Aman is quick to act. The very next day, she carried a dozen rice balls, took Aqing as her bodyguard, and left the village to seek out the Submerged Merchant.
Nozawa wasn't idle either. Although he had enough money on hand for the time being, saving is always wise. So, he brought along two Lang Faction members to gather medicinal herbs, trying to minimize costs.
Yayoi was eager to help too, but she was too young and her health wasn't great, so she couldn't do much outdoor work. Most of the time, she was responsible for preparing meals and taking care of Meng Ziqi on behalf of Nozawa.
In these times, wild resources were practically untouched, and the Japan Middle Ages didn't have much of a habit for collecting medicine. Over several days, the group worked together diligently and harvested plentifully. Due to seasonal factors, most of what they found were roots, stems, branches, and tree bark, like Tianmen dong, Diluo si, Huang gou tou, Qing niu dan, Ku bai zhi, Bai pi, and Bai song zhen, but luckily the quantity was ample and the quality seemed good.
By now, Aman and Aqing had returned, everything went smoothly, and they just had to wait a few days to receive the goods. Aman bragged heavily about her accomplishments, saying she haggled fiercely for Nozawa, dropped the freight costs to the lowest, and even brought up her grandfather's name to ensure the Submerged Merchant wouldn't dare to fake anything, otherwise, it won't be just simple extortion; they'd face the wrath of their Koka crowd, and her grandfather could single-handedly burst their chrysanthemums. Those conmen didn't have the guts.
In short, thanks to her, everything went smoothly, and money was saved; Nozawa should really thank her.
Then she just lay...
Uh, Nozawa originally thought she'd just lie down with the excuse of "travel fatigue leads to relapse" to avoid physical labor, as she seemed a bit lazy.
But contrary to his expectations, in serious situations, she didn't lie down. Instead, she was more industrious than he imagined, resting not even for a day. After finishing three bowls of rice and wiping her mouth, she naturally began helping him process the harvested herbs and prepare for the opening of the Black Clinic, showing no signs of slacking.
Give her food, and she truly works, no matter how lazy she is. She might just get a bit crafty, finding excuses to stay in the warmer house or yard, leaving the unlucky sister Aqing to withstand the cold wind outside.
Perhaps this was the hallmark of this era — truly lazy people might not survive at all.
Nozawa, marveling inwardly, let her join him in busying themselves. Following the requirements in the Barefoot Doctor's Manual, they set up water and fire, smoked and fumigated the sulfur, and within days, crafted a batch of truly natural wild handmade herbal medicines that could fetch a 200% premium if sold on future Taobao. As to the efficacy of these medicines...
Well, he lacked experience and couldn't tell, and could only learn through practice. If he ended up killing Japan Middle Ages laborers, it was just their fate.
After all, even the worst medical treatment is better than none; thus things were already quite good.
When the handmade medicinal herbs were nearly prepared, the Submerged Merchants returned with their cargo, surprisingly behaving well, delivering the goods to Hibi Village. Apparently, Aman's grandfather's threat to single-handedly burst chrysanthemums was quite intimidating.
Nozawa had a rough look, then compared them with the book, feeling they weren't of high quality but still usable, and after Aman whined and nitpicked to bargain again, he paid happily.
With this, both medical skills and materials were in place, and his Black Clinic could officially open.
He politely invited Jiulang and Toh Shibei over, explained how "everyone suffers, he is naturally kind-hearted and noble, preparing to save souls and relieve their suffering," sincerely inviting them to join this great plan and asking them to help advertise in Hibi and nearby villages, causing a small stir before quieting down.
People, eating five grains, always get sick — those who've suffered know it's not something that can be overcome by sheer willpower alone.
For example, the non-famous resilient sommelier Seibaid Douge had suffered a relapse of an old injury due to excessive drinking, nearly going blind, yet he didn't yield, battling death with extraordinary willpower. When illness prohibited his drinking, he insisted on doing so, defiantly drinking large amounts, refusing to bow to disease. Eventually, after three hospital visits for emergency rescue and two surgeries, he almost died, finally understanding this truth.
Drinking cannot overcome illness, nor can tenacious willpower — believing in science is necessary!
These Japanese laborers are people too. In the Middle Ages rural areas, they rarely saw a proper doctor, and many people must have suffered long-term from ailments — why weren't they coming for treatment?
Nozawa suspected villagers thought this was a "new fraud method," despite his promise of low fees and credit terms. But since villagers hadn't dealt with him before, they might not trust him. If, after being treated, they received exorbitant bills...
Indeed, that's precisely what the villagers thought with their own survival wisdom.
If Nozawa were to break his word and enrich himself at the villagers' expense, taking their grain, seizing their chickens, and abducting their daughters for nightly abuse — as subordinate people, they'd have no recourse, especially with medicinal debt repayable through future labor, appearing overly generous, increasingly resembling a trap.