The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 150

"That Dr. Xiao is an old man of sixty-five years old."

Zhao Minghua thought to himself, "What a cunning Tang Qinglin. He's probably thinking of the warmth of spring from the past."

Chunnuan once said that his talent in pharmaceuticals far surpassed Tang Qinglin's, and he had even given him pointers. So, this old guy was trying to gauge his opinion.

"What are you trying to do, you old fox? You're all ancient foxes. Why are you pretending to be a ghost story?" Zhao Minghua saw through his little scheme at a glance and pointed him to the ends of the earth with a single sentence.

"It is said that there is also an old doctor in the Xiao family, who is eighty-six years old this year and is the head of the Xiao family."

"This is the real secret recipe passed down through generations." Tang Qinglin suddenly had an urge to go find that Doctor Xiao and buy the recipe.

“Indeed, our Baicaotang offered a lot of money to buy some secret formulas, but they refused to sell them.” Zhao Minghua said with great regret, “They said that the Xiao family has an ancestral rule that they can only sell medicine, not secret formulas. Selling secret formulas is like selling one’s ancestors, which is a betrayal of one’s master and ancestors. Violators will be expelled from the family.”

The person who had been expelled from the sect felt a pang of unease, but the thought of being rejected by the Zhao family made him abandon the idea.

Tang Qinglin obtained very little information from chatting with Zhao Minghua, so he lost interest in continuing.

Back at the inn, Zhao Minghua snorted: I will not cooperate with this old bastard again!
"Young master, shall we go and check out other pharmacies?"

“I’m not going,” Zhao Minghua said. “I’m going to open a pharmacy in Shuzhou.”

Is this Baicaotang?

"No, it's that Master wants to open his own pharmacy."

Qingsheng felt that her young master was acting a little strange.

Yes, that's right. If the young master were normal, he wouldn't be the young master anymore. He never plays by the rules.

At the age of twelve, she used her life savings to take over a teahouse; then she secretly did some business, keeping it a secret from her husband and wife.

At this point, the young master was fully capable of opening a pharmacy in Shuzhou.

"I'll accompany you to see the shop tomorrow," Zhao Minghua said. "I want the shop to open before your young mistress makes the new medicine."

Celebrating a birthday... Shameless young master, they're just engaged, and he's already automatically included in his plans.

"Young Master, didn't you say you were going to open a teahouse in the capital?"

"Open them all." With Chunnuan offering advice from behind, Zhao Minghua had already become arrogant: "I want to open pharmacies and teahouses all over the Great Xia Dynasty, from north to south."

Celebrating a birthday... As expected of this abnormal young master!

Having followed the young master for a long time, he had gotten used to the young master's eccentricities.

Anyway, whatever he says, I'll do. I can't go wrong. Even if I do go wrong, the young master won't let me take the blame when I'm punished. I have to say, my young master is really good in this respect.

In the Xiao family, Chunnuan is teaching Chunning how to make medicine.

"The Lung-Nourishing Drink nourishes Yin and moistens the lungs, resolves phlegm and stops coughs."

This stuff can be solved with a prescription from a pharmacy, but it's too bitter for rich people. Besides, rich people are terrified of dying, and they'll see a doctor immediately for even the slightest cough.

Since Chun Ning saw the potential for profit from making frostbite ointment, he asked his sister to teach him how to make more suitable ointments and pills to sell.

Chunnuan also felt that this was the door to the Xiao family's wealth.

Since my younger brother is willing to talk about it, I'll teach him myself.

"Sister, this lung-nourishing drink contains lily bulbs, almonds, ginseng, and asparagus..."

“Yes, remember that.” Chunnuan said, “Often, medicinal herbs can be substituted. Rich people take different medicines, and poor people take different medicines. So we need to target specific groups. This lung-nourishing drink is made for rich people.”

“What we make is genuine and of high quality, and most importantly, it cures the disease.” Chun Ning nodded: “It will definitely sell very well.”

Absolutely.

"Dryness of the lungs, obstruction of lung qi, wheezing and coughing, frequent expectoration of phlegm, pain in the right hypochondrium..." To teach her younger brother, she naturally told him everything. Chun Ning realized she couldn't remember so much, so she quickly grabbed paper and pen to write it down.

Looking at the words Chun Ning wrote, Chun Nuan seemed to be deep in thought.

"Sister, I've been neglecting my duties." Chun Ning herself was a little embarrassed; her handwriting was getting worse and worse: "If I don't write for three days, my hand will become rusty; if I don't read for three days, my mouth will become rusty."

"That can't be blamed on you. After all, everyone only has twelve hours in a day, and there's so much for you to manage and learn."

The burden of supporting the family fell entirely on the shoulders of this boy who was not yet fourteen years old; he had already shouldered so much.

"Sister, I will try my best."

"You've always worked very hard, and your older sister believes in you."

Chunnuan was unwilling to put any more pressure on him.

However, everything was pushing him forward, and he couldn't afford to slack off even for a moment.

What a sin!

"Yes, I will definitely study hard."

What Chunnuan didn't know was that from that day on, Chunning not only learned business and pharmaceuticals, but also practiced calligraphy for half an hour every night after returning to her room.

All I know is that his calligraphy is becoming more and more elegant and graceful, and even his third aunt told Chunqiang and Chun'an to learn from Brother Ning.

“Brother Ning is a big kid, and I’m a little kid. I can’t learn it.” Chun’an didn’t want to learn. Writing was too tiring. He would rather go to the pharmacy to pound medicine for his sister, but his mother wouldn’t let him go.

"Chun'an, it's okay if you don't know it in elementary school, but you have to practice every day. Diligence can make up for lack of talent. When you grow up, you will be able to write like Brother Ning."

In order to make her children love reading and learning to read, Mrs. Huang has already tempered her temper a lot.

The ruler is often picked up and put down repeatedly.

She knew all too well that studying required a conducive environment, and she was somewhat annoyed by where she lived now—not only was it a small, humble dwelling, but there were also so many temptations.

One minute it's the village children calling Chunqiang and Chun'an to go out and play; the next minute it's Chunning needing to make medicine and asking for help. The older children go to help, while the younger ones cause trouble, and they don't dare to say a word.

"Mother, can I stop writing and stop reading?"

Chun'an cautiously tested her mother's limits.

Sure enough, her mother's face darkened as soon as she heard that he didn't want to write or read.

"If you don't want to write or read, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I make medicine, just like my older sister and brother Ning."

"No way." Huang couldn't take it anymore and hit her son.

Chun'an's cries echoed throughout the courtyard.

The Xiao family members naturally rushed to the rescue.

After learning the truth, Xu and Xu looked at each other: What is Huang trying to do?

If she looks down on pharmaceuticals so much, why did she marry into the Xiao family?

Why didn't she marry into a scholarly family back then?

The Xiao family was originally a family of doctors, making a living by medicine. When the Xiao family fell on hard times, although she did not say it outright, she repeatedly prevented her children from pursuing medicine and pharmacy, and even resorted to family discipline.

Did she not know that the Xiao family women and children were able to return safely to Shu and survive in Changzhou because of Chunnuan? It was Chunnuan who learned how to process medicinal herbs and make medicine from the old master since she was a child, which brought them the peaceful life they have today.

(End of this chapter)