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

Chapter 159

Xiao Chunyu couldn't understand why Panpan could always accurately take out the pills and make them effective.

These dumplings were clearly a gift from Nuan Nuan, how could she, being so young, understand?
Xiao Chunyu told Chunnuan about this in a secret language.

Chunnuan held the letter and read it over and over again. She had never been able to see Panpan. Just how much ability did this little child have?

If it's a talent, then someone has to teach you.

The eldest sister was unfamiliar with pharmacology, and Panpan had never come into contact with medicinal herbs before, but she knew that there was a saying that she didn't know if she could explain: she came with memories from her previous life!

Chunnuan knew that her elder sister had successfully gotten Panpan to feed the pills to the eldest prince. Given the Empress's intelligence, she would surely protect her elder sister and Panpan even more in the future.

Yes, she wanted to use this method to buy time and give the Xiao family a chance to grow.

"Sister, sister, the two-mother pills are ready."

Chun Ning, like a little child, stood in front of her with a plate of free pills the size of sycamore seeds, grinning foolishly.

"Let me see."

Chunnuan picked up a seed, looked at it, and smelled it.

"What are they?"

"Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Fritillaria cirrhosa, all kinds of medicines."

"What does it treat?"

"asthma."

Very good, Chun Ning knows the medicinal herbs she makes very well.

No matter what the test is about, he can answer fluently, which shows that he really works hard.

"Sister, we need to find someone to make the pills regularly."

After these days, Chunnuan taught Chunning how to make modified Zijin Dan, Ermu Wan, Muxiang Xiaozhang Wan, Dalusu Wan, etc. Each of these pills has its own main function, and Chunning mastered them very well.

This made Chunnuan very happy, as the successor her grandfather had been longing for had finally appeared.

"If I hadn't been so willful back then, and hadn't just focused on studying for the imperial examinations, but instead had followed my grandfather and older sister to study medicine in the pharmacy, my older sister wouldn't have had such a hard life."

"Don't regret it, it's not too late to start now."

Chun Nuan felt very sorry for Chun Ning. With his intelligence, passing the imperial examination would have been a piece of cake for him.

Grandfather had high hopes for Chun Ning, hoping she would pass the imperial examination and bring honor to the Xiao family.

Although he regretted that there was no male heir to carry on his legacy, he still supported his granddaughter in studying medicine and pharmacology.

Perhaps it was fate, but in the end, Chun Ning could only learn pharmacy from him.

"Yes, I will try my best." Chun Ning said, "Sister, with these pills and ointments, can Brother Zhao really buy them all?"

When Chun Ning recalled that Zhao Minghua saw that she was also making medicine and had even ordered a batch of small ceramic bottles that looked the same but had different names, Zhao Minghua knew that her family was selling pills again and had specially signed a contract to exclusively sell them.

He bought out all the pills and ointments under the name "Dr. Xiao."

In other words, the Xiao family only needs to make the pills; they don't need to worry about whether they can sell them.

Moreover, Zhao Minghua said to Chunnuan with a sense of grievance: "My pharmacy's profits are shared with you, so you are the biggest winner."

Chunnuan thought that since Chunning was in charge of the Xiao family, and Zhao Minghua of the Zhao family ran his own pharmacy and didn't put the money into the public accounts, she felt that she was indeed the biggest winner.

“Zhao Minghua is a shrewd guy.” Chun Nuan smiled. “You don’t need to worry about him not being able to sell them. You just need to worry about whether you can keep up with his orders.”

"A shrewd fellow." The word made Chun Ning laugh as well: "Sister, I'm actually growing to like Brother Zhao more and more as my brother-in-law."

"You're talking nonsense again." Chunnuan's face turned red to her ears. "You're becoming more and more disrespectful. Even your older sister is making fun of you."

"That's not true, that's the honest truth."

"Alright, alright, hurry up and find someone to make the ointment and pills."

To find help, in addition to mobilizing all members of the Xiao family, additional manpower is needed.

"Luo Xiaogang and Sanya are both good, Aunt Zuo's daughter-in-law, Sister Qin, is also good, and then there's Cai's fifth son..."

Unexpectedly, Chun Ning had already planned ahead and quickly named five people.

Therefore, Chun Ning truly transformed from a bookish young master into a businessman.

"As long as they are of good character, that's fine." Chun Nuan didn't have high expectations for their help, and keeping it a secret was out of the question, since only she and Chun Ning knew the coordination of the medicinal ingredients' proportions.

When it comes to helping these people, it's all just trivial matters.

The servants were making pills by hand.

Chun Ning had notified them to come and help. They were all happy to have lunch, receive a monthly allowance, and do light work.

Only Sister-in-law Qin, the daughter-in-law of Sister Zuo, has not arrived yet.

"You guys start," Chunnuan explained to them how to do it, and then suggested to Chunning that their wages should be calculated based on how much they did, meaning the more they worked, the more they would earn, and the less they did, the less they would earn. This was a very fair way to calculate wages.

People like Sister-in-law Qin say they can come but don't, which is a waste of someone else's spot.

If you can't come, just say so. Then find someone else to fill her vacancy.

"Chun Ning, you should find someone else."

For Chunnuan, one slip of the tongue means she can never use it again.

Chun Ning was about to go and ask Sister Zuo again if she could come; if not, she would simply not notify her.

As a result, she ran into Aunt Zuo when she got to the door.

"Oh dear, spring is warm and peaceful. I'm so sorry, my daughter-in-law didn't come not because she was lazy or didn't want to, but because she caught a chill and had a bad cough last night."

"Then let's go see a doctor."

Chunnuan was just mentioning it casually; she couldn't make the decision herself. She was just reminding patients to see a doctor as soon as possible.

“Oh dear, we poor families don’t have the money to see a doctor. It costs two taels of silver just to see a doctor and get medicine. I was just about to go and dig up some herbs to boil for her to drink.”

Chunnuan shook her head, thinking that ordinary people really only survive because they are lucky.

Some herbs can indeed cure diseases, but the problem is, how do you know which herbs to use if you don't see a doctor?
Even with the same type of cough, there are different types: hot cough, cold cough, and cough caused by food stagnation.

Different symptoms require different prescriptions.

When digging for medicinal herbs, the most important thing to do is to check for symptoms.

"Aunt Zuo, could you ask Sister Chunnuan to give Sister Qin a prescription? Sister Chunnuan is quite skilled at diagnosis, and her predictions are very accurate."

Aunt Zuo didn't believe that.

As I left after saying goodbye, I ran into Aunt Luo.

What are you doing at Chunnuan's house?

"What can I do? My daughter-in-law said yesterday that she would come to work today to make pills, but she caught a cold yesterday. She has a runny nose and a cough, so she can't come. I'm here to let Chunnuan and the others know."

"Oh dear, if you catch a cold, just ask Chunnuan for some medicine. It'll definitely work."

"Prescribing medicine when it's warm in spring?"

I suddenly remembered that Sanya also said something similar.

"Yes, you probably don't know, but it's said that..." Aunt Luo suddenly stopped talking, not wanting to bring trouble to Chunnuan: "You said that Doctor Xiao's granddaughter can't treat patients, do you believe that?"

"But she's a girl after all." Aunt Zuo still didn't believe it: "I feel that Chun Ning could learn from her, and it would be more convenient to see Chun Ning for a checkup in the future."

Aunt Luo fell silent.

Sometimes, you just have to be smarter.

Even though I had already put the topic right in front of her, she still didn't understand.

Do I really have to tell her to go find Chunnuan?
Where does all your usual cleverness go? If you're not clever when you should be, you'll really take a lot of detours.

At the Zuo family's house, Aunt Zuo dug up a large pile of herbs and cleaned them.

"Let me tell you, eating these will stop your cough."

"Thank you, Mother." Sister-in-law Qin felt that her whole chest was aching from coughing, and she was really afraid that if she kept coughing like this, she would not be able to breathe and would pass out.

He coughed again as he spoke.

Aunt Zuo boiled the herbs into a medicine and served it to her daughter-in-law.

"Thank you ma'am."

"No need to thank me. You caught a cold because you washed so many clothes for this family." Aunt Zuo said, "Drink it while it's hot."

"Mother, are these the herbs that Miss Xiao asked you to dig up for her consultation?"

"No, I dug it myself."

"mother……"

Sister-in-law Qin didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Is this edible?"

"Why can't you eat it? Let me tell you, I can't afford medicine. I just drink a few bowls of these herbs and I'm back to normal when I have a slight cold or flu." Aunt Zuo said, "Go ahead and drink it. I have experience, it will definitely work."

No matter how reasonable Aunt Zuo's words were, Sister-in-law Qin had only one thought: You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!
"You should drink it while it's hot!"

Aunt Zuo urged her daughter-in-law on.

"Mother, I know, I'll rest for a bit first."

What could Aunt Zuo possibly say?

Other people treat their wives like servants, but when I treat her so well, she still acts spoiled.

"Never mind, never mind, out of sight, out of mind," Aunt Zuo said, placing the medicine beside Sister Qin's bed and leaving.

When Sister-in-law Qin saw that her mother-in-law was unhappy, she also felt that her attitude was not good and became a little worried.

But then she remembered her mother-in-law urging her to drink the Chinese medicine, and thought, "No, I have to go find Chunnuan."

Sister-in-law Qin knows that Chunnuan and Chunning can both provide medical services.

Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and mice give birth to offspring that can dig holes.

Doctor Xiao's granddaughter and grandson are definitely a cut above the rest.

Sister-in-law Qin came to see Chunnuan for a medical checkup.

"Let me take your pulse." Since Sister-in-law Qin trusted her, Chunnuan was willing to go through the trouble.
As soon as Chunnuan took her pulse, she glanced at Sister-in-law Qin in surprise.

"Do I have some serious illness?" Qin's sister-in-law asked hurriedly, noticing the different look in Chunnuan's eyes.

When is your period? How many days has it been since your last period?

Sister-in-law Qin was stunned, and her face immediately turned red.

"I had completely forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Let me calculate it."

This calculation shows that he hasn't come for at least two months.

"Am I sick? How much money will it cost to treat this illness, and how long will it take?"

"Sister-in-law Qin, congratulations! This is a slippery pulse. You don't need treatment. You are very healthy and will definitely give birth to a chubby baby."

"what?"

This left Sister-in-law Qin stunned.

"Sister-in-law Qin, you're pregnant."

"really?"

Sister-in-law Qin is not very good at this. She has been pregnant for two years and still hasn't gotten pregnant. Recently, her mother-in-law heard that there is a good doctor somewhere and wants to go there.

"It's true," Chunnuan said. "But you're still early in your pregnancy, so you should take less of the medicine you're taking to avoid affecting the fetus."

"What should I do with the herbs my mother-in-law dug up for me? Should I drink them or not?"

If we don't drink it, the old lady has gone through all the trouble of digging it up, washing it, and brewing it again.

"I'll drink it, but I'm worried it might affect the fetus."

"Can you remember what materials were used?"
"I don't remember, but there were about ten kinds."

This Aunt Zuo is really impatient. Haste makes waste. At this time, she dares to give her daughter-in-law any kind of herbal medicine. Isn't she afraid of something going wrong?

"Let's not drink it for now. You can bring it out so I can see it."

"Yes, I brought some." Sister-in-law Qin was very clever; she brought a small cup of her own medicine with her.

Chunnuan smelled the medicine, then dipped a little into it with her finger and brought it to her lips before spitting it out.

“You can’t take this medicine,” Chun Nuan said. “Several of the ingredients are bad for pregnant women.”

"Thank you so much, Chunnuan." Sister-in-law Qin was truly grateful. If it weren't for Chunnuan, she might have died today.

When Aunt Zuo heard her daughter-in-law say that Chunnuan had diagnosed her pregnancy by taking her pulse, she jumped for joy. At that moment, she no longer doubted Chunnuan's medical skills.

"Catching a cold is bad for the fetus, so drink it while it's hot."

"Mother, you can't take this medicine. Chunnuan told me."

"What's going on? Why can't I drink it?"

"Because it contains several herbs that can affect the body, especially the fetus."

"Never mind, I won't drink it, never mind."

Aunt Zuo was terrified. If anything were to happen to her, she would slap herself in the face, and it would be too late for regrets.

"How about we ask Chunnuan to prescribe a medicine and then go find some to buy? You're two people now, unlike when you were alone and could do whatever you wanted. It's not good if this drags on any longer; we'll feel more at ease if you get better sooner."

Aunt Zuo appeared at the Xiao family's house for the second time, not to ask for leave on behalf of her daughter-in-law, but to decide that she would also come to help Chunnuan make pills.

"I can prescribe a prescription, but you'll need to buy many of the herbs on the prescription yourself."

"Okay, we'll buy it ourselves."

This time, Aunt Zuo asked Chunnuan for a prescription.

Chunnuan also helped Sister-in-law Qin get her medicine, and told her that she didn't need to take medicine unless she was fine, as taking too much medicine was bad for her health.

"My back hurts terribly, and my waist hurts too. Could you please prescribe a medicine for me as well?" Aunt Zuo quickly asked again upon seeing the situation.

"Come on, let me take a look." That's just how Chunnuan is; she can't bear to refuse anyone who asks her for help.

Chunnuan looked at Aunt Zuo's eyelids, asked some questions, examined her tongue, took her pulse, and asked a few questions.

He immediately began writing the prescription, scribbling it down with remarkable speed and efficiency.

Aunt Zuo realized she had really underestimated Chunnuan before, and was very grateful to her now.

Especially since her daughter-in-law was found to be pregnant, if she followed her own herbal remedies, she would lose her grandson.

That was so close! I'm so grateful for the warmth of spring.

Aunt Zuo and her family simply smiled in gratitude for Chunnuan's kindness.

This can be considered as repaying the kindness of her renting a house for my family back then.

This also served as a reminder to Aunt Zuo and the others that if they are sick, they must see a doctor, rather than trying to solve the problem by simply taking some herbal remedies. Otherwise, things might get worse, which would be troublesome.

(End of this chapter)