Today Wang Xiaohua was in charge of cleaning the clinic. She rode her bicycle here without having breakfast, but as soon as she arrived she found that the iron gate was already open and a very fragrant smell was coming from the yard.
"Who's lighting the fire in the back mountain so early in the morning? Aren't you afraid of wetting the bed at night?!" Wang Xiaohua thought it was some kid making trouble, so she yelled angrily. Suddenly, she remembered something, ran to the yard, and saw Mu Huaixi scraping the bottom of the pot with a big iron spoon.
"Oh, how did you finish it? I said I'd come early to help you light the fire!" Wang Xiaohua had said she would help her make the ointment. Seeing that she had poured out a pot of thick ointment, she excitedly wanted to help carry it. "Are you going to spread the ointment next? Let me help you carry it back to the house?"
Mu Huaixi shook his head, took a rope and motioned her to follow him, and walked to the pond where Dr. Jiang often fetched water. He tied the handle with a rope and immersed the iron bucket filled with ointment in the pond.
"Find some stones to cushion it," Mu Huaixi held the handle of the iron bucket and signaled Wang Xiaohua to help raise the bucket to prevent water from flooding in.
Wang Xiaohua was picking up stones while wondering, "Why is this different from what I said before?"
"I had a burst of inspiration when I woke up this morning, so I changed the recipe," Mu Huaixi explained half-truthfully. Originally, she used vegetable oil to soak the herbs. Although it took a little longer, it could greatly reduce the fire poison. But this morning when she was "watching" her grandfather making the ointment on the mountain, she found that the old man chose to soak the herbs and then take out some of the herbs and fry them again, squeezing out as much of the herbs as possible. The ointment made in this way is more powerful and long-lasting.
The Mu family ointment formula is mainly based on more than 30 kinds of medicinal materials such as Huaixi, Duhuo, and Wei Lingxian. The extracted medicinal oil is mixed with red lead and stirred evenly to form an ointment. After removing the fire poison, it is mixed with medicinal powders such as cinnamon, frankincense, and blood clotting, and spread on the ointment cloth.
"Wow," Wang Xiaohua exclaimed in amazement at the sheer number of ingredients involved. No wonder Dr. Mu's plasters cost two yuan and twenty-five cents each. She'd initially thought it was expensive, but now that she knew it involved so many goodies and a huge barrel of oil, she was worried Dr. Mu might be losing money. She was so curious about so many things that before Mu Huaixi could answer, she pressed on, "What is Huaixi? How come it's the same name as yours, Dr. Mu?"
"It's my name," Mu Huaixi thought of what his grandfather had said, and couldn't help but curl his lips. Huaixi, also known as Achyranthes bidentata, is a common medicinal herb with a neutral nature, bitter, sweet, and sour flavors. It also looks ordinary. However, its body is tough and is often used in prescriptions to promote blood circulation and dredge meridians, and it can also guide blood downward as a meridian guide.
Her grandfather gave her this name because he hoped she would be as tough as ox knee and that she would not care about gains and losses or reputation and become a person who is beneficial to society.
"That's great, Huaixi, your name is gentle and meaningful, unlike me who is just a little flower," Wang Xiaohua held her face, feeling extremely envious.
Mu Huaixi winked at her and said, "It's okay. We both grew up by the river and the road. I'll accompany you."
Wang Xiaohua was so happy that she couldn't straighten her back for a long time. Seeing the iron bucket in the water, she couldn't wait any longer. "Can we apply the plaster tomorrow? Will we have to wait ten days?"
"That's not necessary," Mu Huaixi only fried a portion of the herbs, thinking that soaking them for three days would be enough, meaning they could be sold in four days. "By the way, each person is limited to two patches of this plaster."
"Ah? Why?" Wang Xiaohua was a little dumbfounded. She glanced at Mu Huaixi and didn't dare to say that maybe her fellow villagers wouldn't buy any patches, so why did Dr. Mu limit the purchase?
"Two patches are enough," Mu Huaixi said without further ado. In fact, this time, they had added a little bit of Tripterygium wilfordii to the plaster, so two patches would be enough. Tripterygium wilfordii is very poisonous, but it can be a miracle drug if used properly.
Seeing her extremely confident, Wang Xiaohua put aside her worries and agreed, repeatedly promising her, "You must take me with you when you go to the plaster shop in three days!"
But three days later, Wang Xiaohua failed to get what she wanted.
Jiang Wenyuan successfully brought back a batch of pagoda candies and asked everyone to go to the big market three days later to learn from Lei Feng and do good deeds with the veterans. After he returned to the health center to announce the news, he went to the valley to find the regiment commander.
Mu Huaixi discussed with Fengjuan and Xiaohua and decided to borrow an old wooden table from Xiaogao, cover it with a white sheet, and put a blood pressure monitor and pagoda candies on it to make it look more professional.
Jiang Wenyuan was not very interested in these "superficial efforts", but on the day of the market, looking at the old soldier squatting next to him shouting and hawking ink knives and scissors, he felt that the small table in the health center was quite formal.
"That's right," Wang Xiaohua, who had already walked around the area, returned with a pinch of fried fruit. "If it weren't for the table that Doctor Mu set up, we'd have to squat and shout, and then who would be able to tell if we were delivering medicine or selling candy? Doctor Jiang, you know what, if you weren't wearing that white coat, you'd really look like a street vendor."
Jiang Wenyuan sometimes couldn't stand Wang Xiaohua. He twitched his lips and decided not to argue with Wang Xiaohua. He pointed in the direction of the military checkpoint where the veterans were gathered and said, "I'll go over there to check the situation. You guys keep watch over the stall."
Mu Huaixi noticed Luo Rui was also with the veteran. He pulled Wang Xiaohua and asked, "Doctor Jiang is at the clinic every day, but he doesn't seem to be close to anyone."
She spoke cryptically, but Wang Xiaohua understood immediately. She swallowed the fried fruit in two bites and sneaked closer, "Hey, I think Doctor Jiang is interested in Captain Gu of the Women's Independent Company!"
"Huh?" Mu Huaixi was shocked. Could it be that she knocked on the wrong button?
Wang Xiaohua counted on her fingers, "Captain Gu has come to the clinic three times. Every time, Doctor Jiang was very enthusiastic and saw him off to the door. He even asked someone to bring medicine to Captain Gu. Yesterday, I ran into him delivering something to Captain Gu. His eyes were so smiling that I couldn't even see them!"
Mu Huaixi touched her chin. Could it be that she really saw it wrong? Could it be that Dr. Jiang cared about his childhood friend because he wanted to get the upper hand?
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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