"Suits yourself," Cheng Mo's uplifted mood was once again dampened by Xiangbei's words. She shook her head, closed the door heavily, and left with heavy steps.
Xiangbei shrugged, wiped her face with the water in the basin, briefly adjusted her hair, and changed into her own blue jacket. She readjusted the medicine herbs basket that she had prepared earlier, leaving samples of various stationery in the space. Then, she took out the medicinal herbs and placed them on the counter. It was getting late, so she decided to go to the pharmacy first and then find a suitable warehouse. Carrying a neatly arranged backpack, she walked out of Fuhai Building directly.
The pharmacy on North Street, right in the middle of the main road, was quite large. It had appeared frequently in little girl Tong's memories, so when Xiangbei entered this pharmacy with the signboard of Renji Medicine Hall, an attendant came up to greet her, "Miss Tong is here. Did you collect good medicinal herbs? You're two days late this month. Tong Chen came early in the morning looking for you. At this hour, he's probably gone to sell mountain goods."
"Yes, yes, I traveled to two mountains and collected some things." The attendant's words contained a lot of information, but Xiangbei didn't dare to say much. She just took off the backpack and slowly thought of the name Tong Chen when she bowed her head. There was a lot of information about him. He was a tall and handsome man from the mountains, and his presence and existence were significant in many places. Taking out the medicinal herbs one by one and placing them on the receiving counter, they were just ordinary spring herbs, but the key was that they were clean and neatly arranged, with a variety of types. The total was about thirteen to fourteen taels of silver. It wasn't until the bottom two large bundles wrapped in grass weaves were opened that the attendant exclaimed with surprise,
"No wonder Miss is late; you've found a treasure trove. These two large bundles of Lingzhi and Shouwu have no idea how many years they've been growing. This Shouwu looks almost mature! Our medicine hall doesn't even have a single intact root. I need to invite the storekeeper for this. Please wait a moment, Miss."
The storekeeper arrived in an instant, "Miss Tong is here. Old Master Tong hasn't come down from the mountain in these years, but it seems he has passed on his skills to you. You've collected these herbs so cleanly, and with this luck, it's a great fortune, a great fortune."
"Storekeeper, your kind words. These were found in deep valleys. What do you think is a fair price for them?"
"If these items were to be sent to the county or the prefectural government, a price of seven to eight hundred taels wouldn't be excessive. However, here, we've always benefited from Old Master Tong's reputation. We consistently donate forty percent to those in financial distress or provide emergency medical treatment for free. It's also the blessing bestowed upon our town by the graciousness of the Tong family. So, for these two bundles, the maximum would be around three hundred taels of silver. Therefore, you can decide whether to sell them to our pharmacy or go to the county. After all, these are precious items. I can have my son drive you there. It's only a half-day round trip for fifty miles."
"No need, Storekeeper. Just calculate it as usual. It's all meant for treating illnesses and saving lives, even if it's precious, it's still medicine."
The storekeeper quickly took the medicine and handed over the money, speaking polite words. He gave Xiangbei three hundred and two silver bills, ten silver ingots, five small gold ingots, and a string of copper coins. Besides the Yunmeng chapter, there was also a square ink chapter stamped with "Fujian Tong Bao Cabinet." Watching her tuck the silver bills in front of her chest and press them down, and putting the silver into the backpack, the storekeeper happily invited her to have some tea.
"Thank you for taking the trouble to count and prepare the silver, Storekeeper. I will take good care of it. I won't have tea today; I heard from the attendant that my brother Tong Chen came to inquire about me. He's probably selling mountain goods, so I'll go to the market and look for him."
"Yes, yes. They said you were late returning home by a few days, and they were anxious to find you. Go quickly. Be careful with the money."
Thanking the storekeeper several times, who seemed to be around the same age as Uncle Zhong, carefully explaining things like she was a child, Xiangbei bid farewell and walked out. As she stepped out, a person came in, looking pleasantly surprised. He rushed over, grabbed Xiangbei's arm, and scrutinized her up and down, "Miss Bei, you're okay! It's good that you're okay."
Xiangbei stood still, her mind quickly piecing together information about the person in front of her. Tong Chen, the eldest son of Tong Yi, loyal servant of Old Master Tong. Three years ago, after Tong Yi and his wife died in the deep mountains, he took over the role of overseeing the Tong family. He was fourteen years older than Xiangbei. From the fragmented memories in her mind, it could be said that Tong Chen was someone she had grown up with on his back.