The next day, Liang Jingxian got up early and cycled to the bus station, ready to take a bus to the county town to look for a storefront.
"Old Li..." Liang Jingxian had initially planned to park his bicycle next to the roasted sweet potato vendor and ask him to keep an eye on it. But as he arrived, he happened to see the vendor fainting to the ground.
The people around were so frightened by the sight that they backed away. Even two young people who were about to buy sweet potatoes were so scared that they dropped their money and ran away, without taking their sweet potatoes, of course.
"Let me do it," a middle-aged man dressed in a suit and leather shoes gritted his teeth, stood up, and said, "I've learned emergency CPR skills..."
He put down his briefcase, told people around to call for emergency services quickly, and began to press on Old Li's chest. He was also preparing to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Old Li.
"Uncle, that's not going to work," Liang Jingxian saw that the middle-aged man's technique was unprofessional, clearly amateur, "Let me save him instead."
"You... are you a doctor?" the middle-aged man indeed had learned CPR, but when it came to actually using it, he became flustered and his movements were unstandardized.
"He sells crayfish, he's not a doctor," a nearby fruit vendor called out immediately, "Xiao Liang, don't delay, Old Li Tou can't afford to waste a moment right now."
"Selling crayfish is just a sideline for me, my main job is as the village doctor of Huang Liang Village," Liang Jingxian replied offhand, and took out a pack of silver needles from his pocket, saying politely to the middle-aged man, "Uncle, please step aside."
He had a good impression of this middle-aged man. Even though the man's CPR posture was not standard, the fact that he stepped forward at this time, and was even willing to give mouth-to-mouth to another man, was already quite remarkable.
The middle-aged man indeed could not practice medicine. After thinking it over, he stood up and said, "Young man, this is a matter of life and death, it's not a joke."
"Hmm, I understand. If something happens, I'm willing to take full responsibility," Liang Jingxian said.
As soon as his words ended, Liang Jingxian had already inserted the needles, a dozen silver needles, all of which were now plunged into Li Shitou's chest.
"What's this? Acupuncture? Are you kidding?"
"Isn't this manslaughter?"
"I just heard him claim to be a village doctor. Could he be a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine? Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners love to mess around."
"Exactly, can't they see what time it is? Can they afford to delay?"
"Wait and see how he ends up. If I were the patient's family, I would sue him for intentional murder later."
"Quick, push him away. Uncle, please continue with the CPR."
...
Seeing that Liang Jingxian actually used acupuncture to treat Old Li, the crowd immediately became agitated, thinking that Liang Jingxian was messing around.
"Everybody stop cursing!"
The middle-aged man held out his hand. Although he was not a medical student, he had been exposed to a lot of traditional Chinese medicine. The speed at which Liang Jingxian inserted the needles was absolutely unprecedented in his life, "Traditional Chinese medicine is a treasure of Huaxia, accumulated through the efforts of countless predecessors. Even if you don't believe it, don't easily slander it."
"Uncle, don't speak up for him."
"I'm not speaking for anyone. The fact is, my CPR techniques are not up to par and currently, no one else knows how. Since this younger brother is willing to step forward, it's at least better than everyone else doing nothing," the middle-aged man said.
Heeding what the middle-aged man said, the crowd quieted down.
Although no one really believed in it, since it was only the middle-aged man who had been helping with the rescue, they didn't have the right to say anything in front of him.
Two minutes later, suddenly, a soft groan sounded.
"It's done," Liang Jingxian hadn't spoken from beginning to end. After hearing the sound, he waved his hand and all the needles were pulled out.
The middle-aged man hadn't seen Liang Jingxian inserting the needles, but he watched the removal process clearly.
His eyes lit up, he couldn't help but say, "Such skillful technique."
"What... what happened?" Old Li Tou, the roasted sweet potato vendor, gradually opened his eyes, then braced himself and got up from the ground, as if nothing had happened.
"Uncle, you fainted just now. How do you feel? Is your chest still feeling tight?"
"My chest? There's nothing wrong with my chest. Did I faint just now? Ah, my heart, it has always had this problem. But now, it feels much lighter, very comfortable."
Seeing Old Li as if nothing had happened, it seemed he even wouldn't need to visit the hospital, which left the onlookers amazed.
At the same time, many people began to apologize to Liang Jingxian and traditional Chinese medicine.
"I'm sorry, handsome, I was too superficial. I didn't expect your medical skills to be so profound. It seems that traditional Chinese medicine has its strengths too."
"Yes, yes, I was wrong too. I shouldn't have slandered you, let alone traditional Chinese medicine."
...
Liang Jingxian didn't say much in response, and these people knew they were wrong and were apologizing, which honestly, was quite rare.
With Old Li being fine, the crowd of onlookers soon dispersed.
"Old Li, I'm going to the county town to check on a storefront. I'll leave my bike here; could you please keep an eye on it for me?" Liang Jingxian said to Old Li.
"Hmm, okay, just leave it here after you lock it, and I'll watch over it for you."
Old Li knew that Liang Jingxian had just saved his life and was quite grateful to him. After all, a bad life was better than a good death; he wanted to strive for a few more years, to save up some money for his children and grandchildren.
"Regarding your heart condition, if you take Western medicine, it will cost a lot and take a long time. I'll prescribe you some Chinese medicine; the ingredients are not expensive. It will be divided into three treatment courses; you should continue to drink it for half a month, which will greatly benefit your heart. I can't guarantee other outcomes, but I assure you that you won't have an attack for the next five years."
As Liang Jingxian spoke, he pulled out paper and pen from Old Li, wrote down the prescription, and instructed him a few more things before preparing to go to the bus station to buy a ticket.
"Xiao Liang, are you planning to rent a storefront to open a shop?" Old Li called out to him.
"Yes, do you have a recommendation?"
"Actually, I do."
Old Li took a sip of water and said, "I have a cousin who works as a chef in a barbecue shop near the Baiyun Community. Recently, their boss doesn't want to run it anymore; you can check it out. I'll give you my cousin's phone number."
"That would be great."
After receiving the number, Liang Jingxian immediately called Old Li's cousin to find out the address, then took a cab directly there.
It was only about eight kilometers from the bus station to the county town. Originally, Liang Jingxian planned to take a bus and then a public bus to slowly navigate around the county town, but now that he had a clear destination, he went straight there.
Soon, the driver took him to Baiyun Community. On the street next to the east gate, he saw a barbecue shop named "Happy Little Kitchen".
The barbecue shop was closed at the moment, but he could see through the glass door the interior layout. The barbecue shop was about sixty square meters with complete equipment. It was evident that the owner had put careful thought into the decor. If it were converted into a crayfish shop or continued to operate as a barbecue shop, it wouldn't need any remodeling and could start up right away.
At that moment, a man in his early forties was standing at the door with a cellphone in hand, looking towards the taxi.
After Liang Jingxian got out of the taxi, the man walked over quickly, smiling, "You are Boss Liang who just called by phone, right?"
"Ha, what Boss Liang. I haven't even started anything yet," Liang Jingxian chuckled and said, "Master Lee, this shop has a good location, doesn't it? Baiyun Community is considered a rather upscale community in Zhiyun County, so the spending power should be quite good, right? So, why isn't the boss running it anymore?"
Old Li's cousin, Lee Yuan, gave a bitter smile and said, "Our shop was actually doing okay, and business was picking up. But unpredictable things happen, and our boss got sick. He needs a large sum of money for treatment and has no mood to manage the shop anymore..."
"I see," Liang Jingxian nodded.
Lee Yuan continued, "I've already notified the boss; she'll be here soon. Our boss lives in Baiyun Community, just a few minutes walk from here. Boss Liang, shall we go inside and have some tea?"
Lee Yuan took out a key, opened the door, led Liang Jingxian inside, handed him a bottle of mineral water, and then sat beside him with a troubled expression.
"Boss Liang, what do you plan to serve if you take over the shop?"
Liang Jingxian knew what Lee Yuan was worried about and said, "Master Lee, I am planning to open a crayfish restaurant, mainly selling crayfish."
A look of disappointment flashed across Lee Yuan's face, but he didn't say anything. After about three minutes, a woman in her late twenties dressed in a business suit walked in.
"Are you the one who wants to rent my shop?"
"Ms. Fang… Ms. Fang..."
Liang Jingxian blurted out, the owner of this shop turned out to be his senior from middle school, Fang Bing, who was also the object of his youthful unrequited crush.