ALL NOVEL 90 - Materia Medica
Rouxi assisted some of the tourists coming in to take a look around. Every once in a while, she checked the phone to see if there were any interesting comments on the ZZ app.
In the meanwhile, Li Yun flipped through a book as he wrote down his analysis of the medicinal in a notebook. He had been documenting the different effects on his body. The order of the notes wasn't random, but based on the groupings from the Divine Farmer's Materia Medica
Li Yun had bought as many medicinal as he could with his limited funding. There were some rare products that couldn't be obtained, but Li Yun didn't think it was necessary to test everything at once. If someone's life was at stake, maybe getting a Rhino horn might outweigh the ecological impact, but Li Yun didn't think there were items that couldn't be substituted with other different combinations.
During Shen Nong's time, the divine farmer tested whatever was available to him. He didn't have the luxury of TeeBee shop and the global medicinal market at his fingertips. There were medicinal from all over the world with unique properties. If Li Yun ever finished the medicinal from the book, there were other medicinal he would have to try. He also felt his body building more resistance and processing the medicinal faster than before, meaning he would be able to experiment with more medicinal.
Medicinal were classified by appearances, parts and how they were processed. If the medicine was dried in the sun, it would have yang qi. If it was dried in the shade, it would have yin qi. Although Li Yun couldn't see the yang and yin qi of objects, he could sense when the cold, hot, warm, or cool qi was released into his bloodstream. As Li Yun drew the phellodendron, there were messages popping up on the phone.
Miu: Although I can't see what is written, I can tell it's a very delicate calligraphy.
Huasu: I was here last week, and the host shared a page with us. Not only the calligraphy, but the illustrations and information written looks very professional. I bet he's writing a book to publish.
Randomlurker: What's so fun about this stream? Just looks like a guy writing random things.
Lurker: I'm just here for the woman voice in the background. Her voice is so nice and soothing. I would buy anything she's selling.
Xihi: You don't study calligraphy, so you wouldn't understand. The way he writes and the way different characters are formed; you can tell he is a very good calligrapher.
Huasu: Not only that, you will also see him prepare some of the medicinal for consumption. He'll tell you that some medicinal shouldn't be ground up and dissolved, as it would be harmful to the body if it enters the bloodstream too quickly. It should be digested in the stomach first and then absorbed by the body.
Lurker: Oh, I didn't know that. I thought you should boil everything together. So is this person a pharmacist?
Xihi: Could be, Ms. Song calls him Doctor Li.
Rouxi finished ringing out a customer and read some of the comments on Li Yun's screen. Li Yun noticed her reaction.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Doctor Li, user Huasu wants to know what you are drawing and its usage," Rouxi replied.
Li Yun picked up a piece of the phellodendron and showed it to the screen. Anyone who looked at him could tell that he was an amateur streamer.
"This is huang bai or phellodendron," Li Yun said to the camera.
"Doctor Li, you have to hold your hand to the back to give it contrast from the surroundings," Rouxi instructed, noticing the out of focus images on the screen.
"Like this?" Li Yun placed the bark on top of his palm.
Rouxi's eyes rolled to the top of the willow tree, she couldn't believe her boyfriend was in the same generation.
"Toward the camera Doctor Li," Rouxi replied.
Everyone in the chat started to crack up.
Miu: lol, this Doctor Li is funny.
Randomlurker: lol, he doesn't even know the basics? How old is he?
Lurker: Ms. Song sounded like she was about done.
Li Yun couldn't see the comments, so he held the huang bai toward the camera with his hand as the background.
"Huang Bai could be used to moderate diarrhea, stress, jaundice, and many conditions. It's active ingredient is berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine. It's a powerful herb, but should be taken in moderation, particularly in children. There are berberine supplements out there, but like many supplements, it should be taken with caution. Since there are no other chemicals to balance it out, consumption may cause damage to the liver and gastric. Overall, huang bai as a whole is relatively safe."
Li Yun took a piece, removed the old bark and began to process the huang bai.
"There are as many as sixteen different methods to process huang bai. For example, it could be fried with salt, simmered with wine, and charred with honey."
After completing the mixture, Li Yun drank the boiled huang bai concoction. It was unfortunate that he had to wait before he could consume a different mixture, but it was enough time for him to study what effect it had on his bloodstream.
"I thought Doctor Li wasn't a good cook, but why do you prepare medicine so well?" Rouxi teased from behind the camera.
Li Yun eyed her for a moment and thought it was best to ignore her. He was on camera, and didn't want to look foolish in front of the twenty viewers. Instead, he showed the camera the sheet of paper he was working on.
Miu: Doctor Li, I've been drinking licorice tea, but I heard that it may not be healthy, should I stop drinking it?
Rouxi repeated the question to Li Yun.
"Licorice tea is fine for consumption, but it is better to mix it up. Any type of food that is consumed in abundance will cause harm. Like eating rice, which is just a lot of carbs without many nutrients. So instead of drinking it everyday, maybe scale back to once every other day. Try a different set of herbal tea."
Miu: The doctor is very knowledgeable. *gift beer*
Most of the people watching him were probably retired and had a lot of time to watch live-stream. They also had disposal income. Rouxi gave Li Yun two thumbs up, but he had no idea someone gave him a gift. Suddenly, a message came up from a different app. Li Yun looked to Rouxi, who seemed to have an interesting reaction to the message.
"What is it?"
"Doctor Li, your friend is telling you to attend the reunion this year since you skipped out last year."
Li Yun groaned with annoyance. Suddenly, Zuiba and Bizi ran into the store.
"Doctor Li! You have to help me!" Zuiba cried out.
Li Yun looked at Zuiba. Although it had only been a few weeks, she looked a lot better.
"The doctor gave me a bunch of things, but I don't understand what it means," Zuiba gave Li Yun a bunch of her paperwork.
Li Yun explained to her that the doctor was recommending targeted therapy. Li Yun told her to go to the treatment once, and then he would check to see whether it was possible to cure the remaining cancerous cells with prescriptions. Li Yun wasn't even sure if he was capable. He was still in the process of learning everything. Seeing how Zuiba had begged, he agreed. What he didn't expect was for the two women to start volunteering to clean and watch over the shop.
"Don't you two ladies have a family to go home to?" Li Yun asked.
"We see them everyday at work, so really no need to see them on the weekend," Bizi replied. "Besides, it smells nice here, didn't you say you still need a worker?"
"It's perfect timing!" Rouxi announced. "I am going home for Labor Day break."