"Madam's pulse in the three positions is regular, four beats per breath, gentle and strong. It's a normal pulse. She only has a slightly weak spleen and stomach. There's nothing serious," Dr. Zou of Huichun Hall stroked his beard and calmly concluded.
Qi Jiao withdrew her hand, adjusted her sleeve, then turned to look at Pei Xia, both of them a bit embarrassed.
Huichun Hall was the best medical clinic in the county, and Dr. Zou was the most renowned doctor there, well - respected for his credibility.
Hearing his words, the huge stone in Qi Jiao's heart finally dropped.
Just as Qi Jiao was about to ask for more details, Pei Xia asked first, "Excuse me, doctor. My wife's menstruation hasn't come for over a month. What's the reason?"
Dr. Zou looked at Qi Jiao's complexion. "Maybe Madam has been over - tired and over - stressed. I'll write a prescription later. After taking the medicine for two or three days, she should recover."
Dr. Zou quickly wrote out the prescription, and Pei Xia followed the pharmacy assistant to get the medicine.
Only after seeing him leave the consulting room did Qi Jiao whisper to Dr. Zou, "Doctor, could you prescribe another dose of contraceptive decoction for me?"
Dr. Zou raised his eyebrows. "Even the best contraceptive decoction can be harmful to the body. Are you sure?"
Qi Jiao nodded and forced a bitter smile. "I'm sure. I don't want to get pregnant unexpectedly when I'm not prepared for anything."
Dr. Zou picked up his writing brush dipped in ink and asked again, "Madam, do you want the short - acting or long - term one?"
Qi Jiao replied without hesitation, "Write out two prescriptions. I need both."
A quarter of an hour later, Pei Xia saw Qi Jiao coming out with a bunch of medicine packets. He asked, "Why did you get more medicine?"
Qi Jiao remained calm and smiled. "I asked Dr. Zou to prescribe some extra medicine for nourishing my body. Didn't he say my spleen and stomach are weak?"
Pei Xia didn't think much of it. Usually, Jiao Niang didn't have a very good appetite.
Seeing that Qi Jiao didn't look as radiant as usual, he felt extremely distressed. She had been really exhausted these days.
She not only devoted herself to the shop but also took charge of all aspects of production in Yinwan and accompanied him on sea voyages...
This was really not a good time to conceive.
How could he burden her body because of a moment of pleasure?
Pei Xia silently took Qi Jiao's hand, and the two walked back along the street.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Jiao Niang, I want to go back to the medical clinic."
Qi Jiao looked at him, and a look of confusion flashed in her bright eyes. "Why go back? Are you not feeling well?"
Pei Xia smiled, squeezed her hand, and whispered, "I'll ask Dr. Zou to prescribe a contraceptive decoction for me."
Qi Jiao's expression instantly became quite interesting.
Usually so intelligent, she now stammered, "This... It's not necessary."
The more Pei Xia thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
"It's settled then."
He couldn't bear to let Jiao Niang be busy during the day and still bear the risk of an unexpected pregnancy at night.
Pei Xia turned around and was about to stride back to Huichun Hall.
In the end, Qi Jiao couldn't persuade him and decided to come clean.
She grabbed Pei Xia, her eyelashes drooping. "Well, don't bother. I've already got the contraceptive decoction."
Pei Xia was first shocked, then filled with overwhelming distress.
A carriage was coming from afar. He put his arm around Qi Jiao and stepped aside to avoid it.
There was so much regret and self - reproach in Pei Xia's eyes. "It's all my fault. I didn't even think of such a small thing. I made you worry for nothing."
Qi Jiao knew Pei Xia wouldn't blame her for this, but she thought it was better to avoid trouble, so she didn't discuss it with him.
Now that they were both honest with each other, Qi Jiao felt relieved and carefree.
She hooked her little finger with Pei Xia's, her eyes charming. Standing under the rose trellis on the street corner, she smiled like a flower. "It's not true at all. Husband is the kindest person to me in the world."
Pei Xia smiled gently and straightened the white jade jasmine hairpin on her bun.
In the end, Pei Xia still threw away the contraceptive medicine Qi Jiao had prescribed earlier and went to get the one for men instead.
This way, it wouldn't harm Jiao Niang's body, and it could also satisfy a little of his own selfish desire.
That night, the Ye brothers went back to Yinwan on business.
Zheng Huier and Hua Sanniang and her daughter also returned to Lihua Alley to rest.
Only Qi Jiao and Pei Xia were left in the house in Shiliu Alley.
With the beauty by his side, Pei Xia finally had no scruples. Outside the house, the tortoiseshell cats on the parapet were mating wantonly, while inside the room, the curtains were filled with amorous feelings and soft moans.
*
Qi Jiao hired many villagers from Yinwan to help the Teng couple. After more than half a month of hard work, the large - scale cultivation of roses and olives was finally on the right track.
The shop was operating smoothly.
Although the business was not as booming as when it first opened, it was still one of the best in Lingle County.
During the first ten - day vacation, Qi Jiao and the Ye brothers went to the prefectural city.
The reason was simple. She wanted to buy a batch of equipment and auxiliary materials for making floral water, scented soap, and medicinal soap.
She bought everything she could from the An family's workshop, but now she was still short of a set of distillation equipment.
Fortunately, there were many capable people in the prefectural city. After visiting several large workshops, Qi Jiao and the others finally found someone to make two sets of glass distillers.
The goods were delivered today.
"Her body scented like mountain musk, her color dyed by rose water. The fragrance barely filled her lapel, yet from time to time, a faint aroma wafted by."
In April, all the flowers were in bloom.
Seeing that Qi Jiao liked roses, Pei Xia specially built a flower trellis and grafted two clusters of roses from the neighbor's house.
The warm air encouraged the flowers to bloom, and half of the wall was covered with vibrant roses.
Rose water, also known as rose essence, was a perfume distilled from rose flowers in the Abbasid Caliphate (Arab Empire).
Its fragrance was intense. It was introduced to China during the Five Dynasties period.
By the Song Dynasty, it was often mentioned in Chinese documents and poems. Because it was rare, imitations were also produced in Wuyang (Guangzhou) at that time, using gardenias and jasmines instead of roses.
Apart from being used as perfume, rose water was also used in making incense. Ancient noble ladies also used it to mix with fragrant powder and apply on their faces when putting on makeup.
The reason Qi Jiao came up with the idea of making floral water was that she had always been thinking about Zhang Yi's shop. If she could buy it, it would be a great aromatherapy and beauty institution.
She noticed that most of the cosmetics in the rouge and powder shops here were facial creams, and there were very few products with a clear and pure texture like floral water.
Summer was approaching, and the weather was getting hot and humid.
When a woman got up in the morning to do her makeup, if there was a bottle of cool and fragrant floral water on her dressing table to pat on her face, how refreshing it would be!
Qi Jiao had a specific plan. After gathering enough raw materials and tools, she started to work in the small courtyard.
Unlike the rough rose water she made the first time, this time with the distiller, the rose water extracted was of excellent quality.
Qi Jiao asked Huier, Shuangshuang and the others to try it on their hands and necks.
None of them had any allergic reactions, and they all highly praised its fragrant smell and pure quality.
Qi Jiao was very satisfied and planned to make a few more products before going to discuss with Zhang Yi.
It was time to pay the workers in the middle of the month.
Zheng Huier and the Ye brothers had been working for one and a half months, and Hua Sanniang and the others who came later had also worked for a full month.
Qi Jiao had prepared the monthly wages early.
She was a little excited because the shop was profitable thanks to everyone's efforts.
To be fair, the wages were calculated by the day.
Qi Jiao distributed the brocade pouches of different colors to everyone.
Everyone could feel the weight of the pouches.
Qi Jiao smiled and said, "Besides the monthly wages, there are also cloth and rice oil. I didn't ask each of you about your size, so I just distributed the fabric all at once. You can go to the tailor shop later and ask the master to make a few sets of summer clothes."
Pei Xia distributed the piles of cloth on the table to them.
Each person also got twenty catties of high - quality rice and oil.
Hua Sanniang used to work in the Guo family's silk shop. Without even touching the silk, just by looking at it, she knew these cloths were extremely expensive.
Ge Fan's eyes were a bit moist. The boss gave them very practical things. When his mother saw them, she would surely be very happy.