Chapter 29: A Group Blind Date

The next day, as usual, Huang Biao left for work early. From a distance, he saw a group of people standing at the entrance of Mingde Hall. He felt a surge of delight: as expected, relatives are reliable; they are even acting as shills with such enthusiasm.

However, as Huang Biao drew closer, he was momentarily stunned. They were an all-female lineup, and he didn't recognize a single one of them.

"What is this?" Huang Biao asked, puzzled.

An elderly woman stepped forward with a smile. "Oh, we are here for consultations. You are too, right? You're quite early."

Huang Biao was ecstatic. Since they were all women, they were clearly here for him, the "master of gynecology." If he had known so many patients would be seeking him out today, he would have postponed hiring the shills. Otherwise, having two groups of people show up together would look a bit too obviously staged!

Thinking this, he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, intending to call his relatives and tell them not to come for now. Seeing that Huang Biao remained silent, the elderly woman spoke again, "Sir, are you also here to see Dr. Zhang Jing for a consultation?"

Zhang Jing?

Huang Biao exploded the moment he heard the name, a sudden, ominous premonition washing over him. "You... you are all here to see Zhang Jing?" Huang Biao stammered.

"Yes, aren't you?" the elderly woman asked in return.

"I... I am Director Huang here!" Huang Biao held his head high, looking down his nose at her.

"Oh?" The elderly woman quickly apologized. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I thought you were..." She laughed awkwardly, then shifted the topic. "By the way, Director Huang, Dr. Zhang sees patients here, right?"

"Yes." Huang Biao chuckled to himself, thinking, *You play the part of a shill quite convincingly, and showing up early to queue is truly professional.*

Huang Biao took his keys off his belt and slowly opened the clinic doors. "Come on in. We officially start at eight. It's still early, and Zhang Jing usually arrives a bit later."

"Alright, thank you, Director Huang." The elderly woman followed him inside and continued, "By the way, Director Huang, it's said that Dr. Zhang is a very skilled doctor and a very kind man. Is that true?"

Huang Biao couldn't hold it back anymore and said with a double meaning, "Whether he is a good man or not, you should know better than me, shouldn't you? If he weren't a good man, you wouldn't have come here in a group, right?"

The elderly woman was startled, thinking to herself: *This white-haired old man is sharp; he truly lives up to his title as director. He saw right through the fact that we aren't here for actual medical treatment.*

Since the ruse had been pointed out to her face, the elderly woman didn't feel like continuing the conversation. She sheepishly said, "Yes, yes, yes. Please go ahead and get to work, Director Huang. We'll just sit here and wait for him."

Huang Biao returned to his office and immediately took out his phone. This time, it wasn't to tell them not to come, but to ensure they definitely showed up in the morning! Otherwise, today's "confrontation" might just finish him off.

Ten minutes later, Zhang Jing, Gui Cui, and Wang Sen appeared together at the entrance of Mingde Hall Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic. In the past, such a scenario would have been almost impossible. Without special circumstances, their arrival times were usually staggered: Gui Cui would arrive early, Zhang Jing in the middle, and Wang Sen would always arrive right on the dot. However, after what happened last night, Gui Cui had intentionally waited for Zhang Jing, and Wang Sen, not daring to sleep in, had made sure to wake up at the same time as Zhang Jing. Thus, the three of them were able to leave together.

As soon as Zhang Jing walked into the clinic, the elderly woman recognized him instantly. He was indeed a man of talent, and upon closer inspection, he was even more handsome than in his photos. She immediately stood up to greet him, asking with a smile, "Excuse me, are you Dr. Zhang Jing?"

"And you are?" Zhang Jing was taken aback. Where did this middle-aged woman pop out from? He had absolutely no memory of her.

"Oh, you don't know me. I heard from a friend that your medical skills are excellent, so I came specifically to see you," the elderly woman recited the lines she had prepared.

Zhang Jing nodded slightly, assuming she must have been recommended by the two mothers from yesterday, as little Huanhuan had stopped having diarrhea after just one dose of medicine. The young mother had even called early this morning to thank him, mentioning that after taking the *Chaihu Shugan* pill once, she had slept very soundly and would bring the child in over the weekend for some herbal conditioning. He had actually known about this before the call, as the system had sent a notification immediately, and the +2 clinical experience reward had already been credited.

Beyond the elderly woman, a crowd of older, middle-aged, and young women all had their eyes fixed on Zhang Jing. Feeling a bit embarrassed by the attention, Zhang Jing asked, "You wouldn't all be here for consultations, would you?"

To his surprise, they all said the same word in unison: "Yes!"

This scene shocked not only Zhang Jing but also Gui Cui and Wang Sen. Since Mingde Hall opened, they had never seen such a spectacular sight. If it were before yesterday, Gui Cui would have assumed these were more medical shills Zhang Jing had hired—it all looked too well-rehearsed. But now, she believed that even if the lobby were packed, these people were genuinely here for her "male god" of a doctor. *Since they're here, let's not waste time—let's get to work,* she thought.

"Please line up at the registration window one by one. I will register you for two yuan each, and you will receive a medical record book."

As the readers have surely guessed, this group was led by Li Ziqi, the top food blogger in Lu County, along with her mother and the various aunts her mother had invited. Before leaving, Li Ziqi had specifically instructed her elders to act as if they didn't know each other to avoid blowing their cover. Furthermore, to prepare for this special date, Li Ziqi had carefully styled herself. She wore no makeup and had dug out old high school clothes from her closet, pairing them with white sneakers—the image of a youthful, invincible, and adorable girl. This was advice from Bai Bing.

Beyond that, Li Ziqi had a little improvisation of her own: she swapped phones with her mother before leaving. She remembered Bai Bing saying that Zhang Jing used an old-fashioned "senior" phone. While they couldn't find one in the house, her mother's phone was a low-end domestic smartphone, which was humble enough.

While queuing, the aunts tacitly left the first spot open for Li Ziqi. It was easy to understand; she was the female lead today, after all! However, Li Ziqi went straight to the back of the line and whispered, "Aunts, please go ahead. I've taken the morning off, I'm not in a hurry."

Zhang Jing was slightly taken aback. *There aren't many young girls these days as public-spirited as she is,* he thought. With so many patients, Zhang Jing didn't have time to dwell on it and quickly headed upstairs to prepare. Wang Sen followed closely behind.

"Dr. Zhang, I don't have any patients anyway. Why don't you just see them in the outer office? The acupuncture room inside might not be very convenient," Wang Sen suggested as soon as they entered.

Zhang Jing understood his meaning. The acupuncture room was small and lacked windows. Seeing female patients in there could indeed lead to unnecessary misunderstandings. He didn't stand on ceremony and nodded. "Alright, thank you, Dr. Wang."

Wang Sen quickly said, "Not at all, Dr. Zhang. It is I who should thank you. If you don't mind, could I observe and learn?"

Zhang Jing looked troubled. "If a female patient is here for gynecology, it's best not to have anyone else present; otherwise, they might feel embarrassed describing their symptoms."

"I understand, I understand," Wang Sen nodded repeatedly. "Then I'll stay in the acupuncture room. If you need a hand, just call me."

"Understood. If a patient requires acupuncture, I will bring them into the acupuncture room for treatment," Zhang Jing nodded slightly.