My name is Zheng Nanle
The man seemed surprised to see anyone there; he stood there, basket on his back, unsure of what to do.
Zheng Nanle chose this place because it was secluded and had a small stream, making it a good spot for sneaking a meal.
She speculated that this place used to be the man's secret base.
She looked the man up and down.
The man's clothes were comparable to Zheng Erya's, and his face was thin with sunken cheeks, but his spirit was much better than Zheng Erya's, and his eyes were bright and alert.
Zheng Nanle also noticed that this man had excellent bone structure, was slightly chubby, and was definitely a handsome guy.
He's only so thin and doesn't look good now; otherwise, the phrases "golden appearance and jade-like quality" and "refined spirit and elegant bones" would describe him.
Tsk, it seems that not only fat people are potential stocks, but skinny people are too.
While Zheng Nanle was sizing up the man, Zheng Erya was explaining things to her.
“Sister, he’s the son of a capitalist. His grandfather is a corrupt official, and his family owns a large hospital. He came to our village five years ago because he was worried about his grandfather, so he came along too.”
The world Zheng Nanle lived in had a similar history to this world before the apocalypse. He knew about the special characteristics of this era and also about these special people.
She had intended to look away and leave with the grilled fish, but after focusing her attention on the medicinal herbs in the basket on his back, she changed her mind.
She walked over and asked, "Do you know traditional Chinese medicine?"
Before the apocalypse, technology advanced rapidly, and various small medical instruments were sufficient to meet the daily medical needs of the people. Traditional Chinese medicine quickly declined, was renamed ancient medicine, and became part of intangible cultural heritage.
Most people think of ancient medicine as something that only works if you believe in it and is useless if you don't, something that ancient people used to charlatan.
Later, when the apocalypse came, traditional Chinese medicine was greatly divided. The meditation, breathing, and cultivation techniques for enhancing superpowers were all developed by the descendants of ancient doctors. For a time, ancient doctors became synonymous with divine doctors.
Therefore, when Zheng Nanle saw these Chinese medicinal herbs, he immediately felt that his body could be saved.
It's still too difficult to get energy from food to nourish the body.
Professional matters should be left to professionals.
Zheng Nanle stared at the man with bright, sparkling eyes, as if she were looking at some magical treasure.
The man pursed his lips and said coldly, "I won't."
"No, you will." Zheng Nanle possessed mental strength, making it difficult for her to conceal others' emotions.
This man clearly knows how, yet he still thinks she's a nuisance.
She shoved the grilled fish into the man's arms and held out her wrist, saying, "Take my pulse and prescribe a medicine to nourish my body."
The man placed the grilled fish in Zheng Nanle's outstretched hand, took a step back, and turned to leave.
Zheng Nanle raised her hand and pressed it against his shoulder. Just as the man was about to shake her hand off, a fragrant aroma wafted into his nostrils, and at the same time, a grilled fish was stuffed into his lips.
They just forced it in.
Zheng Nanle withdrew his hand, and the grilled fish, no longer supporting it, slipped from his mouth. The man instinctively caught it.
Zheng Nanle said, "You've already eaten your reward, now you can take my pulse, right?"
The man stared at the grilled fish in his hand, speechless.
He did touch it with his mouth.
But what kind of decent family would force you to buy or sell like this?
He gripped the grilled fish tightly, looked up at Zheng Nanle, and stared.
Zheng Nanle stared back defiantly.
It's ridiculous that in the apocalypse, people who are too moral can't survive.
The man sighed, put down his basket, and gestured for Zheng Nanle to place his hand on it.
Zheng Nanle did as instructed.
Staring at Zheng Nanle's overly thin hand, the man's eyes flickered, and he placed three fingers on it.
Zheng Nanle stared at the man nervously.
It is said that "it is not the smiling face of an ancient doctor that is scary, but the downcast eyes of an ancient doctor." The young ancient doctor in front of her had his eyes lowered, and she felt uneasy.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting beams of Tyndall rays. Under these rays, Zheng Nanle noticed that the man's eyelashes were exceptionally long and thick, forming a fan-shaped shadow beneath his eyelids.
These two shadows made the man's expression appear even more gloomy and ominous.
Zheng Nanle cursed inwardly, "Why does a grown man have such long eyelashes? It made her think this body had cancer and was about to die."
As Zheng Nanle felt uneasy, the man finally withdrew his hand. Under Zheng Nanle's expectant gaze, his pale, bloodless lips slowly opened, "Use the other hand."
Zheng Nanle: "..."
I almost couldn't catch my breath.
She cursed inwardly, but outwardly obediently switched hands.
A fleeting smile crossed the man's eyes.
After a long while, the man withdrew his hand, his expression solemn.
If one is born with deficiencies and does not take care of oneself after birth, one's vital energy will be nearly depleted. Even if one takes good care of oneself in the future, it will still hinder one's lifespan.
Does she now have the conditions to slowly recuperate?
The man looked at 'Zheng Er Ya'. If it were the previous 'Zheng Er Ya', he would have said no, but the 'Zheng Er Ya' in front of him, perhaps he could give it a try—the man had lived in this village for five years after all. Although he hadn't interacted much with the villagers, he knew everyone he needed to know and was familiar with everyone he needed to know.
Naturally, she knew what kind of life Zheng Erya had lived before, and why the current 'Zheng Erya' was so strange.
However, medical books record that when a person is subjected to excessive stimulation or pressure, another version of themselves may emerge.
The ancients believed that possession by a ghost was actually a form of illness.
The man was slightly agitated.
No doctor would hesitate to treat a difficult case to prove their medical skills. The case of 'Zheng Er Ya' presents a challenge, both in terms of her dilapidated and withered body and her schizophrenia.
“I don’t have pen and paper, so I’ll dictate the prescription and you can write it down,” the man said. Zheng Nanle’s gaze fell on the basket on his back, and he said, “Do you have any processed Chinese medicine?”
"Can you decoct the medicine and I come to your place to drink it? Don't worry, I'll pay for the decoction and the herbs. You and your grandfather must be short of food, I can bring you some."
"Or, you can wrap up the prescription and give it to me, and I'll prepare the medicine myself."
“You dictate the prescription to me, but I don’t recognize the herbs.”
Even if we knew each other, she wouldn't know how to handle the medicinal herbs.
Seeing that Zheng Nanle hadn't gotten to the point after talking for so long, the man couldn't help but remind her, "You can't take your medicine now."
Zheng Nanle's body is extremely weak, with both spleen and stomach deficient and qi and blood depleted. He urgently needs to be nourished, but because of the weakness of his spleen and stomach, simply taking tonics will not be effective. He must first nourish the qi of his spleen and stomach. Only when the spleen and stomach's function is restored can he replenish his qi and blood.
"Then tell me the prescription?" Zheng Nanle tilted his head.
Zheng Nanle's body was as thin as a skeleton, and his hair was as yellow as dry grass. When his head was tilted to one side, it looked like a grass ball zombie whose neck had been twisted and was leaning to one side.
The man lowered his eyes to conceal the smile in them, coughed lightly and said awkwardly, "It's a dietary therapy."
The patient was already pitiful, yet he still mocked him; what a sin!
"If possible, you can have a bowl of yam and poria porridge every day and drink it with millet oil instead of water."
Millet oil is known as "the poor man's ginseng soup," as it is excellent for nourishing the stomach, replenishing yin, and boosting energy.
"It's the rice you use at home. When cooking rice, add more water. Once the water boils and the rice is white and half-cooked, pour out the thick layer of porridge oil on top. That's millet oil. You can add a little salt or sugar."
"Can you help me with that?" Zheng Nanle asked. "I can pay you. Whatever you want, I can try to get it for you."
It's such a hassle to cook porridge and millet oil every day.
She didn't want to do it.
The man shook his head. "No."
He and his grandfather were already in a terrible situation and didn't want to cause any more trouble.
"I can hunt rabbits and pheasants for you. Tell me what herbs you want, and I might be able to find them for you." Zheng Nanle began to increase the stakes.
The man, remembering his grandfather's increasingly frail health, swallowed his refusal and said, "Dendrobium officinale, Ganoderma lucidum, Poria cocos over sixty years old, and Polygonum multiflorum over one hundred and twenty years old—as long as you find any one of these, I'll provide the medicine to treat you."
“Okay.” Zheng Nanle brushed the grass clippings off her clothes and stood up. Considering the man, she didn’t pat her bottom. She asked, “What’s your name? My name is Zheng Erya.”
“You’re not Zheng Erya,” the man said bluntly.
Zheng Nanle laughed and said to Zheng Erya, "You see, if we don't pretend to be stupid, everyone can realize that there's less than one of us."
"My name is Zheng Nanle."
"Lu Guangbai".
Zheng Nanle nodded to Lu Guangbai and ran lightly towards the mountain.
Judging by the time, the Zheng family should have finished preparing lunch soon, so she had to go home for lunch.
Zheng Erya floated beside Zheng Nanle and asked in confusion, "Sister, why did you admit it and even tell him your real name? Aren't you afraid he'll tell everyone and we'll pretend to be stupid?"
“He won’t tell anyone,” Zheng Nanle explained to her. “He and his grandfather are in a difficult situation in our village. It wouldn’t do him any good to tell anyone. Besides, he’s a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, and our bodies need to be recuperated. Since we can’t hide it from him, we might as well be open and honest. It might even win him favor.”
"Also, didn't I ask him to brew the medicine before? As long as he was involved in this, he's an accomplice, a criminal, and he won't say anything."
Zheng Nanle spoke earnestly, "Er Ya, when you have no bargaining chips, the best way is to get the other party to join you."
Zheng Erya nodded, bewildered.
"But when his status is far higher than yours, you should run as far away as possible. At this point, it's not suitable for the two of you to share the risks as accomplices."
"Um."
Zheng Erya didn't understand, but she silently memorized it.
Zheng Nanle arrived home at just the right time. Old Mrs. Zheng, along with her eldest son's wife and fourth son's wife, served the prepared meal to the table.
The meal consisted mostly of sweet potato rice, with only a little bit of rice. The side dishes were wild vegetables and seasonal greens with little oil, and there was no meat in sight.
Zheng Nanle was disappointed.
Eating such a vegetarian diet?
Zheng Nanle was the kind of person who would rather suffer himself than give up what he deserved. He immediately went into the house, went to the kitchen to get a large bowl and chopsticks, and then carried the large bowl to the table.
Zheng Nanle moved quietly and quickly, entering and leaving unnoticed by the Zheng family. But she stood right in front of Old Lady Zheng. If she couldn't see her, she must be blind. Old Lady Zheng grabbed the spoon she was using to serve the food and swung it at Zheng Nanle, shouting, "Well, you unlucky thing, you dare to come back! Eldest brother, fourth brother, grab her!"
Old Zheng got up alertly and moved far away from the table.
Zheng Nanle held the bowl and grinned foolishly. With a light step, he pulled the eldest brother in front of him.
"Bang—"
The spoon struck his forehead hard, making a crisp sound.
"Ouch, it hurts, Mother!"
Old Mrs. Zheng gripped the spoon tightly, at a loss for what to do.
The fourth brother stood there, staring at the eldest brother, watching helplessly as a large bump swelled up on his forehead.
Seeing that the rice was served in a bowl, Zheng Nanle simply abandoned the bowl, picked up the rice bowl, and poured the dishes from the table into the rice bowl.
"What are you doing?" Old Mrs. Zheng saw this, screamed, and slammed the spoon in her hand at Zheng Nanle again.
The eldest son's wife, the fourth son's wife, and the fourth son also realized what was happening and rushed to grab Zheng Nanle.
Zheng Nanle was like a slippery fish, dodging left and right.
"Bang," "Bang," "Bang," Old Mrs. Zheng wielded a spoon so skillfully that it was impossible to get through. The eldest son's wife, the fourth son's wife, and the fourth son, like the eldest son, were all injured.
Meanwhile, Zheng Nanle poured the remaining dishes into the rice bowl, then picked up the bowl and shoveled rice into his mouth.
"Ah!" Seeing this, Old Lady Zheng became even more frantic and chased after Zheng Nanle. Zheng Nanle ran towards the eldest and fourth sons and their wives, but the eldest and fourth sons and their wives reached out to grab Zheng Nanle.
During Zheng Nanle's strolls, either Old Mrs. Zheng's spoon would hit her two sons and daughters-in-law, or several of her sons and daughters-in-law would bump into each other.
"Enough!" Old Zheng shouted, stopping the farce.
"Old man!" Old Mrs. Zheng screamed, "That heartless bastard, he's ruined our food!"
"Er Ya," Old Man Zheng's stern gaze swept over Zheng Nanle, "You just say that you ate the whole family's lunch this morning, and now you've eaten the whole family's lunch again. Isn't that outrageous? You've made one fuss after another, isn't that enough? Apologize to your grandmother!"
Zheng Nanle held her rice bowl, eating while grinning foolishly at him.
“If you feel wronged by doing laundry and cooking, then go to the fields. Don’t act like your family is mistreating you. Look around the village, which young lady doesn’t have to go to the fields and just stays at home washing dishes, feeding chickens and pigs?”
Zheng Nanle held her rice bowl, eating while continuing to grin foolishly at him.
"Uncle Zheng, your Er Ya seems to have gone mad," a neighbor who was watching the commotion from the wall shouted.
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