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

The medical manual was never returned.

While Zhao Minghua was busy harvesting grain, Chunnuan buried herself in her studies at the inn.

It must be said that this notebook is quite different from the medical notebooks passed down in the Xiao family.

It is said that each has its own role to play, and the same disease can require different prescriptions.

Chunnuan said she had truly learned a lot.

As she read, she thought that each of the two notebooks had its own merits.

It seems that after returning to Changzhou, she will need to conduct a thorough study and comparison, and then make a new record to teach Chun Ning and Mu Yang the simplest and most effective method.

Yes, medicine isn't something you can learn in a day or two; it's truly the culmination of generations of hard work and dedication.

Grandpa Fang handed the notes directly to her because no one in his family knew medicine, which shows how open-minded this old man was.

Based solely on Grandpa Fang's great love, Chunnuan is determined to carry forward the essence of Fang's medicine.

Combining Xiao's and Fang's medical approaches will likely result in even more effective remedies for treating illnesses and saving lives.

While Chunnuan was focused on her studies, Zhao Minghua's situation was fraught with setbacks.

The steward of Master Qu's household had promised to inform the master whether or not to sell the grain.

As a result, I waited for two days but did not receive a reply.

On the contrary, the villagers were eager to sell their grain.

Zhao Minghua knew they couldn't persuade him, so he simply stopped trying.

If they want to sell, they should. Before the price of grain in the rice shops here goes up, they can make some more money from the price difference.

However, nothing stays hidden forever, and the truth eventually came out.

Soon the rice merchants learned that a young master was buying grain in large quantities here.

The price of grain was one coin higher than what he was selling it for, which immediately put him on alert.

After finding out that it was Zhao Minghua who made the purchase, they came directly to his door.

"Is this young master a grain merchant?"

"I don't think so." Zhao Minghua had already thought of a solution; being a grain merchant wasn't easy.

If people know you are a wealthy grain merchant, they will inevitably take notice and may eventually try to take advantage of you.

The clever Zhao Minghua took out an envelope, a letter from Jiucheng, and flashed it in front of the shopkeeper surnamed Zhu.

"Entrusted by this lord, I have purchased a batch of grain to prepare for military supplies."

Yes, by using this pretext, even the inspectors dared not say anything.

"So, young master, you are an official of the imperial court?"

"Not really. I'm just an ordinary medicinal herb merchant. Because I've traveled all over the country and seen a lot of places with surplus grain, I bought a batch for this gentleman." Zhao Minghua said, "I heard that Hanzhou produces grain, so we came here."

"So that's it."

Manager Zhu didn't think of anything else; only one thought flashed through his mind: This person has connections in the capital.

You can build a relationship with him, which can be beneficial to you.

"How much food does the young master need?"

"A few dozen tons is fine, a hundred tons would also be acceptable." Zhao Minghua pretended to be profound: "After all, that official said that the army has a large number of personnel, so it's good to have more on hand in case of emergencies."

"As it happens, I happen to have a batch of grain on hand. Would you be interested in taking a look, young master?"

"Let's take a look," Zhao Minghua said, and went to the rice shop to look at the grain.

"These are all old grains from previous years."

Zhao Minghua was very grateful to Tang Tietou for teaching him how to distinguish between new and old grain.

"Young master, do you not want this grain?"

Manager Zhu felt a little regretful.

He sold these grains to the locals, and no one complained about the difference between old and new grains.

Look, this grain merchant is something else.

"I can have it, but the price has to be lower."

Manager Zhu was naturally eager to get rid of this batch of grain.

The main reason is that he will be buying new grain after the New Year.

If this batch of old grain isn't sold soon, there's no way to store it for new grain.

As long as Zhao Minghua wants it, a lower price is fine.

Finally, they bought twelve tons of grain at a price lower than what the grain shops sold in bulk.

Master Qu finally received the news and agreed to sell several tons of grain to Zhao Minghua.

Zhao Minghua collected more than 20 tons of grain in Hanzhou, which was then transported back to Changzhou in batches by a caravan.

Before leaving, Manager Zhu and Master Qu both made an agreement with Zhao Minghua that if he needed grain, he could send a letter through someone, and they were willing to cooperate again.

"Hanzhou does indeed produce grain." Zhao Minghua said with emotion, "The land here is fertile, and the farmers here store more grain than the farmers back home."

Zhao Minghua knew very well that if natural disasters or man-made calamities occurred, the farmers would definitely go hungry.

Because they had little land to rent and the harvest was poor, they had very little grain left after paying rent to their landlords.

The family was already doing well to survive the lean times; there was simply no surplus grain to sell.

When Zhao Minghua was collecting grain in Hanzhou, Tang Shitou repeatedly advised the farmers to keep enough food for a year, and the farmers all said they would.

Regardless of whether it's true or not, the fact that they dare to bring out the grain to sell shows that they really have the confidence.

No matter how high the grain price is in Changzhou, they dare not sell a single grain of millet.

"Dig deep tunnels, store up grain, build high walls, and delay declaring yourself king," Chunnuan whispered. "Do you think the Third Prince used this strategy?"

Those soldiers who flew the banner of the Third Prince went everywhere to plunder grain, which shows how important grain was.

"It's very likely, so we're also stockpiling as much food as possible."

If we stay in Hanju for a few more days, we might be able to purchase even more grain.

However, sometimes some things just can't be made too obvious.

Zhao Minghua's idea was to acquire some [items] in one place.

Where do you plan to store this grain?

After all, it was a large quantity of grain, not just a small amount.

"How about placing it in the estate you're preparing as part of your dowry?"

Spring warmth nods in the air.

She also purchased some medicinal herbs in Hanju.

They hid the grain on the farm under the pretext of storing medicinal herbs.

When spring returned, it was already the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.

"Nuan Nuan, you're finally back."

Madam Xu was very emotional: "After you left, your mother and I counted the days on our fingers every day, always wondering where you were and where you should be now."

The round trip took half a month longer than expected for spring to arrive, and the Xiao family members were already eagerly anticipating it.

Chunnuan really wanted to go see her older sister.

They were stopped by the Xu family.

The Great Xia Dynasty is so vast, with so many roads; do you know which road she took?

"Luckily, Chun Ning didn't go out to look for you, otherwise you would have missed each other." Madam Xu asked worriedly, "Nuan Nuan, why did it take you so long to come back? Was the journey alright? Are they doing well in the Northern Desert?"

Amidst Xu's barrage of questions, Chunnuan didn't know which one to answer first.

In the end, I had no choice but to answer them one by one. "I'm fine, and my uncles are doing well in the northern desert."

As for some chronic illnesses, there's no need to tell them, since telling them won't help and will only cause them more trouble.

They then distributed their letters one by one.

Although I had received letters from home before, this time I received one from Chunnuan. Chunnuan met the people again and described their situations to them.

All in all, it's not too bad.

"We definitely have to endure hardship. My third uncle has learned to cook, and my eldest brother and the others have gained strength in their hands and have a lot of muscle."

Let's not even mention things like the calluses on my hands.

Springtime always seems to avoid the important issues and instead focus on things that make people happy.

"Some things happened on the way back, so I got back a little late."

He then recounted how he had helped treat people on the road.

“Our Nuannuan is all about compassion; she can even heal and save lives on the road,” said Madam Xu. “Speaking of which, your mother is also waiting for you to come back so she can see a doctor.”

"What's wrong with mother?"

Chunnuan noticed that her mother looked very haggard.

At first, I thought it was because I was worried about her.

“Ever since you left, your mother has been complaining of headaches,” Madam Xu said. “Chuning saw a doctor, but it didn’t help. She even invited Doctor Chen to come and examine her. She took two doses of medicine, but it still didn’t work. She’s just hoping you’ll come back and take a look at her.”

"Mother, let me take a look at you."

Chunnuan quickly took Xu's pulse.

"What kind of headache is it?"

"Sometimes it's just one temple that hurts, sometimes both temples, sometimes the top of the forehead, the back of the neck, or even the whole head. And maybe one day it's the temples that hurt, and the next time it's the top of the forehead..."

Xu was at her wits' end. She usually seemed alright, but when she had a headache, she felt terrible.

Sometimes I feel like banging my head against the wall.

When does the pain usually get the worst?

"It hurts at any time of day, sometimes during the day and sometimes at night, making it impossible to fall asleep." Mrs. Xu was very frustrated. "I've lived for decades, and I've never had such a headache before. Nuannuan, is this illness curable?"

"Don't worry, Mother, it can definitely be cured."

Spring warmth made it clear that this was likely a migraine.

"Let me try acupuncture on you first, and then I'll prescribe two doses of medicine, and you'll feel better after taking them."

"That's good."

Recently, Ms. Xu has been suffering from headaches so much that she has no mood to care about anything else.

Chun Ning had no choice but to wait for her older sister to return.

It has to be said that my sister's medical skills are the most reassuring.

In spring, use filiform needles to prick acupoints such as Taiyang, Fengchi, and Waiguan.

"Fengchi (GB20) is the gateway for wind-evil to invade. It has the effects of dispelling wind and relieving exterior symptoms, clearing wind and heat, calming the liver and extinguishing wind, awakening the mind and opening the orifices, regulating qi and blood, and unblocking the meridians and collaterals. It is an important acupoint for treating wind." Chunnuan taught Chunning while giving her mother acupuncture.

Chun Ning observed very carefully, but he didn't intend to learn it.

"Sister, I get dizzy just looking at needles," Chun Ning said. "Why don't you teach Mu Yang instead?"

"Mu Yang is too young; it's not appropriate for him to start learning now."

Of course, I will definitely have to teach him in the future.

After the acupuncture treatment, ask Ms. Xu how she felt.

"My head was foggy before, but now it's much clearer," Xu said. "It seems your acupuncture is effective."

Madam Xu was very proud, seeing that her daughter's medical skills were truly excellent, even surpassing those of Doctor Chen from Baicaotang.

"It's good that you're awake now."

Spring warmth brought her back to the fact that her diagnosis was correct: it was migraine.

"I'll prescribe some more medicine for you to take and it will help. This illness takes time, so don't worry," Chunnuan said. "You're fine now, but if you delay any longer, you'll experience nausea and vomiting."

"You know what, I vomited yesterday." Mrs. Xu said with lingering fear, "I was wondering if I had eaten something bad again."

I just feel that as I get older, there's always something wrong with me or something that bothers me.

Chunnuan wrote a prescription for her mother and asked Chunning to write it down so she could read it aloud.

"Angelica, Asarum, Magnolia flower..."

As Chun Ning wrote, she thought: Indeed, the right medicine is the only one that works.

None of these herbs were in the prescription he wrote.

"Mother, you need to rest and recuperate. Don't worry about anything else. Father and brother are doing well in the northern desert."

"Oh, what's so good about it?"

How could Madam Xu not be worried? "You and Chunqing are twins, and you'll both be eighteen next year. Your marriage is arranged, and you'll get married next year after your mourning period ends. But Chunqing is in the northern desert, and who knows when he'll be back. Where will you find a wife there?"

“Mother, good things don’t have to be rushed.” Chunnuan comforted her, “Don’t worry, our Xiao family is not bad in the Northern Desert. When I left last time, I heard Father say that the Wen family intends to marry their daughter to my brother.”

"Wen family?"

"Yes, it is the Wen family, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."

"Didn't the Wen family get implicated earlier than the Xiao family? Weren't their women all exiled to the northern desert?"

"Yes, at the time, the women were even prepared to be sent to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment brothel), but it seems that it was Consort Wen from the palace who knelt down and begged the Emperor before they were exiled to the northern desert."

Consort Wen was the eldest daughter of the Wen family. When she was sent to the palace, she received some favor from the emperor and was later promoted to the rank of consort.

Just when the Wen family thought the Emperor's favor was timely, they were embroiled in a corruption case. Lord Wen was beheaded and his head displayed to the public. The Wen family's property was confiscated, the male members were exiled to the northern desert, and the female members were sent to the brothel. At that time, Consort Wen, who was pregnant, knelt down and begged the Emperor to change his mind.

"However, Consort Wen also paid a heavy price. When the entire Wen family was exiled to the northern desert, Consort Wen, who was already five months pregnant, miscarried. It was a boy. The Emperor was furious at the time. If it weren't for the fact that her body was so badly damaged, he would have sent her directly to the Cold Palace."

"Alas, she is a pitiful person too. How could kneeling cause a miscarriage?" Madam Xu pressed her temples. "Someone must not want to see her give birth to the imperial heir, so they took this opportunity to get rid of the child in her belly and make her fall out of favor. It's a win-win situation."

Chunnuan nodded.

This is a battle for power within the imperial harem; it's truly hard to say who will emerge victorious.

Ultimately, no one wanted her to be happy.

Now that she heard that the Wen family intended to arrange a marriage between her son and the Wen family, Xu's headache started again.

“If we were still in the capital, our Xiao family might not be able to match the Wen family,” Xu said. “Now that we are in the northern desert, neither the Xiao family nor the Wen family looks down on the other. However, the Wen family does have a concubine named Wen who is a noble lady in the palace, and the implications could be quite deep.”

"These mothers don't need to be worried about."

Consort Wen is practically living in the Cold Palace, almost never receiving any favor throughout the year.

If she's smart enough, she should prioritize saving her life and stop trying to win favor.

I still feel bad.

Does marrying a daughter of the Wen family mean that one's son will never have the chance to come back?
“Mother, I’ve met that girl from the Wen family before.”

Chunnuan had seen the Wen family girl on the streets of Mobei, or Qingsheng had told her about it.

It has to be said that in a place like the northern desert, if a rich young lady falls into trouble here, everyone will gossip and point fingers.

"how?"

"Looks pretty good."

Most importantly, this pampered young lady actually carries a basket to buy groceries, and specifically chooses the cheapest ones.

That's life. When you reach a certain point, all the arts and crafts become meaningless.

A life lived honestly is the true way to live. (End of Chapter)