Chapter 340 - 230: He Who Tied the Bell Must Untie It
Chapter 340: Chapter 230: He Who Tied the Bell Must Untie It
’Liu Hong...’
Chen Yi said thoughtfully, "It seems grain prices in Shu State are about to rise."
"It won’t have much of an impact," Li Huai’gu said with a smile. "If prices rise too much, the two Governors will likely step in and regulate them."
Chen Yi glanced at him but didn’t say anything more.
’Given the current situation, even if the Governor’s Office does intervene, it’ll only be after the Xiao Family’s silver coins have been completely drained.’
After some more small talk, Chen Yi bid farewell to Li Huai’gu and found Liu Si’er outside the wonton shop.
It was nearly noon, and many students from the academy frequented the wonton shop. A long line had even formed at the entrance.
Many of the students who saw Chen Yi bowed. "Sir, you’re eating here as well?"
"Why don’t you join us?"
Chen Yi returned their greetings one by one, shaking his head with a smile. "I have something to attend to, so I’ll be on my way."
With that, he boarded the carriage and told Liu Si’er to drive straight to Jishi Medicine Hall in the East Market.
The rain had stopped, and the sky was clearing up.
The sun shone from a vast, cloudless sky, its rays not as scorching as in summer.
A cool, pleasant breeze blew from time to time.
Chen Yi gazed out the window, making small talk with Liu Si’er. He didn’t dwell on the matter of Liu Hong and Mr. Yue Ming.
’What occupies my thoughts most is the identity of those manipulating the grain prices, and who is backing them.’
’From what I can tell so far, these people are quite powerful.’
’I need to find a way to identify them first. Acting rashly will only backfire.’
Before long, the carriage turned from Kangning Street onto South Street.
Chen Yi immediately spotted Xinglin Hall, situated not far from the Governor’s Office, and he raised an eyebrow.
’Great Success in Calligraphy Dao?’
He saw that the calligraphy for "Xinglin Hall" on the plaque outside the Medicine Hall was, astonishingly, written in Wei Qing’s Style at the Great Success Realm.
A brilliant, golden luminescence flowed from the characters, casting a dazzling radiance.
Even though it was noon, a steady stream of people went in and out of Xinglin Hall, many of them members of Noble Families dressed in fine silks.
Liu Si’er saw it too. "You see that, Young Master?" he said.
"That Xinglin Hall has really established itself. They have a Medical Saint Hand in residence, which attracts a lot of wealthy merchants and gentry."
Chen Yi hummed in acknowledgment and said no more.
’The Medicine Hall business isn’t like others. Aside from the price of herbs, what truly matters are the Physicians and their formulas.’
’Ultimately, the hall that can actually heal the sick and save lives is the one that will have a constant stream of customers.’
’In contrast, a place like Hundred Herbs Hall, which started out by selling herbal teas, was considered no better than an Evil Cultivator by its peers.’
Soon, the carriage arrived at the East Market.
Chen Yi led Liu Si’er into Jishi Medicine Hall. To the surprise of Liu Quan, Ma Liangcai, and the others, he called for them to prepare lunch.
While telling the apprentices to prepare the meal, Liu Quan brought over the account books, his face all smiles.
"Shopkeeper, please take a look."
Chen Yi took the books and glanced through them. He smiled. "I heard business was slow, but from the looks of this, it’s not bad at all."
Liu Quan’s smile froze. He laughed dryly. "It’s all thanks to your excellent management, Shopkeeper. Heh heh."
Chen Yi put the account books down, deciding not to make things more awkward for him. He announced,
"You’ve all been working hard lately. Later, everyone can take two taels of silver. Consider it a bonus from me."
"Thank you, Shopkeeper."
Chen Yi nodded. With some time to spare, he pulled Ma Liangcai into a back room.
"Did you need something, Shopkeeper?"
"Shopkeeper Wang gave you some Medical Dao texts earlier. How are your studies progressing?"
After Xiao Wan’er confirmed her plans for the Medical Dao Academy, Chen Yi had prepared some relevant medical texts and asked Wang Ji to give them to Ma Liangcai.
Part of the reason for his visit was to test Ma Liangcai’s progress.
Ma Liangcai looked troubled. "I’m... I’m still studying them. Some parts are just really difficult to understand."
’Chen Yi was well aware of how difficult it was to study the Medical Dao. Many aspiring Physicians never got any hands-on experience, relying solely on rote memorization, which was never enough.’
He thought for a moment and said, "Whatever you don’t understand, write it down."
Ma Liangcai was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He hurriedly took out a brush and paper and wrote down every single question that had been puzzling him lately.
Chen Yi read through the questions. ’Just as I thought,’ he mused, before writing out the answers one by one on the paper.
"Yin Yang Five Elements, the organs and meridians, the Four Diagnostics, and the Eight Principles are the absolute fundamentals. Only when you truly grasp these can your study of the Medical Dao be considered entry-level."
"You must first build a holistic framework in your mind before you can even think about diagnosis and prescribing treatments..."
After more than an hour had passed, Chen Yi saw that Liu Quan and the others outside were growing anxious, so he finally said,
"I’ll have Wang Ji send you more texts later. Improve your skills in the Medical Dao as quickly as you can."
Ma Liangcai looked down at the paper in his hands and bowed gratefully. "Thank you for your guidance, Shopkeeper."
Chen Yi patted his shoulder. "Let’s go. Time to eat."
’Ma Liangcai wasn’t exceptionally talented, but he was obedient and honest, and he had proven himself competent on several occasions.’
’It was no wonder I’m putting in the effort to teach him.’
’Of course, my true intention is to train a capable assistant so that matters concerning Hundred Herbs Hall and the Medical Dao Academy won’t all fall to me in the future.’
After lunch, Chen Yi wandered through the East Market alone, specifically looking for the grain merchants’ shops.
However, after making a few rounds, he couldn’t find any grain merchants who had purchased barbarian slaves.
He did, however, spot several caged barbarian slaves at a stall run by people from Poshisu Country, located deeper in the market.
"This barbarian slave, young, strong. Fifty taels."
"That one, thirty taels..."
The man from Poshisu Country would occasionally crack his whip, striking the slaves and shouting curses to prove their docile nature.
"Obedient, useful."
’Chen Yi couldn’t tell if the barbarian slaves were truly useful or not.’
’But he did notice that the scrawniest one among them seemed to be protected by the others.’
Whenever the man from Poshisu cracked his whip, the other barbarian slaves would subtly shield the young one.
’Are they just protecting the young?’
’Or did that young slave have a high status?’
Chen Yi couldn’t be sure. He silently committed their faces to memory before turning to continue his stroll through the market.
It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that he summoned Liu Si’er to return to the Xiao Family estate.
’A barbarian slave riot... I wonder if it was these slaves, or the other ones from the grain merchants.’
’Connecting the grain merchants with barbarian slaves just feels... odd. Something strange is going on...’