Chapter 95: Jiang Feng! Come Quickly!

The old beggar heard Jiang Feng say he wanted it, and his murky eyes instantly brightened.

He hurriedly hugged the medicine cauldron to his chest again, extending three thin, gaunt fingers.

"Young brother, this cauldron is my family heirloom; if it weren't for my old spouse needing money to save his life, I would never sell it! If you truly want it, just give three thousand coins."

"Three thousand?"

Hua Lao flared up instantly.

"You just told me two thousand earlier, how did it jump to three thousand now? You're raising the price out of nowhere! It's a scam!"

The old beggar, however, remained unruffled, grinning mischievously.

"Sir, the young brother knows his stuff! If this cauldron fell into the hands of someone ignorant, even two thousand would be too much, but for you it's cheap at three thousand! If you think it's pricey, I'll find someone else!"

Saying that, he made a motion to hug the cauldron and head out.

But his steps grew slower and slower, clearly the old beggar was convinced Jiang Feng would buy.

Hua Lao's face flushed with anger as he tugged Jiang Feng's arm and whispered advice.

"Jiang Feng, that old man is a swindler! Look at this cauldron—its surface is rusted, not even worth two hundred coins, yet he asks for three thousand! Let's not be fooled!"

Jiang Feng, however, looked at the old beggar and smiled.

"Three thousand, I'll buy it. Hua Lao, please fetch three thousand cash."

"Jiang Feng! You..."

Hua Lao still wanted to object, but seeing Jiang Feng so earnest, he turned away, still angry.

Though he felt it wasn't worth it, after all it was Jiang Feng's decision.

Soon, Hua Lao came out with a stack of banknotes and forcefully thrust them into the old beggar's hand.

"Here! Three thousand! Don't go swindling anyone else!"

The old beggar took the money and quickly counted it.

After confirming it was fine, a flattering smile spread across his face; he shoved the medicine cauldron into Jiang Feng's chest and turned to sprint toward the alley entrance.

"Thank you, young brother! You truly are a great person!"

Within seconds, the old beggar's figure vanished into the night, leaving Hua Lao standing in place, stamping his foot in fury.

"Look! He ran so fast; he must be guilty! This cauldron is definitely a fake!"

Jiang Feng, holding the cauldron, couldn't help but laugh at Hua Lao's angry demeanor.

"Hua Lao, this cauldron isn't fake; it's very precious, just that ordinary people can't tell."

"Precious?"

Hua Lao leaned in, tapped the cauldron with his fingertip, and furrowed his brows.

"I think it's just a broken copper cauldron—apart from being heavy, there's nothing special!"

Jiang Feng solemnly placed the cauldron on the table.

"Hua Lao, just trust me. I happen to be wanting to refine some body‑tonic elixirs lately; ordinary clay pots aren't potent enough, and this cauldron is perfect for that."

Hua Lao still doubted, but didn't press further.

He knew Jiang Feng never undertook anything without certainty; since Jiang Feng called it precious, the cauldron must have something extraordinary.

He sighed, turned, and went to tidy the counter.

"Fine, if you say it's precious then it's precious. By the way, for your elixir refining, do we have enough herbs at Ji Shi Tang? I noticed your previous prescription includes a few herbs we don't have here."

Hearing that, Jiang Feng pondered briefly.

"Indeed it's insufficient; we need to buy more herbs. Hua Lao, do you know where we can get rare herbs?"

"The City East Medicine Market!"

Hua Lao said immediately.

"That is Jiangcheng's largest herb market, essentially controlled by the Li Family; they have every rare herb, though the prices are a bit steep. Still, whatever you need, you'll definitely find it there."

"Although the Li Family officially cut ties with us, buying privately shouldn't be a problem."

Hearing this, Jiang Feng also nodded.

"Alright, I'll go check the City East Medicine Market tomorrow."

At that moment, a voice came from inside the room—Hua Yingying's.

"Brother Jiang Feng! I want you to go to the herb market with me too!"

Hua Yingying hopped out, excitement on her face.

"I've never been to a herb market before! I heard there are many strange herbs there; I want to see!"

Jiang Feng looked at her eager expression and nodded with a smile.

"Alright, let's go together."

Hua Lao shook his head helplessly: "You girl, you only know how to join the fun."

That night, Jiang Feng called Su Xueyan, and they stayed at Ji Shi Tang to rest.

……

Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Jiang Feng hurried to the City East Medicine Market with Hua Yingying.

Although it was still early, the market was already bustling, crowds coming and going, all there to buy herbs.

Hua Yingying's eyes lit up at the sight, tugging Jiang Feng's arm and looking around.

"Brother Jiang Feng! There are so many herbs here, many I've only seen in books."

Jiang Feng was also secretly amazed by the market's scale and couldn't help but nod.

"There are quite a lot of herbs. By the way, if you want to browse, go ahead on your own; we'll meet at the north gate in half an hour."

Hua Yingying, thrilled, said with a smile.

"Alright! See you in a bit!"

She grew up with Hua Lao from childhood, was constantly exposed to herbal materials, truly liked them, so at this moment she happily goes shopping on her own.

Jiang Feng did a little inquiry and learned that the whole market's best‑quality herbs belong to Gu Yao Zhai, and of course the prices are the highest.

Thus Jiang Feng decided to go to Gu Yao Zhai to take a look.

Soon, he arrived at the entrance of a three‑story loft, and the plaque prominently bore the three characters Gu Yao Zhai.

Jiang Feng walked into the shop, where the shelves were packed to the brim.

Behind the counter stood a Shopkeeper in a gray long robe, wearing Presbyopic Glasses, calculating the accounts.

"May I ask what herbal material you need?"

The Shopkeeper saw Jiang Feng, put down the abacus, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"Our shop's herbal material is complete, all top‑grade dried goods, never mixed with false, and the prices are fair."

Jiang Feng took a Prescription out of his pocket and placed it on the counter.

"I need to fetch five portions of herbal material according to this Prescription; the material's age must be sufficient, no substandard items allowed."

The Shopkeeper picked up the Prescription, put on his Presbyopic Glasses, and examined it carefully, his brows furrowing tighter the longer he looked.

After finishing the Prescription, he couldn't help but look up, his eyes showing a hint of surprise.

"Sir, the herbal material in this Prescription is all expensive, especially the Century‑old Wild Mountain Ginseng and Blood Sap; five portions will cost just over one million."

"The price is not an issue, as long as the herbal material is good enough."

Jiang Feng's tone was calm: "Can you fetch them?"

"Yes! Of course we can!"

The Shopkeeper smiled instantly, the wrinkles on his face bunching together.

This is a Big Client!

He hurriedly called the assistants.

"Quick! Go to the back hall and bring out the Century‑old Wild Mountain Ginseng and Blood Sap, fetch five portions according to the Prescription, be careful, don't make mistakes!"

The assistants immediately got to work, while the Shopkeeper kept Jiang Feng company in idle chat, occasionally bragging about how authentic their herbal material was.

Obviously they were trying to win over Jiang Feng, this big customer.

Jiang Feng patiently dealt with it, waiting for the assistants to finish packing the herbal material.

At that moment, the phone in his pocket Suddenly rang.

He answered, and immediately a voice with a Crying tone from Hua Yingying came through the receiver.

"Brother Jiang Feng! Come quickly! I'm in a small alley on the west side of the market! A few men are blocking me and won't let me go!"

"Come save me quickly!"