“Young lady, you’ve come at just the right time. I’m short of Schisandra chinensis right now. Also, please bring these herbs next time you come.”
Yunling took the prescription, glanced at it briefly, and put it in her bag. She didn't know that such a simple action would surprise Yun Chu so much. She smiled at the shopkeeper and said, "Okay."
Yun Chu was illiterate, but seeing that Yun Ling could read and knew about herbs, she thought of the old man Yun's mother had mentioned. She was filled with envy, but it was only for a moment before she stopped herself.
While the owner was taking inventory of the medicinal herbs, she mustered up her courage and asked, "Owner, doesn't your Ren'an Hall have any female doctors?"
The landlord found Yun Chu's words novel. He looked up and saw that the little girl resembled Yun Ling somewhat, so he became more patient. "It's not easy for men to learn medicine, let alone women?"
"If there were a female doctor, would your Ren'an Hall be willing to invite her to sit in the clinic?"
These words surprised the employer. He had never considered such a possibility—a woman studying medicine, a female doctor? In this small county town, he dared not even think about it. But perhaps it was this very fear that gave him the courage to speak so confidently.
So he said, "If there is a female doctor who is also skilled, our Ren'an Hall will certainly take her in. After all, most women in this world still have reservations about being treated by male doctors. If we have a female doctor, it will naturally be better, and she may be able to save more lives."
Yun Chu naturally thought the same thing, but becoming a female doctor was not as simple as she imagined. She decided to sell the embroidered handkerchief and see how things went.
Yunling now understood. So that was the reason for Yun Chu's unusual behavior when she watched the woman give birth. Her older sister wanted to become a female doctor, which was a good thing.
"Sister, I believe you can be a good female doctor."
Yun Chu blushed with embarrassment at having her secret exposed, and quickly explained, "I didn't. It's not like you can just become a female doctor on a whim."
Yunling naturally thought of this problem as well. To become a doctor, one must first learn to read. This wouldn't be difficult for her family, as Yun Shenghua and her father both knew how to write. So, she bought Yun Chu some writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and calligraphy practice books. Learning from them shouldn't be too difficult.
Yunling thought about it and then spoke her mind, but Yun Chu hesitated for a moment and refused to nod. There was nothing else to say, except that learning to read was really too expensive, and she didn't want to spend Yunling's money.
After leaving Ren'an Hall, the three of them turned to the embroidery shop and bumped into the three wives of the eldest son's family. They looked very haggard, and their eyes looked tired and listless, whether from crying or from exhaustion.
Yun Ruoxia naturally didn't greet them. Yun Ling didn't know how to address them either, and Yun Chu, preoccupied with her medical studies and seeing that Yun Ruoxia remained silent, also gave up the idea of greeting them.
The two families, though related, are now like strangers.
Although Lian Shi, Yun Dazhuang's wife, knew that the matter was caused by their greed and that she shouldn't blame others, when she saw Yun Ruoxia and the others looking smug while they were in such a sorry state, her competitive and jealous heart swelled to its limit. So she walked straight into the shop without saying hello.
The owner of the embroidery shop had dealt with Lian and her family several times. After checking the items, he paid them the usual price. Lian didn't rush back after receiving the money; instead, she waited to watch from the side.
Yun Chu took out the five handkerchiefs she had embroidered. The owner picked them up to examine them. Although the strength was a bit weak and the needlework was ordinary, she had done a good job of embroidering them. The patterns were also quite good and very suitable for young ladies in the city.
"Young lady, if you want to sell, I'll give you thirty-five coins per piece. What do you think?"
This was Yun Chu's first time selling embroidered handkerchiefs, and she didn't know the market price. But she had just seen that Lian Shi was only selling them for thirty coins, so she guessed that was the market price and nodded in agreement.
Lian immediately jumped up and down, "What thirty-five coins? We only get thirty coins, boss. Do you think you can get five coins less just because we're familiar with each other?"
The owner carefully placed the two handkerchiefs side by side for comparison, saying, "Look for yourself, isn't it better than what you embroidered?"
The Lian family members were rushing to embroider and sell their work, which couldn't compare to Yun Chu's painstaking embroidery. Even someone who didn't know much about embroidery could tell at a glance that Yun Chu's embroidery was superior in terms of smoothness and direction.
Lian Shi could naturally see it too, but she was unwilling to be outdone, especially since her two sisters-in-law were also there. Liu Shi would definitely not be able to keep the fact that Yun Chu's handkerchief was five coins more from her. If she didn't fight for it, Liu Shi would definitely gossip about it.
"Boss, could you give us a couple of coins too? Otherwise, if word gets out that we adults lost to a mere child, wouldn't we become a laughingstock?"
"If you embroider better next time, you can naturally get a higher price."
"This time, it'll only cost two or three coins. Next time, we'll definitely embroider it to our full potential, even better than hers, okay?"
The owner knew perfectly well that Lian was being arrogant. Just by the fact that they had come to the city to sell in only four or five days, she knew they couldn't do fine work. Moreover, with prices of thirty and thirty-five coins, why would they lower their efficiency for a mere five coins? Thinking this, she remained silent.
Lian was embarrassed and felt that everyone around her was laughing at her. She was both ashamed and angry, and blurted out, "Then why don't you lower her price? Thirty coins is the same, and we'll feel better about it. Otherwise, we won't support your embroidery shop anymore."
The owner's heart skipped a beat. Although the handkerchiefs embroidered by the Lian family were not exquisite, their advantage lay in their speed, which allowed her to sell more. If other embroidery shops took over, wouldn't that be giving money away to others for nothing?
"I'm sorry, young lady, I can't accept you for thirty-five coins. How about thirty coins?"
Yun Chu knew the eldest son's family was difficult to deal with, and she also understood the master's predicament. Thirty coins a piece wasn't a low price for her, so why not agree?
"OK."
The landlord was delighted and gave a loud "Eh!" This was exactly what she wanted to see. Neither side had started arguing, and she could save several dozen coins. Why not?
Lian got a little cocky after winning one round. So what if she was the owner of the embroidery shop? In the end, wouldn't she still have to listen to her? Thinking of the grievances she'd suffered these past few days, she couldn't wait to show off her power, so she spoke again:
“Master, we have always had a grudge against them, and now we are even less willing to have anything to do with them. If you accept her embroidered handkerchief, our cooperation may not be possible.”
Upon hearing this, the owner looked troubled. Who would turn down a penny? Besides, Yun Chu looked young. Although she was good at embroidery, she was slow to finish. One person couldn't do the work of three. If they offended the Lian family because of her, how could they continue their business?
"Young lady, I'm sorry, I won't accept your embroidered handkerchief."
Upon hearing this, Yun Ruoxia immediately flew into a rage.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
