderly manner, but there were so many people that trivial matters often happened. Fortunately, Wang Jun took the lead and arranged things well and arranged things outside in an orderly manner. He himself also became four soldiers.
's leader.
Su Ling saw this and simply handed over all external matters to Wang Jun to take care of. He also did an excellent job. Su Ling secretly felt that Wang Jun could be of great use.
During this period, Guo Baiyi came here several times, but on the pretext that there were too many people here and he couldn't stay any longer, he grabbed Liuwei Dihuang Pills and Butian Dazao Pills and left quickly.
It was agreed to buy with money, but it was always on credit.
Su Ling didn't ask for it either. She just took a small notebook and wrote down page after page of bad debts.
Finally one day, Guo Baiyi came and saw that the business was really booming and there were so many people that the roof of the bad hall was almost bursting. Then he pulled Su Ling and said: "Now the business of the bad hall is so good, you
If you can't just stick to this store, don't you want to open a semicolon?"
Su Ling rolled her eyes at him, pulled out the book of bad debts from her arms, threw it in front of Guo Baiyi's eyes and said, "Don't talk about this yet, first pay me the money you gave me for the medicine on credit."
Guo Baiyi said angrily: "Are you still afraid that I, the dignified God in Baiyi, will not be able to rely on you for medicine money? We are a profit-sharing business. You can deduct these small sums when the settlement is settled."
Then he said seriously: "Do you have any plans about opening a semicolon?"
Su Ling hesitated and said, "Is this what Lao Xiao meant?"
Guo Baiyi said calmly: "Old Xiao, a general manager, is not busy with matters in the Sikong Mansion, so how can he care about this?"
Su Ling then smiled and said with a serious expression: "The semicolon can be opened, but it's too early now?"
Su Ling said with a smile: "First, my ugly business is just getting better, and many processes and details are not yet complete. If I open a semicolon rashly, I am afraid that I will make a mistake in the middle of the day and ruin my own brand; both now
Fifty-six out of ten people in Kyoto come to my hospital to see a doctor. As the saying goes, a big tree attracts wind. Now my small hospital has taken away most of its customers. If I open another semicolon, wouldn't it leave no way for my colleagues to survive?
Can’t make it?”
Su Ling laughed and said: "Although these colleagues are all doctors who can cure all diseases, they have a disease that cannot be cured no matter what..."
Guo Baiyi asked curiously: "What is the disease that they cannot cure themselves?"
Su Ling said word by word: "Pink eye disease has been the same since ancient times."
Guo Baiyi nodded and said: "You take people's hearts very seriously... But, are you really willing to only have this one store?"
Su Ling said with deep eyes: "Of course there won't be only this store, but what I think in my heart is to build high walls, accumulate food widely, and slowly become king. Nothing can be done slowly, how can I eat a fat man in one bite.
"
When Su Ling said the words "Build the wall high, accumulate food widely, and become king slowly", Guo Baiyi's eyes flashed, seeming to be quite approving.
He Fang nodded and said, "It's not easy for you to think like this."
Su Ling waved his hand and said: "Right now, I have an important matter to discuss with you. There are more and more people in my hall, but I really don't have enough manpower. I wonder if I can recruit one or two people. I will use the method of grinding medicine.
Leave it to them so that I can be free and concentrate on treating people."
Guo Baiyi laughed loudly and said: "This is natural... It's just that we can no longer draw people from the army... If you want to recruit people, just pick a few from ordinary people and try.
You can rest assured that all their expenses and remuneration will be covered by Sikong."
Su Ling chuckled and said, "This is your last sentence I've been waiting for. Guo Jijiu is really an adult who does big things and writes big words!"
Guo Baiyi rolled his eyes at him and said, "Then will you still charge me for the medicine?"
Su Ling looked like he was being plotted and said, "That's all, that's all, I'll give away your medicine for free, okay?"
............
After Guo Baiyi arrived at Sikong Mansion, he did not dare to delay to find Xiao Yuanche, and told Xiao Yuanche about Su Ling's recruitment and his thoughts on opening a semicolon.
After Xiao Yuanche heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he had been thinking for a long time, and then he sighed: "What a good Su Ling, but before he was seventeen years old, he already had the ability to build high walls, accumulate food, and slowly become the king.
In terms of perspective, I only laugh at that person. He is now walking like a tiger, but he thinks he has the upper hand and can’t wait."
When Guo Baiyi heard this, he already knew who Xiao Yuanche was referring to. He smiled lightly and said: "The person the elder brother mentioned is referring to Huainan Shenji Gao?"
Xiao Yuanche stroked his beard, nodded and laughed.
Guo Baiyi also said lightly: "Although Shen Jigao and the one from the north were born from the same father, their vision and strategies are really the same as those in heaven and earth. Shen Jigao is already a little impatient now, and he doesn't know when he holds the jade seal of the country.
, his disobedience is clearly revealed, and with the encouragement of those ungrateful thieves, it seems that he will dare to call himself emperor in the near future."
Xiao Yuanche nodded and said, "What Bai Yi said is right. What Shen Jigao did was just to trap himself."
Guo Baiyi thought for a while and said: "Now that the people's hearts are still in Jin, Shen Jigao's actions are nothing but self-destruction. Judging from Baiyi's point of view, when he stole the country, he was the withered bones in the grave, but...
....”
Xiao Yuanche agreed and said, "It doesn't matter if you have something to say."
Guo Baiyi said sternly: "By doing this, Shen Ji Gaoruo is giving a great gift to the eldest brother. Although he will be killed by the whole world when the time comes, the emperor is with me, and eldest brother can wait for the opportunity and destroy him in one fell swoop. This
Don't let others take advantage of such a great thing...Also, although Shen Jigao and Shen Jizhou are the same family, they have been at odds for many days. It is expected that Shen Jizhou will not help him. However, Shen Jigao's rebellion will inevitably
How can Shen Jizhou get rid of his family members? It is just a matter of using this matter to dampen his spirit, so as to prevent those who are clear from making noises for him anymore. "
Xiao Yuanche laughed loudly and said: "The one who knows me is Mr. Baiyi! You and Xu Lingjun need to think carefully about the detailed planning of this matter. You must not miss any link. If you make any move, you must give full credit!"
Guo Baiyi hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "I obey my brother's instructions!"
Xiao Yuanche seemed to think about it again and then said: "Now there is something that I am not sure about, so I will tell you about it in detail."
Seeing Xiao Yuanche's solemn words, Guo Baiyi also said seriously: "Brother, please speak."
Xiao Yuanche lowered his voice and said: "Today, the guy from Caiyuanzi came to me and said that if there is a change in Huainan Shenji Gao, he is willing to be a pawn and lead a soldier to destroy it."
Guo Baiyi's expression changed several times, and after thinking for a while, he said: "The identity of the person in the vegetable garden is different from others. For moral reasons, he is the best choice... It's just that the matter is serious. , I will make a decision after discussing it with your Majesty."
Xiao Yuanche nodded and said: "You are right, there is no rush for this matter, you have to give Shen Jigao some time to prepare, right?"
Xiao Yuanche walked around the room for a few more steps, lowered his head and thought. Su Ling's words "Build walls high, accumulate food widely, and become king slowly" were still thinking in his ears. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it hit the nail on the head. Crucial.
Suddenly he raised his head and said: "Baiyi, help me spread paper and grind ink!"
Guo Baiyi had done all these things, but when he saw Xiao Yuanche holding the pen in his hand, he wrote nine big characters.
Guo Baiyi looked around and saw the words "Build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and slowly become king".
After Xiao Yuanche finished writing, he threw away the pen and said, "Send someone to have this picture framed and papered. I will keep one piece and send the other to Cang Shu."
Hearing this, Guo Baiyi's heart moved, and he nodded in agreement. Just as he was about to leave, Xiao Yuanche suddenly stopped him again and said, "Where is the second Jian Shu, please send one as well."
............
After the restaurant was closed for business that day, Su Ling stopped Du Heng, Wang Jun and the other three soldiers and announced his decision to recruit people in public.
The three soldiers naturally agreed. Finally, someone would share some of the burden for them, and they could feel more relaxed.
It's just that Wang Jun didn't say a word and didn't seem to want to recruit people.
Su Ling left him alone and asked Wang Jun what he planned.
Wang Jun said sincerely: "Isn't it hard for me to go to the battlefield to fight? It costs more to recruit more people. I think I should be busier..."
Su Ling patted him on the shoulder. Looking at the sincere eyes of this loyal and honest young man, he was quite moved and said in his heart: "Those three soldiers came with you and spent time together day and night, but you really don't pretend to be us." Don't worry about money. Now that our business is good, we can still afford these expenses. Besides, we can find more people and let you deploy them. You can also exercise more. Maybe one day you can I want to lead my own army and go into battle to kill the enemy..."
Wang Jun's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said with emotion: "Brother Su, do you really think I can lead an army? But, I'm just a pawn."
Su Ling laughed loudly, took a chessboard from behind, and took out a pair of mahogany chess pieces and said, "How about we play chess?"
Wang Jun looked around and saw that the chessboard was criss-crossed with some special marks mixed in. There were also chess pieces marked with Chinese characters such as rook, horse, phase, and pawn.
He had never seen it before and just thought it was novel.
"What is this? I have never seen it before." Wang Jun said with interest.
Su Ling laughed loudly and said: "This is chess... It is a chess skill taught by an expert in my hometown. Are these the rules..."
Su Ling told Wang Jun this rule. Wang Jun was really smart. After Su Lingfang finished speaking, he knew it by heart. Su Ling laughed and said, "Then let's have a real game."
Wang Jun and Su Ling sat opposite each other, each holding their own camp and playing chess.
Wang Jun was really talented. Even though it was his first time playing chess, he was quite good at it. The two of them fought against each other. Su Ling suffered a lot of losses, but Wang Jun was making every step of the way.
Su Ling took a peek and felt in a daze that before him was the general commanding thousands of troops on the battlefield.
No matter what, Wang Jun was just playing chess for the first time, so he was not as experienced as Su Ling. After a lot of fighting, Wang Jun only had one single soldier and one general left, while Su Ling only had one general left, but one of them passed.
River pawn.
Within a moment, Su Ling's old soldier was heartbroken, and Wang Jun was defeated.
Su Ling laughed, and pointed to the pawn crossing the river who had penetrated the local lair with a deep meaning: "Wang Jun, you see, this battlefield is like this chess game, but in the end it was this inconspicuous pawn who pulled the king general off his horse.
.So what about the pawns? They can still gallop on the battlefield and be invincible!"
Wang Jun was deeply moved. He suddenly knelt down on one knee and said word by word: "Jun knows Mr. Su's wishes. Wang Jun will definitely live up to Mr. Su's expectations!"
Su Ling hurriedly pulled him up and said, "What is this? We are just discussing techniques, and if you scream like this again, I will get angry!"
Wang Jun then smiled knowingly and said: "I understand, Brother Su!"
............
The next day, Su Ling officially hung a recruitment plaque in the bad hall.
One day during the day, there was an endless stream of people who came to apply for the job. After interviewing for a whole day, Su Ling made a list, discussed it with Du Heng and Wang Jun, and then made a preliminary decision to recruit four more people.
Among the four people, three were strong and strong young men. Su Ling assigned all of them to Wang Jun for deployment. The other one was a young scholar in his early thirties, who was born with a gentle temperament. I heard from him that he once worked in
I worked as an apprentice in a nearby medical clinic and gained some proficiency in medical skills.
The scribe's name was Hao Zao, so Su Ling kept him by his side, one to help him grind the medicine, and the other to let him grab the medicine when he was too busy.
On a new day, Hao Zao was the first to arrive. When Su Ling and Du Heng got up to open the door, he took the initiative to pick up a broom and sweep up the fallen leaves in front of the hall.
When Du Heng saw it, he was even more happy and said: "Now I finally have someone to help me work!"
Su Ling also smiled and was quite satisfied with this Hao Zao.
Unfortunately, the team has grown, and now there are ten people in total.
Everyone performs their own duties, and the inside and outside are coordinated, and gradually it looks like a big medicine hall and medical clinic.
A month like this was about to pass. Su Ling saw that Hao Zao could read and write, and he was also quick with his hands. Whether it was grabbing medicine or grinding the powder of Lengxiang Pills, he was very good at it.
Simply prepare the ingredients for Lengxiang Pills every day, pile them up in large and small bags, and when Hao Zao comes, let him do all the grinding of the medicine.
Su Ling himself was completely liberated and could concentrate on treating patients.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it is the end of late autumn.
With everyone working together, Su Ling has never felt more fulfilled these days.
But in his heart, he missed Zhang Zhiyue who was far away in Nanzhang. He secretly made up his mind to open a branch in the coming spring. Second, he would buy a house and go to Nanzhang to bring Zhang Zhiyue and Zhang Shennong to settle down.
He begged Guo Baiyi to send some men to Qingyan Mountain to find his parents and Uncle Du Jing's family, and bring them to live together. The Qingyan Army was always a bandit, and it would be dangerous if the imperial court destroyed them one day.
............
Night, Ryotai Castle, Kyoto.
It was a cloudy day today, and at night, the moon was covered by dark clouds, and there were no stars at all.
The late autumn wind is already quite chilly. The autumn wind is bleak, blowing the withered yellow maple leaves all over the street, rippling in the empty big city, making it look lonely.
The wind was quite strong tonight, and the whining sound startled the sleepy stray dogs in the corner of the long street. They raised their dirty fur and barked a few times into the darkness. The only answer they got was:
The constant sound of wind and the rolling dead leaves.
Perhaps even these stray dogs found it quite boring, so they whined a few times and huddled in a dark corner.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed in a dark corner of the city wall. The light seemed to be shaken by the strong wind, and there seemed to be a dark-yellow figure quickly covering the bright light in front of him, using his body to block the oncoming force.
night breeze.
The bright light in his hand jumped a few times, and finally brightened up, illuminating the surrounding area within a few steps.
At the same time, the light also illuminated the man's face.
But he is a handsome young man.
The young man held a fire fan in his hand, and the light came from it.
After the young man finished doing this, he lifted his nose and sniffed hard, and seemed to smell a fishy and pungent smell. He choked and retched, and said to himself: "How can this be done? He is also a big and small person.
In the capital, the walls of this city are too smelly, and the health management gets negative marks!"
He rambled like this for a while, and suddenly his body moved very fast, like a stream of light heading towards the depths of the city.
A deep alley on Zhuque Street in Longtai City. Although this alley is much higher than the main street of Zhuque Street, it is small but well-equipped. Carpenter shops, snack shops, and rouge and gouache shops are lined up on both sides of the alley.
It's just that it's late at night now, except for the flags and banners outside the shop doors that are blowing in the night wind, no shop is open.
Suddenly, the stream of light, which had disappeared for a long time at the city wall, appeared outside the main entrance of a shop at some unknown time.
It was that boy.
The young man raised his head and looked at the plaque on the door of the shop, silently read it twice, then curled his lips slightly, and seemed to be secretly amused and said: "Not good? Even you, no one else can think of this name."
come out......"
The young man didn't waste any more time. He straightened up and shot straight into the courtyard from the courtyard wall like a stream of light. He turned over like a kite and dodged into the darkness in the corner of the wall.
After waiting for a long time, he quietly walked out and stood in the yard with such a big fanfare, looking around.
He seemed to be quite satisfied with the environment here, and whispered to himself: "Although it is shabby, it is still humane. It is always much better than me. Except for the statues and sandalwood, there is no human flavor at all?"
His tone was full of exclamation for some unknown reason: "I'm so damn worn, why am I so miserable..."
He dodged again, his figure was so fast that he floated to the backyard in a flash of light.
He glanced around the backyard and saw that there were side-by-side rooms on the left and right sides of the backyard, and there was a back hall in the middle. It was difficult to get out for a moment.
He squatted on the ground in despair, holding his chin in his hand, looking at the row of rooms on the left and then on the right, but after looking for a long time, he really couldn't figure it out.
He could only repeat in a low voice: "Is there anyone... I can go out to the toilet or something... I can also ask Su Ling which room that kid is sleeping in!"
"
He kept talking like this for a long time, but no one came out. Instead, he was a little chilled by the howling autumn wind, and two big streaks of snot hung under his nostrils. He looked quite embarrassed.
He could only sniff the snot that was about to flow out, while his head was covered with black lines and he hesitated helplessly.
After another half moment, he really couldn't hold on anymore, so he had to flash to the door of the main hall in the back hall, took out a metal piece from somewhere, inserted it into the gap between the two doors in the back hall, and gently opened it.
Fiddled with it twice.
Then he pushed the door open confidently.
He thought the door would open, but after pushing it several times, the door made no move.
The young man was a bit dumbfounded, so he had to take out the metal piece again and repeat the action just now.
He kept fussing and playing with his belly like this endlessly.
But seeing the cold wind blowing, a young man shivered while fidgeting with the metal piece to pry open the door.
If you look carefully, you can see that the two lines of mucus in his nostrils were growing and shortening as he puffed and puffed.
The young man's heart suddenly turned violent, and he really got into trouble with the door bolt. He was fiddling with it with gnashing of teeth and passion.
Finally, under the guidance of his spirit of perseverance, unremitting efforts, tenacious struggle, and fear of the cold, the door bolt slowly made a click sound.
The young man finally breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself, if this broken door is not opened, I will die here...
Xuan Chan's old-fashioned lock-picking technique is not easy to use. After I finish this job, I will definitely let him blow in the cold wind for three days and three nights...
Su Ling, you little brat...I've been exposed to the cold wind for you and me, yet you don't know anything, just lie in bed and sleep!
He said this nonchalantly, walked into the main hall of the back hall, then turned around and gently closed the door of the back hall.
He took out the fire folder again, and a bright light illuminated the back hall.
The young man didn't seem to be in a hurry to get down to business. He was pacing back and forth in the back hall, looking at something with great interest. However, he saw that the main hall of the back hall was very spacious, but there were not many furnishings.
There is a round table in the middle with several chairs. There are two pottery bottles placed against the wall behind. There are two large standing cabinets on the left and right sides respectively, which hold some bottles and jars. In addition, in the large
On the top of the standing cabinet, there is a large bulging package of something, I don’t know what it is.
The young man guessed that it should be some semi-finished or finished products such as traditional Chinese medicine.
In addition to these, there is a book desk on the left side, with several brushes lying scattered on the desk, and a few pieces of paper scattered in disorder.
It's just that the young man seemed to be quite interested in the big bulging bag in the big cabinet. He stepped forward and reached out to grab the big bag.
I originally thought it must be valuables such as money and jewelry, but the tentacles seemed to be as soft as grass blades.
"What the hell..." The young man was very curious, took down the big bag, and grabbed his hand inside.
It seems to be the leaves of some kind of plant.
He took a handful, put it to his nose and smelled it.
He couldn't help but whispered in surprise: "Fuck...where did this guy get his hair from..."
He was not polite and just put the hair tips into his two full pockets.
Only then was I satisfied.
Suddenly I remembered that I still had something serious to do, so I wandered around the hall for a while and caught a glimpse of the desk. I immediately jumped over to it.
He took out a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket, folded it again, and looked at the words on the note a few times, as if to confirm whether the words were written correctly.
It's just that the characters are written crookedly, which matches Su Ling's handwriting. There is a line on it:
There is a spy inside, be careful to frame him.
The young man randomly mixed the paper with the papers on the desk. This time he left the back hall with satisfaction, and a stream of light shot into the depths of Longtai City.