Qin Zhao returned to the drugstore in the outer courtyard. There were no customers in the shop at the moment. Mr. Xue had gone somewhere to take a break. Ayi was leaning against the counter reading a medical book.
Seeing him coming over, Ayi asked, "Brother Qin, is Jingli feeling better?"
Qin Zhao paused for a moment and replied, "Much better."
These days, Qin Zhao was busy helping Jing Li solve his "personal affairs" and was unable to get away, so he could only lie that Jing Li's condition had worsened, he was bedridden, and needed his personal care.
As for why he didn't take medicine when he was sick, it was impossible to explain as long as Qin Zhao watched over him from time to time.
Fortunately, Ayi was naive and simple-minded, so he had no doubt about this statement.
But I was still a little worried: "He has been like this for three or four days. Is he really okay? I... I want to go see him."
"No need." Qin Zhao said calmly, "He just went to bed, you can go later."
Ayi nodded: "Okay."
"This is the one, come quickly." A voice suddenly sounded outside the pharmacy, and the two of them looked outside the door at the same time.
As a Shuang'er, it was not easy for Ayi to do business in the county town. He encountered many people who came to the shop to cause trouble.
Hearing the voice, he subconsciously felt the same way and couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
But when he saw who it was, he felt relieved.
The visitors were three men who looked like scholars. They looked weak and frail, and were dressed very ordinary. One of them even had traces of mending on his clothes.
They are completely different from the trouble-making hooligans in the county town.
Qin Zhao had seen the man walking in front before. He was the scholar who came to him for medicine a few days ago.
He saw Qin Zhao at a glance and shouted, "Doctor Qin!"
The man was still dressed the same as he was a few days ago, but he looked much better.
Qin Zhao asked: "Are you feeling better?"
"The doctor is a real miracle worker." He hadn't recovered completely, but he no longer coughed so much when he spoke. "After taking the medicine prescribed by the doctor, I fell into a coma for half a day. When I woke up, I felt much better. I came here today to see the doctor for a follow-up visit."
Qin Zhao nodded, took his pulse, and said, "Your condition has improved a lot, but you can't stop taking the medicine recently to avoid a relapse. I'll give you another medicine. This time you have to take it for seven days. If you're still not cured after seven days, come back to see me."
The scholar now trusted Qin Zhao very much and responded repeatedly: "I will listen to you."
Qin Zhao picked up the pen to help him prescribe medicine, and the scholar took something out of his sleeve and pushed it in front of him.
Qin Zhao took a look and saw that it was an IOU with a fingerprint.
The scholar said, "Dr. Qin is kind-hearted. He didn't charge me for the consultation that day, but I don't want to take advantage of him. It's just that... I'm short of money these days. I will definitely return the consultation fee after the county exam."
"Look, I've already written the note."
It was clearly written on the IOU that the medical fee for Qin Zhao must be returned within one month after the county examination.
The scholar's name, He Zhixing, was also signed below.
Qin Zhao shook his head: "I promised not to charge you for the consultation, and I won't go back on my word. I won't accept this IOU."
"But..." He Zhixing hesitated for a moment and whispered, "To be honest, I came here today not only for a follow-up visit, but also to ask for something."
He turned sideways and pointed at the two people behind him: "They are my classmates. They have also caught a cold these days, so... I want Doctor Qin to help them as well."
The county examination will be held in early February, which is more than a month away. This period of time is the most critical time. If I fall ill at this time, all my hard study will be in vain.
Although He Zhixing was from a poor family, he also knew how to behave in society. Qin Zhao was kind enough to help him once, but now that he needed help, he had to give something in return.
Qin Zhao understood what the scholar was thinking, but he had no say in the matter: "I am just employed by someone, you have to discuss this matter with the master."
The host here naturally refers to Ayi.
Ah Yi was suddenly stared at by several pairs of eyes, his cheeks slightly reddened, and he said nervously: "This... these can be decided by Mr. Qin."
"Okay." Qin Zhao said, "Then I will charge each of you fifty coins for consultation. If you have classmates, you can bring them along. The fee will remain the same before the county exam."
As for after the county examination, he will not be here anymore. Whether to continue hiring a doctor and how to charge are all decided by Ayi.
Hearing what he said, the scholars were all shocked.
The cheapest clinic in the county charges a consultation fee of one hundred coins, but this doctor only charges fifty coins
It’s half the price!
It was so cheap that even He Zhixing didn’t need to write an IOU and could pay it off on the spot.
Several people expressed their gratitude, and Qin Zhao said, "Please sit down."
He took the pulse of the two classmates brought by He Zhixing.
In fact, the conditions of these people are similar.
It's nothing more than the weather turning cold, and these people were busy studying, overworked and mentally strained, not paying attention to food and clothing, which led to the cold air entering their bodies.
Qin Zhao took the two men's pulse, prescribed some medicine, gave them some precautions, and then sent them away.
Ayi finished recording the bill at the counter and took out ninety cents from the money he received and handed it to Qin Zhao.
He said: "I only ask Mr. Qin to help look after the shop. As for the rest, you earned it yourself, so I think it should all be given to you."
Qin Zhao did not refuse.
He had been worrying about how to make money in the past few months, and now that he had a way, it was naturally the best thing.
However, Qin Zhao's original intention was to give some help to those poor scholars, and the money he earned was not much, which was far from his goal.
Soon it was time to close the shop. Qin Zhao closed the shop and went to the kitchen to cook dinner.
Jing Li's health condition has been unstable these days, so Qin Zhao and Jing Li have been eating alone in their own rooms. Qin Zhao prepared dinner, sent A Yi and Mr. Xue's portions to them, and then took his and Jing Li's portions back to the side yard.
As expected, Jing Li was not in the room.
Qin Zhao sighed, put the food away, and turned to go to the ear room next door.
His little fish is still sleeping in the bathtub.
The water in the bathtub was replaced with new one before Qin Zhao left, and it was already cold at this time. However, the bathroom, like the bedroom, had a kang, so it didn't feel cold.
Jing Li still maintained his half-human, half-fish appearance, sleeping soundly beside the pool.
His hair spread out behind his head, covering most of his body. Below his slender waist, his fish tail floated on the water, his tail fin spread out like silk, trembling slightly with his breathing.
Qin Zhao breathed a sigh of relief silently, walked over to Jing Li and squatted down.
"Xiao Yu, wake up." He pinched Jing Li's face gently and called in a low voice.
Jing Li frowned impatiently and asked dazedly, "Is it time to eat?"
Qin Zhao: “…”
Since coming to the county town, Jing Li no longer has to do farm work and finally lives the life of eating and sleeping that he has always dreamed of.
Qin Zhao didn't say anything more to him. He just picked him up from the water, asked him to sit by the pool, and took a towel to wipe his hair.
Jing Li had just woken up from his sleep and still looked a little dazed.
The lower half of his fish tail was still in the water, swinging unconsciously.
As his consciousness gradually became clear, Jing Li suddenly thought of something and murmured, "Qin Zhao... I seemed to have had a dream just now."
Qin Zhao asked: "What dream?"
"I dreamed of a group of little fish chasing me and calling me daddy." Jing Li shrank his neck in fear. "There must be hundreds of them. It was so scary."
Qin Zhao: “…”
Thinking of the scene in the dream, Jing Li still felt his scalp tingling.
In his dream, a group of fish babies only as big as his little finger surrounded him, calling "Daddy" in unison in their childish voices, which scared him so much that he almost fainted on the spot.
Qin Zhao helped him dry his hair and said helplessly: "If you don't remember to clean it up, you might really get pregnant with hundreds or thousands of tiny fish. Let's see what you will do then."
"No way." Jing Li slapped the water with his tail and said angrily, "I'm a man, I won't get pregnant."
Definitely not.
Jing Li slept for the whole afternoon and felt hungry when he woke up. He simply put on some clothes and took Qin Zhao back to the house for dinner.
While eating, Qin Zhao told him what happened in the pharmacy today.
After hearing Qin Zhao's decision to see the doctor, Jing Li said, "Thirty cents is not a small amount. There must be a lot of students in the county town. If I charge thirty cents per person, I can make a lot of money."
The price difference between the county town and the village is so huge that Jing Li couldn't change his mindset for a while.
You know, if he wanted to earn thirty cents in the village, he had to work for others for several hours.
“But it’s definitely not enough.”
Ever since he discovered how comfortable living in the county town was, Jing Li secretly asked Ayi about the housing prices here.
The bamboo courtyard built by Qin Zhao in the village cost more than ten strings of money from materials to completion. This was because Qin Zhao chose better materials. Ordinary farmers could not even spend so much to build a house.
But in the county town, this price is only enough to buy a house.
If you want to buy a house with a courtyard, the price will be at least fifty taels.
Compared with fifty taels and thirty wen, it is an astronomical figure.
Jing Li was a little worried, but it was a pity that he didn't know anything and his health was not very good, so he couldn't go out to make money.
If there is a way to make Qin Zhao less tired and earn more money...
As he was thinking this, an idea suddenly occurred to him: "You just said that the causes of those scholars' illnesses are actually similar, so why not just sell them ready-made pills, treat the illness if they have it, and prevent it if they don't, wouldn't that be more convenient?"
Qin Zhao's eyes flickered slightly: "Just sell the medicine for preventing colds?"
Jing Li nodded: "Yes, isn't this the way it is done here?"
When he was still in modern times, he had also encountered such a situation. When the exam was approaching, many people fell ill because they did not pay attention to their health during review. And because everyone was studying together, once someone got sick, it was easy to infect each other.
Therefore, many people will take some medicine for prevention before the exam.
"This is an imperial examination. Those candidates don't have enough time to study and review, so they won't be willing to spend half an hour to see you. Moreover, after buying the medicine, they have to go back and slowly boil it, which is a waste of time." Jing Li said, "If it can be made into pills directly, it can save a lot of time whether it is buying medicine or taking medicine."
Qin Zhao seemed to be thinking about something.
What Jing Li said does make sense.
The scholars who came to the pharmacy today were just like this. They came from poor families and studied very hard. They wished they could make the most of every moment, otherwise they would not have fallen ill one after another.
The reason these people come to see a doctor is because their condition has worsened and they have no choice but to come. People with less serious conditions usually choose to just endure it in order to save time and money.
This is also the reason why some people would fall ill or even die during every imperial examination.
"We need a prescription that has both therapeutic effects and can prevent colds." Qin Zhao said.
Such prescriptions do exist, but so far, I have not heard of anyone making them into finished medicine and selling them directly.
If we can really find a suitable recipe, make it into pills and sell them in large quantities, the profit will definitely be considerable.
Jing Li was very confident about this: "There will definitely be one."
He didn't understand medical theory, but he knew that many modern medicines were originally derived from traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. What Qin Zhao had to do was to find the best solution from those prescriptions.
Jing Li said: "I can help you."
Ever since Jing Li began to manage the family's finances, he has been extremely keen on making money. Whenever he was asked about ways to make money, he became particularly motivated.
He didn't even bother to eat. He finished the last of his meal in a few mouthfuls, then stood up and wanted to look for a medical book.
Qin Zhao quickly pulled the man back: "This matter is not urgent."
They can’t do this alone.
Mr. Xue is most familiar with the prescription, and with his help, we can get twice the result with half the effort. After the prescription is determined, the required medicinal materials still need to be provided by Ayi.
Therefore, they still need to discuss with these two people first.
Qin Zhao let Jing Li sit on his lap, trapping him between himself and the edge of the table, and looked at him with a smile: "Are you not feeling uncomfortable now?"
Jing Li was stunned for a moment and looked at him blankly.
It seems... it's really not as painful as before.
A few days ago, he couldn't bear to be touched, and even Qin Zhao's gaze was unbearable, but now...
"Touch me again." Jing Li said.
Qin Zhao: “…”
"Hurry up." Jing Li was eager to prove whether he was fine or not, so he took his hand and put it on his waist, "Try it, I really think I'm okay!"
Qin Zhao reached in directly along the hem of his clothes.
"No, I'm not asking you to touch there!"
Qin Zhao's tone was very calm: "Where do you want me to touch you? Is it here?"
“No…” Jing Li’s waist was weak, and his forehead rested on Qin Zhao’s shoulder. He once again experienced what it meant to shoot himself in the foot, “Let… Let go…”
How could I bear being touched in such a place
"There's a reaction, don't you want it?"
“… Woooo…”
"Tell me, Xiaoyu, don't you want to?"
"… want."
Jing Li's feeling was actually not wrong. In the next few days, his body really recovered gradually. As long as Qin Zhao didn't tease him deliberately, there would be almost no abnormality.
In this way, Qin Zhao can finally concentrate on his plan to develop pills.
The next day after making this decision, he told Ayi and Xue Ren about it. After hearing it, they both thought it was feasible and agreed without hesitation.
The four of them worked together to look for prescriptions in medical books, and they were extremely efficient. With the guidance of the old imperial physician Xue Ren, Qin Zhao only took three days to come up with a brand new prescription.
When He Zhixing recommended scholars to come to Qin Zhao for treatment again, they put out the prepared pills.
"Can this really cure my disease?" The patient was a little skeptical after receiving the pills, "... and it's so cheap."
Even some large medical clinics in the county rarely sell this kind of ready-made medicine. People are used to taking decoctions made from medicinal herbs, and they are naturally resistant and suspicious of pills.
Moreover, decoctions are only taken once or twice a day, but these pills are taken three times a day, three pills at a time, but the price is almost half cheaper than the decoction.
Is this really such a good thing
Qin Zhao had anticipated that the new medicine would not be so easily trusted, so he said, "Take these pills back and take them first. If your condition does not improve after three days, I will return the consultation fee and medicine money in full."
The patient then left doubtfully.
Jing Li looked at the patient's back and whispered, "I still think you sold it too cheaply."
Three times a day, three pills each time, nine pills are needed a day. Qin Zhao packed the nine pills into a small package, each package was sold for eighteen coins.
But the cost of nine pills is nearly ten cents. By this calculation, the net profit of one pill is less than one cent.
Qin Zhao smiled and said, "I have my reasons for doing this."
Ayi looked up from the account book: "Is it because the drug has just been launched and needs to be sold at a low price to attract people to buy it?"
Jing Li: "Then the price can be raised to twenty-five or twenty-six cents? The cold medicine they usually take costs thirty cents a day."
Qin Zhao asked: "If the price difference is almost the same, will they still choose pills instead of decoctions?"
Jing Li blinked and understood.
"And..." Qin Zhao said slowly, "I have other ways to increase profits."