Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2117 Shatin Pot

The iron pots of Sha Tin Wan are purely handmade and are essential tools for preparing Chinese medicine. These iron pots cannot be used for cooking, not even once. They have been famous for more than 500 years, and their reputation is not just a random fabrication.

At first, Bian Mu thought it was just a local "pot maker" in Sha Tin Wan making a fuss and trying to impress people, which was a bit exaggerated. But after using it many times, Bian Mu gradually figured out the trick: the ore used to make this kind of iron pot is naturally magnetic! That's the key!
Many experiments could be done in the small white building. In addition to conducting other traditional Chinese medicine experiments, Bian Mu had taken a Shatin pot there many times to conduct verification experiments. As it turned out, the experimental data on the physical properties, chemical reaction degree, and sensitivity of medicinal materials of those Shatin pots were enough to prove that this thing was indeed not an ordinary iron pot.

In addition, the tourism industry in Sha Tin Wan is quite developed. Short videos often show various aspects of local life. Combining this with online maps, Bian Mu analyzed the situation and found that Sha Tin Wan is also a feng shui treasure land with all five elements. If he weren't usually so busy, Bian Mu would have driven his parents and Xiao Yue there to have some fun. The rest of the Bian family could go there to relax. Bian Mu's goal was to thoroughly investigate the secrets behind that magical iron pot.

The "detoxifying ointment" is indeed effective, but it is still far from being a highly effective traditional Chinese medicine, and its benefits are naturally incomparable.

The development of effective traditional Chinese medicines has its own unique humanistic environment. Simply investing huge sums of money in research and development centers may not be the best choice. At least, Bian Mu has not seen many of the truly effective traditional Chinese medicines that he understands. At least, there has been no news of them around Lijin City, and they are probably not on the market yet.

Medicine pot, medicine cauldron, medicine dish... none of them can be missing. Bian Mu had to figure out all the key details one by one, without missing the slightest detail. Otherwise, he would never have any chance to get his hands on so-called special-effect traditional Chinese medicine in this lifetime!

Cut ginger buds and ginger slices into thin strips. There is still a lot of fine white sand from Zhangwang Village. Use it to line the bottom of the pot and stir-fry for a while. Bian Mu has to reach out and test the temperature of the sand from time to time. When it feels about right, use a kitchen knife to gently spread the cut ginger strips and ginger bud pieces on the white sand. Turn the stove to the lowest setting and simmer it slowly.

Next to the other burner was a black clay pot, made of corundum, which is not afraid of light stir-frying. Now, the millet was rising steadily under the pot, and it was time to stir it. Clay pots are prone to leaking, so you need to be a little skillful to stir-fry millet in it. With a small wooden spatula, I gently stirred and turned the millet. The aroma of the millet was already faintly wafting out...

Slow and steady wins the race. With her left hand tending to the stove fire on the left and her right hand gently stirring the ginger shreds and twigs, Bian Mu's mind was also busy, wondering why her mother had suddenly become so close to the Tang family again...

Tang Jiayi was a few years younger than Bian Mu. When they were in school, Bian Mu always protected her to prevent her from being bullied by her unruly male classmates.

however……

Tang Jiayi's father never took the initiative to take care of Lao Bian at work. Whenever there was a thankless task, he would think of Bian Mu's father first. Afterwards, he would at most say a few polite words and that would be the end of it. Because of this, Bian Mu's mother hated Lao Tang. When they occasionally met on the street, Bian's mother would not even say hello to their family.

Now, times have changed, and Bian Mu's side has made great progress. Anyone with eyes can see that Bian Mu is bound to be successful in the future, just by standing at the entrance of the "New Concept" Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic and feeling the overwhelming popularity.

According to common sense, Mom should be arrogant and domineering in front of the Tang family! She's always been proud; how many times in her life does she get a chance to truly shine like this?!

but……

It's obvious that Mom has chosen to reconcile with the Tang family, and there's even a hint that their children could become in-laws. I really don't know what she's thinking! Oh! It's almost ready, time for some Shaoxing wine!
Bian Mu methodically stirred the stir-fried ginger and rice mixture together, rinsed it with Shaoxing wine, and let it soak for a while. Then, he poured in enough "Lao Cheng" Shaoxing wine and simmered it over low heat.
While waiting, Bian Mu patiently used a kitchen knife to cut off the "garlic stems" of the wilted garlic cloves at the root and casually tossed them into the ginger and rice mixture to soak in the rice wine for a while longer.

……

With everything tidied up, Bian Mu was ready to rest. Before going to sleep, he threw 21 light brown pills into the brewed medicine. A minty aroma wafted up, and Bian Mu couldn't help but smile knowingly. Success! As long as the minty aroma was brought out, this medicine with the properties of restoring life and guiding qi would be successfully completed.

It looks simple on the surface, but it actually involves a lot of techniques for preparing medicinal materials, which even Zhang Jinsi might not be able to master in one go.

……

After much effort, the test questions for the open recruitment were finally drafted. As a math expert, Bian Mu had already pinpointed the scoring points for various types of questions to the "1" point system. The reason he put in so much effort was so that he would have a reference for future similar assessments, which would save him a lot of trouble!

Upon receiving the exam questions, forest ranger Lao Liang carefully reviewed them.

"You've got a lot of heart! I'll be your witness. In less than five years, what you've made will definitely become the local medical evaluation standard template. If we're talking about a perfect score of 100... it would be quite an achievement if this guy could get around 70 points!" As he said this, Old Liang's usually slightly furrowed brows suddenly lit up. The old man was genuinely happy.

"So how big of a deal are we going to make? Can anyone sign up? Or should we set a framework beforehand and exclude irrelevant people from the registration criteria?" Bian Mu asked with a smile.

“Sometimes, you take everything too seriously, and that’s not good! You know? Even if you’re physically fitter than your peers, you can’t keep your nerves on edge all the time! It’ll cause problems in the long run. Anyone can register, 28 or older, under 45, male or female! You’re all busy, so only offline registration is allowed. I’ll take care of it. As for who I find to help or how many people I find, don’t worry about that. We’ll cover all the costs ourselves. Let them register freely and focus on preparing for the exam! As for how I settle the debts with those friends afterwards, don’t worry about that!”

"Well... I'm sorry to have troubled you!"

"Pshaw! It's a trivial matter. The registration location is set in the western section of Ningguo Temple Medicinal Herbs Wholesale Market. I have a friend there who is a distant relative of Lao Pei. It's bright, clean, and spacious. We old guys are just killing time anyway, so we might as well take this opportunity to get together and have some fun. Before registration, Lao Pei and I will add a few questions about medicinal herbs. Applicants must pass with a perfect score. If you miss even one point, you can forget about registering. You'll see what that means when the time comes."

"Alright! Thank you for your trouble!"

"Don't mention it! When you get old, you need to have something productive to do, otherwise, you won't live long!"

Amidst laughter and conversation, the two meticulously planned out every step of the process: registration, written exam, exam room setup, invigilation, grading, and public announcement. It was only then that Bian Mu realized the immense value of the life experiences Old Liang had accumulated in his youth.