Hearing that Mu Lin was going to make medicine himself, the two young female officers seemed even more excited than Finney and the others. The reason was that they both suffered from mild dysmenorrhea and irregular menstruation. They had visited many big hospitals, but nothing had worked.
Seeing Mu Lin cure important figures day after day, they felt anxious but helpless. They hadn’t yet resolved the awkwardness from their previous conflict with Mu Lin, so they were too embarrassed to ask him for treatment. Mu Lin, on the other hand, still held a grudge against them due to their earlier racial prejudice and thus had no interest in helping them. Eventually, they had no choice but to approach Finney and her group.
Finney and her companions, who practiced dual cultivation with Mu Lin daily, had become even more radiant than before. The two young officers could clearly see the transformation and naturally assumed it was due to Mu Lin’s treatments. Although Finney and the others understood the real reason, they felt too awkward to clarify anything with the two officers, especially since Mu Lin had been distant toward them. Eventually, they had no choice but to inform Mu Lin about the situation. Upon hearing this, Mu Lin immediately saw an opportunity to get some free labor and lighten his workload.
Although there were plenty of workers available, Mu Lin claimed that girls were more meticulous, emphasizing that only virgins could do the job best. Because of Mu Lin’s reputation, the two young women didn’t know any better and ended up being taken advantage of. In truth, Mu Lin was just looking for a chance to vent his frustration.
He boasted to them that once he successfully made Xiaoyao Pills, he could solve their problems. The Xiaoyao Pill formula consists of ingredients like licorice, angelica, poria, peony, atractylodes, bupleurum, and others. It is a classic prescription for soothing the liver, resolving depression, nourishing blood, and strengthening the spleen, commonly used in gynecology for regulating menstruation.
This medicine can also lower blood lipids and remove age spots, making it suitable for elderly use. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, the pathological basis of hyperlipidemia is “phlegm-dampness” and “blood stasis,” closely related to dysfunction of the liver and spleen. The Xiaoyao Pill, which soothes the liver and strengthens the spleen, can eliminate “phlegm-dampness” and “blood stasis” in the body, thus lowering blood lipids.
After taking Xiaoyao Pills, cholesterol and triglyceride levels can significantly decrease, and lipid indicators remain stable even after discontinuation. TCM theory also suggests that age spots form due to liver stagnation, kidney deficiency, and blood stasis. Xiaoyao Pills can regulate liver function, enabling normal circulation of qi and blood. As qi is the commander of blood, when qi flows smoothly, blood follows, preventing the formation of spots.
Additionally, Xiaoyao Pills nourish blood and strengthen the spleen. When the spleen and stomach function properly, there is sufficient qi and blood, and kidney essence is nourished, leading to the natural disappearance of spots. The ginger and atractylodes in the formula can promote secretion of digestive fluids and improve appetite. Poria has preventive effects on experimentally induced ulcers, and bupleurum and peony not only relieve pain but also, together with licorice, help relieve spasms. Combined, these herbs soothe the liver, relieve depression, and alleviate acute pain, making the formula effective for gastric and duodenal ulcers.
Mu Lin was making this medicine mainly for his clinic, and helping the two young female officers was just an afterthought. After all, free labor was too good to pass up.
The process of crushing solid medicines generally involves applying external mechanical force to partially break the internal cohesive forces between material molecules, turning large chunks into smaller particles with increased surface area—essentially converting mechanical energy into surface energy.
The less moisture the material contains, the more brittle it becomes, making it easier to crush. Therefore, the materials should be appropriately dried before crushing, according to their characteristics. Thin-walled plant tissues, such as flowers, leaves, and some roots and stems, are easy to crush. However, woody or keratinous materials, those with high viscosity or oil content, and animal tendons, bones, and shells are more difficult to crush. In the past, manual grinding was commonly used for crushing herbs, but now the two young female officers had become Mu Lin’s “herb grinders.”
Since they had nothing better to do anyway, Mu Lin took the opportunity to bring out other herbs that needed crushing for other pills and had them do it all. What should have been a one-day task was stretched to an entire week. Seeing the massive workload, the two girls were secretly terrified. But for the sake of their health and beauty, they gritted their teeth and pushed through. By the end of the week, both had visibly lost weight.
Once the herbs were crushed, Mu Lin had them help with the decoction process. The two officers watched as Mu Lin brought out a round, lidded copper cauldron from who-knows-where, poured in the crushed herbs, added water, and began boiling.
Their job was to stoke the fire—literally, using wood to maintain the flame while boiling the herbs. After several days, the two young women had faces covered in soot and smoke. Watching these bright-eyed, pretty girls turn into something resembling charcoal burners in just a few days made even Finney and her group feel a bit uneasy. They hurried to plead with Mu Lin, who, by this time, had also begun to calm down.
Mu Lin was about to stop them from participating further when the two girls insisted they were the direct beneficiaries of the Xiaoyao Pills and thus couldn’t possibly sit this out. No matter how much anyone tried to reason with them, they refused to stop.
Fine! You reap what you sow! Thinking this, Finney and the others gave up and left, choosing not to watch anymore.
Next came the honey-processing step. “Honey-processing” refers to the heating and refining of honey. The resulting product is called “refined honey.” Honey contains a lot of moisture, as well as impurities like dead bees and wax. Therefore, it must be processed before use. The purpose of refining is to remove impurities, destroy enzymes, kill microorganisms, reduce moisture content, and increase viscosity. The degree of honey refinement depends not only on the nature of the herbs being processed but also on the moisture content of the medicinal powder and seasonal temperature variations. Under the same conditions, slightly softer honey is generally used in winter, and slightly harder honey in summer.
During the honey-processing stage, Mu Lin frequently had them test the viscosity and sweetness of the honey—how? Naturally, using their hands and mouths. After one such session, the two young women developed a fear of honey and would run away at the sight of it.
Next came the pill-forming process. In the past, jujube paste, brown sugar, and flour were commonly added to herbal extracts to mask the bitterness of traditional Chinese medicine. Now, Mu Lin added starch and papaya powder to the herbal extract, aiming to suit Western tastes. Once the mixture became a dough-like consistency, he had the two girls roll it into pills. After a week of practice, the pills they rolled were perfectly round and uniform. But they were nearly turned into pill-rolling machines—just seeing dough made them instinctively want to roll it into pills. Watching them, Finney and the others couldn’t help but laugh and sigh at the same time.
Then came the coating process. Coating materials are an essential part of pill formulations, often having pharmacological effects. The coating can both deliver therapeutic effects first and protect the pill core while enhancing its appearance. Here, of course, wax coating was used. After finishing this step, the two young women swore never to touch wax products again.
When Mu Lin finally handed the pills to the two officers and told them the work was done, they were overwhelmed with emotion, bursting into tears and crying loudly, “It’s finally over! This cursed medicine-making!”
For the rest of their lives, the words “making medicine” became a taboo for the two young women. Mention them, and they’d fly into a rage.
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