Chapter 46 Chapter 46 Fortune and misfortune are interdependent. Fortune and misfortune are interdependent, and misfortune...
Fortunately, Zhao Mingsheng had the foresight to cook a big pot of chicken porridge, otherwise there might not be enough to share.
In addition to chicken congee, sweet and sour pork ribs are also surprisingly popular.
She pinched the two ends of the ribs with her slender fingers, licked the sauce with her lips before it flowed down, and then gently bit it with her pearly teeth, and the meat covered with rich sauce on the ribs fell off the bones.
As you sip the meat, the soft meat and the soup surrounding it dance on your tongue.
In contrast, the plate of spicy and sour baby cabbage was not very popular.
I don’t know whether Yan Zhuo doesn’t like eating vegetarian food or doesn’t like spicy food.
Zhao Mingsheng quite liked it. The blanched baby cabbage removed the bitterness, leaving only sweetness and a very crisp texture. The hot and sour sauce drizzled on it was very appetizing and refreshing, and it was a delightful treat in this hot weather.
Anyway, except Jingliu, everyone else enjoyed the meal very much.
After a hearty meal, Zhao Mingsheng returned to the town. She estimated that it would be too late for her to make dinner.
It happened that the aroma of roast chicken wafted from the roast chicken shop on the street.
"Cui Ergou seems to like this roast chicken very much."
Thinking of this, she paid for a roast chicken, and the boss neatly wrapped it for her with lotus leaves.
After buying the roast chicken, Zhao Mingsheng prepared to take the ox cart back.
At this time, she inadvertently heard discussions at the end of the street.
"Hey, have you heard?"
"What what?" Feeling like there was some gossip, a group of people immediately gathered around.
"That Miss Liu from Yanliu Pavilion, I don't know how she offended Master Cui. A few days ago, she was treated like a treasure, but in the past two days, she has fallen out of favor."
"Oh, that's it?" said the thug next to the stall disdainfully.
"What Miss Liu? Everyone in Qingkang Town knows that she's Liu Yingying, the top performer at Yanliu Pavilion. How could anyone not know this little thing?"
"That's right, that's right!" The crowd waiting to hear the gossip responded impatiently.
The person who initially spread the gossip got anxious and asked, "Who said that's all I know?"
He narrowed his eyes and pretended to be mysterious, "Then do you know why she offended Master Cui? Besides, she is no longer the top star of Yanliu Pavilion!"
This sentence caused quite a stir among the crowd. Many of them had seen Liu Yingying's appearance. She was the undisputed top star. Why was there a sudden change of person?
They only had a vague idea of it, but didn't know the details, so they all shook their heads.
Seeing that no one knew, the man said arrogantly, "Master Cui wanted the recipe for that 'miracle drug,' and Liu Yingying's dissuading him failed. Instead, Master Cui became furious and pushed her. Coincidentally, she bumped into the corner of the table, and immediately started bleeding!"
"Fortunately, the doctor at Xing'an Hall treated him in time and he was saved. Unfortunately, he will probably be left with a large scar on his forehead."
Everyone sighed.
Zhao Mingsheng was also stunned when he heard this.
She suddenly thought of Liu Yingying whom she met that day. Even with her plain makeup, she couldn't hide her beautiful face.
And those light eyes filled with tears when she helped him up were just as described in the book.
If tears were like pearls, they would never fall apart.
And such a beautiful face was ruined by Cui Xin like this? This guy is too unkind to women!
An unknown fire rose in her heart.
"My dear, are you going to leave or not?"
The old man pulling the ox cart nearby saw that he was not getting on the cart for a long time and was getting anxious, so he started to ask.
Zhao Mingsheng came back to his senses and said, "Let's go now."
She couldn't think of any good way to help Madam Liu for the time being, so she had to wait until she got home to make a long-term plan.
Zhao Mingsheng lifted her skirt and got on the ox cart.
This time they returned again at sunset, but Zhao Mingsheng's mood had changed a little compared to last time.
The setting sun is like the last touch of blood in the dusk, reluctant to leave this earth, and its elongated figure looks so thin. But no matter how reluctant it is, it will eventually leave.
The distant glow gradually condensed into a dark cloud as the last ray of sunset disappeared, covering the land.
Zhao Mingsheng returned to the Zhao family with a heavy heart. His long eyelashes hid the complex emotions in his eyes.
"You're finally back!"
Cui Cen's voice was still as energetic as ever. Zhao Mingsheng came back a little late today, and he had been waiting at the door for a long time.
"What's wrong?" When he got closer, he realized that Zhao Mingsheng seemed a little off today, as if he had something on his mind.
Zhao Mingsheng hesitated for a long time, but decided to say it out loud.
"I have a friend..." Zhao Mingsheng felt that this was not right, so he changed his words and said, "No, we are not even friends, just a stranger who met once."
"Well, what next?" Cui Cen listened patiently.
Zhao Mingsheng hesitated and said, "I accidentally heard some things about her today. She seems to have been having a hard time recently and has encountered many bad things. I actually felt a little sad when I heard it."
"Silly girl, why are you sad? Everyone has his own destiny in what he encounters." Cui Ergou reached out and ruffled her hair, disrupting the sadness in her heart.
"Let's say someone broke my leg and dumped me on a mountain. If you hadn't found me, I might have died there." He used himself as an example, his face expression nonchalant as he recalled the incident. "It was a bad thing, but it was also because of this bad thing that I met you...you guys."
When saying these words, Cui Cen's voice was so gentle that he himself was not even aware of it.
If he had not encountered these bad things, he would not have met Zhao Mingsheng, and would not have experienced the wonderful life he has today.
"So, are you sure these bad things are just completely tragic to her?"
Many times, bad things are not necessarily completely tragic, and good things are not necessarily completely happy. So sometimes we should not focus on a bad thing and become overly sad, or focus on a good thing and become overly happy.
Zhao Mingsheng's shoulders relaxed a little. Cui Ergou was right. Everything has two sides.
She should also think positively. Although Madam Liu has lost Cui Xin's favor, it is a blessing for her to be able to leave the side of Cui Xin, a mean man who does not sympathize with women.
"If you have time to be sad here, why don't you think about how to help him?"
"Can I really help her?" Zhao Mingsheng repeatedly confirmed, his eyes sparkling as if there was light gathered in them.
"You are so capable, of course you can." Cui Cen lovingly smoothed her messed up hair back into place.
Zhao Mingsheng clenched her hands in her sleeves and secretly made up her mind that she would find a way to help Madam Liu!
"By the way, is this friend you are talking about a man or a woman?" Cui Ergou suddenly asked out of the blue.
"It's a woman." Zhao Mingsheng answered without thinking.
Cui Cen's mouth corners raised: "Well, it's okay then."
"Let's go and have roast chicken tonight!" Zhao Mingsheng shook the lotus leaf bag in his hand.
Cui Cen's eyes widened immediately. He swallowed hard and pretended to be nonchalant, "Let's go. I'll be waiting for you."
There were two roast chicken legs on the table, one was given to Meng and the other was given to Zhao Mingsheng.
Zhao Mingsheng, who had just had a full meal not long ago, touched his still bulging belly and looked at the big chicken leg in the bowl, feeling a little troubled.
"I've eaten outside, you guys eat." As she said that, she picked up the chicken leg in the bowl and gave it to Cui Cen.
"I said that just now when I was outside the door, I smelled chicken on you, but it didn't smell like roasted chicken."
Cui Ergou's nose twitched a few times, and he said with certainty, "It smells like chicken soup." He sniffed a few more times, and this time he was not calm anymore: "It even has my favorite sweet and sour pork ribs!"
Zhao Mingsheng: ...You really have a dog's nose! You can even smell this!
She finally managed to calm him down by promising to make a big pot of sweet and sour pork ribs for his birthday.
After Zhao's father and his family finished their meal, Zhao Mingsheng urged Zhao's father to go to the pharmacy.
It was the first time that Mr. Zhao saw his daughter so anxious.
"Why are you so flustered?"
Zhao Mingsheng asked straight to the point, "Dad, is there any prescription that can heal wounds, stop bleeding, or remove scars?"
Zhao Mingsheng thought about it for a long time, and this was all she could do to help Madam Liu.
"Yes, there are, but the herbs in these two prescriptions are very rare and difficult to find in the mountains." Father Zhao said after thinking.
"Please give me these two prescriptions, Daddy."
No matter how rare the medicinal herbs are, she must find them.
Father Zhao saw the determination in his daughter's eyes and stopped trying to dissuade her.
After searching in the medicine cabinet for a long time, he finally found the two prescriptions in a book that had been covered in dust for a long time.
Zhao Mingsheng looked at the prescription in his hand and read out the herbs one by one: "Atractylodes macrocephala, Notopterygium wilfordii, Angelica dahurica, Xanthium sibiricum, Cinnamon twig, Rehmannia root, Safflower, Cundong vine, Wulingzhi, Leech..."
She was familiar with the names of other medicinal herbs, but she had never heard of leeches and five-spirit fat.
Zhao Mingsheng couldn't help but ask.
"Daddy, what are these leeches and five-spirit fat?"
Father Zhao knew that Zhao Mingsheng didn't know these two people, so he was waiting for her to ask!
"Leech are actually locusts."
As soon as he mentioned the name, Zhao Mingsheng knew it. This was because leeches were mentioned in the "Compendium of Materia Medica". After being dried, leeches are used to treat blood stasis and amenorrhea. They are a cold herb that can suppress bleeding from wounds.
"Then where can I catch them?" The book doesn't say where to catch leeches.
Father Zhao waved his hands, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Leech aren't like those herbs that grow in the mountains. They're very alive." He paused and continued, "Leech usually live in rice paddies or shallow puddles."
Zhao Mingsheng nodded to indicate that he understood.
"What is the Five Spirits Fat then? It must be very precious, right?"
The name alone sounded so precious that she couldn't help but become more serious.
As soon as he asked this question, Zhao Mingsheng noticed that his father's expression was a little strange, as if he wanted to laugh but was holding it back.
"Wulingzhi is also called cold bug excrement, and orange-footed flying squirrels are also called cold bugs. These orange-footed flying squirrels fly through the woods and love to eat the tender leaves at the top of the treetops, so their excrement is also very useful."
However, this orange-footed flying squirrel is very rare and is almost never seen outside the Green Mountains, let alone their feces. To find them, one must go deeper into the mountains, but the depths of the mountains are full of dangers, so the rare medicinal ingredient that Zhao's father said is this one.
Zhao Mingsheng's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Dad, are you saying that this herb is rat shit???"
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