Old Zhao scratched his head and thought about it for a moment, then stopped worrying about the issue.
Qiu Yan glanced at the bamboo basket behind Old Zhao and changed the subject, "What are you digging up?"
Old Zhao replied, "I dug up some Lycium bark because I've been coughing and wheezing lately."
Qiu Yan took a closer look at what Old Zhao was holding. "It's a wolfberry root."
Old Zhao looked up and stared at Qiu Yan. "Girl, do you know herbs?"
Qiu Yan nodded, "I know some."
"Not bad, not bad, girl. The pharmacies in the city only buy herbs, but they should be processed before selling them so they can fetch a good price." As he spoke, Old Zhao stroked his goatee, showing more favor to Qiu Yan in front of him.
Looking around the entire village, who else recognizes medicinal herbs?
Qiu Yan's interest was piqued: "Great-Grandpa, do you know how to make this?"
"Qiu Yan, you're underestimating this old man. I'm Doctor Zhao, and I used to practice medicine at a clinic when I was young. How about it, do you want to learn from me?" Old Man Zhao seemed to have endless stories to tell about his past.
Old Zhao finally remembered her.
The word "Qiu Yan" reminded Qiu Yan of the original owner's grandfather, who was also kind and approachable, and was more than ten years younger than Old Man Zhao.
She genuinely wanted to learn, but given Old Zhao's mental state, she felt it might be difficult. Nevertheless, she asked, "Would you be willing to teach me?"
Although Qiu Yan had studied medicine and knew about herbs, she only knew some theory and had not actually practiced it because she joined the army halfway through her career.
"Come on, let's go to Great-Grandpa's house. Great-Grandpa will teach you himself." Old Man Zhao seemed even happier than Qiu Yan.
The fact that this girl is willing to learn from him is an affirmation of his medical skills.
Qiu Yan moved the things in the cart further inside, and then helped Old Man Zhao onto the donkey cart.
This was Qiu Yan's second visit to Old Man Zhao's house. Although Old Man Zhao was a bit senile, everything in his house was in its proper place, showing that he was very clean.
A coffin was placed against the wall in the bedroom; the old man had prepared it for himself more than a decade ago.
There wasn't much food in the kitchen; the old man had lost all his teeth and usually only drank thin porridge.
There wasn't much firewood; the old man picked it up piece by piece.
He was getting old, and his savings were gradually stolen by thieves.
His own land was seized by his cousin's descendants, and now he has nothing.
Seeing his pitiful state, the village chief instructed Zhao's cousins and descendants to frequently send him some food, and he himself also frequently sent some grain, which allowed the old man to survive.
The old man had a childhood sweetheart with a girl when he was young, but fate was unkind, and the girl died of illness before they were even married.
He later married two more wives, but unfortunately, both were short-lived and left no children.
As a result, the villagers all said he was a jinx to wives, and no one was willing to marry their daughter to him anymore.
As soon as Old Zhao got home, he began searching through his medical books. In the end, he found two yellowed ancient books, both with the four large characters "Ancient Materia Medica" written on them. There were two volumes, one above the other.
"I'm getting old, I'm no longer useful, and I'm always forgetting things."
As he spoke, Old Zhao handed the ancient book in his hand to Qiu Yan.
Qiu Yan took the book with both hands and began to carefully peruse it. She was immediately captivated by the ancient text.
In addition to the introduction of herbs, the book also includes detailed methods of processing them, and is accompanied by ancient illustrations.
Old Zhao took out the lycium bark he had dug up that day from the bamboo basket. "Girl, didn't you want to learn how to process herbs? Your great-grandfather will teach you now."
Wash the bark of Lycium chinense with warm water, flatten it with a mallet, remove the core, take the tender bark, dry it in the sun, and slice it.
As he spoke, Old Zhao began to act. "Girl, you give it a try too."
Qiu Yan followed Zhao Laotou's example, taking out a piece of earth bone bark and doing the same.
"To stir-fry Lycium bark, first heat the pan, pour in the Lycium bark slices, stir-fry until the surface is slightly yellow, then remove and let cool."
When it comes to medical knowledge, Old Zhao seems to have returned to the past, and he can talk endlessly as soon as he starts.
He was just not in good spirits and got tired after working for a short while.
Qiu Yan persuaded Old Man Zhao to put down the lycium bark in his hand, "Great-Grandpa, please sit down and rest for a while."
She brought out a chair for Old Zhao, and after he sat down, he kept saying that he was old and useless.
When she left, Qiu Yan left all the flour and eggs she had brought from her aunt's house that day to Old Man Zhao, as he couldn't chew the rest.
"Great-Grandpa, I'll take the book to read first, and then I'll return it to you."
Old Zhao waved his hand, "Take it, it's not worth much money, it's yours."
After Qiu Yan left, the old man realized that the girl had given him a lot of food. "Good girl, you should keep all this for yourself. It would be a waste for me to eat it when I'm about to die."
Qiu Yan drove the donkey cart to the Li family first. Qiu Ling'er and Gu Xiaoran were having a great time playing in the yard. When they saw Qiu Yan return, they quickly surrounded her.
Qiu Yan also handed out a box of pastries to them.
The two children received the snacks, and after opening them, they each gave one to Qiu Yan first. Ye smacked her lips twice and said, "Gu Xiaoran, you are such a good child."
Why can't I ever truly tame this child?
After Ye finished speaking with a smile, she went to unload the donkey cart.
She asked Qiu Yan about it and found that Qiu Yan had not encountered the person from before. Relieved, she also reminded Qiu Yan to reduce the number of times she travels in the future.
Qiu Yan gave all the money she had earned from selling wild game to Ye Shi, except for her own.
"Auntie, this is the money I earned from selling wild game. Please keep it safe. It's a total of four hundred and ninety coins."
Ye took the copper coin, weighed it, and said, "Qiu Yan, you're really good at this. You're much better at business than your Uncle Li."
Last time Li Zheng and Qiu Yan went to the city, they brought back a lot of copper coins. Although Li Zheng was not good with words, his few words were full of praise for Qiu Yan.
As soon as Ms. Ye finished speaking, she suddenly felt her stomach churning and she vomited repeatedly.
She rubbed her upset stomach, wondering if she had contracted some kind of illness.
She was somewhat worried. Her daughter hadn't returned for a long time, and now it was just the two of them at home. What would Li Zheng do if she unfortunately fell ill?
Thinking about this, she felt somewhat lost, and her mood became gloomy.
Seeing Ye Shi like this, Qiu Yan asked with concern, "Auntie, what's wrong?"
Ye forced back her tears and put on a smile. "It's nothing. I probably ate too much greasy food today and my stomach isn't feeling well."
"Then you should drink some rice porridge tonight, but don't overindulge."
That evening, the carpenter delivered the desk, two wooden beds, and two small wardrobes that Qiu Yan had ordered a few days earlier, and also helped her put them in her home.
Qiu Yan also promptly settled the remaining balance of one tael of silver.
Seeing the changes in their home, especially Qiu Ling'er, the two younger siblings immediately shared the good news with Madam Ye, who then came to see it. "Now this feels like a home!" she exclaimed.
Ye thought that Qiu Yan was really capable. She had only been away from the Qiu family for a short time, yet she had already sent Qiu Xu to school and bought furniture for him. She was much better than her.
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