Chapter 39

For the past few months, Chen Jue had been selling medicine at Jishi Hall on every major market day, and the herbs he brought were always properly prepared, earning him a reputation as one of Jishi Hall's top suppliers.

So when the pharmacy apprentice saw him coming, he led him straight to the back courtyard.

The two of them each carried a basket of dried herbs, and Shopkeeper Li gave him a fair price.

Shopkeeper Li felt the deep-red wild cornel and the rice-white Sichuan fritillary with his hand and nodded: "Not bad. We've been running low on this kind of medicine lately. With the change of season, noticeably more people have been coughing. Young Chen, your medicine has helped fill our pharmacy's gap. Will you be bringing this much in the future? And who's this?"

As he spoke, Shopkeeper Li glanced at Huo Jilin standing beside him. He hadn't seen this man before, but since he'd come with Chen Jue to sell medicine and had helped Chen Jue take off his basket earlier, he was probably someone close to him.

Huo Jilin looked at Chen Jue, and seeing that Chen Jue wasn't going to introduce him, introduced himself: "I'm Chen Jue's husband."

Shopkeeper Li suddenly realized: "Oh, oh, what a well-matched pair."

That was the only word Shopkeeper Li could come up with, because he couldn't read any emotion on Chen Jue's face.

Both of them were strikingly good-looking. When they'd walked from the front into this back courtyard with their heads lowered, it had made people's eyes light up.

Chen Jue was good-looking, which he'd almost gotten used to, but he hadn't expected his husband to be handsome too. The two of them were a perfect match looks-wise.

But for now, they only matched in appearance.

Because the two seemed united in name only, and this young Chen's husband wore a cold expression, as if their pharmacy owed him something.

So Shopkeeper Li couldn't think of anything better to say.

Chen Jue also rescued Shopkeeper Li from his awkwardness at the right moment, asking: "Shopkeeper, next time there will be more Bairenzi, astragalus, and angelica. These herbs are also seasonal—good for nourishing qi and blood in autumn and winter, and mainly for nourishing the spirit. Will you take however much I bring?"

Shopkeeper Li smiled: "Of course, I'll take however much you bring."

Huo Jilin then asked: "Shopkeeper, if we supply medicine continuously and provide urgently needed herbs according to the season, what kind of price advantage can you offer?"

From their familiar way of doing business, it was clear Chen Jue had been selling medicine here for months. Huo Jilin wanted to see what this shop's advantage was.

Jishi Hall wasn't the only pharmacy on this street.

Pharmacies always tended to cluster together while also bringing each other business.

Because there was never a shortage of patients—people eat all kinds of grains, so they get all kinds of illnesses.

Shopkeeper Li paused slightly at his words. Was this young Chen's husband trying to negotiate a better price for his spouse?

Young Chen had never haggled over price in all these months. Although the price he gave was fair, he'd assumed things could just go on as they were.

Shopkeeper Li looked at the top-quality herbs Chen Jue had always provided and chose his words carefully: "The quality of the herbs Young Chen provides is beyond reproach—I can't find any fault with them. While Jishi Hall can't offer him a high price, I can guarantee him a fair one."

Huo Jilin glanced at him. This Shopkeeper Li's words left a lot of room—he acknowledged the quality of Chen Jue's herbs and affirmed that his price was fair.

But he could read between the lines that there was still room for improvement in Chen Jue's herbs. Shopkeeper Li wasn't hiding anything; he was trying to earn Chen Jue's trust with honesty.

For someone who could supply medicine continuously, having a pharmacy that would consistently buy at fair prices was far more important than one that was hit-or-miss.

Huo Jilin was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Shopkeeper Li speaks from the heart and offers a fair price. Then we'll continue supplying our medicine here next time."

Chen Jue glanced at him. He'd thought Huo Jilin was going to say something fancy, but it turned out the same.

As Chen Jue thought this, he reached into his robe, getting ready to take out his ginseng.

But just as his hand reached his chest, Huo Jilin covered it with his own. Huo Jilin, with his back to the shopkeeper who was writing on paper, shook his head at Chen Jue.

Chen Jue didn't know what he was planning, but he guessed he was trying to stop him from taking out that thirty-year-old ginseng.

So he didn't take it out, just pushed Huo Jilin's hand away.

Shopkeeper Li carefully wrote down the weight and price of each herb. Huo Jilin took it and looked it over, smiling faintly: "Shopkeeper Li has excellent handwriting. Regular script, with the style of Liu Gongquan."

In this dynasty, literature was valued over martial arts, and from nobles to scholars taking the imperial exams, everyone took pride in good calligraphy.

Shopkeeper Li felt somewhat overwhelmed by his compliment, which was rather strange.

Even stranger was that this man in patched hemp clothing could actually comment on his calligraphy.

Not only was he literate, but he could even identify the calligraphy style he practiced—that was no small feat.

Shopkeeper Li looked him over again. Huo Jilin had an imposing presence.

Shopkeeper Li was well-traveled. Though he was now in this small county, he had previously worked in a pharmacy in the capital and had seen the world. He never looked down on anyone.

Especially in the pharmacy business—one must treat people with honesty. One must have a heart for healing.

So he guessed that Huo Jilin was some fallen aristocratic scion.

If one had fallen, there was also the possibility of rising again.

Shopkeeper Li regarded him highly, exchanged a few more courteous words with him, and set a time for the next medicine delivery.

The two carried their now-lighter baskets, with the thirty taels of silver they'd just earned tucked in their robes, and their steps felt lighter.

Huo Jilin sighed inwardly—having silver in one's pocket was essential.

So getting a good price was important.

Chen Jue watched Huo Jilin continue walking forward and asked him: "Where do you want to sell the ginseng?"

Huo Jilin saw that he'd directly guessed his intention and didn't beat around the bush. He pointed to Wanchun Hall ahead—the one with the largest sign, carriages parked by the roadside, and patients in fine clothes getting out—and said: "There."

Jishi Hall served ordinary commoners, so the herbs it used could only be common ones. A ginseng wouldn't fetch a high price at his pharmacy.

Even if Shopkeeper Li knew the ginseng was a good item, he could only offer a fair price, not a high one.

But Wanchun Hall was different. The people who came here to see doctors were wealthy and noble, and they could use such ginseng.

With good packaging, it could fetch a high price.

If Jishi Hall was a public pharmacy for the common people, then Wanchun Hall was a high-end private clinic.

Huo Jilin observed the patients coming and going, positioning the pharmacies in his mind, then led Chen Jue toward Wanchun Hall.

His starting point had been high—he'd taken over the largest Huachen Pharmaceutical from the start—so he'd been above others for years. Now that he'd become a commoner, his mentality hadn't fully adjusted yet, so he forgot he was wearing coarse hemp clothes and walked straight into Wanchun Hall.

Thus, their appearance at the entrance of Wanchun Hall immediately drew everyone's attention.

The pharmacy apprentice at the door was stunned at first. The consultation fees at Wanchun Hall were quite expensive. Commoners normally never came here.

Their physicians were imperial doctors who had retired from the palace, having previously treated emperors, empresses, princes, and princesses.

Whether in terms of price or positioning, it was not something ordinary folk could afford.

Yet the two men in coarse linen clothes wore expressions far too calm—one utterly impassive, unreadable, and the other carrying himself with more grandeur than a prince or noble. His gaze swept over their Wanchun Hall without a trace of emotion, but the undisguised dissatisfaction in his eyes was visible to the pharmacy apprentice even from several zhang off.

The apprentice was momentarily taken aback by him. Those who came to Wanchun Hall were wealthy or noble, and over the years, he had learned to read people's moods.

He figured Huo Jilin and Chen Jue, who'd just walked in, had to be some kind of hidden big shots.

After all, even the senior physician had once been an imperial doctor.

So the apprentice made a point of not staring at their patched linen clothes and the baskets on their backs, and greeted them with a smile.

"You two here to buy medicine or see a doctor?"

Huo Jilin had already given Wanchun Hall the once-over. It was the fanciest place on the street, but once inside, he saw it wasn't all that impressive.

This place wasn't even as good as the TCM pharmacy at a rural health clinic.

But then he reminded himself this was ancient times. Productivity was what it was, so this was already decent.

So he told the apprentice, "I'm here to sell herbs."

The apprentice barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He'd thought some big shot had walked in, but it was just some herb picker selling his haul. What a waste of a guess.

This guy in patched clothes, acting like a big shot? A herb seller with that kind of look-down-on-everyone attitude.

He noticed some rich patient waiting nearby already frowning in disgust.

The apprentice's voice went flat. "Sir, all our medicines come from the Dong family, a set medicinal house in the capital, delivered every month on schedule. We don't take herbs from outside. If you want to sell, try the shop next door."

Huo Jilin looked at him, caught the contempt in his eyes, and for a second couldn't find the words.

Back in the day, pharma companies would beg for a meeting with him—rolling out red carpets all the way to his shoes and having the whole factory staff line up to greet him.

He never thought he'd get turned away by some lowly pharmacy apprentice.

And over something this stupid.

A faint smile twitched at the corner of Huo Jilin's mouth. Seeing Chen Jue about to walk off, he grabbed his sleeve. He was dead set on selling here today.

He said to the apprentice, his voice even. "I don't know who your capital supplier is, but if your herbs really come from there, you've probably been out of stock for over six months."

The Tartars from the northwest had pushed in, crossing Subei all the way to Jincheng, just three hundred li from the capital. The capital's gates had been locked down for over half a year.

Plus, with the Grand General of Valor just escorting the Crown Prince of Northern Yuan back to the capital, the lockdown got even tighter. No merchants—medicine or otherwise—were allowed in or out.

And even if the capital had herbs, in this era before large-scale farming, most medicines came from the deep mountains of Yunnan, Guizhou, the northwest, and the northeast. How could they come from the capital?

That line might fool someone who didn't know the business, but not him.

Because he was in the medicine trade. Huachen Pharmaceutical was the biggest pharma group in the country—that wasn't bragging, just facts.

The apprentice was about to bite back when a middle-aged voice rang out from inside the shop: "Kongqing, back off. Where's your manners? A guest is a guest—bring these two in."

The apprentice, Kongqing, got chewed out and had no choice but to lead Huo Jilin and Chen Jue to the back courtyard.

The middle-aged man was the shopkeeper, dressed in a silk robe. He had an honest face, but his eyes had a sharp gleam. When he sized up Huo Jilin, there was a flicker of caution, and Huo Jilin let him look his fill.

Good. Being wary was a good sign.

This shop was too sloppy. Even if he didn't call it out today, someone else would sooner or later.

After a beat, the shopkeeper smiled at Huo Jilin. "What's your surname, young man? My apprentice had no eyes and no manners—he's offended you."

Huo Jilin said flatly, "Surname's Huo. This here's my husband."

He helped Chen Jue sit in the chair Kongqing had brought over. Guess they only learned manners after getting scolded.