Insufficient balance

  What restriction order, it's just a joke.

  Ximen Qing shook his head secretly on horseback: This is probably the legendary nemesis, he decided to avoid Pan Jinlian, but Pan Jinlian came to the door, which almost made Wu Dalang angry to death. If Wu Song heard about this, he might carry a knife and search for himself all over the world. Although he just saved Wu Dalang earlier, it's possible that Wu Dalang thought he wanted to harm him.

  What a hassle...

  Although Ximen Qing did not believe that there would be a matchmaker and red thread in the world, he had to admit now that he and Pan Jinlian were probably tied together by someone with a red thread.

  It's like being a tree, desperately trying to push away the climbing vines, but every time I stretch out my branches, they get entwined by the vines instead, and it climbs even faster, wrapping tighter.

  Nor did I know that my CPR would cause a ripple in this world... Qinghe County is such a small place, it shouldn't matter, just now almost no one saw me say...

  A gentle breeze blew over, carrying the faint scent of medicine. Ximen Qing finally shook off his reverie and saw that the herbal medicine shop was just ahead, not far away. On the sign above the door were written in large golden characters: "Ben Tang Fa Zhi Ying Zheng Yao Ji". Although Ximen Qing wasn't very familiar with calligraphy, he could still appreciate the style of these golden characters, but he didn't know whose handwriting they were.

  Waiting at the gate, he jumped off his horse and saw a horizontal inscribed board hanging in front of him. The material was much better than that signboard, but the three words "West Gate Family" were crooked and twisted, and it was unknown who wrote them, not even qualified to grind ink for the person who wrote the signboard.

  "Old master, you... wait, I... can't keep up!"

  Ximen Qing had been thinking about things all along the way, and unintentionally urged his horse to gallop wildly, forgetting that Xia Tianqing was following behind him. Fortunately, the Sheng medicine shop was not far away, and Xia Tianqing barely managed to catch up.

  "Huh, Master is still looking at this signboard?" Little Tianqing finally calmed down and went to hold the horse, only to find Ximen Qing's eyes scanning back and forth between the signboard and the plaque: "This is indeed Master's calligraphic masterpiece..."

  Five thunders rumble overhead!

  Ximen Qing looked at the signboard again with a desire to cry but no tears, and indeed had some impression, as if it was written when he took over this Chinese medicine shop after Ximen Da's death, that is, after his father Ximen Qing passed away.

  Don't even mention the ink treasure, this kind of dog-ass word can also be found by someone to make a plaque and hang it up, it seems that Ximen Qing was also quite weird back then.

  Xiao Tianqing led the horse to the backyard of the Chinese medicine shop by herself. Ximen Qing touched his sheep fat jade pendant and finally came out of his shock. Hmm, he thought, I'll find an excuse to change the words on the signboard another day. This guy is really losing face for me.

  As soon as he entered the door, the smell of medicinal herbs became even stronger. Ximen Qing's spirit was refreshed and he could distinguish several common medicinal herbs from the fragrance. Looking around, there were long counter tables made of water willow wood, behind which apprentices were busy weighing medicine, packaging, and had already formed a production line; on the side, some were cutting medicine, others were grinding medicine, everything was in order.

  Fu Zhanggui not only has some talent in identifying medicinal materials, but also has a good grasp of managing the pharmacy. Ximen Qing didn't know what luck he had, to be able to invite Fu Zhanggui, and this made the Sheng Pharmacy even more prosperous.

  "It's the master of the house who has arrived, please sit inside." Fu Zhuang just happened to come out from behind and saw Ximen Qing looking around everywhere, he hastily went forward and paid his respects.

  Fu Zhanggui was being polite. Ximen Qing smiled: "Has that white doctor arrived?"

  "Haha." Fu Zhuanggui welcomed Ximen Qing into the inner room and ordered his apprentices to serve tea: "That Bai Guangzi is not a good person, he was squeezed out by Master Dong and forced to work for us at the medicine shop, how would he dare come?"

  "Haven't congratulated Master Dong on becoming the county lieutenant of Qinghe County yet." Fu Zhuanggui bowed and personally poured a cup of fragrant tea for Ximen Qing: "That Bai Guang must have received the news, and will definitely not come now. The one sitting in the front hall is still Liu Langzhong, although his medical skills are average, but he's a kind person and won't cause any trouble."

  Ximen Qing smiled and looked at the steaming fragrant tea in front of him: "Since we've already agreed on the terms with Dr. Bai, we still need to make some appearances on our side. You can find Zhang Hong paper later and write 'Special Invitation for Dr. Bai to Sit in the Hall' and post it on the outside door."

  "If anyone asks, just say that Bai Taoyi is unwell and will be back in a few days."

  "Also, Bai Taoyi's resume should be added, such as fifteen years in the hospital, and what pulse was given to the official family."

  Fu Zhāngguì gave a thumbs up: "This move by the East House is unbeatable! Even if Bai Guang doesn't come, we must let the people know that Bai Taīyī is sitting in our Sheng Medicine Hall, and make his own Sheng Medicine Hall never open again."

  "The two men under the old master are both heads, and one of them is a martial arts expert who can take down tigers. The dozen or so yamen runners aren't just eating idle rice either." Ximen Qing revealed a row of white teeth: "Even if that White Doctor barely manages to open up his pharmacy, when the time comes we'll just take turns sitting on a stool at the entrance of the pharmacy and see who dares to come in and grab medicine."

  "Good!" Fu Zhuanggui nodded repeatedly: "The county magistrate is doing a good job!"

  "As for this matter, Zhu Zhi County isn't someone who would easily give in. Ximen Qing stretched out three fingers: 'Empty words are useless, I want 300 taels of silver to pass it over, and additionally add one year's worth of four high-quality ginseng, not to mention the nourishing medicine.'"

  Fu Zhanggai's face showed a difficult expression: "This... the medicinal materials are easy to discuss, but this Shengyao shop's annual profit is only around 300-500 yuan, as for the financial aspect..."

  "Hmm?" Ximen Qing raised an eyebrow: "Fu Zhang only needs to worry about the medicinal materials, the financial aspect will naturally be taken care of by the accounting house, no need to worry."

  Fu Zhuang's words trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished.

  "Speak up, no need to be tongue-tied." Ximen Qing furrowed his brow: "Whatever it is, I'll naturally take charge."

  Fu Zhanggui thought for a moment, sighed, and seemed to have made up his mind: "Master, yesterday when I went to the accounting room to withdraw the 100 taels of diagnostic gold for the Anshen Divine Doctor, I had already wasted countless words. The old lady was very stubborn and refused to give me the money. Later, it was only when I said that the doctor would be treating your old illness that she finally nodded in agreement."

  "Hmm?" Ximen Qing put down the sheep fat jade pendant he was playing with: "Tell me, in the past few months when you went to the accounting room to withdraw expenses for purchasing medicinal materials, did you notice anything unusual?"

  "It's abnormal that there's no one." Fu Zhuanggui recalled: "It started two months ago, all the expenses were paid after 2-3 days, previously it was always paid on the spot..."

  "What!" Ximen Qing suddenly stood up and slapped the table, causing the teacups to jump up, spilling tea all over the table. Ximen Qing seemed oblivious, pacing back and forth on the floor: "It seems that things are not peaceful at home."

  This apothecary shop has a daily turnover of around 1,000 to 1,500 yuan per year. Each time they purchase medicinal materials, it's only worth one or two hundred yuan. If such an amount of money needs to be transferred for two or three days before it can be given out, it can only mean one thing: there is no cash on hand. And the person in charge of accounts and cash at home is Wu Yue'e!

  I thought my family had at least 3,000 taels of silver in reserve, but it turns out that even a few hundred taels need to be scraped together over several days. How am I going to come up with the 300 taels I promised Zhu Zhen?

  This Wu Yue Niang is too bold! Where did she put all the money from the account?

  Ximen Qing suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. If there was no money on the account, let alone doing other business, even maintaining this medicinal herb shop would be beyond his power!!!

  Watching his master rolling around on the ground, Fu Zhuang felt guilty. He had seen through these problems early on, but Ximen Qing rarely came to the pharmacy and was not interested in discussing them with him. Moreover, this was originally an internal matter of the Ximen family, and he didn't dare to ask too much.

  "Good," thought Ximen Qing for half a day, pointing to Fu Zhuang with his hand: "You can tell things out and do them right. Go get the account book of the Shengyao shop, I want to take it back and check it against ours."

  Ximen Qing, Ximen Qing, you're still indulging in wine and women, while your backyard is already on fire!

  Ximen Qing, out of breath, ordered Xiaotianqing to bring the account book and rode his horse hastily back home.

  This Wu Yue Niang is probably still hiding something from herself, and she must be asked about everything! To eliminate future troubles!

  "Failed?" The old man's bright and piercing eyes looked at the young man in front of him, tapping his fingers lightly on the red wooden table: "Tell me, what's going on?"

  The young man listened with a wry smile as the old man tapped his fingers on the table, each tap striking at his own heart: "Sir, I underestimated Wu Song's martial arts skills and handed this task over to those Five Tiger Brothers. I even lent them a bow and arrow. Who would have thought that under Wu Song's hands, in just three to five breaths' time, not one of them could stand up?"

  "Hmm?" The old man's eyes flickered, and he continued to tap on the table at a slow pace: "Those five guys may be useless, but it's not like they can't even take down one head, are you sure?"

  "The little one hid behind a tree, only twenty steps away from the scene, and saw everything from start to finish without missing a single detail." The young man thought for a moment: "Wu Song had nothing but an ordinary wooden club in his hand."

  The old man suddenly stopped, with a look of surprise on his face: "What's the background of Wu Song? Have you investigated him? Tell me every move he made in detail."

  "Wu Song was promoted to the position of Du Tou by Zhu Zhi, the county magistrate of Qinghe County." The young man continued seriously: "It was because he killed a tiger on Jingyang Gang. Before that, Wu Song lived with his elder brother in Yanggu County, adjacent to Qinghe County, and had been wandering around Jianghu after committing a crime."

  Later he stayed at Chai Jin's mansion in Hanghai County, Cangzhou for a period of time. When Song Jiang passed by Chai Jin's place, he had several drinks with Wu Song.

  "Song Jiang? Which Song Jiang?" The old man's face gradually turned solemn, his brows furrowed together.

  "Yes." The young man nodded affirmatively: "It's exactly that Song Jiang."

  "Go on and describe Wu Song's moves."

  The young man stretched out his hand and began to mimic Wu Song's actions at the time, doing it very slowly, without even neglecting that vigorous throw.

  "This person's martial arts skills are a bit problematic." The old man's frown deepened: "This is not the martial arts of the jianghu, but rather the battlefield martial arts of war."

  "Check where Wu Song learned it from." The old man leaned back and returned to the darkness: "Don't bother with those 3,000 coins, it's just a small amount of money anyway."

  "Yes."