Chapter 196: Chapter 192: Soapnut Rice_1

Translator: 549690339

Yanru collected a large pile of soapberry fruit with the children, removed the seeds, cleaned the shells of silt, dried and then ground them in a stone mortar.

She bought a pig pancreas in advance, cleaned it of blood and fascia, diced it, and pounded it into a paste in a small stone mortar.

Afterward, she mixed the pig pancreas paste with the soapberry paste, adding some osmanthus and grinding again until all three were fully combined.

Yanru then brought two carved molds, pressing and shaping the paste within, letting it solidify naturally before overturning them to air dry; thus, a piece of osmanthus pancreas candy was made.

She made a total of twenty pieces of the candy, gave some to her sister-in-law, and her three younger siblings, and kept a few for herself.

She gave the remaining soapberry shells to Dani, Second Sister, and Yingbao, advising them to learn how to make the pancreas candy as well.

As for the soapberry beans, she soaked them in water to remove the husk, peeled off the outer layer, and revealed the white and smooth soapberry rice.

Once these were sun-dried, they could be stored for a long time.

Whenever she wanted to eat them, she would soak a handful in water, then cook with rice, lotus seeds, and goji berries, making an extremely tasty meal.

“Soapberry rice should not be eaten in excess or eaten daily.”

Yanru told Yingbao and the others, “My aunt says eating a bit after giving birth can be beneficial.”

As for the benefits, Yanru wasn’t sure.

But Yingbao knew, soapberry rice could alleviate constipation, reduce inflammation, and it had excellent therapeutic effects on diseases like dysentery, abdominal urgency, hernia, sores, and swellings.

It could also treat menstrual pain in women and facilitate lactation in nursing mothers.

But soapberry rice is slightly toxic. Some groups, such as pregnant women and young children, must not eat it.

After all the soapberries had been processed, several days passed, and Yingbao was back at the medicine clinic.

Perhaps it was due to the change in weather, but the clinic was suddenly crowded with patients, and Dr. Li and his grandson were incredibly busy.

Yingbao and Li Xihua helped to prepare the medicine, serving it to critically ill patients seeking treatment from afar.

The patients stayed in the patient rooms behind the clinic.

The medicine preparation area was a bamboo pavilion made of bamboo, containing several small stoves and a pile of straw and charcoal.

“Ah, that guy is urinating blood already, his face is terribly dark. Grandfather said that a patient in that state usually doesn’t survive the month.”

Li Xihua sighed, “It’s truly pitiful. He’s just fourteen or fifteen.”

Yingbao paused, fan in hand.

For a young man in his prime years to die like this was truly a shame.

Perhaps she should use him to test if her Five Ding Elixir could cure kidney disease.

The medicine was prepared, and when Yingbao was pouring the liquid, she added a bit of the Five Ding Elixir into it, then carried the bowl to the clinic.

Chen Tiantian stood at the back door stretching her hand out with a smile, “Let me carry it.”

Yingbao looked at her, puzzled, “You have nothing to do?” She had already brought the bowl to the door, it wasn’t far to the clinic, why did she need her to take over?

Chen Tiantian awkwardly retreated her hand and argued with a smile, “I was afraid you might burn yourself.”

“I won’t.” Yingbao dodged past her and headed inside, keeping a watchful eye on her to prevent any attempts at tripping her up.

Entering the sickroom, a woman knelt next to the boy with kidney disease, weeping. She stood up to take the bowl of medicine but was stopped by Yingbao. “You help him sit up; I’ll feed him.”

“Ok.” The woman helped the boy sit up, leaning him against her body. She looked at the young attendant in front of her.

Barely six years old and stunningly beautiful, his sparkling eyes seemed capable of peering into one’s heart.

It was indeed unusual to find such a distinguished child in these rural areas.

Yingbao stirred the medicine with a spoon, waited for it to cool, and then spoon-fed the young patient.

The young boy had a strong will to survive. He drained the last bit of his medicine, lay down, and closed his eyes to sleep.

“Thank you.” The woman slightly bowed to Yingbao, then took out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes.

Yingbao examined the sick boy. He looked pale and feeble. His eyelids were swollen, and even his lips were blackish. If it weren’t for the doctor’s diagnosis, she would have suspected him of being poisoned.

The woman by his side was dressed in a simple, blue dress, dramatically different from the rich, silk robe of the boy. They didn’t seem like mother and son.

At this point, Chen Tiantian approached the woman, bowed, and softly said, “The young master is asleep now. You should take some rest. I can look after him.”

The woman shook her head, “Thank you for your kindness, young miss, but I am not tired. I don’t need to rest.”

Yingbao, carrying the empty bowl, walked out of the patient’s room, covered the medicine jar with it, put the name card on it, and then started to prepare the next pack of medicine.

This fetus-stabilizing medicine belonged to a pregnant woman, who, just like the young kidney disease patient, was a traveler passing by.

She was busy until the sunset. Only then were all the patients seen.

The local patients took their medicine and went home, leaving only two out-of-town patients behind.

The young boy with kidney disease had woken up once, supported by a servant to the bathroom, and did not see any blood in his urine this time.

In the evening, Doctor Li’s daughter-in-law brought a pot of white porridge, and the young boy even managed to eat a bowl.

This greatly delighted the woman, who insisted on staying here for a few more days.

Several servants were somewhat unhappy, but they said nothing, going to the town inn to rest, while the woman stayed with the young patient.

The next day, Yingbao woke up early, washed up, and practiced a set of boxing techniques in the courtyard.

When the medicine hall opened, she went in to fetch the medicine pack for the young kidney disease patient and prepared it.

As she gently fanned the fire, Chen Tiantian quietly walked up to Yingbao, her gaze tightly focusing on her every move.

Actually, Yingbao had already noticed, but she acted as though nothing happened, wondering what major illness Chen Tiantian had that made her keep an eye on her daily like a ghost.

Chen Tiantian stepped forward, smiled and said, “Let me do it.”

Yingbao glanced at her, “You are eager to prepare the medicine? Then go and fetch another packet from the medicine hall. There’s another patient in the sickroom who needs medicine prepared.”

Chen Tiantian’s face darkened momentarily before quickly returning to normal: “Okay.”. She then turned and went to the medicine hall to fetch medicine.

Yingbao couldn’t understand why Chen Tiantian was always trying to compete with her. She was serving medicine yesterday, and today she wanted to prepare it. Could it be that the young boy had some special identity?

Thinking about the plot that came into her mind, she decided to ask this boy’s name.

When serving the medicine, Yingbao still added a bit of the five-ding zhi into it, a piece no bigger than the size of a little fingernail.

Walking into the patient’s room with the medicine, she saw that the boy was already sitting up and the woman was talking to him.

Seeing Yingbao enter, they immediately fell silent.

“It’s time for the medicine.” Yingbao handed the bowl of medicine to the woman, casually asking, “May I ask the young master’s surname? My master needs it to prepare a new prescription.”

As the patient’s condition was improving, it was indeed necessary to change the prescription after a few days of taking the previous one.

For a moment, the woman looked confused as to why a surname was needed to prescribe medicine, so she replied, “Our young master’s surname is Zhao.”

Zhao?

Yingbao immediately searched her memory for the plot story. There seemed to be many characters with the surname Zhao.

Among them the most influential were two, one named Zhao Yi and another named Zhao Yang. They were cousins who held control over a large part of the military.

But this weak, young boy in front of her, even in ten years’ time, could never become such a strong soldier.

However, he could still be from a family of prominent soldiers, hence why the protagonist was trying so hard to get close to him.