Chapter 26: Making a Name for Herself

Song Yuntang couldn’t help but feel fortunate that she had padded her shoulders with a thicker piece of cloth before going out today; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to bear it now.

After leaving the teahouse, she went back to the cloth shop and bought some cloth and embroidery thread for making handkerchiefs, spending 210 coins.

These things were indeed expensive.

However, she didn’t need that much material for Jiang Su’rao’s handkerchiefs. The rest could be kept for future use.

Then, she spent another 26 coins on two pairs of shoe soles, put them in her backpack, and walked towards the pharmacy.

Although she had padded the shoulder area with cloth, her shoulders were weak. After adding some needles and threads to the backpack, her shoulders felt hot.

Her shoulders would probably be red and swollen when she got home.

After leaving Chenji Cloth Shop, Song Yuntang went directly to the nearest pharmacy, one of the three in Cile Town, called Baicao Hall.

The pharmacy wasn’t large. The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man of about forty years old. Besides the shopkeeper, there was a clerk who helped organize the herbs.

Seeing Song Yuntang enter, the shopkeeper, who had been working on an abacus, quickly stopped.

“Miss, are you here to buy medicine?”

“I’m here to sell medicine. Shopkeeper, do you buy herbs?” Song Yuntang stated her purpose directly.

“No, Miss. You should ask elsewhere.” The shopkeeper’s attitude wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either. After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and continued to work on the abacus.

Song Yuntang didn’t leave. She glanced at the pharmacy and came to the counter where the shopkeeper was.

“Shopkeeper, what is your surname?”

The shopkeeper didn’t even look up. “My surname is Li.”

“Is this pharmacy owned by Shopkeeper Li himself?” Song Yuntang asked.

Only then did the shopkeeper stop and look up at her. “Yes, it’s a small business. I can’t afford to hire anyone, barely making ends meet.”

Song Yuntang smiled. “Business isn’t good this year. Barely making ends meet is actually quite good.”

“Sigh!” Shopkeeper Li waved his hand. “It’s not entirely related to the market. Among the three pharmacies in town, our business has always been worse than the other two. If you want to sell herbs, you can try the other two. Our Baicao Hall sells herbs slowly, and we don’t need them for now.”

Song Yuntang didn’t continue to mention selling herbs but asked, “Shopkeeper, do you need a resident physician?”

“Resident physician?” Shopkeeper Li shook his head. “We only sell medicine and don’t see patients. We can’t afford to take that risk.”

After he finished speaking, he continued to work on the abacus.

Seeing that he wasn’t interested, Song Yuntang didn’t push further.

“Then I won’t disturb you. Farewell.”

She was about to leave when a young man carrying an old woman ran towards them. The old woman was lying on his back, her hands hanging limply; she had clearly lost consciousness.

“Shopkeeper Li, please save my mother!” The young man cried.

Shopkeeper Li came out from behind the counter and stopped the young man carrying the old woman.

“Oh dear, we only dispense medicine and don’t see patients. This young brother should go elsewhere to find a physician.”

The young man put his mother on the ground and knelt before Shopkeeper Li, tearfully pleading, “It’s too late to go elsewhere. Your shop is the closest. Please take a look. I’ll accept whatever the outcome.”

The commotion attracted many people to watch.

“She’s like this. Even if a god came, they couldn’t save her.”

“She’s barely breathing. This is clearly a sign of death. Just take her home.”

Song Yuntang, who was about to leave, stopped when she saw this.

The old woman’s condition was indeed serious. If she didn’t intervene, she would die within a quarter of an hour.

The situation was urgent, and Song Yuntang couldn’t stand idly by. She put down her backpack and took out her silver needles.

“Everyone, keep your distance. Don’t get too close. The old woman’s breathing will be affected.”

Then, she went to the old woman’s side and looked up at the young man kneeling on the ground.

“I’m a physician. Your mother’s condition is critical. I can try to save her, but I’m not responsible for the consequences. If you agree, I’ll treat her. If not, I’ll leave.”

The young man was desperate and didn’t care whether this beautiful girl had the skills. He turned around and kowtowed to her.

“Please save my mother. No matter the outcome, I will serve you as a cow or a horse in the future.”

“No need to be a cow or a horse. We’ll talk about other things after she’s saved.”

Song Yuntang squatted down, took out several silver needles, and inserted them into several acupoints, such as Baihui, Shangxing, Shenting, and Zhongchong.  After pausing for a while at each acupoint, she removed the needles according to the order and used the needles to prick her fingertips to let blood out.

When the old woman’s breathing gradually calmed down, she told the young man to move her to a shady place, give her some water, and wait for her to wake up.

Seeing this, Shopkeeper Li quickly asked the clerk to bring out a recliner and placed the old woman on it inside Baicao Hall.

After the young man fed the old woman a few sips of water with a porcelain spoon, seeing her condition gradually stabilize, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to Song Yuntang.

“My name is Mu Dong. I live in the southern suburbs of the city. My father passed away early. Besides my mother and me, there’s also a younger sister. Thank you for saving my mother. May I ask your name?”

Looking at his patched-up clothes, Song Yuntang calmly said,

“Song Yuntang.”

Someone in the crowd watching said, “Song Yuntang? That name sounds familiar. When did Cile Town get a female physician?”

She could see the old woman’s illness at a glance and knew how to use silver needles, showing her advanced medical skills.

Even Shopkeeper Li was surprised.

A girl with such superb medical skills shouldn’t be short of money. Why would she come to his Baicao Hall to sell herbs?

“Miss Song, are you from Cile Town?” Mu Dong continued to ask.

Song Yuntang touched her nose. “I’m not from Cile Town. I haven’t treated anyone in Cile Town before. I just happened to be here to sell herbs today.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the old woman on the recliner slowly woke up.

“Dong’er, where are we?”

The onlookers were incredibly surprised.

“She really woke up. This girl has amazing medical skills!”

Mu Dong quickly squatted beside his mother, holding her hand. “Mother, we’re at Baicao Hall. This Miss Song saved you.”

The old woman looked at Song Yuntang, her eyes following Mu Dong’s gaze. She nodded weakly. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“You’re welcome, Madam.” She looked at Mu Dong. “Now that she’s awake, I still have things to do, so I won’t delay any longer.”

She was about to leave when she heard Shopkeeper Li and Mu Dong speak simultaneously.

“Miss, please wait.”