Volume 3, Chapter 11: Paper (1/2)

Its gotten really hot, hasnt it.

It was the quack doctor who was relaxing with his feet submerged in a bucket he filled with water. He respectfully used a medical book as a substitute fan.

Its going to get hotter still.

Maomao set the laundry basket down on the medical office desk.

They were still in the rainy season   it was going to get warmer from here on. Though, maybe because its damp and humid, she totally understood how gross it was.

The coming season, due to the high humidity, was the source of Maomaos annoyance. When she realised it, the medicinal herbs she took the trouble of drying were also going to get damp, and if she was careless, the herbs will also grow mould. It was a melancholic season.

So because of that, the reason Maomao turned up at the medical office was-

Oh, lass. What are ya doing?

The quack doctor said, facing Maomao who took something out from the laundry basket.

Im not doing nothing.

What Maomao took out were a complete set of cleaning tools and all the bamboo charcoal she could cram inside the basket.

Lets clean up, this room.

It was impermissible for the valuable medicines to get mouldy. Maomao came here for that reason.

Eh?

The quack doctors face darkened at a breath.

The quack doctor wasnt a bad person. Rather, he was a good-natured person. Though that had nothing to do with being a good worker, Maomao thought.

The interior of the room the quack doctor was stationed in was a medicine storage. Three walls of medicine shelves stuffed to the full, this place was Sukhavati[note]Buddhist Term: Means Possessing happiness in Sanskrit. The Western Paradise, the western pure land of Amitbha. A pure land is the celestial realm of Buddha.[/note]for Maomao, but it wasnt that she was always satisfied with it.

It had many medicines in reserve, but it was the quack doctor who used them. With them not being used periodically, it wasnt seldom to find them covered in dust or eaten by bugs. And so, this season was the greatest enemy for dried goods. If they are neglected for even a bit, theyll soon get mouldy.

It wasnt that Maomao liked cleaning. There were many times she visited the medical office to kill time, she didnt have a reason to help here either.

But, she cant not do it. Fired up with that sense of duty, Maomao brandished the duster.

Lass, you dont have to trouble yourself with this. You can just leave the cleaning to someone else.

Because the dispirited quack doctor said such a thing, she inadvertently looked at him with the eyes she normally faced Jinshi. Putting it simply, it was like she was gazing at a puddle of water teeming with mosquito larvae.

Eek.

(Not good, not good.)

Although he was a quack doctor, he was a superior officer. Just in case, officially, she must not attend to him without sincerity. If not, he might not give out rice crackers the next time she comes in. The snacks of the inner palace had too many sweet things getting less salty stuff was not good.

Im fine with leaving it to someone else, but what would happen if the medicines get switched with something else?

.

The quack doctor was silenced.

That saying, Maomao coming here now to clean as she pleased was also a problem, but lets keep silent about that. She wont get driven out.

Maomao, to clear out the dust, opened up the shelves one by one and wipe down the insides. She threw away the things that had clearly gone off and wrote down their names on wooden slips. She rewrapped the medicines in new wrapping paper and put them back.

(They use such nice paper.)

Paper that can be preserved for long periods of time are expensive. The paper that appeared on the market are inferior goods that are usually discarded soon after being used. On top of its one-time usage, it cannot be preserved either, so it is often the case that the masses opt to use wooden slips entirely. A lot of firewood appear on the market. There are some among those that are chopped thinly for easy kindling. People use those. Those are just used as kindle afterwards.

In the past, they even exported paper to foreign countries, but the previous emperor, no, his mother the empress, had prohibited the felling of lumber that were the raw material for fine quality paper. Currently, the prohibition had been relaxed to a restriction, but even so, the amount wasnt sufficient.

Why did the empress prohibit the felling of lumber? In those days, it was said the officials who were reckless enough to ask about it were no longer around. And so, it was still restricted nowadays. What could the reason be? Maomao wondered.

Therefore, currently, except for a portion of high-class items, paper was made from other types of wood, grass and rags. With the quantity not to the extent as lumber, and with the manufacturing also taking time and effort, it was expensive. Consequently, due to the inferior goods from skimping in the manufacturing process, the popularity of paper being just expensive and unusable wasnt good in town.

Though paper was more convenient, the rate of circulation being not half was because of the above reasons.

Fuuu.

You done? Lass?

The quack doctor raised his voice happily at Maomao who took a break.

No, theres half left.

.

It couldnt be done in a day because of the extensive varieties of medicine. Maomao left the remainder for tomorrow.

The charcoal she brought in was to absorb the moisture in the room. Since that still wasnt enough, she got the quack doctor to order additional stock.

Well then, it was when Maomao was about to leave.

A girl, who was probably around Maomaos age, waited at the front of the medical office. Though she was tall, she had somehow childish features.

(What places maidservant is this?)

The clothes she wore were simple, but it wasnt something distributed in the inner palace. If that was the case, she decided that she must be working directly under a consort. At least, it was a face that Maomao has never seen before.

(mm?)

Maomao looked at the unfamiliar court lady with slightly squinted eyes. Unexpectantly, the court lady stared back with a head tilt. She feigned ignorance.

(Could it be my imagination? Im feeling a bit of dj vu.)

The quack doctor who came out from inside started to jog over with an Oh?. Then he took out a cloth bag from the top of the shelves in the room and passed it over to the girl who was waiting.

Thank you very much.

The court lady courteously relayed her thanks. Her voice was somewhat shrill.

The quack doctor waved at the leaving court lady with a smile.

An acquaintance?

The quack doctor was the sole medical officer in the inner palace, but he is working and doing nothing.

Ahh, that child is a court lady from the consort-sama who had come in recently. It seems she knows a little about medicine just like you.

I see.

Then she doesnt rely on the quack doctor and makes her dose by just bringing back ingredients, Maomao comprehended.

The quack doctor thumped his back tiredly as he rummaged through the shelves to prepare snacks. He poured fruit juice from a ceramic sake bottle and brought it over.

Its sweet food thats the best when youre tired.

He said, and passed the mashed sweet potatoes he had split with a bamboo spoon and served on paper to Maomao.

(This old man is well to do huh.)

It was the case that he was using sweet potatoes that were unusual that you cant obtain in this season to make mash, but then he served it on fine quality paper instead of a plate like it was natural.

Maomao picked up the sweet potato mash and ate it up, and gazed at the round grease marks on the paper. Even if the surface was smooth, it was very good paper.

You use good paper here.

Oh, you know?

She had meant to say it off-handedly, but the quack doctor piped in.

My family made this. Its distributed in the imperial court. Isnt that amazing!

Its amazing.

This, being served on this here would be because of that.

At any rate, it is not flattery that this is good paper, Maomao thought. The wrapping paper used in Maomaos pharmacy that she chose to buy each time was relatively decent among the worn inferior goods. She wanted the sort of paper that allowed protection against moisture and spillage, but it cant be helped considering the quality of customers. She had to cut the cost of things aside from medicine. Shell lose the means of livelihood otherwise.

(I wonder if I can get a discount as acquaintances.)

Maomao drank the juice as she considered something sneaky. The lukewarm sweetness passed down her throat. This doesnt suit my tastes, she thought, and decided to boil water and brew some tea. Since the medical office always had a fire going, that was convenient.

We were bunched in villages and made paper. For a period of time, there was also a time where we considered discontinuing our work but it was good since we somehow made a living with it.

The quack doctor, without her even asking, started his talking piece by piece.

In the past, they earned money by just making paper. Thats why they steadily felled lumber and finely crushed that wood into pulp, and devoted themselves to making paper. Since it was more profitable to sell to foreign countries than domestically, paper was steadily exported as trade goods. When the quack doctor was a child, he said that they had prospered to the point of being able to buy whatever sweet snacks he wanted.

However, as if that wasnt allowed, they incurred the empress anger and then could no longer fell lumber for materials. As a last resort, they used different materials to make paper, but those were inferior goods. By even getting the merchants angry, their work came to an end from thereon.

The smooth sailing days they had up until then seemed to change suddenly. The quack doctor said his grandfather, the village chief, Do something about it, blamed the earnest villagers. The village chief believed that it was impossible to make paper as they always did. But, everyone who couldnt take to this reality were not meek, and intently beat down the village chief and his family in their miserable anger.

Maomao listened as she triumphantly poured tea into a bowl.

I was lonely when my older sister left for the inner palace.

The village was built in a place suitable for making paper, but when they couldnt do that, that place had no use. They were determined to migrate, but the wherewithal was insufficient.

That time, since the inner palace was seeking court ladies, he said his older sister left.

She said that I am going to become the empress dowager with a smile, but in the end, I couldnt meet her again.

The problem even with a new plot of land was knowing what to do with the equipment. They needed more wherewithal, and then, following the older sister, even the younger sister started to talk about going to the inner palace.

Since there was nothing we can do, I decided to go.