102 Codonopsis and Astragalus Chicken Soup
◎Not a trace of greasiness, very fresh and tender◎
Song Jinyi gently persuaded him, "You should take good care of yourself and cheer up. Life is full of ups and downs. Think about me when I was imprisoned, I was almost dead, but I never gave up and fought hard, only then did I get a glimmer of hope.
"As long as people are alive, no one can predict what will happen. After the storm, there will be sunshine. After the difficulties, there will be good luck. If you are willing, we can work together to find a way to solve the problem."
Song Jinyi said a lot of things, but Huo Changqing was like a fish in stagnant water, seemingly swimming but actually lifeless. He said in a light tone: "Thank you, Madam Song", and then slowly closed his eyes.
The intention to expel guests is self-evident.
For a man whose body has been ravaged, words of comfort are often too pale and powerless. What does he need most now? Medicine to heal his throat, or something to help him reclaim his ancestral theater.
Song Jinyi knew all these, but she couldn't do anything. She was neither a doctor who could bring people back to life nor did she have any backers to fight for justice for him.
Song Jinyi sighed softly and stared at him again. That was all she had to say. She could only hope that he would take care of himself.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Ru'er pulled Song Jinyi's sleeve and refused to let go. With red eyes, she repeatedly asked her to think of another way to persuade Huo Changqing.
Song Jinyi avoided Ruer's pleading gaze and shook her head.
Li He listened for a long time and had lost her patience. She strode over, grabbed Ru'er's hand, and told her to let go of Song Jinyi.
He turned to the person lying on the bed and said unhappily, "You've only lost your voice, and you're trying to kill yourself like this. What if those people with broken arms and legs can't live anymore?
“When I was on Yaowang Island, every patient I saw was in a worse condition than you, yet each of them endured the torment of illness and the uncertainty of the future, getting through it day by day.
"Even children of seven or eight knew what they had to do. Silver needles longer than fingers pierced into the flesh, and the medicine, bitterer than coptis root, was applied one by one.
"The gecko also cut off its tail to survive, and look at you..." Li He chattered on and on.
Song Jinyi looked at her in surprise. Even though she hated Xie Wuyang before, she had never said anything unpleasant.
It was rare to hear her speak like this, or even never before. The tone of her voice reminded Song Jinyi of Yu Dongqing, who was a harsh speaker.
Unexpectedly, Li He had been staying on Yaowang Island for three years, and even learned the other party's tone of voice.
The maidservant next to him couldn't tell what was being said, she just felt that Li He was bullying her troupe leader, so she spoke up for her troupe leader and said, "Who are you?
"Why are you scolding my boss? You haven't experienced what he's been through. Do you know how painful it is for him? You don't understand anything."
Li He rolled his eyes after hearing this, ignoring Ru'er and continued to say to Huo Changqing, "Nine out of ten things in life are not as you wish, but when you encounter a setback like this, you have to fight to the death. You even played Guan Yu in the Single Sword Meeting, where Guan Yu dared to cross the river alone to attend the meeting.
"What about you?! You don't have any of his integrity?! You're just lying in bed like a coward, half dead!"
After saying that, he turned to look at Song Jinyi and took her hand, "Sister Jinyi, stop wasting your energy. Let's go back."
Song Jinyi was in a hurry to go with Li He. After her barrage of criticism, Song Jinyi almost wanted to cover her mouth. If this provocation didn't work and she fainted from anger, it would be a serious sin.
"etc--"
Unexpectedly, Huo Changqing really fell for it.
As soon as Li He finished speaking, a glimmer of light appeared in Huo Changqing's dull eyes. He lowered his eyes and looked at the half-fallen curtain, which was embroidered with lifelike flowers and birds.
He didn't say anything, as if he was thinking about something.
Seeing him like this, Ru'er thought that Li He's words had hurt Huo Changqing, making his heart knot even deeper. She immediately stamped her feet and burst into tears, pointing at Li He, "My boss is already sad, and you are adding fuel to the fire. You have such a vicious heart..."
Huo Changqing spoke up to stop Ru'er's argument. He raised his arms, struggled to stand up, and took a deep breath. "Madam Li is right. I am too cowardly."
Ru'er watched as her class leader suddenly changed his temper. He waved his hand, pointing at Li He, in a panic, and finally drooped it. She said to Huo Changqing happily, "It's great that the class leader can come to his senses. I've already prepared the medicine and will bring it to you right away."
Ruer took two steps at a time and brought the medicine in a short while.
Although Huo Changqing had come to terms with it, he had not eaten anything before. When he smelled this bitter and sour thing, he instantly felt nauseous. He coughed slightly and his face became paler.
He thought about what he had just said, and tremblingly brought the bowl of medicine to his mouth. He closed his eyes and was about to swallow it in one gulp, but the bowl in his hand was snatched away.
"If you can't drink it, don't force yourself to drink it, or you'll vomit it all out." Li He put the medicine bowl aside and found out that Huo Changqing hadn't eaten properly for three days.
She frowned and pondered, "Chinese medicine hurts the stomach. He's been depressed for a long time, his spleen and stomach are out of balance, and he hasn't eaten properly for three days. How can he drink this medicine? He should eat something nourishing first. After a couple of days when his stomach feels better, he can use this medicine."
After hearing this, Ruer asked hurriedly what to do.
Li He thought for a moment and said, "Let's have the chicken soup with angelica and astragalus, and the pork rib soup with white atractylodes and poria..."
These are all for replenishing qi and blood, and can also strengthen the spleen and stomach. Moreover, for Huo Changqing's current condition, being able to eat is the most important thing.
Ru'er bit her lower lip and said slowly, "But I won't do anything you said..."
"So what did you do for him before?"
"I can just cook some porridge and stir-fry some vegetables..." Ruer's voice became smaller and smaller.
No wonder people are so weak——
Ru'er looked at Song Jinyi. Although Song Jinyi was a cook, she was not good at medicinal food. She had no idea what herbs to use, whether there would be conflicts, and how much to use.
She turned to look at Li He who brought up this topic.
Seeing Ruer looking at her eagerly, Li He felt embarrassed to refuse. Then, when she received Song Jinyi's gaze, she paused and took over the task.
Ruer told them that there were a few old hens in the backyard. After hearing this, Li He decided to make chicken soup with Codonopsis pilosula and Astragalus membranaceus.
Li He wielded the kitchen knife, chopping the chicken on the chopping board with a clang. Seeing her skillful knife skills, Song Jinyi smiled, thinking back to the time when she used to cut carrot shreds thicker than the chopsticks. She joked, "Your knife skills are completely different from before. Did you secretly learn from a famous teacher behind my back?"
Ru'er, who was washing Codonopsis pilosula, heard the gossip and quietly pricked up her ears to eavesdrop.
"How could it be?" Li He denied it at first, "It's that fellow Yu Dongqing. He's very cruel. Any prescription costs more than ten taels, and a consultation costs dozens of taels.
I followed Sister Jinyi's example and cooked delicious food and negotiated the price for him. Later, his condition improved a lot. He no longer needed those expensive medicines or frequent follow-up visits, so I didn't want to cook for him anymore.
But he wouldn't give in, and kept pestering me, even paying me in the end. I thought it wasn't a loss, so I agreed. After three years of cooking, my knife skills have been honed."
"So you learned this medicinal recipe from him?"
"Well... I guess so." Li He was skillfully applying salt to the chicken while talking about how Yu Dongqing and she would occasionally hang out in the medicine store on Yaowang Island when they were bored. That's how she got to know a lot of medicinal herbs.
Sometimes he would take her to the mountains to collect herbs and to the foot of the mountain to buy herbs. The method of medicinal diet was proposed by him. He would tell her which herbs and which ingredients complement each other, and she would try them until the taste became acceptable to her - and then sell them to the noble people who came to see the doctor.
He gets 20%, 30% and 70% of the money earned, Li He gets 7%, and he gets 30%.
Song Jinyi said nothing more, but just looked at her thoughtfully. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and there was a smile that she didn't even notice.
Li He stuffed the washed astragalus and codonopsis into the chicken's stomach, and the originally deflated chicken frame suddenly became full.
Then, add appropriate amount of water and simmer slowly.
The casserole was bubbling. Li He lifted the lid with a wet cloth. The hot steam rushed up to the roof like a cat with its tail scalded.
The white mist of heat dissipated, revealing the orange-yellow soup surface with a thin layer of oil floating on it. The chicken stewed inside was as crystal clear as white jade.
Ru'er, who was standing nearby, swallowed unconsciously when she saw this. "I didn't expect that medicinal herbs could be stewed into something so delicious?"
Huo Changqing hadn't eaten for a long time, and his stomach was irritated by the taste of the medicine just now. He felt sour stomachache and had no appetite until he saw Ru'er holding the clear medicine soup in a celadon bowl.
It smelled so good. When it was brought to him, he immediately smelled a faint medicinal aroma and a rich meaty aroma. The golden soup was sprinkled with tender green chopped green onions, which aroused people's most primitive appetite.
He felt his dormant stomach begin to wake up, his Adam's apple moved, and he actually felt a little hungry.
He first took a tentative taste. It was not greasy at all and extremely fresh. After a few bites, he instantly became energetic and drank a large bowl of it, which was rare for him.
Seeing this, Ruer burst into tears of joy, turned her back and gently wiped her tears with her sleeves.
After a while, she calmed down her excitement, helped Huo Changqing wash his hands and wash his body, and then sent the two of them out on his behalf.
When she reached the door, Ruer suddenly stopped and looked at Li He shyly.
Li He was very familiar with this look, because Yu Dongqing looked at her the same way when he asked her to cook.
She helped out at Zhaixinglou out of respect for Song Jinyi. She hadn't negotiated her wages, and the amount didn't matter to her. It was mainly because it was boring. Those ingredients, without any technical skills, made her feel dull.
Now that she had something to do, she certainly wouldn't refuse, and she could even do the other person a favor. She thought for a moment and said, "I can come over and make medicinal food for your boss, but I'll have to charge you next time."
Ru'er was so happy to hear that she was willing that she nodded repeatedly and said, "Of course."
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