Next was to appropriately purchase some commonly used herbs.
Although the herbs in her space were inexhaustible, to open a pharmacy, she still needed to maintain the basic appearance of one.
Additionally, she had people plant all kinds of herbs in the manor. As long as these herbs grew even a little, she could mix them with the ones from her space, preventing anyone from noticing anything unusual.
The day before the pharmacyâs grand opening, Chu Yuntian set aside his work at the Governorâs Office to specially come over to write the signboard for her, and he also brought her several maids, old maidservants, and servants.
âAdoptive father, the maids and old maidservants you gave me before are already enough, thereâs no need for so many.â
âJust take them,â Chu Yuntian said broadly, handing over their contracts to her, âYour adoptive father has investigated, these people are all of good backgrounds, they wonât cause you any trouble.â
Faced with such assertive protection, Qi Yue had no choice but to accept it.
Now her territory was vast, including her residence, the manor, and the pharmacy â all places needed staff. The maids and old maidservants sent by Chu Yuntian were very capable, quickly taking over the management of various places, significantly relieving her of burdens.
On the day of the opening, Chu Yuntian rushed over to sit in, and Qi Yueâs pharmacy was bustling from the start, with people queuing up in long lines to be seen on the very first day.
This level of success truly surprised Qi Yue, as she didnât believe there could be so many people falling ill at once.
After sending her apprentices to gather basic information about the ailments, she summarized that, aside from a few with headaches and fevers, the rest were all suffering from back pain, leg pain, and knee pain.
Simply put, these were cases of rheumatism.
Rheumatism is a chronic disease and not easy to cure, as itâs closely related to the hot and humid weather of Longnan County Government. The best approach is slow and steady treatment.
Back when she was at Northern Ridge, Qi Yue had specifically developed a medicinal wine recipe. She had dug up many herbs in the valley and made more than a dozen jars.
She left one jar for the Zhao Family; the rest were still stored in her spaceâhad she not opened a pharmacy, she might have forgotten about them.
She first prescribed medicine to those suffering from headaches and fevers, sending them away. Then she called for her apprentices to bring out the medicinal wine she had stored in the pharmacy warehouse in advance.
Seeing her not diagnose, not take a pulse, and even have people carry out jars of wine, the onlookers began to talk among themselves.
âWhat is Miss Qi trying to do? Could it be that she intends to cure these people with wine?â
âCan this work? Iâve never seen such a method of treatment.â
âShe is General Qiâs daughter; there shouldnât be a mistake, should there?â
Of course, there were also plenty of rivals from the medical community among the crowd, who began to stir things up when they saw what was happening.
âIn my opinion, Miss Qi simply doesnât know how to treat illnesses. These people all have rheumatism; just prescribing painkillers would suffice. What is she doing?â
âWhat collective treatment? Iâve never heard of such a thing. She must be up to no good.â
âWhat is Miss Qi trying to do? Is she inviting everyone for a drink?â
âIf itâs wine, then Iâm going to join the queue too!â
ââ¦â
To these voices of doubt, Qi Yue didnât rush to explain. After all, with Chu Yuntian there, these people wouldnât dare do anything.
Her intention was to tell these people in the shortest time that the only way to cure rheumatism was to drink medicinal wine over a long period.
Indeed, as soon as Chu Yuntian stood up and cast a stern glance over the crowd, those who wanted to cause trouble instantly fell silent.
Worried that some people might not be able to drink the medicinal wine, Qi Yue had them queue up to come forward, checking them one by one.
As for those who didnât drink alcohol, there truly were none. In this cold and damp place, almost every man and woman, young and old, was accustomed to drinking liquor.
As expected, not only did these people drink wine, but they also had a strong craving for it. Knowing that Qi Yue wanted to use wine to treat their illness, they were salivating in anticipation.
Soon the examination was complete; of the one hundred eighty people, not a single one was unable to drink wine.
Those with rheumatism were quickly divided into eighteen rows, standing ten in each row.
Ten moderate-sized wine cups were lined up on the consultation table, all filled with wine.
Those standing in the front row were already becoming impatient because the wine was simply too fragrant.
With a clear, mellow sweetness mixed with a faint aroma of herbs, it was practically divine.
All the people began to grow restless, those without rheumatism almost wished they were suffering from it at that moment, just so they could have a sip of the wine.
âFollow the order, one cup per person, and anyone who breaks the rules will be charged ten times the fee for the medicine!â
With a single sentence from Qi Yue, the crowd immediately quieted down.
The first row of ten people had finished drinking when it was the second rowâs turn, and as those in the third row began, cheers from those who had already had their drink could be heard.
âThis medicinal wine is truly powerful, I barely swallowed it and my body has already softened.â
âItâs miraculous, I feel a warm current rising from the soles of my feet, spreading throughout my body.â
âMy fingers arenât as stiff anymore!â
âMy knees arenât numb and tingling!â
âI can move my back!â
As more and more people finished their medicinal wine, the exclamations increased.
âMiss Qi Yue is truly a Divine Doctor!â
âDivine Doctor! Divine Doctor!â
âA divine doctor for all ages, just drinking wine can cure diseases!â
ââ¦â
The excited commoners eagerly surged forward, all shouting to buy the medicinal wine.
âDivine Doctor Qi, my father and mother are both in pain all over, let me buy two cups to take back for them to drink!â
âMiss Qi Yue, take a look at me too, my arm has been hurting, can I also drink this wine?â
âDivine Doctor, sell me a little more, please, my back and legs hurt terribly, I need to drink a bowl every day to get better!â
ââ¦â
Qi Yue answered each of their questions one by one and sold several more jars of medicinal wine.
Then she saw to the ailments of many more people, with the line of those waiting growing ever longer.
Seeing that it was getting late, Qi Yue immediately announced closing time and publicly published the medical hallâs treatment rules.
Once the people saw the medical practice hours, they began to discuss amongst themselves again.
âTheyâre only open in the morning for consultations? Isnât that too short a time?â
âYeah, there are so many people, you wonât be able to see them all!â
âItâs actually better this way, if you want to see the doctor, come early. Miss Qi Yue canât be overworked by dragging the day out; sheâll get worn out!â
Indeed, Qi Yueâs rule was to see patients in the morning and not wait past the appointed time.
Today being the grand opening, she made an exception just this once. She couldnât afford to be this busy in the future, or sheâd be the one with back and leg pains.
In her past life, she had worked herself to death tending to patients day and night.
This time around, she wanted to live a more relaxed life: seeing patients in the morning, preparing medicines in the afternoon, reading, and taking leisure walks. It should be quite comfortable.
Besides, she wasnât counting on making a lot of money from this medical hall.
Healing was a profession of meager profits, and most of the patients were poor. She didnât want to see anyone bankrupted by illness.
She had already thought of several ways to make money that would soon have her reaping from the wealthyâs purses.
The first venture to bring in money was naturally the medicinal wine.
Longnan County Government was rich in resources, with three harvests a year and a well-developed wine industry. As long as the local taverns came to her for a partnership, sheâd see a hefty sum of silver.
Of course, her actions werenât solely for her own profit.
The wine used this time for the medicinal wine was collected from the Ducal Mansionâs warehouse. Although there were dozens of jars, they werenât enough for daily sales.
To accommodate most people, she had set the price of the medicinal wine as low as possible.
However, this was something that needed to be consumed regularly to be effective, which could be a significant expense for most families.
She planned to find a way to allow Longnanâs wine merchants to sell the medicinal wine and to fix the price of the rheumatism wine, so that the common people could benefit.
After all, she was Chu Yuntianâs adopted daughter, and it was only right to do some good within her means while also making a profit.
After the medicinal wine was sold, its effects shook the whole of Longnan. Many people came for treatment and purchase, and the scent of wine wafted down the entire street.