readytorunbook Chapter 230 Pulse Meridian
Chapter 230 Pulse Meridian
After lunch and a short rest, Song Zhi began to make mugwort soap.
She first washed the fresh mugwort carefully, and the tender green leaves looked more vibrant when rinsed with clear water.
Next, she put the mugwort into hot water, first scalding the water, then took it out and pounded it with a wooden stick to get the juice.
Afterwards, Song Zhi took a piece of clean gauze, wrapped the crushed mugwort in it, and then squeezed out the green juice for later use.
The next step is to use wood ash to prepare alkaline water and boil lard, and add the prepared alkaline water into the boiled lard in small amounts several times, stirring constantly.
After it had reacted with nature and turned into a viscous state, Song Zhi handed the task of putting it into bamboo tubes and letting it sit to a few younger ones.
She took the books and went to Doctor Zheng's house.
Because of the summer harvest, Dr. Zheng temporarily suspended Song Zhi's afternoon classes. Now that the summer harvest is over, she can no longer neglect her medical studies.
As for Doctor Zheng's family, they did not own any land here. On the one hand, when Doctor Zheng fled here, he thought he could leave after waiting for news about his son, but he never expected that he would wait for three years without any news from his son.
On the other hand, I was in a hurry when I escaped and didn't bring much money with me.
Most of the money has been spent on buying the land and building the house. Fortunately, the residential land they bought was large enough, and last year they bought the wasteland next door.
In addition to growing some common vegetables, the rest of the land is planted with herbs.
He usually treats patients in several nearby villages. Although his life is not very rich, it is not a problem for him to support a family of three.
With the addition of the herbs that Song Zhi helped sell this year, they now have a little more money on hand.
When Song Zhi arrived at Zheng's house, Doctor Zheng had just woken up from a nap and was sitting under the eaves, chatting idly about paying taxes at the county government office the next day.
"Your body can't carry a hundred pounds of grain. I'll go ask the patriarch's ox cart if it can carry the grain into the city."
Doctor Zheng took a sip of tea and said, "There are several families in the village who are short of labor. Let's not bother Chief Song!"
Song Zhi walked to the door and just heard these words.
She hurriedly said, "Master, please put tomorrow's food with ours! I just bought a cart today, so even if we add more of Master's food, it won't be much!"
Doctor Zheng looked for Song Zhi and waved to her happily, "Come in, have you finished your housework?"
Song Zhi nodded repeatedly, "Everything has been taken care of! Master, please come with us tomorrow!" Song Zhi requested again.
The young disciple's sincere gratitude no longer needs to be expressed in the same polite way as before.
Doctor Zheng nodded in agreement, "Then I'll have to trouble you tomorrow!"
After that, he stood up and led Song Zhi to the former teaching position.
Teaching had been stopped for a long time, so Doctor Zheng did not immediately teach Song Zhi new knowledge. Instead, he first examined whether Song Zhi had been slacking off during this period.
Regardless of when the herbal medicine was learned, Dr. Zheng would tell the name of the herb and Song Zhi would explain its medicinal properties and effects.
This kind of test lasted for half an hour.
Sitting under the eaves, Wang looked at Song Zhi who was answering fluently, and said to her granddaughter beside her with great satisfaction, "Your grandfather has found a good apprentice."
"He's willing to endure hardships and study hard. Look, your grandfather's face is wrinkled with smiles."
Zheng Hui subconsciously looked at her grandfather and saw him stroking his sparse beard and nodding, obviously quite satisfied with Song Zhi's answer.
The corners of her mouth couldn't help but smile, "As long as Grandpa feels happy!"
She actually knew why her grandfather wanted to take in a disciple, and the main reason was for her.
Grandma once urged Grandpa to accept Song Zhi as his apprentice, mainly because she wanted to find someone to rely on for her in the future.
Ah Zhi is smart and kind. If Song Zhi accepts such a person as her apprentice, she will not turn a blind eye to her affairs if she entrusts the wrong person to her in the future.
She didn't want her grandfather to choose to take her in as a disciple just for her, but at least her grandfather agreed with the idea of taking her in as a disciple from the bottom of his heart.
Now seeing her grandfather looking so pleased, Zheng Hui felt relieved.
After testing Song Zhi for half an hour, he found that Song Zhi could answer all the questions.
Although the answers were not detailed enough in some places, there were no mistakes or omissions, which made Dr. Zheng very satisfied.
Doctor Zheng took a sip of tea and said, "That's right, that's right. You must read and memorize these herbs frequently and never slack off. That way, when you need them, you'll be able to draw inferences from one instance and gain a thorough understanding!"
Song Zhi responded respectfully.
Seeing her agreement, Doctor Zheng continued, "Today, I will teach you the remaining dozen or so herbs. Next, we will focus on pulse diagnosis, which is the fundamental prerequisite for diagnosis."
He paused for a moment and said earnestly, "You know, curing illnesses and saving lives is by no means easy. You must work hard on the four aspects of observation, smelling, questioning, and palpation."
"Among these, pulse diagnosis is of utmost importance and can be said to be the essence of the entire diagnosis and treatment process."
"The so-called 'looking, smelling, asking and feeling' is to judge the patient's pulse by observing his facial expressions and demeanor, smelling his breath, asking about his symptoms and feelings, and finally feeling his pulse."
"Only by combining these four diagnostic methods can we accurately determine the condition."
"Among them, taking the pulse is particularly crucial. The Pulse Classic records in detail the pulse conditions, which are divided into 24 types."
"Different pulse conditions reveal the patient's internal qi and blood, the balance of cold and heat, and the state of deficiency and excess. Only by accurately mastering these pulse conditions can one gain insight into the patient's condition and discern the key to the underlying disease."
"Now that you can memorize the effects and usage of medicinal herbs, once you understand the symptoms corresponding to different pulse types, combining theory with practice, you'll be even more adept at diagnosis!"
Dr. Zheng’s introduction was very detailed, and he also explained the importance of subsequent study of pulse conditions.
Song Zhi was happy but she did not dare to slack off and responded very solemnly.
Although she knew some herbs before, she had long forgotten how to take a pulse.
In ancient times when medical conditions were extremely backward, a small cold was enough to take people's lives.
She understood deeply that if she wanted to survive, the only thing she could do was to learn more self-protection skills.
Provide additional protection for herself and the family she cares about.
In the following time, Song Zhi followed Doctor Zheng to identify the remaining herbs.
Together with Zheng Hui, I compiled the calligraphy and painting into a book. This way, it will be much more convenient to review it in the future or to refer to it at any time.
Because she knows very well that learning knowledge is never something that can be achieved overnight, and it requires repeated recitation and memorization.
She is not a person with a photographic memory, all she can do is to make up for her shortcomings with hard work!