Chapter 3 Bee Venom Adrenaline Auto-Injector

The next day, in Kaifeng city.

"Steamed buns! Hot steamed buns, one penny each!"

The shouts, drawn out in a long, drawn-out tone, drifted leisurely through the street, carrying for quite some distance.

A peasant woman carrying a basket was also hawking her wares along the street: "Cheap sale! Preserved eggs wrapped in lime and mud! Every single one has a runny yolk! Smooth and tender texture, only five coins each! Come and take a look!"

"Sesame oil! Stone-ground sesame oil!" the sesame oil vendor shouted in a high-pitched voice. "It's the first batch of sesame seeds, don't miss it! It'll be gone if you don't buy it!"

"Clang, time to sharpen the scissors!"

As soon as the sun peeked out, Kaifeng City came alive with activity.

Yu Mingjiang wore a brown linen dress, her long hair tied back, and a blue headscarf. She gracefully jumped off the mule cart.

A bamboo medicine basket was slung steadily over her shoulder, containing about a dozen rehmannia, achyranthes, and dendrobium officinale plants. She led the mule cart briskly to a familiar teahouse, took out ten coins from her pocket, handed them to the tea lady who was cracking melon seeds, and asked her to look after the mule cart.

The tea lady smiled as she accepted the money, then led the mule cart to the back of the shed. While feeding it hay, she stretched her neck and called out, "Dr. You, are you done with your work? Come into the shed and have some tea. I specially saved some good tea leaves for you."

"Sure," You Mingjiang replied casually, then turned and, carrying his medicine basket on his back, walked steadily toward the pharmacy.

Inside the pharmacy was a shrine to Sun Simiao, the Medicine King. Because she was coming to the pharmacy today, she followed the custom and carefully hid the tiger-shaped talisman in the medicine basket. This Yang family pharmacy was an old and reputable establishment, and the medicinal herbs were of good quality. Uncle Yang was quite generous, exchanging some high-grade fragrant herbs for her, such as safflower, cinnamon, and cloves. She picked up a pinch; it felt quite dry. She smelled it; there was no musty odor. The pharmacy also gave her some alum, which was quite a good deal.

She stuffed all the large and small packets of fragrant herbs into the bamboo medicine basket. The basket was packed to the brim, and the young apprentice watched with concern in his eyes.

Unable to resist asking, "Dr. You, this basket looks heavy. Can you carry it?"

You Mingjiang turned around, slung the medicine basket over her shoulder, and smiled at him: "Don't worry. It's not heavy."

·

The young medicine boy was completely overthinking it.

The bamboo medicine basket in her hand is actually a storage space produced by the Holy Mother System.

It appears small and delicate, yet it contains a wealth of secrets.

【Item Name: Bamboo Woven Medicine Basket】

[Description: Legend has it that this medicine basket once belonged to Sun Simiao, the "King of Medicine." It has a volume of 8 cubic meters (4 meters long * 1 meter wide * 2 meters high), a constant weight of two jin (approximately 1 kg), and its contents are automatically categorized and stored, never decaying.]

[Note 1: This basket must not be used to place living creatures or human corpses.]

[Note 2: Once bound, users cannot be unbound or traded. The page will refresh automatically if lost.]

This basket is amazing. Even when it is filled with large plants like Polygonum multiflorum, its weight is always the same as when it is empty. This is why You Mingjiang can easily carry it to collect herbs.

As I walked along, I noticed that while the bustling areas were indeed prosperous, there were also quite a few sallow-faced tenant farmers setting up stalls on the streets. Most of their harvest had to be handed over to the landlords, leaving them with only a small amount of grain. Therefore, in order to save some money to supplement their household income, they would sell some rough little things they made themselves during the off-season.

Whenever she saw something affordable, You Mingjiang would stop and buy as many as possible.

First, I took a liking to two rough earthenware bowls. Although they looked crude, they were sturdy and durable, perfect for holding medicine. Then I spotted a few pairs of straw sandals. Holding them in my hand, I felt they were very solid, so I bought five or six pairs. Further on, I found a roll of reed mat. The texture was even and fine. Spreading it on the couch would surely make it extremely cool and refreshing.

Hearing the vendor's call for braised tofu, she spent fifteen copper coins to buy the remaining tofu. The tofu seller quickly wrapped it in freshly picked lotus leaves, and the fragrance of the lotus leaves seeped into the tofu, making it smell fresh.

Then, all of them were stuffed into the bamboo medicine basket.

In addition, she always kept a ceramic pot in her medicine basket, which contained steaming tofu soup.

It's just the most ordinary tofu soup.

Wipe the bottom of the pot with a little oil, fry the tofu, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, add water and simmer until it becomes a milky white soup.

Back in Yazhou, she saw many emaciated and sickly people lying on the road.

Some collapsed from illness, others from hunger. But the vast majority of those who collapsed on the road did so because they had nothing to eat, their bodies nearly falling apart from starvation. Illness was merely the final straw that broke the camel's back. Some, unable to bear it any longer, leaned against a wall for a moment to rest, only to find that they never got up again.

Every time she saw him, she would go up to help him up and pour a mouthful of tofu soup into his mouth.

After swallowing that sip of soup, the person recovered and at least managed to stay alive, preventing them from passing away silently.

In this world, everyone is suffering terribly, and You Mingjiang only thinks about saving as many people as possible.

·

The good tea that the tea lady was talking about was the tea dust left over from sifting jasmine tea.

These powdered pieces are slightly yellow in color. After brewing, the powdered pieces swirl around and release a delicate fragrance.

Take a small sip, and the tea slowly spreads across your tongue, carrying a slightly bitter yet sweet flavor that quickly fills your entire mouth.

Yu Mingjiang held her teacup, sipping her tea while lost in thought. She had already spent all the money she earned from selling medicinal herbs, but for some reason, she suddenly didn't want to go back immediately.

Just then, a girl walked past her, exuding a faint honey scent.

Yu Mingjiang looked up slightly and saw that the girl was holding a basin about two feet in diameter. The basin was filled with beeswax, which had been broken into pieces of different sizes. It was a light amber color, slightly transparent, with a smooth surface and a greasy sheen.

The girl wore a worn-out straw hat with the brim slightly rolled up. Her face beneath the hat was pale but beautiful, and her coarse gray linen clothes were patched in several places.

She carried a basin of beeswax in her arms, a straw marker attached to the basin. Her steps were slow, stopping and starting, her eyes scanning the crowd, eagerly asking everyone she met:

"Would you like some beeswax? You should buy some!"

"Buy some, this is homemade beeswax!"

Ordinary people have meager incomes, earning only twenty or thirty copper coins a day. In a month, their income is no more than eight or nine hundred copper coins. Meanwhile, beeswax is expensive, costing at least several hundred copper coins per pound, so few people are interested in buying it.

Tie Pinggu, carrying the basin of beeswax, found a spot in a corner of the market and squatted down.

He looked listless, and the area in front of him appeared rather deserted.

Her eyes were somewhat vacant as she stared blankly at the passersby: "Selling beeswax, homemade beeswax..."

Her voice trembled slightly and was a little hoarse, but it was quickly drowned out by the noise of the market.

Perhaps sensing You Mingjiang's gaze, the girl also raised her head, her eyes slowly shifting from the basin of beeswax to You Mingjiang's face.

Their eyes met, and You Mingjiang's heart tightened; she subconsciously lowered her head.

She was short of money and couldn't afford to buy those beeswaxes.

The money in his hand had long since been exchanged for two rough earthenware bowls, five or six pairs of straw sandals, a roll of reed mat, fresh lotus leaf-wrapped braised tofu, and a bowl of steaming hot coarse wheat noodles...

·

Tie Pinggu was fostered at the home of her father Li Dazui's friend when she was a child.

Living as a dependent is incredibly difficult.

Before dawn, she had to get up quickly and start working the bellows. If she was even a little slow, the man's fists and feet would rain down on her.

After she finished cooking, she was soaked in sweat, but she was still called a lazy bum.

The man glared at her, and his cursing was the least of his worries; he also kept saying "sell her" on his lips.

Tie Pinggu was so scared that she ate even less each time, only daring to pick up leftovers.

Even though she had no food in her stomach, she still had to go to work on the back mountain.

The man had a small apple orchard on the back hill, where bees buzzed around and produced honey. But annoying brown wasps built their nests in the cracks of the wall and would fly around haphazardly in the summer and autumn. Tie Pinggu had to act like a gardener, guarding the orchard nearby every day.

She knew perfectly well that if the brown wasps hurt the bees, the man would give her a good beating.

Last night, when Tie Pinggu saw brown wasps hovering near the beehives, her heart tightened. She quickly grabbed a long bamboo pole and carefully tried to drive them away. To her surprise, the wasps swarmed around her, and several stung her viciously. Tie Pinggu trembled with pain, tears welling in her eyes, but she gritted her teeth and didn't utter a sound.

Afterwards, she forced herself to wash the sting site with wood ash water, then found some violets, mashed them into a paste, and gently applied it to the swollen wound. She also decocted honeysuckle to drink.

After all that, the pain and swelling have subsided somewhat, but a feeling of dizziness and palpitations keeps surging up.

She lay on the pile of firewood, tossing and turning in discomfort, but biting her lip tightly. She knew that if she made a sound, she would surely be met with the man's brutal beating and scolding.

This morning, before I could even catch my breath, that man viciously sent me out to sell beeswax again.

She walked unsteadily through the market, clutching the basin of beeswax, her eyes filled with despair.

It's like my soul has been taken away.

She dared not not come, fearing that if she couldn't sell the beeswax, she would be the one sold off.

·

As the beeswax remained unsold, Tie Pinggu grew increasingly anxious, feeling as if she were being roasted over a fire, a truly agonizing experience.

She didn't know what was wrong, but she felt unwell all over, and she didn't even have the strength to squat down. She was also constantly short of breath.

They finally managed to get a shady-looking hoodlum to buy beeswax, but the price was ridiculously low.

"Two hundred coins!"

Tie Pinggu stared in astonishment, raising her head to say to the man, "Brother, so much top-quality beeswax, and it's only worth two hundred coins?!"

"This price is already very high!"

"ah?"

Tie Pinggu's heart skipped a beat and she gestured with her hand: "Please, have mercy and add some money, five hundred coins, no, no, three hundred coins, three hundred coins will do?"

The amount of pure beeswax that can be boiled from old honeycomb is already small, so Tie Pinggu keeps it to attract bees.

This piece of beeswax was made from honeycomb.

If we're talking about the best quality wax, then it has to be the sealing wax from honeycomb.

This basin of beeswax appears to be of pure quality, partly due to its superior wax composition, and partly due to Tie Pinggu's meticulous care. She cleaned the beeswax thoroughly, and anyone with a discerning eye could tell that it had been carefully filtered to remove bee debris.

The thug snorted coldly and said with a sneer, "Two hundred coins, not a penny more!"

Tie Pinggu was at her wit's end. With a bitter face, she was about to grit her teeth and agree, thinking: Who would be willing to sell at such a low price? But if she couldn't sell the beeswax, she would have to be sold herself. Selling it cheaply would at most result in a beating and scolding, which was better than being sold herself.

Before the thug could even take out his money, a clear, melodious voice rang out: "Wait! Such fine beeswax can be used to make purple cloud ointment and as candles. Isn't selling it for two or three hundred coins a bargain? Let me take a look!"

Upon suddenly hearing someone speak up for her, Tie Pinggu's eyes welled up with tears, and she hurriedly replied, "Hey—coming!"

The one speaking was You Mingjiang.

She was deliberately trying to help the little girl selling beeswax out of a difficult situation.

That thug had seen You Mingjiang before; she had beaten Tian Boguang until he vomited blood and kicked him into a stinking ditch.

So the thug shrank back in fear and, without saying a word, quickly slipped away.

Tie Pinggu, carrying the basin of beeswax, hurriedly approached You Mingjiang.

You Mingjiang glanced at her and was immediately stunned.

The little girl selling beeswax was pale, and her lips were a frightening bluish-purple.

You Mingjiang's heart skipped a beat, and she knew something was wrong.

The lips are bluish-purple, which is a life-threatening danger sign. We must save the person immediately!

"Were you stung by a bee?" You Mingjiang asked anxiously.

"It wasn't a bee, it was a brown wasp, it stung me several times..."

Breathing became increasingly difficult, and the things in front of her began to blur. Tie Pinggu felt dizzy and disoriented.

Her legs went weak and she could no longer support her body.

Then everything went black, and he fell straight backward.

·

Just as the person was about to fall, You Mingjiang rushed forward, supporting the bottom of the basin containing beeswax with one hand and embracing the person tightly with the other.

The tea lady hurriedly stepped forward to assist, taking the basin of beeswax.

Tie Pinggu's eyes were closed, her face was deathly pale, and her lips were devoid of color.

She leaned lifelessly against You Mingjiang's chest.

"This is shock!"

Yu Mingjiang's heart clenched. She scooped the person up in her arms and rushed into the tea stall. As she ran, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Tea Granny, quickly make room! The person has fainted!"

He rushed into the tea stall, but the crowd of onlookers didn't disperse; they kept pushing forward.

With a few loud crashes, You Mingjiang kicked four or five square tables to their sides, turning them into a makeshift enclosure that blocked the curious onlookers from entering.

Then, she pulled out the roll of reed mat from the bamboo medicine basket and spread it on the ground in a few quick movements.

You Mingjiang settled Tie Pinggu in, then stretched out his fingers and pinched Tie Pinggu's philtrum hard.

Oops!

There was absolutely no reaction!

She took a deep breath and quickly took out a 0.3mg epinephrine auto-injector from the bamboo medicine basket.

The needle gleamed coldly. You Mingjiang flicked the syringe with his index finger, making a crisp "snap" sound to expel the excess air. Then he slowly pushed the piston, and the medicine slowly moved towards the needle tip.

After locating the vein, You Mingjiang inserted the needle into Tie Pinggu's skin. The medicine slowly flowed into the vein. After the injection, she quickly pulled out the needle and pressed the injection site tightly with gauze.

You Mingjiang stared intently at Tie Pinggu's face, a fine layer of sweat appearing on his forehead: "Wake up, you must wake up."

A moment later, Tie Pinggu's eyelids twitched slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"She's awake! She's really awake!"

"This thing is amazing!"

The surrounding area erupted in gasps of amazement.

At the same time, a system announcement came to my ears:

[Ding! Respected young hero, your chivalrous act in Kaifeng City successfully rescued a frail woman suffering from bee venom. The reward has been sent to your bamboo medicine basket.]

The reward is as follows:

Omeprazole enteric-coated capsules 10mg*14 capsules/box

Loratadine tablets 10mg * 12 tablets/box

[Thrombin lyophilized powder 500 units * 10 bottles]

This gift is specially issued as encouragement. We hope that young hero will remain humble and diligent, and continue his efforts.

You Mingjiang knew that this meant that the little girl who sold beeswax had been successfully rescued by him.

Her tense nerves finally relaxed, and a relieved smile appeared on her face.

Of course, she didn't dare to delay any longer. She took out a 500ml bottle of intravenous infusion (Ringer's solution) from the bamboo medicine basket and quickly put an IV drip on Tie Pinggu.

The tea stall was completely surrounded, and there was a lot of discussion around it:

"What is this transparent bottle? That thin tube can even pierce flesh!"

"My goodness, this thing is too potent! The medicine went straight into the body, how did they do that?"

"What if something goes wrong? Will the person survive? I wouldn't dare use them!"

...

Across from the tea stall is a small restaurant.

On the roof of the small restaurant, a young man in a gray shirt and a straw hat sat steadily.

His hat brim was pulled low, one leg was swinging casually, and the other leg was curled up on the roof tile.

Long, slender fingers picked up a plump, dry-roasted peanut, not too raw, not too cooked.

Under the sunlight, the texture of the peanut shells was clearly visible.

With a light flick of his fingertips, the peanut shell cracked in two with a "click," revealing several plump, pinkish-white kernels. He tossed the peanut into his mouth, squinted slightly, and chewed while observing the young itinerant doctor who had saved lives in the teahouse.

Judging by her figure alone, one could tell she was a beauty, though her attire was rather shabby. Compared to those meticulously made-up beauties, she appeared somewhat "unkempt" and lacked any of the delicate, graceful air one might expect.

Looking at her healthy appearance, it seemed she could roll up her sleeves at any moment and easily carry a sack of wheat, or even scale walls. However, probably no one would dare to speak ill of her; she didn't seem like someone to be trifled with, and if anyone dared to offend her, she might really tear their mouth apart.

It's very special.

The young man in gray tossed the last peanut into his mouth, a slight smile playing on his lips. A gust of wind blew by, and he was nowhere to be seen on the roof.

All that remained was a pile of slightly wobbling empty peanut shells.

·

A note from the author:

----------------------

[Good Luck Lianlian] Tie Pinggu is a beautiful, strong, and tragic female supporting character in "The Legend of the Twin Stars of Jianghu". She is the granddaughter of Tie Wushuang, the leader of the Hunan martial arts alliance, and the daughter of Li Dazui, one of the Ten Villains, who is known for "not eating human heads".