CHAPTER 608: CHAPTER 608: ALMOST DIED OF ANGER

Elder Wu picked up the bowl and drank the medicinal soup inside, smacking his lips a couple of times afterward, nodding in satisfaction.

Gu Jinli didn’t stop him; this kind of medicine for treating cold, cough, and fever is harmless even if taken without illness, and given the cold weather today, it also helps prevent colds.

Elder Wu continued to scan the pharmacy and noticed a row of stoves by the window, with pots similar to medicine jars placed on them.

He walked over, saw some black gelatinous substance in the pot, scooped half a spoonful into his mouth, and after a moment, said, "It’s the same as the pills I just took. You use these pots to boil the medicinal soup into pills?"

Gu Jinli nodded. "Yes, actually the method is similar to how malt is boiled into sugar."

After hearing this, Elder Wu turned and glanced at her: "You must be fooling an old man, you definitely added something that speeds up solidification. Just boiling couldn’t produce these pills."

However, he couldn’t tell what was added, it seemed not to be medicine, but also nothing harmful.

Gu Jinli laughed after hearing this: "You are indeed knowledgeable, nothing can be hidden from you."

"What knowledgeable, I just lived long enough and saw enough things, that’s how I gained experience to spot issues." Elder Wu stood by the window for a while, then turned and walked up to Gu Jinli: "Girl, what did you add? Can you tell the old man?"

He paused for a while before continuing: "I know my request is excessive. When you made Convenient Medicine before, I said I just needed to review the prescription, confirm there’s no issue, but now... the old man swallows his pride to ask you, can you..."

"Of course." Even before Elder Wu finished speaking, Gu Jinli had already nodded in agreement: "I will share with you the method to solidify the medicinal soup and allow you to participate in making Convenient Medicine."

Elder Wu was shocked, hardly believing her: "Little Xiao Yu, are you serious? This is risky for you, what if the old man leaks your Convenience Medicine secret?"

Gu Jinli smiled and shook her head: "You won’t. I trust you, you’re trustworthy, if we didn’t have this trust, we needn’t continue our business."

She agreed to let Elder Wu participate in making Convenient Medicine for two reasons: he is trustworthy, and he is a true physician. His medical skills have saved many lives, and his caution with medicinal materials is admirable.

Gu Jinli is not going to be a physician in this life; she merely wishes to be a layperson making money with medical knowledge, but she respects physicians like Elder Wu.

Elder Wu’s eyes reddened, ever since his daughter and grandson suffered misfortunes, he had fled to Qingfu Town, and it was his medical skills that kept him going. Now, finally finding someone he liked to make medicine with, he was so moved he wanted to cry.

However, Gu Family’s daughter just loves to spoil the mood; while he was touched, she said: "However, you will have to sign a contract with me, ensuring you don’t reveal the Convenience Medicine secret; otherwise, you’d have to compensate me with five hundred thousand taels."

Elder Wu: "..."

He nearly didn’t catch his breath and was almost angered to death by her!

"Five hundred thousand taels, do you want half of Yuanzi Pharmacy!" Elder Wu pointed at her: "I must have been blind. I thought you had changed and were no longer driven by money, but it turns out you never emerged from the money pit."

Gu Jinli laughed: "So, do you agree?"

Elder Wu snorted coldly: "Agreed! Forget about those five hundred thousand taels; I will not reveal the making of Convenient Medicine."

Gu Jinli smiled as he brought over paper and ink, and began drafting a contract. Once done, he handed it to Doctor Wu: "Please sign here, and press your handprint."

Doctor Wu, looking at the contract before him, asked perplexedly, "Why do you like going to the government office and signing contracts so much? Do you know what people outside say about Gu’s Workshop? They say you are weird; everyone fears the government, yet your family always rushes to the government office. And why sign contracts? In rural areas, most just have a reputable elder vouch to settle things."

Few people sign contracts.

Gu Jinli’s smile remained unwavering as he handed Doctor Wu the brush, "Going to the government is the fastest and most effective way to resolve disputes."

If you don’t go to the government, rural farmers would bring their whole family to argue over a few cents. Does she really have to stand with hands on her hips and argue back every day?

Besides, with the Jiang Family supporting her family, why wouldn’t she go to the government? If waiting for the day when going to the government becomes useless, she would resort to poisoning as a last resort, which also resolves problems permanently but constantly resorting to poisoning isn’t good, she is a kind person.

Doctor Wu took the contract and the brush, signed his name, and pressed his handprint, then handed the contract back to Gu Jinli, "What did you add? Tell me quickly."

Gu Jinli then pulled out a small piece of paper, the size of a palm, wrote a few words on it, and handed it to Doctor Wu.

Doctor Wu’s eyes widened upon seeing it, "Just added this? You really have some nerve; this contract I signed is pointless."

Gu Jinli, still smiling broadly, said, "How could it be pointless? Think about it, many years ago, Lingzhi was seen just as a poisonous mushroom growing in the mountains. But once people recognized its benefits, what’s the price of Lingzhi now? It’s become as valuable as ginseng."

"The important thing is not the item itself, but how you use it. The one who discovers wonderful uses for mundane items is the real winner."

Doctor Wu laughed, then sternly said "Alright, enough with the chatter, old man. Hurry up and show me this Convenient Medicine."

"Alright." Gu Jinli immediately washed her hands and started making Convenient Medicine in the pharmacy.

This Convenient Medicine she made is essentially like modern White Phoenix Pills, Bezoar Pills, and Rehmannia Pill, considered early types of medicine that could be swallowed as is. Although different from Western pills, they are still very convenient. In an era without Western medicine, such Convenient Pills were used for hundreds of years, up until her passing.

Doctor Wu watched her very closely, not missing a single step. She worked for a few hours, until finally in the afternoon she finished a pot of Convenient Medicine paste.

Gu Jinli stopped the fire, "Let it cool for half an hour, roll it into pills, then package them up and it’s done."

Doctor Wu waited until the paste cooled before rolling it into pills and after tasting one, he nodded, "Not bad, tastes just like the pills I had before, the craftsmanship is nearly the same."

The similarity ensures consistent medicinal effects.

Doctor Wu felt quite reassured.

Then, Gu Jinli began melting wax, "Uncle Dai, put the pills into bottles, twelve per bottle, neither more nor fewer. This is precisely a two-day dose."

For common cold, having one bottle can control the illness, and another bottle would typically cure it completely.

"Alright." Uncle Dai and the others began packing the waxed-paper-wrapped pills into bottles, then softened thick, moisture-proof paper and stuffed it into the bottles before sealing with a lid.