Chapter 127: Discussion of New Formula

  Thanks to Nanqiao Mengmeng for 2 pink votes, nothing else to say, come on, hug me tightly!

  After having enough wine and food, Mr. Tang patted his belly and stood up to bid farewell. He was also very busy usually, and it was not easy for him to find time to visit old friends, but he had to leave early.

  Old Zhang's apprentice still had questions to ask, but he didn't understand either. It was boring to stay there, so it's better to go for a stroll.

  After sending Táng Lǎo out of the door, Sòng Jié returned to the Zhāng residence.

  "Come with me, let's go to the pharmacy." Zhang Shu was also in a good mood after eating, and he had the heart to guide his little apprentice, not forgetting the little apprentice's reserved nature.

  Zhang Shu sat down at the large table in front of the pharmacy, which was actually a combination of a pharmacy and a study, making it the largest room in the house. It used to be two separate rooms that were connected later on, with one side storing medicinal herbs and the other holding books. Despite this, the room still felt very spacious.

  Don't look at Old Man Zhang's usual attire and daily habits, but when it comes to this pharmacy, he treats it like a treasure. Normally, everything is spotless, every book is without a single wrinkle, showing the owner's meticulous care and affection.

  Song Jie arrived at the pharmacy and learned from Zhang Shu's meticulous treatment of medicinal materials and books, cultivating good habits.

  Seeing his apprentice approaching him, Zhang Shu glanced at him and said, "Alright, what's the point of beating around the bush? There are no outsiders now, so speak up."

  "Master, isn't this something that needs to be kept secret? I've encountered a problem and no matter how much I research, I just can't break through. Isn't it hopeless now? Otherwise, why would I bother you, sir?" Song Jie said with a flattering face.

  "Alright, stop playing with words. Tell me, what's going on?"

  "It's like this..." Song Jie started from the beginning, talking about the launch of Hongyan Peifang, the difficulties she encountered, and then the need to research and upgrade Hongyan, and finally hitting a bottleneck.

  Zhang Shu's mouth was agape for half a day, never expecting that the famous beauty of the capital was actually his own disciple's invention. He wasn't some old hermit who didn't care about worldly affairs; how could he not know about Hongyan's scandal in the capital?

  Now hearing that his apprentice was so young when he matched the red color, the shock in his heart can be imagined. His apprentice's talent is much higher than he thought. He may not even be able to match such a good prescription.

  At first, he heard that Hongyan was made from pure Chinese herbal extracts, so he specially asked someone to buy a bottle of Hongyan for research. As a result, most of the medicinal materials were analyzed out, but there were still one or two flavors that could not be known. Those few days were anxious and couldn't catch up with people to ask about the formula. What's more frustrating for a medicine enthusiast than this?

  At first, he wasn't without thoughts when auctioning off the red makeup, but thinking of such a high price to buy a formula, he couldn't afford it either, so he could only bury this desire deep in his heart.

  Never thought that one day a pie would hit his old man's head, and he was still a bit dizzy.

  "Disciple, pinch me and see if it hurts. Is this like a dream?"

  Song Jie glared at her master with a bad temper, how could this be? She was the one who asked for advice, so why did it seem like the situation had been turned upside down?

  Zhang Shu calmed himself down after a moment of indulging in his own fantasies, and returned to normal. "Alright, let's talk about your question now. I'll answer it for you." His face was as inscrutable as ever, as if he hadn't just been abnormal a moment ago.

  Song Jie had no idea that her master's heart was surging with waves of shock, but because she had signed a confidentiality agreement, she didn't mention it to anyone else. Her master wasn't an outsider, and besides, she believed in his medical ethics, so she wouldn't put much importance on a mere pretty face.

  Who would have thought that his master did not value the worth of a beauty, and what he valued was the formula for making beauties.

  Song Jie naturally knew the master's temperament, and seeing the good prescription was like savoring a cup of old wine, with an aftertaste that would make him forget to eat even his meals.

  As expected, Song Jie took out the formula for the red makeup, and Master's infatuation relapsed. He held the prescription in his hand, still gesturing with his hands and muttering to himself: "Wonderful, wonderful, it's really wonderful! I didn't think of this combination, how did I not think of it? Here... what's going on here...... Oh, so that's how it is." He was completely absorbed in his own thoughts, unable to extricate himself.

  Seeing Master shaking his head there, Song Jie knew that he wouldn't be able to hear Master's explanation for the time being, so he might as well wait a bit longer.

  She pulled a chair over to the sunny windowsill and took out a medical text to read. Zhang Shu had already started calculating formulas on the other side, both of them were enjoying their leisure time.

  Two hours passed, and Zhang Shu finally regained his energy and wit. To be honest, he quite enjoyed this feeling of being immersed in thought, every time it made him feel refreshed and invigorated, it was really cool.

  He took a glance at Song Jie and found her reading a book. He shook his head helplessly in his heart, indeed the younger generation is surpassing the older one. He felt a bit old. For some reason, he had a feeling that time was flying by.

  Song Jie was reading a book, but she wasn't very focused. Zhang Shu stopped for a moment and soon she came back to her senses too. By this time, the sunlight had climbed over the window frame, leaving only a tail in the room.

  "Master, have you finished reading?"

  Zhang Shu stroked his beard and chuckled: "Not bad, little girl's prescription is quite good, the combination is very clever, it can be seen that you are using the medicine very smoothly." He shook his head as if savoring the taste, what a great prescription! His apprentice really lived up to his expectations. While secretly praising his apprentice, he couldn't help but praise himself for being so wise and powerful, the old man was being arrogant!!

  Song Jie also smiled with a "heh heh", usually her master wouldn't easily praise herself, for fear of becoming complacent, every time it was always concluded with "it's okay" or "just so-so". This is the first time she's praised herself, and she felt pretty good about it too.

  "Alright, stop gloating. Bring out the new product you've been studying and let's take a look at it together. Let's see where the problem lies." The old man was also eager to see another prescription.

  Song Jie didn't pretend, and immediately wrote down the results of her research over the past few months, and also told him about where she was confused.

  Zhang Shu also picked up the prescription and fell into deep thought, it had to be said that this prescription was even more outstanding than the previous one, but the medicinal properties were not stable, no matter how they were matched, there were some defects, and it was not as perfect as the previous prescription.

  No matter what kind of medicine is added, some extra side effects will appear, it can be seen that this formula is not so easy to get.

  "How about this..." The two master and apprentice bumped their heads together, lowered their heads and began to study, constantly calculating, draft paper changed one after another.

  You raise a suggestion, I refute you; you raise another suggestion, and I negate it again. The two of us are delightedly engaged in discussion, with only this formula left in our eyes and hearts.

  The sky had already turned slightly dark, and the two of them still hadn't come to a conclusion. It was also true that Song Jie had spent several months researching, so how could they possibly get results in just one go?

  Song Jie was very pleased, after listening to the master's suggestion, her thinking began to become more fluent, even if they hadn't discussed the formula yet, but she believed it would be completed soon.

  Not only does Zhang Shu Tong have a good understanding when helping his apprentices, but he also benefits greatly from the discussions himself. The cleverness of the prescription combinations is evident in every detail. It's truly a case of "adding a little to see more, subtracting a little to see less", a rare good prescription after all these years.

  The sky turned dark, Song Jie called home to say she wasn't going back, and the two of them hastily ate dinner and then went back into the study room for discussion, not stopping until almost midnight.

  With a worry in her mind, she couldn't sleep well. The next day, Song Jie woke up as soon as the sky brightened. Zhang Shu got up even earlier than her and went out for morning exercise, then came back with soy milk and fried dough sticks.

  After breakfast, the two of them went back into the pharmacy again. This time they not only studied the prescription but also started to prepare it. After all, there was a difference between writing with a pen and doing it by hand, and there would inevitably be some errors.

  The pharmacy's medicine is quite complete, and Zhang Shu also put all the medicines that can be found in it, so it's pretty convenient to do experiments.

  The two of them were busy all day, not stopping for a moment, constantly doing experiments, but no matter what they did, they still couldn't configure it successfully. Song Jie had to stay at the Zhang residence again.

  Originally, tomorrow was supposed to be a school day, but Song Jie took a leave of absence. With her grades, it wouldn't have been a problem even if she had applied not to attend classes, but Song Jie wanted to re-experience school life, so she put down her studies every day on time.

  Since they weren't leaving, the two of them started a night shift. Neither of them slept well last night, and tonight they didn't sleep early again. Song Jie was so tired that her eyelids were almost impossible to open, while Zhang Shu Tong next to her was still full of energy, not giving in at all.

  The mechanical addition of medicinal materials suddenly caused a reaction in the medicine pot, but it subsided soon after. Song Jie was so frightened that she immediately came to her senses, thinking that adding the wrong thing might not necessarily result in poison, how could she be so careless?

  On this side, Song Jie was so anxious that she couldn't bear it. On the other side, Zhang Shu's words were like a thunderclap in her ears: "Song Jie, what did you add just now?"

  "What? This... I wasn't on purpose, I was just too tired earlier. Master, isn't it okay that I made a mistake?"

  "Who said you were wrong? I was asking what you just added, look, the formula has reacted!!" Zhang Shu's words came out quickly and urgently, earlier he hadn't paid attention to what Song Jie had added, but things were developing in a good direction...

  Song Jie was taken aback, and quickly went to check the prescription she had just prepared. She knew that she must have grabbed the wrong thing, or else why would the formula she had adjusted earlier have such a drastic effect? But listening to Master's words, did it mean that she had benefited from her mistake? How could that be possible?