I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 45 Things That Appeared in My Mind

Ah Dong looked puzzled: "What do you need those medicinal herbs for?"

Dongfang Jin laughed: "Brother Dong, those are medicinal herbs, but they're also seasonings, aren't they? You can't eat hot pot without these things."

After a moment of hesitation, A Dong said to Dongfang Jin, "How about I take you to Yonghetang on the street opposite the yamen to buy some? They have a relatively complete selection of medicinal herbs there."

Dongfang Jin nodded: "Alright, we'll have to buy it at the pharmacy."

And so, A-Dong led Dongfang Jin out of the county government office. Who would have thought that something so common in modern farmers' markets would be incorporated into a pharmacy by these ancient people?

Dongfang Jin had no choice but to go with A Dong to Yonghetang to buy these things. On the way, Dongfang Jin also learned from A Dong that the people here did not eat fish. They used wine to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor, and few people ate mutton either, because of its gamey smell.

Beef is strictly forbidden to eat, because cattle are the "strong laborers" here. Every family that buys a cow will register it, and if it gets sick or dies, the government will handle it.

Furthermore, if a family buys a cow and can no longer afford to raise it, they can sell it, but they cannot mistreat it or kill it without permission. If such a person is found guilty, they will be punished with exile.

If that's the case, then a cow is more precious than a person. No wonder Gu Chenglin always fed the cow he borrowed from Aunt Gu's family well whenever he did. When he sent it away, he not only prepared hay and fodder for it, but also cleaned it thoroughly, treating it like a child.

Upon arriving at Yonghetang, Dongfang Jin just mentioned wanting Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and angelica root... and a list immediately appeared in her mind—braised meat recipes.

Wow! Does that mean she'll ask for more ingredients, and other prescriptions will appear?

Almost as soon as she finished complaining, recipes for thirteen-spice powder, five-spice powder, and salt and pepper powder appeared in her mind.

Oh my god, oh my god... She didn't know why these prescriptions appeared, but she knew that if they appeared, she'd buy them, right? This is a pharmacy, the meaning is too obvious, but she probably wouldn't buy too many.

I ordered two ounces of each of the following: Angelica sinensis, Angelica dahurica, Amomum villosum, Amomum cardamomum, Cinnamomum cassia, Kaempferia galanga, Amomum villosum, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Clove, Nutmeg...

The young pharmacist shook his head, repeatedly saying that this was not a prescription and that she was just randomly dispensing medicine.

You know, the prescription usually has different amounts of each ingredient, but she wanted two ounces of each? The apprentice refused to dispense it for her.

Looking at the boy's resentful and constipated expression, Dongfang Jin wanted to say, "Give me a pound of everything! Aren't you afraid of scaring him?"

Only two ounces, and you're already making this expression?

Seeing that one of them was determined to buy the medicine while the other firmly advised against it and said that no one had ever been given medicine like this before, and who would be responsible if someone died?

After all that fuss, the problem was this: Dongfang Jin could only say that this wasn't a prescription she had drawn up; she bought these herbs for another purpose.

However, no matter how she explained, the young apprentice refused to dispense her medicine.

Finally, Ah Dong couldn't stand it anymore, so he took out a waist tag to show the medicine boy, and only then did he shut up and respectfully get back to work.

Dongfang Jin was speechless for a moment; these ancient people were really inflexible.

They won't leave even when you're rushing them, and they'll only make them retreat when you try to stop them.

What Dongfang Jin didn't know was that every pharmacy was registered with the government, and the medicines that came in and went through layers of screening.

If someone dies from taking the medicine, that would be evidence.

Just as Dongfang Jin was looking around, he saw two baskets behind the pharmacy door. The baskets were filled with various dried mushrooms, mostly chanterelles, followed by wood ear mushrooms.

Wow! This is great stuff, a must-have for hot pot. She was just wondering how to tell A-Dong about it when this appeared.

Dongfang Jin walked to the counter and asked the young pharmacist, "Young man, is this something your shop accepts?"

The young apprentice glanced at her, then at the two baskets on his back, and said somewhat reluctantly, "No, those were carried by a man who went to the backyard for treatment. He carries them every time he comes, but no one buys them, saying that these things are poisonous."

As he was speaking, Dongfang Jin saw a dark-skinned man carrying a thin, frail woman on his back walk out from a side door with a worried expression.

An old man followed behind them, shaking his head as he watched their backs.

"My lord, give up. I can't be a burden to you anymore," the woman said sorrowfully on the man's back.

The man said in a muffled voice, "Ayin, I won't give up. I... it's all my fault for being so useless. At worst, I'll sell myself to pay for your medical treatment."

The woman cried her heart out: "Why are you doing this to me? Now you've sold your house and all your land for me."

Living in this dilapidated temple isn't a long-term solution for our family. The children are still young, and I can't be a burden to you any longer, Ah-Xi. Let's give up!"

Liu Xi shook her head, her face full of sorrow: "No, with you here, neither I nor the children feel bitter. You don't need to worry, it will pass, your illness will get better."

"Give up, that way you and the child can still..."

Dongfang Jin watched as the man went to pick up the two baskets, then called out to him, interrupting the woman as well: "Excuse me, sir, are you selling the things in these baskets?"

The man stared blankly at Dongfang Jin, his lips slightly chapped. When he heard her ask about the mushrooms in his hand, he stammered excitedly, "Sell them? Are you really going to buy them? Nobody wants to buy these things. They're not poisonous. My family of four has eaten them ourselves."

Dongfang Jin saw the excitement in his eyes, and the woman on his back was stunned: "I know these aren't poisonous, that's why I asked how much you're planning to sell them for? I'll take them all."

When the man heard that she wanted to buy it, he became somewhat at a loss, unsure whether to put the basket down or pick it up: "This...this...I don't know how much it costs? How about...how about you give me whatever you think is fair?"

Dongfang Jin walked closer and took a closer look at the items. He then lifted one up and found it weighed about ten pounds, including the basket.

Just as she turned around, her elbow bumped into the woman's leg on the man's back. The image of the large blue bowl inlaid on the artificial hill of "You Ran Ju" flashed in her mind, emitting a faint glow.

What does that mean? Even the image of the bowl has appeared?

She turned to look at the woman. When Liu Xi saw her staring at his wife, the joy on his face disappeared and he looked troubled: "This is my wife. Two years ago, she was bitten by a snake in the back mountain of our village. Because she missed the best opportunity for treatment, her life was saved, but there are still residual venom in her body."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jin felt a pang of sympathy for them. In this backward ancient world, snake venom, which would be a simple matter of antivenom injection in modern times, had become a major problem here.

But she wasn't at the point of overflowing sympathy, and before figuring out why that scene appeared in her mind, she shouldn't act rashly.

Although she suspected it might be related to the water in the blue bowl, this was, after all, someone else's territory. Didn't she see the doctor glaring at her? She didn't want to stand out.

He took out one or two taels of silver and handed them to Liu Xi: "I'll take all of these. You don't know how much they cost, and neither do I."

I just happened to come across these, and I happen to need them too. Let's not haggle over the price; if you feel bad about it, you can sell me the basket as well.”

Liu Xi was shocked when he saw the one or two taels of silver she handed him. Were these things worth so much money?

Doctor Chen walked over and said, "Liu Xi, take these. This young lady needs them. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't give a single copper coin, because no one would dare to buy these things."