Chapter 2: Senior Sister
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Leaving the Clear Water Pavilion, Luo Zijun headed straight back to the pharmacy, not giving the matter much thought.
The pharmacy was called “Bao’an Hall,” run by a grandfather and his grandson.
Including Luo Zijun, there were only three people in the shop. Besides consulting and treating patients, they also sold various medicinal herbs.
Usually, the senior sister managed the shop while he and their master were responsible for running errands.
Of course, Luo Zijun’s duties were limited to carrying the medicine box and writing prescriptions.
It was noon, and there were no customers in the shop.
Their master, Su Dafang, seemed to have gone out on some errand, leaving only senior sister Su Qingling in the shop.
Su Qingling wore a grayish-white dress that matched the pharmacy’s style well. At that moment, she was bent over the counter, fiddling with an abacus.
The girl was tall and beautiful, with an elegant temperament and a notably ample bosom, which often attracted some men to the pharmacy to buy medicine. However, she would always take advantage of them mercilessly.
Many men, unwilling to lose face, forced themselves to smile and pay, only to be met with her cold, distant expression. After a few such encounters, they dared not return.
She would then complain angrily, “Hmph, all a bunch of lousy men—after paying a few times, they don’t come back. Do they expect me to give them medicine for free?”
Luo Zijun thought she was either genuinely foolish or pretending to be, and since she always wore such a cold and unapproachable face, he rarely spoke to her first.
Seeing her busy with the abacus, he didn’t dare disturb her. After setting down the medicine box, he went to the bookshelf in the right corner, casually picked up a medical text, and began flipping through it.
Suddenly, a sweet medicinal fragrance wafted from behind him.
Turning around, he saw a cold and beautiful face.
Just as he was about to speak, a pale jade-like hand suddenly reached out and pinched his backside.
“Yow…”
Luo Zijun gasped, quickly asking, “Senior sister, what’s wrong?”
Su Qingling’s icy eyes stared at him. “I heard from grandpa that you just went on a blind date?”
Luo Zijun nodded. “Yes, so?”
Su Qingling suddenly squeezed harder, causing him to yelp in pain and plead.
“Senior sister, what have I done to deserve this?”
He was bewildered—what business was it of hers that he went on a blind date? Could it be that she liked him? Obviously not.
Su Qingling said coldly, “Because you went on that blind date and didn’t come back to help me, I miscalculated the accounts and overcharged someone by one copper coin. I’ll pinch you to death!”
With that, she pinched him again with force.
“Ah…”
Luo Zijun finally recalled that she was terrible at arithmetic, even needing to count on his fingers to add seven and eight. It was baffling that their master trusted her with the accounts and money.
“Senior sister, how about I handle the accounts and money from now on?”
“You wish!” Su Qingling snorted coldly and pinched him hard once more.
Luo Zijun was in agony and felt she needed to be taught a lesson.
If she could pinch him, why couldn’t he pinch her?
Immediately, he stretched out his hand and pinched her backside fiercely.
“Ah!”
Both cried out simultaneously.
Su Qingling widened her eyes. “Luo Zijun, you… you actually dared to pinch my backside?”
“Senior sister, you… you actually dared to pinch my backside first?”
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Luo Zijun felt the pinch was no ordinary one.
What nonsense about propriety between men and women!
Women were allowed to strike, but men were forbidden?
Su Qingling looked at him incredulously, as if she suddenly didn’t recognize him, then suddenly twisted her finger sharply. “I’ll pinch you to death!”
Unwilling to be outdone, Luo Zijun also twisted his finger sharply. “I’ll pinch you to death too!”
“Ah…”
They cried out in unison again.
“Let go!”
“You first!”
“Ah…”
Amid their cries of pain, they finally released each other’s hands.
“Luo Zijun! You’re dead meat! Mark my words, you’re dead meat!” Su Qingling rubbed her sore backside while retreating behind the counter, suddenly grabbing a feather duster and charging at him.
Luo Zijun was ready and picked up a broom in the corner.
The battle was about to erupt.
At that moment, footsteps sounded at the door.
An elderly woman in coarse cloth entered, her complexion and gait suggesting she was ill.
Seeing this, the two quickly put down their weapons.
Su Qingling glared at him resentfully, then returned behind the counter, pretending to fiddle with the abacus while secretly rubbing her aching backside, teeth clenched in pain.
The elderly woman, upon seeing the cold expression on the lovely girl behind the counter, shrank back and dared not speak.
Luo Zijun hurried over, rubbing his backside.
When the master was away, he occasionally helped diagnose patients. If not too serious, he would prescribe some medicine; if unclear, he would wait for their master’s return.
“Madam, are you here to see a doctor or to collect medicine?” Luo Zijun asked.
The elderly woman glanced at him, then at the hand hiding behind him, rubbing his backside, looking somewhat guilty and embarrassed. She lowered her head and stammered, “I… want to see a doctor…”
Luo Zijun looked at her complexion. “Tell me your symptoms first.”
With younger women, he would lead them into a private room for discreet conversation, but an elderly woman did not require such care.
Besides, there was no one else in the shop besides him and senior sister.
The elderly woman’s face twisted with pain. After hesitating, she said, “I have not used the latrine for five days. My abdomen is hard and uncomfortable, but I cannot go. I eat poorly and sleep poorly…”
She mentioned several other symptoms, then suddenly broke down in tears. “I fear it might be some incurable disease. I have a foolish son at home. If I die, what will become of him?”
Hearing her symptoms, Luo Zijun had a rough idea. He took her pulse and comforted her, “Madam, restI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.