Chapter 39: I Might Have Missed Out on a Fortune!
"3000 copper coins?!"
Both Ruth and Vivian looked surprised.
This was a serious illness that had left all the major medical halls helpless, nearly causing Ruth's death on the spot. And Charlotte was only charging 3000 copper coins?
Ruth couldn't understand. She felt that her life shouldn't be so cheap.
Vivian couldn't understand either. She was accustomed to other doctors starting their prices at ten thousand, with material costs reaching tens or even hundreds of thousands. Charlotte's price of 3000 copper coins was unbelievably cheap!
"Is it too expensive?" Charlotte noticed their strange expressions and considered reducing the price by five hundred. After all, they were old acquaintances, and it wouldn't be appropriate to charge too much.
But before Charlotte could speak, Ruth opened her money pouch at her waist and took out a shining gold coin, placing it on the counter with a snap.
In an instant, Charlotte seemed to see the gleaming light inside the money pouch. Could it be that the heavy pouch was filled with gold coins?
"One gold coin, not a single less," Ruth said firmly.
Charlotte: ??
He didn't understand. Why was there a reverse haggling going on?
Charlotte looked at the gold coin on the counter, with a face value of 10,000 copper coins. It was the first time he had seen a gold coin in this world since he crossed over. It was shiny, bigger than a silver coin, and looked nice.
"No need for that much, 3000 copper coins are enough," Charlotte waved his hand.
"No!" Ruth shook her head decisively, looking at Charlotte with a serious expression. "When I went to other medical halls, they only made a diagnosis without any effective treatment, and they still charged me two gold coins. But you saved my life. Even if it's one gold coin, it's worth it, let alone a hundred gold coins!"
This was making money! After a moment of contemplation, Charlotte nodded and accepted Ruth's gold coin.
Ruth was the headliner dancer at the Blue Charm Club, and her appearance fee was more than one gold coin. She was not short of money.
Seeing Charlotte take the money, a smile appeared on Ruth's face. She took a step forward and whispered in Charlotte's ear, "Doctor, from today onwards, whenever you come to my place, it won't cost you anything. I'll give you a private dance, the kind where I take off my clothes."
Can I enjoy it for free? Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
Vivian also heard Ruth's whispered words and her face turned red. She felt like she had heard something she shouldn't have.
"Well then, I'll take my leave now and not disturb you from treating other patients," Ruth said as she slowly walked towards the door, and Vivian hurriedly went to open it for her.
Just as she was about to reach the door, Ruth suddenly stopped and turned to look at Charlotte, smiling as she said, "Doctor, to be honest, when I came here today, I was prepared to die in your arms. This money was originally meant to be given to you."
Huh? I might have missed out on a fortune!
Even if Charlotte hadn't glanced at the money pouch filled with tens or hundreds of gold coins, he calmly replied, "Even if you had told me in advance and given me another chance to choose, I would still have saved you."
Ruth's smile deepened, adding a touch of cuteness to her naturally charming face. "You must come to find me, Doctor."
After saying that, she turned around and walked out of the clinic.
Charlotte watched her get on the pumpkin carriage parked outside the door. The Blue Charm Club's carriage was safe in the Abyss.
Money moves people's hearts, but Charlotte had principles when it came to money. He wouldn't stop doing anything immoral.
Besides, do you know how much it's worth to have Ruth perform a solo dance? He had never seen the kind where clothes were taken off before. If he had the time, he could go and observe and learn.
Charlotte put away the gold coins on the table, enjoying the weight of the heavy pouch in his hands, which brought him a pleasant feeling.
If there weren't patients waiting outside, he would blow into his ear to hear the sound of money. The sound of money was pleasing to the ears.
This one business transaction today was equivalent to the total revenue of the past three days, and the increased wealth was just enough for him to buy another bottle of the potent potion.
"What's wrong? Have I attracted you with my handsome looks?" Charlotte turned around and looked at Vivian, who was staring at him absentmindedly.
Vivian blushed, but quickly shook her head and whispered, "I was thinking, if the members of the Physicians Association find out that you used surgery to save a 'Discarded by the Gods' person, will they send someone to silence you?"
Charlotte's mood sank. As a fellow physician, Vivian, who had witnessed the surgery process, spoke about the core of the problem.
He had considered this during the surgery, such as asking Ruth not to mention that the surgery was done by him.
But compared to drawing the Physicians Association's attention back to himself, now he needed to demonstrate his value and try to curry favor with Diana.
"The urgent matter is the threat from Capas. He's suffering unjustly as an innocent rival," Vivian translated, her face blushing slightly.
"Don't worry, it's not just the Physicians Association who wants to silence me. Let's take it one step at a time," Charlotte said nonchalantly, walking towards the door to greet the next patient.
Because Ruth's surgery took a long time, the green-skinned orc who had been slashed twice on the chest was losing too much blood and was turning pale.
Charlotte cleaned his wound, quickly stitched it up, and then administered two bottles of stamina potion. Finally, the orc began to regain some strength.
Today was unusually busy. A half-orc mercenary brother had mentioned that the weather in the wilderness was good these days, providing the best window for hunting. Moreover, the frequency of monster attacks had decreased significantly, so many mercenaries and adventurers had gone into the wilderness to hunt for gold.
But even without monsters, it was not easy to provoke the animals in the wilderness. Injuries and even death were common.
It was autumn now, and before winter arrived, they had to stock up on enough food to survive the winter.
The Abyss, with its perpetual darkness, had almost no food production. They relied on trading with Kalwa or passing merchant caravans to obtain food. Hunting in the wilderness was also a means of obtaining food, but it came with great risks.
Every winter, a large number of people would starve or freeze to death.
Those who wore thin clothes had no money, and could not survive in the wilderness would find it extremely difficult to get through the cold winter.
This made Charlotte vigilant. If he could overcome the current crisis, he should also stockpile some food for the winter. When winter arrived and the streets were filled with starving ghosts, it would be suicidal to flaunt one's food.
After the morning business came to an end, Charlotte confirmed that there were no more patients outside the door. He flipped the wooden sign on the door, indicating that the clinic was closed for the day.
He slumped onto a chair, feeling completely drained.
This was still with the improvement of his physical fitness after drinking a bottle of stamina potion yesterday. If he had his previous weak body, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold on.
Charlotte took the opportunity to count today's earnings. The total income was equivalent to 13,650 copper coins, with 800 being a system reward, and an additional item worth 500 copper coins as collateral.
He glanced at his panel:
[Player: Charlotte]
[Profession: Doctor, Alchemist]
[Level: Discarded Fourth Rank Mage]
[Wealth: 14,498]
[Professional Skills: Wound Dressing and Medication: Intermediate: 1,720/2,000
Suturing of Skin Wounds: Advanced: 420/4,000
Uterine Incision: Beginner: 230/1,000
Radius and Ulna Fracture Open Reduction with Internal Fixation: Beginner: 360/1,000
Appendectomy: Beginner: 200/1,000 ...
[Special Skills: Hemostatic Potion Brewing: Beginner: 90/1,000
Cleansing Potion Brewing: Beginner: 100/1,000
Hydrating Essence Elixir Brewing: Beginner: 100/1,000]
[Main Quest: Reach an Influence of 1,000 as the Abyss's Renowned Physician! (Treating one patient grants 10 influences). Progress: 380/1,000]
[Long-Term Quest: Eradicate the Enchantment and Restart the World! Quest Reward: One Epic-grade item!]
[Side Quest: None Yet]
[Favorability Panel: Not Yet Opened]
The wealth value was in place, the experience of appendectomy was added, and the skill for brewing the Hydrating Essence Elixir had also increased.
Like other potions, it was currently labeled as beginner level. He wondered what changes would occur once it reached the intermediate level.