Chapter 161 City Streets 61

Chapter 161: City Life 61

The next morning, Qin Banban rose early again to brew a pot of herbal medicine, pouring a bowl for each person to drink.

The bitter medicine left their mouths devoid of taste. Liu Guyu had to eat two dried apricots before he started clamoring to go to the eatery. He had barely taken two steps when Qin Rongshi stopped him, saying he would first take him to Spring Street.

Banban, dressed in a peach-pink jacket and skirt and carrying a small, light green bag embroidered with pink butterflies, skipped out the door.

She called back to Cui Lanfang in the house, "Mom! I'm going next door to find my teacher first!"

Cui Lanfang cleared the dining table, waved to the children, and smiled, "Go on! Go on!"

Qin Rongshi and Liu Guyu headed to Spring Street together, while Qin Banban went next door to find Fang Liuyin. The teacher and apprentice then proceeded to Huichun Clinic.

It was still early; the clinic had just opened, and the street outside was quiet. Only a few clinics and shops on either side were open, with apprentices and medicine assistants moving about. Occasionally, one or two patients could be seen leaving the clinic, carrying bundles of medicine.

Upon entering Huichun Clinic, Banban set down her pretty little bag and tied on a red work apron, planning to tidy the medicine cabinets first, then review some medicinal formulas when she had a moment.

"Banban, come here!"

Fang Liuyin sat in the consultation room and beckoned to her.

Fang Liuyin, in her thirties, was a refined-looking woman. Having overcome the period of being falsely accused of misdiagnosis, she had bounced back, full of renewed vigor.

Like other women, she enjoyed dressing up. Today, she wore a long white overrobe with red trim, embroidered with vibrant camellia patterns along the edges, paired with a light red short inner jacket and a white printed pleated skirt, adorned with a pair of crimson good-luck knot tassels.

Her hair was completely styled into an elegant bun, slanting to one side, with a floral cluster hairpin inserted horizontally and southern red earrings, giving her a refined and beautiful appearance.

Both teacher and apprentice were women. Besides discussing medicine and pharmacology, they occasionally chatted about pretty clothes or nice jewelry, much like any ordinary young women.

Qin Banban obediently walked over, sat down in front of Fang Liuyin, and looked up, asking, "Teacher, what is it?"

Fang Liuyin took out a small, white, indistinct object and handed it to her, saying, "Lately, too many people are getting sick. Wear this on your face to cover your mouth and nose. Regularly working in the clinic, you might catch this or that illness—if you get infected, it would be troublesome."

It was a simple mask made of white silk, with two ties on each side, crafted from oiled paper and silk. The silk had been soaked in medicinal herbs like atractylodes and mugwort, giving it a faint herbal scent.

She added, "I’ve also specially ordered medicines like atractylodes, mugwort, patchouli, realgar, and lime powder. From now on, we’ll fumigate the clinic once each morning and evening."

Qin Banban was very obedient and immediately put on the oilcloth mask. She took a handheld copper stove, burned the medicinal herbs and lime, and fumigated the entire room.

As she worked, she asked worriedly, "Teacher, are you concerned about an epidemic?"

Qin Banban was still young; she had only read about epidemics in books. The epidemics recorded in books were utterly tragic. If one broke out, every household would grieve, every household would weep, with millions dead or injured.

Seeing her nervous expression, Fang Liuyin, afraid of frightening her, quickly reassured her, "Every couple of years, there are spring and autumn epidemics. They’re not serious; you don’t need to worry too much. They’re just minor ailments like headaches, fevers, and coughs, but they’re highly contagious. One person gets sick and infects a family; one family gets sick and fills the whole alley. If it’s adults, it’s manageable, but children and the elderly suffer, and there are occasional deaths."

"These are minor epidemics—it’s the pestilence and virulent qi that are deadly!"

As she spoke, she began to tell Qin Banban a story, her gaze drifting slightly into the distance.

"Speaking of virulent qi... mild cases die overnight, severe cases succumb immediately."

"I once heard my father mention that a hundred years ago, a major plague broke out in Qingzhou in winter. In a city of two hundred thousand people, hundreds died daily. The bodies couldn’t be buried and had to be burned where they fell. The city was filled with weeping and wailing every day—the scene was absolutely horrific."

This frightened Qin Banban so much that she checked her mask again and fumigated more carefully, not missing any corners or cracks.

Shortly after the clinic was fumigated, an old woman carrying a child of about three years old entered. The little boy was running a high fever, his face flushed red, his eyes squinting and unfocused, occasionally whimpering as if in discomfort.

"Doctor, please look at my grandson! He’s been feverish all night!"

Children’s bodies are delicate and cannot endure delay. Fang Liuyin quickly called for the child to be brought in, checked his pulse, and coaxed him to open his mouth to examine his tongue.

After diagnosing the condition, she began prescribing medicine and said, "The weather has been bad lately, and many people in the city are sick. Children are fragile; don’t take him out to play these days. I’ve prescribed medicine—brew and take it three times a day. If the fever hasn’t broken by today, you must bring him back! A child can’t keep burning up!"

She spoke carefully and gently coaxed the whimpering child who seemed on the verge of tears.

Fang Liuyin’s husband had died early, and she had no children of her own. Seeing a child of this age, she found him adorable and cherished him deeply.

The old woman was worried about her grandson and said anxiously, "Oh, my neighbor is sick, and the child’s father is sick too! How dare I take the child out to play! He hasn’t been out at all! I think his father works at the dock—there are too many people coming and going. He came back sick himself!"

"He’s a strong man with a good constitution. He didn’t take much medicine and got better on his own in a couple of days, but he infected the child... Oh, my poor darling grandson! Adults can handle it, but how can a child bear it!"

Fang Liuyin listened and prescribed more medicine, saying, "The clinic also has plague-repelling herbs. One packet is eighteen coins. Burn it to fumigate the room. If you think it’s good, you can buy a packet to try. One packet can burn for three days."

The old woman listened attentively, nodding repeatedly, and generously pulled out money and bought two packets of fumigation medicine.

After the grandmother and grandson left, other patients gradually came in, men and women, old and young.

Fang Liuyin also introduced her self-made plague-repelling medicine. Some bought it, while others were unwilling.

Some even caused a commotion: "You just want money! Talking about epidemics! Aren’t you trying to scare us all!"

Minor epidemics weren’t frightening; many commoners in the prefectural city had seen them. Other clinics also sold such fumigation medicines, and they had been sold in previous years with good results.

But some were reluctant to spend money and thought others were just trying to trick them out of their coins, so they immediately made a fuss.

There were many skeptics; some in the clinic were swayed and began to worry that the medicine was useless, just a way to make money, whispering and discussing in low voices.

"Last year, I had red pimples on my face and bought medicine from Changshan Clinic. Oh, they said that medicine was wonderful, could remove pimples and scars! I bought it! Spent half a tael of silver! And it was completely useless!"

"Don’t even mention it... the Wang Family Pharmacy across the street! Tricked my old father into buying some bone-strengthening medicine, said it had to be stewed with big bone marrow! Something about medicine and food sharing origins... My father is eighty, his legs are bad—he bought it as soon as he heard! After taking it twice, his stomach got upset!"

Some who trusted Dr. Fang and only came to Huichun Clinic for treatment spoke up for her.

"Don’t talk nonsense! Dr. Fang sold this medicine during the epidemic two years ago. My family bought it and fumigated every day—it worked! No one in my family got sick then! My mother-in-law, as old as she is, came through it!"

"Yes, yes! I remember the epidemic two years ago! I bought medicine from Jisheng Pharmacy to fumigate, but it wasn’t good—the smell was pungent and irritating. I switched to Dr. Fang’s! Much better!"

...

Word after word, in the end, those willing to buy would buy, and Dr. Fang didn’t force those unwilling to spend money.

Another busy day passed; even at noon, Qin Banban had no time to cook. She ended up ordering two bowls of wontons from a nearby wonton stall to make do with that for a meal.

By afternoon, the clinic gradually quieted down.

"Banban, you can head back early today. Oh, and these days, there are too many patients at the clinic, so we need to stock more medicine. But it’s been raining every day, and the two herb farmers we usually work with haven’t come—probably delayed by the weather. Go to the shop selling both raw and prepared medicines at the street corner and order some medicines for them to deliver tomorrow."

Qin Banban naturally agreed, took the medicine list and money from Fang Liuyin, slung her pretty little bag over her shoulder, and smiled at Fang Liuyin: "Teacher, I’ll head back now then."

Fang Liuyin: "Go on, go on."

Qin Banban left the clinic and went first to the shop selling both raw and prepared medicines to buy medicine.

"Oh, isn’t this Little Physician Qin from Huichun Clinic?" The shop owner wasn’t in; behind the medicine counter was a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old apprentice, two years younger than Qin Banban but already quick-witted and charming with his words.

All the clinics and apothecaries on Apricot Forest Street were familiar faces to each other, seeing one another often.

Qin Banban also smiled at him, took out the medicine list, and said to the apprentice, "Our clinic needs to order some medicines. Can your shop provide them?"

The apprentice chuckled as he took it, saying, "Our shop is the largest pharmacy on Xinglin Street. If we can't get these herbs, you'll be hard-pressed to find them anywhere else in the city!"

After glancing at the prescription, he nodded repeatedly and said, "We've got these! We can get these for you! Do you need them right now?"

Qin Banban shook her head and replied, "No, have them delivered to the clinic tomorrow. This is the deposit, and my teacher will pay the rest."

This was clearly not the first time they had done this, as Qin Banban was practiced at it, and the young apprentice handled it smoothly, saying cheerfully, "No problem! I'll personally deliver them to you tomorrow!"

After placing the order, Qin Banban was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something and turned back.

"Also, give me one liang of mugwort, one liang of sweetflag, eight qian of patchouli, five qian each of atractylodes and realgar, and half a jin of lime powder."

The apprentice immediately understood and asked with a smile as he wrapped the herbs, "Are you taking these to fumigate your house?"

Qin Banban nodded.

These herbs were available at the clinic, but Fang Liuyin was a good person. If she asked, she would surely give them to her for free. While accepting them once or twice was fine, taking them every day just wasn't right. She couldn’t keep taking advantage of their relationship, so Qin Banban rarely took herbs from the clinic and usually bought them herself.

The apprentice wrapped the herbs and lime powder separately, then said cheerfully, "Alright, here you go!"

Qin Banban paid the difference and prepared to leave with the herbs.

Just then, a father and son walked in, both carrying herb baskets on their backs, clearly there to sell herbs.

The older man’s eyes darted around the shop. Seeing only a young apprentice of sixteen or seventeen inside, he immediately broke into a guileless, rustic smile.

Putting on a guileless expression, he chuckled and asked, "Young man, we’ve dug up some ginseng and brought it by your shop to see. Are you alone here? Is your boss around?"

Ginseng?

Qin Banban paused, curious, and glanced over.

Ginseng was hard to come by, and this was the first time Qin Banban had encountered someone selling it. Her interest was piqued, and she wanted to see the fresh, mature ginseng.

The apprentice was also excited and eagerly invited them in, staring nervously at the herb baskets on the father and son’s backs.

Rubbing his hands together, he said, "My master went out of town to collect herbs and won’t be back for three days! Wow, is it really ginseng? Please show us!"

The father and son exchanged a glance, a glint of something unreadable in their eyes, as if they were up to something.

Qin Banban sensed something was off. Frowning, she stopped at the doorway without saying a word, quietly watching what happened.

The old man carefully brought out three ginseng roots. They looked to be of good grade, with roots still coated in soil and emitting an earthy scent.

"Wow! It really is ginseng! So thick, so large—this must be a century-old ginseng! You folks have amazing luck to find such a treasure!"

The father and son exchanged another glance. The younger man said with a simple smile, "We dug it up deep in the mountains. My father and I hunkered down there for three months! Look, the roots are intact. We were very careful when digging it up!"

"This century-old ginseng must be worth at least three hundred taels, right? It wasn’t easy to find! We lived in the deep mountains for three months and turned into wild monkeys! As for the two smaller ones, ten or twenty taels each—you can decide the price!"

The mention of three hundred taels stunned the young apprentice.

A century-old wild ginseng was indeed worth that much, but unfortunately, his master wasn’t there, and he couldn’t make the decision. Nor could he take out three hundred taels!

The apprentice scratched his head anxiously and persuaded them, "This is a treasure! A real treasure! Our shop would definitely buy it! But as you heard, my master isn’t here, and I can’t make the decision. Could you wait? Just three more days!"

The father and son clearly weren’t willing. They exchanged another glance, and the old man suddenly sighed, putting on a worried expression. "Ah, you don’t understand—my son’s mother is seriously ill! We need the money to save her! We can’t wait three days—we can’t even wait one! I’m desperate for money. If necessary, even two hundred taels would do!"

A century-old ginseng for two hundred taels was practically a steal!

The apprentice was even more tempted. Though his master wasn’t home, he knew where the money cabinet was. But two hundred taels was no small sum, and he didn’t dare touch it!

As he hesitated, Qin Banban suddenly stepped forward and said to the father and son, "May I take a look at this ginseng?"

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Author's note: ① From "Treatise on Pestilence"