A store manager at Luo Workshop?!

When Xiao Luo heard his own company’s name mentioned, he couldn’t resist looking at the young man. He didn’t have any opinion of him yet at that point as there were so many store managers in the organization, and it wouldn’t have been possible to remember them all. But, for this person to not recognize his president, it would either mean he had just been recently promoted, or he was faking it.

Tan Ningfu was extremely agitated when the matter was brought up. She frowned at her mother and said, “Whatever it is, can we talk about it after grandma wakes up?”

Seeing that she was distraught, her mother sucked in her lips and did not say another word.

The four of them stood by the door and watched Xiao Luo intently as he took a reading of the old woman’s pulse. After about ten minutes, Xiao Luo gently placed her hand on her side and stood up.

Deeply concerned, Tan Ningfu hurriedly went forward and asked, “Mr. Xiao, how is she?”

“It’s no big deal, it’s just that she has accumulated a lot of pent-up negative qi throughout the years and it has not been vented properly. It affected her flow of qi and blood quality, causing her blood pressure to rise. This condition caused the pressure within her skull to buildup sharply, and that’s why she fainted.”

Xiao Luo made his assessment based on her pulse reading and said, “I can only assume that your grandma must’ve been stressed in some way before she passed out.”

Tan Ningfu looked at her mother unconsciously, for it was true. Her mother would often scold her grandma for the most trivial things, and she wouldn’t even allow the old woman to sit together at the dining table during meals. At mealtime, her grandma would carry a stool with her food and sit by the bathroom door, munching all by herself. And, despite being in her eighties, she was treated like a hired maid, having to mop the floor, do the laundry, cook, and wash the dishes.

Forcing back her tears, she turned around and said, “Mr. Xiao, do you have a way to treat my grandma?”

“I can give her acupuncture, but it’ll only serve as a temporary solution. If you want her to recover completely, treat her well, and don’t let her get stressed up. The most effective prescription for her right now is to feel comfortable and happy,” Xiao Luo said.

“Mr. Xiao, please hurry up and do it then. I will remember your words and do my best to keep her happy, so please, I’ll be very grateful!”

The middle-aged man pleaded with genuine concern. Even though his wife had always ridiculed and spurned the old woman, complaining about her in his ear, blood was still thicker than water. The fact that the one lying on the bed was his own biological mother would never change.

Xiao Luo nodded, opened his acupuncture kit, and performed acupuncture on the old woman.

The practice of acupuncture involved inserting acupuncture needles of various lengths into specific acupoints. This would serve to help channel pent-up qi to travel along a particular route and discharge naturally from her body through the tip of her index finger, using the blood-dripping technique.

Tan Ningfu and the others cringed as they saw the long, hair-thin needles inserted into the old woman’s body.

In a while, dark-colored blood dripped from the old woman’s index finger, and everyone looked amazed.

“Get me a washbasin,” Xiao Luo said to Tan Ningfu.

Tan Ningfu ran out immediately and returned, holding a washbasin. “Here, Mr. Xiao,” she said.

Xiao Luo placed the washbasin on the ground. Drop after drop, blood flowed out from the old woman’s index finger and dripped into the washbasin. Still, the old woman did not regain consciousness.

“Mr. Xiao, when will she wake up?” the young man asked, expressing his concern.

“Very soon.”

Xiao Luo only replied with those two words, then, he walked to the head of the bed, reached out gently, and held the old woman’s head. Slowly, he inserted a long needle through the side of her skull.

Tan Ningfu’s whole family shuddered at the sight for that was her skull he was plunging the needle into, wouldn’t it damage her brain?

Swiftly, all their fears were allayed as the old woman started moving her fingers and slowly opened her eyes. The intracranial pressure within her skull was reduced, and her condition was gradually relieved. Although she looked a little tired, at least she had woken up and was aware of her surroundings.

“Grandma!”

Tan Ningfu ran toward the bed, relieved. She sat by the edge and held her grandmother’s hand tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks.

The old lady opened her mouth with some effort, and in a dry, hoarse voice, she called out, “Ning… Fu…”

“It will take some time to discharge all the pent-up Qi.”

Xiao Luo took out his phone to check the time and said, “Remind me to remove the needles at 11:30.”

“Okay,” Tan Ningfu replied, nodding in acknowledgment, then stood up and gave Xiao Luo a deep bow. “Thank you!” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

Xiao Luo felt very relieved now that he had at least fulfilled his promise to her.

…

…

Later, in the living room, the middle-aged man brewed a pot of Tieguanyin. After a brief conversation, Xiao Luo got to know their names; the middle-aged man’s name was Tan Jianbai, and the young man was Lee Yueze.

“Which hospital do you work in, my brother?”

Lee Yueze questioned Xiao Luo in a rather high-handed and condescending manner. Xiao Luo was a good-looking man, and it did give Lee Yueze a sense of insecurity, especially during the moment when Tan Ningfu was expressing her gratitude toward Xiao Luo after her grandmother awakened. He wasn’t sure if Xiao Luo was a competitor, and so he felt that it had set him back slightly in his pursuit of Tan Ningfu.

“I’m not working in a hospital,” Xiao Luo said.

“You’re not working in a hospital?”

Lee Yueze was surprised and said, “Do you have your own clinic?”

Xiao Luo shook his head and said, “I’m not practicing medicine.”

“So, you don’t even have a medical license?”

Xiao Luo agreed with a silent nod.

Lee Yueze took on a more solemn expression and said, “If the ministry of health learns that you’re practicing medicine without a license, they’ll certainly have a few things to say about that, and could even take you to court.”

Xiao Luo smiled, reluctant to continue this conversation. To be frank, he felt that this was a rather silly point to raise as he wasn’t selling a service. Was this young man trying to tell him that saving a person was wrong?

“Little Xiao, you have to be more careful in the future, or you might get yourself into trouble,” Lee Yueze advised, presumptuously addressing him as “little brother” and elevating himself to a senior position.

“A-hem, a-hem…”

Tan Jianbai coughed several times before saying, “Lee, let’s not talk about this anymore.” He turned to look at Xiao Luo, “Mr. Xiao, you saved my mother, and I’m really grateful. Please accept this money.”

As he spoke, he held out a sheepskin-colored envelope bursting with red banknotes, easily five thousand dollars and handed it to Xiao Luo.

Since when did Xiao Luo not accept money?

Who in this world doesn’t like the money? But this time, he was here to fulfill a promise he had made, and his principles demanded that he carried them out to the best of his ability. Besides, it wasn’t like he didn’t get rewarded at all. By treating the old lady, his system points had increased by 20 to 30 points—that was his payback.

When he declined to accept the money, Lee Yueze grabbed the envelope and pushed it back into Tan Jianbo’s hands. He waved dismissively and said, “Uncle, I will pay for it.” Then, he told Xiao Luo, “Little Xiao, turn on your Alipay. I will transfer 20,000 dollars to you.”

Xiao Luo was well aware that this youngster only wanted to put on an impressive performance in front of the girl he fancied. If he really was Luo Workshop’s store manager, his monthly salary would be in the region of 30,000 and 40,000 dollars. Adding his performance reward that was disbursed quarterly, 20,000 dollars was not really a big dent to the wallet. But Xiao Luo had no intention to take advantage of the situation.

Xiao Luo shook his head and responded, “It’s okay, this is not a difficult task.”

“No, please, Mr. Xiao, this is something that must be done, it’s only proper,” Tan Jianbo said, “Lee, you sit down, you can’t do this on our behalf.”

“Uncle, 20,000 dollars is really nothing to me. I once met a beggar, and I gave him 5,000 without any question, so… Oh, Little Xiao, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just an analogy, don’t be offended,” Li Yueze said.

…