CHAPTER 101: CHAPTER 89: REFUSAL

Demolishing the old house to build a new one.

Chun Nuan is also very interested in this matter.

When they reached the old stove in the old house, Chun Nuan called for a pause.

"Sister, what are you doing?"

Seeing Chun Nuan running towards the messy kitchen, followed hurriedly and asked.

"I remembered, stove ash, this stove belongs to Aunt Zuo’s family, and stove ash is a very good medicine."

Stove ash, also called Fulong Liver, is a yellowish soil formed by long burning of mixed grasses and firewood in a traditional earthen stove.

It has functions of warming the middle, stopping bleeding, warming the stomach, stopping vomiting, and relieving diarrhea. It’s often used for cold vomiting, bleeding, spleen deficiency, diarrhea, etc. At the moment when the stove was demolished, she suddenly thought of this.

Chun Nuan rummaged through the pile of stones and found a few blackened clods.

She took out the hardened soil blocks and used a knife to scrape off the charred parts and impurities. She was as if she had found a treasure.

"Sister, in your eyes, everything is medicine."

Chun Ning was puzzled, can this really be used as medicine? After all, it’s just clods of dirt.

"Of course, if it’s not medicine, it’s definitely not its problem, but my lack of ability to discover its effects."

Chun Ning widened his eyes, feeling his elder sister was very diligent.

Unfortunately, because of their grandfather’s unjust case, the entire family was either executed or exiled to Shu City. If they were still in the Capital, with grandfather’s support, elder sister would definitely become a great pharmacist.

This was not just a boast, but something grandfather personally said.

"Nuannuan, don’t restrain her, let her do whatever she wants. If she were a boy, she would definitely become a great pharmacist."

Grandfather regretted not having a grandson, but he was also very open-minded, never stopping elder sister from learning medicine and preparing medicines.

He probably never thought that, later on, one day, the skills elder sister learned would save the lives of more than a dozen family members.

Shu City relied on her, Northern Desert relied on her, and even the distant cosmetic shop of the eldest sister in the Capital relied on her.

Whenever he thought of these, Chun Ning regretted not listening to grandfather’s advice to learn medicine from him and instead focusing solely on studying to pass the imperial examination and enter an official career, aiming to change the family’s status...

Ultimately, things didn’t go as planned.

After Chun Nuan took the stove ash, the craftsmen continued working.

Uncle Luo and those boatman brothers are truly skilled workers, swinging their hoes with great speed.

"Today, we demolish the house and dig the foundation, and tomorrow we can install the stones for the corners of the walls." Uncle Luo explained eagerly when Chun Nuan came by: "The stones at the base must be solid, like a person’s feet; only with a solid base can one stand firm."

"Alright, we’ll listen to you, Uncle Luo. You’re the experienced one, we’ll build it as you say."

To help the Xiao family build the house, Uncle Luo hasn’t been to the dock to do his massage business these days.

That’s truly helping.

"You see these brothers of mine, several of them used to have foot pain or back pain, I used that medicinal wine you taught me to massage them, and they say they’re getting better." Uncle Luo whispered: "If you hadn’t taught me, I wouldn’t have been able to help you with the work."

So, everything comes back full circle, the seeds sown eventually bear fruit.

With Uncle Luo helping to oversee the house building, Chun Ning followed along to learn about managing while Chun Nuan focused on acquiring and preparing medicinal herbs.

Sometimes Zhao Minghua would use a cart to deliver them to the courtyard.

Every time Zhao Minghua delivered large bags of herbs, it meant Chun Nuan would be busy and tired anew.

"Nuannuan, if there’s work we can help with, just say so. We can lend a hand as much as possible."

"Auntie, I will, there are some tasks I’ll definitely need your help with, and I’ll let you know. Some work, there’s just no way around it, it’s solely my responsibility."

"Nuannuan, why don’t you bring Chunyan and Chun Shu along? They have nimble hands and sharp minds, you could teach them more." Third Aunt said: "Seeing you busy all alone, we all feel uneasy."

"Third Aunt, Chunyan is more interested in bookkeeping, she looks at the ledgers brought by Manager Ma and Qingsheng. We leave that to her." Chun Nuan laughed: "Chun Shu prefers making pastry, so let them do what they like."

Not everyone enjoys dealing with medicinal herbs like she does; nor is everyone like her, who finds tranquility in the pharmacy, able to spend an entire day there while maintaining passion and enthusiasm.

Chun Nuan clearly remembers the excitement she felt when she first learned to make pills, wanting to tinker away in the pharmacy day and night.

If not for grandfather sending someone to fetch her timely, she could spend days and nights inside without coming out.

In the pharmacy, there’s never a lack of food; whatever she wanted, she could make, a place of utter freedom. Of course, she would also prepare things for others, with a buy-one-get-one-free offer and after-sale service.

And it was when she gave Chun Ning a medicine that turned his face red, and grandmother threatened family punishment, that she restrained herself a lot, realizing that random experimentation with medicine could lead to irreversible regret.

Thinking about childhood, Chun Nuan finds herself incredibly energetic, with many bizarre ideas, and if conditions allowed, she would roll up her sleeves and start making pills.

Looking at the herbs Zhao Minghua sent, she felt the urge again.

Impossible, impossible, they’re sent to be processed, not to be messed with; once the quantity doesn’t match up, it would be embarrassing, can’t be said to have skimmed off some benefits.

She really wanted some of these herbs, Chun Nuan decided to speak to Zhao Minghua and buy some with money.

To keep the eldest sister’s Treasure Pavilion thriving, they need to constantly innovate and make it so others can hardly catch up, making the noble ladies feel their money is well spent.

Besides cosmetics, Chun Nuan also planned to make skincare lotions and essential oils.

And these herbs were exactly what she needed for the essential oils.

After processing the herbs, Zhao Minghua came to pick them up, and she said she wanted to buy some for personal use.

"What are you going to make with these herbs? Could you let us sell the products at Hundred Herbs Hall? Rest assured, we’ll provide the herbs and manpower, and still split the profits eighty-twenty."

Chun Nuan looked at him, thinking to herself, do you really take me for a fool?

"I just want to make something, and there’s no guarantee I can even make it." Chun Nuan refused bluntly: "Even if I make something, it might not suit Hundred Herbs Hall’s market."

"Why?"

"Because the price would be too high, and selling cheap wouldn’t be worth it." Chun Nuan said: "Look at these herbs, which of them are cheap?"

"Don’t underestimate Changzhou; there are people willing to spend money." Zhao Minghua thought saying the people here wouldn’t buy expensive things was insulting, as if implying they were poorer; they might be reluctant, but not unable: "Is what you’re making for consumption or use?"