bayedsolid Chapter 207 Two Medicines Swapped
Chapter 207 Two Medicines Swapped
Chen Ji's face was filled with surprise and emotion, his eyes sparkling as he laughed loudly, "I never imagined that in all my years, I would have such a young and promising disciple like you! Hahaha, this is truly fate! Hahaha—"
Lin Qianqian smiled, revealing two deep dimples, and replied with an adorable grin, "Hehehe~ It's my greatest honor to become your apprentice. I'll have to ask for your guidance and instruction in the future!"
Chen Ji laughed until his eyes narrowed into slits, waving his hands repeatedly and saying, "Definitely! Hahaha—"
Lin Qianqian smiled politely, then her eyes glazed over as she fell into deep thought. After a moment, her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had thought of something. With a hint of caution on her face, she tentatively asked, "Master, has anyone been having a poor appetite lately and coming here to buy appetite-stimulating medicine?"
Chen Ji's smiling face instantly turned to surprise, his eyes widened as he looked at her with great interest and asked, "Oh? How did you know?"
Lin Qianqian pointed to the medicine cabinet and explained earnestly, "I saw several more records of the names of the medicines, such as Jiao San Xian, Bao He Wan, and Da Shan Zha Wan, at the back."
Chen Ji raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at her with a curious smile, "Oh?"
She calmly and composedly said:
"The 'Three Treasures of Jiao' consists of charred malt, charred hawthorn, and charred Shenqu (a type of fermented wheat), and can aid digestion and relieve stagnation."
"Baohe Pills can aid digestion and harmonize the stomach, and are used for food stagnation."
"Hawthorn pills can stimulate appetite and aid digestion, and are particularly effective for loss of appetite."
"The simultaneous appearance of these items, coupled with increased usage, indicates that someone has pre-ordered or is a frequent customer."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ji was taken aback at first, then threw his head back and burst into laughter, his face full of satisfaction, nodding repeatedly: "Hahaha~ Good! Clever! Clever indeed!"
He looked at Lin Qianqian with admiration in his eyes, growing to like this intelligent apprentice more and more from the bottom of his heart.
Chen Ji leaned forward slightly, a hint of smugness and mystery on his face, and whispered, "To tell you the truth, the Ninth Prince's wife, Princess Su, said that the Ninth Prince has been having a poor appetite lately, so she came to buy some medicine to improve his appetite. Heh, she even said that the Prince's appetite has improved after taking it. She's one of our biggest customers."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qianqian's relaxed brows instantly furrowed into a deep frown, and her heart clenched as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand.
She instinctively clenched her fists, her fingertips turning slightly white from the force, her gaze began to wander, first fixing on one spot, then seemingly looking through the things in front of her into the endless distance.
Chen Ji looked at Lin Qianqian, who was in a daze, and couldn't help but feel puzzled. He raised his voice and called out twice, "Disciple~ Disciple!!!"
Lin Qianqian snapped out of her reverie, as if falling from a distant cloud of thoughts back to reality. Still somewhat dazed, she subconsciously responded with an "Oh~".
Chen Ji asked with concern, "What are you thinking about? You seem so lost in thought!"
A hint of panic flashed in Lin Qianqian's eyes, and she quickly waved her hand to deny it: "No, nothing."
Chen Ji didn't press further and said with great interest, "Come on, let me tell you about the effects and side effects of these medicines!" With that, he took her arm and led her to the counter.
He stood before the counter, his posture upright, his eyes radiating confidence and enthusiasm for pharmacological knowledge. Starting with the top left drawer, he gently pulled it open, picked up the herbs inside, and explained meticulously, "This herb is Codonopsis pilosula, which can strengthen the spleen and benefit the lungs. However, if someone with excess heat in their body uses it, it may exacerbate the heat."
Next, he opened the drawers next to him one by one, patiently explaining the characteristics of each medicinal herb as he displayed them.
Lin Qianqian followed behind him, a polite smile on her face, nodding repeatedly.
However, her mind had already wandered far away, and she only responded mechanically.
Chen Ji's explanation was like a breeze blowing past her ear, going in one ear and out the other.
Her gaze would occasionally drift elsewhere, only occasionally returning to her senses and pretending to listen attentively.
Chen Ji's fingers moved nimbly across the medicine cabinet, finally landing steadily on a drawer. He gently pulled it open, took out the medicinal herbs inside, and said, "This is perilla stem, a common medicine for preventing miscarriage."
He turned slightly to face Lin Qianqian, his expression serious, and patiently explained, "Perilla stem can regulate qi, relieve chest tightness, alleviate pain, and calm the fetus. It has a good conditioning effect on fetal restlessness caused by qi stagnation in pregnant women. It is mild in nature and has relatively few side effects, so it will not put too much burden on pregnant women and fetuses. It can be found in many prescriptions for calming the fetus."
Lin Qianqian listened attentively, nodded slowly, and her eyes revealed a thoughtful light before she fell into deep thought.
She kept thinking about the subtle effects of perilla stems on pregnancy support and the possible compatibility with other medicinal herbs.
Xiao Die, standing to the side, glanced back and forth between Chen Ji and Lin Qianqian, her brows furrowed slightly, her face full of confusion. She would look at the inconspicuous perilla stem one moment, and then at Lin Qianqian, who was deep in thought the next, her mouth slightly open, looking as if she understood but didn't quite get it.
Before we knew it, dusk was falling, and the sunlight slowly withdrew its sharpness, casting a veil of dimness over everything. Inside the pharmacy, the candlelight flickered gently in the breeze that swept through the hall, casting long shadows of the medicinal herbs displayed on the counter.
Lin Qianqian glanced at the sky, then looked at her master Chen Ji, who was busy sorting medicinal herbs, and offered with concern, "Master, look at the sky. You've been busy all day. If you're hungry, go to the kitchen and get something to eat! I'll help you with sorting these herbs!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Ji stopped what he was doing, looked up at Lin Qianqian with a hint of hesitation and concern in his eyes, and asked, "Can you do it? This job isn't difficult, but it's quite tedious."
Lin Qianqian smiled confidently, her eyes filled with determination, and patted her chest, saying, "Of course! Don't worry, I can also take this opportunity to familiarize myself with various medicinal herbs."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ji smiled with satisfaction, nodded, and said, "Alright, then thank you for your trouble." With that, he slowly turned around and walked steadily toward the backyard.
As Chen Ji's figure gradually disappeared behind the door leading to the backyard, only Lin Qianqian and Xiao Die remained in the hall of the pharmacy.
The room fell silent for a moment, with only the occasional breeze rustling the paper.
Xiaodie saw Lin Qianqian taking all the medicine out of the cabinet at once and then carefully putting other medicines back in. She was filled with doubt, her pink lips unconsciously pouting, and she asked softly, "Miss, what are you doing?"
Lin Qianqian continued her work, while simultaneously putting a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, and whispered, "Shh! I plan to replace all these appetite-stimulating drugs with pregnancy-stabilizing drugs. I'll give them to Su Wan'er when she comes to buy them."
Xiaodie was taken aback at first, then her eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands and exclaimed softly, "Oh~ In that case, what she gave Miss to drink has become a medicine to prevent miscarriage! Miss, you are so clever!"
Lin Qianqian frowned slightly, looking nervous, and reminded her again, "Keep your voice down, don't let us find out."
Xiaodie quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth, nodded vigorously, and said, "Oh, oh!"
Lin Qianqian finally felt relieved and focused on organizing. Her hands moved like nimble butterflies, picking up packets of medicinal herbs, carefully checking the labels, and gently placing them into the corresponding drawers.
After tidying up, Lin Qianqian cautiously looked around to make sure no one was nearby.
She moved quickly and deftly, reaching into the medicine cabinet to take out a packet of pregnancy-preserving medicine and a packet of appetite-stimulating medicine.
The pregnancy-preserving medicine packet emitted a faint herbal fragrance, while the appetite-stimulating medicine packet had a unique aroma; the two scents mingled at the tip of the nose.
She concealed the medicine packet within her wide sleeve, its shape barely visible at the cuff. To avoid drawing attention, Lin Qianqian slightly turned to the side, using her body to cover the unusual appearance of her sleeve.
While pretending to tidy up the counter, she quietly walked towards the door, intending to take the medicine back under the cover of night, personally boil it, and carefully observe its changes during the decoction process, the differences in its smell, and the final state of the liquid, so as to make full preparations for her subsequent plans.