The five-and-a-half-year-old baby doctor comes to the city to cure those who refuse to listen.

Lin Jianguo's fingers gripped the thin ledger, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

He pointed tremblingly at the long list of names above, his lips turning white.

"Chen'er, you're...you're making your grandfather contribute money."

"You're making Grandpa rob it!"

Chu Chen was lying on the stone table, slowly munching on a piece of osmanthus cake. Hearing this, he raised his head with an innocent look on his face.

"Robbing sounds awful."

He swallowed the pastry in his mouth and patted the crumbs off his hands.

"Grandpa, let me tell you a new term, it's called 'crowdfunding'."

"Popular sorrow?"

Lin Jianguo was even more worried; this sounded even more upsetting than robbery.

"It's the 'raising' in 'raising funds'."

Chu Chen jumped off the stone bench, grabbed the still dazed Lin Jianguo, and dragged him to the dressing mirror.

"Grandpa, take another look."

Looking at himself in the mirror, with his hair half black and half white and his spirits much better than yesterday, Lin Jianguo still didn't understand.

"What are you looking at?"

"You are our biggest asset."

Chu Chen pointed at Lin Jianguo's black hair, as if introducing some rare treasure.

"If you stood outside and told people you'd taken a miracle drug and become young again, what do you think would happen?"

Lin Jianguo was stunned.

He subconsciously touched his hair again, the feel of the jet-black strands was unmistakably real.

Yes.

What could be more convincing than himself?

He lived his whole life curing countless difficult and complicated diseases, and his reputation spread far and wide.

If the news of his rejuvenation gets out...

They wouldn't even need to go door-to-door to "crowdfund"; the thresholds of all the wealthy families in Beijing would probably be worn down by the crowds!

The confusion and fear in Lin Jianguo's eyes gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented light.

He straightened his back, and his whole demeanor changed.

"I understand!"

Chu Chen nodded in satisfaction. "This child is teachable."

He walked with his hands behind his back to the woodshed in the backyard.

"Huff... huff..."

Zhou Tian was shirtless, covered in sweat, and panting heavily like a bellows.

The firewood in front of him was piled up like a small mountain, and the half-person-high axe next to him looked terrifying.

He chopped for a whole day, and the webs between his thumb and forefinger were all raw and burning with pain.

He glanced around furtively, and seeing no one was around, he plopped down on the ground, wanting to catch his breath.

I just sat down.

"Whoosh—"

A small pebble, whistling through the air, hit him squarely on the buttocks.

"Aww!"

Zhou Tian jumped three feet high in pain, clutching his buttocks and looking back.

Chu Chen was standing not far away, holding a slingshot in one hand and a handful of pebbles in the other.

"Want to slack off?"

Chu Chen tilted his head, grinning mischievously.

"If you don't work properly, believe me, I'll soak you in preservative solution and turn you into a 'Great Roc Spreading Its Wings' specimen, to be displayed as a door god in the lobby?"

Upon hearing the word "specimen," Zhou Tian turned pale with fright.

He had personally witnessed how this little devil turned a pigeon into a colorful spinning top and launched it into the sky.

He had no doubt that this little devil was capable of turning him into a specimen.

"No... I won't do it again! Little miracle doctor, I was wrong!"

Zhou Tian scrambled to grab the axe, tears welling in his eyes, and chopped down the thick wooden stake with all his might.

Chu Chen then put away his slingshot with satisfaction and leisurely returned to the front yard.

"Grandpa Wang."

He waved to Wang Dequan, who was directing the workers to clean.

"Young master, what are your orders?"

Wang Dequan jogged over, his back bent so low it was almost parallel to the ground.

"Go, let the wind out."

Chu Chen cleared his throat and imitated the tone of a storyteller.

"Take our old master Lin Jianguo from Jishetang, for example. He had a chance encounter with an immortal and received immortal magic in a dream. Overnight, his white hair turned black and he was rejuvenated."

Wang Dequan was stunned.

This...this isn't real, is it? How did it become a "test run"?

"Then, you tell those people outside."

Chu Chen paused, his face hardening as he adopted a profound expression.

"It is said that in order to express his gratitude for the blessings of the immortals and to make good connections, Old Master Lin plans to hold a 'Longevity Banquet' at Jishetang in three days."

"A longevity banquet?"

Lin Jianguo and Wang Dequan spoke in unison, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes." Chu Chen nodded. "Anyone who wants to attend the banquet is welcome to come."

"So... how much are the admission tickets?"

Lin Jianguo asked subconsciously.

In his view, with such a huge gimmick, it wouldn't be excessive to sell an admission ticket for an exorbitant price.

"Who said they were selling?"

Chu Chen waved his hand, "We don't accept money."

"No charge?"

Lin Jianguo was even more confused.

"No money required, but there are conditions." Chu Chen held up one finger. "You can come in, but you can't come empty-handed; you have to bring a gift."

"A congratulatory gift?"

"Yes. Moreover, we don't want gold, silver, jewelry, or silk fabrics."

Chu Chen paced back and forth in the courtyard, his hands behind his back.

"We only need one thing."

He stopped and looked at Lin Jianguo and Wang Dequan, whose faces were full of curiosity, and said, word by word.

"Strange and unusual old objects."

"The older the better, the weirder the shape the better, and the more mysterious the origin the better."

Lin Jianguo and Wang Dequan were completely dumbfounded.

I don't want money, I just want some junk?

What's the point of this?

Wang Dequan is extremely efficient.

In less than half a day, the news that Master Lin of Jishetang had regained his youth and was going to hold a longevity banquet spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.

Almost simultaneously, all the major wealthy families and royal residences received this outrageous news.

South of the city, the Qian family mansion.

Several middle-aged men dressed in silk robes were enjoying a pot of fine Longjing tea.

"Have you heard? Lin Jianguo from Baicao Street is said to have become young again."

A fat man curled his lip, his face full of disdain.

"Rejuvenation? The version I heard is that he's so greedy for money that he dyed his hair back and then dared to go out and swindle people."

"Exactly! Holding some kind of 'longevity banquet,' free admission, but demanding all sorts of strange old objects? I bet he emptied his pockets buying that broken cauldron the other day, trying to scam some antiques to sell for money!"

"Haha, this old guy, he's practiced medicine his whole life, and now that he's old, he's starting to neglect his duties."

"Just wait and see. In three days, I'll see how many cats he can invite to his longevity banquet."

Everyone burst into laughter, and no one took it to heart.

In their view, this was nothing more than a clumsy farce staged by the Lin family when they were at their wits' end.

For a time, Jishetang and Lin Jianguo became the laughing stock of the entire upper-class circle in Beijing.

Inside Jishetang.

Lin Jianguo was restless, pacing back and forth in the courtyard.

"Chen'er, the news is all over the place. They're saying we're swindlers, that we're obsessed with money."

He looked at his grandson, who was sitting on a small stool, sticking little star stickers on the Nine Dragon Cauldron, with a worried expression.

"If no one comes in three days, the Lin family will lose all face."

Without turning his head, Chu Chen focused intently on sticking a golden five-pointed star onto the dragon's forehead.

"Grandpa, what's the rush?"

He clapped his hands, admiring his masterpiece, before turning his head away.

"The fish have smelled the bait, so we have to give them some time to convince themselves to take the bait."

He jumped off the stool, ran to Lin Jianguo's side, tugged at his sleeve, and asked in a childish voice.

"Grandpa, do you know what it means to keep someone in suspense?"

Lin Jianguo shook his head blankly.

Chu Chen smiled, revealing a set of small white teeth.

"We want them to see it but not be able to have it, so they'll be itching to get it and eventually beg us to bring it to their door."