Chapter 1420: Chapter 1398: Accepting Disciples III (November Monthly Ticket Bonus 5)
Manbao took a sip of the tea she received. She patted her body, but found nothing because she didn’t prepare a gift due to the clash of days.
After thinking it over, she opened her money pouch and took out a copper coin, placing it in Young Manager Zheng’s palm. She smiled and said, "I’m giving it to you. It’s not very valuable, but it holds years of significance. When I first started learning medicine, I didn’t think much. It was just because my mother wasn’t in good health, and seeing a doctor and getting medicine was too expensive. But I knew some herbal remedies and loved picking flowers and plants everywhere, so I learned medicine."
"Although my mother’s illness was eventually cured, there are many people in this world like my mother who are sick yet can’t be healed. So I hope my medical skills can be excellent to become someone like Bian Que or Hua Tuo in the future," Manbao said. "I hope that you all can become such people in the future as well."
Manbao smiled and said, "With exquisite medical skills and noble medical ethics, as long as there is one illness left unsolved in the world, you should continue to study medicine without measuring symptoms by money."
Although Young Manager Zheng found these two requirements, especially the first one, quite difficult, he still bowed his head and accepted respectfully with both hands the copper coin Manbao held. He decided to tie a red string to the copper coin when he went back, so that he wouldn’t accidentally spend it like an ordinary copper coin.
Zheng Gu got up and presented a box containing ginseng to Manbao as a gift for the apprenticeship.
He stepped aside, and it was Ms. Doctor Liu’s turn to kneel. She also offered tea and stuffed the jade pendant she had just removed into a satchel for Manbao.
Manbao also gave her a copper coin and repeated the same words.
Next, Shao knelt down, received tea, then took the copper coin from Manbao. Shopkeeper Zheng gave him a gift box containing cubilose.
When it was Sanya’s turn, she looked around and realized she had nothing to give her aunt. Mostly because her aunt didn’t tell her about this before leaving home today. So she knelt down and negotiated with her aunt, "Aunt, why don’t I take over the task of combing your hair in the future?"
Manbao thought this idea was good, and she nodded continuously.
Her three senior siblings: ...
It was really too unwise.
Zheng Gu and Zheng Shao: ... Even if we wanted to, we wouldn’t dare, as gender differences are a significant barrier.
Ms. Doctor Liu: ... Truly unwise, it seems I should move in with Doctor Zhou Junior.
Manbao was fair and gave Sanya a copper coin as well.
Sanya hesitated for a moment with the copper coin, deciding to ask Ms. Doctor Liu later about what to do with the coin.
If she accidentally spent it, what would happen if her senior siblings got separated in the future and needed the copper coin to recognize each other?
Although her aunt’s copper coin looked like any other, she couldn’t just randomly pick one and say it was the one, right?
It didn’t seem very respectful.
The apprenticeship ceremony concluded, and everyone who witnessed it laughed and moved towards the front hall. Doctor Ding smiled and asked Manbao, "How has this past month been?"
Manbao nodded and said, "Not bad. How about you, Doctor Ding?"
"Not much different from previous years, except that this year’s Lantern Festival lights weren’t as beautiful as those of previous years."
Manbao: "... I didn’t see them."
"No problem, if you didn’t see them this year, you can see them next year."
Manbao: ... Maybe I won’t see them next year either.
Although the lanterns are beautiful, I have to go home to see my parents. Otherwise, if I don’t visit even once a year, my parents and sister-in-law will surely miss me to death.
Manbao felt a bit disappointed, "Why do we have to see the lanterns during the Lantern Festival? Can’t we see them on the 30th of the month too?"
Doctor Tao: "... Besides the Lantern Festival, there are also lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival. I’ve never heard of seeing lanterns on the 30th day of the first month."
Manbao said, "Festivals are invented by everyone, not something that existed since ancient times. The Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns and Lantern Festival lanterns are different. I’ve heard there are more lights during the Lantern Festival, and the emperor stands on the city tower, appreciating them with the people."
Doctor Ding: "Indeed, this year I squeezed to the front and happened to see His Majesty. Oh, so majestic!"
Manbao didn’t find the emperor particularly majestic but still said, "I haven’t seen the emperor for quite some time."
Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately at a loss for words and had no desire to continue the conversation with her.
Doctor Ding turned to Doctor Tao and the others, "Let’s go, time to attend to patients."
"Please—"
Manbao watched them leave and then turned to Sanya, saying, "In a moment, you should follow me into the clinic to see how I diagnose people. When there are no patients, I’ll take you to learn about medicinal herbs."
Then she told Shao, "Hang up the diagnostic sign."
Shao acknowledged, and hung Doctor Zhou Junior’s sign on the clinic door.
Soon, patients seeking medical help at Jishi Hall saw the sign. Those who were aware lined up, and those who were unaware, after asking around and hearing it was the little divine doctor from the capital, also lined up together following the crowd.
But when they lifted the curtain and saw how young Zhou Man was, they immediately retreated and queued again at other doctors’ lines.
Although they knew the young divine doctor might be a bit young, this was too young.
Manbao methodically attended to the patients, only allowing Shao and Ms. Doctor Liu to follow and learn. As for Zheng Gu, he could diagnose pulses and felt he could prescribe, but Shopkeeper Zheng and Doctor Ding thought his prescriptions lacked creativity, which was why they didn’t let him prescribe.
So he wasn’t by Manbao’s side at the moment; instead, he was weighing out herbs in the medicine cabinet.
It was still the first month of the lunar year, and the days were consistently cold, so there weren’t many patients. The four doctors saw through the patients in less than an hour.
But soon, someone requested Doctor Ding and Doctor Tao for a house call, and the two of them left with their medical kits.
Manbao and Doctor Gu stayed behind in the pharmacy.
With no patients, they went to the back courtyard to talk and discuss how to teach these four disciples.
Mainly because their progress varied too much.
Zheng Gu lacked what was called creativity; Manbao still couldn’t quite understand, so Doctor Gu explained, "This child prescribes as if he’s reciting formulas—no major issues in diagnosing and identifying symptoms, but when prescribing, he just directly follows the symptoms."
Manbao was confused, "Isn’t that right?"
Doctor Gu paused for a moment and said, "It’s not wrong, just that, there’s no creativity. How should I explain this? Forget it, when there’s a patient later, have him write a few prescriptions for you to see, and you’ll understand."
Doctor Gu received the tea poured by Shao, smiling, "But with fewer patients today, once the second month arrives, and the weather varies between cold and warm, patients will increase."
Shopkeeper Zheng had just roughly checked today’s new medicinal supplies and confirmed there were no quality issues. After stretching his back and walking out, he heard this and nodded, "That’s right, it’s been so cold without signs of warming up, so not many people are getting sick."
Noticing Zhou Liru’s stunned expression on the side, Shopkeeper Zheng quickly changed his tune, saying, "But having peace and prosperity in the nation is a good thing."
Doctor Gu immediately nodded, repeatedly agreeing, "Indeed, it is a good thing."
Manbao: ...