Benefit People Pharmacy.

"Xia, are you serious? You’re not joking?" Chief Tian Yuan exclaimed in shock upon hearing Xia Yuan’s decision to resign from the Benefit People Pharmacy.

"Yes, you heard correctly. I’m planning to resign from the Benefit People Pharmacy," Xia Yuan said solemnly. In truth, he had been contemplating this decision for a while.

He just hadn’t made up his mind.

This time, his wife’s sudden severe illness, which nearly took her life, compelled him to make the decision to resign from the Benefit People Pharmacy.

In any case, the money he earned over the years was enough to cover his and his wife’s expenses for the rest of their lives. His daughter, Xia Zhu, had a bright future following Lin Miao, something he had no worries about.

Therefore, he wanted to lighten his burden, partly to spend more time with his wife and take good care of her, and partly to work on compiling Lin Miao’s Medical Case Collection.

He felt there was no one more suitable for the task than himself.

"If you resign, we will lose a renowned physician at the Benefit People Pharmacy. What will we do then?" Although Tian Yuan didn’t like Xia Yuan’s stubborn temperament, he highly regarded his medical skills. Lately, Xia Yuan’s medical skills had advanced rapidly, and the feedback from patients was extremely positive. Everyone understood what was happening.

But other people didn’t have Xia Yuan’s circumstances, and they could only express envy.

The reputation of the Benefit People Pharmacy had risen, yet he wanted to resign, which was originally his own achievement. Wasn’t this akin to destroying Tian Yuan’s lifeline?

If Mr. Sang held someone accountable, he might think that Tian Yuan deliberately made things difficult to force him out. Where could he find justice then?

"Mr. Tian, actually the Benefit People Pharmacy isn’t affected whether I’m here or not, it’s an opportunity to give the younger physicians a chance. As for my wife Ah Luo’s condition, even if I don’t resign, I will have to go home to take care of her for some time. I can’t say how long that time will be, so it’s better to resign and not occupy a position," Xia Yuan explained. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Mr. Xia, didn’t your wife’s condition improve?" Tian Yuan asked in surprise.

"She had a severe heart attack early this morning and almost didn’t survive," Xia Yuan explained.

"A severe heart attack has such a low survival chance, almost like a terminal illness. Xia, could it be that your wife..." If that was the case, Xia Yuan’s sudden resignation would be easy to understand.

"Ah Luo is out of danger now."

"Out of danger! Xia, I didn’t expect your medical skills to be at such a level that you could pull someone back from a near-terminal heart attack," Tian Yuan exclaimed in surprise, seeing even more reason for him to resign.

"It wasn’t me, it was Mr. Lin. With my skills, I could at most delay some time. But when Ah Luo had the attack, I was so flustered I couldn’t even diagnose or prescribe..." Xia Yuan admitted, ashamed.

Tian Yuan was very surprised. He knew that when Xia Yuan spoke of Mr. Lin, he meant Lin Miao. Even so, it left him extremely amazed. Recently, he had heard many things about Lin Miao.

Living in the same city, the rumors would reach his ears even if he didn’t want to hear them. After all, they were part of the same circle, and even his apprentices and physicians discussed them during their leisure time.

Titles like "Star of Xinglin" and "Master of Qihuang" were given to this young physician.

However, as the chief of the Benefit People Pharmacy, Tian Yuan still held his own pride. After all, he had been practicing medicine for almost fifty years, treating illnesses and saving lives with a sterling reputation in the medical community in Dongshan.

He also knew that Xia Yuan had been helping Lin Miao build renown. Initially, he thought it was because of his daughter, as the more famous and accomplished Lin Miao became, the more benefits would accrue to his daughter as an apprentice.

Things had a tendency to be exaggerated.

Yet, after hearing something from a different source, his perception started to change. Despite Lin Miao’s young age, her medical skills were indeed remarkable, and there was no behind-the-scenes manipulation or temporary brilliance involved.

This kind of genius in this era was both a sorrow and a blessing for many contemporaries, although she wasn’t the only one.

There were also other eminent figures like the Medicine King Sun He and Xumi Tuo, both exceptional in their time. In fact, he believed that these two might surpass her except for the age advantage.

However, Lin Miao was from Dongshan Prefecture, and the medical community there shouldn’t undermine her even if they didn’t fully support her.

Tian Yuan found some of the actions of Ye Shengyuan and others distasteful, especially how unscrupulous it was.

The late Ye Xizhao showed interest in someone else’s senior apprentice and tried to coerce her with sordid means, which failed, leading to his death from drug overdose in a woman’s bed.

Ye Shengyuan then unjustly blamed the siblings for this enmity, which was entirely unreasonable...

Ye Shengyuan was powerful and backed by the Marquis Lingyang’s Mansion. Even as the chief of the Benefit People Pharmacy in Dongshan City, Tian Yuan chose to remain uninvolved and silent.

People tended to pursue benefits and avoid harm. Everyone had their edges smoothed by the world. Had he been younger, he might have stood up for Lin Miao more.

"Xia, this is a big matter. Regarding your resignation, I need to report to Mr. Sang. Only with his approval can you resign. I can’t decide this alone."

"Understood, I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Tian. I’ll go back to take care of Ah Luo now." Xia Yuan clasped his hands in respect and left.

As soon as Xia Yuan departed, Tian Yuan immediately arranged a carriage to head to the Xinglin Medical Bureau.

...

"Let’s go, we’ll visit Xia Zhu’s home one more time," Lin Miao instructed Lin Mao’er to drive, accompanying Sun Youwei to the Xia Mansion after finishing the evening consultations.

This time they were visiting both as courtesy to see the patient and for a follow-up examination. There was a distinction between emergency medication and subsequent treatment, and they brought some supplements along. As a physician, Lin naturally knew what Xia Yuan’s wife could consume now.

At this moment, there were quite a few people at Xia Yuan’s home.

Xia Yuan worked at the Benefit People Pharmacy in Dongshan City for almost thirty years. Not to mention the apprentices he trained, but upon hearing the news, his colleagues and friends immediately came to visit.

However, Xia Yuan stopped them from going into the room so as not to disturb his wife’s rest.

This is understandable.

The patient needs peace and quiet, and their coming and going would certainly have an impact on Xia Yuan’s wife’s recovery.

Xia Yuan trained many apprentices, but most of them had completed their training and some were not in Dongshan City, so only those working at the Benefit People Pharmacy received the news currently.

There aren’t many people in the Xia Family, and Xia Zhu was caring for her mother in the room, so it was Xia Yuan’s third apprentice couple who were responsible for helping welcome those who came to see Xia Yuan’s wife.

They also work at the Benefit People Pharmacy, one as an ordinary physician, and the other as a pharmacist.

Husband and wife are quite a match.

Xia Yuan values character the most when taking apprentices, followed by talent. Hence, it’s clear that Xia Zhu’s third senior apprentice brother has thick eyebrows and big eyes, a sincere nature, and a very good character.

Xia Zhu has six senior apprentice brothers above her and three junior apprentice brothers below, ranking her seventh.

But now that Xia Zhu has apprenticed under Lin Miao, she no longer belongs to Xia Yuan’s lineage.

However, how she was addressed before remains unchanged. No matter what, she is the daughter of Xia Yuan, her master, and this relationship cannot be untangle.

Lin Miao is Xia Zhu’s master, so naturally, his status has been elevated. Therefore, when the third apprentice brother couple met Lin Miao, they had to greet him respectfully, saying, "Uncle Lin."

And Sun Youwei also leveled up together, becoming "Aunt Lin."

"Mr. Tian, Mr. Sang, you’re both here." Lin Miao stepped into the Xia family’s living room, greeting Tian Yuan and Mr. Sang who were conversing with Xia Yuan.

"Uncle Lin, please have some tea." The third apprentice brother brought over a cup of brewed tea respectfully.

"Thank you."

"Mr. Xia, actually, taking a break for a while is fine, but there’s no need to resign." Mr. Sang said.

Lin Miao was just lifting the tea cup when he heard Mr. Sang mention this and was somewhat surprised. He then put the tea cup down. Although his status had been elevated with Xia Zhu’s master title, he was still young and essentially a junior. He could only listen to some matters, not speak.

"Yes, Mr. Xia, the Benefit People Pharmacy hasn’t treated you poorly. You’re at this age now; work for a few more years and guide Cheng and the others well. It’s not too late to retire honorably then." Tian Yuan also advised.

Cheng refers to Cheng Hui, Xia Zhu’s third apprentice brother.

"Excuse me, Mr. Tian, I have a question I’d like to ask?" Lin Miao suddenly raised his hand to inquire.

"Feel free to ask any question, Mr. Lin." Tian Yuan showed a slight smile, indicating that the attitude towards Lin Miao couldn’t be the same as before – although not excessively intimate, at least friendly.

This young man’s future might be beyond imagination, and not only for his own consideration but also leaving a way out for future generations.

Who knows, he might need someone’s help someday?

"If Xia Yuan works at the Benefit People Pharmacy until retirement, will there be a pension?" Lin Miao asked.

"Yes, any physician who works until retirement at the pharmacy can receive a sum of money upon retirement, and for someone like Xia who has been an assistant and served for a certain period, the pension amount is quite considerable." Tian Yuan nodded.

"How many more years until Xia Yuan retires?"

"We’ll need to calculate that when we get back. At the very least, he must complete the signed contract period and then consider personal wishes. We can also offer a renewal." Tian Yuan said.

"So if Xia Yuan resigns now, he would suffer a significant loss, right?"

"Yes, even if we don’t pursue a breach of contract penalty, at least he’d lose about three thousand taels of silver." Tian Yuan explained.

"Xia, this three thousand taels of silver or more, we can offer you a three-month leave, or even six months. As long as you don’t want to resign, it’s all manageable." Mr. Sang also persuaded.

If there’s no pension after resigning, then it doesn’t matter as there’s no loss. If resigning means earning more and not minding the small loss, that’s fine too.

The issue is that resigning not only eliminates income but also incurs such a big loss, making it not worthwhile.

Xia Yuan intended to resign, besides caring for his wife, to focus on compiling the Medical Case Collection for Lin Miao. Originally, he thought the pharmacy would only allow a half-month leave at most. Now they’re offering up to three months or even six-month leave.

He was somewhat swayed, as leaving would mean letting go of his students at the Benefit People Pharmacy. He couldn’t just leave them unattended.

That would be somewhat irresponsible.

"I still have about two and a half years left on the contract with the bureau. Adding half a year of leave, it totals three years. If you both can agree, then I won’t resign." Xia Yuan finally spoke up. Lin Miao brought up this matter to hope he would weigh and consider carefully, avoiding impulsive decisions.

Tian Yuan and Mr. Sang exchanged glances and both breathed a sigh of relief.