Shopkeeper Hu received a large jar of sweet potato wine from Zhuang Keqing a few days later.
He divided the jar of wine into two parts, keeping one part for himself and packing the other part with dried potatoes and vermicelli. He wrapped it in festive red silk, wrote a gift list, and put it directly into the box and sent it to the capital.
At the same time, countless shopkeepers from Wufuji were also loaded with birthday gifts and embarked on their way to Beijing.
Erlizi Village
There was an autumn rain and a cold. Not long after the white dew, the temperature suddenly dropped. Qin Manzhi was tired from working during the day and failed to take good care of Aman when he took him to bed. The little guy fell ill.
The little nose kept running clear water, and there was also some coughing. Qin Manzhi didn't take it to heart at all, and just got some hot water to feed him, thinking that he could just coax him some more.
But unexpectedly, the little guy coughed even more violently in the middle of the night. The water he had been fed before and the porridge he drank at night vomited out together, spraying all over the bed. Qin Manzhi was really shocked.
Aman is usually very well-behaved. He sleeps or plays when he's full. He only grunts twice when he's unhappy and rarely cries. But now, after vomiting, he's probably very uncomfortable. He cries when he opens his mouth. Whenever he cries, he chokes.
I have runny nose and can't breathe due to coughing.
Qin Manzhi was stunned.
In the past, Ke'er was already five years old when she fell ill. Most of the time, she would lie weakly on the bed. How could Aman have such a violent reaction!
The little guy cried hoarsely, coughed and vomited, and the noise was really loud. Zhuang Keqing and Shen Ling were sleeping in the side room next to each other and heard it.
"Aling, Manbao seems to be feeling unwell, I'll go take a look."
As she spoke, she lifted the quilt and tried to get over Shen Ling and climb out of the bed, but she was grabbed and said, "Put on your clothes first."
After saying that, Shen Ling got out of bed, lit a candle with a fire stick, and waited with it in his hand.
Zhuang Keqing heard the baby's soft cries and coughs, and felt anxious. She only bought a thin coat and went to her mother's room.
There was only an oil lamp lit in the room. Qin Manzhi was sitting on her knees holding little Aman who was coughing violently. The bed was in a mess.
The mortality rate of children under three years old is extremely high, mostly due to hunger, cold and hardship. She did not expect that now the child was eating well and sleeping well, but because of her own negligence, she suddenly became so seriously ill.
She looked at her daughter with panic and help, her voice trembling.
"Ke'er, Aman doesn't look good!"
Zhuang Keqing calmed down and took a step forward. He put the back of his hand on his younger brother's forehead. It was burning hot! He touched his little hand again and found it was ice cold.
No, the temperature is going to go up!
Shen Ling brought the candle over at the right time. Under the slightly brighter light, Aman's cheeks were red, his big eyes that used to be lively were tightly closed, his lips were dry and his tongue was red, he was coughing and wheezing and making a huffing sound. It was very distressing to see it.
.
"I'll go ask the doctor."
Shen Ling put down the candle in his hand and left the room immediately without waiting for the mother and daughter to answer.
He simply put on a coat and headed out.
"Aling, take this with you."
Zhuang Keqing handed over a purse with bulging copper coins stuffed inside, "The doctor lives in Daxing Village. It's about a quarter of an hour's walk from the entrance of the village along the road."
"He has a wooden sign on his door."
"I know." Shen Ling took the purse, nodded, turned around and disappeared into the night.
Aman started coughing again in the house. Zhuang Keqing's heart tightened. He went back to his room and told his mother, "I'll boil some hot water and wipe Aman's body later. You can warm his hands and feet first."
Qin Manzhi was so panicked at this moment that she calmed down a little after listening to her daughter's calm voice. She hummed softly and carefully put the child's hand into her chest.
Shen Ling ran all the way, tripping over stones and potholes on the ground several times. When he arrived at the door of the doctor's courtyard in Daxingcun, he was panting and looking miserable.
The doctor had already taken a rest by this time, but he couldn't care so much in an emergency, so he started knocking on the door.
"Who?"
Dr. Li is old and sleeps lightly. He got up when he heard the knock on the door outside. While asking questions, he had already taken the medicine box and put it on the table.
In several nearby villages, he was the only doctor, and people often came to see him in the middle of the night, so he was used to it.
When Shen Ling saw the doctor, he told Aman's situation without waiting for anyone to approach. Doctor Li was experienced and knew the seriousness of the situation, so he didn't say anything more, took the medicine box and left.
…
It was already dawn, and Aman was sleeping peacefully on the bed. Although his little face was still a little red, he looked much better than the sinister look before.
"Fortunately, I managed it properly and the fever was relieved."
Dr. Li closed the medicine box and said a little tiredly: "I just performed acupuncture and lowered the temperature, but I'm afraid it will happen again in the future."
"Doctor, what should we do?"
Qin Manzhi had been blaming herself ever since Aman vomited. She saw with her own eyes that the doctor used a slender silver needle to pierce the child's delicate body, and her heart felt like a twitching pain.
"I've prescribed some medicine. Feed him on time and take it. If the fever comes back, you can take a sitz bath or wipe your body with warm water. Don't cover yourself too much."
Leaving the mother to take care of the child inside, Doctor Li went out of the house and told Zhuang Keqing and Shen Ling who were waiting outside to open the windows for ventilation and not to catch the cold again before going back.
"Doctor, please wait a moment." Zhuang Keqing stepped forward and asked to stay.
"Little girl, what else can you do?" Dr. Li stopped and asked softly, with a slight smile in his kind eyes.
He had made friends with this girl several times, and he knew that the girl had paid for medicines for the villagers in the same village out of his own pocket, relieving the patient's temporary difficulties. The doctor was kind-hearted, and of course he looked at her differently, so even though he was extremely tired at this time, I am also willing to stop and listen to what she has to say.
"Did you know that the prescription is called Huoxiang Zhengqi Powder?"
"Huoxiang Zhengqi Powder?" Doctor Li looked confused.
He has been practicing medicine for many years and has never heard of this medicine.
However, the name makes it clear at a glance that it must be made from medicinal materials based on rugosa. And this rugosa has the effect of dispelling wind and cold, which is exactly what the little baby's symptoms are today.
"Doctor Li, to tell you the truth, I happened to meet a visiting doctor on the way to town a few days ago. After chatting with him for a few words, he mentioned Huoxiang Zhengqi Powder, saying it was best suited for wind-cold fever and summer-damp vomiting. "
"Tell me, if my brother had drank this Zhengqi Powder right away, wouldn't he have had such a severe fever?"
Zhuang Keqing asked seriously, but Doctor Li frowned slightly and shook his head in disapproval, "It's hard to say, this medicine is the most symptomatic, and I only know the name of this prescription but don't know its composition. I can't prescribe it randomly. Conclusion.”
"He actually told me about some of the medicinal herbs in it. Can you help me see if they are suitable for my symptoms?"
"Tell me quickly!" Dr. Li asked eagerly when he heard that the other party could still remember the medicinal materials.
"I remember there were Angelica dahuricae, Poria cocos, Atractylodes lancea, Patchouli..." Zhuang Keqing didn't dare to say it too clearly. He just hesitated and pretended to be thinking hard about memories, "It seems that there are also perilla and licorice?"
"I can't memorize the rest. That doctor said it too fast. I'll only write down these few."
"Angelica dahurica, Patchouli, Perilla..."
Dr. Li muttered the names of these medicinal herbs and fell into deep thought. For a long time, when Zhuang Keqing thought that the old man was going to fall asleep standing up, he suddenly put down the medicine box and blurted out: "It's really a good recipe. !What a good recipe! I need to copy it down quickly!"
Angelica dahurica disperses cold and wind, and Patchouli dispels dampness and induces sweating. Listed in detail, these herbs are all very suitable for the disease, and are many times stronger than the medicine he prescribed today.
The old man wrote down his notes with excitement. When he finished writing, he hurriedly stuffed the paper into the medicine box, raised his legs and left, as if he was in a hurry.
"Doctor, at least you have breakfast before you leave."
Zhuang Keqing wanted to stop him, but Doctor Li ignored him at all, "Girl, I appreciate your gift of this recipe today. I need to go back and try this recipe as soon as possible. If you have anything to do in the future, you can always come to me."
After saying that, he walked out of the small courtyard as fast as he could.
Shen Ling was worried that the old man would leave too quickly and fall down, so he simply followed him out and sent the man home first without caring about anything else.
Huoxiang Zhengqi Powder is the best prescription through the ages.
It is effective against infectious diseases, epidemics, summer heat, dampness, wind and cold, and it can even be said to be a universal prescription.
Zhuang Keqing still remembers the bitter medicine her grandmother fed her when she had a cold, fever or abdominal pain and vomiting in her previous life. If not for this, she would not always have the opportunity to read the small instruction manual and read the recipes one by one. Note it down.
It's just that she and Dr. Li haven't talked everything through just now, and they will have to find some opportunities to make up for it in the future.
