As soon as he entered the room, Lu Qing saw a brand-new large iron pot placed there.
Old Doctor Chen then returned to the inner room and took out a cloth bag.
"This silver is from the sale of the Red Moon Carp. Keep it safe."
The elder doctor handed the cloth bag to Lu Qing.
When Lu Qing received it, he felt its hefty weight and was startled.
"So much, Grandpa Chen, how much did the Red Moon Carp sell for?"
"You're quite lucky," the elder doctor said. "The nobleman to whom I delivered the medicinal herbs, his wife has been weak recently and needed nourishment. Upon hearing that I had a Red Moon Carp, he didn't hesitate to offer a price of one hundred Silver Taels."
"One hundred Silver Taels?" Lu Qing's eyes widened. "Grandpa Chen, didn't you say before that my Red Moon Carp was too big and had decreased in value?"
He remembered the elder doctor had mentioned before that even the best Red Moon Carp were priced at no more than one hundred Silver Taels each.
"That's why I said you were lucky," the elder doctor, stroking his beard, replied. "Normally, indeed, only the best Red Moon Carp would be worth one hundred Silver Taels."
"But that nobleman is quite fond of his wife. Apart from the Red Moon Carp's exceptional taste, it also has excellent nourishing effects, which is why that nobleman directly offered me the highest price to secure it."
After hearing this, Lu Qing couldn't help but agree with the elder doctor's words.
His luck truly wasn't bad at all.
"This one hundred Silver Taels, I've given you all in cash. After deducting the ten Silver needed for your past medical treatment and medicines, and the five Silver for the iron pot and salt, there are still eighty-five Silver left."
Lu Qing opened the cloth bag to look inside, and the white Silver Tael shone brightly.
Almost all were silver ingots, both large and small, with the large ones being ten taels per ingot, the small ones five taels per ingot, along with some broken silver.
Clearly, the elder doctor had considered his daily needs and thus exchanged some of it for broken silver.
As for the fifteen Silver spent, Lu Qing didn't pay it much mind.
The elder doctor's fee of ten Silver for the consultation and medicine might seem expensive,
but based on his understanding of the elder doctor, he suspected that Old Doctor Chen had actually undercharged him.
And the expenses for the iron pot and salt.
Putting salt aside, but the cost of the iron pot was to be expected.
After all, he remembered that the original owner had sold the family's iron pot for quite a sum.
Even now, there were not many families in the village that could afford to use an iron pot,
a testament to the value of an iron pot.
Yet even if the iron pot was expensive, Lu Qing was determined to buy one.
Having been in this world for so long, he was tired of eating food that was either boiled or stewed; he was craving for some flavor.
With the iron pot, the variety of dishes he could cook would substantially increase.
Clothing of lesser quality wasn't a big deal, but food was something he could not skimp on—that was one of Lu Qing's life principles.
"Also, I've already seasoned the iron pot for you last night. You can use it directly when you get back; no need to season it yourself," the elder doctor added.
Looking at it, Lu Qing noticed that the inside of the iron pot was indeed well-seasoned, shiny with oil.
"Grandpa Chen, seasoning a pot requires a lot of oil, right? I'll pay you for it," Lu Qing said as he opened the cloth bag.
"No need," Elder Chen waved his hand. "It's just a matter of two pieces of fat pork—it doesn't cost much, and I can't be bothered to cut more Silver for you."
Seeing that the elder doctor refused to take the money, Lu Qing had to drop the matter.
He knew that in this world, there was a certain disdain for pork.
Especially the upper-class nobility considered pork to be lowly, something only the poor and humble would eat.
Even moderately wealthy families preferred beef and mutton.
Therefore, the price of pork in this world wasn't considered expensive.
Of course, "not expensive" was relative to beef and mutton.
For the commoners at the bottom of society, meat was always expensive.
So even pork was not something that could be eaten often.
It was only during festivals, or when there was extra money, or when guests came to the house, that they would buy some to eat.
However, Lu Qing knew that Old Doctor Chen was clearly not short of money, and to him, two pieces of fatty pork were probably of little concern.
"Thank you, Grandpa Chen."
"Alright, don't fuss over such a small matter," the elder doctor said indifferently, "You lie down on the bed, and I'll give you the acupuncture treatment."
Lu Qing did as he was told, taking off his shirt and lying on the wooden bed.
Old Doctor Chen took out the silver needle.
He said, "Today is the third time I'm giving you acupuncture, and it will be the last. After this session, there will be no need for further treatments."
"Grandpa Chen, are you saying that my body is all healed?" Lu Qing asked excitedly.
"I can't say it's fully recovered, but your Primordial Qi has stabilized for the most part. In the days to come, you just need to eat well and rest enough and you'll slowly get back to full health. There won't be a need for more Strengthening Needles."
"Thank you, Grandpa Chen."
"Alright now, relax your Heart and Spirit, and don't move."
Elder Chen began the treatment, and soon after, the acupuncture was complete, and Lu Qing fell into a deep sleep.
The elder doctor looked at the sleeping Lu Qing, his brow slightly furrowed.
Although Lu Qing had been recuperating under his care for some time and had made a very good recovery,
he still hadn't found the reason why Lu Qing had suddenly started to get better in the first place.
During this time, while taking the opportunity to administer the acupuncture, he had thoroughly examined Lu Qing's body.
Indeed, there was nothing abnormal inside, nor any lingering illnesses.
It truly baffled him.
After pondering for a while and still not making any headway, Old Doctor Chen eventually let go of his concern.
If he couldn't find the reason, it didn't matter. The important thing was that Lu Qing's health had been restored, and his efforts had not been in vain.
"Grandpa Chen, is my brother asleep?"
Little Yan asked quietly from the side.
Having seen Lu Qing receive acupuncture several times, the little guy was no longer as scared as before.
Still, she dared not watch while Master Chen was inserting the needles.
"Yes, he's asleep. Let's not disturb your brother's rest. Let's go outside. Yesterday, your Grandpa bought some pastries from the town, and they are said to taste quite good."
"Really, what kind of pastries?"
"They're called osmanthus cake..."
When Lu Qing woke from his deep sleep, he felt his whole body filled with vitality.
And he was sure that it wasn't the same illusion as the first time he had the acupuncture, his body had indeed nearly fully recovered.
All this, he owed much to Elder Chen.
Just as he was thinking this, Lu Qing heard Little Yan's laughter coming from the courtyard.
He smiled lightly, put on his shirt, walked out into the yard.
He saw Elder Chen and Little Yan still sitting on the stone bench, with the little one holding a piece of osmanthus cake in her hand, laughing joyfully about something, kicking her feet and looking up in high spirits.
This scene was almost exactly the same as when Lu Qing first woke up from the acupuncture.
Only then, he had been weak, having nothing, even survival had been difficult.
But now, his body was nearly fully restored, and he had just earned more than a hundred Silver Tael.
Plus, he had the chance to study medicine with Elder Chen in the future.
Everything had changed.