Not Afraid of Being Shy

Mǎn Bǎo took the opportunity to promote herself, "I can recognize many other medicines."

"Oh, what other medicines can you recognize?"

Mǎn Bǎo jumped off the chair and ran out to bring in a dirty yam to show him, "Look!"

The shopkeeper looked in amazement at the long yam, then turned to Mǎn Bǎo and asked, "Did you dig this up?"

"No, my big brother and them did!"

Aren't you proud of anything?

The shopkeeper asked, "Do you recognize yams?"

Mǎn Bǎo said, "I do."

Mǎn Bǎo had recently seen many beautiful drawings in the medical book she had been reading, and she had memorized them all. So, she counted on her fingers and told the shopkeeper, "I've seen astragalus, licorice, and I even recognize ginseng, but I like red dates the most."

The shopkeeper engaged her in conversation and asked, "Why?"

"Because the book states that red dates are sweet and crisp, and I like sweet fruits."

"Does your family have any medical books?"

"No, my family doesn't, but my classmate's family does," Man Bao said. "My classmate's family has a lot of books."

The shopkeeper's attitude became more serious, "Is the young lady studying?" "I wonder who she is studying with."

"My teacher's surname is Zhuang, and he is very capable."

The shopkeeper found this little girl quite interesting. She seemed to think that everyone around her was very capable, including herself.

Her husband was very capable due to his extensive knowledge. Her classmates were also very capable as they read more books than she did, and their families owned many books. Her mother, sister-in-law, and brothers were all very capable. Even her few nieces and nephews, who only dared to peek at the door, were very capable in her eyes because they could always do things she couldn't do.

The shopkeeper felt that she was also very capable of recognizing this.

Of course, she also thought she was very capable because she was very clever!

Mǎn Bǎo was a very talkative child. Without the shopkeeper asking, she voluntarily told him everything about her family.

Of course, she was not shy; therefore, she also asked a lot of questions during the conversation. The shopkeeper enjoyed chatting with her. Since she had already shared everything about her family with him, whenever he asked a question, she would answer at least one question, right?

So Mǎn Bǎo learned that the shopkeeper's surname was Zheng, and he was also a doctor. There were only two doctors at the Jìshìtáng in Luójiāng County. Besides the resident doctor, Doctor Tán, there was another doctor.

Although he also treated patients, his primary focus was on acquiring medicines, purchasing medicinal materials, and maintaining accounts. He stated that he managed the store and performed managerial tasks.

Doctor Zheng and his family had been living in this area for three or four years, and they were familiar with the local gatherers of medicinal plants.

Mǎn Bǎo curiously asked, "What are medicinal plant gatherers?"

"They are individuals who earn a living by collecting medicinal plants." However, there are not many families like this in Luójiāng County; only two exist. "Therefore, most of the medicinal materials are brought in from other places," Doctor Zheng said. Since he was willing to buy the Zhou family's medicinal materials, he naturally was not afraid to tell them, "Medicinal plant gatherers in our area are familiar with most of the medicinal materials." They not only recognize them but also process them. The medicinal materials brought to our pharmacy are mostly already processed.

He smiled and said, "People who only bring one or two types of medicinal materials at a time can't really be called medicinal plant gatherers." However, because they bring the ones that are commonly used, we still buy them.

Mǎn Bǎo was amazed, "So, don't they make a lot of money?"

Doctor Zheng shook his head and asked, "How much money can medicinal plant gatherers make?" Without owning land, they rely on selling medicines to afford food and clothing. In the mountains and forests, there are numerous snakes and insects, making it challenging to collect medicinal plants. "It's better to be a farmer like you."

"Why don't they have land?" Man Bao asked. "Every family in our village has land." The village chief stated that if a family's land is insufficient, they can expand their cultivation area, and the village will offer assistance.

Doctor Zheng hesitated for a moment and said, "Perhaps it's because they don't know how to cultivate the land?"

"If they don't know, they can learn," Mǎn Bǎo said. "We didn't know about medicinal plants before, but now we do, and we will know even more in the future."

Doctor Zheng took the opportunity to ask, "Will your family sell medicinal materials in the future?"

"As long as we come across them, we will sell them," Mǎn Bǎo also took the opportunity to ask, "Does your medicine shop buy all kinds of medicinal materials?"

Doctor Zheng said that as long as it was medicine, they would buy it.

Mǎn Bǎo was happy and asked him, "Do you have any medical books?" Many of the medicines in my classmate's family's medical books are not well illustrated, and I couldn't recognize them even after looking at them for a long time. If you have better ones, could you lend them to me to look at? "Then, the next time I come across medicinal materials, I will be able to recognize them."

Doctor Zheng looked at Mǎn Bǎo's little face, and after a moment of silence, he brought her a book from the backyard. "Return it to me after you finish reading it, and don't damage it."

Just as Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang finished counting the money and were about to turn around, they saw their younger sister taking a book from the shopkeeper's hands.

The two brothers said, "..."

Mǎn Bǎo took it happily, carefully wrapped the book in oil paper, and then gave the shopkeeper uncle the yams they had dug up. "Shopkeeper uncle, please take these back and stew them for eating." Yams can be stewed with chicken, which nourishes the qi and spleen, and is especially beneficial.

Doctor Zheng raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile, "You even know this?"

Mǎn Bǎo proudly said, "Of course, yams can also be made into yam cakes."

Of course, all of this was just what Kēkē had told her because she had taken the book from him and wanted to give something in return.

Kēkē said that yams were very good.

Doctor Zheng did not ask for her yams in vain; he still wanted to buy them by the catty. He also said, "Next time you dig up yams, don't bring them raw." Cut the herbs into slices, dry them, and take them to the pharmacy. I will still buy them for twenty wén per catty. You can also sell the raw ones at the market. "Some affluent families, who prioritize health, purchase them to prepare medicinal dishes."

Mǎn Bǎo didn't want his money and insisted on treating him to a meal.

After thinking for a moment, Doctor Zheng did not completely refuse the offer. Instead, he only accepted two yams, saying, "Take the rest back."

Zhōu Dàláng and Zhōu Èrláng looked at the book in their younger sister's hands and bowed repeatedly to bid farewell to Doctor Zheng.

Doctor Zheng waved and smiled, "Please don't damage my book; remember to return it to me."

Mǎn Bǎo promised as she patted her chest and climbed onto the cart with the book, saying to her older brothers, "We need to go buy a chicken."

Zhōu Dàláng, aware of his younger sister's desire for chicken, remembered their mother and couldn't resist saying, "Mǎn Bǎo, we've already had four chickens." Mother said that if we buy another chicken, she will kick me and your second brother out. We can't waste money like this.

"Alright, then we won't buy a chicken." "We'll buy lamb instead!"

Zhōu Dàláng continued to persuade her, but Mǎn Bǎo interrupted him, saying, "Big brother, give us the money we earned, and we'll take care of it ourselves."

Zhōu Dàláng immediately fell silent.

Zhōu Èrláng coaxed her, "Mǎn Bǎo, it's not safe for you to carry so much money." Let your older brother and second brother hold it for you.

"Then you give me fifty wén to buy meat, or else I'll cry."

Zhōu Dàláng and Zhōu Èrláng were hesitant. Mǎn Bǎo rarely cried, but others were very afraid of her tears. When she cried, she would easily become breathless, and if she cried hard, she would even vomit. She would probably be fine in the end, but they would most likely be scared half to death. After hesitating for a moment, they still took out fifty wén for her.