Slaughtering the chicken, cutting the meat, making the dough...
Lin Miao busied himself in the kitchen.
Half an hour later.
Braised chicken pieces, stir-fried shredded pork, and then two large bowls of handmade noodles with fried eggs, sprinkled with chopped green onions and drizzled with sesame oil. The aroma alone whets one's appetite.
"Why does it smell so good? Junior brother, what did you make?" Sun Youwei, who hadn't eaten properly for days, couldn't control her stomach from growling at the enticing scent.
"Senior sister, dinner's ready." Lin Miao walked directly into the room with the dishes.
"Junior brother, you even bought meat. And where did this chicken come from?" Seeing such a sumptuous dinner, Sun Youwei was a little excited.
"Senior sister, the old hen at home isn't laying eggs well and we can't take it with us, so we might as well eat it. We'll have the strength to travel tomorrow," Lin Miao explained.
Sun Youwei touched her chest and thought: It's just a chicken, after all. Eating it is fine. It's getting old anyway...
As for the old yellow dog tied at the door, when Lin Miao approached it with a knife, surprisingly, it squeezed out two tears, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.
All things have a spirit.
Poor Little Flower, in the end, it couldn't escape this fate.
Sun Youwei sighed after all. Since they decided to leave, they must abandon what needs to be abandoned. The chicken, named Little Flower, had been raised for three years. It was alright in the first two years and laid eggs diligently, but now, it lays an egg only once in a while. It's old and useless to keep.
"Junior brother, my health is poor, and I can't have meat. You eat it." Thinking of this, Sun Youwei lost her appetite.
"Which quack said you can't eat meat?" Lin Miao blurted out without thinking, but he quickly realized that it might have been the master's advice, so he immediately corrected himself, "Senior sister, when your condition is severe, you indeed can't have meat. But ordinarily, you need to increase nutrition. Eat some meat, but just in moderation."
With that, Lin Miao placed a drumstick into Sun Youwei's bowl.
In the past, during meals, even her father barely served her food. Her father was rather old-fashioned and wouldn't make affectionate gestures. Lin Miao's gesture of serving her gave Sun Youwei a sense of intentional closeness, leading her to sneak a glance at him.
Though not particularly handsome, the junior brother gives a reassuring feeling, which makes him a good match, certainly better than those heartless men from the operas.
The chicken was tender. It had been a long time since Sun Youwei tasted meat, usually only taking a small bite during the holidays.
Surprised at the sight of the emptied large bowl, she realized she had never eaten so much in one sitting.
In the past, even though she was clearly hungry, she wouldn't dare eat too much for fear that her body couldn't handle it...
"Senior sister, you need to eat more from now on. You're too skinny. Eating more will help you recover. Being too skinny won't help the illness!" Lin Miao said as he cleaned up the dishes.
Lin Miao liked girls who had a little bit of "meat" on them. Girls who were too skinny were not attractive; it was a sign of illness.
After tidying up.
Lin Miao returned to once again check Sun Youwei's pulse and examine her tongue. The pulse was deep, slow, and weak, and the tongue coating was thin and white, symptoms of cold phlegm deficiency.
For deficiency, tonify; for cold, warm.
Although he knew her condition well, a person's body continuously changes, so medications need to be adjusted accordingly.
Since she was his senior sister and future wife, he had to pay careful attention. Besides, he had finally found someone to practice with, so he had to take it seriously!
"Senior sister, I'll teach you a set of exercises for health. You can do it daily after meals." Lin Miao decided to teach her the "Eight Pieces of Brocade."
Life lies in motion.
He also dreamt of growing old together with his senior sister in this world.
The pulse showed some improvement, a subtle change he noticed, indicating his remedy was effective. Last night, he had improvised the remedy with available materials.
Today was much better. He had procured some ingredients from the county's pharmacy to concoct a more effective remedy.
"Junior brother, when did you learn how to check the pulse?" Sun Youwei was very surprised. Her father hadn't taught her. How did he secretly teach the junior brother?
"Oh, I watched our master treat people often and learned secretly." Lin Miao quickly explained his quick-wittedness, "Senior sister, wait a moment. I'll go brew medicine for you."
In this world, the art of pulse diagnosis was considered a closely guarded secret of the "medical practitioner," not taught lightly. Only when a master deemed the apprentice worthy of inheriting the skill would it be taught. It was the foundation for making a living.
Sun Simiao hadn't even taught this to his daughter, Sun Youwei.
It was unbelievable that junior brother Lin Miao had mastered the rare skill of pulse diagnosis among the four diagnostic methods.
Lin Miao's new remedy centered around "Hemp Seed Soup." However, since the world seemed devoid of one key ingredient, ejiao, he had to substitute it with red dates to replenish qi and blood... (The author is not a doctor, just making things up, don't take it seriously)
"Hemp Seed Soup" mainly treats coughing blood and warms and invigorates the yang, which aligns perfectly with the symptoms.
After careful consideration, Lin Miao placed the ingredients into the pot. Despite having checked many pulses and prescribed remedies before, this was his first time officially generating a prescription. Last night, he had done it without thinking.
This time was different. Each ingredient was chosen with great care, and the quantities were deliberated several times, with even a mental preparation run multiple times.
The medicine was ready, strained of its dregs, leaving a small, concentrated bowl with a strong medicinal aroma.
"Senior sister, come, drink the medicine." Lin Miao brought the concoction to Sun Youwei's bedside.
"Junior brother, what kind of medicine is this? I've never had it before?" Frowning, Sun Youwei saw the small, dark bowl, vastly different from her usual remedies.
"Senior sister, it's my recommended prescription."
"Junior brother, you made this recipe for me..." Sun Youwei nearly spilled the concoction in surprise.
"Yes, last night too, you drank my concoction," Lin Miao straightforwardly said.
"What?" Sun Youwei exclaimed, "Junior brother, you're not yet a certified practitioner; you don't have the qualifications to prescribe medicine to people. How can you so carelessly prescribe a remedy?"
"Senior sister, I haven't prescribed it for anyone else," Lin Miao replied, looking at Sun Youwei.
"Junior brother, why are you looking at me like that..."
"Don't worry, this remedy is accurate. Senior sister, how could I harm you? You're my future wife," Lin Miao hastily explained.
"Who said I'm your wife!" Sun Youwei blushed, lowering her head in embarrassment.
In the end, Sun Youwei chose to trust the only kin she had in the world, Lin Miao, and drank the bowl of herbal medicine to the last drop.
...
In the study.
Lin Miao began sorting through Master Sun Simiao's belongings. As a doctor and a scholar, medical books were essential in the study.
The papermaking techniques in this world seemed inferior; books were made of mulberry paper, handwritten and copied.
It seemed that printing hadn't been invented yet.
The books were mulberry paper, while the base of the remedies was on yellow hemp paper. The pen used was a brush, with ink and an inkstone called "ink scraper," essentially the same instrument, just a different name.
These medical books...
The more Lin Miao read, the deeper his frown grew.
The concepts of pharmacology weren't clear, and the interactions between ingredients were conflicting. Some prescriptions were riddled with errors. If medical treatments were based on these books, they might not kill but certainly wouldn't heal, unless luck was involved.
Lin Miao couldn't believe Sun Simiao's skills were so poor. In the original memories, Sun Simiao's reputation in Qingping Town was quite good, with many successfully treated patients under his name. Using these prescriptions shouldn't result in this.
He suddenly realized that this wasn't the familiar Blue Star; ingredients from different environments carry different properties. For instance, fritillaria from Sichuan differs from that from Zhejiang, and ginseng varies by origin too. Many examples like these existed.
Thus, what seemed error-ridden to him at first glance might still heal in actual practice.
Oh no!
He based his prescription for the senior sister on the pharmacological knowledge from his memories. If something went wrong, he would be an ingrate, repaying kindness with harm.
Lin Miao rushed to Sun Youwei's room.
Opening the door, he saw senior sister Sun Youwei lying on the embroidered bed like a sleeping beauty, with faint traces of tears at the corner of her eyes.
Lin Miao walked over, observed her breathing, and found everything calm and normal.
Then he gently pulled out her wrist from under the blanket, checked her pulse, and reassured, he placed her hand back and tucked in the blanket.
Only then did he quietly tiptoe out and close the door.
After Lin Miao left, the eyelashes of Sun Youwei in the room quivered slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes, turning her head slightly toward the door, a hint of maidenly shyness flashing in her eyes.
Junior brother, you've changed.
Though stealthy, you have become caring.