I asked you to dig wild vegetables to pay off your debt, not go up the mountain to pick up money!

From what the aunt said, I learned that two years ago, three new Wanhetangs were opened in the town. They poached many doctors from other clinics at high prices and opened a Wanhe pharmacy next to each Wanhetang.

During the first three months of Wanhetang's opening, it provided free medical treatment to the public, but the patients had to go to their Wanhe Pharmacy to get their medicine.

After the doctor has finished diagnosing the patient, he does not give the patient a prescription, but directly hands it to the clerk in the pharmacy, and the patient pays and takes the medicine.

At first, the price of medicinal materials was very cheap, Wanhetang was crowded, and there were long queues every day.

Over time, many clinics and pharmacies in the town could no longer operate, went bankrupt, closed down, and went out of business.

Soon, Wanhetang became the only dominant company, with only two or three larger medical clinics and drug stores still holding on. It was said that Wanhetang was backed by a big shot and was very powerful.

Not long after, Wanhetang in Ping'an Town sprang up like mushrooms after a rain and monopolized the medicinal materials.

The original medical clinics could not afford to offend this big Buddha and could only go to the west of the city in disgrace.

Without medicinal materials, and with people always trying to cause trouble, life is not easy.

The rising Wanhetang has also changed its face. The price of medicinal materials has doubled and the consultation fees are also shockingly high.

Holding Song Anyue and walking towards the west of the city, Song An Ning shook his head and felt it was ironic when he thought of the couplet hanging at the door of Wanhe Hall.

She had thought before that after the system was upgraded, she would go up the mountain to dig more medicinal herbs and sell them in the town. But now it seemed that she had accidentally gotten involved in this mess. She was just a village girl with no power or influence, so it was always better to be more cautious.

After walking for a while, I finally found the original Huichuntang in a narrow alley. The shop was very small and there was not even a sign on the main door. There were only three big words "Huichuntang" written on a wooden board at the door.

I heard from the wonton lady that the lady in this restaurant has very good character.

He does not cheat the rich, nor does he look down on the poor. No matter who it is, once they enter Huichuntang, he can always prescribe the most suitable prescription for the patient, and the medicine and consultation fees are also very cheap.

Song An Ning stood at the door holding Ah Yue. There was no one in the clinic. She only heard a little girl crying in the backyard, "Dad, take Xing'er and Mom away. Go back to the village and be a barefoot doctor, or go far away. At least you can survive."

Then a woman's voice was heard: "Xing'er is right, our clinic doesn't have a single herb right now, how can it still be considered a clinic?

My husband, we can’t defeat them, and we can’t afford to waste time, so let’s go…”

"Cough cough..."

Song An Ning deliberately coughed twice to signal them that someone was coming. When the door curtain was lifted, a middle-aged man in his forties walked out with a sad face.

After looking at the sisters for a few times, he said, "Are you from the village? But the baby is sick?"

"My little sister hit her head yesterday. Could you please take a look at her?"

The doctor washed his hands, looked at Song Anyue's head carefully, and took out a small porcelain bottle from the cabinet.

"It's nothing serious. Just don't let the wound get wet. This medicine is an heirloom from my family. Applying it will help the wound heal faster without leaving scars."

"How much money do you give me?"

The doctor thought Song An Ning was asking how much the ointment in his hand cost per bottle, so he smiled bitterly and waved his hand, "There are only a few bottles left, I won't sell them. My daughter is very tough, and she's bound to get bumped and bruised from going down the river and climbing trees, so I left these for her to use."

Hearing the doctor say this, the girl in the backyard suddenly opened the door curtain and walked out: "Dad, you said that to me again."

The woman in front of him looked about the same age as Song An Ning. She was dressed in red, had a rosy face, bright eyes and white teeth, and there was anger in her eyes.

He walked up to Song Anyue, squatted down, and asked in a familiar manner, "Little sister, how old are you?"

Song Anyue was a little shy, rubbing her hands and replied: "Beautiful sister, Yue'er is five years old."

"Hahaha, so cute..."

Zhou Nanxing touched Song Anyue's little head, looked up at Song An Ning, and his expression suddenly changed.

"It's poisonous, you're poisoned!"

"Xing'er! Shut up!"

"?"

"You said I was poisoned?"

Song An Ning pointed at herself. She had been here for three days, but she didn't feel any discomfort.

Based on the original owner's understanding of Banyue Village, it was common for villagers to quarrel and fight by pulling hair. As for poisoning people, it was unlikely given their courage.

Doctor Zhou's face turned pale, and he sighed as he looked at Song An Ning. Zhou Nanxing took a few more good looks at Song An Ning, then said with a wry smile, "I was just talking nonsense, hehe..."

"..."

The room was eerily quiet for a moment. Seeing that the other party didn't want to say more, Song An Ning didn't force him. He asked again how much silver it would cost to apply the medicine on Yue'er, and prepared to pay and leave.

"Two copper coins will do..."

To ease the awkwardness, Doctor Zhou asked another question: "Which village is the girl from?"

"Half Moon Village."

Hearing about Banyue Village, Doctor Zhou was stunned for a moment. "From the same village as Song Feng?"

Before Song An Ning could reply, Zhou Nanxing spoke up first, "Why bring up that heartless guy? He's now selling herbs at Wanhetang and has long looked down on our small shop."

"?"

Song Anning had a question mark on her foot. If she was not mistaken, the Song Feng they were talking about should be her biological father.

"Uncle, I am Song Feng's daughter."

"..."

Zhou Nanxing's face flushed instantly, and he muttered softly, "Then why did you come to Huichuntang? It would be much better to go to Wanhetang..."

"Of course, it's to treat my sister. My father Song Feng and my eldest brother Song Zeyu went to the mountains half a year ago and have never come back."

"..."

"What? Brother Song is dead?"

Doctor Zhou's face changed, as if he sensed something unusual. He quickly made a gesture to keep quiet, walked to the door, looked again and again, and closed the door.

"Let's go to the backyard and talk."

Song An Ning nodded and followed.

After everyone was seated, Song An Ning spoke up, "There's no one alive, no body. My family searched the mountain, but couldn't find even a scrap of clothing."

Thinking of what the father and daughter had just said, she asked again: "I just heard this young lady say that my father went to Wanhetang to sell medicinal herbs. Where did this information come from?"

Doctor Zhou shook his head and said, "What a lie this girl is talking about. Most of the medicinal herbs sold in the village below have gone to Wanhetang. It's normal that their prices are higher.

But Brother Song came here on the winter solstice last year and told me that he would not go to Wanhetang, but only sell medicinal herbs to Huichuntang.

Since then, the father and son never came again.

Alas, it was our family who were short-sighted and misunderstood him."

"During the winter solstice, we eat dumplings. Yue'er will wait for her father to come back and eat dumplings."

Winter Solstice... Song An Ning flipped through the original owner's memories again and again, and finally remembered that on the day of the Winter Solstice, Wang Ying'er made a lot of dumplings, and Song Feng took his eldest son to the mountains early and never came back.

"Winter Solstice, my father disappeared on that day!"

"!"