Most of the people playing and watching chess in the teahouse are old people. After all, the teahouse has never had many customers. It's just past afternoon, and not many young people will come to spend time.

So among the gray hair and old cheeks, Gu Huai stood out particularly. He greeted several old people he knew well, then laughed and talked and looked at the chessboard. He didn't seem to be distracted, but Qingming standing aside could see clearly.

, compared with the previous days, Gu Huai's eyes were clearly much sharper.

Playing on the chessboard has always been a good way to kill time. The idea of ​​watching chess without saying a word does not exist in the eyes of experienced chess players. Every game of chess has noisy voices giving advice, and occasionally there are people who are so angry that their faces are livid, but

After giving up his seat, his face became better, and he even pointed out where others should go, which caused a burst of laughter and curses.

After a few games of chess, it was already past dusk. A man who looked like a domestic servant came up to an old man and said a few words. The old man then handed over and left. It was probably because someone in the family was urging him, and the other old people also left politely.

After a few words, they dispersed in twos and threes, leaving only a solitary figure still sitting on the edge of the chessboard. Gu Huai recognized him. Mr. Qian, the biggest chess addict, could see him in the teahouse almost every day.

Normally, Gu Huai would be on his way back at this time, but today Mr. Qian probably hadn't had enough fun yet, so he spoke to Gu Huai: "Young Master Gu has been coming to watch chess a lot recently, and I think he has a lot of heart for this, why not

Have a chat with me?"

This actually made Gu Huai stunned. He came to play chess mostly to kill time and think quietly. There was really no comment on his chess skills. He had only played against others online and memorized a few chess records.

But after looking at the sky, he still sat down and told the truth that he was not good at chess. This was taken by Mr. Qian as a sign of modesty, so he let Gu Huai take the lead, which was the courtesy of the elders to the younger ones on the chessboard.

After the chess pieces fell, the two naturally chatted a few words, such as "Who is the master?", Gu Huai casually brushed it off, but after there were a few more chess pieces on the chessboard, Mr. Qian raised his head in surprise and looked at

He met Gu Huai on the other side.

"This is the beginning...it turns out that the young master is really not humble."

"Just telling the truth..."

"The execution method is quite novel."

"I looked at the chess records and pondered it, which made Mr. Qian laugh."

"No, no, no..."

As he spoke, the chess game had entered the middle of the game, and the white pieces had been killed to pieces. They were on the verge of being surrounded and suppressed, but they were still struggling to hold on, but they couldn't see a way out, as if the defeat was already certain.

The game was easy, and the old man talked more. During the chat, he talked about the recent plague in Jiangning Mansion, which aroused the interest of Gu Huai, who was thinking hard with the chess pieces:

"plague?"

"It's been a while, but the news hasn't reached Jiangning City yet, but a lot of people have died in the south, and there are already refugees outside the city. It's just that the city gate is closed and they can't get in."

He sighed: "In all my years of living, I have only seen 'Pimple Plague' once. When I was studying in the North, I thought about choosing a good remedy to benefit the world in the future, but this 'Pimple Plague' is really real."

There is no cure."

Gu Huai thoughtfully put down a chess piece and made a crisp sound: "Is Mr. Qian the doctor?"

"I have been practicing medicine for most of my life, and I barely deserve this name," Mr. Qian shook his head, "but the more it is like this, the more I feel ashamed when I think of so many people waiting to die outside the city."

"Mr. Qian is really a kind-hearted doctor."

"Being kind-hearted is of no use... I went to the city gate to see it the day before yesterday. It is indeed the 'Pimple Plague'. I don't know how many people will die this time, but I can't do anything. I can only kill time here."

He stroked his beard and showed a sad expression: "Most of the medical shops in the city are closed. I don't know how many merchants are hoarding medicinal materials. This world is really chilling... They also pretend to send people out of the city to give porridge. I don't know.

Show it to someone!"

The black stones fell, and several white stones that were in desperate situation were lifted up, but Gu Huai didn't care at all, his thoughts were lost in what Mr. Qian had just said.

It wasn't until Mr. Qian urged him that he came back to his senses and asked: "Hoarding medicinal materials and giving porridge at the same time? It's difficult to make money for the country, but also have a good reputation?"

Qian Laoshen nodded in agreement: "Oh, most of Jiangning's wealthy businessmen made their fortune by weaving silk. They hired weavers to get a huge discount on silk purchases. Now they have stocked up on life-saving medicinal materials for the people, and they have to put on a philanthropic face...

.Anyone can see that after making money, he still wants to win people’s hearts.”

"After all, it's business. If you give away some money, food, and medicinal materials, you can gain a good reputation. Even if you look ugly, if more people spread the word, it's like advertising, and business will naturally improve."

"advertise?"

"It means to advertise widely."

"I see."

"And when it comes to buying people's hearts, these wealthy businessmen haven't done enough. The revenue from this kind of advertising is too low." Gu Huai straightened up and thought slowly, "We should introduce a person... Can the plague be cured?

It's one thing, but it's another thing to walk around the world and rescue those in distress. It's another thing to walk around among the refugees, pretend to be compassionate, and then spend money to build publicity and become a living Buddha... It's better to incite some people to be against them.

The dissatisfaction of the government will wait for the plague to pass, build a temple, open a chain of drug stores, and gain both fame and fortune."

Mr. Qian was dumbfounded. The words of the young scholar in front of him were a bit choppy and unrealistic. But the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this method had a sinister smell... Could it be that those medicine gods in ancient times were also

This method was used?

He picked up the tea cup and took a sip. He glanced at it lightly and without trace, confirming that Qingming was attracted by this topic. Gu Huai continued with satisfaction:

"Of course, you can't go too far. If you go too far, it will be counterproductive. After all, if you want to win people's hearts in front of the government, do you want to rebel?"

As soon as these words came out, both the old and the young laughed, as if it was just a harmless joke, but Qingming next to him suddenly tensed up.

"...So it is very important to grasp the right balance, not only to make the refugees grateful, but also not to make the government feel treasonous, this kind of 'god-making' movement is indeed profitable."

Seeing Mr. Qian's last black mark, Gu Huai calmly surrendered and continued: "Fame and fortune are the second best thing. The biggest advantage is to be remembered by the people. As the saying goes...'For everyone

Those who pay wages should not let them freeze to death in the wind and snow,' that's the truth."

Mr. Qian pondered these words carefully for a long time, then shook his head and smiled. Not knowing what to say, he just lowered his head and picked up the chess pieces, but Gu Huai followed up:

"Speaking of medical skills... I have some ideas, but I wonder if I can bother Mr. Qian some other time and talk about the plague outside the city."

"Young master, have you studied medicine?"

"It's not that I've learned it, I'm just curious. I read a book... There are many folk remedies in it, which are specially designed to treat difficult and complicated diseases. The symptoms of 'pimple plague' do sound quite familiar."

Mr. Qian's face changed, but he also felt that Gu Huai was just having a whim, but judging from his words, he was a scholar who was not pedantic. He also enjoyed small talk, so he nodded: "It's okay, I live here..."

After writing down the address, they both stood up. Mr. Qian pondered for a moment, then asked:

"What is the name of that medical book that the young master mentioned?"

The sky outside the building had darkened, and raindrops were still floating faintly. Gu Huai walked out with Qingming, who had been listening for a long time. When he heard Qian Lao's question, he stopped and looked back, smiling:
Chapter completed!