The woman was wearing a white dress and her face was covered by a veil. When she saw Lu Liangwei walking in, a warm look appeared immediately in her eyes.
Lu Liangwei had not bothered to don a veil on her visit to the medicinal shop as there should not be any outsiders in the shop.
The moment she stepped in, she could already sense the affable look the woman had cast on her.
She was taken aback and instinctively began sizing up the woman.
There was a veil over the woman’s face, which made it difficult to tell her age. However, her eyes, which were not covered, were exceptionally beautiful.
However, they also emanated a distant coldness that appeared to depict a sorrowful life experience, and there seemed like there was much more to her story in those eyes.
When she looked over at Lu Liangwei, the woman’s originally distant gaze was suddenly filled with some unusual warmth.
Lu Liangwei frowned at the woman’s warm and friendly gaze.
“You must be the owner,” the woman stood up to approach her. She looked like she wanted to hug Lu Liangwei. She raised her hands momentarily, but then forced them down suddenly as if afraid of crossing some sort of line. She stopped two steps away from her and did not move forward any further, but failed to hide the agitation in her eyes.
The look she gave Lu Liangwei showed some tenderness hidden within the agitation.
Lu Liangwei felt the way she was being stared at by the woman was extremely strange.
Did she know this woman?
Right at that moment, the old beggar came over and introduced them to each other. “Second Miss, this is Madam Lin. She was the one who took our notice on hiring a physician. She wants to work at our medicinal shop. Madam Lin, this is our owner.”
Lu Liangwei reached out her hand to the woman at this. “How do you do? I’m the owner of this shop.”
Madam Lin became emotional as she looked at the tender little hand that was extended toward her. Her eyes slowly turned red.
She reached out with both hands and gently held Lu Liangwei’s hand within her palms. She tried her best to hide it, but her voice still trembled a little. “I’m fine, I’m fine!”
The smile on Lu Liangwei’s face stiffened a bit. It was the first time they were meeting. Was Madam Lin not being a little too friendly?
Lu Liangwei’s hand struggled a little and when Madam Lin noticed it, she quickly let go of Lu Liangwei’s hand. Madam Lin seemed a little uneasy about it. “I’m sorry. I… I’ve embarrassed myself. It’s because Miss looks a lot like my daughter…”
Lu Liangwei was moved. “Madam Lin, is your daughter not with you?”
Madam Lin nodded with slight sorrow. “Yes. I left her not long after she was born.”
Lu Liangwei came to a realization when she heard this.
It was no wonder Madam Lin acted that way just now. It was because she missed her daughter.
“It’s fine, Madam Lin. Don’t take it to heart,” Lu Liangwei consoled her.
She added, “Madam Lin, are you interested in the work at our medicinal shop?”
Madam Lin gathered her thoughts, but her gaze toward Lu Liangwei continued to be soft and tender. “Yes, I’m very interested. I have been learning medical skills for a while, but most medical halls do not accept female physicians. I had nowhere to contribute my skills and it was a coincidence that I saw the notice you had put up on the physician hiring board today, so I thought I’d come over to try my luck.”
She quickly continued, as if worried Lu Liangwei would reject her, “If you’re worried that my medical skills aren’t good enough to be the physician at the medicinal shop, you can test me. If I fail in any aspect, you can choose not to hire me.”
Lu Liangwei nodded. This was an era that was indeed harsher to women. Even if a woman had excellent medical skills, it would still be difficult for them to find work at medical halls.
“The test is a must. After all, this is a medicinal shop and we hope that the medical skills of all our physicians are up to par.”
“I understand. Please proceed with testing me, Miss,” Madam Lin calmed down and she sounded quite confident.
Lu Liangwei nodded. “Alright.”
From Lu Liangwei’s point of view, the physician hired for the medicinal shop must not only have solid medical skills, he or she must also possess physician ethics.