Chapter 372 - Medicine (1/2)
In regard to what Third Aunt had imagined, Yu Xiaocao didn't offer many explanations. She took out the syrup, poured it onto a small soup spoon, and added some hot water to it. As if she was a big gray wolf luring Little Red Riding Hood, she said, ”Ni'er, Older Sister brought some sugared water. It tastes delicious. Would you like a taste?”
Ni'er could understand words now. Upon hearing it was sweet sugared water, she was like a little mouse checking the situation outside of its tunnel, revealing one eye from her mother's embrace. She looked curiously at the spoon in Yu Xiaocao's hand. She saw that it was black inside, similar to the bitter medicine her parents had fed her a few days ago, she hurriedly buried her head in her mother's arms. She wailed and began to cry.
Yu Xiaocao still has a trick with comforting children. She took out the small cake that Madam Liu made in the morning. It was covered in jam and had a honeyed strawberry. She used a soft and sweet voice, ”Ni'er, Older Sister has a small strawberry cake here! It's fluffy, soft and sweet, and very delicious! Only obedient children will be rewarded a piece!”
Ever since Yu Jiang started helping to collect marine goods, the family's living standard had risen sharply. The children would occasionally eat candy and cakes. However, their family still had frugal habits. Candy and cakes couldn't be enjoyed by the children by their will, and thus being able to eat them once or twice a month was already great happiness.
Ni'er stopped crying when she heard that there was a delicious cake, and she even forgot to cry. She secretly looked at the cake in Yu Xiaocao's hand from her mother's arms. The red strawberry and the cake that was emitting a rich fragrance caught Ni'er's attention. She couldn't care about being shy, her little head finally popped out from Yu Jiang's wife's embrace.
”After you drink the medicine, I will give Ni'er a piece of cake. Your older brother and sisters won't be having any!” Yu Xiaocao continued to lure the shy 'little white bunny' by saying, ”Older Sister promises you that the medicine isn't bitter at all. Ni'er is the bravest, do you want to give it a try?”
Ni'er looked at the medicine in Yu Xiaocao's right hand and the cake in her left. Her gaze moved back and forth many times before she made up her mind and gave a little nod.
Yu Xiaocao quickly put the medicine into Ni'er's open mouth. At first, Ni'er's face wrinkled as if expecting a bitter taste. After the medicine entered her mouth, her expression suddenly smoothed out. The little girl's eyes were round as she stared at the spoon in Yu Xiacao's hand, which still contained some black liquid medicine. She smacked her lips twice as if recollecting the taste of it.
”Ni'er is the greatest! Come on, drink the rest and you can eat the cake!” Yu Xiaocao scooped some warm water from the bowl into the spoon. This time, Ni'er didn't resist at all and drank all the medicine smoothly.
Yu Xiaocao gave Ni'er a compliment again and fed her the strawberry cake spoon by spoon. The little one's shyness was all gone by this point. She ate the cake happily and danced with joy toward his family.
With the experience this time, Ni'er wasn't so resistant to drinking medicine anymore. However, the clever little one would lick the medicine before drinking it every time to try it out. Only when she found that it was sweet, she would drink it without resistance. Sometimes, she felt she hadn’t had enough and she would cry to have another sip!
When a matron, who had a good relationship with Xiaocao's Third Aunt, saw that Ni'er had quickly recovered from her illness after she drunk all the medicine made by Yu Xiaocao, she hurriedly passed the news to her brother in the next village. The only child in her brother's family had also gotten sick, coughing really badly. The symptoms were similar to those of Ni'er but not as serious.
The matron’s brother was almost thirty before he got a precious child, so his heart ached dearly when the child got sick. Hearing that the Yu Family had a certain cure, he came to ask for medicine with money.
Yu Xiaocao asked about the symptoms of the illness. With the confirmation, she was certain that her cold cough syrup was just right for the illness. She filled a bottle, enough for a week. However, this bottle of medicine wasn't cheap, five hundred copper coins for one bottle. After all, all the medicinal herbs cost money and a lot of honey was added. The cost alone was at least three hundred copper coins.
The man gritted his teeth and bought a bottle to take back. His family's baby son only ate it for one day before his cold lightened. After three days, he was basically well. Then, after stabilizing for two days, the illness was all gone. As a result, by word of mouth, the people of the nearby villages all came to Dongshan Village to ask for medicine.
In addition to children's cough syrup, Yu Xiaocao also made pills to combat the cold, cough relief, anti-inflammatory, and fever reduction, which were all packed in different porcelain jars. These pills were all improved from the basic common medicinal concoctions and with less honey inside, the price was much lower.
In addition to the children's cough syrup being sold, these kinds of pills were also sold. Due to the effectiveness of the Yu Family's pills, the public became gradually aware and more and more people came to seek medical treatment. Medicine practice wasn't Yu Xiaocao's wish, the reason she learned medicine was to cover up the results of the mystic-stone water. As a result, most of the people who came to seek medical treatment were rejected by her.