What Kind of Peaceful Golden Age Is This, Anyway?

Chapter 4: What Kind of Peaceful Golden Age Is This, Anyway? Chu Mu strolled leisurely down the street, occasionally responding to greetings from familiar and unfamiliar faces alike.

The information contained in the Original Owner's nearly twenty years of memories was simply too vast. It was clearly impossible for Chu Mu to perfectly absorb almost twenty years of memories in an instant.

Under the brain's self-protection mechanism, those nearly twenty years of memories were like a memory library. They existed, but to access any specific piece of information, some factor had to trigger it, after which it could be digested bit by bit.

It was like the people he had encountered just now. Before seeing and interacting with them in person, unless Chu Mu himself thought about them and thereby triggered the Original Owner's memories, those people were complete strangers to him.

Under such circumstances, Chu Mu naturally became even more cautious about this era.

Even when the memories of nearly twenty years were triggered, they could not become perfectly clear in an instant. They still required time to adapt to and digest.

All along the way, he wore a smile and responded to each greeting, digesting the Original Owner's memories bit by bit while slowly coming to understand this era.

Following the Original Owner's memories, he walked for roughly a quarter of an hour before finally stopping outside a Medicine Hall.

"Mingxin Hall."

Standing outside the Medicine Hall, Chu Mu gazed at the sign hanging beneath the eaves and silently repeated those three words.

He could read, but he also couldn't read.

What he knew, naturally, were the Chinese characters from his previous life. But in this life... although the writing was quite similar to the ancient script he knew, unfortunately, these characters were not Chinese characters.

At least, in every character he had seen, he could not find the slightest trace of any connection to Chinese characters.

The Original Owner had been a completely illiterate man who did not even know how to write his own name.

As for how he knew that the three characters on the sign were called "Mingxin Hall"... well, it was because everyone else called it that.

If the pronunciation had been off, it might just as well have been called "Mingxing Hall" or "Mingxing Hall"...

"Good grief, I was at least a college student, and now I've become illiterate..."

He silently grumbled to himself, then glanced once more at the Medicine Hall's sign. Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about it and walked inside.

Old Li of this Medicine Hall could be considered one of Chu Mu's acquaintances in this world.

After all, when he had first transmigrated here, the reason the Original Owner had collapsed was that Old Li had treated him. For two days in a row, Old Li had also come by to examine him.

Afterward, Old Li had not come over because of the busy funeral arrangements. He had merely instructed Chu Mu to return to the Medicine Hall for a follow-up examination once everything had been settled.

Although Chu Mu did not feel that there was anything seriously wrong with his body, every profession had its specialty, and he could hardly refuse a physician's advice.

The Medicine Hall was not very large. Its furnishings were not much different from those of the Chinese Medicine Halls Chu Mu had visited in his previous life, and the strong scent of medicinal herbs was exactly the same as the smell of Chinese medicine.

Old Li, the only physician with whom he had more than a passing acquaintance, sat alone behind the counter, seriously leafing through an obviously old book.

"Mu-xiaoge, you're here..."

Old Li the physician set down his book and looked up at Chu Mu.

Chu Mu smiled and answered him before walking forward.

"...Sit."

Old Li raised a hand and pointed toward the chair beside the table. Once Chu Mu sat down, he stood and came over, then placed his fingers on Chu Mu's wrist to take his pulse.

After taking his pulse for a while, Old Li pulled Chu Mu's arm over and kneaded it several times before looking at him. "There's no major problem. Your muscles and bones are just slightly strained..."

At this point, Old Li paused for a moment before continuing, "Mu-xiaoge, have you been practicing martial arts?"

"They're just some flashy moves. I practiced a little when I had nothing better to do."

Hearing this, Old Li nodded. "If you practice martial arts, you must not overdo it. Excessive practice harms the body. Besides, your constitution is already somewhat weak..."

"How about this? I'll prescribe you a formula to replenish your Qi and nourish your Essence. Take good care of yourself."

After saying this, Old Li picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, pondered for a moment, and began writing out a Medicinal Formula.

The Medicine Hall's young attendant hurried forward as well. The moment the Medicinal Formula was finished, he took it and immediately began gathering the medicine from the various cabinets according to the prescription.

Meanwhile, Chu Mu continued sitting at the table and chatting with Old Li. Naturally, most of the time it was Old Li the physician giving instructions, while Chu Mu, the patient, listened silently.

Although Chu Mu had not known much about Chinese medicine in his previous life, he had made a living in Guangdong for many years. The atmosphere surrounding Chinese medicine in Guangdong was strong, and through constant exposure, he had gained a certain amount of knowledge.

Now, listening to what Old Li said and combining it with the Original Owner's memories, Chu Mu discovered that the medicine practiced in this Medicine Hall seemed no different from the Chinese medicine of his previous life. It followed the same ideas of Yin Yang Five Elements and Essence, Qi, and Spirit, while the medicinal herbs were also no different from Chinese medicinal materials.

"Take the Medicinal Formula once in the morning and once at night. After taking it, you'll need to move around appropriately..."

The thought flashed through his mind, but before he had time to examine it closely, Old Li's voice interrupted it.

Chu Mu did not dwell on it too much. Transmigration itself had already happened; what did it matter if the medical system happened to be the same? There were countless factors that could explain it. If he obsessed over every little thing, he would probably never finish worrying.

Once the medicine had been gathered, Chu Mu paid nearly ten silver coins. He did not linger and left the Medicine Hall with the medicinal materials in hand.

By then, early morning had passed, and there were clearly more people on the streets. Every day at this hour was practically the noisiest period in all of Qinghe County.

There were villagers from nearby settlements who had come to the market, vendors and commoners from the town, playful children, the occasional carriage or sedan with servants clearing the way, and Soldier from the Patrol Guard Department standing watch. People streamed back and forth through the streets, creating a scene of boisterous bustle.

His body was still sore, so his plan to report to the Patrol Bureau could only be put on hold for the time being. Thus, Chu Mu found himself with nothing but free time.

He strolled leisurely along the street, observing the life of the ancient marketplace while comparing it with and blending it into the memories in his mind.

He did not walk quickly. Of course, with his muscles aching, he could not have walked very fast even if he wanted to.

As he walked, stopping now and then, Chu Mu discovered a rather useful piece of information.

The food sold on the streets, whether grain measured by the catty or prepared food such as steamed buns and stuffed buns, seemed to be astonishingly cheap.

A steamed bun or stuffed bun could be bought for a single Copper Coin. Unhusked rice cost only seventy or eighty Copper Coins per dan. Converted according to this era's units of weight, one dan equaled one hundred catties, meaning that one catty of rice cost less than a Copper Coin.

Based on an ordinary person's appetite, at most two or three Copper Coins would satisfy their food needs for an entire day.

Such cheap grain clearly proved that, at least in Nanshan Town, there was an enormous surplus of food.

One had to understand that, according to the Original Owner's memories, Nanshan Town had been established around the Nanshan Iron Mine. Located deep among the mountains, it was absolutely not a major grain-producing town.

It was not a major grain-producing town, yet its food was so abundant. From a glimpse of the whole through a narrow tube, one could already infer that the commoners of Qinghe County must also be living quite well.

After all, a Copper Coin was the smallest denomination of paper currency. With even a mere Copper Coin possessing such purchasing power, no matter how poor the commoners' lives were, they could not possibly be all that bad.

If everywhere else looked the same, then the realm of Great Chu at present was clearly a peaceful golden age rarely seen in the annals of history.