Chapter 41

Chen Jue looked at Shopkeeper Dong. Although Huo Jilin's words were somewhat exaggerated, the efficacy of cordyceps was indeed real.

So Chen Jue repeated the same explanation he had given to Shopkeeper Li of Jishi Hall to Shopkeeper Dong.

"Cordyceps sinensis, sweet-tasting, nourishes the lungs and kidneys, replenishes vital essence, stops bleeding, dissolves phlegm, and eases fatigue coughs. It combats cancer and supports heart health, fortifies the root and nurtures vitality."

Every point hit the mark perfectly for the wealthy and powerful.

Shopkeeper Dong looked at Chen Jue and said admiringly, "Then does your family have any medical texts recording this herb?"

These big shots weren't all idiots—they wanted to know where things came from. For instance, they knew palace doctors were the best.

Herbs from the palace were top-notch, and capital-exclusive ones were even fancier.

Chen Jue said coolly, "My family has no records of it."

Huo Jilin looked at him, thinking: Can you not be so literal and stick to the medical texts like before? This isn't surgery, it's sales. A little embellishment wouldn't hurt.

Chen Jue got the message from Huo Jilin's look. He paused, then reluctantly continued: "My family has no records, but a Jin Dynasty medical book mentions it."

Watching Chen Jue spit out words one by one, Huo Jilin jumped in: "Shopkeeper Dong, you can check this out from multiple angles to make it more convincing. Also, starting today, you can brew it as tea or cook it into medicinal meals for your family. You won't catch colds or coughs this winter."

He dropped a piece of cordyceps into his teacup and put the lid on.

"Shopkeeper Dong, let me add a few more points."

Chen Jue had just recited the benefits in a dry, flat voice—that wasn't enough. Huo Jilin said with a slight smile: "Out of the millions of herbs we have, only this one, which bridges yin and yang and crosses species, can harmonize the two. It treats both symptoms and root causes, boosts both yin and yang, and nourishes the vital gate. No other herb can take its place. This is what makes cordyceps so precious."

Chen Jue's pitch was fine, but Huo Jilin needed to drop a bombshell on Shopkeeper Dong.

He had hit Shopkeeper Dong right where it hurt.

Looking at the miraculous herb in his hand, Shopkeeper Dong was already picturing the capital's big shots swarming for it, willing to pay a fortune for a single piece.

If this herb was marketed right, it would be worth more than snow lotus.

Shopkeeper Dong's hands were shaking—not from pain this time, but because his heart was racing.

Snow lotus was for the royal family only, but cordyceps could be sold to the rich and powerful.

"Is this herb... hard to harvest?"

"Hard. We're the only ones supplying it, and we can set the price together." Huo Jilin looked at Shopkeeper Dong. The slight smile was gone, and his already intimidating face now had the commanding presence from his past life.

Shopkeeper Dong had one thought: he could never judge a book by its cover again.

Even in patched clothes, this guy's presence was intimidating as hell.

Huo Jilin sat there coolly, radiating pressure.

Scarcity makes things valuable.

He wanted an exclusive deal.

He wasn't being all nice and chatty just to do Shopkeeper Dong a favor—he wanted a partnership.

The whole carrot-and-stick thing was ingrained in Huo Jilin's bones. Even as a poor man in patched clothes, sitting in this chair, he looked like he was still at the head of the table.

His presence momentarily scared Shopkeeper Dong, who was itching to get rich and prove himself.

But Shopkeeper Dong, using his years of experience, pulled himself together, hoping to haggle with Huo Jilin.

Huo Jilin slowly sipped the cordyceps-infused water. When he finished, he looked at Shopkeeper Dong. The whole "hit them with a stick, then give them a candy" move was second nature to people in power.

Huo Jilin said calmly: "Shopkeeper Dong, you run Wanchun Hall and you're busy every day, so you need to focus on what matters. As an outsider looking in, I believe the most important things for you are getting a read on your rich clients and networking up and down the ladder. Start with a pilot run in Dongling County. Wanchun Hall's base is in the capital, but if cordyceps comes from Dongling County, then your future is wide open."

Shopkeeper Dong stared at Huo Jilin with burning eyes. Huo Jilin's way of using medical metaphors to read people was spot on.

This time, Shopkeeper Dong was speechless.

Huo Jilin had laid out everything—from supply to packaging to his future. What more could he ask for?

Shopkeeper Dong looked at this kid, barely twenty, and felt a flood of emotions.

This guy really impressed him.

He almost kicked himself for not serving Huo Jilin better tea earlier.

Shopkeeper Dong stood up and cupped his hands in a salute to Huo Jilin: "I've learned a lot. Hearing you talk today beats reading books for ten years. Young Master Huo, you must have been around and seen the world."

Huo Jilin said coolly: "What world have I seen? I'm just a nobody from Pingshan Village."

Chen Jue didn't even want to look at him. Anyone listening would've thought he was being sarcastic.

What village nobody could set up such a huge scheme step by step? Chen Jue now realized Huo Jilin had used the ginseng as bait to hook something bigger.

His endgame was selling cordyceps.

You can't blame Shopkeeper Dong for falling for it so fast—Huo Jilin was just too good. As a future CEO of a big pharma company centuries later, he had the accumulated experience of countless people.

Sure enough, Shopkeeper Dong was fully convinced Huo Jilin was a fallen noble from a great family.

"You're too modest. Anyone can tell you're a herb expert with serious medical roots in your family."

Shopkeeper Dong wasn't great at much, but he was a good judge of people. By pure luck, he'd guessed Huo Jilin's past life identity.

Huo Jilin gave a noncommittal smile.

Shopkeeper Dong had already had someone bring Wanchun Hall's seal. Since Huo Jilin wanted exclusive supply, they needed a contract in writing—black and white, so both sides could feel safe.

"Young Master Huo, I'm a few years older, so I'll be bold and call you Brother Huo. Brother Huo, take a look—any clauses in this contract need fixing? As for price, we'll go with what you said—one tael of silver for ten."

As Shopkeeper Dong pushed the contract over, he also slid a packet of silver in front of Huo Jilin, smiling: "Think of this as a little gift for my future nephew."

He smiled at Chen Jue too.

Chen Jue's hand, resting on his stomach, froze. This Shopkeeper Dong was way too smooth.

Huo Jilin, however, went along with it and changed the way he addressed him: "Brother Dong, you're too generous. I trust you completely."

Huo Jilin skimmed the contract in one quick pass, then picked up the brush and wrote his name—his real name.

From now on, he'd go by Huo Jilin.

Huo Lin, style name Jilin.

After signing, he handed the brush to Chen Jue: "You sign as well."

He also explained to Shopkeeper Dong, "These cordyceps are a family heirloom from my husband. He's the real supplier. I'm just the one making the connection."

He wasn't trying to curry favor with Chen Jue. He'd always kept things separate—even if Chen Jue was his husband, what was his was his.

Chen Jue didn't stand on ceremony either. He picked up the brush and signed in a few swift strokes. He was, after all, the true supplier. The few cordyceps Huo Jilin had brought out were all dug by him.

Shopkeeper Dong watched their strange dynamic and smiled along.

He thought to himself that Huo's husband was quite impressive. Though he'd barely spoken a word the whole time, Huo had given him all the silver and even had him sign the contract. Clearly, Chen Jue held the power in the household.

When he saw their signatures, Shopkeeper Dong became even more certain these two were from a fallen family.

People who could read and write were few and far between, and these two not only knew their characters but wrote them beautifully.

Shopkeeper Dong personally walked them out.

Once they turned the corner past Wanchun Hall, their pace slowed.

Huo Jilin sidled up to Chen Jue and coughed. "How much silver was in that greeting money earlier?"

Chen Jue looked at him. "Didn't you say you didn't care?"

Who was it that didn't even look before signing?

Huo Jilin coughed. "These are special circumstances, aren't they?"

He'd gotten used to waving his hand dismissively like that.

Now that he was out, he could see the patches on his sleeves.

Once again, he was painfully aware that he had nothing to his name.

A single coin could bring even a hero to his knees. Money used to be just a number to him, but now he had to survive. He had a family to support.

Chen Jue passed him the silver. "Fifty taels."

Huo Jilin took it a little embarrassed, explaining, "After we buy what we need, I'll give you the rest."

Chen Jue yawned and ignored him. The rest? This wouldn't even buy a cart. An ox alone costs twenty taels.

But Chen Jue didn't say anything. This was money Huo Jilin had earned on his own.

Thanks to Huo Jilin's mix of carrot and stick tactics, the ginseng he'd estimated at fifty taels sold for double at Wanchun Hall—a hundred taels.

Besides that hundred taels he'd negotiated, there was also the fifty-tael greeting gift, which counted as Huo Jilin's income too, since he'd successfully promoted the cordyceps.

Wanchun Hall now had a dedicated supplier—a specialist in cordyceps from Pingshan Village, a tiny hamlet far from the capital.

Chen Jue had to admit he couldn't compete with that kind of skill.

Huo Jilin watched him yawn, his gaze traveling from Chen Jue's tear-streaked face down to the belly he was cradling... and the patch on his robe.

After yawning, Chen Jue noticed Huo Jilin staring at him with an odd expression. He automatically covered his belly. "What?"

Huo Jilin looked away from his stomach and toward the small parcel in his arms. "You're richer than me now. Is the silver heavy? Want me to carry it for you?"

Who would complain about silver being heavy? Was he just trying to make small talk?

Chen Jue glanced at him. He knew Huo Jilin wasn't a man of few words. When he'd accompanied Jiang Xinhe to see the doctor, he'd been generous and considerate, carrying bags and clothes, even cracking the occasional joke to amuse her—a complete contrast to the man who'd pull a long face in the conference room and push around the medical staff at Zhonghai Hospital.

That was one of the reasons Chen Jue had mistakenly assumed Huo Jilin was sweet-talking Jiang Xinhe into having a child with him.

Chen Jue took a slow breath. Huo Jilin had already explained everything. Jiang Xinhe's death wasn't his fault.

He couldn't hate him anymore, but he also couldn't be friends with him.

And he certainly couldn't handle Huo Jilin talking to him like this.

He preferred the old capitalist Huo Jilin.

That was how they'd mostly interacted.

Chen Jue walked past him and continued on.

He still needed to plan a way out. Once he got through this rough patch and could stand on his own two feet, he would leave.

If he couldn't get his household registration in the county town after a divorce, he could go to a Taoist temple after giving birth and work as a doctor there.

When he'd helped clean up the bones in the graveyard behind the temple, he'd learned some medical knowledge from the Taoist priests and built some rapport. Maybe the abbot would take them in.

That was another path he'd been thinking about over the past few days.

He hoped he wouldn't have too much contact with Huo Jilin in the future.

Even though Huo Jilin might be the only person in this world from the same world as him, and partnering with him meant less risk of exposure or being burned at the stake—safer, with better odds of survival.

But he figured this life was already a gift. He'd live as many days as he got, on his own terms.

Maybe he wouldn't last long anyway. Once he gave birth and served whatever punishment fate had given him, he could leave this place.

Dying in childbirth—that would suit him perfectly.

That's the way Jiang Xinhe had died.

Was that how he had to repay for two lives?

Chen Jue thought, feeling numb. He reached out and touched his belly, not sure what he felt. He'd had this belly for nearly five months since arriving in this world. To say he felt nothing would be a lie.

From throwing up everything he ate, to being able to stomach his own awful cooking. From wanting to get rid of this child to accepting it.

From being unable to get used to it moving in his belly, to now reflexively wanting to interact when it threw a punch.

People really do change. He used to have no empathy at all. Even if maternal hormones were at work, he'd changed a lot.

Chen Jue cradled his belly and walked slowly. The autumn sun shone on him generously, casting a thin, solitary shadow.

From behind, he still looked frail—a tall, slender figure lost in loose hemp clothing.

Huo Jilin followed behind him, eyes narrowing as he watched his back. He felt like something about Chen Jue had changed, though he couldn't put his finger on it. His posture was still straight, but he seemed... listless.

They'd cleared the air. He shouldn't hate him anymore. Even hatred should have some fire to it, but now he seemed down and out.

Could it be postpartum depression? He hadn't even given birth yet.

Maybe he needed a little shopping spree. That's how his mother cheered herself up when she was upset.

Huo Jilin quickened his pace to catch up and said, "Come on, let's go to the cloth shop on South Street first."

South Street was lined with clothing and cosmetics shops. The two ignored the cosmetics and headed straight into the biggest shop with the flashiest storefront.

This shop had the largest selection of silks, satins, and finished garments.

Huo Jilin wasn't here to negotiate business this time—he was buying clothes. After browsing the entire store, he pointed at a few ready-made outfits that didn't look half bad. "That black one and the navy one—bring those down. And that moonlight-colored one, plus that water-blue one, for my man to try on."

The shopkeeper, who had watched him wander in wearing patched clothes while eyeing the fine silks and finished garments, assumed he was just browsing for fun and hadn't bothered to greet him. But when he suddenly placed an order, she choked on her words. "...These are men's clothes."

She glanced hesitantly at Chen Jue's protruding belly. What kind of husband picks clothes without even checking the fit?

Huo Jilin paused, then countered, "And why can't he wear them?"

There wasn't much in the way of maternity clothes around here. Chen Jue was tall enough to pull off the clothes he'd chosen. And not all men were tall anyway.

Seeing his attitude, the shopkeeper said nothing more. The customer had already made his choice—what more was there to say? She looked at Chen Jue's height and quickly smiled. "They'll fit. Xiaoyue, take this young fella to try them on."