The Town Leader got excited, and after a pause, said, "Spread the word that there’s a particularly skilled doctor in town, someone who treated the emperor, and can cure those chronic old illnesses."

He added, "Tell people privately that as long as they bring the prescription given by this doctor to get the medicine, the cost of the medicine..."

He gritted his teeth, feeling the pinch, and said, "I’ll only charge them half the price for the medicine."

Man happily went off.

As a result, whenever Manbao was about to leave, someone would come looking for medical advice. For two consecutive mornings, she was in consultations, and only in the afternoons could she go out to play. Finally, Manbao posted a notice stating she would only see patients after 1 p.m.

The weather here is cold in the morning, cool in the late morning, and extremely hot at noon. None of them liked going out at noon.

Noon was so hot, it was better to sit inside, have some tea, and see patients and give needles, gaining lots of fruits in return.

Now Manbao and the others didn’t need to spend money on fruits or even vegetables. People coming for treatment would bring a few fruits, a few bunches of grapes, or even two handfuls of vegetables.

Manbao and her group couldn’t finish all the food, so they could share a lot with the other five courtyards, reducing the amount of vegetables the other courtyards needed to buy.

Steward Li, who was responsible for food and drink, did the math and found that although Miss Man didn’t charge for medical consultations, she saved them a fair bit of money.

They got along more harmoniously with the people in the Small Town. Even Assistant General Nie, who looked daunting, was greeted by people when he went out. Regardless of whether the language was understood, people grinned broadly and greeted him with wild gestures.

So when Manbao and company went to check out and confirm their departure time, the town’s residents were reluctant to see them go. Even Ale was reluctant and said to Manbao, "Lord Zhou, if you continue to stay, I’ll further reduce your housing fee."

He said, "You’ve been staying for twenty days, staying ten more days to make it a full month isn’t much. If you stay, you only need to pay half for the remaining days."

Manbao felt a little tempted, but decisively shook her head, "No way, that would really trap us in this comfort."

It’s only been eighteen days, and they already really liked it here, almost reluctant to start the journey again. How could they waste time like this?

So, steadfastly, she thanked them, then spent a day packing luggage and preparing food and water for crossing the desert to Shazhou.

Though there are oases along the way, none as large as this town. They will only replenish food and water there, so they needed to prepare quite a bit.

The town’s residents, seeing this, prepared many fruits for them and taught them, "These things can be stored. They won’t leak or vanish into thin air like water, and they can quench thirst and give strength."

Manbao and her group happily accepted.

This made their already considerable luggage grow even larger, with several large baskets tied on top of boxes, covered with oilcloth, filled with gifts of fruits and vegetables from the residents.

Even though the Town Leader had prepared two baskets of fruits and two baskets of vegetables for them, he couldn’t help but wince when he saw everything, feeling his gifts might not stand out.

But he still stepped forward with a smile and offered them.

Manbao and Bai Shan received them gladly.

The Town Leader laughed and said, "Imperial Doctor Zhou, be sure to come back here after you return from the Western Regions. I’ll treat you to silver fish and stone fish then."

Manbao, calculating the distance, thought that if they returned the same way, they would certainly stop here, so she nodded.

The Town Leader then turned to Da Yu, saying, "Escort Lord Zhou and his party safely to Shazhou."

Da Yu agreed.

So the entire town came to see them off to the town entrance.

Da Yu, riding on his horse, couldn’t resist turning to glance back, clicking his tongue and saying, "I recall the last time the entire town came out to see us off was when the band of Tuyuhun thugs eyed our town, wanting to kill us and take it over."

The brother next to him said, "Imperial Doctor Zhou is wonderful. My wife’s illness is cured. We’ve decided that when I return from Shazhou, we’ll have a child."

His wife had given birth two years ago, but the child died before reaching three months old, and she had continued to suffer from lochia, sparingly but couldn’t get pregnant again. Zhou Man cured her and left a prescription; they only needed to follow it for three months to recover.

Da Yu smirked and rode ahead, "When I return, I’ll marry a wife as well."

Manbao secured a small wooden bowl under the seat and then lowered the window covering, exhaling and saying, "I wonder if the cacti in the other carts are okay."

Bai Shan said, "Don’t worry, they’ll take great care of them. I didn’t expect them to grow so easily; they’ve only been here a short time and are already sprouting."

In another cart, Bai Erlang suddenly screamed in pain, clutching his leg, "It pricked me!"

Yin Huo glanced and then looked away, continuing to gaze through the sheer cloth at the endless yellow sand outside, while Liu Huan hastily rolled up his trouser leg to check. Despite looking for a while, he found no wound and asked, "Where did it prick you?"

Bai Erlang paused, then said, "No blood came out, probably because my trousers are good. But I definitely felt a sharp pain for a moment. Truly, I think this thing is dangerous on the cart and should be in the luggage cart."

Originally it was intended to be on the luggage cart, but Yin Huo wanted to enjoy some greenery along the way. Seeing Manbao and the others brought two pots onto the cart, he brought one as well.

Hearing his words, Yin Huo could only say resignedly, "I intended to secure it at the window, but you wanted to lean against the window, so I placed it under the seat. Who knew you’d stick your foot under it?" "Nevermind, let’s move it out when we stop at noon."

Bai Erlang was finally satisfied, but still criticized Bai Shan and Manbao’s taste, "What’s so good about this thing? Why are they so fascinated with it? Bai Shan used to look at these round spines every night before and after sleeping; I just don’t see the appeal. Aren’t peonies beautiful?"

Liu Huan also didn’t understand and missed the flowers and plants of the capital. He said, "I don’t know if we’ll be back in the capital when the peonies bloom next spring. If we are, I’ll invite you to my home to play. My grandmother loves peonies, and half our garden is planted with peonies."

Bai Shan, enjoying himself, said, "Although my home doesn’t have half a garden of peonies, I’ve seen all kinds of peonies in this world, even those you haven’t seen."

Liu Huan was taken aback, asking, "Even I don’t dare say I’ve seen all, where did you see them?"

"Manbao has them. Look, she likes to collect flowers and plants along the way. I must tell you, she has a natural affinity with flowers and plants, anything she touches can thrive."

Liu Huan said, "...I thought she was gathering herbs."

"That’s not wrong either," Bai Erlang said, agreeing easily, "Peonies can be used in medicine, she said so herself. Even the roadside weeds in our village can be made into medicine."

While they traveled, step by step, away from the sun, eventually chasing after it, another travel-worn group, Erge and his men, rushed to the gates of Shazhou City, yet still hadn’t run into Bai Shan. Erge furrowed his brow, "Could they have already entered the city?"