"Hello, are you here for medicine or treatment?" As soon as Xia Liu entered, the voice of a young girl reached his ears.
He looked up to see a girl with delicate features and an elegant appearance, truly a first-rate beauty.
"I'm here to sell herbs, I wonder if you'd be interested in buying?" Xia Liu said with a polite smile.
As he spoke, Xia Liu took out the Platycodon Grandiflorum from his bag, and on close inspection, he noticed the girl's pupils slightly constricted, similar to his own reaction when he first saw this ancient herb—it was shock.
"Wait here for me, I'll go call my grandpa to take a look," Liu Lanxin said, hurrying to the back hall. She had to get her grandfather; missing out on such an ancient and valuable herb was out of the question!
A few minutes later, a white-haired, crane-like elder came out. His reaction to the century-old Platycodon Grandiflorum was similar to Liu Lanxin's—a look of surprise.
"Hmm? A rare Platycodon Grandiflorum over a hundred years old, young man, where did you collect this from?" Liu Buyi, engrossed in examining the herb for a while, finally looked up at Xia Liu.
"Xianggu Mountain Range, found it under a large rock," Xia Liu didn't hide anything, it was clear to him that Liu Buyi was an experienced traditional medicine practitioner loaded with knowledge; any lie would immediately be exposed.
"Xianggu Mountain Range, very good. I've seen this variety of Platycodon Grandiflorum once when I was young, but I haven't been back to the Xianggu Mountain Range since then," Liu Buyi nodded, he had partly intended to test Xia Liu.
Xia Liu nodded without speaking, unsure of the price for such a variety of Platycodon Grandiflorum over a hundred years old, he chose to stick with the strategy of not reacting and letting the other side make a move.
Seeing that Xia Liu remained silent for a long time, Liu Buyi thought for a moment and said, "Young man, I'll take this Platycodon Grandiflorum off your hands. How about a price of fifty thousand?"
The market price for Platycodon Grandiflorum was not high, but for one over a hundred years old, valued for its medicinal properties, fifty thousand was reasonable.
"Whatever you say, elder!" Realizing the situation, Xia Liu didn't even think twice about it and agreed right away. He wasn't familiar with other herbal medicine shops in town, and if he didn't sell it here and couldn't get a better price elsewhere, there was no chance of getting the same price again.
"Haha, straightforward, Lan Xin, go fetch the money for this young man." After receiving Xia Liu's response, Liu Buyi was very pleased, holding onto the Platycodon Grandiflorum and unwilling to let go.
"Yes, Grandpa."
A few minutes later, Liu Lanxin came out with a bag, in which five bundles of Huaxia currency lay quietly.
After receiving the money, Xia Liu didn't check it; he was confident in the shop's reputation.
"Young brother, if you have more herbs to sell in the future, you can bring them here. I'll pay above market price," Liu Buyi could see what Xia Liu was about. Being able to harvest Platycodon Grandiflorum meant he knew other herbs as well, and more importantly, they were wild, which made them much more effective than the cultivated ones. He couldn't afford to lose Xia Liu as a supplier, even if it was just a few pounds a month.
"Hehe, thank you, elder. I'll bring any herbs I have here," Xia Liu replied, not about to decline such an offer.
After leaving the herbal medicine shop, Xia Liu went to the bank to set up an account, leaving five thousand in cash and depositing the rest.
Then he went to the market to buy some daily necessities. He originally wanted to buy some clothes for Zhang Xiaoxue, but then thought better of it.
Zhang Xiaoxue needed clothes the most, so Xia Liu decided to bring her along the next day and then make the purchase.
After buying what he needed, Xia Liu headed back with his basket on his back.
It was almost dark when he arrived home. The young men from Shanyan Village were also gone, or else he might have had to exercise a bit.
Seeing Xia Liu return with many items, Zhang Xiaoxue's mouth dropped open in surprise; there was peanut oil, cooking condiments, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes from the market...
All were very practical items for their living. The basket must have weighed over a hundred pounds, and Zhang Xiaoxue couldn't even lift it.
"Brother Xia Liu, you're amazing, buying all these things."
"Heh heh, there's more where that came from, I'll take you to buy some clothes tomorrow."
"I have plenty of clothes, I don't need more," Zhang Xiaoxue felt touched. Since their father passed away, no one had been so kind to her. As for clothes, hers were from a few years back, nearly tight on her now.
"No refusing from children, don't think I don't know, all your clothes are from years ago, right? It's not good for your growth."
...
"Brother Xia Liu, make sure to look closely!"
"Alright, alright, Xiaoxue, you've grown up, but you're still coming with me tomorrow." Xia Liu adjusted his stand and said.
Only then did Zhang Xiaoxue breathe a sigh of relief, dropping her folded arms and starting to help put away the groceries.
At dinner, Xia Liu seasoned the wild pork meat he had prepared at noon, and once again had a big meal with Zhang Xiaoxue.
No matter what, he had to treat this sister well, treating her like his sworn sister.
A few minutes later, Zhang Xiaoxue came out wearing clean clothes.
"Brother Xia Liu, you should take a bath too," Zhang Xiaoxue said with a slight smile looking at the awkward Xia Liu before heading back inside.
"Wow, I'll be dying without knowing how if it goes on like this..." Recalling what he just saw, Xia Liu couldn't help but exclaim in wonder.
He sighed softly and quickly fetched a bucket of water.
A few minutes later, Xia Liu finally calmed his mind and sat on the bed in lotus position, he began to absorb the Spiritual Energy in the air.
Five years ago, when the old man took him away, he taught him the Five Elements Mantra. Except for the occasional emergencies, he always sat in meditation to draw in the Spiritual Energy.
Time for Cultivation always seemed to fly by; at the break of dawn, Xia Liu ended his session and performed a set of Taiji in the courtyard.
Ever since the old man had him practice it daily, he had gotten a bit lax recently, but his skill in the gentle strength of Taiji was still quite good.
"Wow, Brother Xia Liu, your fist form looks really impressive." Zhang Xiaoxue couldn't understand it, but she was captivated by Xia Liu's movements as soon as she got up.
"Heh, you little rascal, getting up so early."
"Not as early as Brother Xia Liu." Zhang Xiaoxue was actually up early out of concern that Xia Liu might go looking for Zhang Tie again, like the day before.
Xia Liu chuckled softly, reheated the pork from last night for breakfast, and told Zhang Xiaoxue to stay at home while he went back up the mountain with his basket...