Chapter 12
"Doctor Sun, why are Brother Yi here?" Li Ji came into the hall and scratched his head and asked Sun Shitong who was sitting in the medicine cabinet.
Sun Shitong scolded angrily: "No matter what he does."
The embarrassment and anger of being exposed were still there. He snorted and blew his goatee to tremble. He suppressed the anger in his heart and asked in a deep voice, "Are you asking? What's going on? Did you find out anything?"
Li Ji was used to Sun Shitong's moodiness, so he lowered his eyes and told what he heard in a low voice: "Asked, I went to Yang's house in Pinglu Lane first. I happened to meet Madam Yang making medicine, and she said it was Dr. Xu who was diagnosing Brother Rong's pulse. "
Doctor Xu...
Sun Shitong frowned, thinking about who this Dr. Xu could be.
At this time, Li Ji's voice continued to be heard, "Ms. Yang thought I was going to find the doctor, so she gave me an address. It was in Shijing Lane..."
The voice suddenly stopped, and the two of them looked at each other. In contrast, everyone thought of Xu Yi who had just left!
Doctor Xu... Shijing Lane...
Li Jimu was stunned. He came back anxiously. On the way, he didn't think much about who this Doctor Xu who lived in Shijing Lane could be. But now he calmed down and realized that this person was not the same person as he used to be. Classmate?
"Did you hear that right? The Xu family boy gave up on literature and medicine?" Sun Shitong stared at Li Ji with dark eyes, trying to see the falsehood in his expression.
But Li Ji was no less stunned than he was at this moment. He swallowed his saliva and said, "I remember correctly, Madam Yang told me this."
Sun Shitong clenched his fists hidden in his wide sleeves, not understanding. The secular scholar is buying medicine and his temperament has changed drastically. No wonder he has such a strong sense of weirdness. It seems that the problem lies here.
He couldn't help but sneer, wouldn't he think that after studying for a few years and reading a few medical books, he would be able to learn the art of Qihuang?
It's so naive and ridiculous.
"Forget it..." Sun Shitong was about to say let it go, but the words came to his throat and he suddenly asked, "Then did you ask Madam Yang why she suddenly changed doctors to treat her children, and she was still a new doctor?"
Li Jidai Zhu: "..."
He replied hesitantly, "Dr. Sun, I, I forgot to ask."
"Idiot, your stupid brain always fails to remember, and you can't even handle such a small thing. , how can you be a good apprentice?" Sun Shitong was full of anger, and after scolding, he said seriously, "I want to teach you well, but you can't do anything well, how can you let me teach you medical skills with confidence? You, that didn't hurt you!"
Li Ji's face became so hot after being scolded that he didn't dare to raise his head and almost wanted to bury his head in his chest.
Sun Shitong couldn't see his expression clearly, but when he saw his ears were red, he sighed heavily.
"That's all, it's useless to talk more. Pay more attention to that boy from now on. It's best to ask him what his plans are in the future." After saying that, Sun Shitong waved to Li Ji and motioned him to do other things.
The more he behaves like this, the more Li Ji takes this matter to heart.
He has been an apprentice for more than three years, and he has been looking forward to truly learning useful medical skills, so that he can learn to escape from the mountain and no longer have to look at Sun Shitong's face.
...
At noon, the sky was cloudy but not rainy, the wind was blowing coldly, and the chill of late spring had not faded away.
The branches on the trees were shaking, stalls were set up one after another on the wet South Street, and lively shouts were heard, and the simple old street regained its former charm.
When Xu Yi returned home, his hands holding the medicinal materials were already sore from the cold. He dug out a quilted jacket in the cabinet and put it on, wrapping himself tightly.
Now that the medicinal materials have been purchased, it is time to start making Xiaoshi Pills as soon as possible.
Xu Yi didn't rest. He went to the kitchen to select for a while and found things that could be used to hold medicine - earthenware pots, pottery basins, and pottery bowls.
Everything is ready, it's time to put him to use.
Traditional Chinese medicine in the past dynasties has many prescriptions for eliminating food accumulation, and they come in different forms, such as powder, soup, or pills. It can invigorate the spleen, eliminate accumulated food, whet the appetite and remove belching, and has the effects of soothing the liver and relieving stagnation, strengthening the spleen and replenishing qi.
Recipes vary from person to person. The Xiaoshi Pills Xu Yi is making are called Xin'an County Xiaoshi Pills.
It came from the hands of Chen Qingyun, a famous traditional Chinese medicine doctor in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. In order to provide cheap and easy-to-use digestive medicine to the hardworking people, Chen Qingyun developed "Liqihua Stagnation Powder" and later improved it to make it convenient to take. Pills, commonly known as Xiaoshi Pills [Note 1].
Since then, this Xiaoshi Pill has continued to be popular for more than two hundred years. In modern times, many families still choose this Xiaoshi Pill as a regular medicine at home, which shows how high its medicinal value is.
Xu Yi was also born in a medical family. His family has been practicing medicine since his grandfather. He naturally has the formula for Xiaoshi Pills. Not only does he have it, his family also improved Xin'an County Xiaoshi Pills back then.
Although medicine is not yet something he is comfortable with, he is very familiar with it.
He picked out the Shenqu, citrus aurantium and wheat tillers, which all need to be fried, and asafoetida, which needs to be soaked in vinegar and separately developed before use.
After preparing these, Xu Yi chose the method of soaking steamed cakes in soup and then rolling them into balls.
First, steam the hawthorn, remove the outer skin, and leave the soft pulp inside.
Hawthorn tastes sour and slightly sweet. It is appetizing when eaten. After steaming, it has the effect of eliminating accumulation and stagnation and improving the gastrointestinal function. Digging out the hawthorn meat and placing it in a bowl for later use, Xu Yi then processed other medicinal materials.
Medicinal materials such as green peel and tangerine peel must be soaked until they soften and can be easily crushed by hand. Next, you can take out these medicinal materials and put them into a steamer, and steam the medicinal materials again through water.
After steaming, Xu Yi can mix all the medicinal materials together, use a rolling tool to roll it into a thin cake shape, and then use a knife to cut it into small squares of the same size.
Place the small cubes in the palm of your hand and rub them until they become the size of a sycamore tree.
That is to say, the pill is about two centimeters, which can be held in the mouth in one bite and chewed.
Xu Yi's start-up capital was limited, so he bought a small number of medicinal materials to make Xiaoshi pills, and only made 80 pills.
The rolled pills needed to be dried in the shade, so Xu Yi spread them on the dustpan and put them on the wooden shelf in the kitchen.
This wooden shelf is still drying the ripe polygonum multiflorum, which is difficult to dry on rainy days, so the ripe polygonum multiflorum must continue to be dried.
Coming out of the kitchen, Xu Yi saw that the sky outside was getting darker and it was too late to make dinner now.
He went out and called the idle man outside, asking him to buy a dinner for him and come back.
Oh no, it should be two portions, Xiao Huang also wants to have dinner.
"Woof woof woof~"
A stranger approached, and Xiao Huang stood up warily.
When the idle man heard a dog barking inside, he wisely stopped two steps away without moving forward. After hearing what Xu Yi wanted to buy, he reached out to take the money and left.
Xu Yi doesn't have to worry about the other party not getting the money back. If you want to survive in the "idle man" business, credibility is extremely important. Once you are caught doing things such as overquoting at a low price or stealing food, you will be punished by the government and your quota will be revoked, so you will no longer be an idler.
Not long after, the idle man came back quickly carrying the things Xu Yi wanted.
Xu Yi was short of money, so he did not pretend to be fat and reward the idle man. The idle man was not disappointed either. There were many poor people in South Street, but he saw few who were willing to give rewards.
As soon as the door was closed, Xiao Huang's nose came over quickly, and his tail waggled like a ghost.
Xu Yi gave it some food, sat on the stone table in the yard, and opened his portion. He asked Xianhan to help him buy a bowl of braised tofu, which was served with meat toppings. The fat and lean pork was minced and minced with garlic. He cooked it over fire to make it fragrant. Then he simmered it together with the tofu in a jar and simmered it with marinade over low heat.
When you open the lid, a tooth-melting smell wafts out of the jar. The hot, braised soup is poured on the rice, turning the rice into a sauce color, and the aroma of meat is lingering when you eat it.
After eating and drinking, Xu Yi returned the jar to Xianhan, who then returned it to the store.
...
Two days later, the weather cleared up.
The rising sun shone warmly on his body, and Xu Yi performed a set of Hulei Tai Chi comfortably all over his body.
When he closed his fist, this time he no longer felt that his arm was weak and tired as soon as he stopped. Instead, he was full of energy and could continue to fight for two hours.
Xu Yi returned to the house, changed out of his short brown clothes, put on a gentle cotton gown and a bluestone-colored scarf, looking like a scholar.
There was no mirror in the room. Xu Yi looked at the reflection in the water when he walked in. The appearance of this body was five points similar to his modern self. There is a hint of youthfulness between the brows, and due to more than twenty years of experience in his previous life, the boyish face has a calmness and calmness that is not for this age.
It has changed a lot from the original simple bookish temperament.
The one who felt the deepest impression was Mrs. He.
Now when she saw Xu Yi playing with those unknown medicinal materials, she was not as surprised as she had first seen him. Holding a bowl of winter melon soup in her hand, she came over and knocked on Xu's door.
Today is Grain Rain, one of the twenty-four solar terms.
On this day, people in Yanting County cook winter melon soup, which means that eating winter melon soup can eliminate all diseases.
Xu Yi was the only one in the Xu family now. Madam He guessed that he must have forgotten to cook the winter melon soup, so she cooked him an extra portion.
Sure enough, Xu Yi was stunned for a moment when he saw Mrs. He coming to deliver winter melon soup.
Mrs. He said: "I knew Brother Yi that you would forget that I added wolfberry and lotus seeds to this year's winter melon soup.
It is more delicious than the previous winter melon soup." Rich people will add a lot of seasonings to the winter melon soup. Dried river shrimp, lotus seeds, red dates, meatballs, fish balls, peanuts, etc., and some with ginseng tonic, focusing on the willfulness of a rich man.
For poor people, just plain winter melon soup with salt and wolfberry is already good.
Xu Yi retracted her thoughts and pursed her lips in embarrassment: "Thank you, Madam He, for remembering me. I even forgot to eat winter melon soup today."
Madam He said, "What's there to thank you for? I have to cook it anyway, so I'll add some more." It's just a portion."
Xu Yi ate the winter melon soup, washed the bowl and returned it to Mrs. He.
Madam He asked: "Brother Yi, you are not going to dig herbs today?"
The first two times she saw Xu Yi go digging for herbs, he was wearing old short brown clothes. Today, he is wearing a long gown, which is definitely not for going there. Work.
"Yes, I want to go to West Street to take a look today." Xu Yi said and was silent. The Xiaoshi pills he made were dried in the shade last night.
He wanted to take him to West Street. There were many rich people in West Street, and he might be able to sell his Xiaoshi Pills.