Chapter 30 Pharmaceuticals

Shen Yuexi ate two more pieces of cloud cake before leaving the house contentedly.

Under the shade of the trees in the yard, Xiao Zhuo was instructing Feng Zhang. The latter held a long sword in his left hand, lifted the corner of his clothes with his right hand to wipe the sweat off his face, and nodded frequently.

After just practicing sword techniques, he felt like he was pulled out of the water.

Ever since he learned about Feng Zhang's actions in the county, Xiao Zhuo had told her that he was a righteous man. Shen Yuexi didn't understand what a righteous man meant, so Xiao Zhuo explained that it meant someone who was trustworthy and worth entrusting.

Shen Yuexi understood immediately. Since ancient times, people's hearts are hidden, and there are many people who say one thing and do another. Even in her time, such people are as numerous as crucian carp crossing the river, and they can be found everywhere.

Now that he met Feng Zhang, Xiao Zhuo admired him very much and took the initiative to teach him the fighting methods of sword and gun.

Feng Zhang himself had a good foundation and knew some martial arts. Although he was frightened out of his wits by the tiger during their first encounter, and seemed a bit timid, considering that there were two tigers, it was understandable.

"Your wrist strength isn't good enough. If the enemy was stronger than you in that sword move, your sword would have slipped out of your hand. You should practice your wrist strength more."

Xiao Zhuo pointed at the sandbag hanging under the tree and motioned Feng Zhang to go over and hit the sandbag.

After reading it, Shen Yuexi pursed her lips and smiled, then turned to the kitchen to boil water. The most important step in extracting allicin is boiling water for distillation.

"Wait a minute, Yuexi, let me help you."

Xiao Zhuo picked up the garlic that had been peeled from the bamboo basket and slowly followed Shen Yuexi.

Shen Yuexi and Xiao Zhuo walked to the kitchen side by side. She took a look at the bamboo basket in his hand. There was already half a basket in it, enough for her to refine it once.

"You'll use a mallet to crush these first." She held up a mallet in both hands and demonstrated it to Xiao Zhuo. "Just like this, from top to bottom, make sure to crush them into small pieces."

Xiao Zhuo nodded, took the hammer and was about to start hammering, but Shen Yuexi stopped him again.

"Forgot about your injury." She glanced at Feng Zhang outside and said to Xiao Zhuo with a smile, "Doesn't that guy want to practice wrist strength? It's a good opportunity for him to practice his hand."

Seeing the two men looking at him, Feng Zhang quickly withdrew his hand and strode towards them. When he reached them, he chuckled twice and said in a full-bodied voice, "You want me to do it?"

Shen Yuexi felt her ears buzzing, so she raised her hand to rub them and stood aside, away from the loud voice.

If Feng Zhang were to go to the battlefield, he could scare the enemy with his voice.

Xiao Zhuo glanced at Feng Zhang with a look of reproach. Feng Zhang chuckled sheepishly and lowered his voice to ask, "Master Pei, what's the matter?"

Xiao Zhuo brushed his sleeves, put one hand behind his back, and gave instructions as if to a servant. He briefly explained the matter and then stepped aside, letting Feng Zhang do it.

Feng Zhang initially thought it was a major event, but it turned out to be just a trivial matter like pounding garlic. He was about to take off his coat, but he saw the warning hidden in Xiao Zhuo's eyes and lowered his raised hand.

He was used to it at home and liked to work shirtless. To outsiders, this was nothing, but now that he was in front of Master Pei, he absolutely could not do that.

After all, Madam Pei was there. He scratched his head and gave Xiao Zhuo a dry laugh in embarrassment.

Under Xiao Zhuo's stern gaze, Feng Zhang held the wooden hammer in both hands and pounded it loudly. The tendon on his arm was like an iron lump as he hammered it down again and again.

The sun was shining brightly outside and the kitchen was bustling with activity.

Soon, a large pot of garlic was pounded into a paste. After pounding it, Feng Zhang went out to practice boxing again.

Shen Yuexi had already prepared a clean pot. She held the brush in both hands and scrubbed it clean before placing it on the stove.

Xiao Zhuo walked forward and bent down to light the fire. His tall figure suddenly made the cramped kitchen seem much more crowded.

Now there were only her and Xiao Zhuo left in the kitchen, and they cooperated with each other very well.

The distillation of allicin takes three to four hours, and after drying, it takes until evening to form. Furthermore, the heat must be kept at 60 degrees Celsius; too high will cause it to burn, while too low will make it difficult to extract. During this period, the allicin must be stirred constantly to prevent it from evaporating due to prolonged heating.

After debugging with Xiao Zhuo several times, Xiao Zhuo got the hang of it.

In ancient times, doctors not only had to treat illnesses, but also knew how to prepare medicines, and even had to make them themselves. In her technological age, being a doctor was just a profession, and they didn't know how to make medicines. These were two different subjects, and making medicines had long been left to manufacturing machines.

Humans only conduct research and store the results in the universal manufacturing machine, which will produce on its own based on the records in the database and the raw materials.

She had thought about taking a shortcut and giving the materials directly to the universal manufacturing machine, but doing so would inevitably attract the attention of others.

Now that she makes it herself and sells it, everything seems much more reasonable.

While stirring the food, Xiao Zhuo asked, "Yuexi, can you please tell me more about the use of this thing?"

Ever since she said she wanted to make something, Xiao Zhuo has been very cooperative and rarely asked her what she wanted to make. He never expected that she would suddenly ask this question.

Because of her strange behavior, she always tried to avoid Xiao Zhuo, for fear that he would discover something strange.

Now is a good opportunity.

She wanted to let Xiao Zhuo know clearly that this was something she had researched herself and did not appear out of thin air.

When she was explaining the value and use of this thing, Xiao Zhuo did not interrupt her, but just listened carefully with surprise flashing in his eyes.

After Shen Yuexi finished speaking, she smiled brightly at him: "How is it? This medicine is good, right? We can make a small profit then. Since you and I are going to the borderland, how can we go without money?"

No matter when, as long as you have money, it will be convenient to do things.

Xiao Zhuo looked up at the face in front of him. Shen Yuexi's eyes were bright, the corners of her mouth were curved, and her eyebrows were smiling. When she was excited, she would stop and gesture.

The confidence that radiates from within is as dazzling as the sun, making it difficult to look away.

Xiao Zhuo's gaze fell on her face for a moment, he pursed his lips, and a faint smile appeared in his bottomless pupils.

"Making money to support the family is a man's job. Now that I, Xiao Zhuo, have fallen on hard times, I actually need a weak woman like you to support me. I feel truly ashamed..."

"Stop!" Shen Yuexi interrupted him, not wanting to hear him nagging, "We are now in the same boat, there is no such thing as one supporting the other. Without you, I would not have been able to escape."

With Xiao Zhuo's personal ability, it was not difficult for him to break free from the shackles and escape. He had been depressed before, and when he woke up, he would run away sooner or later. She just seized the opportunity.

What's more, this man carried a weakling like her along the way and even took an arrow for him. It was quite miserable.

After she finished speaking, Xiao Zhuo lowered his eyelids, picked up a piece of firewood and started scratching it in the stove.

The firewood in the stove was burning vigorously, crackling with flames. Half of his face was hidden in the dark, while the other side was in the light. It flickered with the dancing of the flames, making it difficult to understand.