Chapter 891 Purple Grass and Shrimp Skin Pill
Wu Erniang and the others from the maternity ward stood behind Chen Yanfu and Steward Li, watching Li Sanniang, Song Fuling, and Qiu Xiang get into the carriage and slowly drive away from the maternity ward. Only then did they disperse at Chen Yanfu's call and return to their respective tasks.
In fact, Li San Niang's meeting was quite long. Although it lasted less than two hours, it was only a quarter of an hour away from being over.
Therefore, it was already dark, and in another quarter of an hour, it would be time for everyone in the maternity ward to finish their shift.
Wu Erniang went to the pharmacy and got some medicinal herbs, which she placed on the long table. She stood in front of the table and focused on processing them, thinking she could finish them before her shift ended.
Tomorrow is her day off. If she does a good job of sorting the medicinal herbs today, she can have some free time to read when she comes to her shift the day after tomorrow.
Yes, being on duty in the maternity ward is similar to being on duty in the Imperial Medical Academy. Everyone takes turns resting so that they can take good care of the women, mothers and children who come to the maternity ward for treatment, while also allowing everyone in the maternity ward to have time to rest.
People aren't made of iron; they get tired.
Even if someone were made of iron, they simply couldn't withstand such strenuous exertion.
In fact, Wu Erniang had not had a day off for three consecutive months. Before that, she was busy preparing for the physician exchange conference at the maternity ward. Later, Li Sanniang assigned her the task of integrating the list of midwives in Chang'an City. Wu Erniang had been working non-stop for a month and was indeed exhausted.
Therefore, Wu Erniang went to Steward Li to register her name for this day off, and tomorrow will be her day off.
While Wu Erniang was concentrating on processing the medicinal herbs, a young woman named Yu Niang, who had just been recruited into the maternity ward last month and was only a little over fourteen years old, walked into the pharmacy.
Yu Niang's father and grandfather were both doctors, but not in Chang'an City, but in a village outside Chang'an City.
Therefore, she was exposed to these things from a young age, and when she was four or five years old, she learned how to process medicinal herbs from her family.
As soon as she came in, she moved a stool next to Wu Erniang and casually rummaged through the medicinal herbs in front of her, helping Wu Erniang process them.
Wu Erniang was a woman of few words, while Yu Niang was lively and outgoing. She didn't need Wu Erniang to say anything first; she started talking on her own.
"Sister Wu, that Medical Supervisor Li is truly astonishing."
"This is the first time I've seen a female official," Yu Niang tilted her head as if thinking of something, then denied her own words: "Not really, Director Chen is also a female official... it's just that Director Chen is very different from Medical Supervisor Li, how should I put it?"
Sigh, it's not what I expected at all.
Wu Erniang seemed to understand what Yu Niang meant. She looked up at Yu Niang and smiled, saying, "Do you think that Doctor Li is being too nice to us?"
Yu Niang stared at Wu Er Niang with her round, bulging eyes. "Medical Supervisor Li is different. She treats everyone in our maternity ward as one of her own. As long as you are serious and do your job well for the maternity ward, Medical Supervisor Li is a person who makes you feel like you are bathed in a spring breeze."
Just like today, when we're having a meeting together, we can not only sit down, but also drink tea and eat snacks.
Because we've been so busy lately and haven't had a proper rest, Dr. Li bowed to us in gratitude.
Yu Niang, although I have never met other officials, I think that no one else would treat people like us so well.
"Director Chen is right. We should do our best to repay Dr. Li's kindness to us."
"Sister Wu is right!"
Yes, that's exactly what I mean!
I think Dr. Li is really good to us!
But she treats me even better than my mother and father.
Hearing Yu Niang say this, Wu Er Niang sighed.
Yu Niang was able to work at the maternity ward entirely through her own efforts.
She is already fourteen years old, and in another year she will reach the age of marriage, which means she is old enough to get married.
Yu Niang's father arranged a marriage for her, wanting her to marry the grandson of the medicine merchant who bought her family's medicinal herbs.
The medicine merchant's hometown was not in Chang'an. His grandson was seven or eight years older than Yu Niang, and he had already married a wife.
However, the man's wife contracted an illness and died back in their hometown, leaving behind a child who was not yet three years old.
As for why Yu Niang's father agreed to the marriage, it wasn't entirely for the dowry. He genuinely believed that the medicine merchant was a family that had been in business for over a decade and had some savings, and the man already had an eldest son, so there was no need for Yu Niang to have a child after marrying into the family.
Thus, apart from being older and living far from Chang'an, in Yu Niang's father's view, given their family's circumstances, this medicine merchant's grandson was the best possible match for Yu Niang.
But he was wrong. He only thought that "everything is for Yu Niang's good" when he did things, but forgot to ask Yu Niang whether she was willing to come.
Yu Niang was naturally unwilling. She didn't want to leave her parents, nor did she want to leave Chang'an, and she certainly didn't want to marry an "old" man who was seven or eight years older than her.
So, she mustered her courage and took a horse-drawn carriage to the maternity ward, where she asked Chen Yanfu for a chance to work there.
Yu Niang had genuine skills in handling medicinal herbs and dispensing medicine since childhood, which is why she succeeded.
The bell in the maternity ward rang out, "ring ring ring," as Steward Li rang it on time.
Yu Niang and Wu Er Niang stayed in the pharmacy a little longer, processing all the medicinal herbs they had, tidying them up and putting them away properly, before saying goodbye to Steward Li, going back to the dressing room to change their clothes, and leaving the maternity ward hand in hand.
"Sister Wu, hurry up! Grandma Zhou's wontons are limited. We need to go early, or we might not be able to get any."
Wu Erniang complied with Yu Niang's wishes, letting her take her hand and jog towards the alley two streets away.
The two arrived at the stall not too late, and Granny Zhou was very efficient, serving two bowls of pork balls in no time.
"Sister Wu, please try this. This is seaweed (laver). Grandma Zhou said it's a seaweed that comes from the sea, and it makes the soup very delicious."
Hearing Yu Niang's words, Granny Zhou, who was standing nearby, laughed and interjected, "I'm not exaggerating, but this was bought from a supermarket in the West Market at a real high price. The shopkeeper said that this thing came from the east and is called purple grass, which is a local specialty."
Young lady, have a taste! It's truly delicious.
Intrigued by their conversation, Wu Erniang became curious as well. She picked up a wooden spoon, scooped up a spoonful of soup with a little bit of purple gromwell root, and put it in her mouth to savor it.
Yu Niang could tell from the expression on Wu Er Niang's face that Wu Er Niang thought it was delicious, so she happily pushed the soup bowl in front of her towards Wu Er Niang.
“I also added dried shrimp to this bowl. They’re from the sea to the east. They’re tiny, much smaller than river shrimp. Sister Wu, please try them.”
Grandma Zhou chimed in, "It's not that I'm stingy, but dried shrimp is several times more expensive than purple gromwell root. If you want dried shrimp in your pills, you'll have to pay extra."
"Young lady, I've put plenty in this bowl."
Unable to refuse Wu Erniang's hospitality, she scooped a spoonful of soup with dried shrimp from Yu Niang's bowl, put it in her mouth, and after swallowing the soup, she carefully chewed the dried shrimp on her tongue. "Yu Niang, this purple grass and dried shrimp soup is truly delicious and incredibly tasty!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com