This is a spacious hall, and there are no tables, chairs, benches and other furnishings that are required in ordinary halls. At this time, the room is already full of people, mostly men, but also women.
People gathered together in twos and threes to talk, and there was a buzz in the hall.
Gu Shiba Niang glanced at them and saw mostly unfamiliar faces.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, everyone in the hall turned their eyes towards them. When they saw them, their expressions were a little solemn. These were the senior pharmacists they had admired for a long time, but when they saw the seniors they admired walking in front of them, When there was a young girl in front of him, her expression became a little confused.
"Mr. Qi, when does it start?"
Walking through a road that everyone voluntarily gave way to, there were many people asking questions.
Qi Lao, the president of the medicine shop who was walking beside Gu Shiba Niang, said with a smile: "It's about to begin. Let's go and burn incense for the Prince of Medicine..."
After saying this, the group of people had already passed through the noisy hall, bypassed the screen and headed towards the Palace of Medicine King.
After they left, the noise in the hall became even louder.
"Who is that person?"
"He actually walked in front of Mr. Kang and the others."
"Why haven't you seen Liu Gong?"
"Ah, I know, she is Mr. Liu's apprentice."
Soon the news spread. Although it was already known that Mr. Liu had taken on a female apprentice, she was still younger than everyone expected when they saw her.
"So that's Liu Gong's apprentice..." Undisguised eagerness to try suddenly appeared on many people's faces.
Even though she has the guidance of Mr. Liu, she is too young after all. The skill of preparing medicine is like wine, it needs years to brew.
"Don't think about good things. With someone of that status, it's not certain whether he will participate in the competition or not." Naturally, someone sneered.
"Yes, she is a little girl after all. If she loses, wouldn't it be a disgrace to Mr. Liu?" Some people were angry. With the distant ringing of a bell, everyone's spirits lifted, and the great medicine party began.
After the incense ceremony, everyone gathered outside the Medicine King's Hall. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the president of the medicine shop and several highly respected pharmacists. Because Liu Gong did not come, Gu Shiba Niang took Liu Gong's place and drew out this time. The names of the drugs competing against each other.
As the four pieces of paper were pulled out, the scene became quiet and tense.
After some humility, it was finally read out by Mr. Qi, the president of the Medicine Association.
"Competing medicines, the first round, Cantharidin, Morinda officinalis, Myrrh, Ziheche."
After he finished reading, someone had already written it in big letters and hung it up in a conspicuous place inside and outside Yaowang Temple.
This big medicine club has no threshold. As long as you are a pharmacist, you can prepare and submit the extracted medicines to determine the quality.
Gu Shiba Niang stood on the steps with more than a dozen people and looked at everyone. Facing all kinds of eyes, her application did not change at all. With a quiet smile, she listened to the conversations of the pharmacists beside her.
"...The first game is based on basic skills, Xiu, Water, Fire..." President Qi, who always smiled, said in a low voice, explaining the rules of the game to her in detail, "So keep it simple... "
Someone next to him snorted, obviously not very satisfied with his words.
"Easy? Don't underestimate this simple basic skill. You can hunt out more than half of the pharmacists in this game..." the older pharmacist said, looking at Gu Shiba Niang, a smile appeared on his face, "Mrs. Gu, are you interested? Try it?”
Many pharmacists did not say anything about Liu Gong choosing themselves as disciples, but they really felt uncomfortable in their hearts. Not to mention anything else, the identity of this woman alone was enough to disappoint everyone. Although it was a lowly profession in the eyes of the world, in the eyes of the world, In the eyes of these medicine masters, their craftsmanship is extremely precious, comparable to life, so they are naturally very serious in choosing successors. Even within their own families, they choose men over women, let alone take in disciples.
Women, no matter from which aspect, how can they take on the important responsibility of inheritance
Although Liu Gong chose his successor, given his supreme status in the pharmacist world, this move will inevitably arouse many doubts.
Gu Shiba Niang raised her gaze and glanced at the old man beside her. He was about the same age as Liu Gong. He had a smile on his wrinkled face and looked amiable, no doubt like an ordinary old man.
But from what Xin Chaoyang told her, this old man surnamed Kang, as long as he wanted to, could make a large medicine shop collapse overnight with just a nod of his head, and he had done this more than once.
Among the surviving pharmacists today, he ranks in the top ten.
Following his words, several other old pharmacists who had lowered their gazes and watched the people in the field disperse in a noisy and hurried manner suddenly looked over, and their eyes swept away the turbidity, and they were all Shuoshuo.
"Okay." Gu Shiba Niang smiled and nodded.
She agreed so readily that everyone was stunned. Before she could say anything else, Gu Shiba Niang had already stepped out.
Just as he walked down the steps, he stopped again.
The eyes of the old pharmacists twitched. Look, they have to make excuses...
"Mr. Qi, are you going to the side hall to get the medicine?" Gu Shiba Niang turned around and asked with a girl's bright smile.
President Qi almost breathed out to relieve his pain, "Yes, yes," he stretched out his hand to call someone, "Come here, take Madam Gu..."
There was a long queue of people waiting to choose medicines. For the sake of fairness, all the medicines were provided by the Pharmacy Association. Since you were participating in the competition, you had to abide by the regulations. Of course, Gu Shiba Niang didn’t have to queue up by herself. She had written down all the medicines she needed. The auxiliary materials were handed over to the boy and he collected them one by one.
"Ms. Gu must be the leader," Xin Chaoling said proudly.
"At least I won't be hunted down." Gu Shiba Niang said with a smile.
"Ms. Gu is so humble." Xin Chaoyang said with a smile.
While talking, the boys Ah Si and Deng Er came back with crude drugs in their arms, along with the assigned pharmacy numbers.
"Then I wish Madam Gu a successful start." Xin Chaoyang grabbed Xin Chaoling, who was still chattering, and said with a smile as he cupped his hands.
"What if we lose?" Gu Shiba Niang smiled and glanced at Xin Chaoyang.
This ordinary look made Xin Chaoyang's heart skip a beat, but the expression on his face did not change at all.
"Ms. Gu is joking." He said with a smile.
"It's better to win, and to lose is better." Gu Shiba Niang seemed to be talking to herself, and then said goodbye to the Xin brothers.
These four medicines were not prescribed for a long time. At this time, many pharmacists had begun to prepare them. The Xin brothers also knew this and once again wished her victory. They watched Gu Shi Shiran and the boy walk away.
"Brother, are you not sure, Mrs. Gu?" Xin Chaoling asked.
"What should I say?" Xin Chaoyang turned around and walked out.
There are a lot of people here, and it is full of medicinal smells. The faint medicinal aroma smells fragrant. The medicinal aroma of nearly a thousand people combined together makes the smell not very pleasant.
It takes a long time to make the medicine, and for them, drug dealers, there is nothing to see. They can just stay in the comfortable guest room and wait for the results of the drug evaluation to come out.
"No one in the casino is looking forward to losing. Sometimes I feel like losing, so I say nonsense like winning or losing doesn't matter just to have fun and make friends. Listen to what she said just now, saying that there is always a loss. Okay, isn't that just self-comfort?" Xin Chaoling followed him.
Xin Chaoyang smiled when he heard this, "You really listen carefully."
It was rare for Xin Chaoling to be praised, and he grinned happily, "That's right, that's right, Mrs. Gu's win or loss has a lot to do with our lives..."
Xin Chaoyang laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "That's wrong. The difference between winning and losing is Mr. Liu's face. It's up to us..." He shook his head gently and said softly, "Win or lose." It’s good to lose, but it’s better to lose.”
"Huh?" Xin Chaoling was even more confused now. Why did his brother say this too? What's so good about this defeat
"Miss, our number plate is three hundred and ninety-eight..." Ah Si held the medicine while squeezing through the crowd, and stood on tiptoe looking at the rows of makeshift cabins in front of him.
It was said to be a house, but in fact it was simply built with wooden boards. It could barely provide shelter from the sun and rain, but it was impossible to block the visits of other people next door.
"It's so auspicious, so auspicious, it's the same name as the lady..." Deng Er replied with a smile, carrying a medicine pot on his back and carrying a knife, shovel, dustpan and other items.
There were people all around, or they were squeezing to find their place. They were busy placing various tools when they found the place. Those who had placed the tools had already begun the preliminary cleaning process, although the news that Liu Gong's disciples participated in this pharmaceutical competition had already spread. , but not many people paid attention to the woman passing by.
"Eighteen Niang..." There was a familiar voice behind her in a low voice, as if she was afraid of being heard and kept it down, so that she was drowned in the noise, and a hand patted her shoulder.
Gu Shiba Niang was frightened and turned around.
"Mr. Wang..." she smiled, "Why are you here?"
"Follow me." Wang Zhangzhang whispered, gesturing for her to come out.
Gu Shiba Niang looked at Ah Si who was already standing in front of the door with her number plate written on it, "Why don't we talk here."
Wang Yiyi looked at both sides, and the two pharmacists who had already sat in also looked at them.
"It's better to come out and say it..." Wang Yiyi said in a low voice.
"What's wrong?" Gu Shiba Niang looked at his serious face and asked with a smile, but she did not follow him out, but instead entered her wooden house.
Wang Yiyi had no choice but to follow in.
"You don't need to participate in this kind of competition..." He lowered his voice to the lowest level, "After all, you are Liu Gong's only disciple, you can directly enter the second competition..."
These old guys are playing tricks on me. . . . . Gu Shiba Niang couldn't help but cursed in her heart, but she had a calm smile on her face.
Seeing her indifferent expression, Wang Yiyi breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Madam Gu had made her own decision, and she must have deliberately wanted to shock those people.
"That's fine, that's fine. It's just an insult to Mrs. Gu's status..." He smiled.
Gu Shiba Niang smiled and said a few polite words, but Wang Yiyi did not dare to disturb her anymore and stood up to leave.
Watching Wang Zhang leave, the smile on Gu Shiba Niang's face suddenly fell. In this first competition, she not only had to pass but also compete for the top spot. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing.
It’s not that easy for these old guys to see their own jokes.
"You all, please step aside." She waved her hand.
Ah Si and Deng Er had already placed the medicinal materials and tools, and they were a little hesitant when they heard her words.
"Miss, although we don't understand this, we can help you, serve you with tea and water..." Ah Si said, "Besides, this will take a day and a night, and you are alone..."
Gu Shiba Niang shook her head and refused, "I just want to meditate by myself. You can go down and come over on time tomorrow to deliver the medicine for me."
Seeing that her expression clearly refused, Ah Si and Deng Er had no choice but to retreat.
Seeing Gu Shiba Niang sitting alone in the wooden house, with two pharmacists on both sides, she couldn't help but cast a stunned look. It was not easy to make four kinds of medicine in less than a day and a night. .
"Master, you've picked it up." A low-pitched voice sounded, interrupting the visits of the two pharmacists, who quickly focused their attention on the medicine they wanted to concoct.
Of these four medicines, everyone’s first choice is to prepare cantharidin. Just remove the head, feet, wings, rice and fry it to dry.
There are no requirements for removing the head, feet and wings. You can just leave it to the hands. The two pharmacists nodded, tested the temperature of the medicine pot, took out the soaked rice and put it flat on the bottom of the pot. Their movements were smooth and skillful, and they were doing it. Sometimes, I can still be distracted and look around.
Although it is a method of making cantharides, each family has its own actions. Looking over it, the steps are almost the same.
"Master, master..." A master suddenly called in a low voice.
The pharmacist was most afraid of being disturbed by others while he was preparing the medicinal ingredients. He couldn't help but glare at the pharmacist when he heard the sound.
"Master, that one..." The man in his twenties had a strange look on his face and pointed to the side under his sleeves.
The direction was exactly Gu Shiba Niang.
"What to do? She wants to see for herself. It's not a concocted pill, so there's no need to keep it secret..." the pharmacist said calmly.
"No..." Xia Shou whispered, "She didn't even remove the head, feet and wings of the cantharis..."
When the pharmacist heard this, he couldn't help but look over and saw that the girl was already stir-frying the cantharis in the pot. Because the smoke was diffuse, he couldn't see the shape of the cantharides, but he didn't want to talk nonsense, so he couldn't help but laugh at her face. He smiled and shook his head.
It seemed that a child with half a bottle of water came out and wandered around. . . . .
"Don't worry about it, let's soak the Morinda officinalis soon..." He ignored it and saw the white smoke coming out of the pot, so he poured the cantharis into it and concentrated on frying it.
Many years later, when the pharmacist thought about that day and night, he still regretted not taking a second look and vomited blood. If he had known that he was Gu Shiba Niang next to him, he would rather give up the game than miss Gu Shi Niang's every move during the whole process. A move.
The darkness gradually swallowed up the afterglow of the setting sun. The surrounding lights and the stars in the sky stared at the busy and nervous main square of the back hall of Yaowang Temple, waiting for the arrival of a new day.
When the sun once again enveloped the earth, ten people were already sitting in the side hall next to Yaowang Hall, including Mr. Kang and Gu Lingyun. They squinted slightly, as if they were closing their eyes to rest, and some of them tapped the handrails with their fingers.
"How many patent medicines have been handed over?" Mr. Kang asked suddenly.
A man standing aside with his hands lowered immediately replied respectfully: "A hundred people have already handed it over..."
"That's it..." An old man opened his eyes after hearing this, with a bit of regret on his face, "At this time, more than half of the submissions from the last big medicine meeting... It's true that each generation is inferior to the last..."
"Slow work leads to careful work. This traditional Chinese medicine preparation is about efficacy, not speed..." Mr. Kang said calmly.
Mr. Zhong smiled, and after swallowing that sentence, he didn't know whether Mrs. Gu had sent it. In fact, even if he asked, it would be in vain. The names of the medicines presented were just like students' scientific examinations, and the final evaluation results would not come out. , no one knows who is who.
The room became quiet again, only the monotonous sound of dripping could be heard echoing.
When the sun was shining brightly, the door of the house was pushed open.
"Everyone, more than half of the medicines have been submitted, please start tasting." Mr. Qi, the president of the medicine shop, said with a smile.
"In that case, please invite everyone." Gu Lingyun stood up and said.
So everyone got up and walked to the main hall of the King of Medicine. Although the four kinds of medicines for hundreds of people in front of them looked quite sad, but for these old pharmacists who can distinguish the quality of the medicines with their eyes closed, it was a piece of cake. Like running water passing in front of ten people, each one is attached with a ranking, divided from one to ten, each person evaluates one, and finally added up, ranked from high to low.
As time went by, more and more medicines were submitted, and the speed of evaluation became faster. Everything seemed very orderly and smooth.
"Huh?" An old man suddenly frowned, looked at the shadow of the sun outside the window, and couldn't help asking, "Why, Madam Gu's medicine hasn't been delivered yet?"
Although the names are obscured, this does not prevent these old pharmacists from recognizing the techniques of certain famous pharmaceutical schools. Liu Gong's medicine is naturally more well-known.
They have looked at nearly 800 medicines, and none of them contain Liu Gong's craftsmanship. In this way, Mrs. Gu has not handed over the medicines yet.
"What's the rush? This is called master style." The old man named Zhong said with a smile.
This master's demeanor was indeed extraordinary. Even after the nine hundred and ninety-eight medicines were presented, there was still no medicine showing Liu Gong's craftsmanship. Everyone, including Mr. Kang, looked a little strange.
A total of 1,000 people participated in this medicine competition, and one of them gave up midway, which means that there is only one left, if not the last one. . . .
"What's the highest score now?" Gu Lingyun asked.
The person on the other side who was responsible for transcribing the scores opened the densely packed paper, looked at it for a moment, and replied: "Ninety."
This means that this medicine is equivalent to a nine-point rating from everyone.
Even if she works slowly and carefully, she won't be this slow, not to mention that she is still Liu Gong's apprentice.
"If Mr. Liu were here..." An old man couldn't help but said, his face looked a little strange, thinking of Mr. Liu's temper.
He must have cursed loudly. . . . Everyone thought at the same time.
Gu Lingyun, who had a calm expression, until now, a sneer of sarcasm emerged from the depths of his eyes.
At this time, everyone's eyes were on the outside of the palace door, waiting for the last medicine to be delivered. The sound of dripping and ticking seemed to become much faster. If they don't come, no matter how good the medicine is concocted, they will be eliminated. .
These old pharmacists, who had gone through many hardships and whose nerves were as dead as dead wood, unknowingly tightened their bodies, while the two who were a few years younger were almost breathless.
"Here we come," Mr. Kang suddenly said, his voice rising slightly.
A man hurriedly came in holding a plate, seemingly surprised by the sudden warm gaze in the hall.
"This is the last medicine." He put the medicine in front of the old man who was the first one without knowing why.
It's your turn. . . . This sentence rang in the hearts of ten people at the same time, and for the first time, they all focused on the medicine at the same time.
Under the gaze of this sight, the first old man's hands shook slightly unconsciously. He lifted up the black cloth covering it and looked carefully.
Although he didn't watch for long, everyone felt that a long time had passed. Just when the old man behind him couldn't help but urge him, the old man finally raised his head, slowly wrote a score with a pen, and stuffed it into the envelope. Pass it to the person who is waiting to transcribe the score.
Several people resisted asking how much the medicine cost. The medicine was slowly passed down, and after excruciating waits again and again, it finally reached Gu Lingyun's hands.
He just glanced at it, his face changed slightly, then he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he didn't look again but picked up a pen to write down the score.
The ten people finally finished scoring, but the hall became even quieter.
"How much?" President Qi asked after what seemed like a long time.
"One hundred percent." A trembling voice sounded in the hall.
Although they knew this was the result, everyone still couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when they heard it.
Mr. Kang, who was leaning slightly on the back of the chair, couldn't help but have a thought in his mind. Did this girl delay her until the end on purpose? You did it on purpose to get them to work together.