Chapter 1418: Chapter 1396: Accepting Disciples I (November Monthly Ticket Bonus 3)
Manbao opened her mouth wide, and after a while said, "Then Shao..."
"Ah, whether it’s one sheep or two, or even three together, at least they have companions, right?" Shopkeeper Zheng said with a smile, "Doctor Zhou Junior, when you teach Ms. Doctor Liu, just let the other two listen in on the side."
Only now did Manbao understand what Bai Shan meant, that she couldn’t separate herself from Jishi Hall.
She glanced at Young Manager Zheng beside her, then at Sanya behind her, and nodded. However, she still asked, "About the medicine cabinet..."
"No worries, I’ll leave the cabinet to my nephew. He’ll come over tomorrow, and from now on my son will be your apprentice. You can command him however you wish."
Young Manager Zheng smiled warmly and bowed to Manbao, saying, "From now on, Doctor Zhou Junior, I’ll be counting on your guidance."
Manbao looked at him for a moment, then her eyes formed into crescents as she smiled, "You’re welcome."
She turned around and pulled Sanya behind her forward, introducing her to Shopkeeper Zheng with a smile, "Shopkeeper, this is my niece, called Zhou Liru. Liru, greet him."
Zhou Liru immediately bowed, "Shopkeeper, Young Manager."
Manbao said, "Don’t call him Young Manager anymore, call him Senior Brother."
She said to Shopkeeper Zheng and his son, "My niece has just graduated from studying, and the family isn’t comfortable with me being outside, so they’ve sent her to learn medicine from me. But she can only memorize the herbs for now and can’t recognize them yet, so I wanted her to learn in the pharmacy for a while."
Otherwise, with so many herbs, how much would it cost to buy them all just for her to recognize them?
Not to mention the difference in quality and the possibility of fake medicines.
There’s no better place to learn than a pharmacy.
Shopkeeper Zheng: ...
After her aunt finished talking, Zhou Liru again bowed to Young Manager Zheng, and smoothly called him "Senior Brother."
Young Manager Zheng: ...
Shopkeeper Zheng was the first to react, nodding with a smile, his eyes only showing a slit. He happily said, "Doctor Zhou Junior, rest assured, just leave her at the pharmacy, and we’ll definitely teach her earnestly. You can be completely at ease."
Manbao also smiled, and the big and small, tall and short pairs exchanged a smile, their eyebrows curved.
Young Manager Zheng looked at his father, then at Doctor Zhou Junior, feeling like he was seeing two foxes.
He scratched his nose and helplessly looked at Zhou Liru, his junior sister, feeling that his seniority was diminishing.
Speaking of which, when Zhou Man first joined the pharmacy, weren’t they of equal status?
The two sides agreed on a new collaboration method, and Manbao wanted to take Zhou Liru to the consultation room to experience the atmosphere of consultations, actually to show off her prowess.
Just as she was about to turn around, she saw Shao carrying a basket of herbs from outside.
Both were pleased to meet, and Shao put down the basket, took out a packet from his pocket, and said, "Doctor Zhou Junior, this was delivered by the herbal merchant to our estate yesterday. They said it was seeds collected by herb farmers in the wild, but we don’t know if they’ll be useful."
Manbao took it and asked, "What seeds?"
"Polygonatum seeds," he said, "This is usually dug up wild, seldom anyone collects its seeds. But you said you wanted to try growing herbs yourself and study raw materials. The herb farmers watched and collected some last year, and only delivered them through the herbal merchant this year."
Manbao became excited and decided to take a few back to let Keke record them, and she would also try planting them herself.
Manbao introduced Shao to Zhou Liru, "This is Shao, call..."
Manbao scratched her head, "Third Senior Brother? Shao, this is my niece Liru, who will be learning medicine with me in the future."
Zhou Liru immediately bowed to Shao, "Hello, Third Senior Brother."
Shao was suddenly stunned by this title.
He was just an apprentice, not even qualified to serve tea to officially become Manbao’s disciple. Technically, her apprentice is only Ms. Doctor Liu, and he’s just extra.
No, that’s not the main issue, the main issue is, if he is the Third Senior Brother, and Ms. Doctor Liu is the Senior Sister, then who is Two?
Shao wondered in surprise if it was Doctor Xiao?
However, before he had time to figure it out, Shopkeeper Zheng couldn’t help but smack him on the head, urging, "What are you doing standing there? Hurry up and bow to your teacher, your junior sister called you, you should respond."
Shao was startled, and immediately bowed with clasped hands, addressing Zhou Liru as Teacher. Realizing his mistake, he quickly turned half a circle, saluted Manbao, and called, "Teacher."
Then he turned again and saluted Zhou Liru, calling "Junior Sister."
Shopkeeper Zheng twitched his mouth. Previously, he chose Zheng Shao considering his honesty, loyalty, tight-lipped nature, and being one of the Zheng family. He didn’t account for his overly sincere nature.
He hoped he would ask who his senior siblings were, but after the salute, he just happily stepped aside.
Shopkeeper Zheng sighed inwardly and could only bring up another topic, "Doctor Zhou Junior, will Ms. Doctor Liu be over shortly?"
Manbao nodded, "She should be arriving soon."
They arrived early today, the pharmacy had just opened, and the new herbs were being delivered, while the clerks were still cleaning the main hall. After finishing, they would open the doors to welcome customers, and then Doctor Ding and others would probably arrive.
Today, Manbao was planning to acclimate Zhou Liru, so she had arrived two quarters earlier.
And today happened to be on the ten-day cycle, usually when fresh herbs are delivered to the pharmacy, also a day off for Manbao. Shopkeeper Zheng and the clerks had to arrive two quarters early to ensure the herbs were confirmed.
Shopkeeper Zheng currently had no time to handle the new herbs; all his focus was on Manbao. With a smile, he said, "Since everyone happens to be here today, why not let Doctor Ding and the others witness the kids paying their respects and offering tea to you?"
Taller and sturdier than Manbao and older, Young Manager Zheng couldn’t help touching his nose.
Manbao had no objections. She hoped Shopkeeper Zheng would take care of Sanya a bit; some herbs, being particularly valuable, were off-limits to apprentices who had joined only two or three years.
But she obviously didn’t intend to make Sanya wait two or three years.
Seeing her nod, Shopkeeper Zheng was delighted.
Early fixing the status would enable his son to learn medicine from Manbao sooner.
He initially planned to maintain a good relationship with Zheng Shao and the pharmacy together, but Zhou Man’s ability exceeded his expectations, progressing faster and steadier than he anticipated.
In such a short time, she could already carry a medicine box to diagnose the Empress and Crown Prince.
His younger brother had been in the Imperial Hospital for many years. Previously, he acted as an assistant to Imperial Doctor Ji, and only after Imperial Doctor Ji left the hospital did he become the primary physician for palace princes and princesses, though more often he treated outside dignitaries.
To become the Empress’s or Crown Prince’s primary physician, he might need another ten years in the hospital.
But he wasn’t young anymore, Zheng Family had some promising talents in the next generation, but unfortunately, none were in their branch, so he thought to let his son Zheng Gu learn from Zhou Man.