When the waiter, Lin Shu, heard the customer talking, he had already stood up. Now, seeing the customer, he led him to a seat. "This way, sir. Our restaurant has a wide variety of dishes, all of excellent taste. What would you like to eat?"
After the guests were seated, one of them glanced at the menu on the wall and then at Qiu Yan. "I didn't expect this restaurant to sell wild game. If you're tired of the usual dishes, then... Kung Pao rabbit, crispy pheasant... First, a pot of tea, and four minced meat sesame cakes."
Qiu Yan was surprised that the pheasant and rabbit were sold before she could even negotiate the price. She was incredibly lucky today.
"Alright, please wait a moment." Lin Shu replied, and Zhou Zi then pulled Qiu Yan and her brother to the kitchen to start negotiating the price.
Lin Shu arranged for Qiu Xu and Qiu Ling'er to sit at a table and chairs by the window, served them a pot of hot tea, and asked them to wait there.
Qiu Yan's deal was negotiated quite easily.
Wild rabbits cost ten coins per pound, and three wild rabbits weighed a total of twelve pounds. Pheasants cost eight coins per pound and weighed two and a half pounds.
This deal earned Qiu Yan another 140 coins.
With the wild game sold, the next step is to sell medicinal herbs.
The three of them walked along the street in search of a pharmacy. On the road, Qiu Yan stopped when she saw an academy.
This was the first time she had ever seen this ancient academy, so she couldn't help but take a few more glances at it.
She looked up slightly, and saw the four large characters "Luming Academy" written on the plaque above the gate.
It was almost noon, just as the academy was closing time.
One by one, the students from the academy emerged, passing by the three in small groups, all discussing the lessons taught by their teacher that day.
They were all dressed in light ink-wash style academic robes, exuding the air of scholars.
They possess an inherent charisma; their refined features, illuminated by the sunlight, appear even more elegant.
Qiu Xu tugged at his sister's sleeve. "Sister, let's go."
Qiu Yan tossed the purse in her hand. "Ah Xu, do you want to go to school?"
Qiu Xu shook his head, burying his head low. "I don't want to, I don't want to study."
My sister works so hard to earn money, how can the family afford to send him to school?
Qiu Yan certainly didn't think that way; studying wasn't just about passing exams and gaining official rank.
Reading is a process of opening the mind, which can increase the desire for knowledge and cultivate a firm will.
But right now, what she needs to do is make money.
They had no money and couldn't even afford the tuition at the academy.
Qiu Yan felt incredibly happy as she imagined her younger brother studying in the future.
Of course, my younger sister also needs to go to school.
Instead of leaving, she led her younger siblings to look around the academy.
Qiu Xu: "Sister, there's a pharmacy up ahead." Sister, you shouldn't look there; he dared not hope for further education.
"No rush, let's eat something first." Qiu Yan stared in the direction of the steamed bun shop ahead. On the steamer, a basket of fragrant meat buns had just come out of the steamer.
The aroma and the proprietress's shouts wafted over at the same time, whetting the appetites of the three.
They had soup for breakfast, and now they were starving.
"Three meat buns, please," Qiu Yan said.
When a customer comes in, the steamed bun shop owner smiles broadly, "Okay, girl."
The proprietress deftly brought over some hemp leaves and, at Qiu Yan's request, wrapped three buns separately and handed them to Qiu Yan, charging her six coins.
Qiu Yan took the steamed buns and handed one to each of her younger siblings behind her. The rich aroma of meat stimulated the taste buds of the three of them.
Qiu Ling'er broke open a meat bun; inside was a filling of pork and shepherd's purse. The bun had a thin skin and a generous filling; it was truly delicious to savor.
After finishing their meal, they went to the pharmacy in front of them, which was called Ren'ai Hall.
After the unpleasant experience of selling wood ear mushrooms, Qiu Xu was worried that he wouldn't be able to sell the herbs today.
However, because of his sister, he felt a little more at ease.
At the pharmacy, groups of people were consulting doctors in twos and threes at the counter.
After Qiu Yan and the other two entered, the man in front of the medicine cabinet stopped what he was doing and carefully examined them.
"Who among you is going to see a doctor?"
After they changed their clothes, no one mistook the three for beggars anymore.
Qiu Yan stepped forward. "Doctor, we're not here for treatment. I picked some herbs in the back mountain a few days ago and wanted to ask if you buy them here?"
Upon hearing that the three had come to sell herbs, Physician Hu carefully examined Qiu Yan.
"I'm only accepting this, young lady. You're so young, you don't seem to know anything about medicine. Don't try to fool me with wild herbs," said Physician Hu.
In the past, many farmers who knew about herbs would come to their pharmacy to sell herbs. Most herbs in this era were wild, and under normal circumstances, the pharmacy would not refuse such door-to-door sales.
However, some ignorant village women mistake weeds for medicinal herbs, which is why Doctor Hu spoke in that way.
Qiu Xu and Qiu Ling'er looked at each other, both feeling a little uneasy.
They were genuinely worried that the herbs their sister was selling today were just weeds, since their sister hadn't recognized herbs before.
Qiu Yan didn't offer any further explanation and simply placed the herbs on the counter.
"Doctor, what do you think of these herbs I have? They look pretty good."
Doctor Hu carefully examined the herbs and confirmed that they were not weeds.
Although the herbs were not dried for a long time, they were carefully processed. There were quite a few varieties, but not many of each.
"Okay, weigh it and calculate the price." He said to the shop assistant beside him, then went back to his work.
The shop assistant nodded in agreement and began weighing the herbs. As he weighed them, he pointed out the scale to Qiu Yan.
The pharmacy's accountant sat to one side, listening to the clerk's reports and recording them in his ledger.
After the shop assistant finished weighing the herbs, he began to fiddle with the abacus in his hand.
Then, according to the price of the medicine mentioned by Dr. Hu, they began to settle the bill for Qiu Yan.
"Licorice root is 4 liang and 6 qian, 30 wen per liang, totaling 138 wen; Salvia miltiorrhiza is 3 liang and 8 qian, 40 wen per liang, totaling 152 wen; Polygonum multiflorum is 5 liang and 6 qian, also 40 wen per liang, totaling 224 wen... Cnidium monnieri is 2 liang and 2 qian, 50 wen per liang, totaling 110 wen; Phellodendron amurense is 1 liang and 7 qian, 70 wen per liang... Totaling 2 liang and 50 wen."
Qiu Yan stared intently at the abacus in the accountant's hands, calculating every penny perfectly.
Qiu Xu and Qiu Ling'er watched Qiu Yan's interaction with the pharmacy the whole time, their hearts racing. They couldn't believe their ears—she actually earned more than two taels of silver from just one trip to the pharmacy.
This was something Qiu Xu would never have dared to imagine under normal circumstances.
Ordinary people working odd jobs only earn a dozen or so coins a day. My sister only searched for herbs for a few days and was able to sell them for so much money. This is much better than selling eggs or wood ear mushrooms.
The accountant went to the inner room and handed the money to Qiu Yan. "Miss, if you find any more herbs in the future, you can send them over directly."
"Alright, my name is Qiu Yan. I'll come back to deliver it in a few days. We'll be going now, please continue with your work." Qiu Yan took the money and counted it: two taels of silver and fifty copper coins.
"Take care, young lady!" the accountant said politely as he took his leave.
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