Chapter 50

As Changsun, Li Kuan, and Li Lizhi got off the carriage, the little girl ran straight toward Li Er. Her two pigtails swayed back and forth, rhythmically swinging with each step of her little legs. She called out as she ran, "Father, Lizhi is here again! Is Auntie better? Lizhi has come to blow on her!"

Li Kuan stumbled, almost losing his balance. This little girl really took his words as gospel, even talking about "blowing on her"! Changsun quickly supported him, "Is Second Son alright? The ground is slippery with snow, be careful!"

"Thank you, Mother!" Li Kuan thanked Changsun and then steadied himself.

The two followed the bouncing little girl into the courtyard of the Imperial Medical Institute. The little girl was already in Li Er's arms, blinking her big eyes at the old man with a white beard: "Grandpa with the white beard, are you going to give Lizhi some bitter medicine? Can I not drink it? Lizhi will be very good and won't get sick." The little girl had probably drunk enough herbal medicine to fill a large vat over the years and really didn't want to drink that black, bitter medicine anymore. Whenever such an old man with a white beard appeared, it usually meant it was time to take medicine, and Li Lizhi was always afraid of Sun Simiao.

"Lizhi, this is Grandpa Sun Simiao, the most famous doctor. He will definitely cure you! But Lizhi still needs to take the medicine obediently, or you won't be able to play with Second Brother if you get sick!" Li Er, who doted on Li Lizhi the most, reached out to pinch her little nose.

"But the medicine is so bitter, Lizhi wants to eat candy!" The little girl was full of imagination about the candy her second brother mentioned, that sweet, fragrant, and beautiful candy. But her second brother had only talked about it, and she had never seen it. The only thing she had tasted was the sticky, unappealing sugar syrup.

"Candy?" Li Er had never heard of this thing. He was well-informed, having traveled throughout the Guanzhong region and knowing what was available in different places. How had he never heard of candy? What kind of fruit was it? Was it like the fruit of Li Nai?

"Second Brother said it's very sweet, even sweeter than sugar syrup!" The little girl tried hard to describe the lollipops and cotton candy that Li Kuan had told her about, smacking her lips and swallowing saliva from time to time.

"This..." Li Er was speechless. Since Li Kuan had mentioned it, it must be something the scientist had created. He decided to pass the problem to Li Kuan: "Kuan, can you explain what this candy is?"

"Father, candy is actually a type of sugar, similar to the sugar syrup we have now, a very sweet food! It's just that the sugar-making method from India can only produce sugar syrup and cannot solidify the sugar. If we can solidify the sugar syrup into various shapes, it will be candy." Li Kuan racked his brain, remembering that sugar could be made at this time, but it was only a syrup and not very sweet.

"Then make some for Lizhi! She has been drinking medicine since she was little and is really afraid of it!" Changsun, feeling sorry for the little girl who was swallowing saliva, said.

"Let me think of a way!" Li Kuan wasn't sure if candy could be exchanged, but he thought it should be possible. He called out to the system in his mind: "System, can you exchange for candy?"

"Candy cannot be exchanged!" The system gave its first non-exchangeable answer.

"Why?" Li Kuan was puzzled.

"Because the system has determined that the current social productivity cannot solve the problem of solidifying sugar within fifty years; it can only produce sugar syrup!" The system coldly replied, "The host can exchange for more advanced sugar-making technology to produce candy."

"How many energy points?" Li Kuan felt he was about to be tricked by the system again.

"Eight million!"

"What! So many? Making wine only costs ten million, including distillation technology, and making sugar blocks costs eight million?" Li Kuan hesitated. He had only about three million energy points left to use freely. Spending eight million for a piece of candy seemed excessive: "Forget it, I won't exchange. I don't believe that without a butcher, we can't eat a pig with hair. I will definitely figure out how to make candy! Oh, ice sugar葫芦 (ice sugar葫芦, a traditional Chinese treat) doesn't need solid sugar blocks! That's it!"

"Son, I have an idea. Although my teacher didn't teach me how to make sugar, we can make sugar syrup now. I thought of something else that can be eaten like candy!" Li Kuan remembered something from his memory, something that could definitely be made!

"Really? How?" Changsun asked eagerly. Every time she saw Li Lizhi drink medicine, she felt distressed, thinking that the suffering of her daughter was due to the sins her family had committed in their quest for power. She thought of the soldiers who died in battle, the displaced civilians, and the nameless corpses by the roadside, feeling that these were the sins of the Li family. But what could she do? If not the Li family, it would be the Zhang family or the Qian family. War and chaos were inevitable, and this time it was their family's turn to bear the sins.

"Mother, this thing is actually very simple, and it's right here in the Imperial Medical Institute!" Li Kuan said.

"What? This place is full of herbs, how can there be candy?" Changsun and Li Er were both surprised.

"Actually, this thing is a herb, but when combined with sugar syrup, it becomes a kind of candy! It's a very unique herb, and even eating it directly doesn't feel like medicine, but like a wild fruit." Li Kuan continued.

"Are you talking about hawthorn?" Sun Simiao, who had been silent, became interested and joined the conversation.

"Is this Grandpa Sun? I, Li Kuan, have met Grandpa Sun. I am weak and will need Grandpa Sun's help to check me later!" Li Kuan bowed to Sun Simiao.

"Of course, I said it just now, right? Hawthorn does taste good, but eating too much can hurt the stomach! If you eat it after taking medicine, there might be side effects, so don't eat it randomly!" Sun Simiao, being a doctor, spoke with authority.

"It is indeed hawthorn. It is a herb, but it tastes good and is suitable for children. If we coat it with sugar syrup, it will be even better!" Li Kuan smiled at Sun Simiao, clearly not thinking about the stomach issues the old man mentioned.

"Hawthorn coated with sugar syrup? That's a good idea, but the round hawthorns will be hard to hold after being coated with sugar syrup!" Li Er knew about these wild fruits and had eaten many of them years ago.

"Put them on a bamboo skewer, and it's done!" Li Kuan provided the solution.

"It really works! I'll have the servants do it. After you finish your check-up, you can eat it!" Changsun instructed the servants.

"Not now, the hawthorns used as herbs are dried and won't taste good if eaten directly. But in Chang'an, many families store them. This thing helps digestion, and poor families can't afford sugar syrup, so they give it to their children as a snack!" Sun Simiao, though not from Chang'an, had spent a long time in the Qinling Mountains collecting herbs and was familiar with the area.

"This thing is so common among the people, but we, who consider ourselves high and mighty, didn't pay attention!" Changsun felt that her noble status was meaningless, as she didn't even know about these small things. She didn't realize that even when she couldn't eat, imperial doctors would come to treat her, and the hawthorns used in royal medicine were already dried and unrecognizable, losing their original sweet and sour taste when boiled in medicine.

"Then send someone to ask and buy it. Lizhi must eat the sugar-coated hawthorns today!" Li Er ordered, and the guards, who had been standing like pillars, responded loudly. One of them quickly left, and the sound of a long horse neigh and the fading hoofbeats echoed outside the courtyard.

"Alright, now we need to trouble Mr. Sun to check on these two children. Both of them have been weak and sickly since childhood and have relied on herbal medicine to maintain their health! This time, we are counting on Mr. Sun to take care of them!" Li Er said, putting the little girl down and bowing to Sun Simiao with Changsun. Li Kuan also bowed, though he had already found a way to cure himself, he still respected the old man, who was said to have lived for over 140 years and dedicated his life to treating the common people. Even after Li Er ascended the throne, he invited Sun Simiao to be the head of the Imperial Medical Institute, but Sun Simiao declined and published his medical book, "Qian Jin Fang," for the benefit of all. Li Kuan's bow was heartfelt, and he hoped that Sun Simiao could provide a detailed health report for him. Although the system could scan, it only provided cold, hard data like "Health: 34 (100)," without specifying the exact issues, only suggesting a large intake of blood and qi replenishing foods.

"Alright! I'll check on the young prince and princess. Let's start with the princess!" Sun Simiao, though tired from treating Li Xiuning's wounds, agreed to check the children because the scripture Li Er gave him was too valuable. Though he was not allowed to spread it, it was a common human desire.

"Lizhi, let Grandpa Sun check you first!" Changsun pushed the little girl, who was hiding behind her, to stand in front of Sun Simiao.

"Come, let Grandpa see. Stretch out your hand!" Sun Simiao squatted down and spoke kindly to Li Lizhi.

"Grandpa, are you going to hit Lizhi's hand?" The little girl hid her hands behind her back, looking at Sun Simiao fearfully. The last time, an old man named Kong Yingda asked her to stretch out her hand and then hit her hand, which hurt a lot.

"How could I? Lizhi is a good girl, Grandpa just wants to check you!" Sun Simiao was very patient, especially with patients. Many illnesses were private, and as a doctor, he needed to gain their trust to help them speak freely about their conditions, which was a challenging task.

"Then, can Grandpa just take a quick look?" The little girl timidly extended her hand, trying to negotiate.

"Sure, Grandpa will just hold Lizhi's little hand, and it won't hurt!" Sun Simiao, seeing the adorable Li Lizhi, couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. If he hadn't become a monk, his great-granddaughter might be about this age now!