Chapter 91 - 90: Making Cooling Oil (Part 2)

Chapter 91: Chapter 90: Making Cooling Oil (Part 2)

Old Yang, who spoke first, snorted softly and said, "How could someone like Zhou Qi possibly climb up to the high branches of the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family? Anyone familiar with the bureaucratic circles of the Capital City knows that the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family despises those who curry favor with the powerful. Are there few in the Capital who want to latch onto the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family? He doesn’t even give them a glance.

If someone acts excessively, the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family might not say anything in front of them, but soon afterward, there will definitely be a detailed report of that person’s life submitted to the relevant authorities. Officials might see their careers affected or be directly dismissed.

If a businessman hasn’t done anything shady, they may not be destroyed outright, but from then on, everyone will know they’ve offended the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family. Who would dare do business with them or discuss cooperation? That’s more terrifying than being wiped out!

We’ve already figured out why the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family invited Zhou Qi. It’s because that so-called Divine Doctor Xu from Xinglin Hall had the luck to stumble upon the madman Zheng Shouyan and got injured. As the acting County Magistrate, the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family had to intervene, so he sent someone to Tianyi Hall to invite a doctor.

Moreover, the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family never specifically asked for Zhou Qi; he just wanted a skilled doctor. Zhou Qi went there on his own accord."

It was precisely because they had figured all this out that, even though the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family seemed to have a lot of interactions with Xinglin Hall, they were confident that these interactions were just coincidences, which is why they dared to target Xinglin Hall like this.

Think about it, the Seventh Son of the Xiao Family didn’t even regard the two major medical halls, Guangming Hall and Tianyi Hall, so how could he possibly look favorably upon a mere Xinglin Hall!

The steward who spoke earlier quickly said, "That’s right, that’s the logic I overlooked."

Old Yang was adept at handling the situation and immediately turned around, praising Lin Chengzhao, "Besides, even if Zhou Qi really overestimates himself and reopens his branch in the Western Capital, how can he compete with our head?

Our head is protected by influential people; it won’t be long before even the army relies on our Guangming Hall for medicine supplies.

Imagine how many people are in the army? That’s a tremendously lucrative opportunity! If our Guangming Hall truly secures this opportunity, forget about being the first choice for transactions in Anping County’s medical halls, we’d be at the top in the entire Great Chu!"

Who wouldn’t love to hear such flattering words? Especially since Old Yang knew Lin Chengzhao so well, he knew exactly which words would hit home.

Sure enough, Lin Chengzhao immediately burst into a smug laugh, raised his wine cup high, his shrewd eyes gleaming, and said, "This opportunity, without a doubt, belongs to our Lin Family! Once spring comes next year and things stabilize, there will be news.

Who says running a medical hall isn’t like conquering the world? You have all contributed significantly to our Lin Family, and I promise I won’t let any of you down in the future!"

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but beam with joy, raising their wine cups and drinking heartily.

The next day, after finishing her morning consultations, Xu Jing returned home to find the equipment she had ordered waiting for her.

Chunyang and Chunxiang were puzzling over two iron barrels, one large and one small. Seeing Xu Jing return, they quickly approached her, asking, "Miss, what exactly is this? Is it... is it the latest style of a bath barrel? But why is the cover of this bath barrel so tight, how do you open it to sit inside? And if it’s a bath barrel, isn’t one enough? Is the smaller one for soaking feet?"

Unable to suppress her amusement at their questions, Xu Jing inspected the equipment closely and said, "These are not bath barrels; they are distillers, and they have a much bigger purpose."

The more Xu Jing looked, the more satisfied she became.

The craftsman Cheng Xianbai found was indeed skilled! He even managed to make the complex condenser tube.

Feeling a surge of excitement, she stood up and asked, "Has the peppermint I asked for arrived yet?"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Cheng sent someone to deliver it along with this bath... ahem, distiller."

Chunxiang replied, pointing to several large bags of peppermint piled in the corner, looking even more puzzled, "Miss, why did you buy so much peppermint?"

Xu Jing’s lips curled upwards as she said, "You’ll find out soon. We’re about to make a new medicine; this time, we’re making an essential balm for home use and travel!"

This time, Xu Jing planned to create cooling oil, which has another name: panacea, meaning it has many uses, almost truly versatile!

It can relieve dizziness caused by heatstroke, ease the symptoms of motion sickness, and alleviate itchiness from insect bites.

The panacea Xu Jing had improved could even treat minor burns.

All these symptoms are ones that every household, or even every person, might encounter. Just imagine, when this cooling oil is launched, who wouldn’t want to have a jar at home?

The purpose of making this cooling oil is to promote it to every household!

But to make this cooling oil, she needed an ingredient called peppermint oil. Peppermint oil is an oily liquid extracted from peppermint and can be obtained by distillation. The method involves first cleaning the peppermint to remove impurities, then adding a few drops of citric acid to help release the volatile components inside the peppermint.

Next, the peppermint is mixed with water for distillation. However, the peppermint oil extracted this way may contain some impurities. To obtain purer peppermint oil, a second and third distillation is necessary.

Although the process is cumbersome and extraction efficiency low, this is already the simplest and most convenient method in ancient times.

After a busy afternoon, Xu Jing and Chunyang, Chunxiang only managed to extract a small bowl of peppermint oil, but for a first attempt, Xu Jing was very satisfied.

Then, she mixed the peppermint oil with pre-prepared camphor, eucalyptus oil, beeswax, and other materials. Finally, she poured the liquid cooling oil into several ceramic jars she had prepared earlier. Once cooled, it would solidify into a pale-yellow ointment.

This is how the cooling oil was made!

In the end, they made five jars of cooling oil, each the size of a baby’s palm. Chunyang picked up a jar and sniffed it, exclaiming joyfully, "This scent truly penetrates the heart! Just a whiff and it feels as if all the fatigue of an entire day evaporates, even my mind feels much clearer!"

When they first started refining the peppermint oil, the strong scent was overwhelming, making it hard to keep their eyes open, but the final product turned out to be just right!

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Chunxiang quickly went to open it, finding the Cheng Brothers and Sisters.

They had been eager ever since Xu Jing mentioned making a new medicine, plus they had important matters to discuss with her. As soon as Xinglin Hall closed, they headed straight to Xu Jing’s house.

Noticing the time, Xu Jing guessed they hadn’t had dinner yet, so she turned to Chunyang to prepare a meal. Turning to the Cheng Brothers and Sisters, she hadn’t even started speaking before Qingqing, with a distressed face, angrily said, "Jing, do you know what happened? Brother informed several people who had previously ordered Atractylodes Qi Pills to come and pick them up, but less than half showed up!

When Brother contacted them, several people directly said our medicine was too expensive and they didn’t want it anymore. At this rate, I’m afraid our 300-plus orders will drop to less than half!"

Xu Jing expected this situation and wasn’t worried. She led them to a nearby round stone table.

Upon entering, Cheng Xianbai had noticed the distiller in the courtyard and guessed it was for Xu Jing’s new medicine.

When he saw the five jars of ointment on the stone table, he was momentarily taken aback and curiously asked, "What is this? Could this be the new medicine Miss Xu mentioned?"