Chapter 137 - 138: Porcelain Bottle
Jin Qianqian wanted to turn and leave right then and there. ’Why is it this guy again?’
If she hadn’t been quick-witted last time, she might have gotten dragged into his mess.
"Oh, so you two are both here," Guo Yurong said, spotting the couple arriving together.
Jin Qianqian was speechless.
Gu Wenheng smiled and took a step forward. "So it’s Brother Guo. How did you know we were here?"
Guo Yurong glanced at Jin Qianqian, a question flickering in his eyes. ’Didn’t Miss Gu mention it?’
Jin Qianqian pressed her forehead. "You were living at the academy for a while. Things got busy, and I forgot to tell Wenheng.
One day, Brother Guo happened to come into our shop.
Oh, right. Right after Brother Guo left that day, two burly men came by asking about him, but I sent them away."
At this, Jin Qianqian turned to Guo Yurong and briefly recounted what happened after he left that day.
A look of shame appeared on Guo Yurong’s face. "I didn’t expect to get you involved after all. But rest assured, those people won’t be showing up again."
Jin Qianqian didn’t read too deeply into his words. "As long as everyone’s alright, that’s what matters. By the way, Brother Guo, was there something you needed from me?"
Guo Yurong licked his lips and said, a little nervously, "There’s something I have to apologize to you both for. I carelessly bragged to my friend about the meal I had in the mountains, and he won’t let it go. He knows you’re here now, and I expect he’ll be coming over before long.
He doesn’t have any bad intentions; he just wants to eat good food and see interesting things. If it’s convenient for you, you could show him a thing or two.
But if it’s too much trouble, you don’t have to give him a warm welcome on my account."
Gu Wenheng and Jin Qianqian almost laughed in exasperation. ’Everything he just said sounded so awkward. Besides, we’ve only met a few times. What’s this about doing him a favor?’
Seeing the couple didn’t respond, Guo Yurong straightened up. "In short, if you want to deal with him, deal with him. If you don’t, you can just ignore him."
Gu Wenheng was at a loss for words. ’He’s already led the guy here. Do we really have a choice?’
Realizing he had indeed caused trouble for them, Guo Yurong gave a wry smile. He pulled a wooden tablet from his robes and placed it on the table. "I handled this poorly. If you need anything in the future, you can bring this tablet to me, and I will grant you one request."
Noticing their confused expressions, Guo Yurong realized he might not be as famous as he thought. "My family has practiced medicine for generations. With this tablet, our Yishe will treat one person."
"The Yishe?" Gu Wenheng felt the name was somewhat familiar. ’Where have I heard that before?’
Having finished his business, Guo Yurong turned to leave, but his eyes still lingered on the counter.
This time, he generously took out a silver note. "I was wondering if you could pack some up for me like last time?"
With silver to be made, Jin Qianqian certainly wouldn’t refuse. She deftly packed up one of each item. "Is this enough?"
"That’s enough."
Guo Yurong turned to leave with the pastries. Jin Qianqian quickly called out to him, "Wait, your change!"
Guo Yurong raised a hand and waved without breaking his stride.
"I remember now!" Gu Wenheng exclaimed, but when he went to call out to Guo Yurong, the man was already gone from the doorway.
"The Yishe—it’s legendary! They say every doctor who comes from there has extraordinary medical skills. In their hands, many difficult and complex illnesses are treated as easily as minor aches and pains."
Seeing Jin Qianqian still looked puzzled, Gu Wenheng quickly explained, "Even though your health has improved a lot recently thanks to Doctor Chu’s treatments, I was still worried, so I asked around.
Someone at the academy recommended the Yishe to me, but their doctors are supposedly very hard to hire, and their whereabouts are a mystery. I never imagined Brother Guo would be a doctor from the Yishe."
Gu Wenheng was filled with regret. ’Why didn’t I remember that just now?’
Jin Qianqian picked up the wooden tablet and turned it over in her hands. "Brother Guo left this, but where do we go to find them?"
Gu Wenheng had heard someone mention it once. "They have contact points in the major inns of every Prefecture City. If you’re sincere about finding them, you have to go through the inns. With this tablet, I think you just have to present it, and someone from the Yishe will appear."
Jin Qianqian smacked herself on the head. "Look at my memory! He gave me a porcelain bottle last time, saying it could help with my recovery."
But then those two burly men showed up, and she completely forgot about it.
"Where is it?"
Jin Qianqian sank her consciousness into her space, and a moment later, the forgotten little porcelain bottle appeared in her hand.
"And here I’ve been drinking that bitter medicine every day. With this, I could have saved myself so much suffering." Jin Qianqian used her fingernail to pick off the wax sealing the cap and eagerly twisted it open.
An aromatic medicinal scent immediately wafted into their noses. "This traditional medicine is really amazing. It’s bitter when brewed, but it has such a natural, fragrant aroma."
Gu Wenheng said, "Actually, traditional medicine is countless times better than Western medicine. For generations, our ancestors have relied on it to cure all sorts of ailments.
Plus, most of the remedies are absorbed into the bloodstream through the gastrointestinal tract, so the damage to the liver and kidneys is often minimal.
If you relied on Western medicine, even a small problem would require all sorts of machines to diagnose. From blood tests to X-rays, they wouldn’t give you a diagnosis until they’ve put you through the wringer."
Jin Qianqian touched her cheek, agreeing wholeheartedly. "With how frail and thin I was before, if I’d been in the hands of a Western doctor, they probably would have just prescribed a ton of nutritional supplements. In the end, it would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.
These past few days, I can feel that I’m not as sensitive to the cold as I used to be, and my sleep has been getting better and better.
That’s the magic of our traditional Chinese medicine. It can always use some unassuming herbs to bring a person’s body to its optimal state."
As she spoke, Qianqian poured out the medicine pills, placed them in her palm, and popped them into her mouth before Gu Wenheng could react.
"Need some water?" ’This girl is always so impulsive. What if she chokes? The medicine pills aren’t huge, but they’re not exactly small, either!’
Jin Qianqian’s face lit up with surprise. "It’s a real medicine that melts in your mouth! And the taste isn’t bad at all. I can still feel a fragrant, medicinal aroma lingering in my throat."
"Is it really that amazing?" Gu Wenheng was so captivated by her description that he wanted to try one himself.
Jin Qianqian nodded. "It’s incredible! If modern traditional Chinese medicine could achieve this, what place would Western medicine even have?
It’s such a shame these medical arts weren’t passed down."
Gu Wenheng asked, "Are you feeling any reaction now?"
"How could it be that fast? It’s not a miracle cure." Jin Qianqian shook her head. "But it might just be a placebo effect. I feel a bit more refreshed and invigorated, and my body doesn’t feel as heavy."
’But that could just be my imagination. It’s like that old saying, "To heal the body, first heal the mind!" That’s probably what’s happening.’