The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 341

There's something new happening in Beijing: Chunshan Women's Medical College has started its second round of admissions.

This time, the applicants were no longer daughters of wealthy families; they were mostly daughters of rich families.

Everyone has their own ideas.

Because everyone knows that studying medicine might lead to becoming a female physician in the palace.

The daughters of wealthy families disdain doing such things; they have ways to arrange marriages, marry into high-ranking families, or even enter the palace as noble ladies through the imperial concubine selection process.

There's no need to serve others.

But the daughters of wealthy families are different.

Most of these wealthy households have no real foundation; they only have some wealth because of occasional boldness or the legacy of their ancestors.

But climbing the social ladder is no easy feat.

It was discovered that women who studied medicine could potentially enter the palace as female doctors and even deliver babies for the wives of powerful and wealthy families in the capital. Wasn't that a viable path?
"gentlemen."

Zhong Xiuxiu did not enter the palace to become a female doctor, but was kept by Chunnuan at the Women's Medical College as an assistant. People who came to the college for help would be treated by Zhong Xiuxiu.

Even if there are things she can't handle, doesn't she still have her husband behind her?
Therefore, Zhong Xiuxiu's current identity is different from others.

"How about it?"

"Sir, there are thirty-seven girls who have come to register. Nine of them are illiterate, twenty-one are daughters of merchants, and seven are daughters of officials."

“Girls from poor families are diligent, but they are illiterate, so they find it a bit difficult to learn.” Chunnuan sighed, “Those rich girls are literate, but they lack some common sense, and very few of them can endure hardship.”

For example, among the first batch of trainees, only Zhong Xiuxiu and Lei Ying were the most outstanding, while the others were rather mediocre.

Treating a simple woman's ailment is no problem, but to have truly masterful medical skills requires accumulating experience over ten or eight years.

Of course, as long as they don't give up, they will eventually become good doctors.

"Yes, but the Spring Mountain Women's Medical College founded by Mr. was a pioneering achievement, greatly changing people's views on women."

Unlike the first batch, the second batch of girls were more enthusiastic and longed to study at medical school.

"The learning process and assessment standards are the same as yours, so I'll leave these matters to you."

"Yes, sir."

Zhong Xiuxiu gladly accepted the task.

She is now a doctor, and her master pays her a monthly allowance of four taels of silver. The consultation fees from her house calls are split 50/50 with the academy.

Last month, she went to the Grand Tutor's mansion again to deliver the baby for the eldest daughter-in-law of the second branch of the family. The second madam was very generous and gave her a red envelope containing twenty taels of silver. In addition, she went to the Ma family to examine the third young lady for menstrual irregularities and examined the eldest grandson of the Chen family for dysmenorrhea at the onset of his period. In total, Zhong Xiuxiu received sixty-three taels of silver in a month.

This was earned through my own abilities!
She gave half of it to her aunt, which made Madam Gu so excited that she kept saying no.

“Aunt, just take it,” Zhong Xiuxiu said. “I’m still in the manor and haven’t married yet. This money is money I earned through my own hard work. Just take it. You need a lot of money to support your younger brother.”

"Your father and mother bestowed many fine and valuable gifts upon you."

What Gu Shi didn't expect was that on the day her child turned one month old, her master and mistress raised her status to that of a concubine.

The fact that concubines could not be bought, sold, or killed at will was an unexpected surprise for the Gu family.

All I can say is that the lady was quite magnanimous. How many mistresses would still want to raise the status of their concubines after they have given birth to a son?

She had to be careful.

However, the lady of the house was not happy for Gu, saying that Gu had contributed to the Zhong family by giving birth to a son, and specially promoted her to a concubine. Gu knew very well that everything she had today was earned by her daughter through her own abilities.

Now that her daughter is giving her money, she feels a little guilty.

“Aunt, please raise my younger brother well. He will be my support in the future,” Zhong Xiuxiu said. “If I can successfully marry into the Tang family, the second young master of the Tang family will enter officialdom…”

Mr. Gu nodded.

"I will raise the boy with care."

Yes, she is now a concubine and can acquire some of her own property.

“The master and madam gave me a lot of valuable things. I’m thinking of exchanging them for silver, then opening a shop to see what I can do. It would be good to have some income later.”

“Auntie, your pastry-making skills are quite good,” Zhong Xiuxiu said. “Why don’t you open a pastry shop?”

"May I?"

"Of course it's possible."

Zhong Xiuxiu said, "I'll find you some more recipes later, so our family can make a unique pastry shop."

"Okay. Since you say it's possible, then let's do it this way."

Gu was an honest and upright person, and she even took the initiative to report such thoughts to Madam Zhong.

“It would be good if you wanted to open a pastry shop. If you can establish yourself, my son will have someone to rely on in the future.”

Madam Zhong was so magnanimous because her illegitimate sons did not inherit any family property, while her two legitimate sons were both very capable and successful. She was not worried at all that her illegitimate sons would surpass her legitimate sons.

Furthermore, Fifth Sister is a capable woman, and since Madam Gu has her own son, she will have someone to rely on in the future.

If I treat Gu Shi well, I can feel more at ease after my fifth daughter marries into the Tang family and lives a good life.

Gu used some of the valuables to exchange for silver and opened a pastry shop.

Because she was indeed skilled at making pastries, and Zhong Xiuxiu also obtained two recipes from Chunnuan, her business was quite good for a while.

"If business is good, we'll make more."

Gu said to the head maid, "We'll earn money if there's any."

"Aunt, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

"You child, is there anything you can't tell me?"

Mrs. Gu smiled and asked her daughter what she wanted to say.

"That's right. I've noticed that Huanyan Pavilion always sells limited quantities of goods, and the demand always exceeds the supply. That's why their business has been booming for so many years."

"That's because Huanyan Pavilion's products are indeed very good and very precious."

"Actually, the same principle applies to our pastries. Scarcity increases value. We offer limited quantities each day, and once they're sold out, they're gone. Please come early the next day. This way, everyone will be eager to try them."

“Aunt, I think the Fifth Miss is right. Things are valued for their rarity, and limiting the supply each day makes our food seem fresher.”

“Yes, the ingredients are carefully selected, the pastries are fresh, and the workmanship is exquisite. These are all selling points,” Zhong Xiuxiu said. “No matter what, our pastries are one of a kind.”

"Alright, I'll do as Miss Wu says." Madam Gu instructed Granny Zhou: "Make sure to post a notice informing customers of our business practices so they don't make a wasted trip."

"Yes, Madam." Granny Zhou never expected that she would become the head nanny of the concubine in her old age.

Speaking of which, following the right master is really important. Who would have thought that the honest and unassuming Aunt Gu in the backyard would become the most outstanding concubine?