Xu Zifan asked again, "Can I bring my sister along? I take her with me every time I go to town, so she can broaden her horizons."
Zheng Chuan said "okay" again, without any further reaction. Xu Zifan had set a time to part ways with him at the foot of the mountain. He disliked arranged marriages; in ancient times, a woman's marriage was a lifelong event, even more important than reincarnation. He was determined to create more opportunities for the two of them to get to know each other. Anyway, with him around, it wouldn't affect his reputation.
Xu Zifan had another bumper harvest, making Cai Shi, the second wife, and some villagers envious. They all gathered around to see what Xu Zifan had gathered. Xu Zifan carefully took out each item as if it were a treasure. He answered anyone who asked, explaining the medicinal herbs and their uses. While most didn't fully understand, they felt a sense of awe and wonder. Their gazes towards Xu Zifan changed, revealing a hint of envy. Those who had received an education were indeed different.
Doctor Hu happened to be passing by and saw Xu Zifan's medicinal herbs. He stroked his beard and nodded, "Sanlang, you did a good job digging them and processing them well. You've hardly lost any of their medicinal properties, so they'll fetch a good price."
Xu Zifan laughed and said, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Physician Hu."
Doctor Hu pointed to his apprentice and said, "Let me test you. My disciple hasn't been feeling well this morning. Can you tell what his symptoms are?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Zifan put the medicinal herbs aside, wiped his hands, and invited Hu Langzhong's apprentice to sit down. He then took the apprentice's pulse, and after a moment, examined the apprentice's eyes and tongue, pondering, "Hu Langzhong, your apprentice has likely been staying up all night for more than five consecutive days. His heart rate is slightly fast, his blood is viscous, and his qi and blood circulation is poor, which is why he has a headache, fatigue, and muscle aches today. No medicine is needed. Just go to sleep before 9 PM and get up at 5 AM every day, and move around a lot during the day. The symptoms should ease in two days, and he should return to normal in five days, is that alright?"
More than twenty people listened silently, then looked at Doctor Hu with curiosity in their eyes. Doctor Hu nodded in surprise, looked Xu Zifan up and down and said, "That's right. I heard that Third Brother is self-taught. Indeed, heroes emerge from among the young, and he is no ordinary person."
Xu Zifan stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Doctor Hu, you flatter me. I still have much to learn."
Those around were astonished to see that Xu Zifan was indeed skilled in medicine, and hurriedly asked Doctor Hu, "Doctor Hu, is Third Master Xu's diagnosis truly accurate?"
Doctor Hu nodded. "That's right. It takes a certain level of skill to be able to see so accurately. I can only be sure that his condition is due to staying up late by watching my apprentice every day. So, Sanlang is quite skilled at pulse diagnosis."
An elderly woman from Xu's neighbor's house squeezed in, carrying a two-year-old boy, and said, "Sanlang, could you take a look at my grandson? He keeps waking up startled and crying these past two days. What's wrong? Did he get frightened?"
Seeing a doctor costs money, and villagers usually just endure minor illnesses and pains on their own, rarely seeking medical attention. They only consult a doctor when the condition becomes serious and interferes with their work, fearing the expense of medicine. Therefore, the old woman hadn't initially planned to see a doctor. However, upon seeing that Xu Zifan could treat the ailment, she had an idea. Xu Zifan wasn't a proper doctor, so he couldn't charge her if he couldn't cure her. If he did, she could simply bring some gifts as a token of her gratitude, saving her a lot of money.
Xu Zifan understood her meaning, of course, but he was currently only an apprentice. It was always a good thing that someone was willing to let him treat the child. Xu Zifan took the child's pulse, then examined him using the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine, and said with a smile, "Auntie, your grandson is fine, he just needs some rest. He's usually indoors and doesn't see the sun much, right? From now on, take him outside to get some sun every day, and give him pig liver every five days. Buy fresh pig liver, slice it, soak it in salt water for half an hour, then boil it, mash it, and feed it to him slowly. After a while, he'll be fine and even grow stronger."
It was impossible to tell whether he was truly skilled or not, so the old woman thanked him with some skepticism and told her daughter-in-law to remember what Xu Zifan had said. Then, another old man, coughing incessantly, was brought over by his wife. "Sanlang," she said, "please take a look at my husband. He's very stubborn and refuses to take any medicine. You just said he doesn't need any. How can we treat him if he won't take medicine?"
The old man frowned, not wanting to look. "I'm just a little cold, I'll be fine in a few days, what's there to see?"
Xu Zifan laughed and said, "Uncle Chen, let me take a look for you. I won't charge you if I can't figure it out. Just consider it as me practicing my skills?"
The old man hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, but seeing that his wife and son looked quite worried, he sat down and stretched out his arm, saying, "Then let's take a look."
Xu Zifan took his pulse, frowned slightly, and said, "Uncle Chen, this is caused by external pathogenic factors invading your lungs. Your lung qi is rising and impacting your lung ducts. You can't get better without medication; it will only get worse. You've started coughing up phlegm in the last two days, haven't you? If you don't get treatment soon, you might experience phlegm blocking your airways while sleeping, causing you to wake up coughing and feel very uncomfortable. Uncle Chen, why don't you take a few doses of medicine? I'll prescribe some cheaper ones for you."
Uncle Chen immediately waved his hand, "No, no, it's not that serious! No need for medicine!"
Physician Hu said from the side, "It's the worst thing to avoid seeking medical treatment. Brother, let me take a look at you. It would be troublesome if you delayed treatment."
"No, no, I'm fine. I'm perfectly healthy. We farmers are all tough guys, I'll be fine in a couple of days."
Xu Zifan wasn't angry when he refused. He smiled and said, "If Uncle Chen feels unwell again, he can come to me anytime. I usually go home when it's getting dark."
Uncle Chen nodded. The others, who had no serious illnesses and didn't want to see him for minor ailments, dispersed after watching the spectacle. They all had some degree of recognition of Xu Zifan's medical skills, though not quite to the point of trust. Xu Zifan remained calm, patiently processing the medicinal herbs one by one and placing them on the extra shelves his father had made. While he was doing this, Xiao Lian helped him.
He would casually teach Xiaolian how to process medicinal herbs.
It was rare to see Xiaolian showing such interest and learning so quickly. Xu Zifan felt that it wouldn't hurt for a woman to learn more, at least learning to identify and process medicinal herbs, which would provide Xiaolian with an extra source of income after she got married. Therefore, he taught her very diligently, and Xiaolian learned just as earnestly. Seeing this, Cai Shi and the second wife pretended to be busy, lingering in the courtyard for quite some time. Unfortunately, they probably lacked the understanding; listening to Xu Zifan's explanations was like reading gibberish, completely incomprehensible, and they could only regretfully give up in the end.
However, they all let their own children go over to listen. The second wife's youngest son was still small, so it was Xu's three granddaughters who cautiously peeked over to listen, and Xu Zifan didn't chase them away. He didn't need to argue with the children. However, he was teaching Xiaolian, and others could learn from him if they wanted, but he wouldn't care if they couldn't learn it. He wouldn't casually take on other people's affairs.
When Xu Zifan was teaching Xiaolian, he told her that he and Zheng Chuan would go to town the next day. Xiaolian was interested in the medicinal herbs, and staring at them, she said, "Third Brother, I'll stay home and watch the herbs. You go ahead."
Xu Zifan said speechlessly, "The medicinal herbs also need to be sold, otherwise no one will come to me for treatment, and they're useless if they're all kept at home."
"Oh." Xiaolian looked at the medicinal herbs with some regret. "Alright then, Third Brother, I'll go back to my room and embroider a sachet so I can sell one more tomorrow."
"Okay, but don't stay up too late, it'll hurt your eyes."
"Understood, Third Brother."
Hearing her call him "Third Brother" every day, Xu Zifan felt it was quite nice to have a younger sister. Xiao Lian was sensible and hardworking, so he couldn't help but want to give her even better. In ancient times, women relied on their fathers and brothers before marriage, and on their husbands, sons, and fathers and brothers after marriage. For the sake of this younger sister, he had to hurry; next time he went into the mountains, he'd go deep into the mountains!
Xu Zifan devised a way to dry the newly collected medicinal herbs. He didn't ask his parents for help and worked until 11:45 PM before going to sleep. The next day, he got up again at the crack of dawn to collect all the herbs. There were quite a few kinds of herbs, and even after processing them, the quantity was still considerable.
The three set off together, with Xu Zifan in the middle, Zheng Chuan on his left, and Xiao Lian on his right. Xu Zifan introduced them to each other, but didn't deliberately let them talk much. In ancient times, it was still inappropriate for men and women to talk together; things would be different once they became familiar. They traveled by donkey cart. Other people on the cart noticed they were carrying quite a lot of things and couldn't help but say, "We really have a lot of good stuff in these mountains! Hey, Zheng Chuan, I heard Brother Feng asked you to take him into the mountains, but you didn't agree. Why?"
Zheng Chuan said calmly, "Troublesome."
"Why...why did you bring members of the Xu family with you?"
Xu Zifan laughed, "Auntie, Zheng Chuan didn't agree at first either. I was afraid my parents would worry, so I promised them I'd find the best hunter to take me under my wing. I kept pestering Zheng Chuan for ages, and he probably only agreed because he found me annoying."
The auntie laughed and said, "Oh my, people say that scholars are good at talking. You really are good at talking, that's how you persuaded Zheng Chuan. I also heard that Feng Da and his group of more than a dozen people want to go into the mountains together. There shouldn't be any wild beasts in the mountains, right?"
Zheng Chuan frowned. "There are snakes and wild boars. Further in, there are wolves and tigers. My master said there's a brown bear in the mountains, but I've never seen it."
"Wow! So many! We can't just go in like that. Be careful when you go in."
Xu Zifan nodded, "Thank you for your concern, Auntie. We won't go to dangerous places, so it'll be fine. If any of your relatives go into the mountains, please advise them to be careful. If they don't know the medicinal herbs or how to hunt, there's really nothing in the mountains, so it's not worth the risk."
"Yes, that's what I think too. I'll talk to my nephew about it later."
Xiao Lian asked Xu Zifan curiously in a low voice, "Third Brother, are there really big tigers in the mountains? What do they look like? Aren't they very imposing?"
Xu Zifan had seen many tigers at the zoo, so he wasn't particularly surprised. However, the original owner of this body certainly hadn't seen one, so he turned to Zheng Chuan and asked, "Zheng Chuan, have you ever seen a tiger?"
The donkey cart was cramped, and with several people carrying things, it was quite crowded. Xu Zifan's turn of his head was practically whispering in Zheng Chuan's ear. Zheng Chuan instinctively flinched, frowned deeply, and said in a deep voice, "I've seen it before, very far away."
Seeing his strong reaction, Xu Zifan awkwardly touched his nose, coughed lightly, and said, "I don't want to see that. Small animals are better; they're less likely to hurt people, and if I catch one, I can eat it." He looked at Xiao Lian and said, "I'll get a slingshot and practice. If I can catch something, I can take it home to eat."
Xiao Lian nodded and smiled, "Okay, Third Brother, you're so capable, you'll definitely be able to catch it."
"Hmm." Xu Zifan eased the awkwardness and turned to speak to Zheng Chuan, only to find him closing his eyes and pretending to sleep. Well, that's it, nothing to talk about.