Soon, the shopkeeper lifted the curtain and came in.

Doctor Zhang and the shopkeeper spoke quietly while occasionally glancing toward Li Xiaohan and her family. At times, they nodded. At other times, they shook their heads. Their behavior left the whole Li family on edge.

In the end, the shopkeeper nodded and called out, “Old Shi, come teach this family how to process eucommia bark.”

Old Shi was the father of Xiao Shi, the apprentice. In this line of work, skills were often passed from father to son.

Xiao Shi had begun his apprenticeship to train his eye, but he had failed to even recognize eucommia.

Old Shi had been watching anxiously from the side, originally planning to step in and help his son without making it too obvious. But Doctor Zhang had spoken up first, and Old Shi could only watch as his son made a fool of himself.

Now that Doctor Zhang had agreed to accept the dried bark, Old Shi was determined to prove himself and demonstrate his true skills—he didn’t want Doctor Zhang thinking both father and son were useless.

With that motivation, Old Shi began teaching seriously and in detail.

Still, deep down, he didn’t believe the Li family was capable of processing medicinal herbs. Preparing herbs involved a lot of factors—how they were handled, the concentration of salt water, the level of heat…

Everyone in this trade had grown up immersed in it, gaining experience through years of trial and error. If it were that easy to learn after just one lesson, then this wouldn’t be herbal processing—it’d just be cooking.

Still, it would actually be better if this farming family failed. That way, it would highlight the importance of their profession.

While all these thoughts ran through his mind, Old Shi kept a calm face and gave a thorough explanation.

“First, remove impurities, scrape off the remaining rough bark, rinse clean, and cut into chunks or shreds. Here, cut it to about this size.”

He picked up a piece of dried eucommia and showed it to the Li family. Li Xiaohan roughly gauged the size and converted it into a mental measurement.

“Take the chunks or shreds, mix them evenly with salt water, and let the salt soak into the bark.”

“Master Shi, how much salt? And how long should it soak?”

In this era, processing herbs often sounded like cooking—everything was “a bit of this” and “some of that,” with no exact measurements. It made things hard to grasp.

“Uh, just estimate it. For example, about one jin of rock salt for every 50 jin of bark. Let it soak for a day.”

Old Shi had never really calculated this ratio. They normally relied on experience, but luckily, he was attentive and roughly estimated what they usually used.

“Stir-fry over medium heat until it breaks into fibers and the surface turns blackened. Then take it out and spread it to cool thoroughly.” After thinking a bit, he handed them a piece of dried eucommia. “Here. This is what the finished bark should look like.”

Li Xiaohan took the bark and examined it carefully. She mainly wanted to compare it with how modern eucommia was processed.

After close inspection, she felt reassured—it wasn’t much different from modern methods.

Once confirmed, she passed the bark to Li Xiandong and Madam Wang.

The two of them were nervous but excited. They really wanted to learn this skill to earn money, but they lacked confidence.

In the end, they glanced at the bark with a mix of confusion and worry, not daring to look too long before handing it back to Li Xiaohan.

Compared to their nervousness, Li Xiaohan’s calmness and confidence stood out.

By the end, it was Li Xiaohan who took charge and sold the fresh eucommia bark they’d brought to Renhetang. The piece of bark she had stripped was handled especially well, so it was classified as top quality and sold for 88 copper coins.

To Li Xiandong, this money felt like it had fallen straight from the sky. He was so stunned, he even forgot there was another matter to take care of. It was Li Xiaohan who finally reminded him, “Father, didn’t you say you wanted a doctor to check on Mother? Isn’t Doctor Zhang the best choice? I wonder if he has time.”

The last sentence was directed at Doctor Zhang. After coming here twice, it was clear the staff at the medicine hall respected Doctor Zhang greatly. He must be a highly esteemed doctor.

And for some reason today, Doctor Zhang seemed quite interested in their family. He had stayed close by the whole time. Of course Li Xiaohan wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Oh, right, right. Doctor Zhang?” Li Xiandong nodded repeatedly, then raised his weathered face and looked at Doctor Zhang with both hope and nervousness.

He wasn’t stupid. He could tell that Doctor Zhang held a respected position.

In the past, they had only ever hoped to have a doctor check on them. The idea of being able to choose from the doctors at Renhetang was something they wouldn’t have dared to even imagine.

Now that their daughter brought it up, Li Xiandong finally realized—so this was possible too. If they saw a good doctor, they could quickly try to get in.

“Alright, come with me,” Doctor Zhang replied readily.

The group followed him into the consultation room.

“Stretch out your hand.”

Madam Wang shakily extended her hand onto the consultation table. Doctor Zhang placed his fingers on her wrist and, after frowning for a while, said, “Switch hands.”

Li Xiaohan observed Doctor Zhang closely. From the way he furrowed his brow, pressed his lips together, and his heavy expression, she could roughly guess that the situation wasn’t looking very good.

But that was expected. What really mattered was—was it treatable?

In her past life, although Li Xiaohan had never given birth, there had been plenty of gossip among her coworkers. She’d heard of people around her who had tried everything to conceive, and in the end, had to rely on IVF.

“Your issue stems from postnatal imbalance, years of deficiency, and poor circulation of qi and blood. I’ll prescribe a course of Nourishing Essence and Fertility Soup. Come back for a follow-up after finishing it.”

“Yes, doctor.” Madam Wang nodded eagerly. She wanted to ask something, but didn’t dare.

Li Xiaohan poked her head out and asked, “Doctor Zhang, is my mother’s condition serious? How many courses will it take before she gets better?”

Her question was quite blunt. Some doctors might have avoided it, but Li Xiaohan used her youth as an excuse and spoke up anyway.

Fortunately, Doctor Zhang wasn’t offended. He patiently explained, “Your mother’s condition isn’t severe on its own, but it’s been neglected for too long and has become deeply rooted. It’ll need slow and careful nourishment. But she’ll get what she wishes for, eventually.”

Hearing this, both Li Xiandong and Madam Wang felt uneasy, yet also hopeful. The doctor had said—eventually.

Unexpectedly, Li Xiaohan turned to say, “Doctor, can you check my father too?”

Sometimes, infertility wasn’t just the woman’s issue—men could have problems too.

As soon as she said this, everyone reacted differently. Madam Wang shook her head repeatedly and quickly said, “There’s no need to check your father—it’s all my fault, it’s all on me.”

Li Xiandong looked deeply embarrassed and didn’t know what to say.

Doctor Zhang paused for a moment, then nodded. “Makes sense. Let’s check him too.”

All eyes turned to Li Xiandong. He felt his face heat up—but luckily, with his dark complexion, it didn’t show.

Just as Li Xiaohan was about to persuade him again, Li Xiandong quietly stretched out his hand and placed it on the table.

Doctor Zhang took his pulse, frowned, and said, “You’re in your prime, yet you’ve almost drained your foundation. Seems like you’ve never taken care of yourself all these years. You might not notice anything now, but if this continues, you’ll be plagued by illness within ten years. I’ll prescribe you a dose of Qi Tonic Pills. Come back after taking them.”

No one had expected that the strongest person in the Li family—Li Xiandong—would have such hidden problems. But thinking about the life he’d lived so far, it made sense. He had always pushed himself to the limit just to earn recognition.

In that moment, Li Xiandong suddenly questioned whether his past efforts had really been worth it.

Meanwhile, Madam Wang’s earlier joy vanished. Her face was full of panic. “Child’s father… Child’s father…”

“Mother, don’t worry. The doctor said it’s still treatable. You just need to take the medicine and rest well.”

“Yes, for his age, this isn’t a late discovery. With proper care, he’ll live long enough to see his grandchildren.”

Doctor Zhang’s words reassured both Madam Wang and Li Xiandong. Relief appeared on their faces.

But then Doctor Zhang added, “Since we’ve checked everyone, little girl, stretch out your hand too. Let’s take a look.”

Li Xiandong and Madam Wang instantly tensed up, clearly nervous. But Li Xiaohan calmly extended her hand.

“Hmm. A bit of deficiency, and you’re small for your age. But you’re still young. Just eat more meat and you’ll be fine. No need for medicine.”

…Small for her age. Small for her age!

Li Xiaohan was a bit shaken. She had been 1.7 meters tall in her past life!

But… yeah, she really was on the short side in this life.

Li Xiaohan felt a little discouraged. But Li Xiandong and Madam Wang let out a huge sigh of relief. Luckily, all it took was eating more meat. She’d just been lacking proper nutrition.

Originally, they’d only planned for Madam Wang to be seen. But in the end, the whole family got checked.

Still, that wasn’t a bad thing. They followed the prescriptions and got the medicine. The cost of seeing the doctor and getting the medicine wasn’t cheap. Even though they had tried to keep as much money as possible from selling the Sanqi last time, medical expenses were never something they could feel truly prepared for. All three of them felt a new sense of urgency.

Thankfully, they had discovered eucommia bark as a way to earn some money. There were still a few eucommia trees stacked in the woodshed, originally meant for making furniture.

“Father, Mother, let’s head back,” Li Xiaohan said. Time to go home and strip the bark from the eucommia to sell for money—and buy more meat to nourish their bodies.

After the Li family left the medicine hall, Doctor Zhang washed his hands and returned to the side room he had just come from.

“Second Young Master, I’ve finished checking them. This family of three seems like ordinary farmers. Their pulses, too, are typical for rural folk,” Doctor Zhang said respectfully.