Xu Yi didn’t rush to prescribe medicine for Madam He. In modern times, cervical spondylosis wasn’t considered a serious condition. Many young working people had it to some degree.
Especially those with sedentary jobs. After working for a few years, they would experience discomfort in their necks, shoulders, and upper backs. Some felt numbness, others soreness, and there were even uncomfortable symptoms in the arms and outer thighs.
Severe cases could experience dizziness, nausea and vomiting, ear pain and tinnitus, and even chest pain.
“Brother Qiu, Madam He’s condition isn’t serious. A few packets of medicinal decoction should take care of it without any major issues,” Xu Yi said reassuringly.
Madam He stopped him, saying, “I really don’t need medicine. If it’s not a serious problem, let’s not waste money. Didn’t you just say that moving around more would help? Then I’ll just make sure not to sit for too long. I’ll get up and walk around after doing embroidery for a while.”
Brother Qiu was already sixteen now. If they didn’t settle his marriage soon, it would be too late.
Each year, after expenses, their household could only save two or three strings of cash at most. She’d heard that marriage gifts in Pengxi County were getting more and more expensive, and even Yanting County was being affected. To marry a girl from a good family, you couldn’t negotiate without several dozen strings of cash.
To save face, many families would sell everything they had just to put together a respectable betrothal gift.
No matter what anyone said, Madam He refused. As her son, He Linqiu had tried to persuade her several times to no avail.
In the end, He Linqiu thought that perhaps his mother would be willing to listen to Xu Yi.
He pulled Xu Yi outside.
“Brother Yi, can you try to persuade my mother? If she doesn’t take medicine, will she…” He Linqiu’s reddened eyes hadn’t faded yet, and his eyes looked pleadingly at Xu Yi.
Xu Yi thought for a moment and said, “We have several medicinal ingredients at home that can be used. I’ll write down a few more ingredients for you to buy from the medicine hall and bring to me. This way we can save part of the medicine cost.”
With this arrangement, Madam He should be willing to drink the medicinal decoction.
He Linqiu’s eyes lit up. He thought this was an excellent solution. As long as it didn’t cost so much money, his mother would definitely agree.
He immediately pulled Xu Yi back into the house.
Having just had her pulse taken, Madam He didn’t dare continue with her embroidery work. Instead, she was wiping the table and door with a cloth.
Seeing them return, she asked, “What are you two whispering about that you had to go outside to talk?”
“Mother, I’m only thinking of what’s good for you,” He Linqiu said, taking the cloth from her hand and having her sit down.
Then he told her everything he and Xu Yi had just discussed in one breath. But he saw Madam He’s expression turn sour, looking at He Linqiu with a touch of reproach.
“You! I thought you went to get Brother Yi’s consultation fee, but you’re actually trying to take advantage of him.”
He Linqiu froze, realizing what she meant. “I didn’t, I didn’t think of that.”
He had only been focused on getting Madam He to agree.
Xu Yi spoke up appropriately to diffuse the situation. “It wasn’t Brother Qiu’s idea. I proposed this. After gathering herbs from the mountains, I always keep some as backup. I’m just using those herbs now.”
Madam He said, “But we can’t just use yours for free. You worked hard gathering those herbs. If you sold them to a medicine hall, you could earn dozens of wen. How can we just use them on me?”
Xu Yi glanced at her. “I don’t gather herbs just to sell them for money.”
In the past, his family often arranged free medical clinics in rural areas. Examination fees and medicine costs didn’t require villagers to pay a single cent.
They did this even for strangers, so for Madam He… Xu Yi couldn’t quite make up his mind for the moment.
Madam He had a strong personality and refused to take advantage of Xu Yi. But she also thought that if she didn’t take the medicine, Brother Qiu would worry while working, which wouldn’t be good either.
“Fine, fine. I’ll listen to you both. I’ll drink a few packets of medicinal decoction, but after this, you can’t keep pressuring me like this.”
Xu Yi smiled slightly. “As Madam He wishes.”
Having reached this point in the conversation, Xu Yi and He Linqiu didn’t delay any further. Xu Yi first wrote down the dosages for several herbs and gave them to He Linqiu, telling him not to go to Apricot Grove Hall but to another shop on South Street instead.
He Linqiu was curious and asked why.
Xu Yi shook his head without explaining.
Then he returned to his own courtyard. Among the herbs he had gathered and dried, he found chuanxiong, danggui, huangqi, and danshen. Using his hand, he measured out approximate qian amounts and divided them into five portions, placing them on spread-out hemp paper.
His herb measuring was accurate. Without anyone watching, there wouldn’t be any problems. But in the future, he should still buy a small medicine scale to avoid any criticism.
When He Linqiu returned with the purchased medicine, Xu Yi took the medicine packet, opened it, redistributed the portions, and wrapped them in hemp paper again.
“Brother Yi, how much were those herbs of yours? Let me pay you.”
Xu Yi calculated in his mind and said, “Fifteen wen.”
He Linqiu was somewhat surprised. “That cheap?”
The few herbs he had bought at the medicine hall had cost him thirty-six wen. And the quantity didn’t seem as much as what Xu Yi was using.
“Different herbs have different prices. Earthworms are expensive. Medicine halls sell earthworms for three wen each. You have five here, so that’s fifteen wen,” Xu Yi explained.
Earthworms had the effects of clearing heat and calming wind, as well as promoting circulation through the meridians. When used in prescriptions for treating cervical spondylosis, they worked very well on blocked and obstructed areas.
He had also added peach kernels and safflower to the prescription. Both of these herbs had the effect of removing blood stasis. In “Correcting the Errors of Medical Works,” there was a stasis-removing decoction that used these two herbs.
After hearing Xu Yi’s explanation, He Linqiu understood that herbs varied in price and stopped worrying about whether Xu Yi had undercharged him.
He handed fifteen coins to Xu Yi, only then belatedly remembering Madam He’s instructions. He still hadn’t paid Xu Yi the consultation fee.
Xu Yi had already thought about the consultation fee issue and only charged two wen.
Receiving seventeen wen in total, the weight felt substantial in his palm.
He quickly went out to call an errand runner, asking him to bring two portions of food, as well as a plate of sliced mutton, boiled plain with dipping sauce.
Boiled sliced mutton was very similar to steamed white meat in preparation. An entire hind leg of mutton was placed in an earthenware pot and simmered slowly over low heat. Once thoroughly cooked, it was cut into thin slices with fat and tender, well-cooked skin. Without dipping sauce, it had little flavor. You could only taste the original freshness of the mutton. Not greasy at all, quite delicious.
Xu Yi had eaten it once and thought it tasted excellent. Little Huang also loved eating it.
One plate only had a dozen or so slices. Divided between one person and one dog, each portion wasn’t much.
Combined with other dishes, Xu Yi ate with satisfaction.
At this time, the smell of medicine wafted from the He household next door. He Linqiu was in the kitchen decocting the medicine.
Knowing these herbs had cost dozens of wen, Madam He felt heartbroken. She was terribly afraid that He Linqiu, with his clumsy hands, would ruin the medicine.
“Qiu’er, you go rest. I can handle this.” Taking the palm-leaf fan from He Linqiu’s hand, Madam He urged him to get up.
“Mother, I’m not tired,” He Linqiu shook his head. At his employer’s house, he did much more work. Every day he had to work for many hours before getting to rest. This little bit of work, he could handle well.
His mother still treated him like a child of a few years old.
“Well then…” Madam He thought for a moment. “I’ll make you noodles with toppings. You said last time you wanted to eat them, and we happen to have wheat at home.”
Noodle dishes were also an important staple food for Song Dynasty people, though they ate less of them in the south, consuming more rice, chestnuts, and beans. Therefore, not many people in Yanting County grew wheat. If the He family wanted to eat noodles, they had to buy from the grain shop. One cup of wheat cost twenty-one wen.
One kilogram of wheat could produce half that amount of flour. Made into noodles, it could feed Madam He and her son for a day.
…
At the inn.
Madam Qian sat restlessly by the tea table in her room. The food the hall attendant had brought up had long gone cold, and she still hadn’t thought to pick up her chopsticks.
Last time when the Wang family sent condolence gift money to the Xu family, they only dispatched their steward.
The Wang family ran a wood carving business. Years ago, Grandfather Wang had the foresight to buy a courtyard residence in the county seat. Later, as the family grew, they bought two servants from the servant broker to do odd jobs and hired a steward.
Back then, Master Wang had come to Yanting County for work and encountered Xu Yi, who was studying at a private school. Seeing that this child had a resilient character and studied diligently, he thought this person was a good prospect.
After investigating, he initially felt the family background was somewhat lacking, but figured that if he studied well and passed the imperial examination to become a minor official, that would be acceptable. So he arranged the marriage for his youngest daughter, Mei’er.
Who would have thought that in just two short years, such a major incident would occur? The Wang family immediately regretted it.
This was how Madam Qian came into the picture.
Madam Qian regretted it! If she had known, she wouldn’t have taken on this task. She had thought she could gain quite a few benefits, but now look at what happened. That Xu boy had turned the tables on her instead.
“Hmph! I’m furious!” Madam Qian said through clenched teeth. No, she had to write a letter to the Wang family immediately and let the Wang family’s main branch make the decisions.
Madam Qian stood up and left the room, asking the hall attendant, “Do you know where I can write and send letters?”
Getting an answer, she left with a heavy heart. At the inn entrance, she hired a small chair transport and hurried to the courier station. After paying, she wrote a letter and had it sent to Pengxi County.
Two days later, someone finally arrived from Pengxi County. It was the steward, bringing the Xu family’s betrothal gifts.
Seeing it was him, Madam Qian knew she wouldn’t be able to profit from this. Unwilling to give up, she asked, “My husband didn’t come?”
“Second Master went to Goose Stream Town and couldn’t make it. Master told me to come instead. He also instructed that if the Xu family wants to take back the betrothal gifts, then let them take them. The Wang family won’t withhold this gift money.”
The corner of Madam Qian’s eye twitched. “…”
The steward acted as if he hadn’t noticed and asked her, “Second Madam, when shall we go over? Master is waiting for news.”
If they went too late, he worried the Xu family might change their minds. This errand wouldn’t be easy to handle.
“No rush. I’ve bought quite a few things these past days. You know I don’t recognize many characters. Help me check the list to see if I recorded anything wrong.” Madam Qian put on airs, slowly sipping her tea.
The steward had no choice. After taking the list, he checked everything written on it item by item. By the time he finished, the sky had darkened.
Madam Qian then said they would go to the Xu family tomorrow and had the steward deliver the calling card that day.
…
During these two days, Xu Yi had delivered another batch of digestive pills to Jishi Hall. He also asked the medicine boy if they had saltpeter. Hearing they did, he decisively bought several dozen catties of saltpeter.
He nearly emptied their medicine cabinet of saltpeter.
The medicine boy was astonished, prompting even Doctor Yan to wonder why he was buying so much.
How many prescriptions would it take to use it all up?
“Young Doctor Xu, this saltpeter is a medicine for attacking toxins and reducing swelling, promoting urination and purgation. You can’t use too much,” Doctor Yan reminded him.
Xu Yi nodded. “Thank you for Doctor Yan’s kind intentions. I understand.”
He had bought so much saltpeter not intending to use it in medicine, but to experiment with making ice.
Back when he was studying, when learning about the uses of saltpeter, he had done an experiment on making ice with saltpeter. However, it had been quite a long time, and he couldn’t remember the exact formula from back then.
Thinking that saltpeter wasn’t expensive anyway, he’d buy several dozen catties first to try whether it would work.
Besides, how could he survive Yanting County’s hot summer without ice?
If he couldn’t buy it, he’d just make it himself.
Very confident, Xu Yi carried the bamboo basket loaded with dozens of catties of saltpeter. After making a detour, he arrived at a pottery and tile shop and bought two lidded earthenware pots of different sizes.
Worried about water leakage, Xu Yi specifically chose ones with better sealing. Though they cost several more wen, he felt they were quite worth it once he got them. The large one could hold ten catties of water, while the small one held four.
Next, he also went to a scale shop in the north market and bought a bronze medicine scale.
Medicine scales were difficult to make, with exquisite and meticulous craftsmanship. Only master craftsmen could make scales accurate to a high degree. Xu Yi tested the accuracy on the spot and asked if the price could be negotiated. After confirming it couldn’t, he still cheerfully paid and bought it.
One trip out, and several taels of silver were spent.
The speed of earning money couldn’t keep up with the speed of spending it. It wasn’t that Xu Yi felt bad about the silver, but rather he wondered at this rate, when would he be able to open a medical hall?
Having bought almost everything he needed, Xu Yi carried his bamboo basket home.
Just as he reached the entrance to Stone Well Lane, he ran into He Linqiu, who was also returning home carrying food. He Linqiu quickly walked over and greeted him, “Brother Yi, you’re back from your errands?”
“Yes. Did you go out to buy food?” Xu Yi glanced at the oil paper package in his hand, smelling the aroma of food.
He Linqiu said with a smile, “My mother asked me to buy it. She was planning to send it over to you later. I happened to run into you, so now I don’t have to make another trip.”
“I bought my own.” Xu Yi raised the arm carrying food to show He Linqiu.
“I have Auntie Fei’s fermented wine meatballs, rice cakes from Xu’s shop, and I also bought five salted eggs. I was just about to ask if you wanted some.”
He Linqiu quickly shook his head. He was supposed to be delivering food. How had it turned into Xu Yi asking him to eat?
Xu Yi smiled. Because of the memories in his mind, he had quite a favorable impression of this very filial young man. He said, “Why be polite? These salted eggs are delicious. You and Madam He should each have one to try.”
He stuffed two salted eggs into He Linqiu’s hands and continued home carrying his food.
Little Huang was obediently waiting for him at home. Seeing Xu Yi return, he showed an adorable smile and came over wagging.
Xu Yi shared some meatballs with him and tossed him two rice cakes. Seeing he had eaten everything and was still wagging his tail, he was clearly not full yet.
Looking at Little Huang’s build again, he had grown another size larger.
A domestic dog nearly four months old appeared to weigh over ten catties. The chubby soft cuteness had disappeared, replaced by a body with well-proportioned lines.
In just two short months, both person and dog had changed tremendously.
Xu Yi enjoyed the pleasure of petting the dog. After eating, he planned to try making ice with saltpeter.
Ancient texts recorded quite a few ice-making methods, but the probability of success wasn’t high. Back then, Xu Yi had only watched the experiment, but never actually tried it himself. Now that he really had to make it, he still felt quite anxious.
He first poured well water into the large earthenware pot. The well water drawn from the bottom of the well was ice cold. Xu Yi untied the hemp bag containing saltpeter and took out fist-sized chunks of saltpeter.
The saltpeter of this era hadn’t undergone purification processing yet. Its color looked slightly yellow with a hint of orange-pink.
It had no smell, but if burned, it would produce nitric smoke, a pungent gas similar to firecrackers. If tasted, it had a cooling salty-spicy flavor. You couldn’t eat much of it as it was slightly toxic.
He put the crushed saltpeter into the pot, letting the water slowly dissolve it. Then he filled the small earthenware pot to eighty percent full with water, sealed it well, and placed it inside the large pot.
Xu Yi moved them to a shaded area in the room and stirred with a wooden stick at a constant speed.
Feeling the temperature outside the pot drop rapidly, his eyes showed joy. Until the saltpeter completely dissolved, Xu Yi stopped stirring and sealed the large pot with its lid as well.
By the time he finished all this, the sky had darkened.
Xu Yi got up to light the oil lamp. Just as he was about to eat dinner, he heard someone knocking at the door. When he went out, he discovered it was a familiar stranger.
A man in his forties with a small mustache, wearing a blue-green square cap and a silk gown of the same color. He was carrying a box of pastries and smiled upon seeing Xu Yi.
“Greetings to Young Master Xu. This humble one has come on behalf of my Second Madam to deliver a calling card. We’re wondering if we might visit tomorrow at the fourth shichen (8am). Would Young Master Xu be available?” The steward asked unhurriedly, then took out the card from his robes and handed it over.
Xu Yi had been waiting for someone from the Wang family anyway. What did it matter if it was the steward who came? He accepted the card.
As for those pastries, he wasn’t lacking in things to eat.
The next morning, when Xu Yi woke, his first action wasn’t to drink water and practice boxing, but to run to the corner to look at his two earthenware pots.
After cooling overnight, the outside of the pots felt extremely cold to the touch, with a layer of white frost on the surface that turned to ice water at the slightest touch.
Xu Yi couldn’t wait to open the lid on top and take out the pot that had been soaking inside. After carefully opening its lid, he looked at the scene inside and fell into a daze.
It hadn’t turned into ice?
Had he used too little saltpeter?
Considering he had used almost half the saltpeter, yet gotten this result, he couldn’t help but doubt whether his memory was wrong. Perhaps what they had used in the experiment before wasn’t saltpeter at all, but something else.
That shouldn’t be right. His memory wasn’t that bad. It must be that the proportions were wrong.
Xu Yi refused to give up. He crushed all the remaining saltpeter piece by piece, first dissolving it with a small amount of water, then pouring it into the pot and stirring.
Soon, the temperature inside the pot dropped again. Xu Yi seemed to see hope. He only ate a few bites of breakfast perfunctorily before returning to the pots, repeatedly checking whether the small pot inside had frozen or not.
For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to his middle school years, with his eyes and heart full of anticipation for new things.
Waiting and waiting, before the pot froze, Madam Qian and Steward Wang arrived first, with two errand runners carrying things behind them.
Coming with such fanfare, they quickly attracted the attention of other residents in Stone Well Lane.
“Who are these people?”
“They seem to be carrying quite a few good things. Has Young Master Xu made connections with some wealthy family again?”
“Not sure. Come on, let’s go see and we’ll know.”
“…”
Almost at the same moment Xu Yi opened the door, several familiar neighbors from both sides had gathered outside the Xu family courtyard.
Seeing Xu Yi come out, someone asked familiarly, “Young Master Xu, is this another good fortune?”
Last time they had witnessed the Xing family delivering furniture. Today, it seemed somewhat different.
Before Xu Yi could speak, Madam Qian said with a smile, “This is naturally good fortune. The other day I came to see Young Master Xu, asking how he’d been lately. But alas, fate had other plans. As we talked, we actually ended up calling off the previously arranged marriage. Our Wang family is thinking of Young Master Xu. With the Xu family’s current circumstances, they should focus on their own livelihood first. If they were to marry now, wouldn’t they be going hungry and unable to make ends meet?”
Her words sounded pleasant, but every sentence was implying that the Xu family was now in dire straits.
The neighbors were all confused, looking at each other, not understanding how this Wang family could see that the Xu family couldn’t make ends meet.
And they even wanted to call off the marriage!
You should know that even if Young Master Xu didn’t study, he was still a hot commodity in Stone Well Lane. Many families with daughters wanted Xu Yi as their son-in-law.
“Is your Wang family confused? Giving up such a good marriage match, and wanting to break the engagement?”
“That’s right, that’s right. Why would you call it off?”
“These things, could they be the betrothal gifts the Xu family presented back then? That’s quite a lot of gifts. How could you look down on them?”
“…”
With everyone speaking at once, Xu Yi still didn’t need to say much.
Xu Yi looked indifferently as Madam Qian’s face flushed red. Though he didn’t know what she was thinking, it probably wasn’t anything good.
He cupped his hands and invited Madam Qian and Steward Wang inside.
The two errand runners carried the gifts into the house, asked Steward Wang for payment, and left this place of controversy.
The people gathered outside watching the excitement didn’t disperse but continued discussing in low voices.
None of this concerned Xu Yi. He counted the gifts the Wang family had brought. Not a single item was missing. Only then did he speak. “Before the new year, to treat my father and mother’s illnesses, I pawned the seasonal gifts your Wang family had sent. This is the list I’ve compiled. Please review it, Steward Wang.”
He first handed him the list, then continued matter-of-factly, “The Xu family won’t owe the Wang family anything. I’ve converted all these gifts into silver money, totaling eleven strings and eight qian. Here are two five-tael banknotes, and the eighteen qian are all here.”
Steward Wang took the list and looked. On it was written a beautiful handwriting, spirited and extraordinary.
He was merely hired to serve as the main family’s steward. He didn’t intend to get involved in the main family’s grudges and grievances, but he couldn’t help thinking that perhaps Master had made a mistake in wanting to break the engagement with the Xu family.
Like those people discussing outside, judging from their expressions and words, this Young Master Xu wasn’t at all like what Madam Qian had described, petty and profit-seeking, a hypocritical villain.
“Everything checks out. Thank you, Young Master Xu, for remembering everything so clearly without a single error.” The steward closed the list and handed it to Madam Qian to review.
How could Madam Qian recognize so many characters? After roughly glancing at it a few times, she felt dizzy.
She snorted coldly and put down the list, saying, “Since the gifts have been delivered, shouldn’t Young Master Xu take out the marriage contract he’s holding?”
Xu Yi said calmly, “Where is the Wang family’s marriage contract?”
These marriage contracts came in duplicate, with the content written in reverse. First came an auspicious phrase, then identification of the parties. For example, the copy Xu Yi held read “The Wang family has a fine daughter, willing to form a good match with the Xu family” and similar writing.
It was written on silk fabric that wouldn’t easily deteriorate. Though small, it was expensive, showing utmost sincerity.
Such sincerity, with the passage of time, no longer existed.
After exchanging marriage contracts, Xu Yi expressionlessly burned that thin silk fabric to ashes in front of them.
No matter how arrogant Madam Qian had been, she was now shocked by Xu Yi’s actions.
He… he…
How dare he humiliate their Wang family like this! Wasn’t he afraid they would spread word of the broken engagement, making him lose all face?!
Steward Wang was also very surprised. He had thought today’s negotiations would be very troublesome. In reality, the other party didn’t even want to exchange pleasantries with them.
After burning the silk, Xu Yi asked them to leave the Xu residence.
Walking out of the Xu family courtyard, Madam Qian looked back at that shabby little thatched cottage and still couldn’t understand how Xu Yi dared to act this way.
Xu Yi had no interest in their thoughts whatsoever.
Whether it was the Wang family or the Li family, he needed to go see if his ice had been made!
Lol I’m with Xu Ji on this one, summer cannot be survived without cooling methods