Chapter 107: Rock Sugar and Pear Juice

The fiery July has passed, the summer is waning, and autumn is approaching. Now, a slight chill can be felt in the mornings and evenings.

The previously stifling air has become dry and refreshing. The breeze on one’s face is no longer as oppressive.

However, along with this seasonal change comes a series of ailments.

Take the Kaifeng government office, for example. People began to cough frequently, with sounds echoing in the dead of night, rivaling the chirps of the crickets outside the window.

There were also cases of nosebleeds, with nasal discomfort being widespread.

Madam Zhao had a pre-existing cough condition, which had recently worsened, causing her several sleepless nights. This greatly worried Tu Yao, who specially invited Ma Bing to visit.

Madam Zhao, however, was the first to offer reassurance, saying, “Thanks to the loquat candy you made earlier, this year’s symptoms came later and are milder.”

Indeed, one of the biggest discomforts for southerners moving north is the climate difference—southern humidity versus northern dryness. Even after many years, the body’s habits formed since childhood are difficult to completely change.

Fresh loquats are no longer in season, but there are still high-quality dried loquats and preserved loquat leaves set aside for this purpose. Ma Bing added some fritillary bulbs and simmered them into a paste, instructing someone to ensure that Madam Zhao took it regularly.

Ma Bing suggested, “Although there are some old symptoms, the main issue is dryness. Place a small brazier at the upwind side of the room to constantly produce steam to humidify the air.”

To address the dryness, people generally chose to place water basins or large jars indoors, but this had minimal effect and required frequent replacement, which was very inconvenient.

Madam Zhao smiled and agreed.

After thinking for a moment, Ma Bing visited the Pei residence again, where she indeed heard a chorus of coughing.

Especially for Xiao Xia, who was young and had a tender throat, these days had nearly torn her throat apart, with blood-tinged phlegm when she coughed.

They say that coughing up blood at a young age indicates a short life, which frightened the Pei family greatly.

Seeing Ma Bing arrive, Huo Mei felt as if a savior had come, saying, “We were just thinking of inviting you, but we were afraid of disturbing your important work.”

Several doctors had come these past days, but they all prescribed bitter herbal remedies, which Xiao Xia vomited immediately after drinking.

“Godmother,” Xiao Xia lay listlessly in bed, no longer interested in playing, her voice raspy like a wheezing bellows when she spoke.

After prolonged coughing, from the throat to the lungs, everything ached, and even slight exertion felt like tearing.

Ma Bing reached out to touch the girl’s face, his heart aching as he said, “Our little Xia has been through so much.”

She had lost weight.

Xiao Xia’s lips quivered, tears poured down her cheeks, and she looked extremely wronged.

“My throat hurts…”

The two women comforted her, Ma Bing hugged her and patted her back while using her other hand to take her pulse.

Watching from the side, Huo Mei felt both heartbroken and amused: “She’s such a delicate child. When no one is around, she’s fine, but as soon as someone speaks softly to her, she starts crying.”

Ma Bing chuckled, “Don’t forget she’s still a child. Just look at those strong men in the office—they’re also being tormented. How can she not feel wronged?”

How nice it is to have someone to comfort her. Can this be considered a bad thing?

Certainly not.

Xiao Xia poked her face out from under Ma Bing’s arm, her cheeks puffed up and her lips pouting.

“I’m wronged.”

This made everyone laugh.

After taking the pulse, Ma Bing listened to the sounds from her chest, examined Xiao Xia’s mouth and throat under the light, and carefully performed the four diagnostic methods before finally feeling relieved.

“It’s just seasonal change causing some discomfort, nothing serious, just annoying.”

Huo Mei recited “Amitabha” and asked, “But what about the blood in the phlegm and loss of appetite?”

“It’s fine,” Ma Bing smiled. “It’s just that children’s skin is tender, and the severe coughing has scraped the lining of her throat.”

Children especially fear pain. Her illness caused her throat to tear from coughing, and swallowing anything made it hurt, so naturally, she was afraid to eat. Over time, her stomach qi weakened, hence the loss of appetite.

After she explained this, the Pei family finally relaxed.

“But the most important thing is to eat,” Ma Bing told the mother and daughter. “As the saying goes, ‘When the stomach qi is strong, a hundred diseases fade.’ Eating is the foundation of everything. If the stomach is empty, the internal organs will weaken, making recovery even harder.”

“It hurts,” Xiao Xia whined.

“That’s not a problem,” Ma Bing said. “First, cook millet porridge with some fish, shrimp, or chicken and duck. Cook the millet until it’s creamy, and stew the meat until it’s tender. A bowl of this salty and delicious porridge will be better than anything else, and it won’t scratch the throat.”

Xiao Xia smacked her lips at the thought, finally licking her lips and saying, “I’m hungry.”

Everyone laughed again.

Ma Bing also had them place kettles in the corners of each room to produce steam, which indeed proved effective.

The elderly couple, Pei Rong and Madam Meng, were also coughing. Ma Bing took their pulses one by one, adjusted the herbal prescription according to their different symptoms, and prepared to return to make separate batches of fritillaria and loquat paste for them.

Although their symptoms were similar, individual constitutions and causes varied, so they couldn’t be treated the same.

Seeing yellow-green pears on the table, before leaving, she personally went to the kitchen and stewed a big pot of rock sugar pear soup, sweet and soothing, giving some to everyone to drink.

“Eat fewer oranges, lamb, and other heat-inducing foods. Pears clear heat and moisten the lungs, making them perfect to eat now. You can wash them, peel them, cut them into pieces, add a little rock sugar, and stew them until soft. It’s great to drink cooled down. When persimmons come later, you can eat those too—they’re very good for the lungs.”

Not only pears but also apples, mandarins, and hawthorns can be cooked in rock sugar water.

The elderly and children have weak digestive systems, so eating too much raw fruit can upset their stomachs. However, when cooked, the fruits become soft and smooth, and their cooling properties are reduced, making them much easier to digest.

Especially during winter when the house is heated with a kang (a traditional Chinese bed-heater), a pot of crystal-clear sweet soup cooled in the snow outside, paired with spicy hotpot while sitting around the stove, sweating and taking a few bites—your soul would feel blissfully light!

No, no, no, Ma Bing couldn’t help but drool at the thought, suddenly craving hotpot.

Pei Rong was very pleased and immediately went out to visit neighbors, telling everyone how considerate his daughter was, worrying about their health before autumn had even arrived and specially making rock sugar pear juice for them.

He especially emphasized how sweet and delicious the pear juice was, estimating that even the peach juice from the Queen Mother of Heaven in the heavens couldn’t be better.

Unfortunately, Pei Rong’s literary talent was lacking, and he kept repeating the same few sentences, annoying everyone.

But they couldn’t do anything about it, because they couldn’t beat him up.

Who hasn’t tasted it? Why are you showing off like that?

Rock sugar pear juice? Have you even tasted it?

Wait, you only have two sons, where did you get a daughter from?

On her way back from the Pei residence, Xie Yu was talking with Wang Heng in the herb garden. Seeing her come in, he even pinched his throat and coughed twice in a fake manner.

Ma Bing: “?”

Who taught you to pretend to be sick?!

You’ve become a bad guy, Minister Xie!

Seeing that she didn’t react, Xie Yu couldn’t help but doubt whether his father’s method was effective.

Wang Heng was beside him, chuckling, “There’s a patient here, Doctor Ma.”

Xie Yu was just about to try one last time when he suddenly felt weight in his hands. Looking down, he saw Ma Bing had handed him a big bag of pears.

“Eat them, eat them, and you’ll get better!”

Xie Yu looked expressionlessly at the bag of pears.

That’s it?

After Ma Bing distributed the fritillaria and loquat syrup, the weather grew increasingly cooler, marking the official arrival of autumn.

Now, although coughing had decreased, many people had caught colds from the wind.

For the wealthy families, it was not a big deal—they just needed to endure a few days of discomfort and take some medicine to recover.

But the poor families suffered. Illness meant they couldn’t work, and they had to spend money on medicine, making their situation even worse.

After discussing with Wang Heng and consulting Tu Yao, Ma Bing decided to set up a free clinic stall on the street.

They didn’t need to use public funds from the yamen. First, Madam Zhao and Tu Yao personally contributed a bag of silver.

Providing medical consultation was one thing, but the common people inevitably needed to buy medicine from the pharmacy, which cost at least dozens of copper coins even at the cheapest price. This amount of money might seem trivial to them, but for ordinary households, it could be half a month’s expenses.

If they happened to go to a dishonest merchant, it would cost even more.

Instead, they decided to buy the medicine at a low price and provide a one-stop service of pulse-taking, diagnosis, and medicine distribution on-site, saving trouble.

Then, Xie Yu, the Pei family, and even the Yuan family each sent a sum of silver. Together, these four families contributed hundreds of taels.

This amount was enough not only for one free clinic but also to set up a porridge stall.

The free clinic stall was set up in a bustling area, surrounded by small vendors, the most frequented spot for ordinary people.

Initially, not many people knew about the free clinic, so the crowd was sparse. But as word spread, people started queuing early in the morning, causing congestion. Xie Yu had to bring people daily to maintain order.

On the fourth day, however, Ma Bing and the others noticed something different about the free clinic stall from afar:

The surrounding vendors were gone, replaced by two rows of tents hastily erected overnight. Under the tents, benches were lined up in a row, with small stoves boiling water in the middle.

Wang Heng and Ma Bing each had their own side, shielding both the doctors and patients from wind and rain.

Several workers, whose origins were unknown, greeted the queuing people and guided them to sit on the benches under the tents according to the order of arrival. This way, they were not suffering, and the order was well-maintained without congestion or disturbances.

If anyone got thirsty while waiting, there was water available, making the experience more comfortable than at home.

When Xie Yu and the others arrived, a young worker quickly ran over to bow, “Hello, Minister Xie, Doctors.”

Xie Yu raised his chin toward the tents, asking, “What’s going on here?”

The man bowed respectfully, not daring to look up, and replied, “Your honor, I am one of Old Gao Liuliu’s men. He said seeing the doctors and the common people like this deeply touched him, and he wanted to share the yamen’s burden. However, if he gave money directly, he feared the doctors would refuse to accept it, so he thought of this method.”

“I see. Then where did the nearby vendors go?” Xie Yu asked.

Old Gao Liuliu was indeed considerate.

If they directly gave silver, they indeed couldn’t accept it. If this precedent were set, others below might rush to follow, inevitably leading to some using the opportunity to bribe, making things unclear later.

“Yes, the master knows the doctors would certainly not disturb the common people. Yesterday, he sent us to ask those vendors how much they earn daily and already gave them double. When the free clinic ends, they will come back to do business as usual, not affecting their livelihoods at all.”

The young man spoke clearly and concisely, obviously chosen by Old Gao Liuliu specifically for this response.

His explanation made Ma Bing and Wang Heng laugh.

This Old Gao Liuliu, who looked rough and careless, unexpectedly knew how to handle things properly.

Indeed, with this arrangement, no one could voice any objections, and the burden on the yamen was also lightened.

Xie Yu’s eyes showed a rare trace of a smile, “I see. You may go.”

This matter was handled quite well.

This matter could only be properly handled by Old Gao Liuliu. If anyone else in the yamen had taken charge, it would have been somewhat inappropriate.

The young man responded with a “Yes” and, without saying more, turned and left.

With Old Gao Liuliu’s arrangement, Xie Yu found himself with little to do.

But since he was already out, he didn’t rush to leave and still sat beside Ma Bing, watching and ready to help if needed.

Little did he know, waiting around did indeed bring about an actual event.