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Sweet and salty flavors clear deficiency heat. The cool nature astringes the heart's fluids. (Fu Mai, floating wheat, refers to the portion of common wheat that floats after being washed in water. It is sweet and salty in flavor, cool in nature, and enters the Heart meridian. It reduces deficiency heat. Sweat is the fluid of the Heart; by nourishing the Heart and clearing heat, the fluids and blood are not disturbed by fire, thereby eliminating concerns about spontaneous sweating and night sweats.)

For all types of sores and ulcers, applying vinegar around the affected area can resolve them. Various heat toxins can be treated according to prescriptions using its sour and cool properties. (Xiao Fen, fine starch, is the sediment obtained when washing gluten from wheat bran. Its original nature is sweet and cool; taking it also nourishes the heart spirit and benefits the viscera, with efficacy surpassing Fu Mai. However, over time its flavor becomes sour. When stir-fried until dry and ground into powder, and mixed with vinegar for external application, it can resolve various sores and ulcers. This illustrates the principle that extreme astringency leads to dispersion.)

The sweet and warm nature achieves the work of creation. It promotes blood circulation, harmonizes the nutritive level, and treats dysentery. Steaming and fermenting guide the digestion of food in the central jiao, harmonizing the spleen, assisting the stomach, and regulating the middle jiao. (Hong Qu, red yeast rice, is made by steaming and fumigating japonica glutinous rice. Its color is thoroughly red, similar to how food enters the stomach and transforms into blood through steaming and changing processes. It is sweet in flavor and warm in nature, entering the Spleen, Stomach, and blood levels. It guides stagnation and transforms food, promotes blood circulation, and harmonizes the nutritive level. Its function can be inferred from its steaming and fermenting transformation properties.)

Buckwheat
Descending qi and refining form, widening the chest and removing accumulated impurities. The sweet and neutral nature expels dampness and benefits the spleen's origin. (Qiao Mai, buckwheat, is sweet, neutral, and non-toxic. All grains and wheats suitable for food can nourish the stomach and assist the spleen. Only Qiao Mai can refine and eliminate turbid impurities within the viscera. All conditions involving turbidity, such as hemorrhoids and fistulas, caused by excessive dampness accumulating in the intestines and stomach, can be treated by promoting their discharge. Thus, the logic of descending qi and widening the chest is evident. Furthermore, it can suppress dantshi toxicity; mixed with vinegar and applied externally, it treats pediatric erysipelas and red swelling. Therefore, it seems unsuitable for those with spleen and stomach deficiency.)

Tofu Bean
Warming the middle and directing qi downward, it is effective in treating hiccups. Benefiting the kidney and returning to the origin, it is sweet, warm, and non-toxic. (Dao Dou Zi, tofu bean, is sweet in flavor and warm in nature. Its action descends and enters the Kidney meridian. It warms the lower jiao and treats kidney deficiency causing qi to fail to return to its origin, as well as hiccups due to deficiency-cold. Taking Dao Dou Zi charred but retaining its substance (burned to preserve its essence), mixed with plain boiled water and taken orally (2 qian), stops hiccups immediately. This aligns with its benefit to the intestines and stomach and harmonization of the middle jiao.)