With the cool autumn breeze blowing, the descent down the mountain was quick without any heavy loads. By the time the two arrived at Xujia Village, the sun had already climbed over the mountaintop.
At this time, the displaced people living in the village also went out to find food.
A field outside the village had been turned over, the taro in front of and behind the houses was long gone, and apart from the vegetables planted, all kinds of wild vegetables outside had been dug up.
The appearance of Xiaoman and Jiangzhi attracted attention, including hunger, envy, and jealousy.
However, the people in the medical tent soon arrived, and those gazes disappeared.
Xu Dong was very satisfied with the medicinal herbs that were delivered. Although the most scarce period had passed, he still liked to see these freshly picked herbs that still smelled fresh.
The main advantage is that you don't have to search for it yourself.
Today is a bit special; Jiang Zhi has a drug deal with Xu Dong in private.
"Oh dear, this is a huge snakeskin!"
This time, in addition to the medicinal herbs, Jiang Zhi brought the snakeskin she had found a few months ago.
Snake molts are the naturally shed skin of the rat snake. After removing the mud and sand and air-drying, they can be used as medicine, with effects such as dispelling wind and calming fright, removing eye obstruction and relieving itching, and detoxifying and reducing swelling.
It is a commonly used medicine in clinical practice for treating infantile convulsions and eye diseases. Snake skin can also remove rheumatic toxins from the body and prevent rheumatic bone pain and arthritis.
It is also a commonly used medicine for treating skin swelling and pain, boils and carbuncles, and itchy skin. When needed, snake skin can be ground into powder and applied directly to the affected area.
Snake skins are common in the mountains, but the snake skin that Jiang Zhi brought is quite rare.
Xu Dong touched the snakeskin in his hand, which was as smooth as silk and had a lustrous pattern, and exclaimed in front of Jiang Zhi, "It's a rare treasure!"
The snakeskin was intact and large; anyone with eyes could tell its value.
Jiang Zhi said, "Physician Xu, this snakeskin is very hard to come by. I'm taking it out now because I urgently need something and want to exchange it with you."
This snakeskin would be a prized possession in any pharmacy. If it weren't currently useless to her and she had nothing else to offer, she wouldn't be willing to give it up.
Xu Dong reluctantly withdrew his gaze: "What do you want to change to?"
Snake skin is sold by the gram, and even the most expensive snake skin has a fixed price, but this one is different.
Xu Dong is a doctor; how could he bear to give up such a good thing?
He had already decided that if the village woman tried to make an exorbitant demand, he might have to go against his conscience.
Of course, if the asking price isn't too high and you can afford it, then go ahead and make the deal.
We shouldn't exhaust all our options at once; we might still be able to get something good from these mountain herbalists in the future.
Jiang Zhi pretended not to see the change in Xu Dong's expression and said only, "I want to exchange a steelyard and a copper pot with Physician Xu!"
"A steelyard? I only need a steelyard!" Xu Dong thought he had misheard and couldn't help but ask.
A steelyard is a small scale used to weigh medicinal materials, gold, silver and spices. It is usually made of copper, but there are also ivory products.
The scale Jiang Zhi mentioned was for weighing medicine. Although it could be worth a tael of silver, it was nothing compared to the rare and precious snakeskin in front of them.
Xu Dong didn't believe it would be so easy to change things; there must be other requirements.
Seeing that he didn't react, Jiang Zhi continued, "Yes, if it's convenient, I'd like another set of push-grooving and guillotine cutters!"
Xu Dong was even more surprised, and the thought of swallowing his anger vanished.
Although the things Jiang Zhi wanted were not easy for ordinary people to find, they were not particularly difficult to obtain, and these things were available now.
A steelyard is an essential item for weighing and dispensing medicine, and pharmacies usually keep extras on hand.
Guillotine and iron roller were common pharmaceutical tools in pharmacies and clinics.
If Xujia Village is going to set up a medical shed, then this set of equipment will naturally be needed.
"Sister Jiang, what are you preparing these things for..."
Once this is said, it truly becomes an exchange among experts.
Thinking of the neatly arranged medicinal herbs, Xu Dong subconsciously became more polite when facing an ordinary-looking, unremarkable village woman.
Jiang Zhi said, "I know a little about pharmaceuticals, so I want to try making some commonly used medicines myself."
Xu Dong's heart skipped a beat. He put down the snakeskin and asked seriously, "Sister Jiang, do you want to make plasters or pills?"
There are always experts among the common people. You can tell from how she handled the medicinal herbs earlier that this village woman really knows a thing or two about medicine.
What if it's some kind of ancestral secret recipe...? Xu Dong became more and more excited as he thought about it.
Jiang Zhi didn't even raise an eyebrow, and said with a wry smile, "I only know how to pick some herbs, how would I know anything about alchemy!"
"When hiking in the mountains, bumps and bruises are inevitable, so I wanted to make some common medicinal powders that I could use when injured."
As the saying goes, one should not flaunt one's wealth, so Jiang Zhi could not possibly reveal all of her plans.
Xu Dong was somewhat disappointed, as all external wound medicines were pretty much the same; even a handful of incense ash could stop the bleeding.
If we're talking about which formula is the best, then the one from the military is definitely the best, since the new army uses a secret formula from the royal palace.
Although the medicine-making tools in the medical shed were superfluous, they couldn't be taken away by just anyone. Borrowing them would be more convenient, but as for when they would be returned... that was a long way off.
This is what it means to use public office for private gain.
The two discussed it for a while, and Xu Dong secretly put away the snakeskin. Then he called Zhang Juntou and said he wanted to prepare some medicine for the medical shed.
Zhang Juntou said with a sneer, "Hey! Old Xu, it's rare to hear you want to make medicine. Did you wake up from your nap at the mill and want to turn it around? Don't tell me you're taking advantage of Sister Jiang because she knows how to make medicine."
He knew Xu Dong well; his medical skills were good, but he was lazy. He was unwilling to go up the mountain to collect herbs when there was a shortage, so how could he possibly make medicine on his own now?
Xu Dong didn't want to mention his lack of knowledge about medicine, so he said without changing his expression, "It's autumn now, and people are suffering from dryness and coughs, so I thought I'd make some loquat leaf syrup for the wounded to drink."
He wasn't completely ignorant about pharmaceuticals, but knowing something is different from actually doing it, and pharmaceutical work is hard work.
The reason for making medicine now is also to see how much Jiang Zhi, this village woman, actually knows, and to know how deep our relationship can be in the future.
The wounded in the medical tent often cough, and loquat leaf syrup is just right.
Since the medicine needs to be decocted, which is Xu Dong's responsibility, Zhang Juntou will naturally agree.
Xu Dong prepared eight medicinal herbs in total: loquat leaves, fritillaria cirrhosa, lotus seeds, ophiopogon japonicus, and scrophularia ningpoensis.
Weigh out all the ingredients, grind them into pieces, and boil them in water. Add more water as needed, and keep boiling and adding more water. This process takes two hours.
During this period, Jiang Zhi needs to prepare loquat leaves.
Compared to her family's knowledge of herbs, Jiang Zhi's expertise in traditional Chinese medicine preparation is more professionally trained; she needs to master the preparation and processing of ointments, pills, powders, gelatin, wines, syrups, and tablets.
The loquat leaf syrup that Xu Dong is currently making is just something he does for practice.
Xujia Village was burned down, but some loquat trees survived the fire. The fruit had long been picked clean, but the leaves were still there, so it was easy to pick a large pile of them.
Making loquat leaf paste is also simple. After the previous medicine has been boiled for two hours, remove the dregs, then add loquat leaves to the medicine and boil for another two hours. By the time this paste is ready, it will be almost dark.
Although it was said that Jiang Zhi was in charge of making the medicine, there were actually medical and military personnel doing the work. Xu Dong and Jiang Zhi only needed to monitor the process.
The process of making the medicine was lengthy, and Jiang Zhi dared not abandon Xiao Man, who had come down the mountain with her.
She instructed the medics to watch the fire, and whenever she had a spare moment, she would rush to find Xiaoman.
I told him I would be home late today, worried that he might get impatient and wander off.
Jiang Zhi thought Xiao Man would be anxious, but at this moment Xiao Man was like someone who had fallen into a honey pot, so happy that she was completely lost.
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