A few days later, the golden ear and snow fungus grown by Yingbao were ready to be picked.
She and Chuchu were busy for a few days, picking all the mushrooms and drying them, and then replanting them, planting another 600 golden fungus and 300 snow fungus.
He gave the dried golden ear and snow fungus to Mrs. Wen, and also gave her some preserved fruits and ripe apples for Mrs. Wen and Sister Wen to eat on the way.
That day, Mrs. Wen took her daughter and left the village in a carriage.
Walking with them were Xu Kun and Chu Yan.
Master Zhang Meng said that Xu Kun and Chu Yan were just seeing Madam Wen off and would be back after a while.
But Yingbao didn't believe it at all, because Chuchu cried so hard when she said goodbye to Chuyan, as if it was a farewell of life and death.
In the blink of an eye, it was May and all the grapes had been sold out, but the apples and pears in the orchard had gradually ripened and were picked by Jiang Quan and sent to the shops in the county town.
Now Yingbao's shop is on the right track. Not only has it officially put up a sign of Jiang's Specialties, but it has also registered Jiang Cheng as the shop's head manager.
No matter how unwilling the second cousin Jiang Quan was, he had to agree reluctantly. After all, the eldest brother was older and had given up the inheritance and moved out alone.
But Jiang Quan was unwilling to give up, so he appointed himself a position as a manager, specifically responsible for purchasing and transportation.
As for the profit sharing of the shop, Yingbao asked for 50%, and the remaining 50% could be divided between the eldest and second cousins as they pleased.
As Yan Ru participated in the production of the preserved fruits, Jiang Cheng paid her a processing fee of thirty cents per pound. More than three hundred pounds of preserved fruits cost more than ten taels of silver.
Yan Ru did not refuse. After the apricots and peaches were out of season, she started making rouge and powder in her spare time at Ying Bao's request.
After Dani and Erni finished their own work, they would run over to do some of the work, and sometimes they would bring a few little girls from the village along.
Yingbao would bring a large basket of flower petals every day, including roses, peonies, red and blue flowers, lotus flowers, etc., with a different one every day, to give to the second aunt to make rouge and powder.
Sometimes Yan Ru was quite puzzled as to how her little niece could pick so many petals, each of which was large and bright, with a strong fragrance, and she didn't know where she got them from.
One morning, Yingbao was walking home and saw a donkey cart parked at the door.
Doctor Li in the town was talking to my father.
"Sanlang, doesn't your daughter Yingbao want to learn medicine? My pharmacy is looking for a pharmacist. Why don't you let her be my apprentice?" Doctor Li said to Jiang Sanlang while they were sitting under the grape vines in the yard.
Jiang Sanlang hesitated for a while and said, "Let me ask Baoer about this first." His daughter has her own ideas, and whether she wants to be an apprentice in the pharmacy depends on her own wishes.
Doctor Li laughed and said, "Actually, this is what my senior brother meant. You still remember him, right? He is Madam Wen's father-in-law Wen Jingyan. He is now working in the Imperial Hospital in the capital. Ahem... He said that your Yingbao is extremely talented. She went to me just to learn how to identify medicines and diagnose patients."
Jiang Sanlang certainly knew that his daughter was talented, but he was surprised that old man Wen was from the Imperial Hospital.
But when I thought of my daughter's extraordinary abilities, I didn't think the old man was that great.
But Doctor Li also had good intentions, so I had to treat him with caution.
It would certainly be great to be an apprentice in a pharmacy. Once you have learned the trade, it would be your lifelong job.
Combined with my daughter's inherent abilities, she will surely become a well-known miracle doctor in the area, and will be respected and honored for the rest of her life.
Just as I was thinking about it, Yingbao came running over and said, "Dad, I do."
Upon hearing this, Doctor Li's eyes lit up and he looked at Sanlang Jiang with burning eyes, waiting for him to agree.
Jiang Sanlang frowned, "But where are you going to live in town as a girl?"
Nanpo is about ten miles away from the town. The family's carriage is used by my second nephew to transport fruits to the county town, so I can't send my daughter to the pharmacy in the morning and pick her up in the evening.
"You don't have to worry about that." Doctor Li said, "Just let Yingbao live in my house. My granddaughter is about the same age as Yingbao, so the two children can live together."
Jiang Sanlang looked at his daughter, "What do you think, Baoer?"
Yingbao nodded: "I can."
The master also said that she should have the opportunity to go to the medicine hall to learn more.
Although she could recognize some common herbs, she didn't recognize any of the processed herbs.
Doctor Li's family owns a pharmacy, where he can not only learn how to identify medicines, but also come into contact with many patients, which is a good opportunity for him to practice the three diagnostic methods of observation, auscultation, and palpation.
"Okay." Jiang Sanlang patted his little girl, "Then go ahead."
So Chunniang helped her daughter pack some clothes, shoes, socks and some personal belongings, and also brought some apples and pears as gifts. She and her husband Jiang Sanlang sent the little girl to Doctor Li's house in the town.
Doctor Li has two sons and two daughters. His wife has passed away long ago, and he and his eldest son's family live in the town's medicine shop.
The youngest son opened a small medicine shop in the county town with his wife and children, and they were doing well. The two daughters had already married, one in the town and the other in the county town.
Doctor Li’s granddaughter is seven years old this year. Her name is Li Xihua. She was very happy to see a little sister of similar age coming home to keep her company. She pulled Yingbao to show them the room.
"You will live with me from now on. The beds are ready. You sleep on this one and I'll sleep on the one next to it." Li Xihua pulled Yingbao to the two tables. "Grandfather also had two desks brought in, one for you and one for me. The pens, inkstones, and paper are all ready for you."
"Oh, and here's this medicine box." Li Xihua opened a medicine box on the table and pointed at the items inside, saying, "A box of silver needles, five cupping cups, and a Bian stone."
He picked up a small lock and handed it to Yingbao: "Grandfather said that doctors must carry their medicine boxes with them at all times, or else they should lock it with a padlock and never let outsiders rummage through it at will."
Seeing Yingbao staring at her without blinking, Li Xihua blushed and said shyly, "I... I just took a look before, and I definitely didn't go through your medicine box."
Yingbao took the lock and nodded: "I know."
Seeing that the little kid didn't blame him, Li Xihua smiled and pointed to the suitcase next to the bed and said, "This suitcase is new, I'll leave it for you to use."
"Thank you, Sister Xihua." Yingbao put her clothes into the suitcase and asked, "Shall we go to the pharmacy now?"
She has met everyone in the Li family and now wants to familiarize herself with the environment of the pharmacy.
"All right."
In fact, Li Xihua didn't like going to the pharmacy very much. She would get a headache if she smelled the medicine for too long. But her parents insisted that she study medicine with her brothers, which was really annoying.
The two girls came to the pharmacy and saw Li Xihua's elder brother Li Lin squatting on the ground grinding medicine with a stone mill.
Li Lin nodded to Yingbao and went about his business.
There was a teenager in his teens at the counter. He was Li Qing, the second grandson of Doctor Li, and he was weighing medicine for a customer with a scale.
After weighing each herb, he would divide it equally into five paper bags with his skillful and natural technique.