Manbao, clasping her sore neck, climbed out of bed. She looked at the book in her hands, and decisively put it away into her space. Only then did she open the door and go out, yawning.
Zhou Liru had already finished freshening up and was holding a dical book, morizing prescriptions in the yard. He turned his head and paused upon seeing his little aunt, "Little Aunt, why are you still wearing yesterday’s clothes? Why are they so wrinkled..."
Zhou Liru’s gaze fell on his little aunt’s head and after a mont of silence, he asked, "Little Aunt, you didn’t stay up all night, did you?"
When gathered with Shopkeeper Zheng and the others, she always said staying up late is bad. Why doesn’t she follow that herself?
Manbao then reached up to touch her head, feeling that she must look rather unkempt at the mont, so she said, "Liru, help get a basin of water, I’ll freshen up first."
She paused before continuing, "I didn’t stay up all night; I did sleep. You mustn’t tell Mom and Dad."
Zhou Liru stared at his little aunt’s complexion for a long ti before nodding and obediently went to fetch so hot water.
After freshening up and changing clothes, Manbao went to join her family for breakfast.
Since she told her family not to go outside, only Zhou Dalang and Junior Ms. Qian went with Zhou Liulang to the restaurant early that morning. Everyone else stayed at ho to help Ms. Fang cut dicine and boil ointnt.
While eating breakfast, Manbao inhaled the fragrance of dicine lingering at her nose and said, "Dad, our family should prepare so herbs, just in case. I’ll write a prescription and have soone fetch dicine from other pharmacies. If they get expensive later in the capital, we could have a doctor prepare dicine at ho."
Though their family now had plenty of herbs prepared, Old Zhou had never bought a lot of dicine just to prevent illness before, so he found it curious, "Isn’t this like cursing soone to get sick? Can’t we wait until soone falls ill to call a doctor? We might not have anyone get sick in our family."
Manbao replied, "This is just precautionary. Every household prepares so herbs, just like storing grain."
She said, "Besides, most herbs are commonly used. If they aren’t needed this ti, we can use them later. Just have them packaged separately when buying, don’t let them mix together."
Old Madam Liu understood this well. Once she got the prescription, she sent four servants to different pharmacies to fetch dicine.
Old Zhou could only pay his family’s share.
Manbao specifically instructed, "Don’t give my na, or the mansion’s title, just return after purchasing the dicine."
When people returned with the dicine, she asked about the prices. Indeed, today two pharmacies had raised their prices. Not by much, but it was noticeable.
Bai Shan also looked and said, "News should spread today or tomorrow; Scholarly Senior Brother Yang’s morial isn’t secret. But for it to reach the common folk, it might still take so ti."
Manbao nodded, "By then, the court will also be ready."
Manbao turned back to her room to continue reading dical books, while Bai Shan went to arrange the travel details.
Manbao swiftly flipped through the table of contents marked by Teacher Mo, using it to find the content and skimming over it expertly. If she found content she had already read, she would put it aside. Her speed was very fast; within half an hour she had gone through four books.
Manbao flipped open another book and searched the table of contents. Upon seeing the content, she couldn’t help but sit up, "Inoculation?"
Manbao imdiately took the book and sat upright. She knocked the book down, laid out paper and poured water; she only had to find an ink stick, then ground it with one hand while flipping the book back with the other to continue reading.
After she swiftly went through the content once, the ink was ready. She imdiately dipped the ink and carefully re-read a section of the book, recording it in ink...
When Bai Shan ca by, she had already opened the eighth book, the desk covered with many sheets of paper, eight or nine tenths of which were thods of inoculation, with only a few on treating smallpox.
Bai Shan knocked on the door. Manbao instinctively wanted to hide the book but relaxed when she saw it was him, placing the book shut on her lap back onto the table, "Are you all packed?"
Bai Shan glanced at the chaotic pile of books and paper on the desk and chuckled, "So you’re agreeing to co with us?"
Manbao nodded.
He paused for a mont, seeing that she wasn’t planning to pack up the books. He walked forward a few steps, glanced at the books on her desk, flipped through them, and asked, "Did he give these to you?"
Manbao paused and then nodded.
Bai Shan was very curious, "Couldn’t your father-in-law just give you the prescriptions directly? Why give you whole books?"
Manbao continued jotting down notes as she replied, "Because he also doesn’t know how to prevent or treat smallpox. What he hasn’t learned, he naturally can’t just hand over."
Bai Shan listened, filled with both surprise and admiration, "So... it also requires learning. I wonder if a hundred years from now we could be like Father-in-law, or will we be like my father, walking the Bridge of Helplessness ignorant and unaware before being reincarnated."
Manbao thought for a mont before saying, "You’ll likely be like your father."
Bai Shan wasn’t too disappointed, and after nodding, he looked at the books on the desk and rolled up his sleeves, "Let help you."
Manbao was very willing; searching through them alone was too much.
She instructed him, "So content in the books is repetitive. I only need the preventive approaches for now; the rest we can ignore."
Bai Shan understood. He moved a chair to sit across from her, collected the books on the side, and spread out paper to start flipping through another book.
Bai Shan was luckier than Manbao. The first book he opened listed three prescriptions for treating smallpox; unfortunately, the effectiveness couldn’t be verified. After studying them, he found two seed rather dubious—how could covering the body in honey really treat smallpox?
He glanced at Manbao, deciding such matters were better left for doctors to determine. He pulled a pen from the pen stand, dipped it in ink, and began recording it.
For a while, the room was silent, with only the sound of pages being flipped and writing.
Once Bai Erlang packed his luggage and bid farewell to his little nephew, he saw the two of them deep in their books.
He scratched his head, deciding against reading or writing, and turned to leave to prepare so items for their trip.
Xiazhou is so cold, they ought to pack extra clothes, cloaks, shoes, and socks.
Ms. Cheng had recently given birth to a son; she was initially in Changqing Alley at her ho for double confinent. But early this morning, Bai Dalang had brought mother and child to the Zhou Residence, due to an outbreak outside. They might need to stay here for quite so ti.
At the mont, she handed the child over to the wet nurse and watched as the servant packed Bai Erlang’s luggage. Seeing him approach, she smiled, "Second Uncle, I’ve packed everything. Is there anything else you’d like added?"
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