Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 359 - 195 Credit

"Even if his status has changed now, his attitude towards us hasn’t. He has always been my best friend, and I sincerely wish him well, hoping he will go further and further."

As his best friend drifted further away from him, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of melancholy. What he needed to do was to strive forward, until they could stand side by side, laughing together at the ebb and flow of life, rather than feeling dejected and distancing himself from him.

You Siyuan looked at the rare solemnity on Wang Qikai’s face and was somewhat surprised, not expecting Wang Qikai to be so open-minded.

Perhaps, this is what Gu Chengyu appreciated about Wang Qikai, which is why the two became best friends.

He couldn’t help but be touched himself. Wasn’t it also because of Wang Qikai’s character that he wanted to make friends with him? Gu Chengyu was indeed fortunate to have such a friend.

Gu Chengyu went to Manager Zhou’s place to deliver an invitation and drank a bellyful of tea before preparing to visit his third and fourth brothers.

Their shops were not on the same street, but in two opposite directions. Gu Chengyu went to his fourth brother first because he also needed to deliver an invitation to Xiwu Bookstore.

Back then, it was Doctor Li who arranged the marriage for his fourth brother. Since his fourth sister-in-law’s family was also related to Manager Pan, Gu Chengyu had to extend the invitation out of courtesy.

"Manager Pan!" Gu Chengyu looked at Manager Pan, who was busy in the shop, unwilling to part with the books and haggling over prices with a look of hesitation, still unchanged.

Manager Pan thought it was some scholar asking him for a book, but as he looked up, he saw it was Gu Chengyu.

"Ah! What a rare guest, even Mr. Scholar has the time to visit my shop? You’ve returned from the Capital?"

Manager Pan was very surprised and delighted to see Gu Chengyu and quickly came out to greet him.

"Are you here to tease me as well? Don’t step out of the shop, you’re busy! I’m here to deliver an invitation, please come to my home in ten days for a drink."

Seeing that the shop’s business seemed much better than before, Gu Chengyu quickly took a few steps forward and placed the invitation on the counter.

"Please come in and sit, your personal visit truly brings honor to my humble shop!" Manager Pan quickly and courteously invited him in.

Gu Chengyu waved his hand repeatedly and stated that he had other matters today, and would talk some other time, to which Manager Pan reluctantly agreed!

Ahead, at the deepest part, was his fourth brother’s medical hall. Gu Chengyu did not take a carriage, instructing Ming Yan to drive the carriage to his fourth brother’s place and wait there.

He walked slowly, enjoying the rare leisurely moment.

"A scholar? This young man is a scholar? He doesn’t look very old! I heard our Jingyuan Prefecture had three scholars this year, could he be one of them?"

Some scholars overheard Manager Pan’s greeting and quickly sought confirmation from him once Gu Chengyu left.

"Isn’t he? He is the youngest top scorer of the Dayan Dynasty, and in our entire Jingyuan Prefecture, it’s not easy to have even one scholar in several sessions of the Provincial Examination. This year, we have something to be proud of."

Speaking of this, Manager Pan was full of pride. This scholar was a relative of his family!

"What? He doesn’t look very old! Is this truly the famous Gu Jieyuan from the Capital? He still looks like a young boy!"

Those who went to the Capital to take the Provincial Examination weren’t just Gu Chengyu and the others, but they all failed, which was often the case.

Manager Pan boasted to the others, saying that Gu Chengyu loved to buy and read books from his bookstore since he was young, and this surprisingly made his bookstore famous.

Even scholars from neighboring towns and the county came to his shop to buy books, wanting to catch a glimpse of the top scorer or make friends with Gu Jieyuan.

Manager Pan was so happy that his mouth was crooked from smiling, counting money at home every night.

Even though the prices of books increased, people still flocked to buy them.

Among them, the poems Gu Chengyu wrote were compiled into poetry collections, which had long been sold out. Manager Pan kept raising the prices of these collections.

This book-buying frenzy was beyond Manager Pan’s expectations. Perhaps, this was the so-called celebrity effect.

But those are stories for later, let’s not talk about them for now.

Gu Chengyu led Ming Mo along the not-so-wide street, heading to his fourth brother’s medical hall.

The medical hall was named Jishi Hall, the shop was small, and after waiting outside for a while, Gu Chengyu noticed that the business was only so-so.

His fourth brother’s medical skills were good, but unfortunately, he was too young for people to trust him.

Gu Chengyu thought of the medical books in his space and planned to transcribe them for his fourth brother when he returned, so he could study them with Doctor Li.

Of course, those books requiring materials from the space would definitely not be taken out by Gu Chengyu.

He only planned to find one or two books, taking one out at a time, as presenting several at once would’ve been hard to explain.

Once inside the shop, Gu Chengyu glanced at the medicine cabinet and saw his fourth brother dispensing medicine.

It was his first time at the shop, noticing the consultations and pulse-taking were done in the same place, with tables and chairs nearby, although he didn’t see his fourth sister-in-law.

"Fourth Brother!"

Gu Chengchi heard the voice, glanced back, and then shouted joyfully, "Xiao Bao? When did you come back?"

"Just got back, you finish dispensing medicine first, we’ll talk later." Gu Chengyu found a chair inside and sat down.

Gu Chengchi looked at the herbs in his hand, only half dispensed, and quickly sped up. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Alright! Follow what I said, and your mother’s illness will be cured soon."

Gu Chengchi wrapped up the herbal package and handed it to the waiting man.

"Doctor Gu, I have to put it on the tab again today, there’s really no money at home, we’ve run out of food since yesterday. This medicine money, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a few more days for it."

The man’s face turned red with embarrassment, unable to meet Gu Chengchi’s gaze.

He had already put it on the tab for three days, and asking to do so again today made him feel shameless.

Gu Chengchi frowned slightly upon hearing this, "Bring it home first and pay me back when you can. If your mother doesn’t keep taking the medicine, I’m afraid her condition will worsen."

He paused and said, "Adding up the three previous days and today, that’s eight hundred wens. I’ve already given you a discount, but please don’t spread it. I’m not earning a coin from you and actually subsidized it with herbs I picked from the mountains."

Though he allowed him to put it on the tab, he still needed the man to understand the situation. Most people visiting the medical hall were poor; those with money went to bigger medical halls in town or the county, leaving small shops like his deserted.

He had set up the medical hall in hopes of retaining some business, but as he opened it, he realized the difficulty in running one.

Without constant patients, even the rent for the back part of the shop would be a loss, not to mention the cost of herbs and equipment.

The man bowed repeatedly in thanks and promised to promptly repay when he had the money, then left with the medicine package.

Before the man even mentioned his lack of money, Gu Chengyu had been observing him. Judging by his attire, they were indeed in poor circumstances.

However, one can never tell a person’s heart from their face; who knew if he was pretending to be poor? Don’t think such people don’t exist, the world is full of people taking advantage of others.

Besides, for an average family, eight hundred wens was a considerable amount.

"Wife! Come quickly with the tea, Xiao Bao is here!" Gu Chengchi called out happily towards the back of the shop.

"Okay! Coming."