The road is vague

Chapter 5 Apprentice Assessment
The evening moon has passed.

Li Mo packed his bags, closed the door, and came to the stone staircase at the east end of the village. Zhao Siman stuck her head out of the yard, saw Li Mo, and tiptoed out.

"Brother Xiaomo, are you going to town?"

"Well, why are you wearing so little? Are you cold?"

As he spoke, Li Mo took out the mixed grain rice and shared it with Zhao Siman while sitting on the stone steps.

Zhao Siman sat next to Li Mo and comforted him softly, "It's not cold. Don't be too sad about Aunt Zhou's matter. Everyone knows that she has always been proud of you."

Li Mo nodded and signaled Xiao Man to eat more.

Then Li Mo noticed that Xiaoman's lips were purple and her body was shaking. After a little hesitation, he took out some of his old leather jacket and gently covered Xiaoman with it.

Zhao Siman's body suddenly froze.

She stopped shaking, her cheeks almost buried in her knees, not daring to look at Li Mo again.

However, the good times were soon broken by the sound of shouting in the Zhao family courtyard.

"Xiao Man!"

This was the voice of Zhao Siman's third aunt. Her body suddenly trembled, and she stood up in panic and said, "Brother Xiaomo, I want to go back."

"it is good."

Li Mo also stood up.

Li Mo is now as tall as an adult man, but his body is a little thin, his skin is still delicate, and his face is a little childish.

"The Flower Festival is coming up in a few days. Are you going to the temple? Let's go together!"

Zhao Siman paused for a moment when she heard this, her face flushed to the roots of her neck, and she stammered, "If I have time, I will definitely go over."

"it is good."

After seeing Zhao Siman return home, Li Mo continued on his journey to Hua'an Town.

Silver was the common currency in all the countries in the Central Plains.

Below this, each country also has its own copper coins, also known as copper plates, copper coins, and big coins.

The so-called one hundred coins is one thousand copper coins, or one thousand coins, but these copper coins can only be circulated within the territory of Qian.

In addition to silver, there were also high-value common currencies such as gold grains and brocade, or trading companies spanning several major countries issued so-called Jiaozi, also known as silver notes.

However, these are not accessible to ordinary people.

An ordinary family of five, even if they live frugally, needs at least thirty taels of silver a year to barely make ends meet, which means each person has to spend at least six taels of silver a year.

Li Mo is now just an apprentice in Jimin Hall, earning only three hundred coins a month, which is not enough to make a living.

But if he can pass this graduation examination and get a decent job in Jimin Hall, he can earn at least one hundred coins a month. Add to that the bonus at the end of the year, and after paying for daily expenses, he can conservatively save six or seven taels of silver.

Adding the silver and copper coins left by Zhou Mei, Li Mo only needs to work for another two or three years to raise enough money for the betrothal gift to marry Zhao Siman and live his own life.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel longing in his heart.

"Unqualified."

Following Doctor Zhang's indifferent voice, Jiang Ming, who was undergoing his year-end assessment, suddenly turned pale, then slowly lowered his head and stood aside.

This meant that he would have to serve as an apprentice for another year or work as a herbalist.

Next is Zhang Liming.

Although he was a distant relative of Dr. Zhang, Dr. Zhang never showed leniency to him and always treated him equally, including this assessment.

Just half an incense stick of time later, Zhang Liming, who stumbled in answering three times in a row, was also sent off by Doctor Zhang.

There was no punishment with a ruler in this assessment, but everyone felt greater pressure, and suddenly they felt that the previous punishments with beatings did not seem so painful.

There is no need to say more about Wang Pan.

In just a moment, he stood aside with his face blushing and his head lowered, hearing Doctor Zhang's cold snort.

Finally, the four of them looked at Li Mo.

Li Mo took a deep breath and walked forward slowly.

"Find the red peony root from the herbs over there and explain its medicinal properties, pharmacology, prescriptions, and taboos."

"Yes."

Li Mo quickly found red peony root from the herbs in the warehouse.

Although there were many similar herbs in the warehouse, Li Mo could tell the difference at a glance. He walked back confidently and, according to Doctor Zhang's request, introduced the medicinal properties, pharmacology, prescriptions, and taboos of red peony root.

Doctor Zhang didn't say much about this, but continued to ask Li Mo to find the next herb in the warehouse.

that's it.

In accordance with the other party's request, Li Mo found more than a dozen herbs from the warehouse and accurately described the characteristics of these herbs.

It wasn't until Li Mo took out a new herb from the storeroom that Doctor Zhang suddenly rebuked him coldly, "This isn't Schizonepeta tenuifolia. It looks like you need another year of study. Put it back."

Wang Pan sighed when he heard this.

Zhang Liming and Jiang Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Mo looked at the herb in his hand, frowned slightly, and said firmly: "Teacher, this is Schizonepeta tenuifolia." "Huh?"

Upon hearing this, Doctor Zhang picked up his ruler and sternly scolded, "What? Are you saying I was wrong?"

"Schizonepeta, also known as camphor grass and camphor grass, can relieve exterior symptoms, dispel wind, clear rashes, and eliminate sores. It can treat colds, headaches, nettles, and rubella..."

Li Mo held the herbs in his hands and recited their pharmacology and medicinal properties one by one, adding many unique insights. This made Zhang Liming and Jiang Ming beside him look skeptical, and also made Doctor Zhang's originally indifferent face gradually relax and finally turn into a smile.

It was not until Li Mo finished expressing all his opinions in one breath that Doctor Zhang could no longer suppress his joy.

"Not bad, not bad, not bad!"

After saying "good" three times in a row, he put down the ruler in his hand, picked up the pen to write, and finally pressed his fingerprint on the envelope and handed it to Li Mo.

"From today on, you are my disciple, Zhang Dongliang. With this letter of recommendation, you can serve as a traveling doctor in any of the over seventy Jimintangs in Anbei County. This way, you can gain a good reputation and experience in your medical practice, and you can always ask me for advice. Of course, it would be best if you first follow the experienced brothers in the previous hall to learn in various villages. In the future, if you have no mistakes in the long-term practice of treating patients and saving lives, you can become the head doctor of the Jimintang."

Jiang Ming, Zhang Liming and Wang Pan were immediately moved when they heard this.

This means that Dr. Zhang gave Li Mo the highest evaluation.

Upon hearing this, Li Mo knelt down excitedly.

"master!"

"Get up."

Doctor Zhang smiled from ear to ear, paced in the backyard, stroking his beard, and began to give his sincere teachings as a teacher.

"Travel thousands of miles and read thousands of books. Don't just study blindly. Go out and explore more. Although the income of a traveling doctor is not high, it is good for accumulating experience. You are still young, and in the process of practicing medicine, you will inevitably be looked down upon. You must not get angry or aggressive. You must strictly adhere to medical ethics, proceed step by step, and put saving lives first, and practice medicine to benefit the world."

"Yes."

Next, Li Mo successfully became a registered itinerant doctor at Jimin Hall, earning one hundred yuan a month. After that, he would be evaluated once a year by the attending physician. As long as there were no major mistakes, his income would increase year by year until he became the new attending physician.

Li Mo moved out of the side room where four people lived together that day and got his own single room.

However, although Li Mo has obtained the recommendation letter from Doctor Zhang and has become a registered itinerant doctor in Jimin Hall, it does not mean that he will be able to practice medicine independently immediately. Generally, a transition period of about half a year is needed. During this period, he can only follow other itinerant doctors and at most give some reference opinions.

This is an internship process for accumulating experience and knowledge of interpersonal relationships.

"Great."

Li Mo lay on the bed, feeling like he was dreaming.

On the one hand, he felt a sense of unreality as he could finally be independent, but on the other hand, he couldn't help but miss his mother. He wished his mother could see this scene as well.

Next, Li Mo set a goal for himself.

"It's not thirty taels of silver, but thirty-five taels of silver. Thirty taels of silver are for the betrothal gift, and the other five taels of silver are for a grand banquet to marry Xiao Man in a formal ceremony!"

the next day.

After Li Mo got up, washed, and came to the front hall.

At this moment, in addition to the four attending doctors, there are also seven traveling doctors.

But Li Mo knew that there were far more traveling doctors in Jimin Hall in Hua'an Town than these. Some of them practiced medicine in remote areas all year round and often came back only once every few months. Some of them had left Bai'an County and were practicing medicine outside. Quhe Town, in particular, was always short of manpower.

"let me introduce."

Doctor Zhang motioned Li Mo to come forward and solemnly introduce him to everyone.

"As of yesterday, Li Mo has officially become my disciple and a registered wandering doctor at Jimin Hall. For the next six months or so, he will be with you to gain experience. You must not tease him and treat him well so that he can stand on his own soon."

"Yes."

After everyone responded respectfully, Doctor Zhang patted Li Mo on the shoulder, motioning Li Mo to take the initiative to step forward and get acquainted with everyone, while he himself walked towards the backyard.

"My dear brothers, my name is Li Mo, and I live in Shanbei Village. I hope you will give me your guidance in the future."

In fact, these people all knew Li Mo, and they often went to the backyard to watch the fun.

Especially the part where Li Mo and Wang Pan were beaten, the brothers in the front hall would definitely not miss it. It was a routine entertainment program twice a month, but they just didn't know the name.

"Haha, Junior Brother Li Mo, my name is Ding Jie. When it comes to herbal medicine skills, I may not be anything special here, but when it comes to martial arts, travel experience, and treating injuries, no one here can surpass me!"

A bearded man who looked to be in his late 40s responded cheerfully.

He was wearing a blue-gray long gown, with a gourd hanging around his waist and an umbrella on his back. He had a strong and sturdy build. If he had not appeared in Jimin Hall, he would not have been able to tell that he was a doctor.

"Junior Brother Li Mo, my name is Zuo Shu. I'm best at treating diseases of the rich. I've taken the pulses of all the shopkeepers and officials in town. If you run into any trouble in town in the future, you can always come to me."

Zuo Shu looked to be about thirty years old. He was neatly dressed, clean-skinned, and well-mannered. He was holding a medical book in his hand and looked very elegant.

Li Mo couldn't help but think that when the other party was young, he must have been a playboy.

"Junior Brother Li Mo, my name is Wang Ben..."

Li Mo quickly became familiar with the traveling doctors present.

Although the Jimin Hall in Hua'an Town is run by four chief doctors, Li Mo, who has been at the Jimin Hall for two years, knows that there are more than seventy Jimin Halls in the entire Anbei County, and the Jimin Hall in Hua'an Town is just one of many branches. The real boss behind these clinics is a big shot in Muzhou. The reason why he established the Jimin Hall in Hua'an Town was that he was influenced by the border aid and people's livelihood policy notified by Qian State, which was a poverty alleviation relief.

The notice here is the title of the poverty alleviation official position in Qian State.

There are many similar shops in Hua'an Town, many of which are operating at a loss. Even the township government office was built under the border aid policy.

(End of this chapter)