Chapter 107

So Village Head Zhou trailed after Magistrate Liu, helping him disperse the villagers who had followed them the whole way. Magistrate Liu came fully prepared, having brought his own candies to hand out to the people. He then led Attendant Li, the guards, and the scholars who had tagged along the whole way on a tour around Pingshan Village, visiting Chen's Pharmaceutical and answering Magistrate Liu's questions.

Accompanied by Village Head Zhou, Magistrate Liu was very satisfied after touring all of Pingshan Village. This would be the launching pad for his political career, and he needed to develop it well.

He wanted Attendant Li to go back and put in a good word with the Emperor.

He said to Village Head Zhou, "Build the memorial archway at the foot of the mountain, behind the medicine workshop. Then fix up the peach blossom grove on this side of the bridge, making it a paradise on earth..."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Village Head Zhou nearly bowed all the way to the ground, finally having waited for this day.

Magistrate Liu took the others away to get them settled, and the courtyard quieted down.

"Please forgive us for the humble tea and plain water, Lord Liu. I hope you'll be understanding."

Huo Jilin raised his hand in greeting.

Lord Liu looked around the stone house, which had already been improved considerably, and smiled: "General Huo is too kind. What's most admirable is that, living in a place like this, he still keeps the people of our Great Liang in his heart."

The house had a lot of odd features. Although Chen Jue no longer used it as an operating room, traces of a doctor's habits remained—blindingly white walls, linen curtains, and the like.

Luckily, Lord Liu looked around with appreciative curiosity. He had already seen the medicine tents set up in the county town, which were somewhat similar to this place, so Lord Liu said to Chen Jue, "Where did the Marquise of Beiping study medicine?"

Huo Jilin looked at Chen Jue, barely able to suppress the twitch at the corner of his mouth. It wasn't just Chen Jue who wasn't used to this title—neither was he. After all, Chen Jue was his wife, haha.

Chen Jue shot him a glare before saying to Lord Liu, "My teacher was Imperial Physician He."

Lord Liu exclaimed in surprise, "Imperial Physician He? He Houyuan?"

"Lord Liu" was just a title; in reality, this close attendant was already past forty and had been the current Emperor's childhood companion. He was a few years older than the current Emperor, so he'd met Imperial Physician He.

Chen Jue nodded in confirmation. Lord Liu nodded as well: "So it's him. No wonder. Imperial Physician He's medical skills are superb."

He chose his words carefully. Imperial Physician He had been a conservative figure in the palace, rarely showing his hand, and had retired without a hitch. Retiring before the Late Emperor's death showed he was a very shrewd man.

Who would have thought such a shrewd man could turn out a disciple like Chen Jue?

Lord Liu was just reflecting—the Late Emperor's death was a good thing for them.

He didn't care about the old-school faction.

Lord Liu smiled and said to Chen Jue, "Marquise of Beiping, since you studied under Imperial Physician He and your medical skills are excellent, would you be willing to join the Imperial Medical Academy..."

At that moment, Huo Jilin gently set down his teacup with a soft clink. He didn't want Chen Jue to join the Imperial Medical Academy. What good was being an imperial physician in the palace anyway?

He was already the Emperor's blade; he would never let Chen Jue get dragged into palace politics. Chen Jue's personality wasn't suited for it, either.

Chen Jue understood his meaning. He didn't want to enter the Imperial Medical Academy himself either. Though there would be many older physicians with superior skills there, given their way of thinking, they probably wouldn't accept him and might even hold him down.

Not everyone was as shrewd and flexible as Imperial Physician He.

Besides, there were only so many people in the palace, and there were already plenty of imperial physicians. The staffing was sufficient—already a luxury compared to the civilian world.

Of course, this was an era of imperial power, and Chen Jue wasn't about to pass judgment. He wanted to stay among the common folk, where more people needed him.

So Chen Jue smiled and said to Lord Liu, "You flatter me, Lord Liu. My medical skills are shallow—I only studied under Imperial Physician He for half a year. Many of my skills aren't refined and are only good for civilian use. My handling of this epidemic was thanks to some folk remedies that wouldn't be fit for formal settings."

Lord Liu let out an "Oh." "Is that so? The Imperial Medical Academy has been full of old-school physicians all these years. Maybe what they're missing is a folk miracle doctor."

Lord Liu hadn't missed the sound of Huo Jilin setting down his teacup. He was just probing.

He had instinctively sensed that Huo Jilin and his wife weren't as easy to control as the Emperor might think. Although Huo Jilin had handled this epidemic without overshadowing the sovereign, that very restraint showed how deep he ran.

They had their own convictions and were remarkably composed. The saying "a general in the field may disobey orders from the capital" truly applied to them.

Lord Liu felt conflicted inside. Obedient generals were a dime a dozen, but those who achieved merit were few. Only those who didn't play by the rules could win battles—and that included this epidemic.

You can't have it both ways in this world.

Huo Jilin spoke up at this point: "Thank you for praising my wife, Lord Liu. Though she knows some medicine, she really can't get away. Our child isn't even a year old yet and needs her. I also hope she can manage the household, since the affairs of the entire marquisate will be numerous from now on."

Since they wanted him to go to the capital, to be a target, to be a sharp blade, then they needed to keep his rear secure.

He wasn't so easy to use. He wasn't the old Huo Lin, caring about whether the Huo family prospered or about the general's position.

He could choose not to go to the capital. After all, in this Dongling County, he was practically a local emperor now.

Lord Liu's expression shifted as he understood Huo Jilin's meaning. Indeed, this young General Huo wasn't such an obedient man.

Sigh, that was to be expected. A sword is double-edged.

He looked at Huo Jilin's expressionless face for a moment, then smiled: "General Huo is right. A household as large as the marquisate does need your wife to manage it well."

As long as they didn't force him to do anything, Chen Jue was willing to give Lord Liu a way out. He said with a faint smile, "As the head of Chen's Pharmaceutical, I will continue to study and strive to be a qualified physician, worthy of the Emperor's personal inscription. Should I ever have the opportunity to exchange ideas with the imperial physicians, it would be my great honor."

Lord Liu took the proffered step down and smiled: "Good, good. Indeed, the head of Chen's Pharmaceutical... then I can report back to the Emperor satisfactorily."

Lord Liu said the unfamiliar term somewhat stiffly, then smacked his lips after speaking, feeling the phrase was quite fitting.

"Then Lord Liu, let me show you our medicine workshop. Please stay here for a few days. Once the Emperor's personally inscribed characters are carved, we'll trouble you to help us hang the plaque personally."

Huo Jilin smiled at him. Since everything was out in the open and both sides had their way out, they could now converse pleasantly.

The two then led Lord Liu on a tour of the medicine workshop. Chen Jue had mentioned days earlier that visitors might come, so Zhou Qingshan and Zhou Qingzhu had already prepared with the workshop staff.

Fortunately, the days and nights of nonstop medicine production had helped them improve rapidly. They carried themselves with competence and professionalism inside and out.

As long as they didn't have to speak or receive imperial edicts, as long as they had work in their hands and didn't have to look up, they could perform steadily.

Lord Liu finished his tour very satisfied.

Magistrate Liu, having finished deploying plans for Pingshan Village with Attendant Li and others under Village Head Zhou's guidance, returned to pick up Lord Liu. With so many people, they would stay at the county office. During their earlier incognito visits they hadn't, but now that their identities were revealed, they would stay at the county office.

They agreed to return in three days.

Three days later was an auspicious day. The characters personally inscribed by the Emperor had been carved by Zhou Dajiang himself. Before the eyes of the crowd, Lord Liu and Chen Jue hung the plaque together.

Red flowers were tied on, firecrackers were set off, welcoming the new era of "Chen's Pharmaceutical."

Officially becoming an Imperial Merchant—the first pharmaceutical company in the Daliang Dynasty to receive that honor.

"We await your arrival in the capital, both of you." Attendant Li and Lord Liu took their leave.

"Very well. Thank you both for your efforts."

After seeing them off, the villagers of Pingshan Village finally dared to erupt in celebration.

Before, they didn't even dare speak above a whisper, but now they do.

They gathered in front of Huo Jilin's home, turning this place—once shunned by the villagers—into a lively, bustling lane.

It wasn't just because Huo Jilin had put on a three-day open-air feast. They weren't there for the food—they could already eat their fill now, and every other day they could have tofu and meat. They genuinely just wanted to be near it.

Though they couldn't see the imperial edict here, they felt one step closer to it, as if some of that imperial dragon aura might rub off on them.

Village Head Zhou shooed them off: "Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Are you all planning to camp out at Huo Jilin's for another meal? Haven't you eaten your fill over these three days?"

Sure, the feast wasn't fancy, but it was still decent grub, and Huo Jilin had been generous enough. He'd heard the pharmacy's books still weren't balanced—these past months, it had been nothing but outgoings with zero income.

Village Head Zhou now had eyes only for "Chen's Pharmaceutical," and anyone who got in the way of its growth was in for trouble.

The villagers shuffled off, laughing.

Meanwhile, the Huo family got ready to properly celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Huo Jilin planned to throw a big banquet at home for every single employee of Chen's Pharmaceutical.

The epidemic had dragged on for three months, and the crew at "Chen's Pharmaceutical" had been burning the midnight oil the whole time.

Once the epidemic was over, Chen Jue gave them seven paid days off.

The Mid-Autumn Festival fell right in that week, and Huo Jilin had stocked up on plenty of ingredients to feed his staff.

The pharmacy was mostly run by women and young lads, so everyone pitched in to cook, and the courtyard was packed with a lively crowd.

The courtyard couldn't fit everyone, so they set up two more tables out front. Village Head Zhou was invited too, since he'd lent a hand during the epidemic and hadn't been a pain in the neck.

Huo Yu was eleven months old now and could toddle a few steps. Watching the lively crowd in the yard, he'd let out a happy chuckle every now and then.

Chen Jue had a wide strap rigged around the kid to help him walk, and he had no clue what was so funny, since the little guy laughed at just about anything. Xiaohua would sometimes get startled, tilting her head to give him a look.

Huo Yu reached out his arms and wobbled toward Xiaohua. He could barely walk straight but already wanted to run, so Chen Jue held him up from behind like a kite on a string, not too worried.

Xiaohua seemed to know this was the kid she'd raised, so she held her ground and waited for him.

He pounced beside her, hugged her neck, and touched her horns, and Xiaohua didn't get angry.

Chen Jue also patted the gentle Xiaohua. She was already three years old, perhaps past her mischievous stage, and had become very steady.

After a bit of playtime with Xiaohua, Huo Yu wobbled off to find other fun. Anyone in the courtyard who had a free moment would tease him, stretching out their hands and calling, "Xiaoyu, come to Grandpa, Grandpa will give you candy..."

Huo Yu ran around all morning, knowing he had little feet that could run and eager to use them, so by noon he was finally tired.

Chen Jue fed him, and he fell asleep shortly after, sleeping for a full three hours.

Everyone then had time to sit down and eat.

"Today marks exactly one year since the pharmacy was established. I thank you all for your dedication over this year, especially during the three months of the epidemic—you've worked hard."

Today wasn't just the Mid-Autumn Festival; it was also the day Chen's Pharmaceutical was founded a year ago. Last year had an extra month, so it fell exactly on this day.

That was also why Huo Jilin and Chen Jue had chosen today to host this gathering.