I Can See Through Everything - Chapter 35

Chapter 35 Mutual Testing, Large Purchase

“Young Master, you said your master is that old doctor Chen?”

The smile on Master Ma’s face disappeared, and he became a little solemn.

“It seems that the villagers all call him that old man.”

Lu Qing’s face was slightly less tense, and he replied.

“Yes, Master Ma, my little brother goes to Doctor Chen to study every day.”

At this time, Wang Da’an also found an opportunity to speak.

Master Ma looked at Lu Qing and Wang Da’an scrutinizingly, and suddenly smiled.

“So you are the disciple of Doctor Chen, I am sorry for my disrespect.”

Master Ma bowed solemnly to Lu Qing, but seemed to scare Lu Qing, and he took two steps back. He

waved his hands a little panickedly: “I am not worthy of being a disciple. I have only learned a little knowledge of herbal medicine from my master. I can’t even diagnose a disease.”

Seeing Lu Qing so honest, Master Ma couldn’t help but smile.

“Anyway, I did offend Young Master just now. So, I’ll pay for the meat you bought from this butcher’s stall.”

“How can that be?” Lu Qing shook his head repeatedly. “No merit, no reward. Master taught me not to accept things from others.”

“But I did offend Young Master just now. Consider this meat my apology to you, Young Master.”

However, no matter what Master Ma said, Lu Qing simply shook his head, refusing to accept Master Ma’s offer.

Wang Da’an, standing by, watched with wide eyes.

It was the first time he’d seen Master Ma being so polite to someone.

And that person was his younger brother, Lu Qing.

Seeing Lu Qing repeatedly rejecting Master Ma’s gifts, Wang Da’an grew anxious.

That was over ten pounds of meat, and someone wouldn’t take it even for free. What was Ah Qing thinking?

Despite his anxiety, Wang Da’an didn’t speak up for Lu Qing.

He knew Lu Qing was literate and, with the old doctor’s guidance, he must have known more than he did.

If he refused, he must have his reasons.

Seeing that Lu Qing refused to accept his apology, Master Ma suddenly had an idea and laughed again.

“Young Master, you are indeed kindhearted, worthy of being a disciple of Old Doctor Chen. How about this? I noticed you seemed worried about this silver. How about I help you find it?”

The butcher quickly said, “Yes, young master. The only one here who can find the change for your silver is probably Master Ma.”

Lu Qing hesitated for a moment before nodding, “Then I’ll trouble you, Master Ma.”

He then took out the silver. Master Ma took it, and seeing that it was top-quality snowflake silver, he became more convinced of Lu Qing’s words.

An ordinary country boy couldn’t possibly acquire such fine silver.

After weighing it, he smiled and said, “This silver weighs about six qian, which, in copper coins, would be around six hundred.”

Master Ma removed a cloth bag from his belt, fished out two small strings of copper coins, and handed the bag to Lu Qing.

“The copper coins in here should be worth your silver. Count them.”

Lu Qing took the purse and began to count without hesitation.

Wang Da’an wanted to help, but he knew he wasn’t good at counting. Forcing himself to help would only cause more trouble, so he could only stand by and fret.

Lu Qing took out the copper coins and began to count them quickly.

Seeing Lu Qing counting the coins, Master Ma narrowed his eyes again.

Few people in the countryside could read, so being able to count within a hundred was a remarkable feat.

Judging by Lu Qing’s speed, counting was clearly no problem for him.

He became increasingly convinced that Lu Qing was indeed the old doctor’s disciple.

Soon, Lu Qing had finished counting the coins.

He looked up: “It seems like there are too many.”

The bag contained 650 copper coins, which, at the rate of one ounce of silver to one thousand copper coins, meant an extra 50.

“It’s not too much. Your silver is of good quality. An extra 50 is reasonable,” Master Ma said with a smile.

Lu Qing thought for a moment and didn’t refuse.

He knew that Mr. Ma was trying to please him.

But he had already refused the other party several times, so he couldn’t really refuse him completely.

Besides, this might be a chance for him to get to know the outside world.

“The money has been exchanged, young master, you can buy things without worry. By the way, do you know your name?” Master Ma took the opportunity to ask.

“My name is Lu Qing,” Lu Qing said, pointing to Wang Da’an beside him. “This is Da’an, from the same village as mine.”

“Master Ma, my name is Wang Da’an,” Wang Da’an said somewhat flatteringly.

“Wang Da’an, not bad.”

Master Ma could tell that Wang Da’an was just an ordinary country boy.

But he still nodded politely.

But this alone was enough to make Wang Da’an excited, and his face flushed.

“Little brother Lu Qing, I hope you have fun here. I have something else to do, so I’ll take my leave now.”

Master Ma was a man of tact. He didn’t take the opportunity to follow Lu Qing, but chose to keep his distance.

Lu Qing was naturally happy to see this happen.

Although he also wanted to make friends with Master Ma, not now.

Because, right now, their power was still unequal.

It was only because of his status as “Dr. Chen’s disciple” that the other party looked up to him.

After Master Ma left, Lu Qing returned to the butcher’s stall.

“Boss, can I buy some meat now?”

“Of course,” the butcher beamed. “Young man, so you’re Dr. Chen’s disciple? No wonder you look so impressive!”

Lu Qing glanced at his patched clothes, speechless.

Is that what you call impressive?

“What, boss, do you know Dr. Chen?” Wang Da’an asked curiously.

“Young man, you’re right! Who in this area doesn’t know Dr. Chen? My wife caught a cold after giving birth last year and nearly died. It was Dr. Chen who cured her. He’s a renowned doctor in our area!”

“In that case, boss, shouldn’t you give us a discount on the meat?” Wang Da’an took the opportunity to ask.

“Discount, of course!”

Finally, the butcher’s stall owner rounded off the price and gave Lu Qing three cents less.

After buying the meat, Lu Qing and Wang Da’an continued their stroll through the market.

Before long, they had bought a vast array of items,

primarily grain and daily necessities.

Grain was the largest purchase.

Besides these, Lu Qing also bought some vegetable seeds and needles and thread.

The seeds were meant to allow him to grow more vegetables in his yard;

he couldn’t always go out to forage for wild vegetables.

As for the needles and thread, the large iron needle he had at home was beginning to weigh him down, and

he needed to make a few more hooks as backup.

Lu Qing also saw someone selling fish at the market and asked the price, finding it cheaper than pork.

However, for the lower classes of this world, fat is crucial, which is why even pork is more expensive when it comes to fat than lean meat.

Fish, on the other hand, is not very oily and doesn’t satisfy your hunger.

Only wealthy nobles would be willing to pay a high price for a fresh bite of fish.

For ordinary people, given the choice, they would even prefer pork to fish.

After selling these items, Lu Qing had spent most of his six hundred and fifty copper coins.

He bought two large bamboo backpacks, and after some heavy lifting, he and Wang Da’an finally managed to carry all the things.

Then, with heavy steps, they left the market and headed towards the village.

(End of this chapter)