บท 25: A banner

"Give it back to me if you don't want it. You don't have to make it sound so disgusting," Wang Fugui said as he tried to snatch the bird's nest back.

Ren Xiaosu happily covered up the bird's nest box and threw it into the shack. "Come on, it was just a joke. I didn't mean to make it sound disgusting."

He looked at the people behind Old Wang. Frankly, if he were to address them as esquires, that would be an insult to the word "esquire."

These people were all holding some gifts in their hands. Actually, everyone here was no stranger to Ren Xiaosu. Their main intention in coming over this time was to exchange civilities with Ren Xiaosu. What this meant was that they had accepted him into their circle, and they were all going to be friends from now on.

Ren Xiaosu did not stand on ceremony with them. Yan Liuyuan was still lying in bed and recuperating at this moment, so if there were tonics for them, why not?

"Ren Xiaosu." Old Wang pulled him aside and said, "You should move into the clinic as soon as possible. There are two other houses attached behind the clinic, and it comes with a yard measuring over a dozen square meters. A lot of people are already eyeing the place!"

"Um, OK." Ren Xiaosu nodded. He was still quite polite towards Wang Fugui.

"Furthermore, Boss Luo has gotten his people to send you some medical supplies from the stronghold. These are all worth quite a bit of money. I've already told them to send the supplies to the clinic. The most expensive ones are the anti-inflammatory pills and anesthetics. You had better keep an eye on them," Wang Fugui whispered. "There are people who steal anesthetics as a substitute for their smoking addiction when they can't get their hands on cigarettes. I've suffered losses from such cases."

Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. He didn't think that anesthetics had such an effect. However, it was still good to have someone give him things for free. Hoping for more, he asked, "Did he send anything else?"

"There's a banner as well."

…

In the morning, Ren Xiaosu and Xiaoyu threw their belongings together in a pack and headed to the clinic. Who would want to live in a shack when they could live in a brick house with bright windows and clean tables?

He had already planned for Yan Liuyuan and himself to live in one of the two rear houses, while Xiaoyu could live in the other.

Xiaoyu had initially lived in a brick house. After that, she moved into a shack for the sake of these two "younger brothers." Now that Xiaoyu could live in a brick house again, one of Ren Xiaosu's wishes could be considered fulfilled.

But when Ren Xiaosu walked into the clinic carrying Yan Liuyuan on his back, he was dumbfounded.

He saw a banner hanging in the middle of the clinic's wall. It was emblazoned with the words "Magic hands restore spring—From Luo Lan."

According to Wang Fugui, as long as the banner was hanging in the clinic, no one would dare to do anything to Ren Xiaosu. But of course, Ren Xiaosu would first have to not involve himself in anything that went against Luo Lan's interests.

This would act as a talisman for them, even though it made Ren Xiaosu feel very uncomfortable. He did not know if Luo Lan had casually instructed his people to make the banner or if he was deliberately teasing him.

'It's probably the former, right?' After all, in Luo Lan's eyes, Ren Xiaosu was only a refugee who sold medicine outside of the stronghold.

Ren Xiaosu helped Yan Liuyuan get settled in. Ren Xiaosu did not tell Xiaoyu about Yan Liuyuan's condition last night because he was afraid to disturb her sleep. She only found out about it this morning, so she was feeling terrible.

Yan Liuyuan was thoroughly enjoying Xiaoyu's meticulous care for him. Suddenly, he thought of how he always used to make fun of her, so he said weakly, "Big Sister Xiaoyu, I'm sorry for behaving the way I did in the past."

Xiaoyu looked at him. "The two of you are imps, so there's no need to apologize to your sister. But if you weren't more mature than the other kids, you wouldn't have survived until now."

"That's mainly because my brother is amazing." Yan Liuyuan laughed.

"I wonder how much hardship that kid has had to suffer through the years." Xiaoyu sighed.

"Countless hardships," replied Yan Liuyuan calmly.

Ren Xiaosu was currently browsing through and checking the medicine that was left behind in the clinic, as well as the new medical supplies sent over on the orders of Luo Lan. Perhaps someone had informed Boss Luo that he specialized in treating wounds, as he had sent a lot more anesthetics and anti-inflammatory pills over.

Ren Xiaosu was overjoyed when he saw that there were fever relievers and antidotes inside the crate of medicine. He brought the anti-inflammatory pills, fever relievers, and antidotes to Yan Liuyuan and made him take them. The main symptom of Yan Liuyuan's illness was the inflammation of the tonsils caused by excessive internal heat¹. It didn't matter if this medicine was suitable for the symptoms. It would cure the illness.

There were also some medicinal herbs in the clinic. Some of the cabinets had the names of medicinal herbs written on them and the treatment suggestions for the different types of symptoms. Ren Xiaosu lamented how Yu Tong did not cherish his chances even though he had such a good father.

That same night, Yan Liuyuan's fever finally subsided. Only then did Ren Xiaosu heave a sigh of relief. He said to Xiaoyu, "You can brew the tonics that those people brought over. You and Liuyuan can eat them."

"Alright." Xiaoyu nodded and went to make dinner.

Recently, the three of them were just like siblings and were at ease around each other. Sometimes, fate was a wonderful thing. These three who did not seem to fit together did just that.

When Xiaoyu returned with the dishes, she shouted for Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan to eat. Ren Xiaosu suddenly thought of something and said, "Xiaoyu, since you'll be living next door from now on, you can use the place as your bridal chamber when you get married."

Xiaoyu's expression changed right as she was about to pass a bowl of rice to Ren Xiaosu. "You're getting sick of me so soon? Do I eat a lot? Or do I waste money?"

Ren Xiaosu was stunned. "Big Sister Xiaoyu, that's not what I meant…."

"Then what did you mean?" Xiaoyu took the bowl back and said spitefully, "Ren Xiaosu, you're such a heartless person. You're eating the food that I cooked and you still wish to kick me out? Even if I fed it to a dog, I wouldn't let you eat it."

Xiaoyu then shoved the bowl into Yan Liuyuan's hands and said, "Finish the rice."

Yan Liuyuan was confused.

After saying that, Xiaoyu was the first to break into laughter. Then Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan laughed along.

Yan Liuyuan suddenly felt that Xiaoyu looked tender and gentle when she was laughing. It was just a pity that… she was born in the wrong era.

"Xiaosu, what plans do you have for the future?" Xiaoyu asked as she ate.

"I've no plans at the moment. I'm just gonna take it one step at a time," Ren Xiaosu said. He was still most concerned about the quest weapon that had yet to be unlocked.

Ren Xiaosu's initial wish was to ensure that he and Yan Liuyuan could carry on living well. But when he realized that he had a superpower, he couldn't help thinking that there was more that he desired now.

For now, the repeatable quest was not complete. He still had to successfully treat ten patients.

He didn't know what the new quest would reward him with. As for the mysterious vending machine, would there be any other products besides the black medicine?

All these unknowns were awaiting discovery.

Yan Liuyuan looked at Ren Xiaosu with much anticipation. "Bro, what are we going to do tomorrow? Can I help you treat the patients?"

Ren Xiaosu chuckled. "Why? Are you well again?"

"Yes," Yan Liuyuan replied. Having finished dinner, he was in rather good spirits. "I'm feeling fine already."

"Mhm." Ren Xiaosu nodded. "Go to school if you're fine then."

"OK…"