“I’ll take the money.” Chen Xuan nodded.
The moment Qin Yufei saw him accept it, a smile appeared on her face.
Qin Zhenghai smiled as well.
On the way there, he had already looked into Chen Xuan’s background.
The timing of Chen Xuan’s appearance had been far too coincidental. No one could have anticipated that his father would be poisoned, yet by sheer chance they had encountered a young man who knew an acupuncture technique capable of suppressing the poison’s effects—and had consequently become indebted to him for saving his father’s life.
Even though they had already traced the poisoning back to Qin Suxi, Qin Zhenghai still had no intention of letting off anyone suspicious who had been near his father that day.
So while investigating Qin Suxi, he had also ordered someone to look into Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan and his family were completely clean. They had no scandals and nothing to hide.
Qin Zhenghai had soon learned that Chen Xuan had become comatose after a car accident ten years ago and had only regained consciousness yesterday. His family had already sold their home and shop to pay for his treatment, and they were still burdened with considerable debt.
Chen Xuan had gone to the hospital simply because he had just awakened and needed to undergo a series of examinations.
The two families had never crossed paths before.
Their meeting really had been nothing more than a coincidence.
What pleased Qin Zhenghai even more was Chen Xuan’s current attitude.
If Chen Xuan had clearly needed the money but refused it just to appear noble, Qin Zhenghai would instead have suspected that the young man was too calculating and putting on an act.
But Chen Xuan had accepted it openly and without hesitation, which made Qin Zhenghai appreciate him even more.
“Now that I’ve given you a token of my gratitude, I won’t disturb you any longer, Mr. Chen. Here’s my business card. Please keep it. If you need anything else, you can call me anytime.”
“Since you mentioned needing something, I actually do have a few things I’d like to ask you for help with.”
“Oh? What do you need, Mr. Chen? Please don’t hesitate to ask. If I can help, I certainly will.”
“Your family is in the medicinal herb business?”
“How did you know that?” Qin Zhenghai asked, somewhat surprised.
“The medicine chest you brought this morning. The herbs inside were very well preserved, and the porcelain bottles used to store them weren’t ordinary either. The Ginseng and Aconite Decoction was probably prescribed by the old man himself. He knows his medicine, and your family certainly doesn’t lack quality herbs. Besides, all of you carry the mixed scent of several medicinal herbs. It doesn’t seem like you picked it up while getting medicine for the old man. It’s more like you’re exposed to those scents regularly and have absorbed them over time.”
Qin Zhenghai nodded.
“My father is Qin Baichuan, the founder of Baicao Hall Pharmaceuticals. Baicao Hall has nineteen pharmacies throughout Jiangzhou. Besides prepared medicines, we also deal in raw Chinese medicinal herbs.”
Zhou Lan and Chen Jianguo exchanged a glance.
They had never heard of Qin Baichuan, but they knew Baicao Hall.
Baicao Hall pharmacies could be found on streets throughout Jiangzhou. There was even one near the hospital.
Chen Xuan reached his own conclusion.
The Qin family was even more valuable than he had expected.
What he lacked most at the moment was medicinal herbs. Most medicines sold in ordinary pharmacies had already undergone processing, and the herbs were generally too young to meet the requirements for refining his body-tempering medicinal solution.
Baicao Hall had been in the herb business for many years. They were certain to have some truly old and valuable medicinal herbs in their collection.
“I need a batch of herbs that are at least a certain age.”
Qin Yufei looked curious.
“What do you need them for?”
Chen Xuan did not answer her. Instead, he looked toward Qin Zhenghai.
“Please tell me what you need, Mr. Chen,” Qin Zhenghai said.
“One ginseng root that’s at least fifty years old. I also need astragalus, fleeceflower root, Chinese angelica, and prepared rehmannia root. The higher the quality, the better. Ideally, they shouldn’t have undergone excessive processing.”
Qin Zhenghai took out his phone and noted down the names of the herbs.
“We can deliver the ordinary herbs today. As for the ginseng that’s old enough, I’ll have to ask the warehouse.”
Qin Yufei, who was standing behind him, immediately spoke up. “Dad, I remember Grandpa has a wild mountain ginseng root that’s more than fifty years old in his private medicine storehouse. It was acquired from the north last year and hasn’t been used yet.”
“Grandpa was just poisoned by aconitine, so he can’t take anything excessively nourishing for the time being. The ginseng won’t be of any use in the storehouse for now. Why don’t we give it to Mr. Chen as a token of our gratitude?”
Qin Zhenghai nodded after hearing this. Since his father could not use it for the time being, and Chen Xuan had saved his life, there was naturally no problem with giving the ginseng to him.
Qin Zhenghai made up his mind.
“Please rest assured, Mr. Chen. We’ll have everything delivered.”
“I may need quite a lot of herbs in the future, so I’d like all the herbs I order to be calculated at market price. I can’t keep accepting them for free.” Chen Xuan looked at Qin Zhenghai. “Would that be all right?”
Qin Yufei’s impression of Chen Xuan improved further.
He had accepted the two hundred thousand yuan her father had offered without hesitation, but now that he would need to purchase herbs from them over the long term, he had taken the initiative to propose paying market price.
He accepted what he was entitled to without hesitation, but he did not take advantage of others when he wasn’t entitled to.
Qin Zhenghai nodded. “All right. But let this first batch count as the Qin family’s token of thanks. I hope you won’t refuse.”
He placed his business card beside the bank card.
“The herbs will arrive by tomorrow morning at the latest. If you need anything in the future, you can contact me directly.”
Qin Yufei also took out a business card and placed it beside her father’s. She added, “Our family deals in medicinal herbs. If you need anything in the future, you can contact my father or me. I can’t make any promises about everything, but Baicao Hall can find most of the medicinal herbs available on the market.”
“Then I’ll thank you in advance.”
Chen Xuan accepted both Qin Zhenghai’s and Qin Yufei’s business cards.
Qin Zhenghai did not remain in the hospital room for long.
Qin Baichuan had only just escaped danger, and there were still many matters at the hospital that needed his attention. He also had to return and oversee the follow-up treatment for Qin Suxi.
“Mr. Chen, we’ll be leaving now.”
“Take care.”
Qin Yufei followed her father to the doorway, then turned back for one last look at Chen Xuan.
“Get plenty of rest. Once Grandpa is able to get out of bed, he’ll definitely come visit you in person.”
Only then did she follow Qin Zhenghai out of the hospital room.
After the Qin family left, Zhou Lan picked up the bank card from the bedside table, still unable to believe it.
“There’s really two hundred thousand yuan in this?”
“The Qin family runs a huge business. They wouldn’t give us an empty card to trick us,” Chen Jianguo said.
“But Little Xuan only used a few needles, and they gave him two hundred thousand yuan?” Zhou Lan asked incredulously.
Chen Jianguo recalled what the old man had looked like when he was taken away that morning.
“Those few needles saved a man’s life.”
He looked at his son on the hospital bed. His eyes held both pride and a hint of unfamiliarity.
Ten years ago, Chen Xuan had been an excellent student, but he had only been an ordinary high schooler.
Now, less than a day after regaining consciousness, he could not only tell that the aconite had not been properly decocted, but could also save someone using an acupuncture technique no one had ever seen before.
The dream that had lasted for ten years was clearly far more complicated than anything his son had told him.
Chen Jianguo did not press him for answers.
The fact that his son had awakened was already the greatest blessing Heaven had granted their family. No matter what Chen Xuan had experienced in that dream, as long as he was still their son, nothing else mattered.
Chen Xuan looked at the bank card.
“Dad, withdraw eighty thousand yuan first and pay back the money Yanyan owes Huangting.”
Chen Jianguo nodded.
“I’ll contact her right now.”
Now that his daughter’s problem had been settled, Zhou Lan turned to her son and asked curiously, “By the way, Little Xuan, what do you need so many medicinal herbs for?”
“To recover.”
Chen Xuan flexed his right hand.
“The hospital’s rehabilitation treatment is too slow. With those herbs to help restore my health, I’ll be able to get out of bed in half a month at most.” Chen Xuan deliberately gave them a conservative estimate.
In reality, as long as the herbs were old enough, he could recover in a single day.
Zhou Lan and Chen Jianguo fell silent.
They clearly didn’t believe him.
After lying in bed for ten years, being able to stand again within half a month was already beyond their understanding.
Chen Xuan offered no explanation.
Once the herbs arrived, he would naturally prove it to them with the facts.