A "dicine identification" contest will not decide Miss Xu’s suitor, but it will definitely add weight to Xu Zheng’s decision-making scale.
Especially for the winner, by tomorrow the whole Dongshan City will be talking about him.
If the Xu Family doesn’t choose this person in the end, what will outsiders think? The Xu Family, blind to talent, or worse, not keeping their promise...
In any case, negative news about the Xu Family will spread all over the place.
"Since the three young n are here for my daughter, how about letting her choose the materials for this dicine identification contest?" Xu Zheng decided after consulting with Xu Qixi.
"Good, since it’s to choose a husband for Miss Xu, it’s only fitting that she takes the stage herself!" praised the guests at the table.
The three families naturally had no objections and all agreed.
With Xu Qixi choosing the dicines, at least the fairness would be ensured, and no one would be favored.
Especially for Ye Xizhao.
At the birthday banquet, witnessing such an exciting scene, many guests beca even more enthusiastic. The gifts and money spent tonight seed worth it.
This kind of contest, who knows how many years it will be until we see another; it’s enough to brag about for a long ti.
The Xu Family’s dicine storehouse has all sorts of rare and exotic drugs, but if they use those for the contest, it would be too extravagant. So are treasures, even a little bit is enough for use in dicine, and it would be a waste to use them.
Moreover, if the Xu Family uses this kind of dicine for the contest, it’s clearly making things difficult and showing they don’t want any of the three to beco Miss Xu’s husband.
Therefore, the selection should be from common dicines, though common dicines aren’t necessarily frequently used ones. There will definitely be so difficulty.
It all depends on Miss Xu’s choice.
"Mr. An, could you co and help ?" Xu Qixi pleaded with Xu An.
Xu An doted on Xu Qixi, and with a sigh, he got up and went with her. Xu Qixi grew up in the Xu Family’s dicine storehouse and knows the stored dicines better than anyone else.
Does she really need help when going to the storehouse?
The storehouse holds hundreds of types of dicine, and there’s a proper way to store them. Those with conflicting or counteracting properties can’t be stored together, moisture-sensitive drugs should be on top shelves, and those with limited shelf lives need regular checks to ensure they haven’t spoiled.
The job of managing the storehouse isn’t for just anyone. One needs to understand drug properties, know their interactions, and be able to quickly identify them.
So dicines are similar in shape and sll, but their properties differ greatly, and a mistake could lead to a major incident.
The rules of the dicine identification contest are to select several types of dicine, mix, grind them into powder, and place them in blank dicine bags. The contestant must identify the contents by sll alone, and the one who nas the most correctly, or the most accurately, wins.
The more types of dicines there are, and the more their slls are alike, the greater the difficulty.
If it were a regular dicine identification, selecting just three to five types would be enough. Generally, if one can identify them, they’re already a competent pharmacist.
The pharmacist’s exam only tests theory, not practice, making it much simpler than a doctor’s exam. So studying dicine has another path, which is becoming a pharmacist. It’s much easier, and if a pharmacist does well, the inco isn’t low.
A doctor must learn to taste dicines as well, which is an art. The four natures and five flavors of dicine can only be determined through personal experience.
The dicinal properties of herbs differ subtly depending on their place of origin, possibly altering their therapeutic effects entirely.
Clove, mint, stevia, licorice, atractylodes, white atractylodes...
Xu An watched as Xu Qixi picked out various herbs from the cabinet and couldn’t help but take a deep breath; this girl really knows how to choose dicines.
Stevia and licorice have similar scents, making them hard to distinguish for most people, while atractylodes has a strong and layered flavor, easily masking the taste of white atractylodes. Clove and mint belong to the category of strong-scented herbs...
"Little Seven, what are you doing now?" Xu An suddenly saw Xu Qixi crouch down and grab a handful of li powder from a sack in the corner.
This li powder is used in the storehouse to prevent moisture, not as dicine.
"Just because sothing’s not a dicine doesn’t an it can’t be added, there’s no such rule. I’m just making it a bit harder for them." Xu Qixi chuckled.
Xu An didn’t object further.
Soon enough, everything was selected, and after counting, there were exactly ten kinds.
The storehouse has a special mortar for grinding dicinal herbs, and for martial artists, pulverizing these herbs is a simple task.
After grinding the ten kinds of dicinal herbs into powder, Xu Qixi suddenly had a peculiar idea and took a piece of black charcoal from the brazier, ground it into fine powder, and mixed it with the dicine powder.
Seeing this, Xu An was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. But, as it’s Xu Qixi’s birthday tonight, what Xu Qixi says goes; this was one last ti to indulge her whims, as she might not have the chance in the future.
In the hall, the banquet continued, and the atmosphere was lively.
The song and dance performance began its second round, along with the Illusion Technique performance, the splendor of which was truly breathtaking.
After about the ti it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Xu Qixi and Xu An appeared at the banquet, followed by a maid carrying a tray with a herbal pouch on it.
"Ladies and gentlen, the herbal pouch personally crafted by my daughter is ready. For the sake of fairness, all guests present tonight can participate in identifying the herbs, with a reward for the winner!" Xu Zheng halted the performance and announced.
"Mr. Xu, can everyone participate?"
"Everyone can participate, but you must identify at least more than half of the herbs to earn a reward," Xu Zheng affird loudly. He wasn’t foolish; if only Ye Xizhao, Su Chen, and Zhong Yu were to take a written test on identifying herbs, wouldn’t that turn into a suitor selection event?
But if the young people attending the banquet tonight were included, it would be different, greatly reducing the tone of selecting a husband.
"Mr. Xu treats everyone equally, what a fine gesture!"
The many guests, upon hearing this, were naturally interested. Being able to join such a ga with the chance to win prizes was sothing they agreed on.
"Let’s proceed. Any young gentleman willing to compete alongside the three young masters, please step forward." The Xu Family elder asked.
"Mr. Xu, may I participate?" A female voice suddenly erged.
The speaker was Xia Yuan’s daughter, Xia Zhu, who originally held a spot among the ten "dical scholars" this year, but due to Lin Miao’s involvent, she lost her "dical scholar" qualification.
"Niece Xia Zhu, tonight is a competition for unmarried young gentlen. Why should a woman get involved?" queried Pavilion Master Pei.
"There is a reward, after all. Mr. Xu ntioned that all guests tonight could participate; he didn’t specify that only males could. Why shouldn’t won be allowed?" Xia Zhu replied, "Or is identifying herbs the thod for choosing Mr. Xu’s future son-in-law, in which case I can refrain from participating."
Xu Zheng certainly wouldn’t admit that. Should soone indeed win first place in identifying herbs and not be among the three who initially sought marriage, it would be troubleso.
"Niece Xia Zhu, Mr. Xu has spoken, and naturally, the words cannot be taken back. If you manage to secure the first place, Mr. Xu will definitely give you a grand prize!" Xu Zheng was eager for this outco. If Xia Zhu could ultimately win, it would undoubtedly resolve a major dilemma for him tonight.
With a young woman like Xia Zhu participating, those young n looking to make their mark and gain fa, even if not winning, could leave a lasting impression before the notable figures at today’s birthday banquet, which would be beneficial for their future.
Those who believed they had so skill naturally stood up one after the other.
Of course, most of them were young individuals; those who were married or older were naturally embarrassed about participating, even among the Xu Family, many younger mbers signed up.
If a Xu Family mber could win this herb-identifying competition, it would undoubtedly be a wonderful event.
The ten people who passed the dical scholar exam all arrived tonight; they were peers of Xu Yao, so the Xu Family took this opportunity to invite them, showing so intention to recruit talent.
Originally, it was about identifying herbs and choosing a "son-in-law," but now everyone was focused on the reward offered by the Xu Family.
Although the Xu Family hadn’t specified what the reward would be, as a prominent family in Dongshan City, their promise to provide a reward ant it wouldn’t be substandard, or else they would be ridiculed by outsiders.
Out of the ten, two did not participate, one being Lin Miao, who, despite being very interested in "herb identification," did not wish to make a na for himself. Additionally, he didn’t want too many entanglents with the Xu Family.
Besides, he already had a senior sister, and there was no necessity to court Xu Qixi. Marriages within such prominent families inevitably involve special interest exchanges.
He was unwilling to bind himself to a family casually; watching the show was quite enjoyable.
Moreover, he had already sent a disciple to participate.
The other was Ding Shouzhong, who also attended with his wife, likely under strict spousal managent, hence he dared not join the excitent.
The rest participated.
"Junior brother, why aren’t you participating?" Sun Youwei asked softly.
Lin Miao explained, "I neither want to beco the Xu Family’s live-in son-in-law nor seek fa at the banquet and attract attention from notable figures, nor am I greedy for any rewards. Why bother competing? Isn’t it better to sit back and watch the show?"
Sun Youwei nodded, finding the reasoning quite sensible.
"Each person should co forward, with only ten monts allowed. Return to your seat, write down the answers, and hand them to the maid next to you imdiately!" Xu Zheng announced the rules.
Ye Xizhao was the first to co forward, picking up the herbal pouch on the tray, sniffing it carefully at his nose a few tis, then placing it down again. It took him no more than three monts. He descended confidently with a smile and began writing at his seat.
Next were Su Chen, Zhong Yu, and Xia Zhu, each stepping forward, mostly within ten monts, before returning to write.
The rest ca forward one by one.
Upon returning to their seats, each began writing on paper the nas of the herbs they identified.
The first to identify was Ye Xizhao, the first to finish writing was also him. Judging by the expression on his face, he was extrely confident.
Once everyone finished writing, they submitted their papers to an elder of the Xu Family.
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