Chapter 143: Little Junior, You Bankrupted Master!

“Not that—they’re going out to earn money?”

Xu Ping’an stared blankly at the old man in front of him.

No, has Wan Ji Cang’s Hall of Ten Thousand Harmonies really fallen this far?

Are they in debt? Or did they gamble it all away?

Setting everything else aside, even just from what Xu Ping’an knew, the Hall of Ten Thousand Harmonies was arguably the largest pharmacy in the entire City of Zhaoge. Their daily income, with pure profit, must have been at least several hundred taels.

Just his senior brothers alone charged no less than a tael per consultation.

Even if the medicine business wasn’t very profitable, there was no way they would be operating at a loss and sending people out.

Forget the apprentices—just those senior brothers brought in over a hundred taels a day. When exactly did the Hall of Ten Thousand Harmonies become so destitute?

To the point where the Grandmaster himself had to come out and attend to patients?

“Um… Master Wan, if I may speak frankly, no matter how difficult things get at the Hall, I don’t think it would come to this level. What exactly are you doing?”

“Because of you, you little brat!”

The old man shot a fierce glare at Xu Ping’an, then looked toward the patients still waiting.

“Cut the nonsense, finish seeing all these people first!”

“Oh…”

What could Xu Ping’an do?

This old man was the type who never took no for an answer. No matter how many questions Ping An had swirling in his head, he had to see these patients first before saying anything.

So, with the old man sitting nearby, Xu Ping’an obediently sat down like a student under examination, patiently attending to each patient one by one.

In just one hour, he saw more patients than he had in months before combined.

The income, big and small, almost reached two thousand taels.

And this was with them holding back. Once the patients saw that the old man acknowledged him as a disciple, everyone wanted to see him.

“All done for today. Those without urgent cases, please head home.”

When the sun finally set and the crescent moon hung in the eastern sky, the old man at last finished the day’s quota.

The patients who didn’t get seen left one by one, disappointed.

Though unwilling, everyone in Zhaoge knew this old man’s temper.

Unless the Emperor himself came, no one could make him happy.

It wasn’t until then that the senior brothers who had been out on house calls returned, dusty and exhausted, entering through the door.

Inside, they all looked at him with weary, resentful eyes, making Xu Ping’an nervous and fidgety.

“Senior Brother Shen~ Senior Brother Shen.”

The old man had gone to the counter to tally accounts, and Xu Ping’an rubbed his sore wrists and quietly called out to Shen Li.

Originally, Shen Li should have been an outsider to the School, but the old man now recognized him as a disciple too, having reopened the School in his later years.

Therefore, Xu Ping’an was the youngest among all the brothers and sisters.

Shen Li glanced at the old man, then at Xu Ping’an before quietly approaching.

“What’s up?”

Looking at the senior brother, already over five thousand years old, Xu Ping’an asked in confusion, “Um, don’t take this the wrong way, but what’s wrong with Master Wan? Why the sudden push to make money? Could it be that my uncles went off drinking and gambling? Our Hall’s income isn’t small at all—even casually rounding up, two or three hundred thousand taels shouldn’t be a problem. What’s all this nonsense about?”

“Still you, huh?!”

After hearing Xu Ping’an’s doubts, Shen Li eyed him strangely, making Xu Ping’an feel like he was under scrutiny and extremely uneasy.

“Hey, Senior Brother Shen, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with me?”

Xu Ping’an even looked over at the copper mirror beside him.

Polished to near perfection with no flaw, the mirror reflected his face.

Seems like… nothing wrong at all.

Still as handsome as ever.

“You…”

Shen Li was about to say more but suddenly heard the old man from behind the counter shout with full strength, “What are you two idiots whispering about?!”

“Ah~ Master, um…”

Shen Li hesitated, unsure whether to speak, but the old man waved his hand dismissively.

“Enough! Rest up. I’ve arranged tea and snacks. You’ll have to pay for your own meals—there’s no money left at home!”

Upon hearing this, Shen Li could only shake his head bitterly.

Damn!

For their Little Junior Brother, the old man was turning into a real tightwad—won’t spend a single tael!

He even canceled the usual meal arrangements.

This Little Junior Brother was really the apple of the Master’s eye!

Back when he first joined the School, he never enjoyed this kind of favoritism from the old man.

Thinking of this, even Shen Li looked at Xu Ping’an with a mixture of envy and grievance, leaving Xu Ping’an utterly confused.

“You little bastard, come with me!”

“Ah~ coming.”

Hearing himself called, Xu Ping’an quickly stood, cupped his fists at Shen Li, then hurriedly followed the old man into the back hall.

Once inside, the old man, who had been standing straight, now seemed to slump over.

He looked particularly weary these days.

“Master Wan, what’s wrong with you?”

Xu Ping’an hurried over to support him, helping him sit down.

“Sigh…”

The old man sighed, looked up at Xu Ping’an, hesitated, then reached into his chest and pulled out three large silver notes.

They were oversized—each nearly twice the size of an A4 Sheet.

The rectangular silver notes, about a foot wide and two feet long, were placed on the table.

“You little bastard, it’s all because of you… cough!”

Wan Ji Cang almost blurted out a certain name, but felt it was disrespectful and quickly cleared his throat, then solemnly said,

“These are thirty taels each, in total ninety taels silver notes.

Later, your senior brothers will bring more money. We should be able to gather around five hundred thousand taels.”

“What… Master Wan, what are you doing?”

Xu Ping’an stared at the three giant silver notes, completely dumbfounded.

This made no sense at all.

“This old man’s bones may be old and worthless, but I’m risking my dignity here.

In three years, I should still be able to save another five hundred thousand taels, making about one million taels total.

I’m not capable of much, but since you little bastard is about to get married, and I know you never save money, take this one million taels as the betrothal gift.

It might not be enough, but it’s all I can do.”

“Ah?!”

So all this fuss was for him?

Xu Ping’an felt his heart tremble and his eyes nearly overflowed with tears.

“You little bastard, don’t cry! Dry up that horse urine of yours!”

“To marry that lady is a blessing that the Wan Family and you have earned over generations.

Treasure it more.

Though your life is short, only a hundred years, even so, that’s enough to boast about for a lifetime, ha~ better than this old man.”

At the end, the corners of the old man’s mouth twitched into a faint smile.

Holding back the horse urine… ah, no!

The old man simply couldn’t speak gracefully.

Suppressing his tears, Xu Ping’an took a deep breath, hesitated, then said,

“Master Wan, about this… the betrothal gift—I’ve already given it. You don’t need to give more.”

“Huh!? Already given? Where would a little bastard like you get that much money?! Are you up to something shady?!”

Seeing the old man getting riled up, Xu Ping’an quickly waved his hands to explain:

“N-no, Master Wan, please don’t get angry. Listen, here’s what happened…”