Chapter 145 Smallpox

Although Xuanwu Mountain was known as “warm in winter and cool in summer,” Miao Yunyou always felt that was a bit of an exaggeration.

In summer, temperatures generally hovered around 20°C, which was indeed pleasantly cool.

But winter was still quite cold, usually only a few degrees above zero.

In the dead of winter, the temperature could drop close to freezing; even thick cotton clothes couldn’t block the damp chill. There was no trace of warmth at all.

For the demons and disciples of the sect, who had practiced martial arts from childhood and had strong physiques, this level of cold was nothing unusual. A simple extra robe would suffice.

But for modern humans with weaker constitutions, it was far too cold.

It was now early November, with temperatures just in the teens. When winter came fully, it would be unbearably cold.

Their current room rates, without discounts, averaged 1,200 yuan; even with discounts, the average was around 800 yuan.

At this price point, accommodation relied on the experience. If even the basic warmth couldn’t be guaranteed, tourists paying high prices would freeze, leaving negative reviews and complaints that could overwhelm the system, instantly ruining the reputation they had worked so hard to build.

The problem was, heating wasn’t something you could solve by just buying an air conditioner and installing it.

In such a traditionally styled room, plopping in a modern AC unit would ruin the aesthetics and ruin the photo opportunities for tourists.

So the only solution was to install false ceilings and central air conditioning, hiding all the pipes and vents inside the ceiling.

Since they had already moved out, aside from the front desk, there were now 99 rooms available.

Actually, this meant it wasn’t just the lodging area that needed air conditioning.

Theoretically, any indoor space that tourists could visit had to have air conditioning installed.

After consulting with the construction team, the cost of renovating all indoor ceilings in the resort and installing central air conditioning—including equipment, installation, and piping—was:

1.2 million yuan.

1,407,5522 yuan minus 3 million, minus 1.2 million…

That left… 9,875,522 yuan.

Miao Yunyou looked at the balance on her phone, buried in her blanket, and groaned:
“I hate winter!!!”

.

Construction on the tea house had to start from scratch, but the ceiling and central air conditioning were relatively simple. A single room only took about two hours, using the best materials, and could be put into use immediately.

At that moment, the resort received its first major complaint.

“I can’t live anymore! Life is completely meaningless!!!”

At the lodging front desk, a young man in casual clothes was crouched in front of the counter, burying his head in his knees and wailing loudly. His shoulders shook violently, and he could barely speak a full sentence.

Beside him stood a helpless temporary worker, who had no idea how to comfort him.

Miao Yunyou, completely confused, rushed over:
“What’s going on? Sir, don’t cry yet. Slowly tell me what’s wrong. Whether you’re unhappy with your room or have been wronged in some way, I’ll help you fix it, okay?”

The young man remained completely collapsed, crying for over ten minutes before gradually calming down.

Miao Yunyou led him into a single room, poured tea, handed him tissues—and only then did he explain the reason.

He had recently been heartlessly dumped by his long-time girlfriend because of his acne-covered face. Already sensitive and fragile, he deliberately chose to come to Miao Immortal’s Resort to ease his heartbreak.

When he had just checked in, he wanted to ask a temporary worker who was cleaning where his assigned room was.

But as the cleaner casually glanced up, she saw the densely packed pimples on his face. Her pupils immediately shrank, the tools in her hands dropped to the floor, and she stumbled backward several steps in panic, her face pale as paper. Her eyes were filled with undeniable fear and avoidance, as if she had seen something utterly disgusting—so much so that she didn’t even dare to breathe.

That single glance, that single reaction, struck the boy’s most sensitive nerve. Already self-conscious about his appearance, he instantly felt like the entire world despised him.

It was one thing to be rejected by his girlfriend—but now even a peer of similar age seemed to find him repulsive?

A surge of grievance and despair overwhelmed him, and he immediately broke down, crying: “Am I really that ugly? Ugly enough to scare people… what’s the point of living…”

After hearing the explanation, Miao Yunyou roughly understood what had happened.

She turned to glance at the flustered temporary worker standing helplessly in the corner, then faced the young man and apologized sincerely: “I am truly sorry. I’m so sorry that you’ve been wronged. This was our fault for not doing proper pre-job training. Please don’t take it to heart, and don’t overthink it. Our employee… he’s from the mountains. He didn’t go to school for many years and has never traveled far from home. He thought your face was ‘smallpox,’ like the stories elders tell, so he got scared. I’m sorry, truly our mistake. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to resolve this for you. I’ll help treat your acne, okay? We have two professional doctors at the resort. I’ll have them do an expert consultation to make sure your skin gets properly treated.”

The boy froze, still red-eyed, disbelief written all over his face. In a hoarse voice, he asked: “Ah? R-really… can it be cured?”

He had indeed read online that there were skilled Chinese medicine practitioners at the resort, but he had assumed it was just marketing hype and hadn’t taken it seriously.

Miao Yunyou replied confidently: “Don’t worry, it will definitely work!”

She led him to the medical hall, where Chu Ningshuang and Chu Fuling sat on either side. They first exchanged a glance that said, “Another trivial thing, let’s just handle it quickly,” before carefully examining his face, taking his pulse, and asking about his diet and habits.

After this expert-level consultation, they gave a precise treatment plan: “Your acne is caused by lung heat congestion and endocrine imbalance; it’s not a serious illness. I’ll prescribe two remedies: one to apply externally, boiled into a decoction, morning and evening on the pimples to reduce inflammation and swelling; another to take internally, boiled as a decoction, to regulate internal heat. Follow the treatment schedule and avoid spicy or greasy foods. In about a month, it should fully heal without leaving scars.”

The boy’s eyes immediately lit up. His previously slumped shoulders straightened, the gloom on his face disappeared, and he even scratched his head awkwardly, blushing as he apologized:
“Actually… it’s not entirely anyone else’s fault. I just got too sensitive after the breakup and overreacted to a small thing. I caused such a scene and troubled you all.”

The temporary worker hurried forward again, deeply bowing and repeatedly apologizing.

The boy waved him off: “It’s fine, it’s fine… just a misunderstanding…”

Thinking back, the cleaner was only a few years older than him, hadn’t had much education, and worked so hard—it really wasn’t easy.

Seeing this, Miao Yunyou handed him two snack vouchers with a smile: “This is a small gift from us. Enjoy your stay, get well soon, and may everything go smoothly.”

Thus, the uproarious complaint was finally resolved. The boy happily returned to his room with the prescription and vouchers.

But Miao Yunyou still felt uneasy. She thought the temporary worker’s reaction had been too extreme, far beyond simple inexperience.

“What’s going on? Why such a huge reaction for no reason?” she asked, frowning.

The temporary worker turned pale and hesitated for a long moment before lowering his voice and trembling as he revealed the truth: “Master, it’s not that I’m scared for no reason… a few days ago, when I went home, villagers said that smallpox cases suddenly appeared in the capital, and… several people have already died.”

Chu Ningshuang and Chu Fuling exclaimed in unison: “What?!”