Fortunately, they weren't speaking loudly, and no one else heard them.

Ren Yuan glanced around and, seeing that the people carrying the medicinal herbs weren't paying attention to him, breathed a sigh of relief.

If he causes trouble for General Qin, that would be a serious offense.

He dared not let General Qin become the second heir of the Libei King because of him, after all, General Qin did not have the Empress Dowager protecting him.

Imperial Physician Ren snorted coldly and said, "Hurry up and register."

Even though Ren Yuan was considered somewhat of a scoundrel in front of his father, he had to keep a low profile at this moment. He took the account book from his father's hand and ran away without looking back.

Looking at the long line of medicines, Lu Qiqi was very happy. After all, even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. Even if she had medical skills and could teach doctors how to treat diseases effectively and quickly, she couldn't conjure up medicine.

However, she hoped that these medicines would never be needed.

In recent days, she has seen too many soldiers wounded or crippled.

Getting stabbed is a minor matter; losing an arm or a leg, or even losing one's life, are common occurrences on the ever-changing battlefield.

Suddenly, Lu Qiqi thought of Uncle Zhang from the veterans' village. Like them, there must be only a minority of wounded soldiers who were able to survive in a small corner of the country after the war.

Otherwise, with so many wounded soldiers in the army, the veterans' village would have been overflowing with people long ago.

Where would they find the chance to settle in the veterans' village after fleeing the famine?

Turning away from her gaze, Lu Qiqi then turned to face Physician Ren. "I've come to get some cotton balls."

Physician Ren thought that he had been busy all morning, counting medicinal herbs, and had not had time to make cotton balls. Therefore, he said, "There is cotton in the medicine tent. If the village head urgently needs it, I'm afraid he will have to prepare it himself."

Lu Qiqi's smile faltered; it seemed that the initial information she had gathered wasn't entirely effective.

It's okay, it's just making cotton balls, it's not a difficult task.

She said, "No problem."

After saying that, she walked into the medicine tent, registered, and took away a sack of cotton weighing about five pounds.

Five pounds of cotton won't be planted, but its large volume after expansion is unbearable.

Therefore, she could only carry the cotton on her back and walk towards her tent.

Lu Qiqi appeared particularly small in the military camp filled with men.

And he's not tall...

Carrying a sack of cotton on his back made him look even shorter.

Just as Dr. Zhao was about to go to the pharmacy to get medicine, he saw her carrying a sack of things and a medicine box on her back, so he quickly ran over to help.

When Lu Qiqi saw Doctor Zhao running towards her, she thought something urgent had happened, so she stopped.

To everyone's surprise, Dr. Zhao immediately snatched the sack from her hand.

A moment later, Dr. Zhao, who was holding a sack, and Lu Qiqi, who was confused, stood facing each other for a while.

Suddenly, Lu Qiqi burst out laughing.

Despite his advanced age, Dr. Zhao still seemed a little shy when he smiled.

He glanced at the sack in his hand, feeling its softness, and explained, "Please forgive me, Your Excellency. I saw you carrying a sack and thought it was very heavy, so I wanted to help you. I never imagined that the sack was filled with cotton."

Lu Qiqi knew he meant well, but his actions just now, coupled with his astonished expression, made her unable to help but burst out laughing.

However, she quickly stopped laughing and said with a sincere smile, "There's no need for that. I appreciate Dr. Zhao's kindness, but this cotton is really not heavy. It just looks big."

"Yes, yes, yes." Doctor Zhao nodded haphazardly, unsure whether to return the things to Lu Qiqi or help carry them.

After a moment of silence, Doctor Zhao asked, "I wonder what the village head intends to do with so much cotton?"

It's not winter yet, and the heat is unbearable. It's too early to start taking cotton to make winter clothes and quilts right now.

Lu Qiqi glanced at the sack and said, "I plan to roll this cotton into cotton balls in advance. This way, I won't be caught off guard when I need it, and I can also avoid overuse in a rush."

Dr. Zhao thought what she said made perfect sense, and planned to go to the pharmacy later to get a sack of cotton to take back and make cotton balls.

"Um, Dr. Zhao," Lu Qiqi extended her right index finger and pointed at the sack in the air, "can you give me back this bag of cotton now?"

"Oh, oh, oh," Doctor Zhao seemed to wake up from a dream, and after thinking for a moment, he remembered to return it to Lu Qiqi.

He stuffed the sack into Lu Qiqi's arms, bowed, and then jogged towards the medicine tent with his medicine box on his back.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he was being chased by a dog.

Lu Qiqi, holding the cotton, did not return to her own tent, but instead wanted Nineteen, who was guarding in the main tent, to help her roll the cotton balls.

She placed the sack on Song Yanqing's desk and then asked Nineteen to fetch two basins of water.

After washing their hands, the two dried them with clean, dry cloths and prepared to get to work.

It must be said that the things in the commander's tent are really good; even the desk is several times bigger than others.

This reminded her of Song Yanqing's magnanimity in front of Heshun Prefecture. Looking back now, even though she had tried to withdraw money from the cloth shop but failed, she still felt a sense of pride.

But if the cloth shop were open to customers, the five hundred taels of silver would probably have already gone into her pocket.

Hmm, why does she feel like she's lost a billion dollars?

"Village head, how do I make this cotton ball?"

Nineteen's words instantly pulled her back from her grief.

Anyway, the jade pendant was still in her hands, and she still had a chance to get the five hundred taels of silver back, since it was Song Yanqing's way of thanking her for saving her life.

Although it might seem a bit insincere for her to have to collect it herself, it doesn't matter. As long as the money is real and goes into her pocket, it's fine no matter what.

Lu Qiqi took a clump of cotton out of the sack, then pinched off a small piece, kneaded it, and turned it into a small ball.

She held a cotton ball the size of a hawthorn to Shijiu's eyes, saying, "Just knead it according to this standard. It doesn't matter if it's a little big or small, but your hands can't be sweaty."

These cotton balls are meant to be used to disinfect wounds. If there is sweat, bacteria will definitely grow, which would be counterproductive.

She told Nineteen her only request regarding kneading the cotton ball, then sat down and patiently began kneading it.

Actually, it would be great if she had extra gloves. She only had one pair left from the gloves she prepared in Tianxin Village, and she basically wouldn't need them unless she was having surgery.

After all, there were no resources in the military camp for her to find materials to make gloves.

A clean black cloth was laid on the desk, and Lu Qiqi threw all the white cotton balls on it, making them look like white glutinous rice balls covered with sesame seeds.

Song Yanqing returned to the main tent, travel-worn, and saw two children playing with cotton on his desk where he was working.

Why do the thin ropes hanging from the black cloth underneath the cotton seem so familiar?

In a short while, he understood.

Oh, that's his cloak.