Chapter 1191: A Good Idea

Therefore, the Military Doctor also began to wonder if there was a way to decoct those medicinal herbs directly and then store them in bottles and jars, preferably in a way that allowed for long-term preservation; this would make them smaller to carry and ready to use at any time.

At the same time, one could carry a greater variety, and if the effects could be clearly labeled, everyone would know which one to use even in the absence of a Military Doctor.

In the current situation, having medicine available to use immediately—even if it meant sacrificing a certain amount of medicinal efficacy—would be acceptable; it is better than having no medicine at all.

However, he could not think of a method to achieve this. When he studied medicine, he had to learn how to decoct herbs; during his internship, he not only had to follow his teachers to see patients but also had to rotate through the Pharmacy.

He learned to identify herbs, gather them, and decoct them. As long as you decoct enough, you eventually know how to do it, along with the rules that must be followed.

This Military Doctor had become so proficient that for the same prescription, the amount of medicine decocted each day was almost exactly the same. If someone who didn't know how to decoct medicine were to do it themselves, the medicine decocted today might be enough to make them burst from drinking it, while tomorrow's might not be enough for a single sip.

It was precisely because he knew how to decoct medicine that the Military Doctor was very clear that methods like boiling the medicine dry to extract the essence were almost impossible to implement.

Decocting medicine is not like boiling sugar or salt, because it involves many ingredients combined together; some herbs cannot be decocted for too long, while others require a long time.

That is why there are all sorts of requirements, such as which herbs to add first and which to add later; otherwise, throwing everything into one pot would be so convenient.

For the same prescription, decocting it for fifteen minutes is fine, but if you exceed that time, the medicinal properties will slowly change. If you decoct it for an hour, it becomes an entirely different medicine—not only useless, but potentially poisonous.

Therefore, the method of using medicinal soup to boil down into a paste is bound to be unfeasible; only certain types can be done this way. This method does not have universal applicability, so the Military Doctor was also very anxious; he finally had a good idea, but he didn't know how to realize it.

But what he needed to care about more right now was Yishang's life, for Yishang's life was also tied to his own small life and his future.

The porridge was ready, and he brought Ju to the front of Yishang's Tent, first asking in a low voice: "General Yishang, I have finished cooking the porridge for you. I will bring it in now, please have some."

Yishang was dazed and said in a very low voice: "I don't want to eat, I don't want to eat, you all go eat it yourselves... cough, cough, cough..."

The Military Doctor hurriedly urged: "General, you must eat this. If you don't eat, your illness cannot get better. There is no medicine here now; to get better, you can only rely on yourself. If you don't eat something, it will be even more impossible for your illness to improve."

Yishang's Tent remained silent, with no sound.

The Military Doctor hurriedly called out: "General, General? Please eat some. There isn't much porridge, I added salt and sugar to it, you will have strength once you eat it, General!"

Yishang still took the words to heart and said in a low voice: "Fine, bring it in. I will drink a little. Open the Tent yourself, I cannot get up."

The Military Doctor hurriedly and carefully opened the Tent, and Ju also quickly went inside and closed the Tent, otherwise the heat would escape.

The Military Doctor brought the porridge in front of Yishang and said in a low voice: "General, get up and drink some porridge."

Yishang braced himself to open his eyes and then propped his body up. Ju could not even stand straight in the cramped Tent, but he still hurriedly went to support Yishang and helped him wrap the animal skin around himself after Yishang sat up.

Yishang's head ached so much he wanted to slap it with his hand, but he held back. He felt dizzy and felt like he would faint the next second.

"Ju, you have come too."

Yishang said casually, then reached out to take the porridge bowl, but the Military Doctor was very observant and hurriedly picked up the spoon, scooped a spoonful, and handed it to Yishang: "General, let me feed you."

Yishang did not refuse. The Military Doctor handed the spoon over, and he opened his mouth. The porridge went into his mouth, and even though he had no appetite, he forced himself to swallow it, because he was also suffering, and he also wanted his illness to get better; he did not want to die here so inexplicably.

Before leaving Huaxia, his body was still so healthy, but after arriving here, suddenly, a Snow had made him this sick, to the point where even eating was a problem. This would not do; he could not die yet, he had to return to Huaxia.

Yishang had already eaten half a bowl; with something in his stomach, Yishang felt much more comfortable, and now he had a little strength to ask Ju.

"Ju, is everything well here? Did any problems arise?"

Ju hurriedly replied: "General, everything is well, everything is normal."

"What about the cattle? Did the cattle run away? Do they all have food?"

"They all have food, General. The number of cattle is sufficient, not a single one has run away."

Hearing Ju's words, Yishang was immediately much more at ease, nodded, and continued to eat. But Ju was very worried in his heart, so he also began to ask.

"General, what shall we do next? The Snow has stopped, and the Heaven has cleared. According to the current situation, the Snow will be gone by the afternoon. If we leave tomorrow, there will be no problem at all."

"But your body, it certainly won't be able to handle it. Moreover, the Military Doctor also said that you are very ill right now; if you don't go back for treatment, there might be danger."

Yishang opened his eyes and asked the Military Doctor: "Is that so? You say if there is no treatment, will I die here?"

The Military Doctor was a bit scared by the question, but still answered truthfully: "General, if you still haven't improved after eating this meal, it might be very dangerous. But you cannot trust how you feel in the afternoon; you will feel a little better in the afternoon."

"But whether you have truly improved, you must look at the situation in the evening and at night. If there are no problems at night, or if it has eased, then it means the illness is improving."

"If it still hasn't improved, or even worsened, General, I feel we should hurry back, at least until we reach the Western Development Group."

"The Western Development Group has plenty of medicine, it is complete enough. Such a cold is not a particularly severe illness; as long as there is medicine, I can cure you very quickly, but there is no way right now."