Chapter 22: Han Family Pharmacy's Envious Profits
Uncle Du had been traveling all the way from Luoyang for over a month and was exhausted. Even if he wanted to rush back to Yizhou Prefecture, he would have to wait a few days before setting off again.
After a good night's rest, Uncle Du woke up the next morning and, while having breakfast, heard Gu Wen and his son talking about the canal construction. He said, "You have plenty of money now. I tell you not to suffer this hardship. Even if you can't become an official, you can buy a couple of shops in Songjiang City and start a business."
"There's no rush to do business, but we can't abandon our land."
"Dad, are we going to do business?"
Gu Wenqing only knew that his father built the canal for merit and to seek an official position. When did he talk about doing business?
Mrs. Du said, "Your sister wants to start a medicinal herb business. Our family has no money and no connections, so we originally thought we'd wait two years before doing it."
Gu Wen followed up the conversation and asked his son, "Da Lang, your sister wants to use the money from our family to do business. Do you agree?"
Gu Wenqing nodded without hesitation. An An had saved the family's lives, so why would he argue with An An over the silver? Besides, his parents were still alive, and the silver belonged to them. It wasn't his turn to make decisions.
Gu Wen smiled and said, "According to the rules, most of the family property is inherited by the sons. Your two sisters can spend it without mistreating you. Your mother and I will also have a share of the money we earn in the future."
"Dad, please stop talking. I'm not young anymore. I'll find a job after I've learned some skills. Even if I'm not very capable, I can still support my family."
Uncle Du praised: "Da Lang is responsible."
Gu Youan smiled and peeled an egg for his elder brother and put it in his bowl: "Don't worry, elder brother, I will give you some money when I am rich."
"Hahaha, then I'll wait."
It's a good thing for a child to be motivated, but this medicinal herb business... Uncle Du sternly warned Gu Youan, "This industry is very exclusive. The people who collect herbs, trade herbs, sell herbs, and buy herbs are almost all acquaintances. It won't be easy for you to get in."
"Take our Du family for example. Our ancestor was originally a traveling doctor. Later, he saved up some money and opened a medicine shop. By the time of your grandfather's generation, he had gained a little fame in Yizhou Prefecture, built up a network of connections, and then slowly expanded into the medicinal materials business."
"Our Du family's medicinal herb business is generally limited to the Bashu area. We never go outside. If we haven't known each other for many years, we have no idea whether the person we are dealing with is a human or a ghost. We are afraid that if we don't know the tricks, we will not only lose our family business, but also our lives."
Uncle Du is one of us, and compared to the outsider Zhang Shinan, he talked to Gu Youan in more detail about the ins and outs of the medicinal materials industry, such as who had lost all their property in a scam on Xinglin Street in Luoyang City, or who had a drug store whose owner was short-sighted and made a mistake in choosing the right medicinal materials, causing someone to die, and so on.
Gu Youan seemed lost in thought. After hearing what Uncle Du said, Gu Wenqing advised his sister, "If Anan wants to do business, that's fine. Selling silk and jewelry is more reliable than medicinal herbs, aren't they?"
"Don't worry, brother. I know everything Uncle Du said. If I'm not sure, I won't do anything rash."
Gu Youan spoke slowly and steadily, and despite his young age, his words were quite convincing. Uncle Du said to Gu Wen and his wife, "I see that Anan's tone of voice is quite similar to Fang Weng's. I think he's someone who can accomplish things."
Fangweng is Gu Wen's courtesy name.
Gu Wen smiled but said nothing. Madam Du said with a smile, "You've got to say it. Anyone who has seen them, father and daughter, would say that An An looks a lot like her father."
Gu Wenqing was jealous and said deliberately, "Second uncle, you don't know that in my father's heart, An An is his sweetheart. He agrees with everything An An says, but I, his son, have to be scolded every few days."
Gu Wen scolded with a smile, "If you're doing well, why would I criticize you? As a brother, you don't set an example for your sisters, and you're jealous of them. Aren't you ashamed?"
A Xuan was eating eggs while watching her brother being scolded. She found it amusing and laughed as she threw herself into his arms and acted coquettishly. The little girl was stubborn and bumped into Mrs. Du, who cried out in pain.
Ah Xuan laughed: "Mom, let me rub it for you."
"You little rascal." Mrs. Du gritted her teeth and pinched her face.
After breakfast, Gu Wen and his son were about to go to the fields. Gu Wenqing asked about Master Wu, and Gu Wen said, "I found him, but he's busy these days. He'll come to our house in three to five days when he's free."
"Is Master Wu a skilled archer and horseman?"
"He's more than just skilled in archery and horsemanship. Master Guo used to run an escort agency. He offended someone in his hometown and injured his arm. He moved to Songjiang City to protect his family."
"Sounds like he's a capable guy?"
"Anyway, it's enough to teach you Wada Jiro."
Gu Wenqing immediately became excited.
At home, Uncle Du couldn't stay at home, so Gu Youan took him to visit Zhang's house.
The work in the Zhang family's fields was finished. Zhang Shinan had nothing to do today, so he wanted to go for a walk in the mountains. Uncle Du saw him carrying a backpack and holding a small medicine hoe, so he hurried to follow him.
Gu Youan ran back home and came out with a backpack containing two medicinal hoes. Zhang Shinan smiled and said, "The medicinal hoes are all ready. Everything is prepared."
"Let me learn from you first. Please don't look down on me for not knowing how to do it."
"It doesn't matter. Teaching one is teaching, and teaching two is also teaching."
General Zhang Yinshan had just been watering the vegetable garden at the back, and now he came over with a backpack and a hoe in his hand.
A group of four people went up the mountain. Zhang Shinan and Uncle Du walked in front. When they saw some medicinal herbs being dug out, they looked at the leaves and tasted them. Uncle Du said that the medicinal herbs here had good properties. Zhang Shinan nodded when he heard that.
Gu Youan had read the "Practical Illustrated Guide to Chinese Herbal Medicine", but the medicinal herbs grown in the forest were different from those in the book. The appearance of the herbs also varied slightly at different stages of growth, and Gu Youan could hardly tell them apart.
Zhang Yinshan told Gu Youan what kind of herb this was, what its medicinal effects were, and which medicinal herbs it could easily be confused with.
"Take ginseng for example. Medicinal herbs that look similar to ginseng include Phytolacca root, Chinese ginseng, Isatis root, mountain lettuce, Platycodon grandiflorum, and so on."
"If you come across someone selling fake ginseng, they'd be kind enough to give you Platycodon grandiflorum or Isatis root. But if they use something poisonous like Phytolacca root, it won't cure the disease, but could kill you."
Gu Youan had seen dried ginseng, but had never seen what fresh ginseng looked like, so he asked Zhang Yinshan, "Have you and your father ever dug up ginseng?"
Zhang Yinshan shook his head and laughed, "It's not that easy. To dig ginseng, you need to go deep into the mountains."
Throwing the dug platycodon into the backpack, Zhang Shinan turned around and said, "It's not easy to see fresh ginseng. Tomorrow I will take you to find a herbalist."
Gu Youan's eyes lit up, she was just thinking of contacting the herbalist.
Zhang Shinan knew a herbalist who lived in the Laohuling Valley. He left home early in the morning and walked for a whole day before arriving at the herbalist's home. The herbalist was not at home, so it was the herbalist's daughter-in-law who received them.
Two ginseng roots were drying on a half-worn winnowing basket in the yard. They looked wilted and it was obvious that they had been dug out only a few days ago and had not yet dried.
Uncle Du asked hurriedly, "How much is this ginseng?"
The daughter-in-law shook her head and said, "I can't sell it to you."
Uncle Du's excitement suddenly cooled. He naturally understood the rules and asked politely, "But who did you give it to?"
"It was sold to the Han family in Songjiang City. The ginseng harvested by the nearby families is all sold to the Han family."
"I see."
Gu Youan was mentally prepared and did not feel disappointed. He pointed to several other authentic medicinal herbs and asked her if she could sell them. The woman only said that she could sell them a smaller amount of herbs such as fangfeng, schisandra, and gentian.
The herbalist was not at home, so the four of them stayed with this family for one night and went down the mountain to go home the next morning.
Zhang Shinan took Gu Youan to the home of a herbalist and used reality to tell Gu Youan how difficult it would be for her to do the herbal medicine business, but Gu Youan didn't take it to heart.
"Uncle, do you want to go to the Songjiang City Pharmacy?"
Uncle Du agreed: "Go, do you know which street in Songjiang City is used for trading medicinal herbs?"
Gu Youan didn’t know, but she knew where the Han family’s pharmacy was. Based on her friendship with Manager Han, Manager Han should be able to give her some convenience.
Gu Youan believed that she had some friendship with Manager Han. She took Uncle Du to Han's herbal medicine store. Gu Youan took a fancy to a ginseng, and Manager Han offered fifty taels of silver, with no bargaining price.
This is the lowest grade of fifth-grade ginseng. The fifth-grade ginseng in the hands of herbalists in the mountains only sells for twenty to thirty taels, but Manager Han actually sold it for double the price. It's better not to have such a favor at all, huh!
Shopkeeper Han said with a smile, "Don't think it's too expensive. Even ginseng residue sells for twenty taels per catty inside the Great Wall. If I send this kind of fifth-grade ginseng to Jiangnan, it will sell for a hundred taels. If I send it to a wealthy family in Luoyang, I can bid a hundred and twenty taels. They will think I'm being honest and won't bargain."
If fifth-grade ginseng is so valuable, what about first-grade ginseng?
The first-grade ginseng was probably sent to the palace or the homes of dukes and marquises, so the profits from selling second- and third-grade ginseng outside were also shocking.
Gu Youan was jealous, really jealous!
Gu Youan introduced Uncle Du to Shopkeeper Han, who actually knew the Du family's name. After a conversation, Uncle Du learned that several kinds of medicinal materials purchased by the Du family's pharmacy in Luoyang every year were from the Han family, but they were passed through two middlemen before reaching the Du family.
Shopkeeper Han took the uncle and nephew to the Han family pharmacy for a tour. Uncle Du took a fancy to several medicinal herbs, but thinking about the long journey back to Yizhou, he gave up the idea.
Gu Youan thought that he could buy some scarce and expensive medicinal herbs from Yizhou and bring them back to try. If this business was successful, he could think of other solutions later.
"Uncle, let's try it first. If it works, we can take the route from Songjiang City to Yizhou. If you don't have enough silver, my family still has some. You can use it first."
Uncle Du was tempted, but he still advised: "You don't understand, ginseng is such an expensive business, it's not that easy to do. Even if the Han family is well-known in the Luoyang and Jiangnan areas, there are still many places to manage."
Just now, Manager Han mentioned those drug stores in Luoyang City that were doing resale business. Uncle Du knew that there were officials behind them.
There is nothing Gu Youan doesn't understand. The powerful bandits and the officials in the city are all like this no matter which dynasty, right?
"Second Uncle, after managing the Han family like this, can I get 50% profit?"
"Of course there is a 50% profit."
"Then it's worth a try."
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