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Kusuriya no Hitorigoto - Vol. 8 Ch. 38 - Balsam and Wood Sorrel (Part 2)
- Thread starter MangaDex
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@Goyal99Raj
No problem~ glad it could help clear stuff up.
I don't remember the granny ever forced her against her wishes? MaoMao WORKS for them as her part time job [probably initially as more a support/behind the scenes than an actual courtesan, but granny wanted her to be a courtesan]
- Ch 20 - when she returns after the massive layoff
From my understanding, yes granny is greedy and very money driven in everything she does, but she's not heartless?
[ul]1. She allowed MaoMao to essentially be raised at her workplace when she was born. The brothel was basically her first home. If granny was truly heartless, she would've dumped her as a baby. It's also why MaoMao visits the place so often even after being taken in by her foster dad.
2. Granny didn't force her to be a prostitute, MaoMao literally works there. It's been mentioned a couple of times that her foster dad doesn't earn money cuz he's too nice to charge anyone, so it's very logical for her to work at the place.
3. Her being angry at MaoMao being kidnapped was well.......angry at her BEING KIDNAPPED. It felt more like a "I was worried and upset but I'm gonna be shit angry at you when you come back". I always felt granny's "I'm gonna sell you off" more like a banter playing to her flawed character trait rather than her actually doing it.
4. It doesn't seem like she ever mistreats her staff, other than "you need to work for your food", which is fair in that kind of society. But in the same fair sense, MaoMao skipped work for 10 months and thus need to pay back for all the time that she missed [aka her debt]. There may be more to that debt since she was half raised there too, but that's more of my speculation.
But even though granny operates on the "you need to work for food", she has a place permanently for MaoMao's mother, who obviously CANNOT WORK anymore. But granny still lets her stay there, because I believe she's not actually heartless and truly cares for the girls that work under her.
5. Pure speculation: but I think granny who manages the place can see potential in people. I think she's been trying to push MaoMao into being a courtesan because she sees potential in her being one[/ul]
Sorry this has gotten long. This is purely my opinion from the things I've read. You are still free to dislike her and that's fine. I just wanted to point out why I don't think granny deserved all the hate that I've seen in this comment thread.
No problem~ glad it could help clear stuff up.
I don't remember the granny ever forced her against her wishes? MaoMao WORKS for them as her part time job [probably initially as more a support/behind the scenes than an actual courtesan, but granny wanted her to be a courtesan]
- Ch 20 - when she returns after the massive layoff
From my understanding, yes granny is greedy and very money driven in everything she does, but she's not heartless?
[ul]1. She allowed MaoMao to essentially be raised at her workplace when she was born. The brothel was basically her first home. If granny was truly heartless, she would've dumped her as a baby. It's also why MaoMao visits the place so often even after being taken in by her foster dad.
2. Granny didn't force her to be a prostitute, MaoMao literally works there. It's been mentioned a couple of times that her foster dad doesn't earn money cuz he's too nice to charge anyone, so it's very logical for her to work at the place.
3. Her being angry at MaoMao being kidnapped was well.......angry at her BEING KIDNAPPED. It felt more like a "I was worried and upset but I'm gonna be shit angry at you when you come back". I always felt granny's "I'm gonna sell you off" more like a banter playing to her flawed character trait rather than her actually doing it.
4. It doesn't seem like she ever mistreats her staff, other than "you need to work for your food", which is fair in that kind of society. But in the same fair sense, MaoMao skipped work for 10 months and thus need to pay back for all the time that she missed [aka her debt]. There may be more to that debt since she was half raised there too, but that's more of my speculation.
But even though granny operates on the "you need to work for food", she has a place permanently for MaoMao's mother, who obviously CANNOT WORK anymore. But granny still lets her stay there, because I believe she's not actually heartless and truly cares for the girls that work under her.
5. Pure speculation: but I think granny who manages the place can see potential in people. I think she's been trying to push MaoMao into being a courtesan because she sees potential in her being one[/ul]
Sorry this has gotten long. This is purely my opinion from the things I've read. You are still free to dislike her and that's fine. I just wanted to point out why I don't think granny deserved all the hate that I've seen in this comment thread.
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THE SICK WOMEN WAS HER....DAMN........thank you very much for the explanations!! needed those hahah
thanks for the chapter! this chapter makes me cry a lil
thanks for the chapter! this chapter makes me cry a lil
Aggregator gang
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Can anyone tell what chapter is this on the light novel or where do I continue if it's different there.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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Wow, what a heartbreakingly sweet ending to this arc. Still it makes me think that Maomao isn't actually their daughter. It would explain why she hates this guy cause to her he's some random guy who keeps following her around, and in the chapter where she looks after the woman with siphilis she treats her just like any other patient, not like her mother. As such I don't think she's related to either of them at all.
@skilodracus nah, he is her father. You saw how her mother, the patient courtesan, tried to kill her
also, read @Schyph comment might give you some insights
also, read @Schyph comment might give you some insights
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Untreated syphilis causes madness before the decay, hence why her mother mistreated her for people who aren't familiar with the disease.
@skilodracus They are very much a father, mother, and daughter. Prostitutes are not allowed to raise their children as a mother, but the brothel will let the child be "raised" in the brothel till they can be either sold as a servant, picked up by the male parent (rarely happens), or female and pretty... thus a future prostitute they did not need to buy and got for "free" by the bio mother. She hates her father since she thought he willingly abandoned her mother, and thus her. If her father had been around, her mother might not have gotten syphilis if she had been bought or even able to remain exclusive to him, then her mother could have been a mother/parent to her.
Also, her mother tried to kill her when the symptoms first arrived, it also could have PPD as well. She rationalizes her mother behavior by just thinking of her as a very ill patient as way to process her grief. This is a very common thing children do when they become a caretaker when they're very young. There is no 'mother', only a patient who needs her care. Her mother can't be a parent because of her profession/disease. She was literally raised not to view her mother as a "mom" but the woman who gave birth who became a patient.
@skilodracus They are very much a father, mother, and daughter. Prostitutes are not allowed to raise their children as a mother, but the brothel will let the child be "raised" in the brothel till they can be either sold as a servant, picked up by the male parent (rarely happens), or female and pretty... thus a future prostitute they did not need to buy and got for "free" by the bio mother. She hates her father since she thought he willingly abandoned her mother, and thus her. If her father had been around, her mother might not have gotten syphilis if she had been bought or even able to remain exclusive to him, then her mother could have been a mother/parent to her.
Also, her mother tried to kill her when the symptoms first arrived, it also could have PPD as well. She rationalizes her mother behavior by just thinking of her as a very ill patient as way to process her grief. This is a very common thing children do when they become a caretaker when they're very young. There is no 'mother', only a patient who needs her care. Her mother can't be a parent because of her profession/disease. She was literally raised not to view her mother as a "mom" but the woman who gave birth who became a patient.
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@Schyph she's not heartless, but she is willing to cut off a lot of people to preserve the brothel. That is not a bad way to live, especially in that era, but in fengsheng's particular case she made it worse for a lot of people without any benefit.
She let her temper get to her at a moment which could have saved maomaos family over 10 years of suffering, prevented the routine disruptions in front of the brothel, given them a powerful and rich backer, and provided maomao with a more diverse familial bond. I'm not sure about treatment for syphilis, but with money that ruomen did not have for medicine, fengsheng could have lived quite a bit better.
She let her temper get to her at a moment which could have saved maomaos family over 10 years of suffering, prevented the routine disruptions in front of the brothel, given them a powerful and rich backer, and provided maomao with a more diverse familial bond. I'm not sure about treatment for syphilis, but with money that ruomen did not have for medicine, fengsheng could have lived quite a bit better.
@cryum
I disagree with granny making it worse.
Imagine if your daughter got knocked up by some random dude that:
1. Wasn't even rich or a high ranking officer (remember that he wasn't rich enough to buy her in the first place, he only JUST came back from his expedition, he wasn't the rank he is "now"),
2. He flaked and ditched your daughter who is now pregnant
3. Did not come back for 3 years
I don't know about you, but I would NOT trust this shady ass person who did not take responsibility.
Maomao is already being raised by the brothel and adopted father for 3 years by then, why would granny ever think to give a child to this shady af man that kept disrupting her business. Also who is to say Maomao was suffering to begin with. She was well raised, learnt off her adoptive father, and is cared for by her sisters in the brothel. I would say Maomao probably had a better life without Rakan. Maomao's mother on the other hand probably would have less suffering maybe, but that's more in hindsight. Because from anyone else's perspective, people would've suspected that she would hold a grudge or hate him for betraying and ditching her. She had to end up selling her body (which she never did until that point) in order to live.
Also in regards to syphilis, it was already explained that it wasn't treated because they didn't trust a eunuch who only just arrived in town. By the time the adoptive father found out, it was already too late
I disagree with granny making it worse.
Imagine if your daughter got knocked up by some random dude that:
1. Wasn't even rich or a high ranking officer (remember that he wasn't rich enough to buy her in the first place, he only JUST came back from his expedition, he wasn't the rank he is "now"),
2. He flaked and ditched your daughter who is now pregnant
3. Did not come back for 3 years
I don't know about you, but I would NOT trust this shady ass person who did not take responsibility.
Maomao is already being raised by the brothel and adopted father for 3 years by then, why would granny ever think to give a child to this shady af man that kept disrupting her business. Also who is to say Maomao was suffering to begin with. She was well raised, learnt off her adoptive father, and is cared for by her sisters in the brothel. I would say Maomao probably had a better life without Rakan. Maomao's mother on the other hand probably would have less suffering maybe, but that's more in hindsight. Because from anyone else's perspective, people would've suspected that she would hold a grudge or hate him for betraying and ditching her. She had to end up selling her body (which she never did until that point) in order to live.
Also in regards to syphilis, it was already explained that it wasn't treated because they didn't trust a eunuch who only just arrived in town. By the time the adoptive father found out, it was already too late
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@Schyph
I'm not saying maomao was better off with Rakan. I'm saying she would have more family period, between Rakan, a slightly less insane mom, and....okay let's discount the rest of the Ra family.
I brought up the above points assuming all of the distrust issues. Anybody could tell that Rakan cared for how persistently he kept at it. Rakan being shady stopped being the problem for years. In this chapter, granny wasn't surprised that Rakan still loved her, or reluctant to entrust someone she supposedly cares about over other courtesans, she was angry that he isn't "saving" someone who still has a life to live(Mei Mei).
As for the disease, in the very page you listed it shows that Feng Sheng got the minimum treatment for living costs. She certainly got enough to survive, but 3 years late is still better than 10+ years late in improving her food and medicine. I'm not saying granny was wrong for trying to be fair, but as I originally stated: That is not a bad way to live, especially in that era, but in fengsheng's particular case she made it worse for a lot of people without any benefit. It was a Utilitarian approach that failed to do the thing it focused on.
I'm not saying maomao was better off with Rakan. I'm saying she would have more family period, between Rakan, a slightly less insane mom, and....okay let's discount the rest of the Ra family.
I brought up the above points assuming all of the distrust issues. Anybody could tell that Rakan cared for how persistently he kept at it. Rakan being shady stopped being the problem for years. In this chapter, granny wasn't surprised that Rakan still loved her, or reluctant to entrust someone she supposedly cares about over other courtesans, she was angry that he isn't "saving" someone who still has a life to live(Mei Mei).
As for the disease, in the very page you listed it shows that Feng Sheng got the minimum treatment for living costs. She certainly got enough to survive, but 3 years late is still better than 10+ years late in improving her food and medicine. I'm not saying granny was wrong for trying to be fair, but as I originally stated: That is not a bad way to live, especially in that era, but in fengsheng's particular case she made it worse for a lot of people without any benefit. It was a Utilitarian approach that failed to do the thing it focused on.
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