Seeing this, the old man in gray quickly stuffed the bun into his mouth. But he swallowed too fast, and the bun got stuck in his throat, making his eyes roll.

  Shang Ruoyi stepped forward. The old man's face turned red, and he pointed to his neck. "Help... help me."

  He Jingxi snorted coldly. "You dared to cheat me, and you still want me to save you?"

  Then, he looked at Shang Ruoyi. "Sister - in - law, should we save him?"

  Shang Ruoyi walked up and gave a sudden hard pat on the old man's back. A large mouthful of the bun fell to the ground. After a while, the old man gradually regained his breath and sat on the ground, panting heavily.

  "Th - thank you." He then looked at the bun on the ground, frowning. It was covered with dirt and couldn't be eaten. Would it be okay to wash it with water? Just as he was considering the feasibility of this, a big yellow dog ran over and snatched the bun on the ground in one bite.

  "The bun! My bun!" He staggered to his feet and was about to chase after it when He Jingxi blocked his way.

  "Wait! Where's my silver?" He put the shovel in front of the old man. "You not only lied to me that you were the shopkeeper of the iron - ware shop, but also sold me such a shabby shovel. Give me back the money!"

  "I don't have it!" The old man turned his head. "The silver has been spent."

  "Old man! If you don't pay back the silver today, I'll beat you to death!"

  Shang Ruoyi said in a deep voice, "According to the law, what you did belongs to fraudulent selling. You not only have to return the silver but also go to jail. If you can't pay back the silver, your jail term will be extended. You'd better think it through."

  The old man looked at Shang Ruoyi, then suddenly turned around and ran.

  He Jingxi didn't react in time, and for a moment, he let the old man take advantage.

  He quickly chased after him.

  Shang Ruoyi saw the things in his arms, her eyes darkened slightly, and she followed quickly.

  The old man turned left and right and entered a dilapidated house in an alley.

  Looking back and seeing no one following, he let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to close the door, a big hand pressed on the door panel.

  He Jingxi's figure appeared in front of the old man.

  "You! You two!" "Old man, see where you can run this time."

  The old man hung his head, sighed, and turned to walk into the room.

  "Hey! You!" He Jingxi chased after him.

  Shang Ruoyi entered the courtyard and smelled a strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine, frowning.

  Entering the room, the old man took out the medicine package in his arms. Without turning around, he said to He Jingxi, "If you want silver, I don't have it. If you want my life, wait until I finish boiling these medicines."

  Shang Ruoyi stepped forward, picked up the herbs the old man was handling, and looked at them. "These herbs have gotten damp. Even if you boil them, they won't be of much use."

  The old man's hand paused for a moment, and then he continued to handle them.

  "Judging from these herbs, the patient should have a lung disease." Shang Ruoyi smiled. "However, taking this medicine won't cure it."

  The old man's hand stopped completely, and he looked at her in surprise. "You know pharmacology?"

  Shang Ruoyi smiled. "I'm proficient in it."

  Hearing this, the old man smiled. "Miss, you're really modest."

  "Not at all." She put the shovel in front of the old man's door. "It's just medical skills. It can't compare to the former shopkeeper of the iron - ware shop."

  "How did you figure it out?"

  "There's a desk in the southeast corner of that shop, covered with dust. Presumably, it hasn't been used for a long time. That was your desk, right?" Shang Ruoyi remembered the regretful words of the shopkeeper next door when she passed by and said in a low voice. "With such good skills, why do you engage in fraud?"

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  The old man said in a deep voice, "If there was any way out, any glimmer of hope..." The old man sighed. "I'm afraid I can't pay back the silver. You can send someone to arrest me if you want."

  "You cheated for the sake of buying medicine for your wife. If I can cure her, in exchange, can you design a house for me?" She saw some sketches on the desk, which were extremely neat.

  "Can you really cure her?"

  Shang Ruoyi nodded. "Of course."

  The old man put down the herbs in his hand and said in a deep voice, "Follow me."

  The old man led her into the inner room. There was only a dilapidated bed in the room. An old woman with a withered face was lying on the bed, her eyes closed, her lips chapped. If it weren't for her faint breathing, He Jingxi would have thought she was a corpse.

  Shang Ruoyi stepped forward, felt the old woman's pulse, and said in a deep voice, "This is consumption."

  The old man nodded. "Yes, it's been many years. She probably won't survive this winter." He sighed. "To treat her illness, I've sold all my property. Now, as you can see, I'm penniless and can only cheat to get by."

  "It's not incurable."

  "What?"

  Cure it?

  Hearing this, the old man said loudly, "As long as you can cure her, not to mention designing a house, I'll build it for you myself!"

  "But I need the house urgently. We may start building it in a few days. Otherwise, we won't be able to survive the winter." Shang Ruoyi smiled. "I'll give your wife an acupuncture treatment today. If it works, how about you two come back with me? Although I only have a few thatched cottages now, looking at your place, it's probably not as good as mine."

  "Let's see the treatment first."

  Shang Ruoyi pretended to rummage through her sleeves, but actually took out an acupuncture bag from the space. She inserted needles at the Feishu, Zhongfu, and Taiyuan acupoints respectively. After a while, the old woman suddenly opened her mouth, exhaled a long breath, and her complexion improved.

  The old man watched, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

  "Old woman, old woman!"

  Shang Ruoyi withdrew the needles and said softly, "How about it?"

  "Good!" Seeing hope, the old man nodded. "I'll go with you."

  While he was packing his things, He Jingxi walked up to her. "Sister - in - law, how did you know he could design houses? Can you read faces?"

  Shang Ruoyi gave him a blank look. It seemed that it was no wonder he spent a tael of silver on a useless shovel. This kid was really stupid. "I heard the shopkeeper next door talking about it."

  When she walked out of the shop, the shopkeeper next door was talking to his wife. "He's the best at designing houses in the town. Now, for the sake of his dying wife, he's not only sold all his property but also given up his old business and even resorted to cheating."

  "Come on, he has no choice. I gave him a few meat buns today. Look at how thin the old man is, just skin and bones."

  Shang Ruoyi looked at the small package in his hand, which only contained a few old clothes. "Is that all?"

  The old man nodded. "Yes! My luggage is her."

  Shang Ruoyi gave He Jingxi some silver and asked him to buy a carriage. She specifically instructed, "Just make sure it's comfortable and spacious."

  If he couldn't even tell good horses from bad ones, he might as well be reborn.

  Before long, He Jingxi came back and said, "Let's go! It's at the intersection."

  When Shang Ruoyi saw the extremely large and luxurious carriage, she almost slapped him in the face. He didn't even need to be reborn. With this IQ, he didn't deserve to be a human.