The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

When County Magistrate Zhao heard that Lu Linlang wanted to see him, he immediately invited her in.

Upon learning that the purpose of their visit was to help prevent the occurrence of goiter, the county magistrate paid more attention. This year, more people have suffered from goiter. As a county magistrate, he has to report the population of the entire county every year. He has learned that this disease has occurred in several villages.

"Have you really found a way to prevent this disease?" County Magistrate Zhao stood up excitedly.

"Sir, my cousin has indeed found a way, and he will demonstrate it to you later." Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Zhao immediately asked Yunxi to demonstrate.

After seeing the results of the demonstration, County Magistrate Zhao was also surprised. He never thought that such a disease that had plagued the people of Chongshui and even the people of other counties for many years could be caused by this.

He thought about it and found that this disease was indeed rare in wealthy families who could afford salt, but it was more common among ordinary people. Salt was an expensive thing, and everyone only had enough and did not dare to put more.

The common people would store eggs and sell them at the market, which is why so many people fell ill.

Now that we know the reason, as long as we encourage everyone to eat things containing this, we can reduce the occurrence of diseases. However, even if ordinary people know this, will they really be willing to spend money to buy more salt or eat egg yolks?

"Sir, I have been to Minzhou City before. I heard that there are kelp, laver and wakame grown there near the sea. These are seeds that were brought over from the previous dynasty. Later, local fishermen discovered that kelp can be eaten as a vegetable, and gradually the crops became more abundant.

Moreover, this kind of kelp is abundant, and compared to those fish that need to be pickled, kelp can be easily transported after being dried. If someone from Chongshui organizes a group to go to Minzhou City to buy kelp, it will not only solve the problem of illness, but also allow Chongshui merchants to make money."

Lu Linlang also knew what he was worried about, so she thought of a way to deal with the matter at home.

"This is a good idea. If kelp is cheaper than salt, and you eat some occasionally, you won't get sick again. Miss Lu is very thoughtful. The sacrifice will be held in a few days. I will notify everyone of this preventive measure first. On the day of the sacrifice, Miss Lu will organize the purchase of kelp.

Doctor Yun, I wonder if you have a way to treat these patients. If you can cure them, you will have done a great deed, and I will commend you at the court."

"Sir, we now have a clue, but it will take some time."

"Okay, that's good that there is hope. Then you should study it carefully. Once you cure the disease, the people of Chongshui will thank you." Having solved a major problem, County Magistrate Zhao felt relieved.

Soon, the government notified the village heads of the methods to prevent goiter, and they passed the message along and issued a notice to inform everyone that the disease would not be transmitted to others, so everyone could rest assured. The government now had an idea for a cure, and once the research was completed, it would provide free treatment to the people of the entire county.

For the money for the treatment, the county magistrate found several wealthy local businessmen, told them about the business of purchasing kelp, and asked them to discuss it with Lu Linlang on the first day of October. When the wealthy businessmen heard that there was another way to make money, they all took the initiative to donate a sum of money. The county government also took a small portion and was waiting for Yunxi's medicine.

Yunxi lived up to everyone's expectations. Ten months ago, he finally found a way to cure the disease. Many patients in Zhuangzi became ill this year. The disease was not particularly serious, but if it was not treated in time, it would be troublesome when it grew bigger. It might be necessary to remove it, which was a very troublesome treatment method. Even Yunxi could not guarantee that those who had the disease removed would survive.

Yunxi's medicinal decoctions were not expensive. After telling County Magistrate Zhao about the treatment, he personally brought people to check on those who had been treated. He found that they had indeed improved, and he was very happy.

"Doctor Yun, you are truly a famous doctor in Chongshui. Don't worry, I will send people to buy these medicinal herbs and cure all the sick people in Chongshui." County Magistrate Zhao thought to himself, this is one of his political achievements in the official evaluation. With this, he should be able to be promoted next year. It would be great if he could be an official in a better county or go to the provincial capital.

The government immediately announced the method of treating goiter, and all the sick people could go to a specially set up stall outside the city to see a doctor. As long as they were confirmed to have this disease, they could get the prepared medicine for free.

For a time, the county town gate was crowded with people. Most of those people were accompanied by their families. After seeing the doctor and taking the medicine, they always felt that their illness was mostly cured. The treatment and good mentality accounted for half of the influencing factors. Before October, the patients with mild symptoms were almost recovered, and the remaining serious cases still needed to be treated slowly. Yunxi did not get tired of explaining to them.

Yangchun, as the first person to actively take the medicine, is now well. She follows Yunxi and Erhua to see the doctor every day, and learns carefully every time. However, compared to studying medicine, she is more interested in how Yunxi extracted the potion to test the existence of that thing.

So she listened carefully every day, did not give up what she had learned before, and did not relax at all.

The first day of October arrived. When this day that everyone was looking forward to arrived, the people of Chongshui County became happy again.

This year, all the sick people in their families have recovered. They are even more grateful to the government office. They have forgotten the attitude of the officials when they collected grain before and are eager to participate in today's sacrifice.

The high priest was the same one from last year. He was leading people to tidy up the altar. When he saw Lu Linlang coming, he nodded and greeted her. Lu Linlang was really flattered.

In the eyes of the people of Chongshui, the high priest has always been serious and cold, and never has a good face to anyone. He lives in the priest pavilion built specifically for him by the people of Chongshui all year round. Apart from a few of his apprentices, he only occasionally meets the county magistrate. He never tells fortunes for anyone, and only presides over sacrifices on the first day of October.

But today he took the initiative to greet Lu Linlang, and Lu Linlang also returned the greeting. The sacrifice began, and everyone's expressions became solemn, waiting for the high priest's prophecy.

Lu Linlang's family and Guan Ling were standing aside. It was Guan Ling's first time to participate in such a sacrifice. She felt a little nervous. Such a sacrificial scene was not seen even in the capital.

However, she had heard from her royal brother before that in some places, some mysterious sacrificial rituals were still maintained, and the people there believed in this method very much.

The high priest pointed the staff in his hand into the river, and suddenly huge ripples appeared on the originally calm water surface. Lu Linlang found fear in the high priest's eyes. He said nothing, as if nothing had happened. He led his people away without saying a word to the county magistrate.

People didn't know what this meant, but most people thought it was a good thing. They were afraid that their Chongshui situation would really get better next year.

Everyone had smiles on their faces, and those wealthy businessmen who couldn't wait came to Lu Linlang to ask her about the business opportunities in kelp and seaweed.

Lu Linlang had no time to think about what had just happened. She brought everyone together and told them her plan.

When they heard that Lu Linlang did not plan to get involved in this business this year and told them about her previous experience in Minzhou City and that she would send someone to help, everyone was happy. Miss Lu was leaving the money for them to earn.