Jinyi Spring

Chapter 85 Old Ginseng
Shangguan Ruyu laughed and said, "Uncle Jin, I heard you got a beating from Old Madam Ming and Old Duke Ming yesterday?"

Commander Jin touched a bump on his forehead. "It's been years since I've been beaten by my master's wife. I miss her a bit. She scolds me fiercely but hits me lightly, but my master would hit me hard with a stool."

Several people went into a private room to drink.

Tomorrow, Ming Shanyue will be going out on official business, and Shangguan Ruyu is here to see him off. They happen to run into Commander Jin and invite him to have a drink together.

Ming Shanyue walked at the back and glanced back at Feng Chuchen one last time.

He confirmed once again that keeping a certain distance from this girl would prevent any problems.

He was still worried and had already asked someone to find out Feng Chuchen's birth date and time. It turned out that she was a child that the old doctor Feng had picked up, born on the sixth day of the eighth month of the fifth year of Jianzhang.

The year Jianzhang was the Xin Chou year, which is a Yin year, but fortunately it wasn't a Yin month or Yin day...

Feng Chuchen scolded Shaoyao in a low voice, "I just praised you for being steady, and you talked nonsense again, almost causing a fight."

Peony felt wronged and muttered, "That big, dark guy looked at the girl several times, so I couldn't stand it and yelled at him. I was afraid of causing trouble for the girl, so I could only say that he was staring at me."

So she was protecting herself, and in such a shameless and undignified way.

Feng Chuchen was both amused and exasperated, and couldn't bear to criticize her any further.

He said softly, "That man is Lord Ming's personal guard. He must have recognized me to have taken a second look at me."

That day, I encountered Ming Shanyue at the East Corner Gate; he was among the guards.

Feng Chuchen was even more certain that since she and Ming Shanyue were far apart, nothing would go wrong.

It's truly mysterious. Ming Shanyue can overcome others, but she can only overcome Ming Shanyue within a certain distance.

The woman who traveled through time is indeed incredibly powerful.

After they finished their meal, they called the waiter to settle the bill.

The waiter bowed and said, "Miss, someone has already paid your bill."

"Who?"

The waiter smiled and glanced at Peony. "He's the friend of the young master who was arguing with this young lady earlier." He then pointed at Peony and said, "He also said that if this young lady wants to learn martial arts, she can go to the Jin residence to find Master Jin."

Feng Chuchen guessed it was a Duan inkstone, and Master Jin was obviously Commander Jin.

He laughed and said, "Our peonies have even won the favor of Lord Jin."

Peony pouted and said, "Lord Jin is unreasonable. I will not learn martial arts from him, and I don't even want to see him."

Uncle Wu laughed and said, "Our Miss Peony is no ordinary girl; she doesn't even put such a high-ranking official in her eyes."

When I got home, I heard sobbing coming from the clinic.

Mu Jin said, "The baby born to Chai's wife died. The umbilical cord was wrapped around its neck, and the baby's body was blue when it was born. Aunt Wang performed CPR, but it didn't save it."

If this infant is not suitable for Yin Shen acupuncture, even if Feng Chuchen were here, there would be no way to help him.

In ancient times, childbirth was dangerous, described as a brush with death. Unless it was a clear medical malpractice, the mother's family would simply accept their bad luck and not blame the midwife.

Unless they are deliberately looking for trouble.

The clinic had been open for more than a month and delivered 31 babies. Only two babies died, and there were no maternal deaths, which was an extremely small percentage.

In the ancient times of the previous life, a maximum of fifteen out of one hundred pregnant women would die, and three out of ten infants would perish. In this era, with slightly better medical standards, the rate is still one in ten mothers dying, and one to two out of ten infants dying.

The Chai family tearfully dragged the pregnant woman home, kept the dead baby, wrapped the child in a fine silk cloth, and bought a small wooden box from the clinic.

The clinic commissioned a special little wooden box, which was even painted, and it cost five hundred coins to put the child in a dead body.

The father of the deceased child said, "Doctor Feng and Midwife Wang, take the child to the reed marshes and bury him. He will never see the light of day in this life. May he be reborn into a good family in his next life."

Although it was already late afternoon, Feng Chuchen, along with Aunt Wang, Aunt Wu, and Datou, took Si'er by car to Qingweidang. If they rushed back now, they could return to Beijing the next morning and still make it to the Mingfu acupuncture clinic in the afternoon.

When we arrived at the reed marsh at dusk, we found two more new graves.

They buried the dead child, lit incense, and recited the Rebirth Sutra once.

Afterwards, the grave mound was cleaned up.

As soon as they stepped out of the reed marshes, a passing villager said, "Next time you come to the reed marshes, bring more people. I heard someone saw two wolves nearby the day before yesterday, they were huge. Oh dear, now no one dares to go out at night..."

Feng Chuchen and Aunt Wang exchanged a glance, both tacitly thinking of the wolf that had asked them to deliver its baby last time.

Aunt Wang whispered, "They're incredibly bold; they're not afraid of being beaten to death even if they run out of the mountains."

Feng Chuchen was also worried.

Back at the old house, Wu San opened the door with his eyes gleaming and a wide, silly grin.

Aunt Wang asked reproachfully, "What's wrong with you?"

Wu San said in a low voice, "Miss, you wouldn't believe it, but something strange has happened in our family."

Aunt Wang frowned and said, "What is it? Speak quickly, stop being so mysterious."

Wu San turned around and took out a long ginseng from the kitchen, saying, "I found this old ginseng under the kitchen door; I don't know who slipped it in."

Feng Chuchen was utterly incredulous, examining the ginseng closely. It was about the thickness of a child's forearm, brownish-yellow, with many wrinkles, but the rootlets were broken off, and there were two rows of teeth marks on it.

Although its appearance isn't particularly attractive, it's definitely an old ginseng.

Aunt Wang said, "That's strange. If you're going to send a gift, you should send it to their home in the capital. What's the point of secretly climbing over the wall to send it here?"

Aunt Wu came over from the backyard. She had already checked the yard several times, but she still looked suspicious.

“Girl, there are many paw prints from the dog hole in the backyard to the front yard. I wonder whose dog has run into our house.”

There's a dog hole under the backyard wall, which used to be our dog's way in and out. Big Head could use it when he was a puppy, but he got too fat to fit through it when he grew up, so the hole became useless.

Feng Chuchen went to the backyard to look at the dog paw prints. There were four tracks, from the dog hole all the way to the bluestone path in the front yard. There were no traces of the vegetables in the garden or the flowers and plants in the yard.

Looking at the doors in the house, except for the kitchen door which has a larger gap, the gaps in the other doors are very small, not big enough to fit this ginseng.

She laughed. "These hoof prints aren't from a dog. And look at the teeth marks on the ginseng; it must have been brought by those two wolves."

The original owner had raised dogs since childhood and could distinguish dog paw prints from those of other animals.

Aunt Wang was utterly incredulous and exclaimed, "My God, those two wolves are practically demons! They know how to deliver gifts. And they're incredibly clever, knowing to slip them under the door."

Wu San stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "Wolves can be that smart? They bring gifts and even know this is the home of their savior?"

Aunt Wu exclaimed in shock, "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..."

She didn't even know what to say.

Aunt Wang said, "Everyone says wolves have a good nose, so they must have found it by smelling the scent."

Feng Chuchen didn't find it strange. She could time travel, encounter two intelligent wolves, and even ask her to deliver her baby, so giving gifts was normal.

She felt that the wolf's gratitude was more precious than the ginseng in her hand.

Everything has spirit.

She had thought she would never have anything to do with those two wolves again, but to her surprise, they came to her home.

I wonder if we'll ever meet again.

She instructed, "Don't let this get out. And don't expand the yard for now, what if they come and can't find their way home?" They had originally planned to add another courtyard at the back, but that was abandoned.

Wu San and the others nodded.

If word gets out, this house will be frequent targets of thieves, and the two wolves will also be in danger.

After dinner, Aunt Wang delivered a bag of brown sugar and two catties of pork to Zhao Lizheng's and Feng Changfu's families respectively, to thank them for taking care of the old house.

In particular, Feng Changfu's family takes excellent care of their flowers, plants, and vegetable garden.

When Aunt Wang returned, she said, "Feng Changfu said that Feng Qi offended some thugs and had his leg broken a few days ago. He spent a lot of money to get it treated, but it didn't get better. The doctor said he'll be lame for life. Serves him right, God has eyes."

Feng Chuchen and Wu San exchanged a glance. Only the two of them knew that Wu San had paid someone to deal with Feng Qi.

The next morning, the group picked two large baskets of vegetables and returned to the capital.

Feng Chuchen invited Master Zhao, who was in charge of pharmaceuticals, to the house.

"I bought a ginseng root in the village, what do you think?"

Master Zhao's hands were trembling as he held the ginseng. "My God, I've been making medicine for over thirty years, and this is the first time I've ever seen such a fine old ginseng. It's so big, and the aroma is so rich and lingering. It might be over a thousand years old."

"Even if the ginseng root is broken and doesn't look good, it can still sell for at least a thousand taels of silver. Young lady, don't sell such a good ginseng so easily. Keep it for your own use; it might save your life."

Feng Chuchen didn't expect it to be this good.

Such a wonderful treasure cannot be sold.

Knowing that Feng Buji always fell seriously ill in winter, and that it was autumn and winter now, a good time to nourish the body, Feng Chuchen cut two slices of ginseng and stewed a small pot of chicken soup for dinner.

Feng Chuchen drank a bowl, and Aunt Wang, who participated in the delivery, also gave her a bowl.

The rest was given to Feng Buji to drink; one bowl a day would last for three days.

Although it's true that children shouldn't take excessive supplements, they can still be very helpful in crucial moments.

On September 29th, Feng Buji took a day off.

It was agreed that on this day, Feng Buji would be taken to the Ming family mansion to pay respects to the old Duke and his wife.

Feng Chuchen dressed the little one up beautifully and took two food boxes of cakes and two baskets of pomegranates to the Ming Mansion.

First, take him to the main courtyard to kowtow to Madam Ming, then present him with a box of cake and a box of pomegranates.

Madam Ming held Feng Buji's hand and praised, "What a neat child."

The maid brought over four sheep-hair brushes and a jade pendant as a gift.

Madam Ming asked questions such as how old he was and what books he had read, which Feng Buji answered one by one. Although his face was flushed, he spoke fluently and confidently.

Madam Ming was delighted and said with a smile, "Take him to see the old lady, she will definitely like him. She longs to hold her great-grandson every day, but Shanyue... sigh."

The maid Dongmei took Feng Buji and Mujin to Furongtang, while Feng Chuchen continued to treat Madam Ming.

Dongmei returned shortly after and said with a smile, "The old lady really likes Young Master Feng. She kept praising him and even invited Doctor Feng to have lunch at Furongtang."

Ming Shanfeng arrived shortly afterward. He went to greet the elderly couple and then accompanied his mother.

Embarrassed to enter the bedroom, he sat in the side room and chatted loudly with Madam Ming. The mischievous boy's glib tongue amused Madam Ming.

It was noon when the treatment was finished.

After Madam Ming tidied her clothes, Ming Shanfeng went inside.

He bowed to Feng Chuchen and said, "Dr. Feng's medical skills are superb. My mother is much better now. Thank you."

Last time, Feng Chuchen only glanced at Ming Shanfeng briefly, but today she finally got a good look at her.

Ming Shanfeng looks very much like Madam Ming; he is fair-skinned and handsome, with white teeth and red lips, and delicate skin, but he is too fat.

He looks a bit like the Tang Monk from the TV series in my past life, only younger and fatter.

Feng Chuchen secretly rejoiced. If he had been born in the Journey to the West world, he would surely have been coveted by many demons.

Feng Chuchen stepped aside to avoid him, saying, "Young Master Ming, you're too kind."

Madam Ming noticed a bruise on Ming Shanfeng's face and frowned, saying, "You got into a fight again? I've told you so many times to stay away from those kids, but you just won't listen."

Seeing that Ming Shanfeng was walking with a limp, she asked with concern, "Was your leg crippled too?"

Ming Shanfeng pouted, "My grandfather hit my leg. He said that my father, second uncle, third uncle, and eldest brother never lost a fight when they were kids, only I was stupid."

"Why doesn't he think about the fact that my third uncle wasn't as good at studying as I was, and he was also more fond of fighting than I was?"

I won't go into the others; they were all better students than him.

Madam Ming was exasperated. "Let's not talk about others, look at Doctor Feng. She's still a young woman, the same age as you. She's already achieved great success in medicine, opened her own clinic, and raised her younger brother well."

“You should learn from Miss Feng’s ambition and strive for improvement, and you should emulate your elder brother’s talent in both literature and martial arts. What kind of behavior is it to hang out with those playboys all day long?”

Ming Shanfeng bowed to Feng Chuchen, saying, "I will listen to my mother and take Miss Feng as my role model." He straightened up and grinned, "I'd rather not learn from my elder brother. The Ming family has so many military generals; why would they need a good-for-nothing like me?"

Feng Chuchen said, "Young Master Ming is too modest. Young Master Ming is a pillar of the nation, and I dare not accept the title of 'role model'."

Ming Shanfeng waved his hand with a smile and said, "If my grandfather heard your praise of me, he would laugh like a duck. The title of 'pillar of the nation' is not for me. My father, second uncle, and eldest brother are enough to be pillars of the nation."

"To be honest, Dr. Feng, I love good food. My cousin Ruyu told me that your family's dishes are especially delicious, particularly the Golden Pork Ribs, Golden Chicken Popcorn, and Fish-Flavored Meatballs, which are even better than those from the Imperial Kitchen. Hehe, I'll come to your house for dinner sometime."

Madam Ming frowned and scolded, "How can such a grown man say such a thing?"

Ming Shanfeng said in a serious tone, "Enjoying delicious food is an elegant affair, what's there to be embarrassed about? To put it another way, I'm going to find Brother Buji to discuss scholarship. Don't underestimate Brother Buji just because he's young, he's very good at flattery, and both my grandparents like him."

Feng Chuchen smiled and said, "Welcome."

Madam Ming looked at her good-for-nothing son and sighed inwardly.

Young Master Feng is only seven years old, and he still wants to discuss academic matters with him...

After Banxia finished arranging the silver needles, Dongmei took Feng Chuchen and Banxia to Furongtang.

Feng Buji sat next to the old lady, one of his hands being held by her, and the room was filled with laughter and chatter.

Feng Chuchen greeted the elderly couple, the Duke of Dingguo, and Madam Xia, and then everyone went to the West Wing Restaurant for dinner.

After the meal, Feng Chuchen and her brother said goodbye.

The old Duke said, "Rong'er likes you and your brother, so come and talk to her more often when you have nothing to do."

Madam Ming laughed and said, "It's not like you don't like it."

The old Duke fawned, "If Rong'er likes it so much, how could I not like it?"

Once in the car, Feng Buji showed Feng Chuchen the gifts that the old lady and Aunt Xia had given him.

"This is an inkstone and four tubes of soot ink given by the old lady, and these are two sheep hair brushes given by my aunt. They are all from Yipinzhai. They are all very good, only Sister Kong looks down on people."

"She smiled happily at me in front of the old Duke and the old lady, but as soon as she turned her back, she rolled her eyes at me. Humph, two-faced."

Feng Chuchen laughed and said, "She looks down on people, just ignore her."

Feng Buji took out two sticks of ink and said, "Sir especially likes the lampblack ink from Yipinzhai. He usually can't bear to use it. I'll give him two sticks tomorrow."

Feng Chuchen tugged at his little ear; the child was very perceptive.