199: Chapter 199 Seven parts flour, two parts ash

"You're crazy, get away from me!"

The Medicine Peddler's hands were already stuffing bottles into a snakeskin bag.

"Don't leave."

Jiang Feng's tone was very ordinary, similar to the way one would chat with neighbors.

He released his grip on the old man's wrist and turned to face the Medicine Peddler.

"If your medicine is real, let's test it. If you win, I'll pay you ten thousand yuan and apologize to you in public."

The Medicine Peddler's movements paused for a moment.

"Test what?! This is a quantum-nano level formula! Those crappy machines in your hospitals can't detect it at all!"

Jiang Feng turned to look at the old man, his tone slowing down a bit.

"Old man, don't be in such a hurry to take this medicine away. Although it won't hurt you if you eat it, it won't cure your illness either."

Holding the medicine bottle, the old man looked completely bewildered.

"Is what you're saying true?"

"If the formula I write down doesn't match the lab results, I'll pay you ten times the amount."

Jiang Feng pulled five hundred yuan from his wallet and stuffed it into the old man's hand, then took a pill from the medicine bottle.

"This five hundred yuan is for me to buy one pill from you; the rest is for the testing fee."

He pointed to the Community Hospital directly across the street.

"Take this pill and the money, cross the street, register at the Laboratory Department, and tell the doctor you want an expedited Material Spectrum Analysis."

"Tell the doctor to see if there are any active medicinal ingredients in this pill."

"A preliminary result is enough. Come straight back once you have the report."

The old man hesitated for two seconds, gripped the pill and the five hundred yuan tightly, and limped toward the other side of the road.

The onlookers, mostly elderly men and women, began to buzz with whispered conversations.

"Who is this young man? He looks quite confident."

"What if the medicine is actually real?"

"If it's real, why is he running? Look at that bastard; his legs are shaking!"

As they spoke, the Medicine Peddler's composure completely crumbled.

He picked up the snakeskin bag with both hands and twisted his feet, trying to bolt deep into the alley.

Jiang Feng reached out with his left hand, fingers spread, and accurately clamped down on the Medicine Peddler's right shoulder joint.

The web of his hand caught the junction of the shoulder blade and collarbone, his thumb pressing down firmly while his four fingers tightened.

It looked like a casual touch, but the right side of the Medicine Peddler's body instantly froze in place, as if he were gripped by a pair of pliers.

He shook himself hard twice, but he couldn't move an inch.

"Ouch! Let go! This is intentional assault! I'm calling the police!"

The Medicine Peddler let out a howl like a slaughtered pig.

"Go ahead and report it." Jiang Feng waved his phone. "Want me to dial for you?"

The Medicine Peddler's mouth hung open, and his howling stopped abruptly.

The surrounding elderly people crowded around them in thick layers, and some had already taken out their phones to start filming.

Shop owners in the alley also poked their heads out to watch the commotion.

An old man selling sesame cakes stood at his door with a bowl of soy milk, watching while he drank, and even called out to the old lady who repaired clocks next door, thinking it wasn't lively enough yet.

"Come on, come on! Look at the big show, it's free!"

Time passed minute by minute.

About an hour later, the doors of the hospital across the street were pushed open.

The old man came jogging back; he couldn't run fast, but it was clear he was rushing with all his might.

He held an A4-sized lab report in his hand, waving it as he ran.

"He's back, he's back!"

The crowd automatically parted to make a path.

Panting heavily, the old man ran to the stall, bent over to catch his breath for a long while, and then held the lab report up to his eyes.

He looked it over three times, but he couldn't understand it.

It was full of peak curves and technical jargon, which looked like gibberish to an old man who had spent his whole life farming.

A conclusion was given at the bottom of the lab report.

"Conclusion: Upon preliminary testing of the submitted sample, the main component is Wheat Starch, accounting for approximately 68% to 72%."

"The secondary component is Talcum Powder-based mineral filler, accounting for approximately 18% to 22%."

"Additionally contains small amounts of food-grade synthetic pigments and flavorings."

"No known active medicinal ingredients were detected."

He couldn't understand it at all.

An elderly woman snatched the report, cleared her throat, and shouted it out at the top of her lungs.

"Wheat Starch 68 to 72! Talcum Powder 18 to 22! Food coloring plus flavoring! No medicinal ingredients at all!"

After reading it, she turned her sights on the Medicine Peddler.

"You bastard, aren't you hot wearing that white lab coat?"

"Hand over the two thousand yuan from just now and give it back to this old man!"

The alley erupted into chaos.

"Scammer! He's a scammer!"

"I bought two bottles last week! Four thousand yuan! My four thousand yuan!"

"Beat him! Block him, don't let him run!"

Several hot-tempered elderly people swarmed forward and grabbed the Medicine Peddler by the collar of his white lab coat.

With a "rip," the seams on the back of the brand-new white coat split open during the scuffle, revealing a grease-stained gray vest underneath.

The Medicine Peddler was pulled this way and that, and the stethoscope around his neck was also torn off, falling to the ground and breaking in two; what was revealed inside was not a metal tube, but a piece of plastic tubing.

A ten-yuan children's toy.

Someone nearby was already calling the police.

Jiang Feng released his grip on the Medicine Peddler's shoulder.

He didn't participate in the ensuing chaos, nor did he accept anyone's gratitude.

He bent down to pick up the piece of scrap paper that the Medicine Peddler had crumpled up and thrown away, then smoothed it out to take a look.

"Wheat flour 70%, Talcum Powder 20%, pigment and flavoring 10%."

The actual data on the lab report was 68 to 72, and 18 to 22.

He had written 70 and 20; the error was within two percentage points.

Using Plum Blossom Divination to deduce material composition, achieving this level of precision was sufficient.

Jiang Feng folded the scrap paper and tucked it into his trench coat pocket.

He straightened his hem and turned to leave.

With the help of the onlookers, the old man got back the two thousand yuan he had worked so hard to save.

He turned and chased for a few steps, wanting to catch up and return the five hundred yuan, but Jiang Feng's figure had already blended into the crowd, leaving no trace behind.

He stood at the entrance of the alley, clutching his retirement savings tightly, for a long time.

That afternoon, Jiang Feng returned to his Fortune-telling stall on the first floor of the Xingchen Security Building and sat back down in his folding chair.

The goji berries had been soaking all day, and the water had long since turned cold.

He poured out the cold water, refilled his cup with scalding hot water from the nearby dispenser, and stared blankly at the white steam rising from the rim for a while.

A small matter like this was nothing to him at all.

Two thousand yuan for flour balls; the sophistication of the scam was practically non-existent.

But the old man's hands unbuttoning his coat, that stack of dog-eared bills, that floral handkerchief washed countless times.

It was an old man offering up everything he had.

Jiang Feng took a sip of hot water, his gaze landing on the Steamed Bun Shop across the street that was closing up.

He had walked all afternoon without gaining anything.

His luck was a bit poor.

It would have been great if the lady boss of the bun shop across the street were a little-known master of meat buns.

While he was fantasizing, the sharp sound of brakes screeching reached his ears.