[He nods and tries to keep a tight smile on his face. Seeing all sorts of diseases ravage his neighbors in the tenements hasn't exactly filled him with confidence about relief for sickness. But it'd be embarrassing to get too worried--he's probably tipped his hand too much already.

Jokingly:]

People'll always come up with something, but whether it works is another story. I don't know what time you're from, but some people thought peppers'd cure the Spanish flu.

[He was a young kid back then, but he remembers stuff like that being all over the place.]