The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#545 - Diagnosis

He Butcher's wife was also quite tempted when she saw the twenty taels of silver. Reading М

Although relying on his superb pig-slaughtering skills, He Butcher had accumulated a considerable fortune over the years, set up a shop, started a family, and lived a comfortable life.

But his family wasn't rich enough to ignore twenty taels of silver, especially since Lu Jing said this was just a deposit.

Taiwan Novel Network → 𝒕 𝒘 𝒌 𝒂 𝒏 . 𝒄 𝒐 𝒎

So He Butcher's wife swallowed her saliva and asked, "How much silver are you planning to spend to learn this skill?"

"Three hundred taels, I guess," Lu Jing said, naming a price that He Butcher's wife couldn't refuse.

However, she also had doubts in her heart, "Three hundred taels is not a small sum; it's enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for a lifetime. Why would you give up a comfortable life and spend so much money to learn how to slaughter pigs...? To be honest, although this profession earns money, it's really hard work, requiring you to get up early and work late.

"Besides, this skill can't be learned in a day or two. Who knows how long it will take to earn back the three hundred taels you invested."

"It doesn't matter," Lu Jing said, "I'll give you the money once I've learned the skill. As for whether I can earn money afterward, that's my own business."

Afterward, to really convince He Butcher's wife that he had three hundred taels of silver, Lu Jing took out two more silver notes from his pocket and handed them to her to verify.

And He Butcher's wife, after seeing the silver notes, indeed believed him a little more, but she still didn't agree. After returning the silver notes to Lu Jing, she sighed and said, "Oh, come in first."

While speaking, she finally opened the wooden door.

Lu Jing walked into the butcher shop and looked around. The first thing that caught his eye was a large cutting board with a boning knife stuck in it, sharpened very sharply.

In addition, there were tools for chopping fillings, iron hooks for hanging meat, lotus leaves and straw ropes for tying meat fillings, and other items.

Because the smell in the shop was not very pleasant, Lu Jing didn't stay long. After taking a look, he followed He Butcher's wife to the small courtyard behind the butcher shop.

This was also where He Butcher's family lived.

Just as Lu Jing passed through the back door of the butcher shop, he saw a burly man of seven feet tall drinking alone in the courtyard.

He seemed to be very drunk, his eyes glazed over, but he continued to pour yellow wine from the jar into his stomach, bowl after bowl, as if he didn't plan to stop until he was completely drunk.

Seeing this, He Butcher's wife stepped forward, wanting to snatch the wine bowl from his hand, but he rudely pushed her away.

Then, He Butcher's wife turned to Lu Jing and said, "You see, it's not that I don't want him to teach you, it's just... it's just that he wakes up every day and drinks, and he doesn't want to do anything else."

"Why did he become like this?" Lu Jing asked.

"About half a month ago, he drove a cart to a nearby village to collect pigs, but on the way back, it rained heavily, and the ground was slippery. He and the cart fell down the mountain. Fortunately, the mountain wasn't too steep, and his life wasn't in danger, but he hit his head when he rolled down. After coming back, he forgot some things."

"You don't mean to say he forgot how to slaughter pigs, right?" Lu Jing's expression became a little strange.

He Butcher's wife nodded, "Since then, other things have been fine, but he has forgotten a lot about slaughtering pigs. He feels awkward no matter how he makes the cut, and he no longer has the smooth and flowing movements of the past, so he decided to quit."

"So if you want to learn how to slaughter pigs from him, you can only wait and see when he can remember again." He Butcher's wife was about to continue, but He Butcher suddenly shouted, "Wine, where's the wine? Quickly bring me the wine!"

Then, he smashed the empty wine jar on the ground. Seeing that he was about to smash the bowls and dishes again, his wife had to bring him another jar of yellow wine, which finally calmed him down.

Seeing this, Lu Jing wisely didn't stay any longer and took his leave.

It seemed that He Butcher was suffering from a normal case of amnesia, but he was particularly unlucky because he happened to forget the skill that earned him a living.

Seeing that he couldn't get any new clues here, Lu Jing then went to Ma Banzheng's residence.

Compared to He Butcher's butcher shop, Ma Banzheng, as the richest man in Lingyang County, his residence was not so easy to enter.

However, Lu Jing happened to arrive at a special time. Ma Banzheng had offered a large reward in the city, seeking a doctor who could cure his mother's illness.

So Lu Jing bought a medicine chest, found a Taoist robe, and temporarily played the role of a wandering doctor, successfully sneaking into Ma's residence. Afterward, he even showed off his medical skills in front of everyone.

According to those people, Liu Shi's complexion was indeed very good seven days ago, and her condition had only deteriorated rapidly recently.

This also made Lu Jing quite puzzled. Later, he suggested going to the kitchen to take a look.

Ma Banzheng was now treating Lu Jing as a living immortal. All his requests were granted, so Lu Jing entered the kitchen without much effort.

Lu Jing checked not only the main kitchen in Ma's residence but also the small stove specially set up for Liu Shi, but he still didn't find anything unusual. In addition, Ma Banzheng's concern for his mother didn't seem fake, so Lu Jing finally ruled out the possibility of someone poisoning her.

Afterward, he declined Ma Banzheng's warm invitation and found an excuse to sneak out of Ma's residence, and he also obtained a letter of introduction written by Ma Banzheng to Zhang Yuanwai.

In the letter, Ma Banzheng praised Lu Jing's medical skills to the sky, blowing him up as if he were Hua Tuo in the world and Bian Que reborn. In this way, Lu Jing could approach Zhang Yuanwai's young wife, who was locked up at home, under the pretext of seeing a doctor, in case she really had some kind of mental disorder.