Supreme Hidden Dragon in the City-Chapter 451: An Lan’s Working Journal

Wang Yao said, "I’m not too sure about that either. They say that he asks each person to do something different. When rich people come to him for treatment, he makes them beg on the streets, while he treats the poor to extravagant meals of shark fins and bird’s nests, and full Manchu-Han banquets. If a man seeks his help, he makes him dress as a woman, and if a woman seeks treatment, he tells her to plow the fields. His temper is very strange, fickle, and what he will ask someone to do is improvised on the spot, without any pattern."

An Lan was very surprised in her heart, never expecting such an odd person to exist in this world. However, since she was at his mercy, she naturally had to follow his rules. To save Chen Fan’s life, no matter how difficult the task that Matched Hua Tuo gave her, she would have to grit her teeth and do it.

She said to Wang Yao, "I understand, I will go to the Hanging Pot Medical Hall and see."

Wang Yao didn’t say anything more and turned around to go back to her room to sleep.

An Lan returned to her room and started to make her bed on the floor.

Wang Yao’s family only had this one room to offer to guests, which had a single bed, so An Lan had been sleeping on the floor for the past two days.

Chen Fan watched An Lan carefully making her bed on the floor and suddenly felt embarrassed. After all, this woman used to be an internationally renowned designer, leading an elite life, and now, because of him, she had fallen to this state, even having to sleep on the floor. Anyone would feel guilty in his shoes.

To ease the atmosphere, he asked, "What were you and her talking about just now?"

An Lan said, "Oh, it was nothing. You’ve just woken up and your body is weak, and it’s also getting late, you should rest soon."

After making her bed, An Lan turned off the light and lay down, soon falling asleep.

The next morning.

An Lan made sure Chen Fan was well settled and repeatedly asked him if he needed to use the toilet. After getting a negative response, she found Wang Yao and asked her to look after Chen Fan. Then she left the house and headed towards the center of the county town.

She took a taxi, and because the Hanging Pot Medical Hall was well-known throughout Jade River County, the driver easily found the place and took her there.

An Lan looked at the somewhat ancient-looking house in front of her with a sign hanging above that read "Hanging Pot Medical Hall."

The medical hall’s door was open, but the place seemed deserted and there weren’t many people coming here for treatment.

After all, Matched Hua Tuo was famously eccentric, and people generally only came here with complicated and difficult diseases. For common ailments like headaches and fevers, people still chose to go to hospitals or clinics.

An Lan walked into the medical hall. There was no one in the hall, so she went through it to the yard inside, where an old man with a goat beard and a round hat was lying on a Taishi Chair, basking in the sun.

With caution, An Lan asked, "Hello, may I ask if you are Matched Hua Tuo?"

The old man opened one eye halfway, glanced at An Lan, and said, "No."

An Lan hastily asked, "Then where is the esteemed elder Matched Hua Tuo right now?"

The old man said, "Dead, just buried in the ground."

An Lan: "..."

She had pretty much confirmed that this old man was Matched Hua Tuo, Wang Zhi; this guy was just as eccentric as Wang Yao had described.

Her face full of earnest, she looked at the old man, saying, "Elder, I have come here hoping to implore the elder to save a life. The life of my boyfriend hangs by a thread, and only the elder’s medical skills can save him."

Wang Zhi scoffed, "You want me to save someone? Do you even know my rules here?"

An Lan nodded, "I have some understanding. Whatever your requirements, just tell me, and I will do my best to fulfill them."

Hearing this, Wang Zhi’s interest was piqued, and he stood up from his lounge chair.

He looked An Lan over carefully, making her feel uneasy.

"This old codger wouldn’t be proposing any unreasonable demands, would he? Judging by his looks, he should have no interest in that sort of thing anymore. I hope he doesn’t impose any indecent demands on me," An Lan muttered to herself. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Smiling, Wang Zhi said, "Seeing how delicate and pretty you are, you must be a young miss from a wealthy family, right?"

Speaking softly, An Lan said, "Sort of... yes."

Suddenly, Wang Zhi snorted coldly, "You rich people just lord it over others, exploiting the poor. Your splendor and fabulous lifestyle are built on the backs of the suffering masses!"

"You want me to treat someone? Fine, starting today you will do odd jobs around here. Every menial task in this place will be your responsibility. If you do well, I’ll provide my help. Do you accept?"

Upon hearing this, An Lan felt a weight lift from her heart. Originally, she had feared this old man might make an unbearable demand, but it turned out he merely wanted her to do menial tasks, which wasn’t difficult at all.

While she disagreed with Wang Zhi’s assertion that her glamour and success were built on the suffering of the poor—indeed her family background was capitalist, but everything she had achieved was through her own efforts, without ever leveraging her family’s resources—she chose not to voice her disagreement for fear of angering the old man.

"Accepted, accepted. As long as the senior is willing to take action, I’ll finish however many tasks there are."

Wang Zhi revealed a teasing smile on his face, "That’s what you said, then you’ll stay here and work for a day to start with. If the results satisfy me, after you’ve worked for three days, I will save your boyfriend."

An Lan wore a smile, "It’s a deal!"

Wang Zhi snickered, "It just so happens I’ve been worrying about not having anyone willing to stay and work here. Since this silly girl is willing to do odd jobs, I should make good use of her."

Although Wang Zhi was famous for his medical skills, many people wanted to study under him, his temper was far too erratic. Pretty much all the apprentices who had come to him couldn’t endure his temperament and had all run away the day before.

His vast medical hall thus had no one to take care of it.

He had originally thought about sweet-talking the previous apprentices, telling them that he would definitely change his temperament in the future, but nobody believed him. Even though he used his medical knowledge as a bait, no one was willing to continue staying with him.

Fortunately, An Lan came today, so he hurried to seize this free labor, afraid that she might run away.

As for what others said about him liking to have people fulfill his requirements before he was willing to treat them, it was somewhat exaggerated. It was just one of his quirks; he enjoyed watching people step out of their comfort zones and try things they’ve never experienced before.

This way, on one hand, he could test the character of those seeking medical help, making a selection. For those whose character didn’t meet standard, he never lifted a finger. On the other hand, it also satisfied his wicked pleasure in bossing people around.

Soon, An Lan began her work-life at Hanging Pot Medical Hall.

She had originally thought that the "odd jobs" Wang Zhi mentioned were just trivial matters like serving tea, pouring water, sweeping, and cooking. She even felt lucky in her heart, that she hadn’t been given a hard time by the old man.

But when she started to actually work, she realized that the "odd jobs" Wang Zhi referred to consisted of taking on all sorts of tasks at Hanging Pot Medical Hall.

She had to do far more than serve tea, pour water, sweep, wash clothes, and cook. She also had to prepare medicines, run errands, carry medicinal materials, keep the accounts, chop wood, and decoct medicines, among a series of other tasks.

In the entire Hanging Pot Medical Hall, aside from Wang Zhi, who occasionally needed to see patients and dispense medicines, all the other work needed to be done by her alone.

By the end of the first day, An Lan was so tired she was seeing stars and her delicate palms were full of blisters. Her legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and walking had become much more difficult.

Wang Zhi asked with a smile, "How’s that, not too tiring working here, right?"

Clamping down on her teeth, An Lan said, "Not tiring!"

Wang Zhi nodded with satisfaction, "Very good, you performed well. Remember to come early tomorrow. There will be a batch of medicinal materials arriving that you’ll have to move into the warehouse."

An Lan huffed and turned to leave.

Once she was out of the doors of Hanging Pot Medical Hall, she almost broke down crying.

"Damn Chen Fan, to keep you alive I’ve suffered so much; if you keep being so pessimistic, I definitely won’t let you off!" Grumbling, An Lan took the car back home.

Upon arriving home, Chen Fan asked, "Where did you go? Why are you back so late?"

An Lan, not giving a glance, started making the bed. Right now, she really didn’t want to bother with this guy.

After setting up the bed, she lay down immediately, and in less than two minutes, she fell asleep.

Watching An Lan fall asleep so quickly, Chen Fan was somewhat surprised, guessing that she must have been doing some heavy, tiring work during the day.

For the next three days, An Lan left early and returned late every day, each time completely worn out, heading straight to bed. Though it was only three days, her delicate face already had a few more signs of exhaustion.

Every time, she would secretly pop the blisters on her hands before coming back home, squeezing the fluid out. At night, the sweating would make her hands sting, and she would grind her teeth in pain, not daring to make even the slightest noise, only able to grit her teeth and keep sleeping.

As for Chen Fan, Wang Yao took care of him the whole time. She was on summer break, so she had plenty of time.

That girl, however, looked down on Chen Fan. Often when Chen Fan wanted to drink water or eat something, Wang Yao pretended not to hear, deliberately leaving him hanging, letting this unreliable scumbag suffer a bit.

But, due to Chen Fan’s handsome face, she didn’t go too far, and over the three days, she still took very good care of him.

Also, through the three days of interaction, Wang Yao found out that Chen Fan wasn’t such a detestable guy; he had an easygoing attitude, which caused a considerable change in her own attitude.

That evening, after An Lan had finished all the work at the medical hall, Wang Zhi approached her, smiling, "Girl, I didn’t expect such a pampered and delicate girl like you to endure such heavy and tiring work. It seems you have excellent qualities that common folks don’t possess."

"I’m very satisfied with your performance these past few days. Now take me to see your boyfriend, and I’ll treat him."

Hearing this, tears suddenly welled up in An Lan’s eyes. She cried and laughed at the same time, having forgotten all the fatigue in her body, and quickly led Wang Zhi outside, "I’ll take you to him right now!"