MMB Chapter 21 The Director's Way of Repaying Kindness
Chapter 21 The Director's Way of Repaying Kindness
The Renxin Pharmacy is now as bustling as a train station ticket counter during the Spring Festival.
The broken glass door that used to have "Seeking Doctors" pasted on it is now pushed and pulled thousands of times a day.
Mr. Liu simply tore up the curled-up job posting and replaced it with a printed one that read, "Today's license plate number is limited to 20. Scalpers and dogs are not allowed to enter."
Although there was a sign saying no scalpers were allowed in, the small stools outside the gate still stretched for two miles.
A single appointment slot has been sold for 500 yuan in secondhand trading groups, which is more expensive than a special expert appointment at a top-tier hospital.
Boss Liu hasn't been using his phone lately. He got a megaphone, sat behind the counter, and looked more imposing than the UN Secretary-General.
"Next, number thirteen! Don't miss your turn!"
Wang Minyu sat in the "truth chair," holding a stainless steel teacup in his hands, without even lifting his eyelids.
Across from him stood a young man of about seventeen or eighteen, who was standing against the wall as punishment, with a thick Xinhua Dictionary on his head, his forehead covered in sweat, and his neck stiff.
"Doctor, how much longer do I have to stand here?" the young man asked, his voice trembling. "I feel like my neck is going to break."
"It won't break." Wang Minyu blew on his tea foam. "Stand for another ten minutes. You've been looking down at cultivation novels for three years, your cervical spine is hunched over like that. Now I'm asking you to hold your head high, and you're still not happy?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd at the door suddenly parted to both sides like a tide.
A shiny black van was parked directly in the non-motorized vehicle lane.
The car door slid open, and before the assistants could even reach out to help, a figure nimbly jumped out.
Wearing a Tang suit and cloth shoes, her hair was combed until it was shiny and smooth, and her face was rosy as if she had just had a laser skin rejuvenation treatment.
It was Zhang Yimou, who just a few days ago looked like a stray dog.
He strode into the store and, without saying a word, gave Wang Minyu a deep 90-degree bow.
"Dr. Wang! Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"
The shout was so powerful that it startled the young man who was holding the dictionary up, causing the dictionary to fall to the ground with a "thud".
Wang Minyu put down his teacup and glanced at him: "You cleared the level?"
"I beat it! One life! I didn't even need the three-life cheat!" Zhang Yimou was so excited he was practically dancing with joy, completely abandoning his composure as a great director. "After finishing the last level last night, I went straight to sleep. When I woke up this morning, all those jumbled thoughts in my head were gone! The script? That's no problem at all. I revised it in two hours, and it's miles better than the original!"
The patients queuing around him almost popped their eyes out.
"Is that Director Zhang? Alive?"
"I heard he was depressed before, and filming was even halted. So he got cured here?"
"Is this treatment? Or is it a head transplant?"
Boss Liu listened from the side, his back straighter than a flagpole, as if he wanted to use a megaphone to announce that these were his employees.
"It's good that your mind is clear." Wang Minyu's tone was calm and composed, as if curing an international director was no different from curing a stiff neck. "Now that you're better, go and get busy with your multi-million dollar project. Don't get in the way of my business."
"No rush! This is the most important thing!"
Zhang Yimou snatched a crocodile-skin folder from his assistant, held it with both hands, and handed it to the counter with an expression more solemn than when he accepted a Hong Kong Film Award.
"Dr. Wang, this is a small token of my appreciation. I would like to invite you to be the lifelong medical consultant for my next film, 'The Great Doctor'!"
Wang Minyu glanced at the contract.
The stack of documents was thick with legal clauses, but in the "compensation" section, a number was prominently displayed: 80,000,000.
"Eighty million?" Boss Liu craned his neck to take a look, almost choking on his own breath, and slammed the megaphone in his hand onto his foot with a "bang".
The entire room fell silent.
Eighty million.
How many people would spend several lifetimes' worth of money just to hire a consultant?
"As long as you sign, the initial payment of 20 million will be in your account immediately." Zhang Yimou's eyes were full of enthusiasm. "I want to film the profoundness of traditional Chinese medicine and bring your miracles to the big screen! I've already come up with the script, and it will be based on your life story!"
Wang Minyu, however, pushed that priceless contract back like a piece of waste paper.
"Not interested."
Zhang Yimou's smile froze: "Not enough? I can add more!"
"It's not about the money." Wang Minyu pointed to the young man who was still rubbing his neck, then pointed to the door. "I don't have time to waste with the crew. We can't leave here without someone."
"Furthermore," Wang Minyu looked at Zhang Yimou with a playful gaze, "are you sure you want to film my treatment method? Have the male lead slap himself in the street with a piece of pork cheek? Or have the movie star work on a construction site, carrying bricks, or play video games on a NES console?"
Zhang Yimou was stunned.
"Will it even pass censorship?" Wang Minyu added, "Do the audience think traditional Chinese medicine is amazing, or do they think the director is out of his mind?"
Zhang Yimou opened his mouth, but was speechless.
He was so excited that he forgot about that.
Wang Minyu's approach is too unconventional, so unconventional that it wouldn't pass censorship. If it were actually filmed, it would probably be banned as a fantasy or cult film.
"Then... what should we do?" Zhang Yimou scratched his head anxiously. "Without you here, I'm really at a loss."
"If you want to film traditional Chinese medicine, you don't necessarily have to film me." Wang Minyu tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, Sun Simiao—aren't you good enough to film? As for the material..."
He paused, then lowered his voice slightly: "I can provide some lost ancient prescriptions, as well as some bizarre medical cases you've never even seen before. You can 'artistically embellish' them and attribute them to those famous ancient doctors."
Zhang Yimou's eyes instantly lit up like two searchlights.
Lost ancient prescriptions? Bizarre medical cases?
This is more attractive to a creator than simply giving them money.
This is an exclusive scoop, the fuse for a box office bomb!
"Okay! Let's do it this way!" Zhang Yimou immediately made the decision. "As for the consulting fee..."
"I don't want consulting fees."
Wang Minyu extended one finger and waved it in the air.
"I want 10% of the box office revenue from this movie."
"Hiss—" Boss Liu clutched his chest, feeling like he needed a quick-acting heart medicine.
Zhang Yimou was also taken aback for a moment.
His film has a huge investment, and he's aiming for a box office of 5 billion.
Ten percent, that's a minimum of five hundred million.
This kid has an even bigger appetite than him!
But looking into Wang Minyu's unfathomable eyes, he suddenly remembered the exhilaration of his own single-life victory.
This person has something real.
"Deal!" Zhang Yimou gritted his teeth and made the final decision. "I'll have the lawyer revise the contract later!"
After seeing off Zhang Yimou, who was acting like he'd been injected with adrenaline, the pharmacy returned to order, but the restlessness in the air hadn't dissipated.
When Boss Liu looked at Wang Minyu, his gaze was no longer that of an employee, but rather that of a living god of wealth.
Wang Minyu ignored all of this, and the crisp electronic voice in his mind arrived as expected.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the hidden mission: 'The Director's Repayment'.]
[Comment: This approach avoids trouble while securing long-term benefits. Brilliant, truly brilliant.]
[Reward: Skill 'Photographic Memory' (Beginner), Reputation Points +200.]
A cool breeze instantly rushed into his mind, and Wang Minyu felt that the world before him seemed to become clearer.
He casually opened the book "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases" at his side, and after just one glance, the obscure and difficult passages seemed to be engraved in his mind, crystal clear.
This skill is useful.
Just then, the light in the doorway dimmed for a moment.
Several young people wearing white coats walked in.
Unlike the patients in the shop who were full of the smell of cooking and even had a bit of an earthy smell, these people exuded a "sterile" aura.
The white lab coat was pressed crisply, with an exquisite school badge pinned to the chest. He held a notebook in his hand, and his eyes held a condescending, scrutinizing gaze.
That's the arrogance unique to those in an ivory tower.
The leader was a boy wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He looked refined, but his chin was held very high.
He glanced around the pharmacy, his gaze lingering for two seconds on the banner that read "Cures Pretentiousness," a disdainful sneer appearing on his lips.
"Excuse me, which one of you is the legendary Dr. Wang Minyu?"
The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of hostility.
Wang Minyu closed the book, slowly raised his head, and his gaze met the other person's in mid-air.
"That's me."
"Nice to meet you." The young man pushed up his glasses, speaking politely but standing ramrod straight, showing no intention of shaking hands. "I am Li Siyuan, a third-year graduate student at Changxiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. My teacher is Yang Wenhai."
Yang Wenhai. A master of traditional Chinese medicine, a towering figure in the field.
When Li Siyuan announced the name, the junior brothers and sisters behind him straightened their backs a bit.
"We heard there's a 'miracle doctor' here, with some really unorthodox methods for treating illnesses." Li Siyuan emphasized the word "unorthodox," his eyes full of provocation. "We came here specifically to... learn from him."
They call it learning, but their attitude is clearly that they're here to challenge us.