Even someone like Liu Huan, who doesn’t understand pharmacology, was astonished by the casually piled herbs on the shelves, let alone Manbao and Zhou Liru.

The room wasn’t large; you could see everything standing at the door. But Manbao still walked inside for a look, then stood in front of a wall to examine the medicine bottles, boxes, or jars placed on the shelves. Labels were affixed on them, noting the names of the medicines.

The Town Leader came over and introduced, "These are all finished medicines we purchased gradually from passing merchants."

There was no other way. Man only knew some simple medical skills, mainly for external injuries. In the past, they used to buy hemostatic medicine from Liangzhou, Suzhou, or Yumen Pass, and only when in urgent need without medicine would they let Man treat injuries.

Everyone wants to live, especially as the Town Leader aged, he wanted to live even more. So, starting four or five years ago, they began to enjoy buying medicine from passing merchants. Occasionally, when they accepted orders to escort caravans out of the desert, they would buy some medicines in other towns to stock up.

However, the fierce aura they carried was too strong; many pharmacies didn’t like selling them finished medicines, and there were restrictions from the authorities on some finished medicines, prohibiting purchases exceeding certain amounts.

Of course, they didn’t care about the regulations of the authorities, but those pharmacies didn’t dare or want to break these rules.

Moreover, not all pharmacies had finished medicines for sale, which is why it took him a long time to collect these finished medicines.

Manbao and Zhou Liru identified some of the medicines, picking out two whose names didn’t match the content, saying, "The rest seem fine."

As for the herbs in this room, it was too difficult to summarize in words. She felt that if truly inspecting, she could discard half of them.

Unlike other items, some herbs can become toxic if not preserved properly.

The Town Leader gritted his teeth and finally asked Zhou Man to help sort them out.

She might be the most suitable person to organize them. After her, they might not encounter such a skilled doctor again.

Of course, to ensure she put her heart into it, he proactively mentioned about sending a guard team to escort them to Shazhou, stating he could send ten more people with them.

In other words, for the hundred taels of silver they paid for ten people, he would arrange for twenty people to escort them.

Judging by their quotes, Manbao would earn fifty taels of silver in a single trip.

Of course, it wasn’t something that could be solved in a single trip. Manbao and Zhou Liru initially flipped through the herbs and tossed the apparently unusable ones into a basket.

"Why don’t you find a few more baskets? The unusable ones can be used as compost, and some toxic ones should be buried to avoid being consumed by people or livestock. I will handle those that can be edited as much as I can," she said.

The Town Leader watched as Zhou Man continuously picked herbs off the shelves and discarded them into the waste basket. Some herbs from boxes and containers were sniffed, tasted a little, and were also discarded with only a few set aside.

He heard her instructing the young girl, "This one can still be used but needs processing before decoction."

Zhou Liru pinched it and said, "But aunt, processing it would lose a lot of efficacy, right?"

Manbao replied, "If not processed, it will be useless in half a year and can’t be made into finished medicine now."

The Town Leader immediately butted in, "What finished medicine can this be made into?"

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "It can be made into hemostatic ointment, but the effect isn’t great. It works on ordinary wounds, but not larger ones. It can stop bleeding and prevent small wounds from worsening."

The Town Leader’s gaze flickered, and he said, "Then make it into hemostatic ointment."

Manbao looked up at him, "Does the Town Leader have someone who can make it?"

The Town Leader paused, then displayed a warm smile to her, "Imperial Doctor Zhou, shall we talk about this matter?"

Then everyone moved to the living room.

By the time Mr. Zhuang arrived, Manbao and the others had already negotiated the payment for making the finished medicine with the Town Leader.

Manbao and her team would only provide their labor; all materials for the finished medicine would be provided by the Town Leader, naturally keeping the cost within the value of the finished medicine itself.

Since there were few doctors in this area (arguably none), and not many buyers of herbs (most handled their illnesses independently), letting the herbs sit was a waste, which is why they spent a significant sum to invite Zhou Man and them.

This "significant sum" was considered such by the Town Leader and his gang.

Manbao and her team didn’t think so. She thought they were already cheap; if not for the Town Leader’s genuine intent, she wouldn’t have wasted such valuable time making finished medicines here.

The Town Leader once bitten by a snake, feared it greatly, thus continually lamented during meals, "Actually, I had some minor grievances with those merchants, but I made amends and apologized afterward. I didn’t expect they would still sell me fake medicine. Alas, thankfully, my brothers fell ill only a few times these past two years, otherwise, had they taken these medicines, who knows how many would have died."

Manbao said, "Doctors have medical ethics; there is no problem with the finished medicines themselves. The issue is with the mislabeled drugs, with someone intentionally misleading you; this is not a doctor’s fault but that of the merchants selling you the drugs."

The Town Leader then asked, "Don’t doctors do such things either?"

Manbao smiled, "I can’t guarantee that all doctors abide by medical ethics. But a healer can refuse treatment but cannot intentionally harm a patient in the process. This is not only medical ethics but also regulated by law. If a doctor oversteps, he will be punished by law and expelled from the medical community. Those who hear of it won’t recognize his status."

Although the world is vast, with limited information flow, someone who breaks this taboo can start anew elsewhere.

However, it’s impossible for them to achieve further success in this field.

The Town Leader, seeing the seriousness on her face, felt much reassured. Although their past interactions weren’t always harmonious, she didn’t seem vindictive.

To show his regard for Zhou Man and the others, the Village Leader had someone fetch two silver carps from the lake. He chuckled, "There are plenty of fish in the lake, but this kind is the most delicious, whether boiled or steamed, very tasty. I heard Imperial Doctor Zhou particularly likes this fish, and it was previously hard to come by. Today, why not savor it more?"

Manbao didn’t mind. Their activities in the village likely didn’t escape his notice, but he couldn’t have known about their courtyard matters.

Otherwise, he’d know they just had silver carp yesterday.

However, Sister-in-law He’s preparation was somewhat different from that in the Town Leader’s home. The taste was distinct, more tender, without the fishy or greasy feel, quite delicious.

Manbao was very satisfied, so after the meal, she voluntarily listed the materials needed for finished medicine production, such as wooden buckets, big cauldrons, and pestles.

Manbao said, "We first need to sort your storeroom, turning some perishable items into finished medicines, and leave the rest. I will teach you preservation methods."

But whether they could learn depended on individual aptitude. Manbao decided to mention it during sorting, without planning additional instruction.

She still wanted to search in the Gobi for other unrecorded organisms.