Chapter 38 Pharmacy
The town government sounds grand and impressive, but it is actually just an earthen-walled courtyard without a gate. Fortunately, a row of red brick houses were renovated inside last year. Compared with the surrounding earthen brick houses, it looks much more stable and majestic.
Xing Dongyang's tractor was parked in the yard and could be seen at a glance.
As soon as Su Tong and Tian Qingrong entered the yard, Xing Dongyang, who was sitting in the office, saw them.
He came out and took the things from the two men, and put them in the truck bed while saying:
"It's cold outside. The technicians haven't arrived yet. Secretary Wu and Mayor Yang are talking. You two should go in and sit down!"
Su Tong glanced at Tian Qingrong and saw that she was eager to try. After all, she didn't have many opportunities to meet the mayor on weekdays, so he said to her:
"Tian Zhiqing, you and Brother Xing, please come in and have a seat! I'll be waiting at the door for the shop assistant to deliver something."
Tian Qingrong did not object this time. She nodded and followed Xing Dongyang in.
Su Tong breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she strolled to the gate of the courtyard, she saw the shop assistant carrying a pot, and the shop owner following behind him, carrying her jars and cans and delivering them personally.
After putting all the stuff into the truck bed, Su Tong glanced at the office, where they were chatting animatedly. She escorted the two out of the yard and asked casually:
"Boss, is there a Chinese medicine shop in our town?"
The shop owner thought for a moment and pointed in a direction: "There is a Chinese medicine shop just around the corner, but..."
The shop owner scratched his head halfway through his words, as if it was difficult to describe, "You'll know when you go and see for yourself."
Su Tong followed the path pointed by the shop owner and found the shop. He lifted the thick cotton curtain at the door and understood why the shop owner was scratching his head.
It is said to be a Chinese medicine shop, but there is only one wall filled with cabinets containing medicinal materials, and a small counter in front of it with several glass jars filled with medicinal wine on it, and a wine ladle on the top for people to weigh the loose wine.
There is also a small blackboard hanging next to it with the word "recycling" written on it. It lists several common Chinese medicinal herbs found in the mountains, but the prices are all extremely low.
There were counters on the other two sides of the shop, selling needles, thread, scraps of cloth, and even some sundries. It was like a grocery store.
A young man in a blue cotton jacket was sitting behind the counter. He didn't stand up when he saw someone come in. He just asked listlessly, "What do you want to buy?"
"Get some medicine."
Su Tong answered with two words.
The man seemed to be rusted. He stood up slowly, as if he had spent a lot of effort to stand up. He glanced at Su Tong and said:
"Do you have a recipe?"
Su Tong was looking at the names of the herbs written on the cabinet. Just as he was about to answer that he didn't need a prescription, he saw the young man tossing a stack of papers over from the side. "Look for yourself. Which one do you want? It's 20 cents per paper."
Su Tong took the stack of papers and found that it was a stack of prescriptions. In the corner of each prescription, there were marks of "cold", "cough", "diarrhea" and other common diseases in red pen.
Usually there is a Chinese medicine doctor in a Chinese medicine shop who prescribes medicine according to the patient's symptoms.
I have never seen a prescription written in advance like this...but looking at the situation in this store, I'm afraid they can't afford a full-time doctor.
Prescriptions for common diseases can be written and placed here, so that when villagers come to get medicine, they can find the corresponding prescription based on their symptoms, which saves trouble.
Su Tong shook the stack of prescriptions and asked with a smile:
“Can the prescription be universal?”
Traditional Chinese medicine focuses on diagnosing symptoms and prescribing medicine according to different people. When the same prescription is used on each person, the type and dosage of the medicine will be adjusted according to the patient's constitution and condition. This is the difference and advancement of traditional Chinese medicine compared to Western medicine.
The man was neither anxious nor annoyed, and continued in a gloomy tone:
"It only treats minor illnesses and not major ones, it only treats mild illnesses and not emergencies. It is your own choice and you bear the consequences."
Su Tong thought to himself, this man is not stupid. There is nothing wrong with these prescriptions themselves. They can even be considered quite good. They are effective for most common diseases. It’s just that the efficacy will vary from person to person due to individual differences.
As for whether it can cure the root cause of the disease and whether there are any side effects, I'm afraid that is not within the scope of consideration.
Su Tong didn't dwell on this issue too much. After all, she was just here to buy medicine, and it was not her business to interfere in other people's affairs.
She listed several Chinese medicinal herbs, none of which could be harvested in this season.
Her body still needs conditioning, so she should prepare some cheap and effective warming and tonic herbs such as dried dates, wolfberries, and angelica. Besides, acupuncture alone is not enough at Lao Lin's place. Herbal medicines are not expensive these days, so since she is here, she might as well buy some.
Although the man looked lazy, he was quite efficient in prescribing medicine. In no time, he weighed the Chinese medicine she wanted, wrapped them in paper of different sizes, tied them up with hemp rope, and strung the large and small medicines together.
Su Tong took a look at the groceries in the store and found that he still had some popular items.
For example, the supply and marketing cooperative was out of stock of thermos bottles, but they were available here and the patterns were pretty good, so she picked one.
When it was time to pay the bill, the man quietly gave her the change. Although it was only six cents, it was in stark contrast to the image of other store owners who were always haggling over every penny.
After all, in this day and age, six cents could buy several eggs.
Before leaving, Su Tong paused, put down the things in his hands, picked up the pen on the counter, added a few words on one of the prescriptions, and said to the boss who was still slowly cleaning up the counter in another corner:
"It's not in vain to let you take this change."
When the man saw her scribbling on the prescription, his face changed drastically, but before he could shout out, Su Tong had already picked up her things and walked out the door.
The boss was not slow at this time. He took three or two steps over and picked up the stack of prescriptions. He saw that two more medicines were added to the top prescription. The boss stared at those words and was stunned for a long time.
——————
The technician from the county is indeed a university graduate, and he looks fair and clean.
To be precise, it's white and fat.
His surname is Li. He was wearing a neat Zhongshan suit and had his hair combed sleekly. He looked a bit mature beyond his years and had a pen in his pocket. If he could be a little thinner, he might have some more cultured temperament.
Of course, this did not affect Secretary Wu and Tian Qingrong's warm welcome and earnest praise for him.
Secretary Wu was hoping that the person sent by the county could cure the cow. He was afraid that he would feel neglected if the situation became awkward, so he racked his brains to keep them company in chatting.
Tian Qingrong cooperated with Secretary Wu, finding topics to talk about whenever possible and praising him from time to time, making Technician Li feel elated all the way.
Secretary Wu originally had a mediocre impression of Tian Qingrong. This girl was not very sociable among the educated youth and was also fussy. She had come to him more than once or twice for trivial matters in the past.
Today I unexpectedly discovered that this girl also has special skills, for example, she is very suitable for reception work!
She's smart and answered questions appropriately. Technician Li was so impressed by her praise that he couldn't stop smiling.
Secretary Wu couldn't help but take the opportunity to praise Tian Qingrong, and Tian Qingrong took the opportunity to praise him back. In short, everyone was laughing and having a great time along the way.
Su Tong sat quietly in a corner of the truck bed, holding her big iron pot and jars, watching these people praising each other seriously.
I thought that when I saw Tian Qingrong that day, I thought she was targeting Xing Dongyang, but today it seems that is not entirely the case. It is likely that this girl has some other ideas.
After arriving at the village, Secretary Wu did not dare to delay, for fear that the cows could not hold on, and he took Technician Li directly to the cowshed.
At this moment, Tian Qingrong did not follow. As soon as she arrived at the village entrance, she said hello and left. She also knew that going to the cowshed at this time might not be a good thing.
On the other hand, the plump and fair technician Li had been praised all the way and was now a little nervous. Su Tong was walking at the back and saw that Technician Li actually raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead in such a cold weather.
Secretary Wu led the way and was the first to enter the cowshed. After entering, he was seen standing there in a daze, not moving for a long time.
It’s cold in winter, and to prevent drafts, the cow pens are surrounded by felt, so the light is not very good.
Technician Li, who was following behind, couldn't see the situation inside clearly and wondered, "Are we too late?"
Are all the cows dead?
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