Chapter 268: Chapter 235: Su Qi Arrives in Person

At noon, the clinic closed, and it was time to go home for lunch.

Just as he entered the house.

Cai Xiaofei, one of Mr. Xie’s brothers, approached and reported, "Master, the patriarch of the Su Family in Lanzhou, Su Qi, and Bai Feng have arrived."

"Oh, why not send someone to the clinic to notify me?"

"Bai Feng said that you would be back soon for lunch, and there is no need to have someone make a trip and disrupt your consultation with patients," Cai Xiaofei explained.

"Cai Xiaofei, who pays your salary?"

"Master, it was my mistake," Cai Xiaofei was startled, cold sweat running down his back. He needed to be clear about who his master was. Bai Feng, no matter what, was a guest in this house. Guests could be courteous, but they should not interfere with how the host conducted their affairs.

"Remember, even if you were introduced by Mr. Xie, if you don’t do a good job, I can still let you go!" Lin Miao snorted coldly.

"Yes, I understand," Cai Xiaofei nodded quickly in agreement.

...

In the guest hall of the Lin Family.

Lin Miao and Sun Youwei met with Su Qi and his wife, Bai Feng.

Bai Feng, they had met her long ago, and were quite familiar with each other. As soon as they made eye contact, there was an immediate sense of warmth.

Looking at Su Qi, he wore a silk, diagonal-collared long robe, embroidered with intricate cloud patterns that were elegant yet splendid. His waist was fastened with a white jade belt, intricately carved, showcasing his status and taste.

With a square face, a rich and amiable smile on his face, exuding a sense of generosity. His eyes were deep and resolute, full of wisdom, giving the feeling of seeing through one’s heart in an instant. His thick brows and slightly upturned mouth naturally commanded respect.

As the patriarch of the Su Family and the wealthiest man in Lanzhou, he was naturally a figure accustomed to giving orders, displaying extraordinary demeanor.

"Lin Miao greets the Patriarch of the Su Family!" Lin Miao slightly cupped his fists as a courtesy.

"Mr. Lin, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for coming uninvited," Su Qi, being an imperial merchant, also served as a military official with the rank of fifth-grade General of Martial Strategy.

"Su, Lin and Chen’Er are sworn brothers, so we’re family now. Why use such official titles?" Bai Feng expressed her displeasure.

Su Qi awkwardly replied, "Wife, it’s our first official meeting, I wanted to show some formality, lest Mr. Lin thinks I, Su, lack manners!"

"Hahaha..." Lin Miao laughed, realizing that despite Su Qi’s serious exterior, he was quite a character.

If he were truly pedantic and dull, how could someone like Bai Feng, a woman of the martial world, take a liking to him?

"Then should I also change the way I address you, to Uncle Su?"

"Haha, yes, indeed!"

"Youwei greets Uncle Su!" Sun Youwei stepped forward and paid her respects.

"Since Youwei addresses me as Uncle, it’s only fitting I have a gift for our first meeting." Su Qi took out a pouch from his sleeve and handed it over, "It’s just a little something."

Sun Youwei glanced at Lin Miao. Seeing him give a slight nod, she reached out with both hands to accept it, "Thank you, Uncle Su."

"Senior sister, please go to the kitchen and ask Yu’Er to prepare a few more dishes. Uncle Su and Aunt Bai should stay for lunch," Lin Miao instructed. Certainly, Su Qi and Bai Feng’s visit was about more than just a simple greeting; there must be an important matter to discuss.

"Alright," Sun Youwei nodded, excused herself, and left.

Ling Yu’Er brought in tea.

"Lin, this girl is quite nice, where is she from?" Bai Feng asked, her eyes lighting up at Ling Yu’Er’s posture and movements.

"I adopted her."

"Adopting children at such a young age, yet you’re not even a father yourself?" Bai Feng exclaimed in surprise.

"I adopt them to give them a place of shelter, teach them both reading and martial arts so they can have a skill to rely on in the future. I don’t see them as my children; I think of them more as siblings," Lin Miao explained, as he hadn’t considered adopting sons or daughters, at least not yet.

"This child is promising, a great candidate for martial arts training!" Bai Feng praised.

"Does Aunt like her?" Lin Miao wasn’t foolish, he could see that.

"Well..." Bai Feng hesitated.

"Later, we can ask if she’s willing to learn martial arts from you," Lin Miao chuckled. If Ling Yu’Er could become Bai Feng’s disciple, it would be an excellent opportunity, and he had no reason to object to such good fortune.

Upon seeing Lin Miao speak so sincerely, Bai Feng felt a bit embarrassed. This was a good talent found by the family, and she snatched it away with just a few words, which seemed somewhat inappropriate.

In fact, Lin Miao didn’t mind. It was a good thing for his subordinates to have diversified development. He never thought of treating these adopted children as his private property. He only gave them a hand when they needed it the most, and their lives were still theirs to decide.

No one’s future is obtained out of thin air; it involves one’s efforts and the help of others.

"Thank you."

"Dear nephew Lin, this time my visit is firstly to personally thank you for helping the Su Family, especially with that prescription. It truly helped our Su Family greatly and saved us from a catastrophe!" Su Qi said with sincere gratitude.

"Uncle, you overpraise me. I merely provided a prescription. I wasn’t even sure if it would work since I hadn’t been to the horse farm or seen what equine influenza was like. You, Uncle, dared to trust me and use the prescription based only on Su Chen’s description, which is very impressive." Lin Miao replied humbly.

"Dear nephew, you are too modest. Uncle knows that you are not short of money now, so I won’t give you money, which would seem vulgar. I heard from Bai Feng that you are self-taught in martial arts, which is really remarkable. Having reached such a level without a teacher is rare in the world. Our Su Family started in business, and martial arts was only incidental. Today, I have brought you all the martial arts collections we’ve gathered over the years." Su Qi said.

Upon hearing this, Lin Miao stood up abruptly in shock. A family’s collection of martial arts secrets would be the most precious thing for a martial family—not to mention giving them to an outsider, not even letting an outsider have a glance would be possible.

Two servants from the Su Family brought in an extremely heavy chest from outside.

While a book of martial arts secrets might not be heavy, the combined collection of the Su Family over the years would indeed be substantial.

"Dear nephew, they are all here, a total of one hundred and twenty-seven books. This is the catalog." Su Qi went forward, opened the chest, took out a small booklet, and handed it to Lin Miao.

"Uncle, this gift is too precious, I can’t accept it." Lin Miao reached out and politely declined, understanding that collecting these martial arts secrets took countless resources, manpower, and even lives from the Su Family. How could he accept it so shamelessly?

"Dear nephew, although collecting these secrets cost our Su Family considerable wealth and manpower, without your prescription and method this time, our Su Family might not exist anymore. In that case, these things would become worthless. Giving them to you actually has another meaning: that the Su Family will live and die together with you in the future!" Su Qi explained solemnly.

"This..."

"Lin, this is your Uncle Su’s intention, and mine too. If it weren’t for your strong support, our Su Family would have had a hard time overcoming this crisis. You are not only a benefactor to the Su Family but also to our family of three." Bai Feng said seriously.

"Uncle, Aunt, this is the foundation of a family. If you give it to me, what can I offer you in return?" Lin Miao said. Any relationship must be balanced. If it’s unbalanced from the start, conflicts will inevitably arise in the future.

This principle was something Lin Miao understood very clearly in his previous life.

"You’ve already given us enough. The prescription stopped the spread of the equine influenza and you actively collaborated with us, which earned us substantial profits and greatly relieved the financial difficulties of our Su Family, avoiding further complications." Bai Feng explained.

"In business, mutual benefit is key. Without Miss Su and the backup of the Snow Mountain Sect, I wouldn’t have been able to sell those goods or exchange them for silver."

"That’s because you chose the Su Family; you could have chosen any family for this business, couldn’t you?"

"That’s not entirely true. If it wasn’t trustworthy, I’d rather not proceed with the business temporarily." Lin Miao stated.

"Thank you for trusting our Su Family." Su Qi expressed gratitude. Without this trust, he couldn’t have stabilized the Su Family’s situation so quickly, and even elevated his prestige. Now, all dissenting voices within the Su Family had disappeared.

Opposing Su Qi now was akin to opposing everyone with interests tied to the Su Family.

"Uncle, Aunt, lunch is ready." Sun Youwei entered from outside.

"Uncle, Aunt, please come to the dining room, we can talk while we eat!" Lin Miao stood up and invited them.

"Great, I’ve long heard from Bai Feng about how delicious the Lin Family’s food is, and today I finally have the chance to try it."

"He purposely came at this time, saying that only at this time there would definitely be food!" Bai Feng glanced at her husband.

Su Qi said awkwardly, "Even if that’s true, you didn’t have to say it out loud. Don’t I have any dignity?"

"Ha ha..."

"Uncle, this is wine I brewed myself, called East Mountain Drunk."

"This wine is so crystal clear, with a rich aroma. Dear nephew, I didn’t expect you knew how to brew wine!" Su Qi said in surprise.

"I know a bit." Lin Miao replied. "Uncle, why don’t our two families collaborate on setting up a winery in Dongshan? I’ll provide the technology and place, and Uncle will provide the money and sales channels. We can split the profits equally."

"Great wine!" Su Qi eagerly raised his cup, took a sip, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Lin is speaking to you about the two families collaborating on a winery!" Bai Feng nudged her husband, rebuking him, as he seemed to forget everything upon seeing good wine.

"Yes, yes, if we can produce this kind of wine, I can sell it in Li Jing!" Su Qi said enthusiastically. The nobles in Li Jing are all fond of good wine, so such a fine wine is sure to sell well.

"But if the wine is called East Mountain Drunk, it sounds too ordinary. It needs a new name, let’s call it Jade Dew White?"

"Jade Dew White, a great name. I’ll go with Uncle’s suggestion."