Chapter 25: A Desperate Expedient

Once again, his mother chopping firewood woke him. Daylight showed beyond the window.

Zuo Shaoyang hurriedly folded his quilts, climbed down and, without waiting to be told, took the broom outside.

Overnight snow had covered the path he had cleared. He breathed warmth onto his hands as he swept, his fingers almost numb by the time the entrance and surrounding ground were clear.

Then he swept the hall and wiped the drawers, tables and chairs. He had just finished when his father emerged. Zuo Gui gave a slight nod at the sight of him working. After his wife helped him wash, he settled behind the long table with the hot tea she had brewed.

This time Zuo Shaoyang did not wait behind the counter. He stood at the door, hands in his sleeves, watching the traffic.

Only two and a half days remained. At noon the day after tomorrow, if they had no money, the family would be homeless.

Three thousand five hundred wen in two short days. For them, it might as well have been a fortune beyond counting.

He searched the faces passing by, wondering how to earn it.

By noon he had neither an idea nor a single patient.

Hardly surprising. New Year was upon them. Who would choose this time to seek treatment? Emergencies would go to a major establishment such as Huimin Hall, not Guizhi Hall.

Yesterday’s success with the woman had not been enough to transform their reputation. A shop earned trust through years of treating countless patients, not one or two successful cases.

After lunch, Zuo Gui, who had been staring up towards the door, lowered his head until he looked ready to crawl beneath the table.

Zuo Shaoyang could bear it no longer. They had to act.

“Father, I’m going out. See whether I can think of a way to earn something.”

A muffled grunt answered him. Zuo Gui did not look up.

He walked slowly towards Huimin Hall, hands in his sleeves.

After a night of thought, medicine remained his only means of making money. If no patients came to him, he would have to find them.

And nowhere gathered more patients than Huimin Hall.

Despite the approaching holiday, people still queued inside. Patients came and went, supported by relatives.

An assistant saw him at the door and stepped out with a surprised smile.

“Master Zuo! What brings you here? More musk to sell?”

Zuo Shaoyang ignored the mockery and watched the patients.

If only they had come to him! A full day’s consultations, a few seriously ill patients generous enough to pay well, and perhaps he could raise the money.

But he was young and unknown. No one trusted his skill. No one would seek him out.

The assistant pursed his lips at being ignored, though his smile remained.

“Look around as you please. I must get back to work.”

He went inside.

The waiting patients and relatives were looking at Zuo Shaoyang too. Two spoke quietly.

“That’s the son from Guizhi Hall. They treated a woman yesterday whose dead baby wouldn’t come. Huimin Hall failed, but his father cured her.”

“Really? I heard they can’t even cure a cold or headache.”

“Who knows? Perhaps they have a secret formula just for that.”

“True. You never can tell.”

An idea flashed into Zuo Shaoyang’s mind.

Whether it would work or not, he had to try.

He pulled his hands from his sleeves, straightened his robe and futou, and went directly to the counter.

The manager who had received him the day before greeted him with a sneer.

“Master Zuo! What priceless medicine are you selling today?”

“Who asked you for an unfair price? Buy or don’t buy.”

Zuo Shaoyang glared at him.

“Must you always speak so unpleasantly?”

Noticing patients watching, the manager smoothed his face into a smile.

“What can I do for you?”

Zuo Shaoyang glanced about, leaned closer and lowered his voice.

“You know that woman who came here the night before last? The one whose dead baby couldn’t be delivered? We cured her at Guizhi Hall yesterday afternoon. Had you heard?”

The manager stared coldly for a moment.

“What are you implying? That Huimin Hall’s medicine is inferior?”

“No, no. You misunderstand. I’m only asking whether you know.”

“And if I do? If I don’t?”

“You really misunderstand. I came to sell you the formula. Are you interested?”

“Oh?”

The manager examined him. He did not seem to be joking.

“Fetch the head physician,” he told an assistant.

Doctor Ni, the manager’s elder brother, soon came from the rear rooms. The brothers owned the shop together. Hearing the explanation, he too looked surprised.

“Master Zuo, shall we speak inside?”

They went to a small reception room behind the shop. An assistant served two cups of tea, withdrew and closed the door.

“I heard about yesterday,” Doctor Ni said slowly. “Frankly, I was astonished. To cure a case beyond hope—most impressive.”

“You’re very kind.”

Zuo Shaoyang smiled.

“It’s a secret prescription passed down in our family. We’d never sell it if we didn’t urgently need money. Would you care to buy it?”

Doctor Ni regarded him.

“If it’s your family’s inherited formula, have you the authority to sell it?”

“Certainly,” he lied readily. “Father sent me. As I said, we need money badly or we wouldn’t part with it. And everyone knows Huimin Hall trades fairly, cheats neither young nor old and never takes advantage of another’s distress. You’ll offer a proper price. That’s why, of all the medicine shops, I came to yours.”

The flattery left Doctor Ni unmoved.

“How am I to know whether your prescription is genuine?”

“I’ll write a guarantee in Guizhi Hall’s name. You’ll have the real formula. Try it when a similar case arises. If it doesn’t work, I’ll repay you double. Besides, a physician of your ability should have little trouble judging a prescription.”

Doctor Ni nodded slowly.

“What price do you have in mind?”

“Make an offer. I trust you.”

He had no idea what it might be worth.

“You must name a price first. You’re the seller. If it’s suitable, I’ll buy.”

“I see.”

Zuo Shaoyang thought, spread five fingers, showed his palm and turned his hand over.

“Ten taels of silver.”

Doctor Ni chuckled, his white beard trembling, and shook his head.

“You do enjoy a joke. Ten taels for a prescription? You’ve come to amuse yourself at my expense.”

“I’m not joking!”

Zuo Shaoyang’s heart began to sink.

“It saved a life. Isn’t a life-saving formula worth ten taels?”

Doctor Ni stroked his beard.

“Do you know how many cases of retained stillbirth I’ve seen in over thirty years of practice?”

Zuo Shaoyang shook his head.

“Fewer than thirty. Not even one a year.”

“Oh?”

“And do you know how many of those I cured?”

Again, he shook his head.

---

**Enjoyed this story?**
Discover more chapters of **The Young Physician of the Tang Dynasty** at [**NovelPotato.asia**](https://novelpotato.asia/the-young-physician-of-the-tang-dynasty/).