Chapter 10
Stanley as well as Joseph went wide-eyed and open-mouthed in astonishment to see Billy, who was a big shot, kneel down in front of another man. This time, Matthew had really done Billy a huge favor.
“Mr. Newman, you don’t have to thank me!” Matthew waved his hands dismissively and continued, “As a healer, I care about my patients like they are my children. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do, so please don’t worry about it. But, I in fact, do need a favor from you.”
“Mr. Larson, please tell me all about it!” Billy quickly urged, “I’ll help you no matter what you want me to do, despite how dangerous and challenging it can be!”
“It’s nothing much. I just hope that you can keep whatever happened today to yourself.” In a hushed tone, Matthew added, “I prefer to live a more private life.”
Billy, who was stunned for a second, immediately understood what he meant. “I got it. Everyone listen to me; no one is to share anything about what happened today with others!”
Several guys standing beside him nodded vigorously. Who had the guts to disobey Billy’s instruction which was as sacred as an Emperor’s edict?
After that, Matthew prepared a new prescription for Miss Newman. “Although Miss Newman has regained consciousness, her body is still very weak after being unconscious for a year. What’s more, the underlying disease she’s having is going to slow down her recovery process. This prescription here will help her restore her vitality and she will be fully recovered after two weeks. Mr. Newman, please bring her to see me two weeks later, and I’ll then go on to treat her underlying disease.”
Overjoyed, Billy immediately stretched out his hand for the prescription. “Mr. Larson, thank you so much!”
Instead of handing the paper to him, Matthew gave it to Joseph. “Mr. Newman, one needs to be properly trained to handle the medicine, because the medicinal effect will be substantially different if any mistake is made during the preparation. So, I think it’s best to let Mr. Harrison handle it. After all, he’s more experienced in this.”
Joseph was dumbfounded as soon as Matthew said that. On the surface, Matthew was just assigning a task to Joseph, but it was at bottom a wonderful opportunity for Joseph to build a bond with Billy.
After Miss Newman recovered from her illness with the help of the medicine prepared by Joseph personally, Billy would certainly be grateful to him, which was not something anyone from the streets could have. Immediately, Billy nodded in agreement and said, “Well, just do it as Mr. Larson has suggested. Mr. Harrison, I’ll count on you to put together the medicine then.”
“Mr. Newman, please don’t mention it; I’m glad to help!” Joseph quickly added with both hands held in front of himself.
After leaving Billy’s residence, Matthew returned to Carlson Pharmacy. Since all vital signs of Natalie had regained a normal condition, Matthew decided to bring her home because it was inappropriate for her to remain at the pharmacy any longer.
Joseph followed him to the pharmacy and tried to persuade him to stay, but the former’s offer was repeatedly declined. Therefore, Joseph had no choice but to follow Matthew back to the latter’s place.
Matthew was staying at Frost Street, an area to the north of Eastcliff which was known as a slum district mainly resided by laborers. Although Matthew had become a live-in son-in-law of the
Cunninghams, Natalie was not allowed to move in with him. Having no other options, he could only rent a place at Frost Street for her where he would stay there most of the time himself too.
Joseph couldn’t help but be taken aback when he saw the dirty and cluttered surroundings of the area. Being such a skilful medical practitioner, he thought it should be easy for Matthew to earn himself a good living with his expertise, and he wondered why Matthew would stay in such a remote area from town.
Soon, Joseph’s car reached the house Matthew rented. Before Matthew could even step into the building, he could see all of his belongings strewn all over the ground outside the door. Looking shaken, he got out of the car, just in time to see the landlady on her way out of the house.
The landlady was notorious for being fierce and unreasonable; she was an extremely greedy person who had put Matthew in various difficult situations before. “Matthew, you came back at just the right timing!” Placing one hand at her waist, she pointed at Matthew with her other hand and said crossly, “I won’t rent out this place to you anymore. Your belongings are all here, so you’d better clean up the rest and get lost!”
“What’s wrong?” Furiously, Matthew snapped, “I paid you rent for this term!”
“So what?” The landlady raised her voice and exclaimed in disgust, “Don’t you know your sister’s condition? How am I going to rent out this place to others in the future if she ends up dying here?”
“Even so, you can’t just throw my things out like this!” Sounding enraged, Matthew continued, “I paid you rent for this term. Even if you want us to move out, you have to inform us beforehand so that we have some time to find another place to stay!”
“I own this place and I can do whatever I want. What can you do about it?” The landlady then burst into a storm of abuse. “You’re just a live-in son-in-law who depends on your wife for a living. What gives you the right to yell at me like that?”Text content © NôvelDrama.Org.
Matthew was speechless.
“If you refuse to leave, I’ll get my husband here to break your legs!”
At that juncture, Joseph made his way over at a steady pace. “Whose legs are you going to break?” he asked.
The landlady toned down her aggressive attitude slightly after casting an oblique glance at Joseph. “What has this got anything to do with you?”
“Mr. Larson is my friend and I’ll treat his problems as mine!” Joseph then asked in an icy voice, “Now tell me, whose legs are you going to break?”
Joseph’s menacing air made the landlady slightly flustered. Trying hard to look undaunted, she shouted, “What’s the problem? This is my house and I just don’t want to rent it to him anymore. What are you guys trying to do? Are you threatening me to rent out this place? Are you guys gangsters?”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Larson won’t be staying here anymore!” In a much gentler tone, Joseph then spoke to Matthew, “Mr. Larson, I have a lakeside villa at the lakeside of the city and you may stay there for the time being if you don’t mind!”
The landlady was stunned for a second before she started sniggering. “A lakeside villa? Old man, you’re really good at bluffing. Don’t you know how much a lakeside mansion costs? No one can buy it without at least thirty million. Do you know how much is that? Have you seen that much money?” she sneered.
Joseph ignored the landlady as he stared at Matthew with reverence. Matthew knew Joseph was trying to make use of the chance to cultivate a friendship with him. Of course, he would not turn down his friendly gesture because he was really broke at the moment, and he really needed Joseph’s help. He didn’t ask Billy for money because he needed his assistance to achieve greater things. Billy’s value certainly was worth way more than just silver and gold, because his most valuable asset was his power and influence!
“Thanks a lot for your help, Mr. Harrison!”
Delighted, Joseph quickly said, “It’s my greatest honor to have you at my place. Tom, come on here and help Mr. Larson load his stuff into the car!” After a pause, he instructed Tom in a hushed tone, “Also, get someone to deal with the matter here. Mr. Larson’s landlady evicts him before the rental term is up and it’s a fundamental breach of the rental agreement. Get the legal team to follow up the case. Remember, they have to make sure the landlady gets the most severe punishment!”
Tom, the driver, immediately nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, Mr. Harrison!”
The landlady was dumbfounded to hear that. If they were going to bring the dispute to court, she would surely have to pay a high price for what she did.
“Sir, I’m just kidding with him. Matthew, I-I will refund the rent for the remaining term to you…” No matter how hard the landlady tried to beg for mercy, her plea was heard by no one.
After Joseph helped Matthew to get his belongings into the car, they drove away right after that, leaving the landlady alone as she collapsed and sat on the ground.