Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Manager Ma didn't continue the previous topic, but instead asked Ji Manchuan with interest, "You bring your daughter out to do business at such a young age?"

Ji Manchuan scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Poor people's children learn to be independent early. Besides, I don't have any sons. I only had a daughter a few years ago, so I'm raising her like a boy."

Shopkeeper Ma's eyes gleamed with admiration as he said, "No wonder your daughter always behaves like a man. Not bad, not bad, you have good taste, you've raised your child well. Did you teach your daughter all those things she just said?"

Ji Manchuan was even more embarrassed and chuckled awkwardly, "Hey, I'm already doing well enough to teach the kid a couple of characters. How could I possibly teach him so much? To be honest, I've never heard of the things my kid was talking about, like the epidemic in the south. I'm just a country bumpkin who's only ever been to the neighboring county. The biggest river I've ever seen is the Lotus River. How could I possibly know what the south looks like, or how wide the rivers there have to be to flood?"

Shopkeeper Ma chuckled and turned to ask Ji Yongling, "Your father didn't teach you that much, so where did you hear all that about the south?"

“There used to be an old lady from the south living by the ditch across from my house. She came from a wealthy family and knew a lot of things. I learned everything from her.”

Manager Ma snapped his folding fan shut, tapped it in his palm, and said, "Alright, I'll buy your aged artemisia at market price. But as agreed, it must be three-year-old artemisia, no fakes allowed. Also, I have to get going now. I'll give you two more days. It would be best if you could get a thousand catties."

Upon hearing that the deal had been reached, Ji Manchuan was overjoyed and didn't know what to do. He rubbed his face and hands, thinking about what words of thanks he should say.

Ji Yongling, who was standing to the side, spoke up: "Thank you for your trust, Manager Ma. We guarantee that the mugwort we collect is clean and of the correct age. It is only three-year-old mugwort, not a year more or less."

"Yes, yes, absolutely quality guaranteed," Ji Manchuan quickly replied.

Xu Shirong opened his mouth, wanting to say that he could also take Chen Ai, but then he closed his mouth again.

Firstly, he was worried that the mugwort leaves collected in a short time would be of uneven quality and he would have to select them. Secondly, since Manager Ma had already made the deal, it would be unfair for him to try and steal the business.

Manager Ma stood up, tucked his folding fan into his waistband, and said, "Then it's settled. I'll be waiting for you two here with Manager Xu the day after tomorrow."

"Manager Ma—"

"What is it, young lady? Is there something else you want to say?"

Ji Yongling clasped his hands in a fist and asked, "Manager Ma, don't we need to sign a contract?"

Manager Ma put his hands behind his back and laughed heartily twice: "You know a lot, kid. But you don't need to sign any contract for this little bit of goods. Just bring it over when the time comes. I, Ma, will never run away or deny anything."

Xu Shirong laughed and said, "You even know to draw up a contract. It'll be hard to cheat a girl like you! A person without integrity cannot stand, and a business without integrity cannot prosper. Honesty is the foundation of us businessmen. I can't speak for others, but Manager Ma has been to Ningping County so many times. He is definitely a trustworthy person. I, Xu, am your guarantor. Go ahead and collect the money with peace of mind."

Upon hearing this, Ji Manchuan patted his chest and said, "Even if I don't trust anyone else, I have to trust you, Boss Xu."

Ji Yongling glanced at the excited Ji Manchuan, swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue, and was about to turn and leave when she remembered something and asked, "Manager Ma, we have other herbs to prevent and treat epidemics. Would you like to take them as well?"

Shopkeeper Ma stroked his beard, narrowed his eyes, and scrutinized the patched-up little girl again. Although he wasn't the type to judge a book by its cover, in this day and age, "money emboldens people, and children give parents authority." Children from poor families often carried an inherent timidity, humility, and cowardice that were difficult to conceal.

However, the girl in front of him, although dressed in tattered clothes covered in patches, did not hinder the calm and confident temperament she exuded from the inside out. If she changed her clothes and was said to be the daughter of an official, he would believe it.

Seeing that Manager Ma remained silent, Xu Shirong asked with a smile, "You little girl, are you capable of being the head of your household?"

Ji Yongling looked up at Ji Manchuan, who quickly smiled and said, "Master Xu, you flatter me. My family are all peasants who toil in the fields, so we only know what the common herbs in the ditch are used for. As for which herbs can prevent and treat epidemics, we really don't know. But my daughter knows, she was taught by her master, so she can make decisions about herbs."

Manager Ma sat back down in his chair, fanning himself: "Tell me, what other medicinal herbs can prevent and treat the epidemic? Mr. Xu, please also give me your opinion and see if what this child says is correct."

Ji Yongling glanced at the medicine cabinet in the pharmacy and said, "Manager Ma, Master Xu, the key to treating illness with this herbal decoction is that multiple medicinal materials in the prescription work together to form a synergistic effect. It is difficult to achieve the desired effect with a single or a few medicinal materials. How about I give you a prescription for your consideration?"

Manager Ma and Xu Shirong exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of "the younger generation is formidable" in each other's eyes.

Although Ji Yongling was not a professional in traditional Chinese medicine, her grandfather was a barefoot doctor and a barefoot veterinarian in her previous life. Many people in the village could not afford to spend too much money to buy medicine in town, so her family collected a lot of commonly used folk remedies. It can be said that they had a complete collection of prescriptions for treating diseases in humans and animals.

In addition, during the outbreak of the epidemic a few years ago, she was away from home and often copied down the epidemic prevention prescriptions published by academicians or famous doctors online and sent them to the villagers. Therefore, she could recite several epidemic prevention prescriptions off the top of her head.

"Take 2 qian of Atractylodes lancea, 3 qian of Magnolia officinalis, 3 qian of Citrus reticulata peel, 2 qian of Amomum villosum, 3 qian of Pogostemon cablin, and 2 qian of Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Take warm twice a day, morning and evening. It can dispel turbidity, regulate qi and harmonize the middle jiao. It is mainly used to treat fever and headache, food stagnation and fluid retention, chest fullness and abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. It is most suitable for the prevention and treatment of epidemics after floods."

Ji Yongling recited a prescription for "Divine Magic Powder" from memory.

Xu Shirong quickly wrote down the prescription on the paper beside him. After finishing, he gently blew on the ink, carefully picked up the paper, examined it from top to bottom, and handed it to Manager Ma beside him.

Manager Ma took the book with both hands, examined it carefully twice, and did not return it to Xu Shirong. He looked at Ji Yongling and said, "People say that one should be willing to give up one's wealth or even one's life rather than give up a secret recipe. You are so generous, don't your elders have any objections?"

Ji Yongling shook his head: "Holding the secret formula in your hands is like holding a dead object; it can't be eaten or drunk. Only by distributing it can you save more people."

Ji Manchuan, standing to the side, assumed that this was a prescription given by Granny Liu and nodded, saying, "This is not originally a prescription from my Ji family. Her master gave it to her so that more people could be saved." However, he was still a little proud, thinking that his daughter was very capable. She had never studied properly with a teacher, but only casually learned from him at home, yet she could recite this prescription from memory. Indeed, the Ji family's offspring were the best.