Being a doctor isn't easy; you even have to examine other people's excrement.
Jiang Sheng's face fell as she secretly pondered whether she should persuade her fourth brother to change careers.
Wen Zhiyun remained expressionless, followed Zhao Dazhu to look at the chamber pot, and nodded, "It contains reddish pus and blood, it is definitely an intestinal disease."
Intestinal diseases, also known as dysentery, are generally characterized by persistent diarrhea, and in severe cases, they can be fatal.
Zhao Dazhu knew a little about it, and after hearing it, his face turned pale. He almost knelt down before Wen Zhiyun, pleading, "Young doctor, please save my father."
Wen Zhiyun picked up his pen and wrote down the prescription: "White peony root three qian, angelica root two qian, coptis root one and a half qian, costus root one qian..."
As he wrote, he frowned.
These past few years have been tough, and the medicines in the clinic are not very complete. For example, they don't have costus root anymore, so you have to go to the county to buy it.
But the Zhao family didn't seem like the kind of family that could afford to go to the county to get medicine.
"Young doctor, why did you stop writing?" Zhao Dazhu asked, puzzled.
Wen Zhiyun put down his pen and shook his head. "The medicine in this prescription costs a hundred coins a day. To cure the illness, you need to take it for at least seven days."
Seven days is seven hundred coins.
For a farming family that would split a copper coin in half to make a living, this was considered a large amount of savings.
The Zhao family was stunned on the spot. Zhao Dazhu burst into tears, while Old Man Zhao closed his eyes resignedly.
"It's all your fault, you old hag! You insisted on eating that piece of meat, even though it was spoiled. Now you've lost your life..." Aunt Zhao cried out in anguish.
"Father, Father."
Everyone wept, torn between saving them and not saving them, torn between hunger and conscience.
If only there were a cheap way to treat it.
Wen Zhiyun closed his eyes and pondered, when he suddenly remembered that he had once accidentally come across an ancient book that recorded a method for treating dysentery using folk remedies.
He opened his eyes and said sincerely, "I have a folk remedy, but I haven't used it myself. If you don't want to spend money, you can try it."
“Chop garlic into small pieces, add white sugar and mix well. Swallow before breakfast and dinner, and continue for seven to ten days.”
Garlic is cheap, and although white sugar is a bit expensive, we have some at home.
The Zhao family's crying gradually subsided, and they began searching for garlic and sugar.
Upon seeing this, Wen Zhiyun stood up with his medicine box on his back.
Zhao Dazhu was quite proper, running over to see him off, saying, "Young doctor, if my father is unwell, I'll come to see you again."
There's nothing we can do even if we don't look for one; there's simply no other doctor within a ten-mile radius.
Wen Zhiyun nodded. "I'm in the dilapidated temple at the village entrance."
Zhao Dazhu was extremely grateful and stuffed five coins into his hand.
The peasant family was extremely poor; it was already quite generous of them to give five coins.
Wen Zhiyun reached out and handed them to Jiang Sheng, leaving none for herself.
Jiang Sheng weighed the five copper coins in her hand, then gave Zhao Dazhu three back. "Big brother, we only charge two coins for house calls, and medicine is extra."
This was an extremely cheap price, and Zhao Dazhu was extremely grateful, waving from a great distance.
The four children walked slowly into the dilapidated temple.
On the way, Zheng Ruqian wondered, "Five coins for a house call isn't expensive, so why should I return three coins?"
Jiang Sheng said smugly, "Silly second brother, fourth brother has just started his rounds, of course he has to be cheap enough for them to feel at ease."
If they had studied economics, they would know that this is about low profit margins and high sales volume, winning by sheer volume.
Zheng Ruqian nodded slowly, seemingly lost in thought.
Along the way, we encountered some familiar villagers, and we couldn't help but greet them.
Jiang Sheng would jump up and wave her hand, "We're going to treat Uncle Zhao's illness! Uncle Zhao is sick!"
"My brother can cure diseases, he's really amazing."
"It's getting cold, uncles and elders, please take care of yourselves."
Zheng Ruqian, with his sharp eyes, noticed that they were carrying a few scattered mushrooms, indicating that they had just returned from the foot of the mountain.
The mushroom harvest isn't plentiful these days, but there's still some to go around.
There are just too many people in the village. Each household can only pick about ten or so. It's not enough to eat in one meal, and it's not worth the trip to sell them.
"Jiang Sheng, what are the villagers doing picking those mushrooms?" he couldn't help but ask.
Jiang Sheng thought for a moment, "I'll save them up, dry them into dried goods, and sell them next year."
That's how it is at Aunt Zhang's house.
“But dried goods are not as popular as fresh mountain produce.” Zheng Ruqian and Jiang Sheng had seen dried goods sold at the market, but the fresh mountain produce they picked always sold out first.
People will only buy dried goods when there's absolutely nothing left.
"Everyone knows that, but we only pick a few mushrooms a day. Even if we want to sell them fresh, it's not enough for one meal, so no one will buy them," Jiang Sheng said honestly.
As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes lit up and she looked sharply at Zheng Ruqian.
Zheng Ruqian was even more excited, like a hunting dog that had discovered fresh excrement, "If we put all the mushrooms in everyone's hands together and then take them out to sell, wouldn't that be enough to sell?"
Jiang Sheng opened her mouth and nodded repeatedly, "We'll share the money we make with everyone."
“No,” Zheng Ruqian shook his head. “Why should they give us their goods and then pay us after we sell them? We should buy their mountain products first and then sell them.”
Once you buy and sell, the profit is realized.
Previously, people's mindset was fixed on the idea that if they picked the fruit, they would sell it and make a pure profit.
But when the harvest is impossible, the profits will vanish.
However, if you buy and then sell, as long as you ensure that the selling price is higher than the buying price, you will definitely make a profit.
"Can you guarantee that the money you get from selling will be higher than the money you get from buying?" Jiang Sheng asked seriously.
Zheng Ruqian wanted to say he couldn't guarantee it, but when he turned to look at his brothers, some were copying books, some were treating illnesses, and some knew kung fu, while he was just a stupid little good-for-nothing.
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