Chapter 10
The two went to the largest pharmacy in town.
It was a common blue brick and tile house with a faded wooden plaque with the words "Huichun Hall" hanging at the door. When I pushed the door open, I found that it was already crowded with people.
On the benches in the interior sat villagers waiting to get their medicine. In front of the counter stood several herbal farmers wearing coarse cloth jackets and carrying bamboo baskets. There was also a woman holding a crying child, standing on tiptoe to peek inside, constantly asking about the progress of getting the medicine.
The air was filled with the strong aroma of medicine, mixed with the sound of decocting medicine, the crying of children, and the voices of talking, which seemed very noisy.
Opposite are several rows of dark brown medicine cabinets, with various medicinal materials neatly stacked in the cabinets. There are scales and medicine grinders on the cabinets. A faint medicinal fragrance floats in the air, and there are several medicine baskets waiting to be processed in the corner.
Shen Aheng looked around and walked with Ashina Yu to a counter on the inside where there were fewer people. He saw a thin clerk leaning against the medicine cabinet, holding half a sesame cake in one hand and casually picking through the dried wolfberries in the medicine basket with the other hand. From time to time, he stuffed a piece of sesame cake into his mouth, and the cake crumbs fell on the account book next to him.
Shen Aheng took the bamboo basket off Ashina Yu’s shoulders, put it on the counter, and said, “Brother, let’s sell medicine.”
Seeing someone coming, the clerk stopped what he was doing, glanced at them, glanced at the herbs in the basket, and glanced at Ashina Yu's patched coarse cloth clothes. His tone was very perfunctory: "The quality of this doesn't look very good. Our shopkeeper is busy. Wait."
After saying that, he lowered his head and fiddled with the medicine basket, making a crackling sound.
Shen Ah Heng followed his gaze and saw a short and fat man in his fifties standing at the other end of the counter. He had a round belly and was wearing a sleek satin shirt. He was squinting his eyes and twisting the medicinal herbs handed by the herbalist with his two fat fingers, turning them over and over again.
A demanding and picky look.
The herbalist standing opposite him had two large baskets of medicinal herbs piled next to him. The ones on the counter that had passed inspection were only a small, thin pile that didn't even fill up a single basket.
There were four or five herbal farmers lined up behind him with baskets on their backs, obviously waiting for him to test their medicine.
Seeing this scene, Shen Aheng had no choice but to pull Ashina Yu to sit on the bench next to him.
After a while, there was a sound of footsteps at the door, and a man as thin as a clothesline, with two rat whiskers under his chin, and dressed in brocade, strode in with two small followers.
The slouching clerk straightened his back, hurried out from behind the counter, a fawning smile plastered on his face, and hurried over to greet him: "Brother Zhang, you're here again! Please come in!"
The man named Brother Zhang said with a bit of arrogance on his face, "My wife bought this 'blood-nourishing cream' from you last time. It's very effective. I'm coming to get two more boxes today."
The waiter responded quickly, turned around and shouted to the short and fat man surrounded inside: "Boss! Brother Zhang from the Zhang Mansion is here to get medicine again!"
When the shopkeeper heard the name "Zhang Mansion", he dropped the herbs in his hand and crawled out from behind the counter without caring that the herbal farmers were still holding the herbs.
"Oh! It turns out to be Brother Zhang from the Zhang Mansion. It's our honor that the madam likes our medicine!"
The boss rubbed his hands together, the flesh on his chin trembling as he spoke, and his smile was incredibly flattering: "Don't worry, I've saved the best for you, Madam. I guarantee it'll be just as good as last time. Just come and take care of our shop more often in the future!"
As he said this, he led the servant to the backyard and said in a deliberately flattering tone: "I will personally choose it for you, I guarantee you will be satisfied!"
When the customers in the store saw the boss suddenly leave everyone behind to greet others, they all started to complain in low voices.
The herbalist who was left behind was an old man, still clutching a handful of untested herbs. His forehead was sweating with anxiety, and he reached out to grab the clerk who was about to go back: "Young man, could you please test it for the boss? We rushed from the village before dawn and have to hurry back. We've traveled more than ten miles and can't wait any longer."
The clerk turned his head impatiently and saw the man wearing a coarse cloth short jacket that was washed white, his straw sandals were stained with mud, and the medicine basket in his hand was tied crookedly with a hemp rope. His eyes were full of contempt and he snorted coldly.
"I can't make the decision. Our boss has a rule that all herbs entering the store must be personally tested by him. Who knows if you'll sneak some inferior ones in with the good ones? You want me to test them on my boss' behalf. What are you up to?"
The old man's face flushed red, and he tried to explain, but the clerk didn't even give him a chance. He picked up the feather duster on the table and waved it at him, as if afraid it might get stained with something dirty. "Take it away quickly! Don't get in the way here. Our shopkeeper only buys medicine from Old Man Zhao in town. You're a broken basket, and no one would pick it up if you threw it on the street. How dare you think you could get into Huichuntang?"
The people waiting around looked over when they heard the sound, their eyes falling on his muddy trouser legs and worn straw sandals. The old man became more and more at a loss, and had to lower his head awkwardly, his two rough hands tightly clenching the corners of his clothes, and in the end he said nothing.
After the clerk finished speaking, he rolled his eyes at the old man, turned around and walked back to the counter, still muttering, "Any random person dares to come here to sell medicine, without even realizing what rubbish they're carrying..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw someone coming forward with a bamboo basket: "Brother, we sell medicine."
When the clerk turned around and saw that it was Shen Ah Heng again, his brows furrowed and his tone was extremely impatient: "Why are you here again? Didn't I tell you to wait? Didn't you see that our shopkeeper just went to the backyard to greet the guests? What are you doing here to join in the fun?"
Shen Ah Heng smiled calmly and pointed to the bamboo basket on the counter: "I have some good stuff that I want you to take a look at first. These herbs are very delicate. If they are kept for too long, their efficacy will dissipate."
"What good stuff can be sold in such a hurry?" The clerk looked over with disdain and saw Shen Ah Heng take out an ordinary herb wrapped in soft paper from his backpack and handed it to him: "This is it."
The waiter reached out and snatched it away. He unfolded the paper and saw that it was the ubiquitous "Qingling Grass". His face instantly darkened, thinking that the little yellow-haired girl was playing a trick on him. So he cursed: "You grandma's leg, you are playing tricks on me, and you dare to say anything about this broken grass..."
Just when he was in the middle of scolding, he suddenly screamed "Ah", and the Qingling grass in his hand fell "bang" on the counter. He bent down, covered his right hand and jumped up and down. In panic, his arm bumped, and several packages of freshly weighed precious medicinal materials on the counter fell to the ground with a "clatter", and were scattered all over the floor.
Seeing this, Shen Ah Heng immediately tiptoed over, his almond-shaped eyes wide open, and he shouted innocently, "Hey, little brother, what's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly go crazy? Do you have some unspeakable illness?"
At this moment, the shopkeeper in the backyard heard the commotion and came running out. He saw the herbs scattered all over the floor. He slapped his thigh in pain and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Are you crazy? These are treasures that can be exchanged for real money!"
The clerk's face was covered with tears and snot from the pain. He pointed at his own hand and cried intermittently, "Hand... Boss, my hand is going to rot..."
The shopkeeper glanced at the smashed herbs on the ground, his rage flaring. He reached out and grabbed his ear, cursing, "You blind little bastard! I asked you to watch the shop in front, and you're in pain all the time. You're always causing trouble for me!"
As he said this, he grabbed the guy's ear and dragged him to the backyard, but the screams continued.
Shen Ah Heng stood where he was, his slender white fingertips gently twisting the colorless powder in his hand, and hid the medicine bag in his sleeve. A very faint coldness flashed across his eyes. This "bone-eroding powder" was a recipe left by his master. Once it touched the skin, it would cause immediate unbearable pain. After an hour or two, the skin and flesh would fester. It was perfect for dealing with this kind of dog-eyed and contemptuous person.
The task was completed. Shen Ah Heng calmly withdrew her eyes and caught a glimpse of the young man beside her. She saw that although he lowered his eyes, he was secretly looking at the thing in her hand with his peripheral vision. She touched his arm lightly and mouthed, "Don't look around."
Ashina Yu immediately withdrew his gaze and nodded obediently, still looking docile.
Not long after, the screams of the guy in the backyard gradually died down, but the servant in brocade clothes came running out again with terrified faces, as if they were frightened by something. Even their original arrogant attitude was gone, and they staggered.
The shopkeeper followed behind, his chubby body panting from running. As he trotted, he frantically waved his hands at the people in front to appease them, "Brother Zhang, please wait! It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding! Just now, my clerk was clumsy and accidentally spilled the boiling medicine..."
Before he could finish his words, those people had already disappeared in a flash, leaving only a gust of wind behind.
The shopkeeper stood there, the fat on his face drooped, his expression as ugly as if he had swallowed a mouthful of bitter herbs, but he could only turn around in disappointment and reluctantly return to the counter to continue testing the medicine.
But after this incident, he was uneasy and kept glancing at the door. When testing the medicine, he no longer had the stingy attitude he had before. He would just pick up the herbs with his fingers twice and then wave his hand to let them go, moving very fast as if he was rushing to complete a task.
The old man who had been bullied by the waiter before was originally clutching the corner of his clothes nervously. Seeing the boss being so straightforward, he was stunned for a long time before reacting. A smile instantly broke out on his face. After thanking the waiter repeatedly, he picked up the medicine basket and walked away briskly.
When it was finally Shen Aheng's turn, she took off the bamboo basket from Ashina Yu's back and handed it over. The shopkeeper had just picked up a Qingling grass when he saw a clerk running from the backyard in a panic, and whispered a few words to the man's ear in a low voice.
After hearing this, the shopkeeper's eyes widened instantly, and the herbs in his hand fell on the counter with a "pop". He didn't bother to pick them up, and hurriedly took out a few ingots of silver from his purse and stuffed them into Shen Ah Heng's hands. As if he was afraid of being caught up by something, he waved his hands and urged: "Here's the money, I'll take the herbs, go quickly, go quickly!"
After saying that, without waiting for Shen Aheng's reaction, he ran to the backyard. His round body ran so fast that he didn't even take care of the business in the medicine shop.
Shen Ah Heng looked at the heavy silver in his hand, couldn't help but curl his lips, winked at the young man beside him, and said softly: "I'm afraid this boss's business will not be able to continue."
The young man lowered his eyes slightly, looked at her, and the corners of his eyes curved slightly. He didn't say anything, but nodded slightly with a bit of accustomed gentleness.
He seemed to be completely unaware of the commotion in the drugstore and her ruthless "plan", and did not think that her actions were "excessive" at all, as if he had tacitly agreed to her joke.
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