Franklin thought to himself, this disciple not only has good talent, but is also quite filial. Most of the change from buying rice was spent on buying things for me. Although it wasn’t much money, what’s rare is this thoughtfulness. But just going down to buy things every day doesn’t help him integrate into society much. I need to find a way for him to get more real experience. Thinking of what I used to do at the foot of the mountain, Franklin had an idea. He turned to Samuel Bennett and said:

“Disciple, although you completed all the tasks I gave you when you went down the mountain today, it doesn’t help you much in experiencing life in society. You should know, even little kids can do the shopping you did today. I think maybe I should find you a job down there. That way, you’ll get more training. What do you think?”

“Master, what do you think I can do right now?” Samuel Bennett wasn’t very confident in himself. He didn’t realize he was sitting on a treasure trove without knowing it.

“There’s plenty you can do,” Franklin teased him on purpose. “Sweeping, washing dishes, running errands, being an apprentice—any of those would work.”

“Master, after studying for more than ten years, is that all I can do?” Samuel Bennett got anxious.

“Haha,” seeing his disciple’s anxious look, Franklin laughed. “Of course not. Actually, I have something more suitable for you. There’s a pharmacy in Santang Market called Santang Pharmacy. The resident doctor there is surnamed Deng. Back when I was a traveling doctor at the foot of the mountain, he admired me a lot. If you go there and say you’re my disciple, he’ll definitely be willing to let you stay and help him.”

Seeing Samuel Bennett about to open his mouth to respond, Franklin quickly continued, not giving his disciple a chance to speak. “Actually, there’s another way. You could do what I did back then—set up a stall in Santang Market and treat patients yourself. You’ve read so many medical books and memorized so many prescriptions, you should be fine, right?”

When Samuel Bennett heard he could do it on his own, of course he was willing. He just wasn’t sure of his own abilities yet, so he asked his master with a hint of doubt, “Master, prescribing medicine is a matter of people’s lives. Although I’ve read medical books thoroughly and memorized tens of thousands of prescriptions, and I know quite a few unique and folk remedies, I’ve never taken anyone’s pulse before. Aren’t you afraid I’ll embarrass you?” Samuel Bennett also caught on to his master’s teasing, so he relaxed and teased him back.

Franklin saw his disciple wasn’t falling for it, so he had to be honest with him. “You practice internal skills every day, so you should be quite familiar with the structure of the human body. If you can’t judge something when taking a pulse, you can send a thread of true energy into the patient’s body to check. Once you find the cause, it’s easy to treat. Actually, the most important thing in medicine is to identify the cause so you can prescribe the right remedy. You have this natural advantage, so how could you possibly misread a pulse? Besides, you know all the different pulse patterns. After you’ve taken enough pulses, you’ll be able to verify what’s written in the books. By then, you won’t even need to send in true energy—your pulse reading will be accurate naturally.”

“So I’m this amazing and didn’t even know it!” Samuel Bennett was delighted.

“So, are you willing to set up your own stall?” Franklin asked.

“That’s right! Better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big one. This is my first step into society!” Samuel Bennett was now full of confidence and high spirits.

“Alright then, to give you some extra motivation, after you set up your stall, as long as you provide for the two of us on the mountain and hand over an extra hundred yuan each month, that’ll be enough.” Franklin finally revealed his true intention: now it’s time to enjoy life. For the past decade or so, he’d had to worry every day about how to support the two of them. Now, someone was taking over.

At this point, since the words had been spoken, Samuel Bennett could only accept what his master said.

“Tomorrow I’ll go down the mountain and set up my stall. I don’t believe I can’t make a hundred yuan in a month!” he said, immediately getting ready—preparing pen, paper, and other items.

“You can’t rush this. From my experience, you don’t have any reputation yet, and in Chinese medicine, the older you are, the more respected you are. If you go tomorrow, you’ll probably come back the same way you went.” Franklin was afraid he’d be too hasty, so he gave him a little reality check.

“Then what should I do? Master, give me some advice,” Samuel Bennett asked for help.

“Alright, this is the last time I’ll give you advice. From now on, you’ll have to make your own decisions.” Franklin wanted to cultivate his disciple’s independence, but when it came down to it, he couldn’t help wanting to lend a hand. Luckily, he changed his words quickly—this really would be the last time. Disciple, from now on, it’s up to you!

“You should wait until the next market day to set up your stall. There will be more people then, and more patients too. The Santang Pharmacy will definitely be too busy, so people will come to you. You have to make a good impression with your first case. By the next market day, if the patients you treated with your prescriptions are cured, you should be able to set up your stall there regularly.” Truly, the older the wiser—he came up with a great idea right away.

“Thank you, Master. Now I should be able to succeed.” After hearing his master’s advice, Samuel Bennett felt confident and went back to his room to review his medical books.

Four days later, it was market day at Santang again.