Chapter 51 Miss Jiang, what tea is it today?
The Zhao residence.
Night had fallen, and Zhao Wuzhou, exhausted from a long day, lay in bed, wanting nothing more than to rest.
When no one was around, his wife, Madam Zhan, whispered in his ear.
"Master, I heard that Jingxing was in charge of distributing medicines during the last epidemic in Ping'an County. Does that mean he must have a lot of elixirs on hand?"
The story of the "miracle drug" was spreading like wildfire in the capital, with rumors that a single pill could bring the dead back to life.
As the wife of an official, Lady Zhan naturally heard a lot about these things.
At first, she only knew that Zhao Jingxing had participated in the rescue, but she did not know that he was in charge of distributing and storing the elixir.
It was Mrs. Zhou, the magistrate of Ping'an County, who told this during a gathering today.
This is incredible!
The price of the elixir has skyrocketed to thousands of gold coins in the market. Even if you don't sell it, it's good to keep it to save your life.
She had already decided to take action against Zhao Jingxing, but when she thought about the elixir he possessed, she had to postpone her plans.
We should at least make him spit out the elixir first!
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuzhou opened his eyes and looked around, only to find that no one was around.
"What nonsense! That elixir was a gift from the goddess to the crown prince. Jingxing was only responsible for distributing it; how dare he keep it for himself! If this gets out, he'll lose his head!"
Mr. James realized he had misspoke, so he changed his wording.
“That’s right, that’s right. What I mean is, His Highness the Crown Prince might reward him with one or two. We might as well ask him if he has any. If he does, could we ask him to take them out and we can keep them together in the storeroom?”
Zhao Wuzhou glanced at them.
Madam Zhan immediately explained, "I'm worried that Jingxing is always running to the military camp. What if he loses it? To be frank, sir, please don't be angry. Jingxing is now a soldier on the battlefield. If he were to die on the battlefield one day, where would this medicine be hidden? Wouldn't no one know? This is life-saving medicine!"
This statement, though unpleasant to hear, makes sense.
Zhao Wuzhou lay back down.
He also had connections in the military and had already investigated the whole story.
When the goddess presented the medicine, His Highness the Crown Prince went with Cheng Fang and his personal guards, but not with Zhao Jingxing.
But Zhao Jingxing was indeed responsible for distributing and storing the medicine.
Zhao Wuzhou had suspected that he possessed the elixir of immortality.
I also asked him about it indirectly.
But the eldest son did not give him a definite answer.
After all, this also involves a crime of concealment, and if it gets out of hand, it will only do the Zhao family harm.
"Why ask? If he really has it, he'll take it out himself if someone in his family is sick. You've always been good to him, so you don't need to think about it so much."
In the darkness, Mr. Zhan's face was long and drawn out.
————
"What? You're saying you went so many times and the grocery store was never open?"
Early in the morning, Wan Furong, the manager of Xiangbaoge, was furious.
For no other reason than that business has been absolutely terrible these past few days!
The desolation made him restless!
Upon careful consideration, it turns out that more than half of the old customers who used to be generous and supported most of Xiangbaoge's business have disappeared!
Yesterday, he sat blankly behind the counter, watching helplessly as Madam Wang, the second wife of Chen, passed by the door.
This Madam Wang, the second wife of Chen, has a body odor and always uses scented soap exclusively customized by his Xiangbaoge.
Now, she hasn't visited for a month.
A few days ago, the shop had just received a new scented soap with lotus fragrance. He gritted his teeth, put on a smile, and went out to greet the customer.
"Madam Chen, it's been a long time! Our shop has just received some lotus-scented soap; the fragrance is rich and refreshing, it's the best..."
Before he could finish speaking, Madam Chen abruptly interrupted him.
"Manager Wan, there's no need for further recommendations. I will never use your scented soap again."
Wan Furong asked, puzzled, "Why is that, Madam Chen? Do you think there's something wrong with my scented soap?"
"To tell you the truth, I've spent a lot of money at your Xiangbaoge, but I've never been able to buy a scented soap that I really like. I used to just make do with what I had, but now that I have something better, I naturally want to replace it."
Wang Shi flicked her sleeves, and a sweet, cloying fragrance of roses danced in the air, drifting into Wan Furong's nose.
He took a closer sniff; after decades of dabbling in cosmetics and fragrances, this was the first time he had ever smelled such a rich floral scent!
What kind of process is it that can extract such pure fragrance?
And how can the fragrance last so long?
"May I ask, Madam Chen, is the scented soap you use from Jixiang General Store?"
"Oh, it seems Manager Wan has heard about it too. Then you should learn from your peers and improve your skills; only then can your business last!"
After saying that, she walked away without stopping.
Wan Furong immediately returned to the back room, took out the account books, and carefully checked them page by page.
The more he turned over the pages, the more his heart sank.
Mrs. He, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Zhou, Mrs. Deng... these wealthy ladies who used to visit every few days have all disappeared from the account books in the past month or so!
Most of Xiangbaoge's income comes from them!
"Did you guys sneak out and slack off, and didn't even go to that shop?!"
Wan Furong's suspicions were not without reason.
If this auspicious general store never opens, how could it possibly steal all his customers?
Could she possibly possess some kind of sorcery?!
————
Jiang Ling opened the wooden door.
The sun hadn't set yet. The lingering heat of late summer still hung in the air.
Busy villagers are packing up their farm tools and heading home.
Playful children sat and frolicked by the field.
Jiang Ling set her alarm early, but Cheng Fang still hadn't arrived.
She moved a folding table from the warehouse and placed it against the wall by the door.
Then I took out two large bottles of rock sugar pear soup from the refrigerator.
The villagers here are too simple and honest. Knowing that he had just finished working in the fields and was covered in mud, they were afraid of dirtying the shop, so they never went in to drink tea.
Jiang Ling simply moved a table outside so they could have a place to rest for a while.
She knew that her small shop was able to stay open only because of their protection.
The level of unity between villages in ancient times was not something an outsider could easily interfere with.
The villagers treated her like family, so she naturally had to reciprocate.
They filled the cups one by one and then began to call out.
"Uncle Zhao, Aunt Zhao, Aunt Qian, Uncle Chen, Uncle Zhang, fellow villagers, come and have some tea!"
The sound pierced through the heat wave, sending back an eager response.
"Okay! Alright!"
"With Miss Jiang opening a shop, we're in for a treat!"
"Thank you so much, Miss Jiang!"
The villagers weren't new to tea either, and they weren't pretentious at all, warmly joining in.
The table was covered with cups of tea, each filled to the brim and steaming cold. The sight of them instantly brought a sense of coolness.
"Miss Jiang, what kind of tea is it today?"
Grandpa Zhao put down his hoe. He was the eldest in the family, and usually, he was the one who spoke first when he was around.
"Today's tea is rock sugar pear tea. This tea is good for the lungs, promotes saliva production, and relieves heat. After a busy afternoon in the fields, it's perfect to have something sweet to replenish your sugar levels."
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