บท 12: Eleven, test you
Luo Shu had breakfast and then left the house to walk to Luo Zheng's school.
Just as she stepped out of the alley, she saw a familiar figure coming toward her.
Luo Daya, coveting the street food on either side of the road, kept swallowing saliva, "What a delicious smell! It makes me so hungry!"
Touching her stomach, Luo Daya sighed helplessly, "If I had known there were so many tasty things in town, I should have asked Mom for more money."
Luo Shu sneered as she passed by Luo Daya's side.
Luo Daya caught a glimpse of Luo Shu passing by and paused, turning her head to look back, "That person's back looks so much like Luo Shu. It can't be her though; that girl wouldn't have money for new clothes, I must be mistaken." She shifted her gaze back to the street food and swallowed hard again.
Luo Shu arrived at the school and went straight to find Luo Zheng's homeroom teacher, Huang Xuehua, "Teacher Huang, hello! I am Luo Zheng's sister, Luo Shu. I'm here to ask for a few days' leave on behalf of Luo Zheng."
"Please, take a seat," said Huang Xuehua as she put down the textbook in her hand and pointed to a chair beside her, "Luo Zheng's father came by this morning. He said Luo Zheng did not come home last night; I hope nothing happened to him?"
"Thank you for your concern, Teacher! Luo Zheng is fine," Luo Shu said with a smile.
"That's good to hear. Since Luo Zheng didn't come home last night, where did he stay?" Huang Xuehua asked. She was quite fond of Luo Zheng as a student; he was smart and sensible and didn't require much attention from her.
"He stayed at a relative's house in town. Teacher Huang, have you been suffering from insomnia recently?" Luo Shu changed the subject.
"How did you know that?" Huang Xuehua looked at Luo Shu with a surprised expression. She had been struggling with insomnia for almost a month now. The doctor had been seen and medicine taken, but there was no improvement.
"I know a bit about medicine. If you trust me, Teacher Huang, I can prescribe you some medication," Luo Shu said with a smile. Luo Zheng was only in his second year of junior high and would need Huang Xuehua's care for a while longer; it was necessary to maintain a good relationship with her.
"Sure, please prescribe me some medicine," Huang Xuehua replied happily. This past month had been almost unbearable; she couldn't sleep at night and was exhausted during the day. With midterms approaching, she couldn't afford to take time off.
After getting a pen and paper from Huang Xuehua, Luo Shu quickly wrote a prescription and handed it to her, "Take this decoction twice a day, morning and evening." She was very confident in her prescription; in at most two days, Huang Xuehua's insomnia should improve.
Huang Xuehua took the prescription, and seeing the elegant handwriting, her impression of Luo Shu grew even more positive, "Thank you so much!" As the saying goes, the handwriting reflects the person. Luo Shu's handwriting was so good, surely she must be a wonderful person too.
After arranging for Luo Zheng's leave, Luo Shu went to Jimin Pharmacy. She planned to buy a set of silver needles for future use. There was a set of golden needles in her space that was a family heirloom of the Luo Family, but using that set would be too conspicuous.
"Luo Girl, I am truly sorry about yesterday; it was my oversight," Shopkeeper Liu said guiltily. Had he not engaged that scoundrel Hu Dahai, how would Luo Shu have gotten robbed?
Luo Shu smiled and shook her head, "Shopkeeper Liu, it's alright. Look, I'm fine, aren't I? And besides, it's not your fault. By the way, do you have any silver needles for sale?" She didn't want to dwell on the incident. After all, had it not been for that robbery, she wouldn't have met Lu Hanmo so soon.
"Yes, I do. Let me show you," Shopkeeper Liu bent down, took out a set of silver needles from a drawer, and handed them to Luo Shu, "Luo Girl, what do you need these silver needles for?"
"My grandfather was an itinerant physician, and he taught me acupuncture. I bought the silver needles to practice a bit," Luo Shu opened the cloth bag containing the silver needles and pulled one out, examining it closely.
"Then you must be familiar with many herbs as well?" Shopkeeper Liu asked with a smile. If Luo Shu knew many herbs, she could be hired to work at the pharmacy.
"Not that many," Luo Shu replied modestly. Her family had been in medicine for generations, and since she was two years old, her grandfather had thrown her into the medicine cabinet to identify various herbs. She only needed to smell them to recognize what they were.
"How about I test you, then?" Shopkeeper Liu looked at Luo Shu with a smiling face full of expectation.
"Sure," Luo Shu nodded in agreement.
Shopkeeper Liu turned around and quickly took out a dozen or so herbs from the drawer behind him and laid them out on the table, "Luo Girl, take a look and see how many you can identify."
Luo Shu glanced over the herbs on the table, "Processed Radix Aconiti, Processed Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii, Silkworm, Drynaria Rhizome, White Mustard Seed, Angelica Dahurica, Spatholobus Stem, Groomwell Root Floss, Rehmannia Glutinosa, Ephedra. These are the herbs needed for the Dispelling Numbness Decoction, which warms the meridians, dispels cold, activates blood, and alleviates pain. It is used for sciatica and chronic back and leg pain, and also has good effects on various types of hyperosteogeny."
"Girl, not bad at all!" Shopkeeper Liu gave Luo Shu a thumbs-up, full of admiration. He thought Luo Shu would only recognize a few herbs at most, but she knew the uses of this prescription as well, which was beyond his expectation.
"You flatter me!" Luo Shu said with a gracious smile.
"Let me test you again. Southern Bupleurum 12 grams, Processed Rhizoma Atractylodis 10 grams, Poria Cocos 10 grams, Kapok Ginger 6 grams, Fried Gizzard Lining 10 grams, Processed Cyperus Rhizome 6 grams, Stir-fried Chinese Yam 10 grams, Plantago Seeds 10 grams, Stir-fried White Peony Root 10 grams, Charred Massa Medicata Fermentata 10 grams, Chinese sweetgum 3 grams, Amomum Shell 3 grams, Cornus Officinalis 2 grams, what is the effect of this prescription?"
"This is the Liver-Soothing and Spleen-Strengthening Decoction, used to treat chronic gastritis," Luo Shu answered without a second thought.
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu burst into laughter, "Girl, are you interested in working at the pharmacy? The salary is thirty yuan a month." A promising student like Luo Shu should not be wasted.
"Thank you for your kind offer, Shopkeeper Liu, but I'm not looking for a job right now." She still had a lot to do and naturally wouldn't waste her time here.
"You can think it over when you go back. Our Jimin Pharmacy always has its doors open for you," Shopkeeper Liu said persistently.
Luo Shu smiled and nodded slightly, "Shopkeeper Liu, can you prepare a prescription for me? Tangerine Peel 10 grams, Poria Cocos 15 grams, Atractylodes Macrocephala, Crow-dipper each 12 grams, Scutellaria Baicalensis, Forsythia, Stir-fried Radish Seed, Kadsura Pepper Stem, Sichuan Chinaberry, Polygonum Cuspidatum each 15 grams, Gecko one, Gizzard Lining 10 grams."
"This medicine is for Uncle Chen, isn't it?" Shopkeeper Liu knew from hearing it that the medicine was specifically for Uncle Chen's illness. Uncle Chen's condition was so severe that these herbs would hardly make a difference.
"Yes, I took Uncle Chen's pulse this morning, so I wanted to give it a try." Naturally, these herbs would not cure Uncle Chen; she was doing this merely as a cover. When she returned, she would add some other herbs to the prescription.
Of course, her reason for doing so was not simply to cure Uncle Chen, but because she had other purposes in mind. Aunt Chen had said that her eldest son worked at the Public Security Office. If she could cure Uncle Chen's illness, the issue with her and her brother's household registration might be resolved.
"Girl, you really are kind-hearted," Shopkeeper Liu looked at Luo Shu with admiration. The most important thing for a healer was to have a benevolent heart, and he believed that Luo Shu would surely make a name for herself in the medical field one day.
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