"Let's call it Hengde Pharmacy!"
The calm voice fell, but it struck Shen Tingyi's heart like a heavy hammer.
"One without benevolence and virtue cannot be a physician."
She seemed to hear Li Yue Shu's words again, instantly understanding her meaning.
For a moment, a warmth seemed to surge in Shen Ting Yi's heart.
Doctor Chen, unaware of the interaction between the mother and daughter, was thinking about the words "Hengde Pharmacy" and his admiration for Li Yue Shu grew.
"By the way, the people Madam asked me to find, I have found them all."
After speaking, Doctor Chen led them back to his residence.
As the door was pushed open, the people in the courtyard, who were busy with their own affairs, quickly got up and stood in a neat row with their heads bowed.
Li Yue Shu counted them. There were seven people in total, men and women, with similar ages. In modern times, they would have been of school age, but in this world, they were already considered adults.
All seven were dressed thinly, their clothes patched one over another, and some even had their toes exposed.
Doctor Chen took out a small box from the inner room. "Inside are their indentures. I have found orphans who have no one to rely on, just as Madam said."
Li Yue Shu put away the box and paced in front of the seven people.
From beginning to end, none of the seven raised their heads. Their expressionless faces were filled with numbness, as if they were accustomed to being bought and sold.
Li Yue Shu took it all in. "What are your names?"
The seven people bowed respectfully, "Please Madam, bestow names upon us."
Clearly, slaves in this world did not have names.
Li Yue Shu sighed in her heart, but her expression remained unchanged. "There are exactly seven of you. From now on, you will take my husband's surname, Shen. According to your age, you will be named after the seven emotions: greed, anger, ignorance, hatred, love, evil, and desire."
"Thank you, Madam, for the names." The seven bowed in unison, their expressions still numb and cautious.
Li Yue Shu looked at them and frowned slightly.
At their age, they should have been full of youthful spirit.
Li Yue Shu softened her voice. "My only requirement of you is loyalty. Work hard from now on, and I will help you live like proper human beings."
A slight change finally appeared in the seven people's expressions.
Live like proper human beings?
From the day they understood they would be slaves for life, they had never imagined they could still live like proper human beings.
One or two bolder children secretly glanced at Li Yue Shu, then immediately lowered their heads.
Li Yue Shu did not reprimand them. Instead, she was quite pleased.
She wanted loyal employees to help her run the pharmacy, not machines that only knew how to obey orders.
In her plan, Hengde Pharmacy was not just a small pharmacy in town, but a world-renowned chain enterprise.
To grow bigger and stronger, she needed a group of people who were both loyal and capable. That's why she asked Doctor Chen for help.
However, the most important thing now was to get these children new clothes.
Thus, Li Yue Shu bought two sets of ready-made clothes for each of the seven, and also spent a large sum of money to buy an ox cart.
In the future, she would need to transport medicinal materials from town and deliver the prepared medicines to the pharmacy. Liu Lao Han's ox cart was used for transporting people and was not enough, so she had to buy one herself.
Afterward, Li Yue Shu had Doctor Chen pull a cart of medicinal materials and bought many miscellaneous daily necessities, spending almost all three hundred taels of silver before returning to the village with over a dozen people.
Such a grand procession was spotted by many people as soon as they reached the village entrance.
"Shen Lao San's wife, what's going on? Why so many children?"
Li Yue Shu, driving the ox, casually replied, "These are all orphans I've adopted."
She didn't explain further and directly led the group away.
Little did they know how much of a stir her casual remark caused in everyone's hearts.
In less than half a day, the news that Li Yue Shu had adopted seven orphans and bought an ox cart spread throughout the village.
Everyone said she had gone mad.
She already had four children and a fool at home, and now she had adopted seven orphans. If that wasn't madness, what was!
When the news reached the Shen family, Mother Shen exclaimed, "Has she gone mad?! I think it's you, not San'er, who's the fool!"
Yang Shi nodded repeatedly, "I think she's gone mad with poverty. She suddenly has some money and thinks she's made a fortune. Does she think three hundred taels of silver is inexhaustible!"
Her tone was sour as she spoke, clearly still coveting the three hundred taels.
Mother Shen also said sourly, "Hmph, she can't even feed her own four wild brats, I'd like to see how she feeds those seven orphans!"
The other villagers had the same thought. They often went to her house, waiting to see her cry and regret her decision.
But what everyone didn't expect was that instead of seeing Li Yue Shu throw a tantrum, they saw her living her life colorfully.
When the seven orphans arrived, they were dressed like beggars, but in just two days, they were all cleaner and neater than the other children in the village.
Not only that, but every mealtime, a fragrant aroma would waft from the beautiful blue-tiled house, making people's mouths water.
Some, unable to resist their curiosity, tried to climb over the wall to get a look.
But after painstakingly climbing up, they saw that the wall was lined with broken pieces of tiles inserted into it, their sharp tips looking frightening just by sight.
These were all intentionally placed by Li Yue Shu.
She knew there were watchful eyes everywhere, but she completely ignored them, and led everyone in the courtyard to process medicinal herbs.
The medicines for Hengde Pharmacy couldn't solely rely on the space for supply; she also had to make some simple proprietary Chinese medicines.
What pleased Li Yue Shu was that the seven orphans she brought back were quick-handed and sharp-witted.
She taught them some basic knowledge of pharmacology, and these children could recite it by the next day.
Clearly, Doctor Chen had paid special attention to this when selecting them.
Over the past two days, Li Yue Shu had also gained a general understanding of the seven children's personalities.
Shen Chi, Shen Hen, and Shen Yu were girls, more meticulous and introverted.
The oldest, Shen Tan and Shen Chen, had experienced more and were relatively steady, able to hold their own among the seven.
Shen Ai and Shen E were average, with no significant differences.
The children had good dispositions; Doctor Chen was indeed a good judge of character.
After two more days, Shen Yi Min returned for the academy's semimonthly day off. Mo Lian and his mother accompanied him.
The previous time, Mother Mo was unconscious and only heard about what happened afterward from Mo Lian.
Upon seeing Li Yue Shu, she immediately wanted to kneel, but Li Yue Shu pulled her up. "It's not too late to thank me when I've truly saved your life."
Mother Mo's eyes welled up, and as she was about to say something, Li Yue Shu quickly interrupted her, "Mo Lian, take your mother inside. She must be exhausted from the journey."
She was extremely grateful that she had insisted on building five bedrooms. Although small, they were perfectly habitable.
The seven orphans occupied two rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls. Shen Yi Min, Mo Lian, and Shen Ting Wen shared a room. Mother Mo and Shen Ting Yi shared another. Li Yue Shu herself shared a room with Shen Zhi Yu and Shen Wei.
Originally, Shen Wei slept with Shen Ting Wen, but with Shen Yi Min and Mo Lian now present, the room was small. Shen Wei was also tall, so there was no space for him.
In desperation, Li Yue Shu had to arrange for him to stay in her room.
Fortunately, there was the little fellow, Ah Yu, and Shen Wei was currently like a child of a few years old. As someone from modern times, Li Yue Shu hadn't paid much attention.
But what she didn't expect was that on Shen Wei's first night after moving in, trouble brewed.