jdhmnovel Chapter 447 How could our Zhu Chongba be weak?
Chapter 447 How could our Zhu Chongba be weak?
The clerk at Huimin Pharmacy gave Zhu Chongba a suspicious look.
They came from Jiangnan.
He could speak fluent Mandarin Chinese.
They said they came from a small county and had never heard of Huimin Pharmacy.
The pharmacy clerk rolled his eyes.
"You censors from the Censorate are really annoying."
"Even if you're going to pretend, at least make it look convincing, right?"
"And what's with the excuse that there aren't any affordable pharmacies in small counties?"
"Is the county town in Jiangnan not even as big as Ningyang County?"
"Besides, if the county towns in Jiangnan don't establish public pharmacies, do you think the emperor will let those officials off the hook?"
"Pooh."
Emperor Zhu was completely bewildered.
Wait, what the hell is going on here?
Can someone explain to me what an censor of the Censorate is? And what does it mean to pretend to be censor?
But after a moment's thought, Emperor Zhu simply went along with what the pharmacy clerk had said and said, "Young man, you have a good eye. I am indeed the Imperial Censor of the Censorate."
The pharmacy clerk snorted and said, "Go ahead and check if you want. Do you want to check the accounts, or do you want to conduct an inventory check?"
Emperor Zhu shook his head slightly and smiled, "We won't check the accounts or inventory the treasury today. We just want to chat with you for a bit."
The pharmacy clerk grunted and said, "Okay, go ahead and ask."
Emperor Zhu cut to the chase and asked, "Young man, how many people from Ningyang County come to Huimin Pharmacy?"
The pharmacy clerk pointed to the door and said, "You've been standing here for ages, have you seen anyone come?"
Emperor Zhu immediately became displeased.
Is there really no good person left in Ningyang County?
The officials who were transferred away, as well as the newly appointed students, were already infuriating enough.
Even a clerk at a public pharmacy can be so sarcastic these days.
The more Emperor Zhu thought about it, the angrier he became. He snorted and said, "If that's the case, then wouldn't the people of Ningyang County rarely get sick?"
The pharmacy clerk gave Emperor Zhu a look of pity, as if he were looking at a mentally challenged person.
"Humans eat grains and other foods, how can they not get sick?"
"However, getting sick is really just that simple. It's either a cold, a fever, or something like damp heat."
"A simple diagnosis to determine whether it's a cold caused by cold or dampness and heat, and then taking two doses of medicine will be fine."
"These are commonly used medicines in the homes of people in Ningyang County."
"If you don't believe me, just ask around in any ordinary household."
Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback and asked, "Do ordinary people keep medicine at home? Are the people of Ningyang County all that wealthy?"
The pharmacy clerk laughed and said, "Are you kidding me? Who keeps medicine on hand all the time?"
Seeing Emperor Zhu's bewildered expression, the pharmacy clerk simply explained: "It was the master who instructed the pharmacy to distribute the medicine to the people. Each household should prepare ten doses of medicine, five for colds and five for damp heat."
"Also, these medicines were paid for; the money came from the county treasury from the magistrate. You can check the accounts."
Emperor Zhu didn't care about money.
What Emperor Zhu cared about was whether the medicine in people's homes would spoil.
However, the pharmacy clerk smiled and said, "People in ordinary households change their medicine every six months."
"The Imperial Physician Yang and the others said that if this medicine is not used for a year, it will basically be useless."
"Therefore, the medicine in people's homes is replaced every six months, and the replaced medicine is sold to Dengzhou Prefecture for those convicts to eat."
"Anyway, there are many hard laborers in Dengzhou Prefecture, and many of them get sick."
Emperor Zhu immediately had no more doubts.
These actions, one after another, are indeed that bastard's style of doing things.
Emperor Zhu sometimes suspected that the dog might take the medicine that the hard laborers in Dengzhou Prefecture couldn't finish and sell it again at the market.
Seeing that Emperor Zhu had no more questions, the pharmacy clerk spoke up again: "Anything else you want to ask? If not, you'd better leave quickly, I'm busy here."
Emperor Zhu suppressed the urge to run to Dengzhou and curse, and asked with a dark face, "I also want to see the medicines you mentioned, and also ask how to determine whether it is wind-cold or damp-heat."
The pharmacy clerk rolled his eyes, turned around and went to the medicine cabinet, took out two packets of medicine and two pieces of paper, and handed them to Emperor Zhu.
"These two packets of medicine, one for wind-cold and one for wind-heat."
"To determine whether it is wind-cold or wind-heat, whether it is a deficiency syndrome or an excess syndrome, whether it is an external syndrome or an internal syndrome, look at the contents of these two pieces of paper."
Emperor Zhu took the two packets of medicine and two pieces of paper. After opening the packets, he found that most of the medicine inside was chopped or ground into powder, making it impossible to determine what exactly was inside.
After seeing those two pieces of paper, Emperor Zhu was immediately captivated.
"Fever and chills are external symptoms, while fever, sweating without chills, and thirst are internal symptoms."
"Frequently feeling cold without fever indicates Yang deficiency."
"Persistent afternoon flushing of the cheeks, low-grade fever, and hot palms indicate yin deficiency."
"A preference for hot food often indicates a cold syndrome, while a preference for cold food often indicates a heat syndrome."
"..."
Emperor Zhu examined each of the points mentioned above against himself.
Finally, a conclusion was reached.
These two pieces of paper are most likely made up by that scoundrel.
How could our Zhu Chongba be weak?
Seeing the Emperor Zhu's shifty eyes, the pharmacy clerk couldn't help but snort and say, "It's nothing. Physician Yang said that everyone is a little weak to some extent."
Damn it, Yang Qing has been corrupted by this bastard too.
What does it mean that normal people are all a little weak?
Is it abnormal for our emperor not to be weak?
Emperor Zhu grunted with a dark expression and asked, "Why are all these medicines broken into pieces? Also, what's the deal with these two pieces of paper?"
The pharmacy clerk said, "This pharmacy is a benevolent act by the emperor. The master said that no one should be allowed to take advantage of it for nothing, so all the medicines have been broken up to prevent anyone from picking out the medicines and selling them for money."
"As for these two pieces of paper..."
"This was written by Physician Yang and Physician Wang for the common people to read."
"As per the master's instructions, each household in Ningyang County will receive one portion."
Emperor Zhu was even more displeased.
That bastard, all he ever thinks about is smuggling good stuff into Ningyang County.
However, even though Ningyang County had good things, he didn't think about making them available to other prefectures and counties.
I wonder when this guard dog will change its temperament.
The same goes for the people of Ningyang County.
They keep all the good stuff to themselves.
They've all been corrupted by that bastard!
While inwardly complaining, Emperor Zhu returned the medicine and the two pieces of paper to the pharmacy clerk.
After leaving the pharmacy, Emperor Zhu said directly to Zhu Lao Si and Zhu Lao Wu, "Did you both hear what that young man said just now?"
Zhu Laosi nodded and replied, "Yes, I heard everything."
Just as Zhu Laosi was about to say something, a courtyard not far away opened its gate, and a dozen women walked out chatting and laughing.
"Today was alright, I earned another ten-odd coins."
"I'm going to buy meat later, who's going?"
"I'm not going, I need to go home right away."
"Tsk tsk, I know your husband is handsome, but there's no need to rush things."
"That's right, it's not even dark yet."
"You damned fools, stop talking nonsense."
"Tomorrow is my day off. I'm going back to prepare so I can visit my parents' home."
"Who knows?"
Seeing several women treating the street like a no-man's-land, daring to utter all sorts of indecent words, Emperor Zhu was completely dumbfounded.