The Fallen Medicine Woman: The Daily Life of Chun Nuan-Chapter 192 - 146

"Sister, is this frostbite ointment?"

"Yes, frostbite ointment. Have you memorized the ingredients?"

"Hmm, I’ve memorized them: ginger oil, aloe vera, ginseng, safflower, mint, purple grass..."

"And its applications?"

"To prevent frostbite, repair ulcers caused by frostbite, fissures, itching, promote blood circulation, reduce swelling, relieve itching, moisturize skin, nourish skin, protect skin, and so on."

Very good, Chun Ning recited it one by one. It must be said that people who are good at studying excel at everything.

Chun Nuan prided herself on having some talent, but compared to Chun Ning’s memory, she was not just a little inferior.

"Not bad, you remember it very accurately," Chun Nuan said. "In time, you’ll definitely become a qualified pharmacist."

"Sister, can I become a doctor?"

"Why do you want to be a doctor?"

"If not a good minister, then a good doctor," Chun Ning said. "I think this aspiration is quite good."

"I’d rather have medicine gather dust on the shelves than have sick people in the world," Chun Nuan said. "Both our great-grandfather’s and grandfather’s medical notes have this phrase. If you want to be a doctor, a good doctor, then you’re destined not to get rich or become a part of a wealthy family."

Chun Ning paused and nodded to show he understood.

Yes, the ideal is grand, but reality is cruel. Now, the Xiao family no longer possesses the conditions to realize such ideals.

Their dreams were crushed into dust by that imperial decree.

Thinking of the eldest sister struggling alone in the Capital, the father laboring day by day in the Northern Desert, and the full house of children in Shu City, the burden on thirteen-year-old Chun Ning’s shoulders was quite heavy.

He had to earn money, a lot of money, to allow his family to live a good life, and even reunite the family.

Therefore, at present, being a conscientious doctor who doesn’t get rich isn’t something he can do.

"Sister, does the ointment made from this formula work well?"

"Yes, this is a formula developed by our great-grandfather, which was used for people in the palace," Chun Nuan said. "Later, I added two medicinal ingredients to produce a product that Aunt Mao and others used, and they said it worked very well; once used, it wouldn’t relapse the next year."

Aunt Mao was the woman in charge of washing in the mansion. Every winter, they would get frostbite, and when Chun Nuan gave them the ointment, they were moved to tears.

Chun Nuan was embarrassed to say it was her experimental product.

However, the feedback from Aunt Mao and others met her expectations.

"Afterwards, when grandfather gave it to the palace people, this formula was used," Chun Nuan said. "Not only can it treat frostbite, but also moisturize, nourish, and protect the skin, even the nobles liked to use it."

"Sister, why don’t we make more and sell them?"

"The first product of the Xiao Family Pharmacy?"

"Yes, that’s what I mean, to use our ancestral secret formula to create a unique ointment. Only we have it in the world, and business would surely be booming." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Great, you have a business mind." Chun Nuan supported Chun Ning’s idea.

She had thought about it before, made several internal calculations, and had always been discouraged for one reason or another.

Now that Chun Ning raised it again, Chun Nuan decided to give it a try.

"Let’s give our ointment a name. From now on, all ointments will bear this name."

"How about Doctor Xiao?" Chun Ning suggested. "Our family is an apricot forest family, two generations of Imperial Physicians. Although grandfather died wrongfully, no one can erase his achievements."

Otherwise, why would the Empress Dowager and Empress stand up for the eldest sister personally? They are repaying grandfather’s kindness.

Why would the Emperor bestow marriage on the eldest sister? Firstly, General Xia requested it; secondly, it is also to compensate for grandfather.

He knows he killed the wrong person, but emperors never admit mistakes.

Even if killed by mistake, you are still out of luck.

Therefore, the Xiao family wishing to return to the Capital is difficult to achieve in a short time.

They can only empower themselves, paving a road back to the Capital with gold and silver.

So, making ointment and selling it, as Chun Ning suggested, could be a way to get rich.

Of course, producing and selling ointment can’t be as simple as putting it in bamboo tubes; they have to find a ceramics factory to produce special small ceramic bottles, with caps, and write a few words on the bottle: Doctor Xiao Frostbite Ointment.

"Sister, what is this?"

"This is the silver note worth two hundred taels sent by the eldest sister. Let’s use these two hundred taels of silver to take a gamble."

If they win, they will succeed, digging up the first pot of gold and paving the path to future prosperity; if they lose, at worst they’ll send more of this frostbite ointment to the Northern Desert.

"Alright, let’s take a gamble."

Chun Ning not only needed to learn to make ointment but also to negotiate with the ceramics factory about the small ceramic bottles.

Due to the small quantity, the ceramics factory agreed to initially produce a thousand small ceramic bottles for them.

Next, they bought the ingredients to make the ointment.

In order to quickly finish the ointment-making task, Chun Ning called Luo Xiaogang to help, and also promised to pay him.

"It doesn’t matter, even if you don’t pay me, I want to help."

Luo Xiaogang liked following Chun Ning around. Over the past two years, he had changed from a mischievous kid climbing trees to a much more mature person. He learned many words, learned how to use an abacus, and even learned to recognize medicinal herbs.

Indeed, whatever Chun Ning learned, he followed along to learn.

No matter how much or little there is to learn, learning even a bit is a gain, such a good opportunity cannot be missed.

Not only he was learning, but San Ya also learned from Chunyan and Chun Shu. The Luo family enjoyed the benefits of learning from the Xiao family. No matter how much the villagers mocked and ridiculed them, they continued to follow the Xiao family without hesitation.

As their father said: You must learn to play dumb to gain wealth. The villagers speak out of envy and jealousy, because they don’t get the protection of the Xiao family, so they can only speak ill of us to comfort themselves.

There is always an advantage to learning more. Look, our family gets better each year because we learned from the Xiao family.

It didn’t cost a penny, and everyone learned to read and write their own names, what a fortunate thing.

Those people lack foresight and opportunity, yet they mock our family, that’s truly foolish.

You laugh at me, I laugh at you, only inside the game can one know who is the ultimate winner.

Chun Nuan let Chun Ning go to the Zhao family’s Hundred Herbs Hall to buy the needed herbs, then they began making the frostbite ointment.

Chun Ning took Luo Xiaogang to pack the ointment in bottles.

"Oops, this bottle got broken." One careless move, and the bottle was broken. Chun Ning felt very guilty.

"It’s okay, may there be peace throughout the years. Just be careful not to cut your hand."

Just as he said that, Luo Xiaogang reached out to pick up the fragments and ended up cutting his hand.

Chun Nuan... was ultimately just a step too late to say it.

Chun Ning quickly found some hemostatic powder to apply on him.

"Brother Chun Ning, why is the medicine from your family so effective?" As soon as the powder was sprinkled on, the bleeding stopped immediately. "These medicines aren’t sold at the Hundred Herbs Hall or the Qianjin Workshop. Where do you buy them from?"

Upon hearing that the Hundred Herbs Hall and Qianjin Workshop didn’t sell them, another thought popped into Chun Nuan’s mind.