Medicinal fragrance

  "Don't be nervous, they're not here to cause trouble, but to thank you." Often being chased by patients' families and making a ruckus, Li Qizhen saw Zhen Shiniang sitting up straight and thought she was afraid, so she quickly explained, "It's said that he came to thank you, but it's more like he wants to take advantage of the crowd in front of the pharmacy to announce that his son's illness wasn't the plague, and that he's already recovered." As she spoke, Li Qizhen glanced sideways at the corner of her mouth.

  "Alright?" Zhen Shi Niang was stunned. "So soon?" This really was a case of the right medicine for the illness, but her medical skills didn't seem to be that high after all.

  "Not much improvement, just the swelling on my head has gone down by more than half, and I'm in better spirits. The seamstress just smiled, only my cheeks are still swollen, like a puffed up toad..."

  Zhen Shining felt a bit nervous, "Isn't he afraid of catching another cold, again and again?" The thing about colds is that they can recur.

  "It's not that..." Li Qi's face slightly flushed, Liu Er Gui was able to rush to the entrance of the pharmacy to help promote Zhen Shi Niang's medical skills, she was eager in her heart, but seeing Zhen Shi Niang's tense expression, she didn't dare to reveal it, and followed along with her saying: "She also scared Doctor Feng enough, scaring him by saying that autumn winds are strong, if he catches a cold again, he won't be saved. Only then did Er Gui's wife become afraid, and wrapped herself up tightly before leaving." Pointing at the deer antler in Zhen Shi Niang's hand, "This is what she specially asked me to send to you, saying that this deer antler can best supplement qi and nourish blood, strengthen the body. It was also because of that day when she saw your weak body being blown over by the wind, that she remembered to send this to you..."

  Zhen Shiniang re-examined the deer velvet in her hand, a three-pronged deer antler over half a foot long, tender and full, with a dense layer of grayish-yellow fur on top, smooth as silk, and reddish-brown at the broken end. It was obviously high-quality three-pronged velvet. Thinking of the Liu family's attire, which didn't look wealthy either, she handed the deer velvet to Li Qizhen's wife, saying, "I just took his pulse for him, no need for her to give such a heavy gift." She also said, "We're all ordinary people, and nobody has an easy life. Let her take it back."

  Although deer antler is also a tonic for nourishing blood and qi, it tonifies yang. For someone like her who has yin deficiency, using deer antler as a tonic is taboo. Since it's of no use to herself, why bother with such a great favor?

  "What's the diagnosis? You saved his son's life!" Li Qizhen's wife, however, didn't know that the deer antler was useless for Zhen Shiniang's illness and saw her pushing it away, so she became anxious. "You've been in this town for a short time and don't often go out, you don't know, Liu Mazi originally had two sons, his eldest son Liu Dagui, 15 years old, went hunting with him and was bitten by a poisonous snake, a rare species of rattlesnake, the earth medicine he carried on him didn't work, before they even got down the mountain, he stopped breathing. The couple cried until they were dead tired, now only this young son is left, suddenly falling ill like that, how can one not be anxious?"

  Recalling the scene of Liu Ma Zi's family making a big fuss at their own doorstep two days ago, Li Qi's wife didn't want to let him off so easily. She pushed the deerskin towards Zhen Shi Niang, "He gave it to you, just take it. Don't think that this deerskin is precious and hard to buy on the market, but for these hunters, it's something they get from the mountains, not some rare treasure..." Seeing Zhen Shi Niang's resolute attitude, she added, "She can bring out the best things in her home, truly wanting to thank you. You refusing like this, I don't know if you're unwilling to let her spend money or if you think she's looking down on you. If you feel apologetic, next time he comes to see you for illness, just charge him a bit less."

  Zhen Shining thought for a moment, "It's true that the customs here are simple and honest. Since they've already sent over their things, it would be impolite to return them." She smiled and said, "In that case, let Li sister thank her on my behalf." Suddenly remembering something, she got up and took out a small box from the cabinet, retrieved two white wax pellets, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and handed them to Li Qizhen's wife. "This is top-grade snake venom medicine. Since Brother Liu makes a living by hunting, he'll inevitably encounter snakes and other dangers. Carrying this with him will be useful..."

  "... snake venom medicine?" Li Qizhen's wife rummaged out a pill in surprise.

  "It's Autumn Chrysanthemum who runs in the mountains every day. I'm afraid she'll encounter venomous snakes, so I specially prepared this for her to carry with her." Zhen Shi Niang explained.

  It's not just the snake medicine, after all, Qiū Jú is a girl, and Zhēn Shí Niáng was afraid that she would encounter bad people, so she specially prepared many self-defense soul-mesmerizing drugs for Qiū Jú to carry with her. However, the local customs are simple and honest, there are many mountain runners, and Qiū Jú mostly traveled with others, so they never had a chance to use them.

  "These people who give you things are absolutely not losing out." Li Qizhen's wife muttered enviously, "...... Tomorrow I'll send some to you too, and you can give me a few more."

  Everyone in town ran up the mountain, this snake venom is the most sought after.

  Zhen Shining knew that the pills were not selling well, but she still insisted on letting her help sell them. However, she did not send this highly sought-after snake venom medicine, apparently because the raw materials for making the snake venom medicine were hard to find, and she could not make a large quantity of it, which made the medicine even more precious.

  "You just wait slowly...…", Zhen Shining gave her a slanted glance, "The day you move your medicine shop to my place, I'll consider giving you one pill."

  "Think you're so smart!" Li Qizhen's wife spat, "Let me give you a gift, but you have to pay me some legwork fees..."

  She saw her thick-skinned hand stretched out, Zhen Shiniang had no choice but to take out another pill from the box and hand it over to her, "......Don't think I'm stingy, this snake's clear liquid is hard to come by, I spent a year of effort and only managed to prepare eight pills. This medicine is top-notch, ordinary snake venom can be treated with the crude medicine in your pharmacy, don't waste it."

  It must be from her own hands, absolutely no mistake!

  After hearing this, Li Qizhi's wife was afraid that Zhen Shiniang would regret it, so she quickly hid the medicine in her bosom and pressed it again before putting her mind at ease. She looked up at Zhen Shiniang and said, "Let's just forget what we said earlier, I almost forgot about the main issue..."

  Zhen Shining's expression turned solemn, "What?"

  "You also know, the business in the pharmacy has been good for the past two days, all thanks to your prescription..." She thought of the long queue of people buying medicine at their door, making other pharmacies jealous. Li Qi's wife had sparkling eyes, "Just before I came, my husband said that the consultation fee and medicine fee from Liu Ma's family would go to you, as for the medicine sold according to your prescription, after deducting the cost, we'll split the profit 50/50... how about it?" With a smiling face, her tightly clenched hands revealed her anxious thoughts.

  Ordinary pharmacies don't have this rule, but this time the situation is special. The streets and alleys outside are filled with high-priced recruitment notices for Dr. Jian to diagnose pulses, making Li Qifu and his wife's hearts tremble with fear. Wutong Town is not big, and the pharmacy has been open for many years. They know the situation of each family best in their hearts. It's impossible for so many patients with difficult and miscellaneous symptoms that only Fanzhi Niang can cure to suddenly appear overnight. This must be the doing of those few pharmacies, intending to lure out Fanzhi Niang with heavy money.

  It's called expensive medical treatment, but it's actually a priceless prescription for preventing plagues!

  Once Zhen Shining was attracted by the notice, she contacted them according to the address above and reached an agreement with other pharmacies. The scene in front of Rui Xiang Pharmacy was immediately different.

  Zhen Shining was silent, only quietly looking at her hand.

  Li Qizhen's wife subconsciously loosened her grip on the hem of her clothes, and for a moment, she didn't know where to put her hands properly. She thought to herself, "I knew she wasn't someone to be trifled with..." She added in a hushed tone, "Don't worry, we'll keep this part of the account separate, just let Feng Xi take care of it, and you can go check on it anytime."