To truly know a type of Chinese herb, you must start from hands-on experience. When Xu Yi was five years old, he often ran to the pharmacy at home.
His family’s pharmacy was several hundred square meters, with row after row of medicine cabinets nearly six feet tall. Each compartment contained different medicinal herbs. His favorite activity was blindly guessing the herb names, using “look, touch, smell, taste” to identify them. These were the four methods used since ancient times to understand and observe medicines.
The elders at home noticed his love for medicinal herbs, and from an early age, taught him to recognize fresh herbs to the complete process of making them into directly usable medicines.
Over time, Xu Yi developed a pair of eyes that could quickly identify medicinal herbs.
Danshen was among the easier ones to recognize, something he’d been exposed to since childhood. The danshen he dug up this time was all of very high quality, which delighted him immensely.
After digging up all the danshen that could be harvested from this patch, the bamboo basket was two-thirds full. He couldn’t continue digging, or else he wouldn’t be able to carry it down the mountain.
Xu Yi gave up his interest in exploring further inward. Digging medicinal herbs wasn’t work that could be completed in a day or two. There was no need to rush.
While it wasn’t yet the wei hour, Xu Yi led Little Huang down the mountain with steady steps.
Arriving at the stream at the foot of the mountain, he was washing the mud and dirt from his hands on the bank when suddenly he spotted a stalk of dried ginger by his feet.
Dried ginger wasn’t the ginger used in cooking. It was the root bulb of the herbaceous plant ginger used in medicine. This dried ginger had the effects of warming and dispelling cold, restoring yang and rescuing from collapse, warming the qi channels and stopping bleeding.
There was only one stalk. It didn’t really matter whether he harvested it or not, but Xu Yi thought of someone. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed softly and bent down to dig the dried ginger out of the soil.
He took its root, returned to the stream to wash it clean, and tossed it into the bamboo basket on his back.
After finishing this, Xu Yi walked toward where the ox cart was parked.
As the sun moved westward, Xu Yi returned home carrying the heavy bamboo basket on his back.
Just arriving at his doorstep, the courtyard gate next door was flung open with a “clang.” Accountant Chen, whom he’d seen that morning, appeared before him again.
Xu Yi politely stopped and looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
Compared to Accountant Chen that morning, his complexion now was much worse than before. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, his face was pale, his lips tinged with blue. His eyes glaring at Xu Yi almost seemed ready to pop out: “You… what method did you use? After you spoke to me, I really… really got sick!”
Those last words seemed to be ground out through clenched teeth.
Afraid of being overheard by others, his pale face flushed red with anger. For a moment he didn’t look like someone who was sick.
But this was just an illusion. The cold pain in his chest and abdomen wasn’t fake. Just as Xu Yi had said, lying in bed, his limbs had become cold and his abdominal pain unbearable.
Xu Yi raised an eyebrow: “You didn’t get sick after I spoke. You were already sick.”
“Nonsense! How could I suddenly be sick?” Accountant Chen said in pain.
He couldn’t be sick. Once he got sick, the shopkeeper would definitely dismiss him, and he’d never be able to work as an accountant again.
Facing his stubbornness, Xu Yi appeared somewhat helpless yet amused: “Accountant Chen, your complexion was already wrong today. Hasn’t anyone told you?”
Between breaths, Accountant Chen thought of when he had stomach discomfort today and his wife had asked him what was wrong.
He had shaken his head, saying he just had no appetite and felt nauseous from greasy smells. It should be caused by the heat, and he’d go to the medical clinic later to get a prescription to reduce it.
He denied it guiltily: “It was because I smelled that odor you made that I felt unwell. Are you trying to deny responsibility?”
“Me? Deny responsibility?” Xu Yi furrowed his brow. Previously, in consideration of the memories showing that Accountant Chen had shown some care toward the original owner, he had reminded him that he was sick.
When sick, one should see a doctor. This was a principle he had adhered to since childhood. Although he’d transmigrated here, this idea of his still hadn’t changed, after all, the original owner’s parents had been literally dragged to death by their illness.
He smiled lightly: “Accountant Chen, you have external deficiency and internal cold, a deficiency-cold syndrome of the spleen and stomach. At first you’ll feel stomach discomfort, then you’ll have abdominal pain and diarrhea. In severe cases, you could lose your life.”
Actually, speaking from the four steps of “inspection, listening and smelling, inquiry, palpation,” relying only on “inspection” without the other three steps made it very difficult to accurately determine what illness a person had.
Moreover, the diagnostic methods of Chinese medicine differed from Western medicine. It couldn’t give you a very clear diagnosis, and generally wouldn’t tell the patient in great detail what caused them to get what disease.
At least, Chinese medicine wasn’t all that miraculous.
The reason Xu Yi could tell what illness he had was because he was standing so close!
Xu Yi found it hard to ignore the breath hitting his face. Moreover, Accountant Chen’s tongue was pale with a white, slippery coating, and the symptoms he described matched up. Nine times out of ten, it was the cold syndrome he mentioned.
Accountant Chen felt his hair stand on end under his gaze and subconsciously stepped back half a step. When he realized what he’d done, he flew into a rage from shame. He’d almost been intimidated by a teenager.
Damn it! The panic this morning wasn’t a false alarm. This Xu boy really had changed.
“You… don’t talk nonsense!”
Accountant Chen’s true colors showed. His face contorted as he glared fiercely at Xu Yi.
Xu Yi shook his head. This person was beyond help. He’d have to suffer before realizing he wasn’t being threatened.
At this moment, Madam Chen came out from the house in a huff.
Seeing Accountant Chen confronting Xu Yi, her expression instantly darkened. She rolled up her sleeves and came over, showing none of the reserve expected of an ancient Chinese madam, and scolded: “Chen Erwang, aren’t you ashamed? A person of your age bullying Young Master Xu here. What are you thinking? Aren’t you afraid the Chen family will be laughed at by others?”
Living as neighbors, they’d all known each other for several years or even over a decade.
This Accountant Chen, also known as Chen Erwang, a man over thirty years old, was feeling unwell and blamed it on a teenage child. If this got out, he would be ridiculed.
In less than two days, probably the entire Stone Well Lane would know about it.
Chen Erwang’s face flushed red with embarrassment as his wife spoke to him. He stammered, “Wife, you don’t understand. This Xu boy is quite wicked. As soon as I came over, he said again that I’m sick.”
Madam Chen: “…”
Xu Yi: “…”
Xu Yi touched his nose. Seeing Madam Chen looking at him in confusion, he reluctantly explained, “Accountant Chen is indeed unwell. Drinking some medicinal decoction will cure it, but it can’t be delayed.”
So he really was sick.
She had heard yesterday that after Young Master Xu’s parents passed away, he abandoned literature to study medicine and now wanted to become a traveling physician.
For some reason, Madam Chen inexplicably had confidence in Xu Yi. This child used to be so diligent in his studies. Now that he was studying medicine, he would surely be just as diligent.
Madam Chen said: “Since you say so, then thank you, Young Master Xu. Tomorrow I’ll take my accountant to see a doctor.”
“Wife, I’m really not sick!” Accountant Chen exclaimed. He wanted to say more but swallowed his words when she glared at him.
His limbs felt weak and soft. Just like that, he was dragged by the sleeve back to their courtyard.
Watching them leave his field of vision, Xu Yi no longer focused his attention on the Chen household.
After this commotion, by evening, quite a few households living in Stone Well Lane knew about it.
Meanwhile, Xing Yuesen left the private school to look for Xu Yi. Not finding him on South Street, he went home.
He first sat in his grandmother’s room for a while, telling her interesting stories from the private school, then stood up to leave and went to his grandfather’s room.
Previously worried that Grandfather would catch a cold, thick silk curtains embroidered with fortune, longevity, and prosperity hung over Grandfather’s door. Xu Yi had said that Grandfather’s living space needed ventilation, so Grandmother ordered people to remove the silk curtains and replace them with ones that could be tied back.
During the day they were tied back, and at night they were let down. In just a few days, the faint unpleasant odor in Grandfather’s room had disappeared.
“Grandfather.” Xing Yuesen bowed toward the bed.
The curtain there moved, and a young servant came over to place down a brocade cushion. Xing Yuesen familiarly walked over and sat before his grandfather.
Grandfather Xing looked kindly at this grandson from the third branch, with his clear brows and bright eyes, a modest gentleman who looked very promising.
“Sen’er, why did you come so late today to see Grandfather?”
“Grandfather, I went to South Street to look for Xu Yi, but he wasn’t home. I couldn’t find him.” Xing Yuesen lowered his eyes and said.
Xu Yi hadn’t yet reached the age of maturity and still hadn’t received a courtesy name. Since he had no courtesy name, his grandfather could only call him by his given name.
Hearing the two words “Xu Yi,” Grandfather Xing’s eyes opened slightly: “That child is good. After Grandfather took the prescription he wrote for three days, my legs don’t hurt like they did before.”
As he spoke, he grasped Xing Yuesen’s hand and patted it steadily, “Although our Xing family does silk business and has some wealth, we can’t neglect this Young Master Xu.”
While speaking, he beckoned for the young servant to come over and instructed him to accompany the young master from the third branch to the storeroom later to select two decent thank-you gifts to bring along. The next time he went to see that person, he shouldn’t go empty-handed.
Xing Yuesen was delighted. The things in Grandfather’s storeroom were more than just a little bit better than his own.
…
The night was long. The wind picked up, and the pattering sound of rain woke Xu Yi.
He quickly got up, lit the oil lamp on the table, put on his outer garment hanging in the corner, and walked out of the room holding the lamp.
He went to the winnowing basket where the ripened heshouwu was drying. Noticing the fine rain hadn’t yet reached the area, he moved the basket into the kitchen.
Once the Spring rain starts, it won’t stop so easily.
Woof, whine whine whine~
Little Huang, who had been lying down in the courtyard, excitedly stood up and wagged his tail upon hearing Xu Yi’s footsteps.
Xu Yi crouched down to pat his head and back, feeling the damp rainwater, and brought him back inside the room.
The original room was divided into two separate rooms. One originally housed his parents, and the other was where he lived.
The furnishings inside the room were simple: a single bed, a desk for studying, and a chest for clothes.
Xu Yi rummaged through the chest and pulled out a summer quilt, folded it into a block, and made it into a new sleeping nest for Little Huang.
“From now on, you’ll sleep here.” After speaking, he lifted the dog’s ears to establish three rules: “You’re not allowed to disturb me in the middle of the night, not allowed to disturb me in the morning, and if you need to use the bathroom, go outside yourself.”
Little Huang: “Whine~~~”
Xu Yi raised an eyebrow: “And no acting cute.”