Chapter 7 Stephen Carter (Part 2)

Henry Bolton's master was named Robert Carter. He had a broad, purplish face, leopard-like eyes, a lion's nose, and a thick, bushy beard. He was tall and powerfully built, walked with a swift and vigorous stride, and handled matters cleanly and decisively. If not for the renowned reputation of Dr. Carter, anyone meeting him for the first time would surely have mistaken him for a military general. In fact, he had originally been an army doctor. Fifteen years ago, the army he served in was routed by the elite cavalry of the Huihe. He left the military, moved his entire family to Taiyuan, and established the well-known name of Stephen Carter.

He and Henry Bolton became connected on the road during the great defeat in the capital. That was a time too painful to recall. The Huihe cavalry swept south from Hedong, crossed the Yellow River at Lingbao, and soon crushed the Tang army, breaking through Tong Pass. The entire Guanzhong region was thrown into panic. The newly enthroned emperor fled to Hanzhong ahead of time, and nearly a million citizens of the capital poured out of the city, fleeing westward with no destination in mind. When Robert Carter rushed back to the capital, the barbarian soldiers were already slaughtering their way in from behind. By the roadside, he found a noblewoman and her child—the child had been shot through the shoulder by a stray arrow, and the mother was weeping bitterly over him. Their guards were desperately resisting a frenzied attack by a squad of Huihe cavalry, most already dead or wounded, the situation dire.

Robert Carter scattered the Huihe cavalry and rescued the mother and child. They claimed to be from the Taiyuan The Bolton Family, having fled to Chang'an after Taiyuan fell. Although Robert Carter saved the child's life, his injuries were too severe, so Robert Carter brought them to his own hometown—Jiannan, Shu Commandery—where his father slowly nursed the child's internal wounds. After the chaos subsided, Robert Carter escorted the mother and child back to Taiyuan. For the sake of the child's long-term treatment, the The Carter Family simply moved the whole family to Taiyuan. Naturally, he became the child's master.

And that child was Henry Bolton.

At this moment, Robert Carter had just finished a consultation and was wiping down the desk with a clean cloth. Since morning, he had seen more than twenty patients and was quite tired. It was nearly noon, and the sunlight outside the shop was glaring. Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure appear at the door, so he nodded and turned to the medicine boy, saying, "Apologize to the next patient and ask him to wait for a quarter of an hour."

The visitor was indeed Henry Bolton. Grace Carter, not daring to see her father, had already slipped home through the back door, so he had to come see his master alone.

The main entrance of Stephen Carter was narrow, but inside it was spacious, filled with a strong aroma of medicine. A long screen divided the main hall in two. On the left was a row of semicircular counters, each fitted with a wooden railing. Behind the counters stood dozens of tall medicine cabinets reaching up to the rafters, their surfaces covered with countless small drawers. Several medicine boys were standing on ladders, skillfully fetching herbs according to prescriptions.

"Next!" called the chubby, dark-faced shopkeeper. Immediately, an old man stepped forward, trembling as he handed his prescription through the wooden railing. The shopkeeper glanced at the red prescription slip, and his previously beaming face instantly clouded over. "Another free one!"

He muttered under his breath, impatiently stuffed the prescription into a medicine boy's hand, and ordered him to fetch the medicine. Then, grumbling to himself, he said, "Half of today's are free. At this rate, we'll all be living on air!"

"Uncle William, worrying about money again?" Henry Bolton saw the troubled look on his face and cupped his hands with a smile. "I heard that saving ten lives earns you a vault of gold in the underworld. Uncle William may have no money now, but when you get to the underworld, you'll have mountains of gold and silver. What you'll worry about then is having too much money."

The shopkeeper was Grace Carter's second uncle, named Matthew Carter. As his name implied, he put profit first in all things. His eldest brother, Robert Carter, only saw patients and didn't handle business, while his third brother, Andrew Carter, was idle and irresponsible. So the actual operations of Stephen Carter fell to him.

Although Stephen Carter was famous far and wide, with long lines at the door every day, it was actually a money-losing business. The poor were treated for free, and those in real hardship even received free medicine. Thanks to the The Bolton Family waiving their rent, Stephen Carter barely managed to keep its doors open.

When Matthew Carter saw Henry Bolton arrive, his face lit up with joy. He quickly pulled Henry Bolton aside and pleaded softly, "Eighteenth Young Master, I have a favor to ask of you."

Henry Bolton was startled. "Uncle William, what are you saying? How can you say 'ask a favor'? If you need anything, just tell me."

"It's a bit tricky, that's why I'm asking," Matthew Carter said with a dry laugh. Seeing no one else around, he lowered his voice and said, "I have a friend who owns a vacant courtyard in Qianyun Lane, right near your The Bolton Residence, and he's looking to sell it. He wants to know if your The Bolton Residence is interested—and he won't charge a single coin."

"Not a single coin!" Matthew Carter emphasized these four words heavily, sneaking a glance at Henry Bolton's expression. But Henry Bolton only smiled without replying, waiting for him to continue.

Seeing his composure, Matthew Carter had no choice but to stammer on, "Of course, my friend has a small condition. He does grain business in the South Market, and his volume is huge. He wants to build a warehouse on that vacant lot by the city river, paying market price, and hopes your The Bolton Family will give him priority."

Henry Bolton let out a faint, cold laugh. "Uncle William, you must be talking about Master Qiu of Fengsheng Rice Shop! That vacant lot by the city river is at least twenty mu—so many people are envious but can't get it. He thinks he can get it for a single old house given to the The Bolton Family? That's quite the clever calculation!"

Matthew Carter's face flushed red, and he stammered, "If you don't agree, nephew, then just forget it."