Archive of Our Own ^beta

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• baizhu can easily say he's known their family for a long time, so he of course knows that they have trouble keeping a job. they often mention little things like that about their life during their visits with him. never once has he found anything wrong with them; they're always in virtually perfect health.
• that doesn't change the fact that they're very clearly struggling. he's observed just how much they overexert themselves in a desperate attempt to actually keep a stable job, simply to help support their family, but all the exertion only seems to make their invisible issues worse.
• also... they've been in his care for heat stroke more than once in liyue's warmer seasons. the heat is just far too much for their body to handle if they aren't careful.

• the liyuean doctor basically hired them right then and there, but they don't really realize that for the first few weeks.
• in the beginning, they're just... spending time at bubu pharmacy, learning how baizhu manages his own limited energy and applying those techniques to their own life (it works shockingly well). that's all!
• it slowly turns into them helping out where they can—packaging herbs, learning what exactly each one of them does, delivering prescriptions to those who cannot physically get the medicines themselves... even when people start to question if they've found a new job, they remain oblivious.
• it's one day while helping mince herbs that they realize they're basically a junior herbalist.

• in the spirit teaching them to manage their energy, he often takes them on house calls with him, starting off to just homes in liyue harbor and later to homes all the way in qingce village. it's a good way for them to gain stamina and get a better understanding of their job.
• baizhu has a tendency to smile through his own pain for the sake of his patients.
• this habit slipped by unchecked until [name] came around.
• whenever they feel like he isn't doing very well, they'll take over for him regardless of what he has to say about it.
• herbalist gui is very thankful for them—baizhu hardly ever listened to him, but he does take better care of himself for [name]'s sake.
• (he swears that baizhu is oddly parental when it comes to them, but he wouldn't dare mention the doctor's blatant affections to his face.)
• "welcome to bubu pharmacy," they'd greet with a kind smile after unceremoniously shoving baizhu towards the back of the pharmacy where he could rest undisturbed, "unfortunately, dr. baizhu is currently out of commission, but herbalist gui and i would be glad to take care of anything you may need."
• sometimes changsheng can be seen wrapped around their arm! usually it's their dominant arm, which is terribly inconveniencing. still, it would be an honor to be Chosen™ by their loved one's pet... if only she wasn't so mean to them.

• changsheng bullies them lovingly <3 she bites them affectionately <33
• (not that she'd ever say that, though. baizhu knows. he just chooses to let her believe he doesn't know.)
• qiqi becomes very attached to them very quickly, i think. she'd like having a nice older sibling around and would address them as such without even thinking about it. "jiějiě," "gēgē"... she can't really tell what gender they identify closer with and doesn't remember to ask, so she tends to bounce between the two terms of address.
• she has an entire page in her journal dedicated to little things about [name] that she deems to be important. she notes down things they seem to like, things they seem to dislike, their birthday, other important dates, defining features...
• she also keeps important warning signs related to health episodes of their's jotted down, like how when [name] stands still a little too long, qiqi should urge them to sit for a moment because they're probably either dizzy or having vision issues, or how when their hands begin to tremble, qiqi should share a sunsettia with them.
• she does miss these signs sometimes... she does her best, though! qiqi only wants to help the sweet junior herbalist that braids her hair and accompanies her on her herb-picking trips and hugs her and says "i love you, please stop this task, you might get hurt" with so much genuine affection that it often overwhelms her :(
• it's rare, but sometimes, there will be a customer or patient that has little tolerance for their disability-induced weakness or slowness.
• because their illness(es) is(/are) invisible, very few people take their struggles seriously.
• some people take this as an excuse to verbally and even physically abuse them.
• baizhu does not take kindly to people abusing his employees, especially not his chronically ill teenage employee. especially not them.

• baizhu takes very good care of them after stressful encounters because he knows very well that such high-stress emotional experiences will take a toll on their body.
• whenever a wealthier patient comes in, they've learned to overcharge them on purpose even if it's for the most ridiculous of ailments; oh? you say you have been sneezing quite a lot and are having a hard time breathing? no, no, it's not springtime allergies, who told you that? it's quite dire, in fact, and the treatment price will be awfully expensive... oh? you'll pay it? wonderful!
• ^ herbalist gui says that baizhu is a terrible influence on them sometimes.
• in their defense, they get hefty bonuses every time wealthy people pay ridiculous prices for typically rather inexpensive herbs (like a certain ginger harbinger did one time! they still giggle at the memory of him paying so much for so little). the more wealthy people pay, the bigger their bonuses (fatui harbingers are very wealthy...).
• simply put, they make more mora than the majority of their family put together because of this morally dubious behavior.
• baizhu, gui, qiqi, and [name] are a chaotic found family but yk what? they all make it work <3

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• baizhu is most often the first to know when they're sick or otherwise unwell. he's so impossibly attentive to their bodily condition, simply because their health is partially his responsibility. he's their teacher. what kind of mentor would neglect to take care of their apprentice? a bad one, that's what kind.
• (he also feels somewhat indebted to them—even though they're chronically ill, they're always doing anything they can to help him recover after his "secret art" treatments. even though he's the doctor, they've helped care for him on more than one occasion. he has to return the favor whenever he can. just because he's older doesn't mean he gets to freely take advantage of their kindness.)
• if he's not the first to know, he's the second, because the only instance where he wouldn't know first is if they woke up ill at home.
• he'll always end up being the second to know, at the very least. someone will inform him of their condition, whether that be a parent or a sibling or another family member. sometimes a friend of theirs may tell him, such as xingqiu, chongyun, hu tao, or xiangling.
• in hu tao's case... she may be distrustful of him, but she does tell him when they aren't well. [name] is a childhood friend of hers. she cares about their health and, surprisingly, doesn't want to put them in the ground just yet!
• even though she dreads the path they've chosen to walk down... she still cares for them, very much so.
• (junior herbalist!reader's lore drop is finally here?!?!?)
• regardless of how baizhu finds out, they'll end up being cared for at the pharmacy.
• though he could prescribe them medication and let them be taken care of at home...
• he often wants to care for them himself.
• gui has asked why in the past, and baizhu really has never had a good answer for him.
• he's really not sure why he wants to be the one to monitor them. perhaps it's because it gives him a sense of calmness and reassures him that they're recovering well.
• after all, if their condition were to rapidly decline for any reason... he could fix it.
• (to some others, his concern might seem overprotective. unnecessary. however, something as simple as the flu has been known to take lives. he worries that, because of their chronic illness, they may be more susceptible to a severe case than others are.)
• he has the means to save them if something like that were to happen, and undoubtedly, the life of his sweet and kind apprentice is one that deserves to be saved and protected.
• perhaps it's also because it seems to put qiqi at ease; baizhu's noticed that she gets fidgety in [name]'s absence during work hours, but when they're ill and being cared for at the pharmacy, she functions very well and often even remembers to check on them herself.
• sometimes when they have a fever, qiqi may sit by their side for minutes at a time and just press her little cold hands on their forehead to cool them off. she also ensures that they stay hydrated.
• both baizhu and gui find this behavior very endearing. qiqi cares deeply for her big sibling (despite the fact that she's technically older...). her bond with them is something very special and sweet to bear witness to.
• bubu pharmacy's work environment is familial and tightly knit by nature, so it isn't too hard to imagine that something would feel wrong if one of the four herbalists were gone for whatever reason. even those who don't work there are affected by the absence of one or more of the pharmacists.
• overall, baizhu takes very good care of them when they fall ill.
• he monitors them closely, hand-crafts their medicine depending on what they need, makes sure that their fluid intake is maintained...
• he dotes on them tbh.

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• i like to think that summer is every bubu pharmacy employee's least favorite season. gui dislikes it because he knows everyone else finds the heat tough to deal with, whereas baizhu and [name] hate it because it means they'll both be more likely to be out of commission, given how inclined they are to overheating.
• qiqi also overheats, so she dislikes the summer for that same reason. she hates the feeling of being hot. she hates overheating. since she's a zombie, it's just... very uncomfortable and, in some cases, even painful for her. it stresses her out.
• it stresses everyone out, really.
• the pharmacy's atmosphere tends to be a little more frantic and tense during the summer as everyone tries to stay on top of their respective bodily conditions.
• due to the collective struggle with heat, it isn't uncommon for trips out of the pharmacy during the day to be reduced to a minimum. qiqi can't handle gathering herbs when the temperature gets a bit too high, even with her cryo vision, so it's typically left to gui to do tasks like that while the sun is up. he doesn't mind it much at all.
• he's not quite as sensitive to the heat as everyone else, so it's hardly an issue for him.
• sometimes, however, going out during the day can't be helped. even when the weather is poor, leaving most of the pharmacists in equally poor condition, people still get sick and injured. that's the unfortunate truth.
• sometimes emergency trips need to be made. high-priority house calls, herb gathering... some situations cannot be avoided, and given that [name] virtually always comes along with baizhu on house calls to gain experience and knowledge...
• yeah.
• it's not exactly uncommon for one or both of them to come back nearly ridden with heat stroke. heat exhaustion is a common result of such outings, which could become heat stroke if both aren't careful.
• baizhu would certainly, 100% give them the option to opt out of house calls during the summer—they may be his apprentice, yes, but he would never force them into situations that would put their health or safety at serious risk, and there's plenty of other things they could do back at the pharmacy that wouldn't put them at such a high risk—but they wouldn't want him to have to go out in the heat alone, so they'd go with him regardless.
• he downright refuses take them on house calls too far outside of liyue harbor in extremely hot weather, though.
• (he also very rarely goes anywhere too far from the city during the summer, and the citizens of liyue are generally very understanding of the reason behind that. if he absolutely has to, however, he literally won't allow [name] to come along because of the serious risk it poses to their wellbeing.)
• it's really just a learning process more than anything.
• each pharmacist needs to learn where exactly their own limit is. it takes time and practice.
• sometimes [name] overestimates their own ability. even so... they're certainly more skilled at working with their body rather than against it compared to how they were before their employment.
• nonetheless, heat exhaustion is still a common and expected ailment at bubu pharmacy.