Zhou Liru glanced at the ti and reminded Manbao that lunchti had passed. Manbao looked at the next patient and saw it was a trembling old man. Thus, she said to Zhou Liru, "Let’s see the next patient before taking a break."
Zhou Liru agreed and waved the old man forward as he sat to the side.
Zhou Liru asked for his na and which neighborhood or village he was from. Once she found him in the register, she recorded his na and registration, then began to feel his pulse and inquire about his recent health conditions.
Once she finished asking, Manbao also completed examining her patient, prescribing a redy, and said to her, "There’s no sequela, but you are pregnant. This is a fetal stability dicine; you’re sowhat weak, so take this for ten days and make sure to eat more at and eggs, and don’t skimp on vegetables."
The patient was both shocked and delighted, "I-I’m pregnant?"
Manbao nodded, "It should be seventy-two days, though it’s not certain. It’s calculated based on your last period."
Tears rolled down the patient’s cheeks, "It’s never been regular for ; it’s sotis every three or four months."
Manbao understood, as so people have insufficient blood energy, causing this. As long as it’s regular, it’s not a very serious ailnt, but it does affect the body.
However, ensuring nutritional als isn’t sothing everyone can do, let alone taking dicine.
The more patients she saw, the more Manbao recognized this.
After thinking for a while, she simply pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote down several dietary recipes at once, handing them to her, "These are dietary recipes for nourishing the fetus and invigorating blood and energy. You can take them ho; they can be eaten both before and after childbirth."
The patient held the paper, unable to recognize the words on it.
Manbao said, "The main ingredient is eggs. Just keep a few more chickens at ho for eggs. Don’t underestimate eggs; their nutrition is not much less than at."
She explained how to make these dishes to her.
Manbao didn’t know how to cook, but she had many dietary recipes at hand, including dicinal dietary recipes.
She just couldn’t execute them, but the patients could. Most won could recall them after hearing once.
Sure enough, the patient rembered after Manbao explained, though she wasn’t familiar with items like yam, so she carefully folded the recipe and put it in her chest, deciding to have soone literate in the village read it later and buy so from a pharmacy.
Imperial Doctor Zhou ntioned these things weren’t expensive, and the dicine could be eaten as dishes.
After she left, Manbao began examining the old man and determined he also had no adverse sequela from the smallpox treatnt.
Yet it was normal for the elderly to have ailnts, so Manbao pressed several spots on his back and lower back. The old man groaned a couple of tis, then felt much better after standing up.
Manbao said, "You’re fine; go ho and rest well."
The old man squinted his eyes and smiled, turning to the side where a young boy quickly ran over with a basket.
The old man placed the basket on Manbao’s desk, smiling, "Imperial Doctor Zhou, these are eggs from this old man. A small token, please accept them."
Manbao had received many gifts in the morning and habitually declined, "Old sir, I don’t lack food now; please take it back and nourish yourself."
But the old man, already holding his grandson’s hand, turned to leave, saying, "Whether you need it or not is your concern; gifting is mine, just accept it."
Saying so, he walked briskly away, not looking trembling as before.
Manbao opened her mouth wide—had she misread him?
Once the old man left, a yan officer ca forward to inform that the morning’s consultations were concluded and everyone could have lunch and return after 1 p.m.
Thus many in line quickly ran up with items, forcibly placing them into Manbao’s and Zhou Liru’s hands or simply placing them beside the desk before leaving.
Zhou Liru repeatedly declined, "We really can’t use these..."
But no one listened, leaving the items and promptly departing, so not even rejoicing the queue but swiftly departing.
Manbao sighed, "Well, let’s just accept them."
Zhou Liru had to call for the yan officers for assistance, as most of the items were eggs, vegetables, and grains, not much individually, mostly a basket or a small sack.
The sacks, mostly three or four jin in weight, though be it rice or flour, were pure white indicating quality, certainly considered luxury for regular households.
Though each person didn’t donate much, the abundance of benefactors filled the table and surroundings with gifts.
Zhou Liru collected while asking, "Little Aunt, what should we do with these items? Shall we take them along?"
Manbao replied, "Take them to the prefect’s mansion; we’ll choose so to bring along later and let the scholarly sister-in-law handle the rest."
She said, "I seed to hear soone say the scholarly sister-in-law organized the Shantang Hall in Xiazhou City, taking in many post-disaster orphans. These items can all be delivered to the shantang."
Ms. Cui had thought the sa.
Upon seeing Manbao return with so many things, she quickly considered this option, saying, "After the smallpox, many children lost parents and relatives. They either eat from all around if returned to their clans or, in so cases, the whole village suffered, with older kids raising younger ones. Soon they would beco beggars, so I arranged the shantang to house them."
Manbao asked, "What are your plans for them, scholarly sister-in-law?"
Ms. Cui smiled, "I plan to connect with the wealthy families in the city, encouraging more donations, and with governnt subsidies, perhaps we can support them for a few years. Once they turn fourteen, they can return to their original place to farm and live."
"That’ll take several years. What will they do in the Shantang during those years?" Bai Shan, just back from a Shantang visit, chid in upon hearing this, "I saw children as young as two and those twelve or thirteen, aning they’ll spend between two to twelve years there."
"Two years might seem short, but for soone idle, each day can feel long. If they aren’t properly arranged, they could end up as beggars or loafers even if they stay in the city."
Ms. Cui was taken aback but then said, "Sotis Shantang assigns laundry and threadwork for them, generally keeping them sowhat busy."
Bai Shan shook his head, "I noticed today, how could twelve or thirteen-year-olds sit in a Shantang and do laundry and threadwork daily? Plus, such tasks are easy to learn but laborious, earn little, and offer no future benefit."
Ms. Cui paused at his words, then asked, "Do you have a suggestion then?"
Bai Shan smiled, "Since you have concerns, why not invite a few tutors to teach them so skills, giving them a ans to earn a living, so they leave the Shantang without becoming a burden to Xiazhou City."
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