Mo Yan had not managed to split a few pieces of wood by the ti breakfast ca around. Liyan, concerned that his frail body would faint from hunger, brought him rice porridge and stead buns with Mo Yan’s silent approval.
But Cui Pingan refused, declaring that he wouldn’t eat until he had finished chopping all the wood. As a man, he said, he must keep his word.
Liyan tried to persuade him for a long ti to no avail, and had no choice but to take the food back.
Seeing this, Mo Yan said nothing, only instructing Mao Tuan to watch over him after a full al, and if he couldn’t take it and fainted, to drag him inside the house.
Mao Tuan, having enjoyed a treat the night before, agreed readily. After eating his fill, he indeed lay down under the eaves, keeping an ever-watchful eye.
Cui Pingan mistakenly thought Mao Tuan was sent by Mo Yan to supervise his work. Feeling stifled and distrusted, he chopped the wood with even greater force, and his efficiency improved significantly.
Unfortunately, Seventh Master Cui’s constitution was indeed delicate. His hands, how soft and tender they were, blistered severely. After splitting only about twenty logs, he ran out of strength. In the end, he couldn’t even hold the axe and collapsed to the ground, pale as paper, drenched in cold sweat.
Mao Tuan, bored and listless, sprang into action, dragging Cui Pingan into the house and calling for Mo Yan, who was out in the yard drying herbs.
Mo Yan checked Cui Pingan’s pulse and found it to be stable. He knew that Cui was simply unused to physical labor and had exhausted himself, with no serious harm done.
Indeed, it wasn’t long before Cui Pingan recovered on his own, but without having eaten breakfast, he still felt weak and limp.
When Mo Yan brought the rice porridge and stead buns to him this ti, he did not refuse but actively thanked Mo Yan before wolfing down the food.
With him out of danger, Mo Yan continued with her herb drying in the yard. The sunlight was not too harsh, and the air was free of humidity—she hurried to dry the herbs to avoid the unbearable heat later.
The herbs were common, so dug from the herbal field, so feigning a trip to the mountains for herb collection, while in fact taken from the "Space".
The herbs from the field were watered with diluted Spirit Spring Water, making their dicinal effects better than ordinary herbs but not as good as those from the "Space". She usually dried them separately, planning to sell them two different prices to Du’s dical Hall.
Initially, Mo Yan did not intend to take money for the herbs, but Doctor Du insisted on not taking his disciple’s herbs for free and adamantly offered paynt, with a price three tis higher than the market rate, justified by the herbs’ effectiveness.
Every ten days, Mo Yan delivered herbs, and the household’s monthly inco increased by Two Hundred Taels of Silver. The high efficacy of these herbs cured more and more patients, attracting even more seeking relief. Du’s dical Hall’s fa surpassed its past, subtly becoming the most renowned dical hall in Jing City.
Aside from occasionally helping out at the dical hall and asking for guidance from Doctor Du to practice her skills, two more doctors were hired to cope with the workload; they were simply too busy otherwise.
In Mo Yan’s previous plan to accumulate good deeds, the dical hall was an essential part. However, dical institutions were prone to disputes, and without the support of a powerful force to deter any ill-intentioned people, she did not dare to proceed recklessly.
After taking care of the three hundred soldiers stationed at the border after the Double Ninth Festival, she planned to attribute this rit to Chu Heng. If Chu Heng was willing to take on this responsibility, then the dical hall would have no issues. At that ti, she would discuss with her master the possibility of expanding Du’s dical Hall to surrounding towns based on its reputation, and perhaps even opening branches throughout Great Chu in due ti.
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