jdhmnovel Chapter 446 Poor to the point of being destitute
Chapter 446 Poor to the point of being destitute
On the stretch of road from the south of Ningyang County to the south gate of Ningyang County, Empress Ma ignored Zhu Chongba.
On the road from the south gate of Ningyang County to the Ningyang County Government Office, Empress Ma still ignored Zhu Chongba.
Empress Ma's expression softened only after the carriage came to a complete stop outside the county government office, and Yu'er, who had been waiting outside for a long time, arrived in front of the carriage.
After giving Zhu Chongba a huffy glare, Empress Ma finally lifted the curtain of the carriage.
Yu'er quickly stepped forward, helping Empress Ma out of the carriage while sweetly calling out, "Mother."
After grunting twice, Emperor Zhu got out of the carriage. Yu'er quickly bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Daughter greets Father."
Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu, who were sitting in the carriage behind, also got off one after another and came to Yu'er, cupping their hands and saying, "Greetings, elder sister."
After returning to the backyard of the county government office and settling in, Empress Ma took Yu'er's hand and asked, "How are you doing? Are you settling in well in Ningyang County? Where's your sister? When is she coming back from Dengzhou?"
Yu'er smiled and replied, "Mother, don't worry, I'm doing well here in Ningyang County. My sister will be back from Dengzhou Prefecture in a while."
Empress Ma nodded and said, "How about this, you come with me to Dengzhou this time, and then you and your sister can come back together."
……
Just as Empress Ma was talking to Yu'er, Emperor Zhu had already left the county government office with Zhu Lao Si and Zhu Lao Wu.
This was the first time that Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu had come to Ningyang County.
Looking at Ningyang County, which was so different from the capital, Zhu Laosi couldn't help but look at Emperor Zhu and say, "Father, there are quite a few merchants in Ningyang County."
Emperor Zhu hummed in agreement.
"Ningyang County was originally a small and poor county."
"According to your brother-in-law, they're dirt poor."
Upon hearing this word, Emperor Zhu's face darkened again.
They're so poor they're practically bankrupt.
How did this bastard come up with such a word?
I have to say, it's actually quite fitting.
Our Great Ming Dynasty's treasury is now completely broke!
While inwardly complaining, Emperor Zhu slowly said, "According to the household registration and land ownership records submitted by your brother-in-law back then, Ningyang County in the first year of Hongwu only had a few hundred households and a population of just over two thousand."
"As for farmland... on average, each person has less than one and a half acres, which is basically enough to make ends meet."
"And then, we were hit by a drought and a locust plague."
"But in just one or two years, Ningyang County has changed completely."
Emperor Zhu pointed to the city wall in the distance: "Do you see the city wall?"
“We have seen the city wall of Ningyang County with our own eyes. It is a dilapidated little earthen wall, and many parts of it have collapsed.”
"It's only been a few years?"
"Damn it, this city wall is taller than that of an average county."
Emperor Zhu stepped on the cement road again: "There's this road too."
"The roads in the county town were originally full of potholes. The better places were paved with stone slabs, and the rest were dirt roads."
“But from the time we entered the city until now, you two can see that it’s all smooth cement roads.”
At this point, Emperor Zhu pouted in dissatisfaction.
"That's the only bad thing about this cement road. It keeps cracking all the time, and these cracks are unpleasant to look at."
As Emperor Zhu walked forward, he kept complaining.
Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu followed behind Emperor Zhu, seemingly lost in thought.
After the three men walked a short distance, Zhu Laowu suddenly pointed to a shop in the distance and said, "Huimin Pharmacy!"
Emperor Zhu immediately became interested.
The decree to establish public pharmacies had been issued long ago.
However, Emperor Zhu was also well aware that his imperial decree was one thing, but whether it could actually be implemented was another.
As for whether this affordable pharmacy can truly make it easier for people to see a doctor and make medical care more affordable, that's even harder to say.
After all, the existence of affordable pharmacies depends on doctors.
And the number of doctors...
Thinking of the number of doctors, Emperor Zhu couldn't help but sigh heavily again.
Zhongyuan Tangkou has a long-standing tradition of "if one cannot be a good prime minister, then one should be a good doctor."
To put it simply, not everyone aspires to become a doctor.
On the contrary, many doctors switched to medicine because they saw no hope in the path of the imperial examinations.
However, not all scholars who failed the imperial examinations chose to study medicine.
This has led to a shortage of doctors.
Emperor Zhu sometimes even thought that the Ming Dynasty might not need so many famous doctors, but rather more ordinary doctors.
Only when there are enough doctors can affordable pharmacies be truly established, and ordinary people can truly afford to see a doctor.
only……
A smile suddenly appeared on the corner of Emperor Zhu's mouth.
"Let's go check out Huimin Pharmacy."
The shortage of doctors is a fact.
There's really no way to solve this in the short term.
But hasn't that bastard already taken the first step?
Ningyang County Medical College, Dengzhou Prefecture Medical College.
According to that bastard, both medical schools recruit students who want to become doctors, and are specifically designed to train doctors.
If these two medical schools succeed, wouldn't they be able to train a large number of doctors for the Ming Dynasty?
Perhaps other states could also establish medical schools?
After all, the population of Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture was limited, and the number of students willing to practice medicine was even more limited. We could not place all our hopes on these two medical schools.
While pondering this haphazardly, Emperor Zhu led Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu into the Huimin Pharmacy.
The Huimin Pharmacy in Ningyang County is not large in scale.
It is at least much smaller than the Huimin Pharmacy in Yingtianfu.
However, considering the size of Ningyang County, this Huimin Pharmacy seems to be more than enough.
The room was filled with medicine cabinets, and there was a table in the corner where two shop assistants were busy working in the pharmacy.
Upon seeing Emperor Zhu and his two sons, Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu, a waiter immediately approached them, cupped his hands, and said, "May I ask if the three of you are here for medical treatment?"
Emperor Zhu shook his head slightly and asked, "We are from out of town and have never seen this Huimin Pharmacy before. We were curious, so we came to take a look."
The waiter looked Emperor Zhu up and down, shook his head with slight disappointment, and then said with a smile, "Please feel free to look around, you three."
Emperor Zhu grunted and asked, "May I ask, young man, what exactly is the purpose of our Beneficial Pharmacy?"
The shop assistant did not answer Emperor Zhu's question. Instead, he asked with great curiosity, "Judging from your accent, you must be from Jiangnan. Don't you have any Huimin Pharmacy in Jiangnan?"
Emperor Zhu shook his head slightly and said, "My father and I are from a small county, and we have never heard of Huimin Pharmacy."