Chapter 161: Getting You Some Tools
Only after Wen Jun finished his rounds did he notice Wen Yao, who had been standing to the side watching him the entire time.
“Dad is in the backyard chatting with Manager Qiu. Are you done with your work?” Wen Jun walked over, lifting his hand to rub Wen Yao’s head.
Wen Yao dodged his hand. “How old do you think I am? Still rubbing my head.”
Wen Jun merely smiled, a warmth like a gentle spring breeze in his eyes, which were filled with nothing but doting affection for his younger sister.
“No matter how old you get, you’re still my sister,” Wen Jun said with a chuckle.
Wen Yao giggled, glanced at the patients scattered around the clinic, and lowered her voice to whisper, “Doctor Wen, do you want me to get you a stethoscope or something from the space? I think you could really use one.”
Initially, Wen Yao had worried that the space wouldn’t sell these kinds of medical items. However, after searching through it, she discovered that the space’s scope was remarkably vast. Not only did it have medical equipment, it even sold modern pharmaceuticals.
She was highly tempted to hoard a massive stock of medicine.
Since Wen Yao had only skimmed through the plot of the original novel, she vaguely recalled that the female lead had indeed provided some modern tools to the original novel’s Jin Xiuyi, causing his reputation as a divine physician to skyrocket. Had the female lead already started tapping into the space’s medicine and medical equipment back then?
But as a native-born person of this era and not a transmigrator, how could she possibly know about these things?
Therefore, Wen Yao occasionally thought that the original author might have lost the plot while writing, which was why they just threw together all these completely illogical elements and forced them into the story.
But they were different. If these tools ended up in the hands of Doctor Wen, their efficacy would only be maximized.
Wen Jun had harbored the exact same thought before, but the moment the idea sprouted, he shot it down himself. He would never risk his sister’s safety, let alone gamble with their entire family’s lives.
Yet, there were times when Wen Jun truly missed his former medical tools.
“Doctor Wen, what are you spacing out for?” Wen Yao waved her hand in front of his eyes, and only then did Wen Jun realize his mind had drifted.
Wen Jun smiled. “It’s nothing. I don’t need them for the time being. I’ll let you know when the time comes.”
“OK.”
Just then, Doctor Jin called out for Wen Jun. Wen Jun told Wen Yao to find Wen Xiuyi in the backyard while he went back to his duties.
Watching her brother earnestly learning at Doctor Jin’s side, Wen Yao hummed a little tune and slipped into the backyard.
Under a large tree in the yard, Wen Xiuyi and Manager Qiu were currently engrossed in a game of Go.
Although Professor Wen was not fully proficient in all the traditional arts of poetry, calligraphy, and painting, when it came to playing Go, he had been an undefeated champion back at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He frequently met up with several old professors to play downstairs in their residential compound.
Wen Yao couldn’t quite follow Go, though she understood a bit of Xiangqi.
Seeing the two of them locked in a fierce, back-and-forth battle, Wen Yao simply pulled up a stool and sat down beside them to watch.
Both men noticed Wen Yao, but following the rule that onlookers should remain silent during a game, Wen Yao didn’t say a word, so they ignored her.
They played for quite a long time. Wen Yao was practically falling asleep on her chair by the time she finally heard Wen Xiuyi speak up quite helplessly, “I resign, I resign.”
Manager Qiu’s face beamed with a wide smile. As he gathered the playing pieces, he remarked, “I pride myself on my chess skills, and over the years, there have been very few who could match me in a game. I truly did not expect Brother Wen’s skills to be this formidable.”
A flash of panic shot through Wen Xiuyi’s heart. Oh boy, I got too carried away in the heat of the game and almost blew my cover. To patch it up, he quickly said humbly, “No, no, I’m still far behind Brother Qiu. It was merely a stroke of good luck. Pure luck, pure luck, heh heh.”
Manager Qiu had always believed that the Wen family was bound for greatness, so when Wen Xiuyi put it that way, he merely assumed Wen Xiuyi was being modest and did not press further.
Once they tidied up the board, Wen Xiuyi rose to take his leave, cupping his hands. “Let’s stop here for today. Since Yaoyao is back, I must head out to tend to official business. We shall battle again another day.”
Meeting an equal opponent made Wen Xiuyi quite happy, even though he was the one who had been thoroughly beaten.
“Alright, we shall battle again another day.” Manager Qiu returned the bow.
Manager Qiu escorted the two to the entrance, where they also said their goodbyes to Doctor Jin and Wen Jun. The father and daughter then departed and made their way back to the broker’s agency.
On the way, Wen Xiuyi was filled with immense vexation. “I almost gave it away just now. It’s all because of your dad’s hands—I just couldn’t control myself.”
Wen Yao, however, didn’t think it mattered. Since things had already reached this point, there wasn’t much meaning in over-calculating their disguise. Besides, Manager Qiu was currently so close to their family that it was perfectly fine to loosen up a bit when appropriate.
She comforted Wen Xiuyi with these exact words.
“Sigh.” Wen Xiuyi let out a sigh. At this stage, even if they wanted to keep a low profile, it was no longer possible. Whether it was Doctor Jin or Manager Qiu, both were people of significant background. Since matters had escalated to this point, they might as well let it be.
“Let’s go, let’s hurry up and settle the payment with Broker Deng. We’ll bring the people home first, and then have your second uncle come back later to pick up your brother and the others.” Once Wen Xiuyi rationalized it, a bounce returned to his step.
The two arrived at the agency, handed the agreed-upon seventy taels to Broker Deng, and exchanged the silver for the family’s deeds of indenture.
“Here, keep these safe.” Broker Deng handed them to Wen Xiuyi, who immediately passed them off to Wen Yao.
“Brother Deng, we shall take the people with us now,” Wen Xiuyi said.
Broker Deng nodded, turned to look at the family, and spoke up, “From this day forward, you are servants of the Wen family. Having stayed with me for over half a year, we share some bit of attachment. Once you arrive at the Wen household, you must work diligently and remain absolutely loyal to your master. Otherwise, if they decide to sell you off again in the future, I will not show any leniency.”
Looking at Broker Deng, the family of seven suddenly knelt down in unison. The old man led the family to respectfully kowtow three times to Broker Deng, then slowly stood up. All their unspoken words and profound gratitude were contained within those three heavy thuds against the ground.
“Go on.” Broker Deng waved his hand.
Wen Xiuyi cupped his hands in farewell, leading Wen Yao and the seven people away from the agency. Their ox-cart was still parked right outside the entrance.
When the family stepped out and saw the ox-cart waiting by the curb, they all blanked for a moment.
Wen Xiuyi patted Da Huang and told them, “Come on, climb aboard. Let’s go home first.”
The word “home” brought a sudden glint of tears to their eyes, but the family was still highly conscious of the proper distinction between master and servant.
“Master, we servants can just walk. You and the young mistress should ride in the cart.”
Wen Xiuyi stood there holding the whip. He racked his brain for a long moment but couldn’t recall the man’s name, so he could only turn to Wen Yao for help. “Daughter, what’s his name again?”
Their names were written clearly on the deeds of indenture, but Wen Xiuyi hadn’t looked closely before handing them to Wen Yao, so he hadn’t memorized a single one.
Hearing this, the old man understood what Wen Xiuyi was asking and said respectfully, “We pray the master will bestow new names upon us.”
The others followed suit, chiming in, “We pray the master will bestow new names.”
Wen Xiuyi had already gone through a massive psychological struggle just to buy these people. And now they wanted him to bestow names?
“Just use whatever names you originally had. Our family doesn’t follow those customs.” With that, he signaled for them to board the cart. However, no one moved for a long while, until Wen Xiuyi feigned anger. Only then did the seven carefully scramble onto the ox-cart.
Even so, they merely perched on the very edge of the frame, not daring to come anywhere near Wen Yao’s side.
Looking at the severely lopsided weight distribution of the ox-cart, Wen Yao was deeply afraid it might flip over halfway down the road.
