Chapter 123 My ability to understand "100,000 Whys" isn't that strong.

"We had a good relationship with the newsboys, which is why we got these copies at a low price, but we didn't even have a single copper coin left."

The young apprentice said pitifully. Xu Wenzhu saw through their little scheme at a glance, took a few copper coins and put them on the table. In an instant, they were taken away by four little hands. When he looked up again, there was no one in sight.

Xu Wenzhu smiled helplessly and laid out "Yang Shunxin's Medical Practice Record" in order, reading it page by page from beginning to end. If there hadn't been only one copy of the newspaper, she would have liked to draw some parts.

Yang Shunxin's story begins in her childhood. She was not someone else's child, nor was she a perfect girl. She was quirky and audacious. Although her strengths were as bright as the sun, her weaknesses were as numerous as the stars. She was a sweet-talking little troublemaker that adults both loved and hated.

Yao Xiaoyu originally just wanted to write some simple medical science popularization. She started writing from her childhood because it would be convenient to popularize science for children. But as she wrote, she started singing in her head. It was the same song. What runs fast? What flowers bloom towards the sun? Why should children be obedient? Why do fathers love mothers? Why do I drool when I see ice cream? [1]

So as she wrote, the various battles of wits and courage transformed from medical popularization into a "100,000 Whys" series. Only after slightly modifying the outline did she realize that not only medicine, but also many modern common sense facts were unknown in this era. Pi Xiukang would ask a lot of questions every time he read the manuscript, and if she hadn't spent so much time visiting clinics beforehand, it would have been really difficult to explain them.

Xu Wenzhu's medical skills are not bad, but due to the limitations of knowledge acquisition in this era, there are many things she does not know. She originally just watched the story out of curiosity, but as she watched, she became immersed in it.

"Is the world a big sphere, or is it flat and round?"

"Does a large portion of a bird's flight involve gliding?"

"Are there really many invisible tiny things in the water and the air we breathe?"

"So civet coffee isn't actually made with cat poop! How interesting!"

...

Xu Wenzhu read until the very last page, and only when her gaze met the cold table did she come back to her senses, still somewhat unsatisfied. However, her doubts deepened—could someone who could write such a story really believe that a town could consume so many steamed buns, mantou, twisted rolls, and pastries every day?

While pondering whether to rewatch "Back to the Ming Dynasty," Xu Wenzhu dragged the two wildly playing apprentices back and headed towards the glasses shop.

There are many interesting facts in Yang Shunxin's story. Xu Wenzhu has learned a lot and can't help but want to try it herself. It's obviously a bit late to go to the sea now, but grinding glass is still no problem. The two things that she is most interested in in "The Medical Practice" are that the land under her feet is a sphere and those tiny things that are invisible to the naked eye.

Regarding the shape of the Earth, Yang Shunxin's family used the analogy of ships at sea: when a ship appears on the horizon, you first see the topmost features like sails, and then the entire ship. Xu Wenzhu had never paid attention to that, so she didn't know if this was true, but it did sound somewhat reasonable.

While pondering and gesturing, Xu Wenzhu unknowingly arrived at the glasses shop. This place used to specialize in selling glasses, with a pair starting at a hundred taels of silver. They were so expensive that they were never available and were reserved for high-ranking officials and nobles. Although they are still quite expensive now, they have become more accessible to ordinary people.

"Give me a pair..."

Xu Wenzhu couldn't recall for a moment what kind of lenses Yang Shunxin used to see small things in the water. She had always taken good care of her eyesight and didn't need glasses. She wasn't old enough to have presbyopia yet either. Apart from exchanging gifts during holidays, she had no dealings with the optician's shop.

Reading glasses are not the same as special magnifying glasses, but Yang Shunxin's family couldn't possibly have everything, so Yao Xiaoyu would use some substitutes with the same principle. However, things like convex lenses and concave lenses were still a bit unfamiliar to Xu Wenzhu, who had only seen them once, so she simply set her sights on reading glasses. But now...

What's the name of that lens that makes things appear larger when you look through it?

Xu Wenzhu tried to gesture, but the shopkeeper, unfazed, led her to a cabinet in the southeast corner and pointed to rows of neatly arranged, single, transparent lenses shaped like flattened lollipops, saying:

"A magnifying glass can see small things in water and air. The higher up it is, the clearer it is, and the more expensive it is."

Xu Wenzhu's eyes widened, but the shopkeeper just smiled:

"A Little Fish's new book is really good. I was wondering when you would come to buy it, Dr. Xu."

The owner of the glasses shop was a loyal reader of "A Little Fish". Three weeks ago, after seeing the plot about seeing things on one's hands, he realized a business opportunity and made a lot of lenses that were thick in the middle and thin at the edges. He advertised them at the door with Yang Shunxin's help, and children cried for them. Adults were also curious and wanted to see the experiment. Even though the lenses were a bit expensive, they sold very well.

The optician, who had initially been testing the waters with magnifying glasses, went back and calculated his profits. Finding that he had earned more than just selling glasses, he promptly set aside a space in his shop to sell magnifying glasses. Although this story was only published for a little over twenty days, the style of magnifying glasses had already undergone several improvements and was not much different from modern ones.

"I must say, this thing is really useful. I took it home and showed it to my son, and now he washes his hands before eating any snacks."

When the shopkeeper talked about this, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face. He had few children and only had one son when he was over forty. The child was not bad, but he had one bad point - when he was hungry, he would just grab some snacks and eat them.

He had no problem with the food; he was a manager, so he could afford to provide for the food and drink. The problem was that the kid had developed a habit from who knows where, never washing his hands before handling food. It was fine if he was clean normally, but sometimes he would come back from outside covered in sweat, his hands black, and he would still grab the food, saying something like, "A little dirt won't hurt you."

The shopkeeper had tried many tricks with the child about this, but to little avail, until Xiaoyu's article was published. He went back with a magnifying glass, and the child excitedly took a look...

"Now he cuts his nails and washes his hands carefully before eating."

As the shopkeeper got into the conversation, he noticed that Xu Wenzhu had chosen the magnifying glass at the top and asked her if she wanted to buy a convex lens as well.

"This is the same principle as using ice to start a fire, and it's very popular."

The shopkeeper was referring to the latest episode of Yang Shunxin's Medical Diary—Yang Shunxin lost a snowball fight and boasted that she could start a fire with ice. Her friends didn't believe her, but Yang Shunxin refused to back down and even made an appointment to prove it to them.

Seeing her so confident, her friends admiringly offered their snacks to their leader. Yang Shunxin happily accepted them, but when she got home, she became a sad potato. When she saw the fabric her mother had embroidered with flames, her eyes lit up. She secretly cut it out and practiced throwing it repeatedly, planning to use the excuse of beautiful birds in the sky to distract her friends and secretly throw the "flame" to the designated place.

Then, unsurprisingly, her family found out. After giving her a beating and making her admit her mistake, Yang's mother sighed and used a convex lens-shaped ice cube to teach her how to focus light and start a fire. Yang Shunxin successfully maintained her tall and mighty image in front of her friends. She even spent a few days learning embroidery from her mother, and her mother thought her daughter had finally changed her ways—until it was revealed that Yang Shunyi had helped her younger sister with the embroidery.

Since these stories were published, the ice factory's business has improved recently.

"Give me one too."

Thinking the two apprentice doctors might like it, Xu Wenzhu paid the bill without hesitation and hurried back to the clinic, casually glancing at the apple on the table—

"Master, you actually peeled the apple?!"

The apprentice looked at Xu Wenzhu in surprise. Although his master wasn't lazy, he wasn't particularly diligent except when treating patients. A typical example was that he ate fruits like apples with the peel on; if no one helped him peel them, he would at most wash them and eat them. But today...

"From now on, I will peel all the fruit before eating it."

Xu Wenzhu blinked, speaking somewhat dazedly. Her mind was still reeling from what she had just witnessed—those huddled together… a complex tapestry of… moving things…

Xu Wenzhu decided not to look at what was in the boiled water; people's ability to accept things is really not as strong as they imagine.

but……

"Next time we have a free clinic, we can read Yang Shunxin's story to them."

Xu Wenzhu patted the medicine boy's head and said, "Although the conditions in the village are not good, and they may not even be able to boil water to drink—boiling water requires fuel, but many families don't even have enough firewood or coal for cooking—it's better to say something than nothing."

...

A trend is quietly sweeping through Shanghai. Many merchants are scrambling to buy the novel newspaper, scrutinizing every word of "Yang Shunxin's Medical Practice," and noting down any items they can use as if they were treasures, hoping to make a fortune.

Yang Shunxin's story is so interesting that children can't resist it, especially when the same product appears. They throw tantrums and roll around to get their hands on it. Some adults will treat the children to bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork, but some adults will buy it, and not just one item—some are for backup, and some are for themselves because they want to play with it but can't refuse, so they buy one for themselves when the children want to buy it.

Because of this income, the daily newspaper publishing Yang Shunxin's novels became increasingly popular, especially when the prices of goods that could be sold were low, and the speed at which it was distributed was astonishing. However, it's not necessarily true that everyone can make money from it.

"Socks, socks, red socks, green socks, the same colorblindness test socks worn by Yang Shunxin, socks for kids, socks for the elderly, the best woman never lets you down..."

The peddler was shouting energetically, already planning how to put the money from selling these socks on his mother's table. He said that the peddler was a pampered man who never lifted a finger and couldn't even earn ten copper coins if he actually tried to do business. That was just too much!

To prove his mother wrong, he got up early this morning and, after reading the latest episode about Yang Shunxin encountering a colorblind person, spent a whole silver dollar to buy a lot of socks wholesale, intending to take advantage of the situation to sell them. But for some reason, all the sock vendors who sold socks later than him had already closed up shop, while he still didn't have many customers.

The vendor sat dejectedly on a small stool, contemplating life. A kind-hearted old woman nearby couldn't bear to watch and sighed as she told him the truth:

“You say you’re selling red and green socks, but all you’re showing are purple and blue ones. How are you going to sell them?”

The vendor's eyes widened in surprise. He denied it for a moment, then remembered something and took out a few copper coins, stuffing them into the old woman's hand.

"Impossible... Auntie, please take a look at these and tell me what colors they are."

Because of her financial power, the old woman readily agreed and even found a few helpers, and the vendor's world collapsed—

What he saw as green was actually blue.

Pale purple is yellow.

Gray is pink.

Red is purple.

Haha, case solved! Turns out he's colorblind, a classic case of blue-yellow colorblindness.

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Author's Note: [1] From "Big Ear TuTu"

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