These three books were respectively: 'Compendium of Materia Medica', 'Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases', and 'Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Herbs', and all were ancient, traditional-character versions from the Mall.
"You start by learning about Medicinal Herbs. Memorize their properties and pharmacological principles. Once you've mastered these, then learn how to treat illnesses. For characters you don't recognize, you can have Wen Mo teach you, or you can ask me anytime."
Qin Sang planned to have her build a solid foundation first. Later, when it was safe to return to the village, she would hire an Old Chinese Medicine Doctor to teach her how to diagnose pulses and prescribe formulas.
As for Qin Sang herself, she could teach her about wound treatment and emergency first aid knowledge.
She believed that with the medicine from her Mall, plus the medical knowledge in these medical texts, as long as Er Fu studied diligently, she could become a physician of decent skill.
Ancient times were unlike later eras. The ancients held great respect for physicians who treated illnesses and saved lives. If a patient died, it was considered fate's decree; it was rarely blamed on the physician.
Er Fu hugged the three medical books to her chest and said earnestly:
"Mother, I will study with all my heart."
Qin Sang nodded, then checked Eldest Girl's throat again. It was a little red, also caused by internal heat from dehydration. As long as she drank more water and ate less dry, roasted food, it would naturally get better.
"Have your Eldest Paternal Aunt brew two more bowls for you. Drink them and you'll recover completely."
Eldest Girl nodded obediently:
"Yes, your granddaughter will take the medicine obediently."
Qin Sang tapped the tip of her nose, then pulled a handful of dried sweet potato strips from a bundle:
"A little snack. You can take it to share with your little friends. It's been stored for a long time and is about to go bad."
Eldest Girl happily accepted them.
After the family finished their midday meal, the two sons quickly assembled the two bunk beds. Qin Sang remembered something and said to Third Brothers Wife:
"Tell your father, please have him make two large beds. They don't need to be particularly beautiful, just sturdy. Otherwise, you and Eldest Brothers couple won't have beds to sleep on."
Third Brothers Wife said:
"Mother, is that necessary? We won't be living in the mountains forever. If we make beds, how will we get them down the mountain later? We can just spread a mat on the ground."
Qin Sang shook her head:
"No, sleeping on the ground for a night or two is one thing, but it won't do for a long time. And this is the mountains; once a rain comes, how damp will the ground be?
You're pregnant. When you're further along, even turning over will be difficult. If you really sleep on the ground, you won't even be able to get up."
Only then did Third Brothers Wife nod:
"Alright, I'll tell my father."
Qin Sang added:
"Mm, ask your father if he wants water and grain or silver coins? While you're at it, see if they have time to also make a table. Otherwise, eating meals is really inconvenient."
"Mm."
Qin Sang then opened another large bundle that had been brought in:
"Eldest, Third, you two fasten this piece of oilcloth to the roof. Thankfully, I mentioned it to Steward Huang at the time, otherwise we wouldn't have enough oilcloth."
This was something Qin Sang bought from the Mall, with any particularly modern features removed.
Eldest and Third took it in hand, very surprised by this material:
"Mother, this oilcloth is very thick and sturdy."
Qin Sang nodded. Actually, this was the lowest quality in the Mall:
"Of course. Things used by wealthy families, how could they not be sturdy?
Here's some thin rope. When you fasten it, tie it securely. Then use branches to secure it so it doesn't blow away in the wind, understand?"
Tian Sangui thought for a moment:
"Mother, you've thought of everything."
Qin Sang laughed:
"Of course. Did you think running a household was so easy, that you just had to open your mouth? You have to consider every aspect of life after coming into the mountains."
Tian Sangui nodded, now full of admiration:
"Thank you, Mother, for taking such good care of us. After entering the mountains, we can still build houses, don't have to squeeze into sheds, have water to drink and food to eat..."
Qin Sang waved her hand dismissively:
"Alright, alright. You're all my children. Who else would I take care of if not you?
If you're filial, just learn more skills in the future so your Mother can enjoy a life of leisure sooner.
When you're working on the roof later, be careful, don't fall.
Once the houses are all built, if there's any extra, let the village chief distribute it."
Once the urgent matters were settled, the other tasks weren't so pressing. They could just tidy up slowly.
Eldest Brothers Wife came over holding the bundle Qin Sang had previously stuffed at her:
"Mother, yours."
Qin Sang didn't take it. She had Er Fu and Si Jin go with her to the tent. Of course, Eldest Brothers Wife came too.
Many things had been moved to the wooden house, so the tent was much emptier. After telling the others not to come over unless called, Qin Sang took the bundle, opened it, and showed the contents to the three girls.
"In this bundle are things for a girl's monthly cycle. Third Brothers Wife is pregnant, so she doesn't need them for now. You girls are all growing up, so Mother will teach you how to use them..."
Qin Sang had brought two types. One was pure white cotton menstrual strips, paired with clean, sterilized cotton. When needed, you just had to stuff the cotton into the menstrual strip.
The other type was modern sanitary tampons. Explaining these was a bit more awkward, but Qin Sang hoped they could accept them because they would be cleaner.
In ancient times, cotton was very expensive. Many common people couldn't even afford clothes made of cotton cloth, let alone menstrual cloth.
Most common people used cloth wrapped around plant ash. After use, they'd wash it and use it again the next month. Qin Sang couldn't accept that.
It had been over a month since she transmigrated. Qin Sang hadn't had her period, maybe her poor living conditions had caused early menopause, but the girls in the family would definitely need these.
If she hadn't seen someone secretly sunning these while using the Binoculars on the mountaintop, Qin Sang wouldn't have remembered this matter.
After Qin Sang finished explaining, she saw the three girls blushing so deeply they didn't dare lift their heads. Qin Sang didn't laugh at them but instructed them:
"Burn the menstrual cloths you made yourselves. Don't be reluctant to use these. I bought a lot from Steward Huang and only brought back a portion.
Also, these need to be changed every two hours, especially the sanitary tampons. They can't stay inside the body for too long.
And absolutely don't reuse them. That's an easy way to get sick. Remember?"
The girls' heads were practically lowered beneath the mat:
"W-we... know, Mother..."
Qin Sang had Eldest Brothers Wife put them away safely. When Second and Fourth needed to use them, they could just ask their eldest sister-In-law.
After saying this, Qin Sang left the tent and saw Little Five sitting on a rock, staring at the wooden house. Qin Sang walked over:
"Wen Mo, what are you looking at?"
Tian Wenmo snapped out of his thoughts. Seeing Qin Sang had come out, he stood up and answered:
"Mother, I wasn't looking at anything. It's just something I can't figure out. How did In-law Father know the pillar was crooked yesterday just by using his Chalk Line to measure? The Ink Line doesn't talk."
"Oh? Is that so? How do you think Carpenter Zhao knew?"
Tian Wenmo thought for a moment:
"Is it... when the Ink Line hangs down, it always points to the ground?"
Qin Sang's mouth fell open, quite astonished by the child's keen observation. Was this inspired by her saying that learning was everywhere in life?
Was he about to discover Universal Gravitation?
"My, Little Five observes so carefully. Then, Little Five, think again: why do the pillars need to be straight to build a house?"
Tian Wenmo had originally wanted to ask Mother to answer his question, but he didn't expect Mother to have even more questions than he did:
"This..."