Liu Ruyan watched with a numb expression as the villagers of Linjiacun Village took out loan after loan from these platforms. Once the last villager had finished, Lin Xian nodded in satisfaction. The event had been a complete success.
Liu Ruyan checked the backend data; the number of viewers in the live stream had exceeded 150,000. This figure left her stunned. Even with the backing of a major network, it was rare to have so many people watching simultaneously. She then glanced at the scrolling comments.
"Damn, is it too late to join Linjiacun Village?"
"Hell, seeing this makes me want to take out a loan too. Is it really that easy to make money?"
"Sigh, ten years of working hard doesn't compare to the villagers of Linjiacun Village just waving their hands to get rich."
"Honestly, if I weren't afraid of those violent debt collectors, I’d take out a loan myself."
"Speaking of which, aren't the villagers afraid?"
"Haha, are you new here? Don't you know Linjiacun Village isn't as simple as it looks? Debt collection teams are nothing compared to the people of Linjiacun Village."
"I really didn't know that!"
"Linjiacun Village is a hub for drug trafficking and smuggling cultural relics. It’s rumored some villagers are foreign mercenaries, and they’ve even toppled nations."
"Wow, that's insane. Now I want to go to Linjiacun Village even more."
Seeing the online audience being led astray, Liu Ruyan felt anxious. She couldn't let Lin Xian establish such twisted values!
"Um... Lin Xian, aren't you worried that those online lending platforms will come after you for doing this?" Liu Ruyan asked as the villagers began to disperse.
Lin Xian chuckled. "Come after me? I’m practically praying they do."
Lin Xian knew these platforms were backed by debt collection teams—the same kind that sold stolen, low-priced luxury cars across borders. You’d get a Maybach S680 for 80,000 or a BMW X7 for 60,000, only to have them fitted with GPS, and at night, violent collectors would tow your car away, leaving you with nothing. But Lin Xian wasn't afraid. The people of Linjiacun Village were incredibly united; if those collectors showed up, they’d just get a brutal beating and leave with nothing.
【Your prestige has exceeded 100,000 points! Linjiacun Village and you are gaining fame at an unimaginable speed!】
【Congratulations, you have received the reward: Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine!】
As the system’s voice echoed in his mind, Lin Xian’s face lit up. He hadn’t misjudged Liu Ruyan—prestige was accumulating incredibly fast!
Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine! This was the pinnacle of achievement in the field. In this world, traditional medicine had been marginalized by Western medicine, let alone a master-level practitioner. As the Great-Grandfather of Linjiacun Village and the inheritor of a millennium of tradition, Lin Xian naturally possessed some medical knowledge, but he had never reached the level of a master. The system's reward was a transformative upgrade. He was essentially the best in the world now.
"Heh, I suppose I can cure Ah Hua's illness now," Lin Xian thought, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Liu Ruyan’s eye twitched. How could she have forgotten this? Given the situation in Linjiacun Village, let alone debt collectors, even armed police would have to think twice before intervening. After all, she remembered what Director Zhang had said: the crimes attributed to Linjiacun Village included "toppling nations" and "war crimes."
*Toppling a nation!* In 21st-century Huaxia, hearing such words was beyond belief. Liu Ruyan felt helpless; she really had no way to stop Lin Xian from leading the villagers in these loans.
Just then, a woman ran over in a panic, cradling a child. "Great-Grandfather... Great-Grandfather, it’s bad! Look at Little Stone, his arm seems to be broken!"
The child in her arms was wailing, face streaked with tears. Liu Ruyan noticed the boy was only using one hand to wipe his eyes, while the other hung limp; the connection between the shoulder and arm was clearly dislocated.
"This is... a dislocation," Liu Ruyan noted, having studied some medical basics.
The viewers in the live stream also realized what had happened.
"Wait, dislocations are painful. Why isn't she calling an ambulance instead of bringing him to this guy?"
"Who knows? Doesn't the village have a clinic?"
"Medical conditions in some villages are terrible; most doctors just prescribe antibiotics and give shots."
"Exactly, some traditional doctors can set a dislocation, but those are all elderly experts, and they are rare these days."
Liu Ruyan had heard legends of old masters who could fix a dislocation in a second with a simple flick of the wrist, but she assumed those were myths. The medical facilities in the village were likely inadequate. Her priority was calling an ambulance.
"Call 120! If the ambulance gets here sooner, the child will suffer less," she said to the woman. She couldn't bear to see the child crying.
The woman looked at Liu Ruyan with a strange expression. Call 120? By the time an ambulance arrived, the boy's arm would be ruined. Besides, Great-Grandfather was right here—why would they need an ambulance? He could fix it in three to five minutes.
"No need for an ambulance; what a waste of money," Lin Xian said, waving a hand. While the villagers were well-off, they still followed the principle: "Be frugal where you can, and spend where you must." With him around, there was no need for a hospital, and now that he was a Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it was even less necessary. Besides, the hospital in town was too far away.
"Is this really about money?" Liu Ruyan was speechless. The child was suffering, yet he was worried about a small fee? He was the village secretary, yet he couldn't spare the cost of an ambulance?
The viewers were disgusted.
"An ambulance call only costs a hundred yuan, right? He's too stingy for that? One brick from his house would cover the medical fees!"
"Seriously, he’s a university student and a village secretary, this is too much."
"I'm speechless. How is someone like this allowed to be a student or a village secretary?"
Seeing Liu Ruyan’s expression, the woman quickly explained, "Miss, you've misunderstood. Great-Grandfather isn't being stingy." Great-Grandfather had brought them prosperity; he wouldn't care about a small ambulance fee. "It’s just that there's no need for a hospital. Great-Grandfather is an expert in traditional medicine. Ever since Uncle Lin passed away, he’s been the best doctor in the village. This kind of dislocation doesn't need a hospital!"
"Huh?" Liu Ruyan looked at Lin Xian skeptically. Traditional medicine was notoriously difficult; it took decades to master. And he was the best in the village? He was only a freshman in college—eighteen or nineteen years old! How good could he possibly be?
The viewers were also amused.
"He's eighteen and they say he's an expert?"
"Hilarious. If he were eighty-one, I might believe it, but he's just blowing smoke."
"I suggest sending the boy to the hospital immediately. The longer it stays dislocated, the more damage it does!"
...
Beijing, Harmony Hospital.
In a high-dependency ward, an elderly man lay in bed, hooked up to oxygen. Outside, Ji Guoping, dressed in a crisp military uniform, looked at the doctor with fury. "Is there really no other way? You are the best hospital in the country!"
"This... the old gentleman's physical functions are failing. Modern medicine, both domestic and international, cannot treat this," the doctor said helplessly.
Ji Guoping took a step forward, his tall frame and the two golden stars on his shoulders exuding immense pressure. "What? Is that all you doctors can say? I didn't come here to hear about difficulties! I came here for a solution!"
The doctor wiped sweat from his forehead. "Perhaps you could try traditional medicine? In cases of systemic collapse, only traditional medicine might offer a glimmer of hope."
"The best traditional doctor in the country seems to be Elder Huang," the doctor suggested. "The Huang family has served as imperial physicians since the Qing Dynasty. As the successor, Elder Huang is likely the finest practitioner we have."
"Elder Huang," Ji Guoping muttered. He turned sharply to his guard. "Find him!"
...
Huang Family Pharmacy.
Huang Shengyi sat on a reclining chair, her graceful figure clad in a white tracksuit. She held her phone, from which the sound of a child crying played.
"Dislocation. Doesn't look light," Huang Shengyi murmured. Her finger tapped the comments, which were filled with disdain for the young man on screen. When she heard someone call him 'the best traditional doctor,' a look of contempt crossed her face.
Medicine required a benevolent heart; how could someone capable of such evil deeds be a good doctor? Especially at such a young age. Not everyone was like her—inheriting her grandfather's mantle at six, mastering pulse readings and treatments. Now, she was renowned far and wide.
On the screen, the child’s dislocation looked severe. If his shirt were removed, the shoulder would likely be covered in bruising. To her, it would take a minute to set the bone, though the bruising would take time to fade.
"Heh, come here, let me take a look," Lin Xian said on the screen, taking the child.
Huang Shengyi shook her head. If she let this brat touch the boy, he’d likely leave the child with permanent damage.