Nourishing Medicinal Paste

"Ah, that's a good idea!"

Su Ziyang scratched his head and then laughed.

"What is it? A pill, or something?"

Everyone became interested, their eyes shining as they looked at Su Ziyang.

"It's a nourishing paste, scientifically known as 'gaozi'. Gaozi medicine is made by decocting Chinese herbs in water, filtering out the residue, concentrating the liquid, and then adding excipients such as honey to create a paste-like dosage form."

Su Ziyang gave a brief explanation to these people.

"Can this stuff taste bitter? I don't really like things that taste medicinal. Hahaha."

Li Yingwei laughed and then raised another question that everyone was concerned about.

"This isn't bitter, it's sweet. It's made with honey! It's sweet."

"Okay, okay! Well then, you make one for each of us."

With a very domineering wave of his hand, Old Zhang and Zhang Feng ordered one dish each, just like ordering food.

"Haha, Brother Zhang. This isn't something you can just take randomly. I have to add some other Chinese herbs based on each person's constitution. One purpose is to tonify the kidneys and enhance virility, and the other is to regulate the body! This is a personalized prescription, not like those Western medicine drugs that just make you hard instantly!"

Su Ziyang's words made everyone burst into laughter, and the model Su Ziyang described was very appealing to them.

Wealthy people value their lives, and the idea that something can satisfy their sexual needs while also maintaining their health is certainly different from simply aphrodisiacs, so this group of people are tempted.

"Hey. After you finish eating, let's go sing some songs. Come to my place, I'll take good care of Divine Doctor Su. Why is he still a little boy? I'll arrange something for you!"

When this topic came up, Chi Shiqiang perked up and insisted on arranging a younger sister for Su Ziyang.

Finally, the matter was dropped after Su Ziyang strongly refused.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

The group of middle-aged people were quite drunk, so under the watchful eyes of Han Xixi and Lanzi, all activities such as bathing, massage, and karaoke were canceled.

Originally, Lanzi didn't have such power, but Han Xixi did.

The next day was the weekend, and several people called to ask Su Ziyang to make them some herbal paste.

Su Ziyang clearly underestimated how much middle-aged men value this matter.

After explaining for a long time that the clinic was closed today, the group finally agreed to come first thing tomorrow morning.

Seeing how determined the group was to make the herbal paste, Su Ziyang quickly went to a hardware and general merchandise store and bought several ceramic medicine pots.

The Daoist Medicine Clinic can only make pills and powders; they don't offer the service of making this ointment now. Su Ziyang learned the technique of making ointments from Daoist Jin himself, and he never expected to actually use it today.

Early the next morning, a group of middle-aged men occupied Su Ziyang's clinic.

Su Ziyang took the pulse of each of these people one by one.

Middle-aged people generally don't have as much Yang energy, so Su Ziyang prescribed several formulas based on different constitutions.

The prescription Su Ziyang wrote was a modified version of a kidney-tonifying and aphrodisiac prescription that Master Daoist Jin had passed down to him. This kind of aphrodisiac medicine is usually very expensive, but these big bosses really don't care about the money.

In order to make a paste, three types of glue must be added.

The so-called "three glues" refer to: donkey-hide gelatin, deer antler glue, and tortoise shell glue.

Only with these three adhesives can you create a relatively viscous glue.

Su Ziyang first prescribed these three relatively expensive glues, and then wrote out the entire formula:

One deer penis, 50g of sea dragon, 50g of seahorse, 50g of seal kidney, 4 pairs of gecko, 100g of epimedium, 100g of morinda root, 50g of American ginseng, 30g of cynomorium, 30g of leek seed, and 70g of deer antler.

Then, based on each person's different constitution, some heat-clearing herbs, qi-tonifying herbs, blood-tonifying herbs, etc., were added. In short, the prescriptions for these people were not exactly the same according to their individual constitutions.

Su Ziyang told the older men that after paying downstairs, they didn't need to worry about it anymore; he would make the medicinal herbs into a paste, and they could contact him to pick it up later.

Han Jinkai and his companions were truly considerate people. After paying downstairs, they actually carried their own bag of medicine back and placed it in Su Ziyang's clinic.

"Hey guys, I told you I'd just pick it up after get off work, you guys have to climb all those stairs."

Su Ziyang was somewhat surprised to see the group carrying the medicine upstairs.

"Why would we make you run? We're fine! Hey, Brother Su, wasn't that Old Fu's little nephew over there in the stairwell just now? That guy had his feet up on the table, so cocky. Is he a doctor?!"

Song Li had sharp eyes and spotted Fu Xinyu in the examination room at the top of the stairs.

Haha, I don't know either.

Not wanting to say anything else, Su Ziyang gave a vague and ambiguous response.

"Doesn't Fu Chengjun own shares in this clinic? I bet that old bastard arranged for this brat to get in. Look at his behavior! What kind of doctor puts their feet on the table like that?!"

Zhang Feng's words were incisive and to the point; everyone present was a seasoned veteran, and they all understood what he meant.

As luck would have it, these people had just exchanged a few words in Su Ziyang's clinic when Fu Xinyu suddenly ran over.

Su Ziyang didn't understand what Fu Xinyu meant, but he saw Fu Xinyu pull Song Li, who was sitting on the bed, and say, "Uncle, you didn't faint from the needle, did you? Are you alright? Let me check if you have any needles on you?"

Song Li frowned when he saw Fu Xinyu's inexplicable actions.

Everyone stared at Fu Xinyu, who was groping Song Li's body.

"Don't touch me like that, young man!"

Song Li pretended not to know Fu Xinyu and gently pushed Fu Xinyu, after which Fu Xinyu let go of Song Li.

"Oh, Doctor Su didn't give you acupuncture today? If you faint during the acupuncture session, just call me, and I'll treat you like I did the other day!"

Fu Xinyu waved defiantly at Su Ziyang, then Dada out without saying anything more.

"This..." Han Jinkai looked at Fu Xinyu and was speechless for a moment. He pointed to the door and then looked at Su Ziyang sitting at the consultation table.

"You still need his help? He's so irresponsible." Chi Shiqiang scratched his head in puzzlement.

"Damn it. Here comes the trouble, didn't you realize?" Li Yingwei muttered under his breath.

"What's going on?"

Su Ziyang didn't want to bring this up, but Su Ziyang really didn't expect that with so many people in the room today, Fu Xinyu would come over and do such a brainless thing.

Under questioning from his newly acquainted older brothers, Su Ziyang recounted the whole story from beginning to end.

"Isn't this just ungrateful? The Old Fu family produces some real trouble! His uncle and father are swindlers, and now their son does this. Unbelievable! Alright, don't worry about it. We brothers will get justice for you!"

This was the first time in many years that Han Jinkai had made a promise to someone so readily.

"It's alright, Brother Han, he can't do anything about it. You don't need to worry about him. He'll stop causing trouble when he gets tired of it."

Su Ziyang was reluctant to let these people get involved in his trivial matters.

"Will that work? Never mind, alright, we're leaving. Once the medicine is ready, send me WeChat, bro!"

After the others left, Fu Xinyu felt a bit uneasy. He felt that he had failed to take down Su Ziyang twice, so he decided to try a more overt approach. He planned to wait until there were many patients in Su Ziyang's room, then pretend to go and help them, leaving Su Ziyang's patients puzzled.

So after he finished that performance, he secretly listened to what Su Ziyang was saying inside his room.

But when he vaguely heard several people calling out "Brother Su Ziyang," a sense of unease arose in his heart.

However, Fu Xinyu quickly put his anxiety aside. If once didn't work, he'd try twice! If twice didn't work, he'd try three times. He used the same approach every day, especially when Su Ziyang was doing acupuncture! He didn't believe Su Ziyang wouldn't back down.

After Fu Xinyu arrived at the clinic, he considered Su Ziyang his number one enemy. However, what he didn't know was that Su Ziyang didn't take him seriously at all!

After getting off work, Su Ziyang went straight home to start making herbal paste.

The preparation of medicinal pastes involves three steps.

The first precious medicinal material needs to be steamed separately with rice wine. After soaking the three types of glue—donkey-hide gelatin, deer antler gelatin, and tortoise shell gelatin—in rice wine, they are steamed in a pot.

Precious medicinal materials such as deer antler, sea dragon, seahorse, and seal kidney are soaked in rice wine and then steamed in a separate pot.

Then, use a medicine pot to decoct the herbs used to regulate the body, and set them aside as a concentrated decoction.

With three pots cooking simultaneously, Su Ziyang's room was instantly filled with the aroma of rice wine and Chinese medicinal herbs, making Su Ziyang feel dizzy from the fumes.

It wasn't until after 11 a. m., after steaming for more than three hours, that the precious medicinal herbs were finally ready. After filtering out the liquid with a sieve, they were set aside for later use.

This is the most important step: boiling the honey to make the paste!

A typical prescription for a medicinal paste uses 7-8 catties of honey.

Su Ziyang added the honey to the pot and began to cook it.

During the boiling process, the honey will gradually turn red in color and then boil. At first, large bubbles will appear, followed by small bubbles, and a sweet aroma will be released. When stirred with a wooden spoon, the honey will become noticeably thicker.

At this point, herbal extracts and rice wine made from precious medicinal materials such as deer antler are added.

After adding the two broths, the honey is diluted again, and this is the most agonizing stage. At this point, you must use a low flame and stir constantly to prevent the bottom of the pot from burning.

This process usually lasts for several hours or more. After the honey has been boiled again until it becomes viscous, donkey-hide gelatin, deer antler gelatin, and tortoise shell gelatin are finally added.

Once the three gels are added, the honey will become much thicker.

At this point, it's even more important to stir frequently to prevent sticking to the pan.

Moreover, it's crucial to control the heat carefully at this stage, because if you overcook it, the paste will become tough and harder, making it difficult to digest and absorb.

However, if the heat is not high enough, the ointment will become too thin, and its medicinal effects will not be fully realized.

The degree of heat control depends on the state of the paste. The ideal state for the paste has a scientific name: "Hanging flag".

Dip a spatula into the pot, lift the paste up, and let it fall freely. The thick paste will hang on the spatula like a flag, at which point the paste is completely cooked!

Su Ziyang simmered the paste until four in the morning before it finally showed signs of thickening.

Seeing that the ointment was ready, Su Ziyang finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly poured it into a ceramic jar that he had prepared beforehand while it was still hot.