Lin Xixi went home with Chen Zhongqian again in the evening. It was strange that the old man had just returned from the mountains and had carried a small basket of herbs on his back.
Lin Joy said, "How's it going? Have you found a new one?"
"It's not that easy."
The few Cold Poisonous Herbs were donated by Joy very heroically. Thinking that they actually belonged to the old man, before giving them to Renjitang, she even asked him indirectly what he thought.
"If it were yours, would you use it to cure the plague?"
The old man looked at her sideways and said, "I have been searching for months just because of the plague in Chong County."
The cold poisonous weed was given to someone, and the old man started digging into the mountains again, hoping to find a few more plants. It seems that he returned without success today.
He sat in the yard sorting out the herbs he had collected. Xiaoduo recognized them all, and actually recognized most of them.
"Oh, this little girl is quite smart."
Xiaoduo held her face and smiled cutely, "My mother taught me how to recognize them. I know a lot of them, but they don't exist here."
The old man smiled and nodded, "Okay, do you want to learn medical skills to treat illnesses and save people?"
"think."
"Then I can teach you too."
Xiaoduo tilted her head and thought for a while, "But my mother can teach me. I like my mother to teach me."
Lin Yuxi hurriedly ran out of the kitchen. Isn't this silly girl happy to have a powerful master?
"Xiaoduo, it's great that grandpa is willing to teach you. Grandpa is better than mother."
Xiaoduo shook his head, "But I think my mother is the most powerful."
Lin Yuxi felt sweet in her heart, and did not feel regretful that Xiaoduo missed the opportunity to become a teacher. The child was still young, so she could do whatever she liked.
"She's so good, she's such a good girl."
After dinner, Lin Yuxi asked the old man about the plague in Chong County.
If the old man hadn't given her the cure for the plague, Renjitang might have been helpless this time when Yuanantang pushed her in front to block the knife.
From what the old man said, he already knew that the plague would happen.
"How did the old gentleman know?"
The old man said while sorting the herbs, "The weather is weird, and abnormal things always happen. Last winter in Chong County, it was very warm for a while, and then bitingly cold for a while. This was completely different from previous years. In fact, if you look at the county annals, you will know that this happened before.
Such a thing has happened.”
Lin Xixi only lives in this small town, so naturally she doesn't know what the weather is like outside, let alone where to go to read the county records.
But after listening to the old man's description, she thought of the pattern of febrile diseases: "If you get cold in winter, you will get warm in spring."
She had never encountered such a large-scale febrile disease outbreak in her previous life, so she was unable to combine the actual situation with book knowledge immediately. As soon as the old man pointed it out, she instantly understood the cause of this plague.
The reason why there is no obvious contagiousness is because most patients are harmed by abnormal weather and become ill themselves.
And the large-scale outbreak is concentrated in one place, that's because the weird weather only appears in that place, and there is no strange reason.
Lin Yuxi was surprised that there were no books specifically discussing febrile diseases at that time, but the old man could guess that a plague would break out in spring by reading county annals, and made preparations in advance.
"Then you told the local people in advance?"
The old man shook his leg and said, "I told you, I also thought about going to the Yamen to tell the magistrate, but no one believed me, and they thought I was a charlatan, and my legs were broken."
He felt a little aggrieved when he said this, but Lin Yuxi was amused by his tone.
"When things didn't happen, everyone was willing to listen to good words. If the old man hadn't been here this time, Renjitang wouldn't have been able to think of a solution so quickly."
The old man looked at her and said, "Cold poisonous grass just makes things easier. Even if I don't show up and I don't tell you about the miraculous effects of cold poisonous grass, the prescription you come up with can still control the illness this time.
It's just a bit more difficult, otherwise how could those high fever patients in Renji Hall be cured?"
"I also want to ask you, which famous doctor did you study under?" The old man smiled, "I have been traveling for most of my life, and I have never seen such a capable person."
Lin Hexi smiled slightly, "I don't have a teacher, it's just some native methods that my father taught me. After thinking about it myself, it's like treating a dead horse like a living horse."
The old man nodded appreciatively, "You and your father are both good doctors."
"But none of us are serious students. In the eyes of others, we are just quacks who know some folk tricks."
The old man said disapprovingly, "If a blind cat can catch mice, it is also a good cat. As long as the end goal is to cure diseases and save people, who cares where the teacher comes from?"
Lin Yuxi was very happy when he heard this, and suddenly had an idea. He leaned over and looked at him and said, "How about you become my teacher?"
It was so sudden that the old man was stunned for a moment.
But it was only for a moment. He smiled and touched his beard and nodded, "Okay, if you are willing to become my master, I will accept you as my disciple. But one day my master commits a crime.
I’m afraid that I, my disciple, will be implicated.”
Lin Hexi asked, "Are you really a prisoner of the imperial court?"
"Isn't that what you said?"
Only then did Lin Joy realize that he was teasing her, because she had previously regarded him as a prisoner of the imperial court and was afraid that he would go out to meet people.
"That doesn't matter. As long as you tell me that you were unjustly accused and you didn't commit murder or arson or do anything bad, then I will hide you well."
The old man was very satisfied with this young apprentice who suddenly appeared, but there was another thing that he was very concerned about. He asked in a low voice, "Who has the final say in your family?"
Lin Joy blinked, not understanding what he meant for a moment, "Who has the final say?"
"You and your husband-in-law, whoever listens to whom."
Lin Joy was immediately proud, "Of course you listen to me."
"That's alright. I'll accept you as my apprentice. From now on, I will be your master and I will teach you everything I have learned in my life." The old man waved his hand very coolly, "This is nothing to worry about."
She didn't expect to become a master like this. Lin Yuxi was very happy and immediately made preparations to become a master.
Chen Zhongqian had been in the room just now, but he probably heard their conversation and held her excited hand.
"I will prepare for your apprenticeship ceremony."
After saying that, I went to set the table. There are dried fruits and snacks at home, so just put it on a small table and perform a simple apprenticeship ceremony.
The old man stroked his beard and said, "Is there any need to be in such a hurry? I won't run away."
Lin Hexi said playfully, "What if you regret it?"
"I said I would take it, and I was afraid that you would regret it and think I was a fugitive again."
Lin Yuxi waved his hand, "It doesn't matter if he is a fugitive. Having a fugitive as a disciple is not something that ordinary people can do."
The old man laughed loudly, "You can really be my apprentice."