Chapter 41: The Scramble

He was startled, about to call out to Chi Nan Yi, but when he looked up, the two figures were nowhere to be seen.

At this moment, Chi Nan Yi and Chi Huai Qian were almost at the entrance of Bai cao tang across the street.

"Shopkeeper, do you actually have the herbs listed on this prescription? Our master urgently needs them; he said, as long as you can get the items, we don't care about the money—just tell us the price."

Hearing that, Liu the shopkeeper was even more determined to keep Chi Nan Yi and the other person.

"Wait!" He could no longer worry about saving face.

Zhao the wealthy gentleman was one of the town's richest families—who wouldn't want to curry favor with him? Yet Zhao was notoriously aloof, even the Town Mayor paid him no heed, let alone the local merchants.

They usually had no way to get close, and now, with this rare chance, Liu the shopkeeper could not possibly let it slip.

More importantly, Zhao's family had a son still unmarried, and a daughter of dignified beauty—anyone who saw her would exclaim "pretty!" If they could tie a relationship with Zhao, it might even help arrange his daughter's marriage.

He hurried up to Chi Nan Yi and the other, smiling broadly: "May I ask, miss, is the herb in your basket the Zhu Sha root?"

Chi Nan Yi glanced over the prescription in his hand, saw the characters, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

"So what if it is?"

Liu the shopkeeper never expected Chi Nan Yi to be literate; even daughters of townsfolk rarely could read, let alone children from farming families.

"May I have a look? If the quality is good, I'll buy it from you, saving you the trouble of wandering around looking for a buyer."

"Didn't you just say you don't buy herbs from small‑scale sellers?" Chi Nan Yi sneered. "I think your shop's assistant is right—if there's any problem with the herb, we can't afford it. Besides, you're not the only one buying herbs in this town; I'd get the same answer elsewhere." She gathered the cloth from upstairs, and a wind‑tossed corner landed directly in Liu the shopkeeper's eyes.

*Hiss*…

It turned out to be a top‑grade Zhu Sha root!

"Miss, miss!" Liu the shopkeeper beamed at her. "Miss, as long as you sell the herb to me, everything will be easy, easy."

Chi Huai Qian, seeing this, was about to take the basket down when Chi Nan Yi whispered, "What if I don't sell?"

"Miss, what do you mean? Weren't you just going to sell the herbs at our shop?" Liu the shopkeeper sized her up, smiling, "Alright, alright, just tell me how much silver you'll accept for these herbs."

Chi Nan Yi laughed, "I want to sell the herbs, but not to you." She then turned to Chi Huai Qian, "Third brother, let's go to Bai cao tang." Raising her voice, she added, "I don't believe such fine Zhu Sha root can't fetch silver."

Zhu Sha root?

The assistant heard and was delighted.

Isn't Zhu Sha root the very herb he couldn't find anywhere in the town?

The assistant hurried forward and snatched the prescription from Liu the shopkeeper's pallid hand.

"Liu, since you have no herbs, you should have said so—I've wasted my time here," the assistant glared at Liu, then rushed to Chi Nan Yi: "Miss, you said you have Zhu Sha root?"

"Exactly." Chi Nan Yi removed the cloth from the basket, revealing a dozen or so red roots to everyone's eyes.

The thick, robust stems were bright scarlet, unmistakably top‑grade Zhu Sha root.

"Great!" the assistant exclaimed excitedly. "How much for this Zhu Sha root? I'll take it!"

Hearing someone willing to buy, Chi Huai Qian felt a surge of joy.

Finally, they could get silver!

Chi Nan Yi smiled, "To be honest, this is my first time coming to sell herbs, and I have no idea what the market is for Zhu Sha root."

Just then, the shopkeeper of Bai cao tang stepped out, and his eyes lit up at the sight of the Zhu Sha root in the basket.

"This year's Zhu Sha root is so scarce, miss, and yours is so fine—how about selling it to me?" Li Xun said with a smile. "In past years Zhu Sha root was common; in the last two years, it's become impossible to find even a single plant."

The assistant at Zhao's residence hurried, "No, no, no—I'm the one who saw it first; if it sells, it must sell to me!"

Chi Nan Yi looked at Li Xun: "You are the shopkeeper of a medicine shop, so you should know the value of herbs. Please do me a favor—if the price is right, I'll bring more next time." After all, she had plenty of this stuff.

Li Xun thought for a moment: "In past years Zhu Sha root fetched fifty wen per jin; these past two years it's scarce, and yours is of excellent quality—if I buy it, I could sell it for a hundred wen per jin."

One hundred wen?

Chi Huai Qian's mouth involuntarily widened.

This thing, a jin for a hundred wen?

"I estimate your Zhu Sha root could be about thirty jin," Li the shopkeeper laughed, "If I buy it, I can pay three liang of silver."

Three liang of silver!

Three liang of silver!

Chi Huai Qian for a moment thought he had misheard.

This basket could fetch three liang of silver! His brother worked hard for just ten wen a day; now, if this sells for three liang, isn't that… equivalent to a month's wages?

*Hiss*…

If it were the old days, he wouldn't even dare to imagine it!

The assistant cheerfully placed three liang of silver in Chi Nan Yi's hand: "Three liang of silver, it's yours!"

After speaking, he handed the prescription to Li the shopkeeper: "Take a look at the other herbs listed—do you have any of them?"

"Yes, we have them all!" Li the shopkeeper called the assistant, telling him to fetch the herbs, then approached Chi Nan Yi: "Miss, how much of this Zhu Sha root do you have?"

"Shopkeeper, this Zhu Sha root was gathered by me in the mountains; I can't say exactly how much."

Li Xun nodded, "Miss, do you understand pharmacology?"

"I studied it before."

"No wonder. In that case, if you ever have good herbs, bring them to Bai cao tang; as long as they're fine, we'll buy them all! You won't lose a cent."

Chi Nan Yi heard this and nodded gladly.

At that moment, Liu the shopkeeper hurried forward: "Miss, I apologize for the earlier offense. If you have good medicine in the future, bring it to Liu ji yao pu; we will pay more than Bai cao tang." He produced a silver ingot about ten liang in size and said, "This is a deposit; how do you feel about it?"

Chi Huai Qian stared at the silver and involuntarily sucked in a cold breath.

Ten liang!

Their family hasn't eaten or drunk for two years and still couldn't earn ten liang of silver!

Most of all, this is only a deposit!