Chapter 593: Visiting the Hospital

Qibo did not say anything more, but silently spat out the Astragalus dregs he had been chewing until they lost their flavor, then began pulling open drawers on his own to see what other medicines he recognized inside.

Xuanyuan and Zhishou also chewed on some Astragalus, savoring the sweetness that was rare in this era.

After walking around for a long time, Qibo had thoroughly confirmed that Baifeng's understanding of medicine far exceeded his own; if he wanted to perfect his medical theory faster, cooperating with Baifeng was the most cost-effective path.

He also whispered his thoughts to Xuanyuan. Regarding this matter, Xuanyuan completely trusted and supported Qibo. Even if Baifeng's conditions were somewhat harsh, he was not without options; how many medicinal herbs he could find depended entirely on himself, and even if Baifeng held the pricing power for twenty years, it was nothing of consequence.

Twenty years was a long time, but as long as it could bring more and longer-lasting benefits to his tribe, some sacrifices were necessary.

Thus, just as Baifeng was preparing to introduce more, Xuanyuan suddenly said, "Baifeng, I agree to the cooperation. Let it be as you said."

"Ah?" Baifeng was stunned for a moment, as he had not expected Xuanyuan to make a decision so quickly, but he was subsequently very happy: "Good, good, this is for the best. How about this, Xuanyuan: I can say that your Xuanyuan Tribe can send ten people over to learn our Huaxia medical knowledge, but in return, we will also send the same number of people to your Xuanyuan Tribe to learn your knowledge of Meridians. How about that?"

Xuanyuan continued to press for other additional conditions: "Yours in Huaxia are more perfect than ours; looking at it this way, aren't you at a disadvantage again? Speak, what other conditions are there?"

Baifeng did not say it directly, because he felt that letting Xuanyuan see it for himself would be more persuasive than anything he could say with his mouth.

"You all come with me first; let's go see the Hospital, and then I will tell you my conditions."

"Hospital?" None of the members of the Xuanyuan Tribe knew what this was for, but they all felt that if they could learn from it after visiting, it would certainly be of great benefit to the Xuanyuan Tribe.

The group left the Pharmacy, and the others from the Xuanyuan Tribe who were waiting anxiously outside let out a long sigh of relief, finally setting their hearts at ease.

Because the Hospital was large enough, they brought everyone along. What they were visiting was the First Hospital next to the medicine warehouse, the largest hospital in Huaxia and also the place where Yi usually worked.

They could see people coming and going; most of those coming out were carrying something in paper bags, while those going in could be seen to have some sort of ailment.

Cangjie's eyes were fixed on the bags those people were carrying, and then he asked with a hint of shock: "Are the bags they are carrying made of paper?"

Yi glanced at the medicine and knew what Cangjie was asking, then said calmly: "Yes, paper bags are convenient and the cost is very low. If we used cloth bags, the cost would be too high, and we couldn't let patients carry medicine back in their bare hands, could we?"

Before Cangjie could continue asking, Xuanyuan was somewhat puzzled: "Isn't paper extremely precious? Why is paper everywhere, to the point that even the bags your people use to hold things are made of paper?"

Yi turned his head away in some embarrassment; he couldn't explain this, so he had to let Baifeng, who was the best at bluffing, say it.

Baifeng also said with an unchanging expression: "Because the paper traded to you is different from the paper they use to hold things. What do you take the paper back for? Surely it is for writing and drawing; you wouldn't use it to wipe your hands or pad a table, would you?"

"It is indeed used for writing; it was all given to Cangjie. It's just a pity it is so precious. What exactly is the difference in that paper?" Xuanyuan asked curiously.

Baifeng explained: "The paper these people use for medicine bags is very rough; it cannot be used for writing or drawing, as it would break immediately. Like us, we use ink that is like water for writing; if we used this kind of paper, it would all bleed out like Hemp Cloth, and you wouldn't be able to see what was written at all. But the paper traded to you is the best quality—it is clear for writing and relatively sturdy. In our Huaxia, it is also considered quite precious."

"Paper like this is very ordinary; I felt you wouldn't need it, so I didn't show it to you at all."

After hearing Baifeng's explanation, Xuanyuan accepted the reason. Of course, he was also very clear that Baifeng had definitely raised the price. Things that the Xuanyuan Tribe did not have but Huaxia did, no matter how ordinary they were in Huaxia, became extremely precious during trade, just like Iron.

Cangjie's gaze was quite eager; he urgently needed materials that could be used for writing to record the characters he had created. He had had enough of the life of writing on stone walls with stone pens.

Baifeng noticed Cangjie's gaze and expression, but he did not say anything more. Meals must be eaten one bite at a time, and talks must be conducted slowly. For now, he would settle things with Qibo, solve the problems of Yi and medicine, and then discuss the matter of characters. The protagonist of the next round would be Cangjie.

After entering the Hospital, Yi introduced the entire process to the Xuanyuan Tribe delegation, from registering at the triage desk—which meant getting a small slip of paper—to queuing up at the corresponding doctor's office and waiting until their number was called before going in.

Huaxia's medical care was free, so there was no issue of payment, including medicine. Whatever amount of medicine the doctor prescribed, the Pharmacy would dispense based on the prescription. However, everyone was very self-aware; they would not come to the Hospital unless they had a serious illness.

In addition, Huaxia's protection of doctors was very strict, and the status of doctors was high; everyone spoke to doctors in a friendly manner, and whatever the doctor said was final.

Yi led them to his students, preparing to let them observe the entire process of treating illnesses.

Yi's student was currently seeing patients in the clinic when he suddenly saw a group of people approaching. He was so startled that he stood up immediately, wanting to greet his teacher first. He had even bent his waist, but when he saw Baifeng was also there, he immediately turned and knelt to Baifeng.

The patient being treated saw Baifeng arrive and also wanted to kneel to pay respects to Baifeng. Yi saw at a glance that the patient had a problem with his leg, so he quickly stepped forward to hold the patient back.

Baifeng patted the young doctor on the shoulder and said: "Get up quickly, go back to what you were doing, don't worry about us. This time I'm just bringing friends from the Xuanyuan Tribe to see how we treat illnesses. You go ahead and see your patient first."

The doctor then hurriedly stood up and returned to his desk in a fluster, but he did not dare to sit down. Since the doctor did not sit, the patient did not dare to sit either, and both were somewhat flustered.

Yi could not stand it anymore: "Is this how I taught you? He is here for a leg ailment, why didn't you let him sit down first? And why are you standing there? Take care of your patient first!"