024: The First Husband-and-Wife Surgery

A quest notification popped up! Li Cha felt a surge of inner ecstasy.

As for quests, since Li Cha was not a player, he could not simply level up by helping grandmothers across the street or utilizing other purely player-based exploits. The bounty scrolls at the Adventurers' Guild were an option, but those tasks mostly involved monster hunting. If Li Cha took on such a mission, he would exhaust himself and potentially face life-threatening danger. It was far less efficient than farming gathering quests. In fact, his first day of recruit training had granted him 20% experience, and the second day 30%—both yielded better results than adventuring. Consequently, to this day, Li Cha remained a perfectly ordinary adventurer at the Saint-Anne Adventurers' Guild.

He never expected that opening a psychological clinic would also trigger quests.

"I didn't say we were having a treatment session today," Randolph said. "I only told Emma that we were coming to thank you together."

Essentially, he had coaxed his wife into coming, and now it was up to Doctor Li Cha to perform.

"Mr. Randolph, your intentions are truly noble," Li Cha replied. "How could I bear to see a beautiful family fall apart?" He grasped Randolph’s calloused hand, adding firmly, "Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to help you both."

With that, Doctor Li Cha made the arrangements. The husband, Randolph, went outside to rest, while his wife, Emma, entered the clinic for a consultation.

Emma looked a bit confused. Her first words upon sitting down were, "Doctor, we didn't just come here today because of Hado, did we?"

Li Cha nodded. "Mrs. Emma, I have some rather heavy news. Please, try not to worry."

"Is it about Randolph?"

"Yes. I met with Mr. Randolph yesterday and discovered he is suffering from a severe psychological disorder."

"What?!"

"Shh! The patient doesn't know about this yet. If it’s made public, it will interfere with his subsequent treatment."

Emma was taken aback. As usual, Li Cha showed her a confidentiality agreement to build trust, then asked a few questions.

"Madam, do you love your husband?"

"Of course."

"Then do you feel that your love for him is greater, or that Mr. Randolph's love for you is greater?"

Emma thought for a moment and ultimately chose the former. Li Cha curled his lip. Both members of this couple believed they loved the other more.

"And what are some things you are dissatisfied with regarding your husband?"

Emma said slowly, "Actually... Randolph is a very good man. It's just that his temper is not great sometimes, and he likes to drink; when he's drunk, his temper is even worse. Also, his work keeps him too busy..."

"Have you discussed these issues with Mr. Randolph?" Li Cha asked.

She had, but that was a long time ago. Emma had realized that speaking up was useless and had eventually resorted to silence.

"So, you wish for Mr. Randolph to temper his mood, break his habit of alcoholism, and take better care of the household."

"I know his work is very busy..." Mrs. Emma realized something. "Doctor Li Cha, aren't we talking about Randolph's condition?"

Li Cha didn't panic at all. "Madam, we are discussing his condition right now. You must keep this strictly confidential."

"I understand."

After a bit more coaxing, he switched patients. Li Cha followed the same procedure, tweaking the questions for Randolph. In truth, once the issue of the husband's trust in his wife was resolved, half of the Randolphs' domestic problems were already settled. As for the rest, Randolph felt his wife should be more understanding. Blacksmithing was physically demanding labor, and when his wife made demands for intimacy at such times, it put him in a difficult position. Then there was the coldness of her attitude; Randolph wished his wife loved him more.

Everything was set. The conversation concluded. Li Cha produced two agreements for the couple to sign.

*Ding-dong.*
Notification: The trading list has been updated. Please check it promptly!

The two agreements were actually self-devised "free trade" contracts Li Cha had come up with. According to the terms, he could take anything from them for free. Of course, given the couple’s situation, Li Cha had added specific clauses.

"Mr. Randolph, are you willing to give up drinking for the sake of your wife and family?"
"I am."
"Good, write it down."
"Mrs. Emma, are you willing to exchange your love for your other half?"
"I am."
"Good, write it down."

Once the agreements were signed, Li Cha snapped his fingers twice, taking an hour of time from both Randolph and Emma. The couple lay on the examination bed, sleeping soundly.

On the trade list:
[Randolph’s love for his other half]: Value 5 copper coins.
[Emma’s love for her other half]: Value 8 copper coins.

It was obvious: regardless of what they claimed, based on the value, the wife loved the husband more.

Li Cha did not simply perform a crude exchange. 5+8=13. Dividing 13 into two parts meant 6.5 each. Love was an "ethereal" thing; Li Cha segmented Mrs. Emma’s love, returned the majority to her, and transferred the small remainder to the blacksmith, Randolph, through the trade. He had never attempted this before; today served as a test. The result was excellent. Without a trade cycle, Li Cha could not move one person's attribute to another. But once [a portion of Emma's love for her other half] became a system item, Li Cha could buy it and transfer it.

Next.
[Randolph’s alcohol addiction]: Value 0 copper coins.
It was worth even less than the love; the system saw no value in it at all. Once he sold the addiction to the system, Randolph would be able to quit drinking. In reality, alcohol itself wasn't entirely bad—a man working hard all day having a small drink when he got home wouldn't impact his health and could even improve blood circulation. Thus, Li Cha sold the bulk of the addiction to the system and left the rest for him.

Next step.
[Emma’s Constitution] and [Randolph’s Constitution].
As expected, even though Randolph was a man and Emma a woman, in terms of constitution, the latter was nearly double the former. Li Cha tried to use Emma’s constitution on himself.

*Ding-dong.*
Notification: Attributes are incompatible. Transaction failed.

Li Cha couldn't force-obtain others' attributes, but Randolph and Emma could complement each other. Their combined constitution was about 15. He reallocated it: 9 for Randolph, 6 for Emma.

Mission accomplished. From this day forward, the tables had turned.

An hour later, Li Cha sat in his chair, wiping sweat from his forehead. He hadn't expended much physical energy during the "treatment," but the series of thinking, calculating, trading, and allocating was definitely high-intensity mental labor.

Randolph was the first to wake, feeling a bit dazed. "Doctor Li Cha, why did I fall asleep?"

Li Cha waved his hand. "Just part of the treatment. Don't worry."

"And my wife?..."

"Congratulations, Mr. Randolph. Please continue to love your wife, for she loves you deeply as well."