Chapter 9: Second Life - A New Me

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"Master, who is the guest that came to visit?" I asked my Master. Listening to him take a sip of tea, Master took a long sigh before answering me.

"Lord Kong," he replied. I heard him put down his cup on the plate with a soft clink.

Lord Kong? It must be the Lord Kong Shuguang. Renowned to possess superb medicinal abilities and a handsome face. Extremely selective, he only treats male patients. It's rumored that treating women in the past has brought him serious trouble. Women keep falling in love with him!

"Master, is Lord Kong as beautifully handsome as they say?" I wondered.

Chuckling, my master said, "What do you know about good looks?"

"I cannot see beauty, but I can feel it," I reassured him, placing a hand to my chest.

Master didn't understand. Even though I was blind since birth, I was still a woman with taste! Surely, my husband didn't have to be the most handsome man in the world as long as he treasured me. However, I did want to learn the difference between handsome and not handsome.

"Master, I will go prepare the medicinal herb in the storage." I felt for the cup that Master set on the table next to him and brought it to the kitchen. Right next to the small kitchen we had the storage room where we washed, dried, brewed or cook all different sorts of medicinal herbs.

I learned about medicine under Master since I was a child. I was practically dumped at his doorsteps at age five when my parents couldn't afford to care for me. He could have easily given me away, but he decided to raise me and teach me the ways of being a physician.

There weren't many people who would allow me to treat them. Not too many trusted the skills of a blind doctor. It's interesting that they didn't mind that I was the one who prepared their medicine! Just a bit too much Yellow Scale Flower and they could be pooping for days! Although it is good for treating the digestive system if experiencing constipation.

In the corner, I organized the different types of herb into baskets. There were fungus, herbs, roots, and flowers. After washing them, I placed some of them onto flat baskets to dry in the sun. Already, a long line of patients were at the front door of the clinic. I could hear groaning and coughing through the doors as I approached. Opening each side, I felt the ray of the sun hitting my face.

"Ah Xian, you're open?"

He sounded like a regular. Male, young.

"Xiao Wei, you're here to pick up some medicine for your mother right?"

"Yeah. She ran out last week. I was doing odd to jobs to put something together and pay for the medicine, but she started--"

"No worries. Xiao Wei, I'll have that ready for you in a minute."

"Thank you, Mingxian jie jie! Thank you so much."

Managing the clinic without sight had always been hard, but doable. I became used to the busy and chaotic surroundings of the clinic. Master's station was to the back left of the entrance, pillows and chairs to the front left for the waiting room, back at the door to the right was my station to greet patients and run to the back for prescriptions written by Master.

I could write, but Master said my hand writing was horrendous. Well, I couldn't see what I was writing! Usually he would tell me what a patient needed, and I would return to the storage room and feel the markings on the wooden drawers. Plus, my sense of smell was quite strong and I could almost always smell the scent of any medicinal herb no matter how weak of a scent it had.

The day was over as the sounds of cricket chirping welcomed the night. I asked Master what he wanted to eat for dinner. He was too tired to cook us something and ordered me to go out and buy us some food.

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