Yi Province, And This Is Called the Republic

People say that looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death, and a town seen from the mountains, when one truly walks over to it, is far longer than the estimated journey.

His hometown of Hailing was basically a plain, with only a solitary mountain within the entire city limits, and an elevation of just over fifty meters.

Once Chu Tianshu arrived here, it counted as the first time he truly experienced the feeling of walking mountain roads.

Originally, when practicing his fists, his stomach seemed to have been stimulated and was very hungry, and all along this journey, his belly let out rumbling sounds from time to time.

As soon as he entered the town, the aromas of various foods drilled into his nose together.

Looking at the attire of those people around him, it was somewhat like the Republic, with most people wearing patched clothes and trousers, their hair half-long and half-short.

A large flatbed cart hitched to a donkey stopped by the road, and the carter rolled up his sleeves, eating a large sesame seed cake with a joyful expression, while a gourd was also placed beside him.

Pedestrians hawked wares by the side of the road, some selling figs, some selling bee pupae, and some selling malt candy.

There were also those who set up an iron wok, stir-frying peanuts and melon seeds on the spot with hot sand, the aroma being the thickest.

A guest on the second floor of the restaurant could not help himself, sticking out half his body; he looked like a young man with short hair in a Western suit, ordering a package of newly fried and sifted peanuts from downstairs, and tossing down a few copper coins.

The stall owner enthusiastically agreed, had a half-grown child beside him take a package, and run into the restaurant in a single streak of smoke to deliver the goods.

"Spicy beaten eggplant, litse-flavored braised chicken have arrived, watch your backs!"

A waiter in the main hall who had just carried out two dishes saw the child running past him, hurriedly stepped aside a bit, and shouted, "Slow down a bit, don't bump into people."

The child had already mounted the stairs, his pace slowing down somewhat.

The waiter delivered the dishes to a table, and the guests at that table gave an extra instruction: "The fish slice porridge I ordered, make the fish meat a bit more tender for me."

"Haha, Eldest Young Master Meng has already said it eight times, I've long since told the master chef, don't you worry."

The waiter was also familiar with that guest, replied with two sentences, wiped the sweat from his shoulder with a towel, and then saw a young man walk in through the entrance.

Judging by his attire, it looked like Western clothing, yet compared to the Western clothing he had seen before, the feeling was somewhat different.

However, that fabric looked truly fine, and at a glance it was not cheap.

"Big brother, come sit."

The waiter went up to meet him, smiling, "Here to eat? Our place can also lodge guests."

Fortunately, although these people spoke with a bit of an accent, the general meaning could still be understood.

Chu Tianshu sat by a table. He didn't have a single bit of this place's currency on him, yet his expression showed not the slightest bit of it. His gaze swept over those few tables of guests around him, and he said indifferently, "Bring two plates of braised chicken first, and one plate of eggplant."

"Coming right up."

The waiter shouted toward the back kitchen, and added, "Would you like another pot of tea, and a plate of stir-fried mushrooms?"

The waiter said proudly, "Judging by your unfamiliar face, you're probably here for the first time and haven't heard. Our master chef's skill at stir-frying mushrooms is an absolute marvel, enjoying a fine reputation across ten miles and eight townships; not a single guest has ever eaten them and gotten an upset stomach, and he's able to fry them with enough freshness."

"Townspeople often come to patronize us just to taste this bite with peace of mind."

Chu Tianshu nodded: "Then serve them."

The dishes were served quickly; the eggplant and braised chicken were probably prepared early in the morning, and the tea also arrived fast, though the stir-fried mushrooms had not yet been served.

Chu Tianshu did not wait either. He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and first picked up a piece of braised chicken.

In the past, he had also tasted dishes like litse-flavored shredded chicken, and it truly differed greatly in flavor from this braised chicken.

It was not only the difference in cooking and the like, but even more because inside this braised chicken... there was no monosodium glutamate, and when eating it, his tongue always felt like it lacked a bit of meaning.

Those shredded chickens bought in the past, GG said that litse was natural MSG, without putting other MSG, and now making a real comparison, he knew exactly how much MSG that gang had sprinkled and how much seasoned oil they had soaked it in.

Yet this braised chicken truly had a rich aroma, and the quality of the chicken meat itself was also good.

Chu Tianshu still had spare room in his mind to slightly appraise it, while his mouth had not stopped at all.

His writhing, clamoring stomach, as the chicken meat was continuously transported inside, finally quieted down somewhat.

Both plates of braised chicken had been more than half eaten before Chu Tianshu picked up a chopstick of eggplant and poured himself another cup of hot tea.

This piece of eggplant entering his mouth, however, made his eyebrows twitch slightly from the spiciness, and he hastily drank tea.

Holding the teacup at this moment and going to observe the people around him, he had much more leisure in his heart.

Most of the guests did not come alone; eating and chatting while they did, they spoke of their own family matters, or businesses here and there, or the rumors of some widow.

Listening this way and that, Chu Tianshu didn't hear a single thing of value, and his gaze swept over to the old shopkeeper behind the counter, lingering on him for a little while.

That old shopkeeper wore a skullcap, but his hair was not long; he held a large paper in his hand, his mouth unconsciously reading softly.

This demeanor was somewhat familiar.

After Old Master Sun reached old age, he sometimes liked to move a small stool and sit outside the door, basking in the sun while flipping through those old newspapers, bearing an eight-tenths similarity to this old shopkeeper's expression.

Chu Tianshu poured a cup of tea, walked over leisurely, and smiled as he struck up a conversation: "What are you looking at, newspapers?"

The old shopkeeper raised his head. He was not tall in stature, with lean and dry arms, yet he had a round face, flowery eyebrows and large eyes, a slightly red nose tip, and his complexion was alright.

"Indeed."

The old shopkeeper smiled, using the tone of an old pedant to speak slowly, "Without stepping out the door, one can know the affairs of all under heaven. If placed in ancient times, this is the ability of Marquis Wu Zhuge."

"Yet nowadays our Yizhou Newspaper varies in quality with each issue, each speaking their own mind; there are more jokes, but it lacks the steadfast feeling of reading it from the previous two years."

Chu Tianshu revealed a curious expression: "I haven't read the newspapers here yet; can you let me take a look as well?"

"Certainly."

The old shopkeeper was very forthright. He put down the newspaper in his hand and squatted down behind the counter, "I have plenty of old newspapers here anyway; since I'm bored, I'll fish them out and look again."

The newspapers were in traditional characters, which Chu Tianshu also recognized.

Reading ten lines at a glance, he first swept his eyes over that new newspaper, leaning against the edge of the counter and chatting with the old shopkeeper, very naturally beginning to read those old newspapers as well.

Eight years ago, the "Southern Yunnan Gazette" established by the previous dynasty's official government was the very first newspaper in the entire Yi Province. Printed on local rough-edged native paper with lead-type vertical layout, quarto in size, and issued daily, it was mainly sold in the yamens of various prefectures, departments, sub-prefectures, and counties, with a very cheap quoted price of merely "five large copper cash" per copy.

When the previous dynasty was overthrown, various factions carved out territory for self-governance. Yi Province established the Great Han Military Government, founding the "Great Han Yizhou Newspaper", alongside the "Yizhou Yamen Gazette" and others.

The contents mainly featured imperial court government decrees, summary editorials, a summary of current affairs within the territory, capital city news, international news, and so on.

Reading these old newspapers, one could know the background of the grand trend, and also understand the local situation at present.

The current era background of this world was indeed very familiar, and it could truly be called the Republic.

Yet some places, it seemed, didn't quite match the impression of the "Republic" in Chu Tianshu's mind.

To wit, in this world, during the late Qing dynasty, the common people faced impending peril, all sides were turbulent and unsettled, foreign enemies watched covetously, and men of ideals and integrity had suffered under the imperial court for a long time.

There was Old Master Sun, who fought and failed repeatedly, finally brewing a grand momentum and rising in revolt, with righteous men everywhere responding by waving their arms.

Furthermore, over a dozen important local officials originally enfeoffed by the imperial court also changed their banners and shifted their allegiance, becoming a part of this surging torrent.

Various factions pressured the capital, and Old Master Sun entered the capital first.

The imperial palace was in utter turmoil at the time; it was unknown where the fire had started, and everywhere there were chaotic soldiers and fleeing eunuchs and palace maids, the carriages and horses of dignitaries fleeing in panic.

After entering the palace, Old Master Sun ordered men to put out the raging fire, fished the imperial jade seal out of a well, took the little emperor's hand, and walked to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to demonstrate the virtue of not killing.

Subsequently, the emperor abdicated, the position of Grand President of the realm was deliberated and decided, and Old Master Sun shouldered the responsibility without yielding.

However, Old Master Sun's renown was high enough, but the confidant military force in his hands was ultimately not numerous enough.

He did not sit securely upon this presidential throne, and moreover, not long after, he fell ill and died during an outing.

There were also gossip rumors that he might have been plotted against and murdered by members of the former Qing imperial clan; it was a pity the hero did not die on the battlefield, but died of treachery.

Grand Military Governor Yuan, who guarded the north for the former Qing, now sat upon the presidential throne, having under his command fierce generals like Tiger-Might General Cao Bokun and others, his generals like clouds and his might the greatest.

Factions everywhere nominally submitted to the Grand President, yet in reality still harbored hearts of autonomy and could not be underestimated.

For instance, after Old Master Sun died, his wife and two sons took over his foundation, presently entrenched in the southeast; the benevolence of the gentleman was not severed, holding very great potential.

In the Bashu region there was a Military Governor Liu who, among the important officials of the previous dynasty, had once been ranked among the eight steeds, receiving deep trust and being deeply entrenched, his strength not inferior.

The Great Han Military Government of Yi Province had early on also possessed the grand atmosphere of occupying territory to become a king.

Yet the former Grand Military Governor of Yi Province was a scholarly general who had originally tilled the land at the south of colorful clouds; though later well-read in both Chinese and Western learning and deeply versed in military strategy, he still brooded over the hardships of the common people. Overthrowing the previous dynasty was already no easy feat, and tilling, waging war, and drilling troops still required time; he was unwilling to lightly start a war.

Therefore, he accepted the new official post conferred by the Grand President, stepped down as Grand Military Governor, and headed to the capital.

After the position of Military Governor changed hands, undercurrents surged within the military government, and the momentum of Yi Province nowadays was no longer as stable as before.

Some mountain bandits and roaming outlaws who had previously been exterminated in the locality showed signs of resurgence once more.

Townships that were slightly more prosperous all had to have their own militia units, drilling without end and patrolling unceasingly.

This was still not secure enough, and not a few wealthy families would spend money as though cutting flesh from their own bodies, employing large numbers of able-bodied bodyguards from places like martial arts halls and armed escort agencies.

The place where Chu Tianshu presently found himself was just such a typical, prosperous small town within the territory of Yi Province.

Oh man, Yuan, Cao, Sun, Liu, huh? The Republic of my hometown seemed indeed to have a Yuan, Sun, and Liu, but was there anyone surnamed Cao...

Chu Tianshu recalled the historical knowledge in his mind, then gave up.

There was no need to think into such detail anyway.

When he saw the full name of this Grand President Yuan, he knew that this could not be considered the same person as in his hometown's history, at most perhaps bearing some parallel-world sort of relationship.

The overall situation was too lofty and distant; he didn't need to consider that much right now, and considering it was useless.

The most urgent task still had to be... getting money!

Healers had the sayings of looking, listening, questioning, and feeling the pulse; many times, simply by observing a person's appearance, one could tell if they had some ailments in their body.

The moment Chu Tianshu entered this restaurant, he actually already had a target, and that was the person referred to as Eldest Young Master Meng.

He had short hair and narrow eyes, a wide body and plump figure, and sat alone at a table, wearing a black silk robe embroidered with silver threads over a long gown, having ordered a table full of dishes; he was evidently someone who loved to eat.

Yet he did not eat fast, his forehead was red, his complexion slightly yellow, and as he ate he would gasp somewhat, looking around before resting a while and eating again.

When Chu Tianshu walked over, he was just picking out fish slices from the fish slice porridge to eat.

"Old brother, I heard people say that this fish slice porridge must be eaten while piping hot to taste the freshness. May I presumptuously ask, does Yi Province have some kind of exclusive secret recipe suitable for letting it cool down somewhat before eating?"

Seeing that his bearing was not ordinary, Eldest Young Master Meng smiled: "Others might not know, but I myself love to eat things a bit cold."

Chu Tianshu deliberately and quite obviously sized him up twice: "Seeing that you, old brother, are also a kindred spirit who loves delicacies, yet I understand some medical arts. Being greedy for cold food will either upset your stomach or cause food retention, and then you won't be able to eat more delicacies."

Eldest Young Master Meng felt a sympathetic resonance and could not help putting down his chopsticks: "Who's to say it isn't so? My appetite these past two years is far inferior to when I was a child. I've invited famous senior doctors, who said I'm afflicted with a feverish consumptive disease, and told me to eat more raw water chestnuts and Chinese water chestnuts to clear heat and purge fire."

"Hehe, this just happens to suit my appetite, but after eating them it consistently fails to get better."

Chu Tianshu smoothly sat down at the surrounding area: "Do you mind letting me take your pulse?"

Eldest Young Master Meng readily reached out: "Have a try."

Chu Tianshu already had a guess; taking the pulse was simply to verify it.

Sure enough, this person was not suffering from any feverish consumptive disease at all-he had worms in his belly.

Eating those raw fish, shrimp, meat, and insufficiently washed fruits and vegetables could all cause one to swallow roundworm eggs.

Although these worm eggs were small, the adult worms could grow very long inside the human body, mainly parasitizing the intestinal tract to contend for nutrients, which could cause abdominal distention and food retention, insomnia and fever, or possibly lead to troubles like pulmonary bronchitis.

That senior doctor had presumably diagnosed him as having pulmonary bronchitis, and then felt it belonged to a "feverish consumptive disease", telling him to eat those things to clear heat and purge fire, which instead worsened the symptoms.

The medicine of predecessors was pragmatic and sought the root, constantly developing. In fact, as early as the Northern Song dynasty, it was recorded in the Kaibao Materia Medica that people of the time had discovered a medicinal material called quisqualis indica, which had a very good effect of eliminating stagnation and killing parasites.

Among various parasite-killing medical formulas of later generations, this was the most widely used kind.

Chu Tianshu's hometown shared so many developmental threads with this world, so the local area should also possess similar medicinal materials and medical formulas.

Most likely it was still restricted by the era, and some medical books were not widely circulated; even if that senior doctor was famous, he hadn't figured out this knowledge.

Chu Tianshu said: "Old brother, your illness has indeed run quite deep, but I have a method that produces immediate results."

Eldest Young Master Meng blinked his eyes and sized him up from top to bottom: "What do you mean by immediate results? Judging by your appearance, you look like someone who has studied abroad; you wouldn't want to be like those foreign doctors and slice open my stomach, would you?"

Chu Tianshu shook his head: "Of course not. Your illness is still far from reaching that degree; whoever proposes to slice open your stomach is also a harmful, quack doctor."

Eldest Young Master Meng was suspicious: "Then you want to sell medicine?"

Under Eldest Young Master Meng's circumstances, normal medication could also cure him, but Chu Tianshu did not know the quality of medicinal materials in this world, and it was hard to grasp the dosage.

Moreover, curing him slowly through medication would not display Chu Tianshu's methods, nor could it collect the consultation fee at the fastest speed.

"No medicine is needed, only wine is required."

Full of confidence, Chu Tianshu turned his head and said to the waiter: "Trouble you, bring me a pot of the strongest wine in this shop."

The waiter was nimble in his hands and feet, turning to the wine cabinet beside the counter. In a few back-and-forth steps, he brought a pot of wine and placed it back on the table, then went off to be busy with other things.

Chu Tianshu sniffed the mouth of the pot-it was indeed strong liquor. He poured out half a cup, dipped his chopsticks into the wine liquid, and had Eldest Young Master Meng spread out both palms.

"Hn!"

Chu Tianshu pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, his nasal cavity emitting a low note, and specks of bright light lit up in both his eyes.

The chopsticks dipped in strong liquor swept lightly away like a cold wind rolling up, lingering on Eldest Young Master Meng's palms with dragons flying and snakes writhing.

An incantation seal on the left palm was drawn in the twinkling of an eye; dipping in wine once more, an incantation seal also descended upon the right palm.

Although Chu Tianshu was focused, his actions looked very casual on the outside, with extremely minimal movement.

No one in the restaurant's main hall paid attention to their side, except that the old shopkeeper happened to raise his head from the newspaper, glanced over here twice, and bent his finger to rub his reddened nose tip.

"That's it?"

Eldest Young Master Meng looked at the wine liquid on his hands and was just about to ask further when he discovered something strange.

The tiny bit of wine liquid dipped on the chopsticks, the trace left behind on the skin, ought to have evaporated very quickly.

Especially since this was strong liquor.

Normally speaking, by the time Chu Tianshu was drawing on the other hand, the trace on the first hand ought to have faded away.

Yet right now, the incantation seals on both of Eldest Young Master Meng's hands were still completely intact and clearly discernible.

When a great calligrapher wrote characters, the falling of the soft brush tip also possessed legends of penetrating paper and entering wood by three points.

The wine liquid incantation seals imbued with mindful intent seeped into the skin of the palms just like becoming natural patterns on the hands, differing slightly from the surrounding skin tone.

Without answering, Chu Tianshu merely asked: "Do you know where there is a latrine nearby?"

Eldest Young Master Meng immediately said: "There's an outhouse right over there in the backyard of this restaurant."

Chu Tianshu nodded: "Then that's fine."

The chopsticks in his hand dipped into a drop of wine liquid once more, adding the final stroke to the incantation seals on Eldest Young Master Meng's palms.

Eldest Young Master Meng lowered his head to look twice, his complexion already changing as he pressed his forearms against his belly.

Aiyo, this...

Because of previous chronic food retention, Eldest Young Master Meng felt the commotion in his belly right now, but instead felt both startled and delighted. He stood up, wanting to use his hands to clutch his stomach, yet fearing he would ruin the marks on his hands.

Chu Tianshu timely said: "The wine marks will only disappear after you finish your business, and they cannot be wiped away before then, so you don't need to worry."

Before he finished hearing the words, Eldest Young Master Meng had already hurriedly knocked aside his stool, his footsteps somewhat awkward as he trotted toward the backyard.