Chapter 62

In this world, it is difficult for women to rise.

Xu Yi hopes that Mrs. Chen will succeed.

After saying goodbye to Mrs. Chen, Xu Yi went to Butcher Duan's butcher stall.

When he arrived, many people were already gathered in front of Butcher Duan's shop. As he got closer, he realized that these people had received news about the increase in pig prices and wanted to buy more pork suet.

Butcher Duan was very impressed with Xu Yi, a young man. When he dragged a wild boar into his shop, he was greatly shocked.

Seeing him coming to buy lard, he left a good spot for Xu Yi.

"This piece of boiled lard is fragrant, but the price is the same." Butcher Duan told Xu Yi.

Xu Yi couldn't tell whether the position was good or bad, but he could tell that the lard slab was straight, the fat layer was thick, there was no fascia, and it was high-quality fat.

He paid the money and said with a smile: "Thank you, Uncle Duan."

"Hey, no need to thank you." Butcher Duan said and asked him, "Are you still going up the mountain?"

Xu Yi nodded and said that he had been going up the mountain these days. of.

Butcher Duan said: "What good things can be found in this mountain? There was a senior official who was holding a banquet at his home and wanted to add two game dishes. His housekeeper asked me to come over. Any pheasant, hare, or deer would be fine." The wild goods seller who always came to me for a while is no longer here. I was thinking that you also hunt for prey."

Xu Yi: "..."

Hunting prey is casual, but he went up the mountain to dig for medicinal materials.

Xu Yi said to him: "I rarely hunt anything here, but I know a hunter, maybe he has good stuff."

Butcher Duan rolled his eyes and said immediately: "Can Xiaolang go? Ask this hunter how much I can collect here."

When making banquet noodles, this big family sometimes likes to eat novelty things, like some wild animals. Only these families can cook them deliciously. There are kitchen ladies from wealthy families who have learned this crafting skill, and the game they make is not available in the market.

Butcher Duan had good connections and had been doing business in the county for so long that many wealthy families would contact Orion through him. His work was not in vain. He often received tooth offerings, ranging from a dozen to more than twenty yuan. If you meet a generous person, you can get another reward.

This is also why he is so active.

Xu Yi was not the first person he asked today.

Xu Yi kept this in mind and carried the suet home first.

After arriving home, he handed the pork suet to A Xu for disposal. A Xu got the pork suet and washed it with well water before cutting the several kilogram piece of pork suet into mahjong-sized pieces with a kitchen knife.

A Xu is boiling lard here, while A Jin is practicing calligraphy in the room.

She and her brother still lived in the same room, separated by a curtain and a bamboo screen. The room divided into two rooms was not big and could only accommodate a small bed. Xu Yi went to the carpenter's shop to buy them a desk for writing and placed it in the public area of ​​the room.

But now, there are two baskets of charcoal stacked outside the cabinets where clothes are placed in the corner of the room.

There was charcoal in their house, and there was also charcoal in Xu Yi's room. There were even more charcoal, including six baskets.

Not only that, there are them in the kitchen and main room. Although they are a bit messy, they look full of security.

Xu Yi stood outside their door, raised his hand and knocked on the door.

The door was open, so Ah Jin put down his pen and ran out to see Xu Yi.

"Mr. Lang, do you have anything to tell me?"

Xu Yi looked at her and said, "Bring me today's homework, and bring your brother's as well."

"Yeah." Ah Jin nodded and ran away. Go back and stack the papers on the desk and bring them to Xu Yi.

Now their daily homework has changed from two large characters to five large characters, five small characters and a memorized poem.

Over time, Xu Yi discovered that A Jin was better at reading than A Xu.

Especially in terms of annotations, he is not inferior to students taught by serious masters.

Xu Yi took their homework back to the room and carefully read through it one by one. If he saw something he was not satisfied with, he would mark it out with a pen and ask them to write it again the next day and give it to him for review.

If Xing Yuesen were here at this time, he would find that Xu Yi was more strict than the master in the private school.

But Xu Yi didn't know this. After checking A Xu's homework, he went to see A Jin's.

Ah Jin's handwriting is delicate and small, just like her small body, but it also reveals a tenacity. After Xu Yi read it, he smiled and called Ah Jin over alone.

"Where can I memorize the Thousand-Character Essay?" he asked.

Ah Jin stood and replied: "Returning to Lang Jun, I read the sentence 'Wandering Kun alone is lucky, Ling Mo Jiangxiao'."

Xu Yi nodded with satisfaction and asked her to recite the previous article.

Ah Jin had no doubts. Xu Yi often asked them to recite passages from "The Thousand Character Essay".

While she was thinking, she recited slowly: "The sky and the earth are dark and yellow, the universe is vast. The sun and the moon are shining, the stars are arranged..."

While reading, Ah Jin occasionally couldn't remember something, so he stopped to think, Xu Yi There was no urging, she just wrote down these things that she couldn't remember clearly.

Wait until she has finished reciting everything she has learned before. Xu Yi took out a piece of paper, wrote down the sentences that were difficult to remember, and handed it to Ah Jin: "Write the sentences that you can't remember a few times. Don't be reluctant to use the paper. If you don't understand, you can ask me."

"Lang Jun, what I understand is that I just can’t remember it.” Ah Jin straightened his lips.

Xu Yi looked at him for a moment and said, "I originally only wanted to make you literate, but now I feel that literacy alone is not enough. Can Ah Jin trust me?"

Ah Jin was a little stunned when he heard what he said. He said very clearly: "Mr. Lang, I don't understand."

Xu Yi didn't go around the bush and said directly: "I want to find a wife for you."

Ah Jin was stunned immediately.

"Lang Jun, I...am I too stupid, that's why Lang Jun doesn't want to continue teaching me how to read?"

"No."

Xu Yi smiled and told her not to panic, "You are very talented, I'm afraid I will be fooled." If you don't have a good wife, your future will be delayed."

At first, Xu Yi couldn't bear to see such a good boy being sold to a gangster, so he thought he would help if he could.

Both of these children can do some work, and they are not freeloaders at home. They look likeable, and they are also grateful.

After getting in touch, Xu Yi still couldn't ignore his origins and modernity. No matter how he integrated into the Song Dynasty, some things could not be washed away.

He couldn't treat A Xu A Jin as a real servant, but more like training a future successor?

Well, successor is an exaggeration, it would be more appropriate to say he is an apprentice.

"Do you want to study medicine?" Xu Yi asked her seriously.

Ah Jin nodded without hesitation: "I think! I want to be able to treat others just like Mr. Lang. In this way, can I always be by Mr. Lang's side?"

She suddenly thought of it after recognizing a few words.

Both Mrs. Chen and Mrs. He have said that a girl like her will marry someone else and become a wife in the future.

As a wife, she can no longer serve her husband. She still understands this truth.

When she thought that she would leave her brother and her husband in a few years, Ah Jin instinctively resisted the idea that she would become someone else's wife in the future.

"Langjun, will you, like Mrs. He said, promise me to someone else's family when I grow up?" Ah Jin asked with round eyes and some fear.

Xu Yi was slightly surprised, surprised that Ah Jin understood this at such a young age. Sure enough, children in ancient times matured precociously.

He shook his head and said, "No, marriage is free here. Ah Jin, if you don't want to get married in the future, I won't force you."

And even though he was a teenager, he was still a child in his eyes, so he never thought about it. This matter. What's more, Ah Jin is not yet nine years old.

After all, it must be after the age of eighteen. At this time, the human body's organ development has matured. If you have sexual intercourse at this age and above, it is less likely to damage the roots.

Xu Yi thought about it and went in the professional direction.

He quickly stopped and said to Ah Jin: "Don't worry about the future. If you want to study medicine, when I teach Ah Xu how to recognize medicine and pharmacology, you can listen along with me. If you don't understand, you can ask me."

Knowing that Xu Yi didn't dislike her for being stupid, Ah Jin nodded with relief and said that she would learn from it.

Then, she suggested in a low voice: "Mr. Lang, would you please not ask for a wife?"

Xu Yi asked: "Don't want a wife?"

A Jin said "Yes": "Mr. Lang is so powerful, why do you want to ask for a wife again?" "Master, it's very expensive."

Xu Yi: "..." Well, this is to save him money.

"But I can feel more relaxed after inviting you, Master. I don't have to supervise your literacy and homework every day."

Now, it was Ah Jin's turn and he didn't know what to say.

Seeing her cute expression, Xu Yi couldn't help laughing, but he didn't tease her anymore and asked her to go back to her work first.

As for inviting the Master, he still had to think about it again.

...

Later, after Liu Bo finished picking up the individual tourists, he parked the ox cart leisurely outside Xu's house.

He came to ask Xu Yi, but he needed a car.

Xu Yi saw Uncle Liu driving his car. He happened to be going to Baili Village to find Zhang Tiegou. He stuffed a piece of rice cake into Uncle Liu's hand and said, "Thank you, Uncle Liu, for making a trip."

Uncle Liu pinched the rice-flavored cake and said, Swallowing his saliva: "Doctor Xu, you are still so polite."

Xu Yi said that he bought it for breakfast. He bought a little too much and didn't finish it. He didn't buy it on purpose.

Uncle Liu didn't feel offended when he heard this answer, and even felt more at ease. While eating rice cakes, he took Xu Yi to Baili Village.

When they arrived at the door of Zhang Tiegou's house, the wooden door was locked. It seemed that Zhang Tiegou had not returned from hunting in the mountains.

Uncle Liu asked: "Doctor Xu, do we want to wait here?"

"Yes." Xu Yi responded. It was a rare trip. This time he brought a machete so he could go up the mountain.

When Uncle Liu heard that he was going to the mountains, he said he would wait outside Zhang Tiegou's door and would not follow him.

He is too old to follow.

Not long after Xu Yi went to the forest, he saw a snake coiled on a tree branch. It was a green snake waiting for an opportunity to hunt for food.

Xu Yi did not disturb it and walked around it towards the front.

At this time, many snakes come out of their holes to look for food so that they can survive the winter. Xu Yi doesn't have A Xu A Jin by his side right now, so he won't go out of his way to catch venomous snakes.

Although the gallbladder of snakes can be used as medicine, it can be toxic if not processed properly. Xu Yi rarely came into contact with fresh snake gallbladder among the medicines he was exposed to before, and there were not many contacts with the preparation of snake gallbladder.

Moreover, snake slough also has the functions of dispelling wind, calming convulsions, detoxifying and removing nebula. Even though there are emperors and ministers in the use of medicines in traditional Chinese medicine, and the properties of the medicines are different, medicines with the same properties may not be able to replace each other, but they will still be effective, but the efficacy will be weakened. [Note 1]

Not only snake slough, gentian can also be used as a substitute for snake gall.

This season, most of the gentians have turned green, so the probability of finding them is extremely low. It is better to look for snake sloughs.

Snake sloughs can be picked up from late spring to early summer to early winter. Last time they went into the mountains, their goal was to practice archery. This time Xu Yi came specifically to look for them, and they quickly found them hanging on treetops, grass, etc. Freshly shed snake slough.

He took a cloth bag and put the snakes in it, and returned when it was full.

Not long after, Xu Yi returned to the foot of the mountain. Uncle Liu saw that he had gone up the mountain to pick up snake sloughs, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Can this thing cure diseases?" He clicked his tongue curiously.

There are many snake sloughs in the mountains of their village. Children use them to play with. They treat the snake sloughs as play toys. They tie them one by one into long ropes, grab one and run on the road in the countryside. When the wind blows, they will It can float like a kite.

Xu Yi: "..."

In "Shen Nong's Materia Medica", the medicinal properties and medicinal uses of snake sloughs were recorded. Later, in "Wu Pu's Materia Medica" written by Hua Tuo's disciple Wu Pu, the medicinal properties and medicinal uses of snake sloughs were recorded. Efficacy, etc., have also been newly supplemented. During the Weizong period of the Song Dynasty, there was also the "Shengji Zonglu", which recorded many uses and dosages of snake slough, as well as medicinal prescriptions. [Note 2]

Before the Song Dynasty alone, there were many ancient medical books recording the medicinal value of snake sloughs. However, among the common people at the bottom, the scope of knowledge about these medicines was still too narrow.

Uncle Liu was considered a well-known person among the rural people, but he still didn't know that snake sloughs had medicinal value.

After hearing Xu Yi's explanation, he asked expectantly: "This snake skin can be used as medicine. Does the medical clinic also collect it? Can it be sold for money?"

Xu Yi said that the medical clinic collects it, but picking up snake sloughs is risky. Don't go into the mountains to pick them up, as you may encounter snakes.

Uncle Liu waved his hand and said that he knew, "There are many snake nests in Hegougou in our village, and there are often a lot of snake skins. I have seen many children picking them up and playing with them."

Xu Yi saw his movements and asked: "Liu Uncle, you want to pick it up?"

"I'll do it, I'm too old to pick it up." Uncle Liu shook his head and said, "I want my grandson to pick it up. He only grows vegetables at home, so he can pick some up when he has time. Xu Yi raised his eyebrows slightly: "

When picking up snake sloughs, it would be better to bring the snake repellent medicine."

When Uncle Liu heard that he had to buy the snake repellent medicine to wear on his body before picking up the snake skin, he hesitated for a few seconds, but he still couldn't bear this business opportunity.

"Doctor Xu, do you sell snake repellent medicine?" he asked.

Xu Yi: "Yes, Uncle Liu, do you want one?"

"I want one. I'll see if I can pick some up and sell them. It's getting colder and colder, and there's no other way to make a living." Uncle Liu sighed.

The people at the bottom have too few means to make a living. Apart from fields to plant, vegetables to grow, weaving, etc., there is not much time left to do some money-making work. If you have some good skills, you can live a better life, but if the family doesn't have any money and no skills, it will be difficult.

Survive the winter, animals have to survive the winter, and people also have to survive the winter.

After every winter, how many elderly and children survive?

Uncle Liu's family is already considered to be well off. He has a cow that can pull a cart, which brings in a lot of income. But life is still tight as usual. After leasing the oxcart to Xu Yi, things have become much easier these days.

They didn't chat for long, and Zhang Tiegou came back with the prey.

When he saw Xu Yi and Uncle Liu, he was surprised at first, and then strode towards them happily.

"Brother Xu, why are you here looking for me?" he asked with a smile.

Xu Yi asked him, "Do you recognize Butcher Duan in the county?"

"Butcher Duan? You do. Sometimes when I hunt live animals, I take them to him and sell them to him." Zhang Tiegou said.

Xu Yi told him that Butcher Duan was going to collect a batch of game meat recently, including hares, pheasants, roosters, and deer, and asked him if he was interested.

Zhang Tiegou listened happily and said: "What's wrong with this? Besides, hares are easy to catch. The hares at this time are very fat. Go back and tell Butcher Duan that I will go to the city in the next two days." Make sure you bring some live ones over."

Seeing that Xu Yi rarely came over, he shouted to keep him here to eat meat.

As a result, he saw Xu Yi going up the mountain to pick up a bag of snake skins while waiting for him, and called him a good guy.

"If you want this thing, tell me earlier. I walk in the mountains every day and see too many of these things. No one wants them."

Xu Yi: "..."

Why are he rarely seen in Yilu Mountain and Jin'e Mountain? Snake shed?

Zhang Tiegou scratched his head: "Is it because you are unlucky?"

Xu Yi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Zhang Tiegou immediately smiled and said, "If it weren't for the fact that you always carry snake repellent medicine with you, and those snakes are avoiding you, where will they be? Appear in front of you."

If this is true, then the mountain roads Xu Yi walked were more or less stained with medicinal powder. It seems reasonable that these snakes would move away from their nests over time.

Zhang Tiegou got it right, and he really got to the point. The snakes in Yilu Mountain and Jin'e Mountain were suffering unspeakably. It was not suitable to stay here for a long time, so they had to quickly find a safe place to build their nests.

...

Two days later, early morning. Zhang Tiegou tied up several hares and entered the county.

He first went to Duan Butcher's shop and sold the hare he brought to him. With the few hundred money he got, he went to the salt shop and bought two bags of coarse salt, and then went to the grocery store to buy daily necessities. thing. After buying everything, he went to Xu's house.

Xu Yi had just finished teaching A Xu and A Jin's class today, and was thinking about drinking a cup of hot tea when he heard A Xu come into the room and said that Zhang Tiegou was here.

"Brother Xu, are you drinking tea?" Zhang Tiegou strode in, casually sat on the chair opposite Xu Yi, spread his legs wide, leaned back, and said comfortably, "Your chair is good, feel it So smooth."

After saying that, he thought of something and took out a light cloth bag from his arms and gave it to Xu Yi.

The bag was wrinkled when taken out, and then bulged.

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows, quietly opened it and looked inside, only to find a bag of snake sloughs.

He said dumbfounded: "Go to the mountains to pick it up?"

"Yes, don't you want this thing?" He hummed. Although he didn't understand it, he still heard it in his heart and knew that this thing was useful to Xu Yi. In the past two days, When he went to the mountains, he paid attention, but he didn't expect to pick up so many.

"Thank you, Brother Zhang." Xu Yi poured him a cup of hot tea and handed the bag to A Xu.

"You take the snake slough and soak it in wine."

A Xu took the snake slough out. Zhang Tiegou watched him leave and asked Xu Yi curiously: "What do you want this for?"

Xu Yi: "The snake slough can be used as medicine after being processed. , it can cure many diseases, and the sloughs of snakes such as the Elephant Snake, the Elephant Snake, or the Black Snake are the best, but other snake sloughs are also useful. "

"Then I didn't recognize the snake when I picked it up," Zhang Tiegou said. Said, "I think they're all the same, there's not much difference."

Xu Yi smiled when he heard this.

Indeed, it was a bit difficult for Zhang Tiegou to distinguish them one by one.

The recovered snake sloughs have different uses for different diseases. When used raw, it has the effects of dispelling wind and calming convulsions, and when processed into wine snake slough, it is used for convulsions, skin itching and other diseases in children.

He asked A Xu to take the snake slough and soak it in wine, which was used to make wine.

So, Xu Yi took Zhang Tiegou to find A Xu.

At this moment, A Xu was already busy with A Jin with the snake slough. They were sitting in front of the dustpan. The snake sludge brought by Zhang Tiegou was spread in the dustpan, and they were picking out the debris and dirt on the snake slough.

Picking out the clean snake slough and putting it next to him, A Xu brought out a clay pot, poured the rice wine into it, then put the picked snake slough into it and pressed it with chopsticks.

Then, use clean stones to press it on top.

Zhang Tiegou clicked his tongue and asked Xu Yi, "Did you teach them this?"

"Yeah." Xu Yi said, "It's not difficult to make snake sloughs. I did it last time and they remembered it."

Zhang Tiegou: "..." Why did he find it so troublesome.

But this is not the end yet. After the snake slough has absorbed the rice wine, it needs to be stir-fried over a slow fire until the color of the snake slough turns yellow, and then allowed to cool before use.

Hearing that there was still this step, Zhang Tiegou said that hunting was more suitable for him, and he might as well forget about studying medicine and medicine. It was difficult just to look at it.

He quite admired these two little guys for being able to sit still and do such meticulous work.

He stayed at the Xu family for a while and saw how different the Xu family was from his.

Although A Xu and A Jin are small, they have strong ability to do things. They work in an orderly manner without any panic.

When Xu Yi said what he wanted to get, they knew where it was as soon as they heard it, making Zhang Tiegou not want to go home.

It was a coincidence for him that after the transaction contract with Jishitang was cancelled, Xu Yi had been preparing supplies for autumn and winter these days, and he was free today to start making Xiaoshi Pills.

Making Xiaoshi pills is not difficult, but the medicinal ingredients need to be steamed, pounded, etc. With so many steps, it seems busy and cumbersome.

Xu Yi saw that he was fascinated, so he pulled him over and beat him.

Zhang Tiegou was very strong, so Xu Yi gave him the task of pounding the medicine. Xu Yi had done this laborious task in the past, but this time it was left to Zhang Tiegou so that he could prepare other things first.

"Dong dong dong -"

Zhang Tiegou thought this work was effortless at first. Later, after doing it dozens of times, he finally couldn't help but speak.

"Brother Xu, why are there so many?"

Xu Yi said: "It's not much, just make a thousand pills."

Zhang Tiegou: "..."

How much is a thousand pills?

He only knows one hundred coins and one thousand coins.

Xu Yi didn't let him work in vain. Even when a strong man worked, he had to eat a full stomach. At noon, he asked the idle man to go to the restaurant and buy a few plates of meat and a bucket of fine rice wine.

After being busy for a long time, I finally got to take a break and have something hot to eat.

Zhang Tiegou sighed that it was not easy: "Why is it more tiring to be a doctor than to go hunting in the mountains? I thought doctors just sit in the medical clinic and only need to check people's pulses and see the doctor. Schoolchildren do the prescribing of medicines. They are very free. "

Xu Yi smiled: "The doctors in the medical clinic are free, but they also have to make medicines."

Ordinary medicinal materials are prepared by apprentices, but important medicinal materials or toxic medicinal materials are not suitable to be handed over to apprentices.

This must be checked by an experienced doctor personally, otherwise the medicine will not cure life, but cure death.

"Usually you only know one side, but today's experience is about knowing another side. Isn't it very interesting?" Xu Yi looked at him with a smile.

Then he poured a bowl of wine for him.

...

Thousands of Xiaoshi Pills cannot be made in one day.

Xu Yi was just bluffing him. They only made 500 pills today, and the rest would be continued tomorrow and the day after.

But so be it.

Occasionally, accidents happen.

The next day, when Xu Yi and A Xu A Jin were busy in the kitchen, they heard the Chen family next door, Mrs. Chen and Chen Erwang arguing again.