Shen Mingzhi went to find some herbs and brought them back, then busied herself cooking them in an earthenware pot on a honeycomb briquette stove.
Aunt Wang held Jiang Zhou, who was still crying, and sat down beside him. She picked up the herbs she had found and examined them. "Is this for treating Xiao Zhou's rash?"
"Yes, it's too hot in the room. He's not only getting heat rash, but he'll also develop a rash later because of the internal heat," Shen Mingzhi explained to Wang Sao.
Aunt Wang's eyes lit up. "Miss Chen, you seem to know a lot about medicine."
Shen Mingzhi was taken aback. She had started her career as a pharmaceutical sales representative, running around doing sales to promote drugs, which was incredibly tough. And the drugs that hadn't even been developed in this era—back in her time, she had memorized all the formulas and even knew all their therapeutic effects.
She was struggling last night with what to do to make money, but now she has a direction.
After the medicine was boiled, Shen Mingzhi used a palm-leaf fan to cool it down before quickly scooping it out.
Seeing the clear green ointment, Aunt Wang was very curious. "Can this treat both internal and external heat?"
"Mmm." Shen Mingzhi applied the ointment to Jiang Zhou.
After a while, Jiang Zhou's crying subsided, and after a few whimpers, he finally fell asleep from exhaustion.
Shen Mingzhi scooped out the rest and put them in an empty bowl, then asked Wang Sao to apply some to Jiang Nian as well.
She brewed another pot.
Both children will need these before we move.
"Miss Chen, may I take some with me? I'll apply some when I get itchy." The cool scent of the ointment made Wang Sao feel very clear-headed.
“Give me as much as you want. I’ve dug up quite a lot of this herb, enough to brew another pot,” Shen Mingzhi replied with a smile.
Sister Wang asked the young man for an empty face cream box, and carried one with her. "You don't know, the children of the girls I knew before all got this problem every summer. We used this gentian violet to cure it. We rubbed it until a layer of white skin appeared, and that was considered to have passed."
Shen Mingzhi knew very well that this eczema could actually be cured by simply enduring it.
Therefore, gentian violet only irritates the itch and does not truly eliminate the underlying cause.
“My neighbor has a son who seems to have the same problem, but this summer came early and got hot very quickly. Her son is itchy every day, and his whole body is covered in purple welts from rubbing, but it hasn’t gotten better. I’m taking this home to try on her son.” Aunt Wang chatted with her as she watched her brew the medicine.
Shen Mingzhi said, "Eczema is often accompanied by a low-grade fever. I'll prepare some other medicine for you later, and you can apply it to both children along with this ointment."
"Okay...okay." Aunt Wang hadn't expected Shen Mingzhi to be so capable.
“Our house is too damp and hot, it’s easy for this to happen again. I need to go out and buy some barley to cook porridge. We should drink some every day to get rid of the dampness,” Shen Mingzhi explained to Wang Sao.
Sister Wang couldn't help but exclaim, "Miss Chen, you know so much!"
Shen Mingzhi just smiled, but didn't say anything more.
She prepared the medicinal paste, went out and bought some inexpensive medicinal herbs, made fever-reducing patches, and gave them to Sister Wang.
As she was about to leave, she saw Wang Sao carefully wiping the sweat off the children, putting fever-reducing patches on them, and even smelling the children's bottoms to see if they had pooped.
With a smile, she left with a sense of relief.
When she returned, Aunt Wang was about to leave. "Zhizhi, I've already prepared your meal. Oh, and I've burned some mugwort in the house to repel mosquitoes and keep the room from getting too damp. I've already gotten the children to poop and pee, and they've eaten their fill. After you finish eating, take a shower and rest. Tomorrow I'll ask around and see if there are any spare electric fans nearby, and I'll get one for you."
She explained everything in detail.
Shen Mingzhi was deeply moved. "Okay, thank you."
Shen Mingzhi slept better that night than the previous nights, but getting up in the middle of the night to feed the baby and change diapers still left her a little sleep-deprived.
The next morning, she woke up with panda eyes and couldn't help but groan inwardly.
At a young age, she became a mother of two, and now she feeds both babies every night, which is so exhausting that she is on the verge of depression.
When she was a medical representative, she researched postpartum depression, but now she feels there's no need to research it anymore... She has personally experienced that insufficient sleep can cause changes in the brain, leading to depression, which is the culprit.
Thinking back to that rainy night, she cursed that jerk a hundred times!
She was full of sorrow, but Aunt Wang was all smiles early in the morning. She rushed into her room like a gust of wind, pulled her to sit on the edge of the bed, and said with a face full of surprise, "I took two of the ointment and fever-reducing patches you gave me yesterday and used some on my neighbor's child. The child's mother asked me this morning if you sell these ointment and fever-reducing patches. She wants some! Can you make some to sell?"
"Of course, you can help me sell it. Besides the child's salary, I'll give you 20% of the profits from every sale you make. What do you think?" Shen Mingzhi had intentionally mentioned this to her yesterday, hoping that she would try it out on people she knew.
If it works well, sales channels will open up.
"Why bother with profit sharing—"
“Sister Wang, I don’t covet your hard work. Besides, everyone has their difficulties. You went to work for the Jiang family to support your family, didn’t you? You take good care of my child and are good to me. Of course I think of you when I can earn money.” Shen Mingzhi always kept clear accounts with his own brothers.
Only when you truly care about the other person, appreciate their hard work, and respect them, will you be able to distribute money fairly and justly.
As Shen Mingzhi spoke, she went to get paper and pen. "We need to write a contract. Once we sign it, we'll be official partners when it comes to making money."
Aunt Wang sat at the table and declined, saying, "Miss, I really don't want your money. You've already given me money—"
"Sister Wang, I'm counting on you to take care of my children for a long, long time to come. When they can talk, they'll have to call you Grandma," Shen Mingzhi said with a smile.
Wang's wife was touched by her words and looked at her without saying a word for a long time.
After a long while, she said with red eyes and wiping away tears, "When I saw you carrying your two children on a shoulder pole and in a bamboo basket that day, I felt so sorry for you. I also have children of my own, and seeing you struggling like this all by yourself really hurt me... I just wanted to share your burden, I didn't mean to take your money."
She was just a nanny, and she came under Jiang Guofu's orders, but Shen Mingzhi treated her as a business partner and as the child's grandmother.
What merit or ability do I possess?
Such a kind girl... how could she have such a miserable life?
"I know, because I value you, I should respect what you've done for me. Please accept my kindness, okay?" Shen Mingzhi gently persuaded.
Aunt Wang choked up, "Miss, from now on, Aunt Wang will be your godmother. If anyone bullies you or your child, I'll break their legs!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
