The continuous half-month of rain had made the dirt roads here extremely difficult to navigate.
The sheer weight of the pickup truck couldn't escape the fate of skidding, and the vehicle's movement was more terrifying than drunk driving.
Thirty miles of muddy road took a full half-hour.
Looking at the deep tire tracks left behind, Fang Er couldn't help but worry about the imperial physicians following them.
He wondered if their carriages could make it.
Under Jiang Shi's guidance, the pickup truck arrived near a small town.
"Liaodong Hou, Huangliang Town is just ahead."
Upon hearing this, he slammed on the brakes, and the pickup truck slid a considerable distance.
As soon as the vehicle stopped, Sun Simiao's first action was to open the car door. He disregarded the mud and water on the ground and trudged shallowly into the woods by the roadside.
He grabbed onto a large tree and began to vomit profusely.
Jiang Shi, who had felt he could still hold on, felt his stomach churn upon hearing Sun Simiao's vomiting.
A burp escaped him, causing his cheeks to bulge instantly.
He fumbled to open the car door and stumbled out.
As a result, his foot slipped, and he fell directly to the ground, instinctively letting out a cry.
His mouth opened, and what was inside immediately spilled out.
The sight made Fang Er slap his forehead in the car.
If he had a phone, he would have snapped a picture; it would have been great.
Perhaps because he hadn't finished spitting everything out, Jiang Shi gasped after his scream.
The contents were inhaled into his windpipe, and he contorted like a shrimp, coughing violently in the muddy water.
This made Fang Er anxious; stomach fluid entering the windpipe could lead to aspiration pneumonia.
He quickly got out of the car, paid no attention to the mud on Jiang Shi, helped him to the side of the car, and then handed him a water bottle from the vehicle.
"County Magistrate Jiang, please take a drink to settle your stomach."
Jiang Shi's face turned red as he coughed forcefully, tears streaming from his eyes.
He tried his best to suppress his discomfort and took the water bottle.
Gulp, gulp, gulp!
After drinking like a bull, he finally felt a tiny bit better in his throat.
"Cough, cough, cough! Liaodong Hou, I absolutely dare not ride in your car again."
After speaking, he started coughing again.
Well, it was quite awkward!
Old Sun, who had finished vomiting over there, pulled a handkerchief from his robe to wipe the grime from the corner of his mouth and then walked over.
He didn't complain about Fang Er's driving but instead asked him, "Liaodong Hou, shall we enter the town now?"
Fang Er shook his head.
"We'll wait in the car. I've sent someone back to prepare things. I estimate it will take about two hours for them to deliver it."
Sun Simiao didn't ask what was being prepared; he would know when it arrived.
The three of them returned to the car.
Jiang Shi took off his mud-stained outer coat and threw it into the rear cargo bed.
The wait was tedious, so Sun Simiao began discussing medical issues with Fang Er.
Fang Er didn't understand medicine, but with the information explosion of later generations, he knew some common sense that was ubiquitous in the twenty-first century.
Even this gave Sun Simiao much inspiration.
For example, the ways epidemics spread, the concept of vaccines, and especially some common emergency techniques used in Western medicine, made Old Sun's eyes light up.
He couldn't help but praise, "Liaodong Hou, you know so much! Truly a hero at a young age!"
Fang Er blushed and brushed it off with a laugh.
Jiang Shi listened to their conversation as if it were a foreign language; he couldn't understand nine out of ten sentences and could only huddle in the back seat, trembling.
His clothes were soaked and a bit cold.
The three of them waited in the pickup truck.
Huang Sheng, who had parted ways with Fang Er outside Chengtian Gate, was not idle at all.
He first rushed to Zuixian Lou and conveyed Fang Er's instructions to Uncle Zhang.
Immediately after, a notice was posted outside Zuixian Lou: "Alcohol Sold Out."
This puzzled the passing diners. Uncle Zhang offered no explanation and led Huang Sheng to the back courtyard of the restaurant.
The Zuixian Brew sold in the restaurant was produced here.
Dozens of shirtless servants were distilling alcohol and bowed to Uncle Zhang upon seeing him.
Uncle Zhang cleared his throat and then said loudly,
"The Marquis has ordered!
Redistill the existing Zuixian Brew, repeatedly!
Until the liquor, when dripped on the hands, dries upon blowing, and a cup of wine intoxicates the drinker!
A group of servants looked at each other, not understanding why they were to do this.
Huang Sheng shouted, "What are you gawking at! Get to it! This is something the Marquis wants. Don't you want to work anymore!"
After the servants began to move, Huang Sheng said to Uncle Zhang, "Please keep an eye on it, Uncle Zhang. I'll come to collect it in two hours."
With that, he led a horse from the restaurant.
He exited the city through Tonghua Gate and headed straight for the workshop.
In the sewing room, Hua Niang sat by the entrance, cracking melon seeds and watching the female workers. She turned her head upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves.
Huang Sheng arrived, dismounted, and said, "Hua Niang, the Marquis wants something made."
Hua Niang threw the melon seed shells in her hand into a nearby trash can, patted the crumbs off her hands, and stood up.
Then she said to the workers inside, "Stop your work for a moment."
After the female workers stopped, Hua Niang looked at Huang Sheng, "What does the Marquis want?"
Huang Sheng took a mask from his robe and handed it over.
"Use fine linen, fold it several times, sandwich charcoal powder in the middle, and wear it on your face. When you breathe, it should feel like this."
Hua Niang held the mask, unsure how to wear it. Huang Sheng had to take it and help her put it on.
Feeling the resistance to her breathing from the mask, Hua Niang nodded.
"Don't worry, it'll be quick!"
With that, she turned and walked to the fabric rack, took a bolt of fine linen, and began to make it according to the pattern.