The Martial Doctor-Chapter 74: Identifying Herbs (Part 2)

A "medicine identification" contest will not decide Miss Xu’s suitor, but it will definitely add weight to Xu Zheng’s decision-making scale.

Especially for the winner, by tomorrow the whole Dongshan City will be talking about him.

If the Xu Family doesn’t choose this person in the end, what will outsiders think? The Xu Family, blind to talent, or worse, not keeping their promise...

In any case, negative news about the Xu Family will spread all over the place.

"Since the three young men are here for my daughter, how about letting her choose the materials for this medicine identification contest?" Xu Zheng decided after consulting with Xu Qixi.

"Good, since it’s to choose a husband for Miss Xu, it’s only fitting that she takes the stage herself!" praised the guests at the table.

The three families naturally had no objections and all agreed.

With Xu Qixi choosing the medicines, at least the fairness would be ensured, and no one would be favored.

Especially for Ye Xizhao.

At the birthday banquet, witnessing such an exciting scene, many guests became even more enthusiastic. The gifts and money spent tonight seemed worth it.

This kind of contest, who knows how many years it will be until we see another; it’s enough to brag about for a long time.

The Xu Family’s medicine storehouse has all sorts of rare and exotic drugs, but if they use those for the contest, it would be too extravagant. Some are treasures, even a little bit is enough for use in medicine, and it would be a waste to use them.

Moreover, if the Xu Family uses this kind of medicine for the contest, it’s clearly making things difficult and showing they don’t want any of the three to become Miss Xu’s husband.

Therefore, the selection should be from common medicines, though common medicines aren’t necessarily frequently used ones. There will definitely be some difficulty.

It all depends on Miss Xu’s choice.

"Mr. An, could you come and help me?" Xu Qixi pleaded with Xu An.

Xu An doted on Xu Qixi, and with a sigh, he got up and went with her. Xu Qixi grew up in the Xu Family’s medicine storehouse and knows the stored medicines better than anyone else.

Does she really need help when going to the storehouse?

The storehouse holds hundreds of types of medicine, and there’s a proper way to store them. Those with conflicting or counteracting properties can’t be stored together, moisture-sensitive drugs should be on top shelves, and those with limited shelf lives need regular checks to ensure they haven’t spoiled.

The job of managing the storehouse isn’t for just anyone. One needs to understand drug properties, know their interactions, and be able to quickly identify them.

Some medicines are similar in shape and smell, but their properties differ greatly, and a mistake could lead to a major incident.

The rules of the medicine identification contest are to select several types of medicine, mix, grind them into powder, and place them in blank medicine bags. The contestant must identify the contents by smell alone, and the one who names the most correctly, or the most accurately, wins.

The more types of medicines there are, and the more their smells are alike, the greater the difficulty.

If it were a regular medicine identification, selecting just three to five types would be enough. Generally, if one can identify them, they’re already a competent pharmacist.

The pharmacist’s exam only tests theory, not practice, making it much simpler than a doctor’s exam. So studying medicine has another path, which is becoming a pharmacist. It’s much easier, and if a pharmacist does well, the income isn’t low.

A doctor must learn to taste medicines as well, which is an art. The four natures and five flavors of medicine can only be determined through personal experience.

The medicinal properties of herbs differ subtly depending on their place of origin, possibly altering their therapeutic effects entirely.

Clove, mint, stevia, licorice, atractylodes, white atractylodes...

Xu An watched as Xu Qixi picked out various herbs from the cabinet and couldn’t help but take a deep breath; this girl really knows how to choose medicines.

Stevia and licorice have similar scents, making them hard to distinguish for most people, while atractylodes has a strong and layered flavor, easily masking the taste of white atractylodes. Clove and mint belong to the category of strong-scented herbs...

"Little Seven, what are you doing now?" Xu An suddenly saw Xu Qixi crouch down and grab a handful of lime powder from a sack in the corner.

This lime powder is used in the storehouse to prevent moisture, not as medicine.

"Just because something’s not a medicine doesn’t mean it can’t be added, there’s no such rule. I’m just making it a bit harder for them." Xu Qixi chuckled.

Xu An didn’t object further. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Soon enough, everything was selected, and after counting, there were exactly ten kinds.

The storehouse has a special mortar for grinding medicinal herbs, and for martial artists, pulverizing these herbs is a simple task.

After grinding the ten kinds of medicinal herbs into powder, Xu Qixi suddenly had a peculiar idea and took a piece of black charcoal from the brazier, ground it into fine powder, and mixed it with the medicine powder.

Seeing this, Xu An was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. But, as it’s Xu Qixi’s birthday tonight, what Xu Qixi says goes; this was one last time to indulge her whims, as she might not have the chance in the future.

In the hall, the banquet continued, and the atmosphere was lively.

The song and dance performance began its second round, along with the Illusion Technique performance, the splendor of which was truly breathtaking.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Xu Qixi and Xu An appeared at the banquet, followed by a maid carrying a tray with a herbal pouch on it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the herbal pouch personally crafted by my daughter is ready. For the sake of fairness, all guests present tonight can participate in identifying the herbs, with a reward for the winner!" Xu Zheng halted the performance and announced.

"Mr. Xu, can everyone participate?"

"Everyone can participate, but you must identify at least more than half of the herbs to earn a reward," Xu Zheng affirmed loudly. He wasn’t foolish; if only Ye Xizhao, Su Chen, and Zhong Yu were to take a written test on identifying herbs, wouldn’t that turn into a suitor selection event?

But if the young people attending the banquet tonight were included, it would be different, greatly reducing the tone of selecting a husband.

"Mr. Xu treats everyone equally, what a fine gesture!"

The many guests, upon hearing this, were naturally interested. Being able to join such a game with the chance to win prizes was something they agreed on.

"Let’s proceed. Any young gentleman willing to compete alongside the three young masters, please step forward." The Xu Family elder asked.

"Mr. Xu, may I participate?" A female voice suddenly emerged.

The speaker was Xia Yuan’s daughter, Xia Zhu, who originally held a spot among the ten "medical scholars" this year, but due to Lin Miao’s involvement, she lost her "medical scholar" qualification.

"Niece Xia Zhu, tonight is a competition for unmarried young gentlemen. Why should a woman get involved?" queried Pavilion Master Pei.

"There is a reward, after all. Mr. Xu mentioned that all guests tonight could participate; he didn’t specify that only males could. Why shouldn’t women be allowed?" Xia Zhu replied, "Or is identifying herbs the method for choosing Mr. Xu’s future son-in-law, in which case I can refrain from participating."

Xu Zheng certainly wouldn’t admit that. Should someone indeed win first place in identifying herbs and not be among the three who initially sought marriage, it would be troublesome.

"Niece Xia Zhu, Mr. Xu has spoken, and naturally, the words cannot be taken back. If you manage to secure the first place, Mr. Xu will definitely give you a grand prize!" Xu Zheng was eager for this outcome. If Xia Zhu could ultimately win, it would undoubtedly resolve a major dilemma for him tonight.

With a young woman like Xia Zhu participating, those young men looking to make their mark and gain fame, even if not winning, could leave a lasting impression before the notable figures at today’s birthday banquet, which would be beneficial for their future.

Those who believed they had some skill naturally stood up one after the other.

Of course, most of them were young individuals; those who were married or older were naturally embarrassed about participating, even among the Xu Family, many younger members signed up.

If a Xu Family member could win this herb-identifying competition, it would undoubtedly be a wonderful event.

The ten people who passed the medical scholar exam all arrived tonight; they were peers of Xu Yao, so the Xu Family took this opportunity to invite them, showing some intention to recruit talent.

Originally, it was about identifying herbs and choosing a "son-in-law," but now everyone was focused on the reward offered by the Xu Family.

Although the Xu Family hadn’t specified what the reward would be, as a prominent family in Dongshan City, their promise to provide a reward meant it wouldn’t be substandard, or else they would be ridiculed by outsiders.

Out of the ten, two did not participate, one being Lin Miao, who, despite being very interested in "herb identification," did not wish to make a name for himself. Additionally, he didn’t want too many entanglements with the Xu Family.

Besides, he already had a senior sister, and there was no necessity to court Xu Qixi. Marriages within such prominent families inevitably involve special interest exchanges.

He was unwilling to bind himself to a family casually; watching the show was quite enjoyable.

Moreover, he had already sent a disciple to participate.

The other was Ding Shouzhong, who also attended with his wife, likely under strict spousal management, hence he dared not join the excitement.

The rest participated.

"Junior brother, why aren’t you participating?" Sun Youwei asked softly.

Lin Miao explained, "I neither want to become the Xu Family’s live-in son-in-law nor seek fame at the banquet and attract attention from notable figures, nor am I greedy for any rewards. Why bother competing? Isn’t it better to sit back and watch the show?"

Sun Youwei nodded, finding the reasoning quite sensible.

"Each person should come forward, with only ten moments allowed. Return to your seat, write down the answers, and hand them to the maid next to you immediately!" Xu Zheng announced the rules.

Ye Xizhao was the first to come forward, picking up the herbal pouch on the tray, sniffing it carefully at his nose a few times, then placing it down again. It took him no more than three moments. He descended confidently with a smile and began writing at his seat.

Next were Su Chen, Zhong Yu, and Xia Zhu, each stepping forward, mostly within ten moments, before returning to write.

The rest came forward one by one.

Upon returning to their seats, each began writing on paper the names of the herbs they identified.

The first to identify was Ye Xizhao, the first to finish writing was also him. Judging by the expression on his face, he was extremely confident.

Once everyone finished writing, they submitted their papers to an elder of the Xu Family.