In the morning, the cold wind howled on the street, almost overturning a simple thatched house on the roadside.
Sitting in the room, Gu Shiba Niang, whose hands were already red from the cold, seemed not to feel the impact of the cold wind. She carefully wrapped a piece of oil paper around the toad.
"Is this how you take toad nectar?"
The old man's voice sounded from behind her, with a hint of impatience.
Gu Shiba Niang nodded, "Yes, in the book..."
"In the book, in the book, again in the book." The old man's voice was a little anxious, "You can't say anything else besides what's in the book?"
Different from the playful attitude in the past, when the old man watched her make medicine these days, his expression was a bit stern, and his words became more and more rude.
Gu Shiba Niang lowered her head and said nothing. Apart from books, where else could she learn
Seeing that she was silent and still busy with oil paper, the old man felt a tight pain in his chest.
"Where is your brain?" He reached out and poked Gu Shiba Niang's head, his voice anxious and dissatisfied, "You can't think for yourself."
"You damn old man..." Gu Shiba Niang was furious, standing up and staring at the old man.
"Ha" the old man saw her raising his eyebrows and glaring, and couldn't help but jump up, "You still know how to be angry?" He reached out and patted himself, looking distressed, "I am the one who should be angry, why are you so stupid? You are not very smart. How come you can't even think of the simplest way to make a toad? "Why are you so stupid?"
When the old man said this, he held his chest and coughed loudly. Gu Shiba Niang originally wanted to say something in return, but when she saw him like this, she just sighed.
"I'm stupid to begin with..." She smiled bitterly, found a tea bowl from the house, poured a cup of tea for the old man and handed it over.
The old man didn't take her tea, but stared at her, puffed out his cheeks for a long time, and held back a sentence, "It's not you who are stupid, it's me who is stupid."
He sighed, turned around and went out.
The old man's originally thin figure became more and more stooped. He walked into the cold wind shaking his head, feeling particularly lonely and desolate.
Gu Shiba Niang looked at his back and couldn't help but feel a little sad. She could feel that the old man was very disappointed...
Is it because I have watched myself make medicines with my own eyes in the past few days and discovered my true skills, and I am very disappointed? I discovered that the person I always thought was extremely smart turned out to be a fool...
I'm just stupid. Apart from books, no one else can teach me how good I can be... I didn't say I was smart, you just want to think so...
She smiled bitterly and lowered her head to look at the toad on the table. Use her brain, not the book...
When night fell, the old man did not come back. The darkness swallowed up Gu Shiba Niang's sight, and she woke up and realized that it was already dark.
He rubbed his sore neck, moved his stiff hands, stood up, and looked around outside the door. He couldn't see the old man. This old man wouldn't leave in anger and never come back, would he
Gu Shiba Niang sighed, closed the door and walked home with the toad basket in hand with some worry.
That night she still lit the lamp until late at night, reading the book but couldn't help but think about the old man's words, use your brain, not the book...
"If I don't need a book, what brain do I have..." She pushed the book away in frustration, and the exhaustion rushed over her body, making her lie weakly on the desk.
Only when you have thoroughly considered the truth can you make a lie...
This sentence passed through her chaotic mind like a flash of light.
"I've really thought it over..." She murmured, raised her head suddenly, her exhaustion swept away, and took out a book of herbal medicine from the desk. She quickly flipped through a few pages, found the toad page, and started to get serious. 's look.
Sunlight filtered in through the cracks in the window, and tiny spots of light dotted the body of the girl who was sleeping prostrately in front of the desk. The book she was holding in her hand finally fell to the ground, and the girl woke up with a snap.
"When is it..." Gu Shiba Niang rubbed her sore arms, which were dazzled by the bright sunlight.
Cao's caring greetings sounded outside the door.
After washing up and having a simple meal, Gu Shiba Niang hurried out of the house and ran to the thatched hut on the edge of the city.
The twilight disappeared in the sky, and the girl's figure came out of the hut again.
Such a thin figure walked back and forth on the road without seeing the light of day. The girl did not pay attention. While she was running, a young man's figure followed behind her all the time. Baskets of toads were always placed outside the hut in time.
After exploring and learning, he slowly spent his time forgetting sleep and food. Standing behind a big tree not far away, the old man looked at the focused little girl in the hut and sighed with some relief.
"Although the qualifications are a bit lacking, my mind is quite good..." He smiled bitterly. He couldn't say he was happy or sad. When it came to mind, he had seen a lot of smart people in his life. He really didn't expect that in the end he was... I only picked up this one….
"Is this girl smart or stupid?" the old man muttered to himself unwillingly.
For a man like him, after just a few days of getting along, he already had the answer in his mind, but he just didn't want to admit it.
Hearing someone cough behind her, Gu Shiba Niang turned her head and saw the old man standing aside with a slumped face.
"Dad, you came just in time." Her originally haggard face was radiant, and her eyes were sparkling with energy. "Look, look, I know how to get such a large amount of toad cake."
Garlic peel and ginger are scattered on the table. One of her hands is pressing the toad, and the other hand is scraping away the slurry with a small bamboo slice.
The old man snorted, reached out and picked up a small wooden stick from the side, and gently knocked on the toad's head, causing the liquid to sweat out.
"Oh, old man, is this okay?" Gu Shiba Niang was overjoyed and shouted with a smile.
The small wooden stick hit her on the head.
"What are you shouting for? It's so unruly," the old man said with a glare.
"Old man, are you not angry anymore?" Gu Shiba Niang looked at his face and said with a smile.
The old man's face was not very good, and he was even more depressed after hearing this. He snorted, who could he be angry with? alone
"Get up, I'll do it for you again, you watch carefully," the old man said, while glaring at Gu Shiba Niang, "You are so stupid, I have been dreaming about this for so many days..."
Gu Shiba Niang pursed her lips and smiled, said nothing, stood up and stepped aside, watching the old man sit down.
"...What happened to your hand?"
"...I'm so stupid, I'm so stupid..."
"...Wrong again and again..."
"...Where are you putting your hands?"
The young man standing in a dark corner not far from the house could not help but twitch his expressionless face as he listened to the scoldings coming from inside, interspersed with the sound of bamboo sticks being beaten.
The old man spoke harshly, but he actually hit her. A trace of doubt appeared on his face. Isn't this girl from a good family who lives in a big house? How did you learn this? Being shouted around by a dirty old man...
"Hey, that boy" the old man's voice came from inside the house, interrupting the young man's thoughts.
"Tell you what." The old man stood at the door of the house, stared at him with his hands on his hips, and threw out a bamboo basket, "Go and catch some more toads."
The young man was stunned and moved out from behind the rocks.
"Move quickly and don't wait too long," the old man shouted, dissatisfied with his slow motion.
The young man couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, walked a few steps quickly, picked up the bamboo basket and strode away.
A few days later, Gu Shiba Niang couldn't help but smile as she looked at a basket full of molded toad cakes. The amount of toad cakes made in one day was equivalent to what she had consumed in the past three days.
"Old man, you are so amazing." She looked at the old man and expressed her sincere admiration for the first time, "It seems that you are not only good at making fake medicines..."
The old man snorted angrily and kicked the basket under his feet, "Go and sell it. What's the point of always concocting these low-grade medicinal materials... Go get some ginseng and dendrobium or something..."
Wild ginseng, Dendrobium officinale... Gu Shiba Niang twitched her lips, does this old man know what he is talking about? Those medicines, even if you sell a year's worth of toad venom, you can't get it without eating or drinking... .
"What are you looking at? I'm picking up the biggest medicine store." The old man glared at her and said, grabbing her thinning hair a few times, squinting at Gu Shiba Niang and smiling, "And remember, don't ask for a price. , let them make a bid.”
What? Gu Shiba Niang was stunned