"Mr. Lin wants to pawn this 'medical license'?" Mr. Xie couldn't help but be surprised. He initially intended to take advantage of the situation and lower the price. After all, Mr. Sun had died, and Lin Miao was just an apprentice, unable to make any significant waves.
In his eyes, a person like Lin Miao could be easily crushed. It was just a pity that Mr. Sun had a daughter of exceptional beauty.
It was said she was frail and might not live past twenty; otherwise, she could have been sold for a good price!
Lin Miao knew that pawnshops like these were ruthless, with no good people to be found.
Though Mr. Xie appeared kind and approachable on the surface, behind the scenes, he was involved in receiving and selling stolen goods, doing all sorts of unconscionable things.
Only such a person would not fear the Huang Family.
Only a villain can deal with another villain!
He preferred to give the Herbal Hall to this "Mr. Xie" rather than to the Huang Family. Since it couldn't be protected anyway, why let the other party have their way?
If this anger isn't resolved, how can one find peace of mind?
As for this 'medical license,' his master had died. In his hands, it was just a memento.
However, it was also the root of disaster. Once the person is dead, the license is ownerless. If it can be taken care of, no problem; once lost and misused by someone, it becomes a catastrophe.
Generally, when the owner of a 'medical license' dies, the license can be turned over to the government's 'Medical' department, and the person who returns it can receive funeral assistance.
This sum in Dongshan Prefecture would be roughly sixty taels of silver.
But generally, people do not return the 'medical license,' as they don't lack this bit of silver and would rather keep it at home as a memento.
That's why 'medical licenses' are rare in the collectibles world. Reclaimed licenses are melted down to produce new licenses, and ownerless 'medical licenses' are rare, especially high-level 'medical' licenses, which are even rarer.
Even in a remote place like Dongshan Prefecture, a 'medical license' could fetch at least five hundred taels if auctioned.
However, people generally don't sell them because 'medical licenses' are a symbol of one's status as a physician, used for every prescription, which is no joking matter.
If it turns out there's an issue with a prescription traced back to the license, even if the person is dead, their descendants would be implicated—it's a joint liability.
Why didn't your descendants hand over the 'medical license' after the holder's death? When something happens, who else would they look for if not you?
That is also why a 'medical license' can be pawned at 'Yuanheng' for a hundred taels of silver for a three-month period without any interest.
While many 'medical licenses' are used for pawning, very few are directly sold, unless they are utterly unrelated to the owner, as they won't bear any consequences.
"Pawn the 'medical license' for a hundred taels, and I'll redeem it in three months. The land deed and house deed of the Herbal Hall will be pawned for three hundred and fifty taels, also as living pawn, to be redeemed at the original price within six months. After half a year, if the land and houses are still in Mr. Xie's hands, I retain the priority right to redeem them at the same price." Lin Miao said calmly, "Mr. Xie can do this business or I'll find someone else."
Mr. Xie looked at the strong resolve on the young face of Lin Miao and could tell that this young individual wasn't bluffing.
He remembered Mr. Sun's apprentice as a quiet, not particularly clever boy, who rarely spoke.
Today, he seemed like a completely different person.
Not only could he calculate, but he also handled pressure without losing steam. It looked like everyone underestimated Mr. Lin.
Mr. Xie had never encountered such a young man before, and he licked his lips lightly, yet when he saw the 'medical license,' a trace of greed emerged.
Redeeming in three months, could this boy be thinking of getting the silver first, and redeeming it quickly thereafter?
He nearly fell into the boy's verbal trap.
"Mr. Lin, the owner of this 'medical license' is dead, and according to our rules, if you pawn it for a hundred taels, you cannot enjoy three months without interest upon redeeming."
"So how much interest does Mr. Xie want me to pay?"
"Three percent interest, calculated daily," Mr. Xie said, holding up three fingers.
"Three percent interest, for a hundred taels of silver—three qian a day, nine taels a month, twenty-seven taels in three months, plus the principal, making a total of a hundred and twenty-seven taels. Fair enough!" Lin Miao blurted out.
"No, it's compound interest!" Mr. Xie was momentarily stunned and quickly added.
"Mr. Xie, it seems you don't want to do business with me. Goodbye!" Lin Miao's face turned stern. With compound interest, three months would at least quadruple, even selling the 'medical license' at auction wouldn't fetch that amount.
"Wait, Mr. Lin, I meant compound interest after three months. As long as it doesn't exceed three months, calculate it at three percent interest, how about that?" Seeing the cooked deal slipping away, Mr. Xie quickly pursued.
"White on black, we must draft an agreement." Lin Miao skillfully took out paper and ink, "For everyone's peace of mind, let's use my paper and ink, I've also added some medicinal powder to the ink..."
Mr. Xie was speechless, having never encountered someone so meticulous, sealing every loophole, leaving him no opportunity to manipulate.
Moreover, his determination was remarkable.
This lad is destined to become someone noteworthy in the future.
In his previous life, he had seen the human heart many times, had he not kept a vigilant mind, he would have been a mere pile of bones in a grave, let alone having a chance to live again in this strange world?
After drafting the document and pressing handprints, Lin Miao received four hundred and fifty taels of silver notes.
With this sum clutched to his chest, he immediately left the 'Yuanheng' pawnshop, purchased all he needed, and finally rented a carriage from a carriage rental agency.
The carriage and horses traveled to the city where there is a branch office. At that time, just go directly to return it at the city branch.
Then, he drove the carriage, carrying the things he bought, hurrying back home all the way.
As the sky darkened.
Lin Miao finally returned to the Herbal Hall with the carriage.
At this time, within the Herbal Hall, two groups of people were confronting each other. On one side were the Huang Family, led by an elder whom Lin Miao had seen before, who handled matters for Huang San, including filing a lawsuit in the county town and demanding compensation through coercion.
Then there were Huang San's wife and children and some members of the Huang Clan, about seven or eight people, including three young and sturdy ones, all broad-shouldered and strong, clearly possessing martial skills.
However, the Herbal Hall side was solitary and weak, with only Senior Sister Sun Youwei and Yun, who for some reason had not left and stayed by her side.
With Mr. Sun dead, logically, the one who could take charge would be Sun Youwei. But the townsfolk all knew Mr. Sun had a disciple, Sun Youwei's fiancé. Although the two were not yet married, their engagement had long been set.
This young disciple was to be the future head of the Sun Family, the only male.
Men managed external affairs, women handled internal matters.
This was the tradition formed over centuries.
"Miss Sun, that childhood sweetheart of yours, Mr. Lin, might have left you behind and run away…" a young man from the Huang Family said flippantly. "Or else, why not just follow me?"
The surrounding Huang Clan members chimed in, teasing her with inappropriate remarks.
"Junior Brother…" Sun Youwei's heart tightened, and her face turned terribly pale. This Mr. Lin had changed so much that she almost couldn't recognize him. If all his past actions were an act, and if today he just left with the land deeds and house deeds of the Herbal Hall, along with the funeral guests' silver money, she dreaded to consider what situation she would face next.
"Weiwei." Yun caught the nearly fainting Sun Youwei, quickly whispering in her ear, "Don't fall for the Huang Family's trap. They're just trying to scare you. Mr. Lin is not someone who is heartless and unjust."
"Wulang, stop wasting time talking to her. If we don't have the three hundred taels of silver by dawn tomorrow, then Miss Sun must vacate the Herbal Hall!" The leading elder of the Huang Clan, Huang Baichuan, barked sharply, a slight smirk of satisfaction creeping onto his lips. The Sun Family's Herbal Hall was a prime piece of feng shui land, coveted for building the Huang Clan's ancestral hall, and this achievement belonged to him.
If not for Sun Youwei's frail health, she could have married one of their young men as a concubine, or even he himself wouldn't have been opposed to the idea.
Entering old age and conquering a young maiden, what difficulty could there be?
Sun Youwei gently pushed Yun aside and stepped forward with a determined expression, "Since tomorrow is the deadline, if you are not here to pay respects to my father today, then please leave now."
"Bold of you, young Miss Sun. Today, we came merely to remind you not to forget that tomorrow is the deadline for compensation!" The elder of the Huang Clan said coldly.
Sun Youwei was just about to speak when the sound of hooves came from the door.
Lin Miao led the reins, his face cold and stern, walking slowly ahead.
"Huang Baichuan, regarding Huang San's case, you Huang Family have continuously obstructed the autopsy, cremating his body under the guise of decay to destroy all evidence, while falsely accusing my master's prescription of having issues. My master was unable to defend himself against your unfounded allegations, labeled as a quack doctor who killed, and his spirit was broken, leading to his illness and eventual death. This debt, I, Lin Miao, will settle with you Huang Family sooner or later!" Lin Miao stood firm before the Huang Family, his gaze as sharp as lightning, sweeping across all present as he proclaimed loudly.
"Impudent youth, speaking nonsense. Huang San's death was due to your master's problematic prescription, his inadequate skills, and improper treatment killed someone. This matter, Physician Song from Anning Hall can testify!"
"Improper treatment, you took the medicine back, yet refused my master's request to examine the leftover dregs. Why did you refuse to hand over the drug remains if there was nothing to hide?" Lin Miao counter-questioned.
There were too many irregularities in Master's case, these people clearly took advantage of Master's ignorance of the law and inexperience with lawsuits, exploiting his guilty conscience of 'killing' someone to the point of driving him to death.
Huang Baichuan blanched in shock, then flushed with anger, never expecting to be cornered by a young and inexperienced teen to this extent.
He indeed knew there was more to Huang San's death.
But this case must never be reopened; doing so would incur collective outrage. If the Huang Family's rivals found out, it would spell disaster.
Lin Miao also knew that overturning this case would be immensely difficult; months had passed, and the evidence was long destroyed by the Huang Clan.
Moreover, Mr. Qian presumably accepted benefits from the Huang Family, showing obvious favoritism towards them in this case because the Huang Family had suffered a death.
Mr. Sun had died of illness on his own, and everyone, naturally, believed he died of shame from his inadequate practice leading to someone's death.
Having caused a death, compensation was unavoidable, avoiding jail time was justifiable, but compensation was inevitable.
"Lin Miao, this case has been concluded by Mr. Qian, do you think you can adjudicate better than the magistrate himself?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Miao's heart was filled with cold sarcasm; the Huang Family, after all, were defeated dogs, yet even such defeated dogs were not ones ordinary people could provoke. And that was the way of this world.
"Huang Baichuan, the deadline is not yet reached; I ask you to immediately leave our Sun Family Herbal Hall."
"What, after living as neighbors for two years, I can't come to offer incense to Mr. Sun to see him off one last time?" Huang Baichuan laughed.
This deception was too much!
Yet Lin Miao was no longer the Lin Miao of before, he didn't wish for a conflict before his master's burial to disrupt his plans.
Suppressing his anger, he stepped aside: "Fine, go ahead."
Huang Baichuan thought he could provoke Lin Miao, stopping him from honoring Sun Simiao before his memorial, but he didn't anticipate Lin Miao not opposing him.
Now, the words he uttered could not be taken back.
Lin Miao's thought was, today they pay respect before his memorial, tomorrow they will bow in apology!