The major events in life are nothing more than life and death; a medicine shop can see life and death and know the feelings of people. Today, Xiaonan chatted about the human relations behind the old drug store.
When it comes to traditional Chinese medicine, the first thing that often comes to people’s minds is old traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, Bai Zi Gui, and shops that have long been imbued with the aroma of medicine. Occasionally, on a rainy and windy day, people in a hurry knock on the door of the shop eagerly. When practicing medicine and asking for medicine, we often have a close encounter with life and death, and see the true feelings of the world. The Le family has been practicing medicine for generations, and has been a bell doctor . He has also held a high position as a palace doctor. He understands the survival of the poorest and the poorest, knows the details of the most precious medicines, has met all kinds of people, and has witnessed many life events.
In old-time medicine shops, many seemingly rigid and rigid rules are often behind the most sincere blessings in the world and the tenderness treasured in the hearts of medical practitioners. It is as simple as seeing off customers at a drug store without saying "come again next time". The business of opening the door to welcome guests is the only one that cannot invite people to come and gather frequently. In addition, there are many rules that contain the warmth and warmth of human relationships. Let Xiaonan explain it in detail:
Give away medicine but do not give medicine
In old days, when drug stores were run, they often gave away medicine but never gave medicine, which was rarely the case today. Member pharmacy stores occasionally give you eggs, slippers and other "gifts" with points. Giving and giving may seem like the same word, but their meanings are quite different. When practicing medicine, medicine is used to treat diseases. The rich have the money to buy high-quality medicinal materials and precious ginseng and velvet antler, so they do not need to give them away. The poor often cannot even afford to eat, and it is difficult to afford the money to buy medicine. Therefore, pharmacies will give medicines to some poor people or people who are suffering from disasters, but they will never give medicines as gifts. This is a reflection of the benevolence of old-time medicine shops and respect for medicinal materials and people.
I am not willing to decoct the medicine on my behalf even if I am given money.
In the old medicine shops, there were very few people who provided or took the initiative to provide the service of "decocting the medicine on their behalf". When asked about the problem, the doctor will first advise the patient's family members to cook the medicine themselves. It's not that the service is poor, or that there is no money to be made, but in the minds of some old gentlemen, the decoction itself is both medicine and heart-burning, a process and a practice. Compared with family members, pharmacists decoction medicines, but the same medicinal materials lack the "popularity" of their mouths. Birth, old age, illness and death, the five common flavors, and life situations always have to be experienced personally.
Bringing apprentices to catch medicine
We often say that we go to the pharmacy to pick up medicine, but young apprentices who have been trained in pharmacies and skilled medicine pickers are accustomed to expressing it as "catching medicine". The master leads you in, and practice is personal. The master will write prescriptions and tell you what medicine to use, how much medicine to use, how to mix it, etc. But to truly have your own insights and use each medicinal material, you need to practice it. With continuous training, "catching" is more sharp and proactive than "catching". Pharmacist work is not only a profession, but also an experience and understanding.
Times have changed, and the "rules" and "traditions" of many old drug stores have been constantly broken, and we can only find out one or two from the pile of old papers. We once looked through the letterheads and notes left by the old Lejia shop during the Republic of China. The yellowed papers and neat ink marks were the "business methods" and "daily trivialities" written down by the Lejia shopkeeper. They slowly unfolded. , gentle and delicate, has recorded many people's "life events":
"Today, a customer took a 'ginseng' bought from the store and asked why the price was so much more expensive than outside. The clerk couldn't explain it. , found me here. I looked at the two ginseng in her hand and told her that the one on the left is 'red ginseng', and the one we sell in the store is ', don't directly ginseng ', the medicinal effects of these two The functions are not the same, and the prices are naturally different. We don’t have cheap red ginseng in the store now. If the customer needs it, we can help her find some when she buys them next time. The price is cheaper than the current ones.”—— Legendary time-honored brand - Nanjing Tongrentang
The five common flavors are the major events in life. Slowly, slowly, it is a profession and a belief, with a bit of tenderness and warmth in the obscure time.With more than ninety years of inheritance of benevolence, can we still knock on the door of your heart and be the Tong Ren Tang in your heart?
