After explaining things to Ma's parents, Jiang Zhi said to Ma Guan, "You used to be a guard, and you only had to take care of one courtyard and one family."
Now the responsibility is much greater; the village needs to keep an eye on things, and if they encounter anyone who doesn't know their place, they should be apprehended immediately.
Ma Guan said he was a guard hired by Jiang Zhi, but in reality, he was responsible for looking after the entire Xu Family Village.
Last time, the Du family guards caused a ruckus in the village. If they had intended to kill them then, the farmers like Li Laoshi with their hoes and carrying poles wouldn't have been a match for them, and it certainly wouldn't have been Xiaoman's turn.
Having Ma Guan protect the entire village serves two purposes: firstly, to prevent Du Baolin and Xu Xiaogu from going crazy and causing trouble again; and secondly, to ensure the safety of the village.
Because of their lavish spending on grains and mosquito coils, the people of Xujia Village are quite eye-catching when buying meat and cloth in Lihua Town, attracting many idlers to come to the village to "find relatives."
Aside from acquaintances, there were many relatives, all related to several families surnamed Xu, making it difficult to drive them away.
Fortunately, the mosquito coil workshop was built far from residential areas, out of sight of it across a few fields, and people were not allowed to go there.
But this can't last forever. Now that Ma Guan, a professional, is keeping an eye on things, there's a solution.
Ma Guan understood his responsibilities and immediately agreed, heading into the village.
After settling the Ma family in, Jiang Zhi changed her clothes, covered her hair, and went into the medicine-making room.
She hasn't come for several days.
The medicine preparation room was filled with steam, making the already hot weather even more stuffy.
Although Tian Tao is young, she is really good at doing things. After a few months, she has become skilled at brewing medicine and can manage more than a dozen pots by herself without making any mistakes.
Only when a large amount of medicine is being decanted should Xu Genqing and Xiaoman be called in to help.
Because each time the dressing needs to be changed, a large bucket of water needs to be poured onto the stove.
Tian Tao is only thirteen years old. She is clever but not strong enough. The scalding hot medicine could easily hurt her.
Beside her, Shi Jia's simple-minded sister, drenched in sweat, stared at the stove fire. While Tian Tao felt the heat, she felt like she was being roasted alive.
This child is honest; once asked to watch the stove, he stays by the fire without leaving it for a moment, refusing even to go to the water vat by the door to cool off.
Not very bright, can only do simple things.
It took her several days to walk from the village to Qingquan Bay, a distance of three miles, and she still couldn't find her way. Once, she almost got lost in the woods.
Xiaoman said that Wuyang takes her to and from work every day now.
Tian Tao hadn't seen Jiang Zhi for several days, so she quickly asked, "Master, are you going to make motherwort granules again this time? There aren't many motherworts left in the warehouse; Brother Gensheng and the others didn't buy any."
Without a fixed source of medicinal herbs, the medicines that pharmacies brew now depend on what herbs they buy.
While checking the medicinal soup in the pot, Jiang Zhi said, "No, change it. Do you have the herbs I asked you to buy?"
For the past few months, we've been decocting motherwort. Jiang Zhi suggested adding herbal extracts like Prunella vulgaris and Lysimachia christinae in the summer to gradually increase the variety of medicines.
These herbs are all being acquired and stored; Jiang Zhi wants to make other medicines.
With only four hours of production time available, plus the time to start cooking and heating, we can only brew one pot of medicine each day.
If more staff are added, Jiang Zhi can work both day and night shifts continuously. She wants to learn from capitalists and run a sweatshop to increase her income.
When asked about the herbs, Tian Tao nodded: "I bought them. Brother Genqing said there were plenty of these herbs. I bought over a hundred catties just from going to the market twice in Lihua Town. They're already in the warehouse."
Jiang Zhi frowned slightly: "A hundred catties is too little. We need to buy more and continue to buy. This time, I'll teach you how to make tablets!"
Upon seeing the patients with diarrhea and the large pots of medicine being boiled in the refugee camp, Jiang Zhi found an opportunity to reopen the Qingquanwan Pharmacy.
Manufacturing pharmaceuticals is only the first step; the key is to market the product and get it accepted by patients.
Selling granules to the Huo family pharmacy is profitable now, but this time it's for fame.
Jiang Zhi plans to produce compound Euphorbia humifusa tablets and exchange some resources with Magistrate Zhang.
This is a medicine for diarrhea and dysentery, which is very suitable for the current epidemic among displaced people.
The raw materials are also in season; Euphorbia humifusa, Polygonum hydropiper, and Plantago asiatica are all growing perfectly.
These are common wild grasses. In the countryside, where labor is cheapest, you can easily cut a basketful by the edge of a field. After drying, they are even cheaper than sweet potato vines used to feed pigs.
In addition, Jiang Zhi is also preparing to make anti-inflammatory tablets.
The medication consists of four ingredients: dandelion, violet, scutellaria, and wild chrysanthemum. It can be used for fever, pneumonia, and cough caused by upper respiratory tract infections.
Xu Gensheng has been purchasing these herbs, and even last year's wild chrysanthemums were sold by farmers.
When Tian Tao heard that she was going to learn how to make medicine, her eyes lit up immediately: "Master, what kind of medicine will we be making this time?"
Jiang Zhi told her to first prepare the medicine in the pot, and then start making tablets tomorrow.
As the two were talking, Xiaoman came in carrying a large bucket of medicine: "Tao'er, this medicine has been filtered. Is there anything else?"
As soon as he arrived at the pharmacy, he started helping to prepare the medicine.
Tian Tao came over and directed him to pour the liquid into an empty clay pot, preparing for a second concentration. Upon seeing the full pot of medicine, she immediately whispered, "Why are you filling it so full again? Be careful not to strain your wound!"
Xiaoman chuckled, "The injury has long since healed, it's nothing." As she spoke, she went to fetch the medicine.
Jiang Zhi called out to him, "Xiaoman, call Xu Genqing over to the warehouse, I have something to say to him!"
Xiaoman responded and went.
To increase pharmaceutical production, we need to intensify our raw material procurement efforts and rearrange our operations.
The special warehouse was already filled with various herbs, all bundled tightly in bamboo baskets.
There were also baskets of bamboo tubes that had been processed by others.
The people of Xujia Village no longer make bamboo tubes; they spend their free time making mosquito coils.
The bamboo tubes used for filling medicines are now custom-made by other bamboo craftsmen. Although they are more expensive, the workmanship is better, and the production volume can be guaranteed to meet the supply.
Xu Genqing put down the millstone and came over. Although the millstone was built on the water, there was no wind in the ravine, and even wearing only a short jacket on a hot day, he was still sweating profusely.
As soon as Jiang Zhi saw him, she said, "Genqing, who is suitable to handle the purchase of medicinal herbs?"
Jiang Zhi carefully selected who to add to the pharmacy. Now that the Ma family had been added, they also needed to add someone to buy medicine.
Xu Genqing had been working at the pharmacy for a few months, and Jiang Zhi had gotten to know him. She knew he was straightforward and spoke his mind, and that he was easy to get along with once she understood his temperament.
Especially since she knew about Xu Genqing and Lianhua's secret and even helped resolve the conflict with her mother, Qin Shi, the young couple trusted her completely and spoke to her without any reservations.
But today, with just one simple sentence, Xu Genqing became anxious: "Does Auntie think there's something wrong with Gensheng? He goes to town to collect herbs every day now, and he's doing a good job."
Aunt Jiang suddenly brought back a group of migrants from other places, some of whom had even signed indentures. The villagers were all a little uneasy.
Although Aunt Jiang had said that the mosquito coil workshop would not house refugees, the medicine shop belonged to her family, and no one could stop her from choosing who to work for.
Now, as soon as Xu Genqing heard about the change of personnel, he immediately assumed that Xu Gensheng was being disliked for talking too much. As fellow family members, he naturally had to speak up for him.
Seeing that he had misunderstood, Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "I didn't say that Gengsheng was bad. I meant that he couldn't handle everything by himself and wanted to buy medicine for someone else."
"Oh, you mean one more!" Xu Genqing realized he had misunderstood and was immediately a little embarrassed: "Actually, Genbao can also help buy the medicine. Gensheng can take care of him for a few days."
Jiang Zhi thought about it and agreed. Xu Genbao had experience in cotton ginning and business, so he could be used as long as he was taught.
After speaking, Xu Genqing was about to grind the herbs again when he suddenly seemed to remember something: "Auntie, those three women you bought...you should go and take a look at them!"
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