Did Annika ask how to treat it? She chose this job, yet she still sought treatment.
Matthew looked perplexed. "Your body is in this condition, and you still want to make a living here?"
Annika sighed in resignation. "I only finished middle school. Besides having a good figure and looking pretty, I don't have much else to offer, so there aren't many jobs I can do.
"I've worked as a waiter in a restaurant, a hotel reception, a clerk at a supermarket, and a factory worker. They all paid me around 2,500 dollars a month.
"Working in a factory lets me earn a little more. I work 12 hours, spend an hour commuting, and take an hour for lunch. That's a total of 15 hours a day, and I can make close to 5,000 dollars a month, but I can only earn that amount by slaving away.
"I can forget about buying a house. After covering basic expenses, I can't even afford to get sick. I don't want to be hustling non-stop like a hamster on a wheel.
"I want to buy a house and live a good life. Getting a car doesn't really matter. I just want to feel like a person.
"What else I can do besides this job? Can you treat me? I don't want to suffer so much when I'm hustling for money."
Matthew sighed. When he first graduated, he slaved away in the office too, and he knew how hard his parents worked on the farm all their lives. But it wasn't an illness. It was just how Annika's body worked.
After thinking it over, Matthew responded, "I can help you feel better, but just know that the medicine has its side effects. Taking it long term can mess with your body."
Upon learning that there was a solution, Annika asked with a grin, "Aren't there no side effects with traditional medicine?"
Matthew shook his head. "It's not that there are none, but they're much milder when you compare them to modern medicine. That's why I wouldn't recommend this to you."
Annika fixed her alluring eyes on Matthew and pleaded, "If the side effects are minor, you have to prescribe the medicine. You don't know how it is. I meet all kinds of customers in my job.
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