Chapter 32: Jade Rabbit receives an invitation and the righteous "Messenger" rescues himself...
Some people even deceive themselves.
He said he only coveted marriage but refused proposals, longed for nurturing yet withheld distance. Was this Adrian Moran's reasoning alone?
He already admitted that he had some intentions towards her, so how could he still go astray like this?
A resounding drum doesn't need a heavy hammer, so she decided to hit it a few more times, even though it was so worn out. She struck him on the forehead with two more claws.
Alice's face was filled with disgust. She rolled her eyes and simply jumped off the windowsill and went back to her house to sleep. Adrian Moran was left alone, covering his head in confusion.
After being stunned for a moment, the man gave a wry smile: Maybe even the rabbits were laughing at his greed and selfishness.
Outside the window was a swirling mass of night, its boundaries indistinguishable, its direction indistinguishable. After a long silence, he slowly exhaled, as if reaching a decision.
Meanwhile, Alice, utterly unaware of Adrian Moran's idiotic behavior, welcomed an expected visitor the next morning.
"Miss Alice, I hope everything is going well for you." A middle-aged man stood outside the Tzu Chi Pharmacy in St. George's Church, took off his flat hat, and gave his most sincere greetings to the lady who would decide whether his trip would be successful.
"Mr. Jones." Alice knew him. He was the owner and pharmacist of a drugstore in Meryton. Before she regained her memory, she'd often gone to him for headaches and fevers. His medical skills were considered decent. He was also the man who sold the refreshing ointment Mr. Bennett had mentioned in his letter.
"Miss, as soon as I received your reply, I rushed to London." Mr. Jones entered the shop at Alice's gesture. "You said you wanted to discuss it in person. Is there anything about the sale of the Refreshing Cream that bothers you?"
Alice took the tea handed to her by the clerk today and said, "Mr. Jones, what do you think of this pharmacy?"
"Miss, the ointment you make is so extraordinary. It will definitely have a place in the pharmacy no matter where it is opened." He complimented her, but he was actually a little confused.
The letter had only given the church address, asking him to meet at the Tzu Chi Hall inside the church. Upon arriving, he discovered a pharmacy with a heavily embellished sign: "Oriental Alice 1 Penny Tzu Chi Hall Pharmacy." Could it be a branch of Miss Alice's? But how would it attract business if the store wasn't on the street? Surprisingly, it wasn't deserted at all. In the short time he'd been there, he'd seen several people buying medicine.
Of course, what puzzled him most was that he could actually pay only a penny to take a medicine wrapped in old newspaper from the shelf. In his twenty-plus years in the business, he had never seen medicine so cheap. Mr. Jones looked around. Although the shop was simply decorated, it was basically equipped with all the necessary equipment. At this price, he was afraid that he would not only make a profit but also lose money on the initial investment.
Thinking of this, he realized that Alice's question might have a deeper meaning, so he asked tentatively, "Excuse me, Miss Alice, how do you run your pharmacy, and why do you run it?"
"Mr. Jones, as you can see, this pharmacy sells medicines that ordinary people need for daily life, and the prices are only one penny." Seeing that Mr. Jones was about to say something after receiving a positive answer, Alice asked him to be patient and continued, "At least for the homeless people and other patients with limited family backgrounds in the Tzu Chi Hall, this is a good thing, isn't it?"
But she didn't do it without asking for anything in return.
"Of course, this is something that many gentlemen's families want to do but have never done, Miss. I have to say that what you have done is truly admirable." Mr. Jones, who knew exactly what to say at this time, immediately offered a more sincere compliment.
Alice didn't take it seriously and directly raised the question that he was concerned about when he came: "Mr. Jones, this is also the part I want to discuss with you in person."
The middle-aged man, accustomed to the pharmaceutical business, was momentarily confused. The two pharmacies treated their customers in vastly different ways, so what could possibly be the connection?
"I can sell you more of the awakening ointment, but for every bottle you take from me, you must place 10 Tzu Chi Pharmacy medications in your pharmacy for sale. You can choose any type based on your needs. You must set up a dedicated area for sales, advertise that the medications are from the Oriental Alice Tzu Chi Pharmacy, and set the price at a maximum of 3 pence to cover shipping costs. We'll have someone check in on this from time to time, and if you break your promise, we'll no longer cooperate."
"That seems..." Mr. Jones felt awkward. After all, these medicines were similar to some of the pharmacy products he originally sold, and the prices were so low that they would directly affect the sales of his own medicines. He said, "Miss, please allow me to be frank. Your requests are so extensive that I don't see any benefit in them."
"Sir, the medicines I sell are actually limited in variety, not to mention that you can actually make a profit between one penny and three pennies." Alice handed him a packet of cold-relieving pills. "Since you know something about the refreshing ointment, you should also trust the efficacy of my medicines. I only work with one pharmacy in each town. Under similar circumstances, wouldn't your business be better with these specialty medicines?"
Mr. Jones was obviously convinced, but still hesitated.
"Sir, our family has a good relationship with you. Now that we're the first to invite you to discuss cooperation, don't you really see the benefits?" She gently twirled the water glass in her hand and continued, "Being the first to sign a cooperation contract, the advertising I want to promote will naturally focus on you. This is something that later generations will never have."
Mr. Jones thought about it and agreed.
He came here specifically to discuss cooperation, so naturally he didn't want to buy directly from the pharmacy. Instead, he hoped for a discount and immediately sought benefits for himself: "Then...this price."
The two of them discussed things back and forth and finally decided on an internal price of 4 pounds 10 shillings, so that the price of Mr. Jones's pharmacy could be consistent with Alice's shop.
The cooperation contract was drafted by a lawyer introduced by the new brother-in-law, Mr. Bentley. He is said to be very reliable and has been working with their family for two generations.
During the discussion, Alice had asked one of the shop assistants to go to the Bond Street shop to fetch Anna. After seeing Mr. Jones off, she asked, "Did I write down everything I said to Mr. Jones?"
"Yes, miss."
"Then go to a few more newspapers and publish the terms of our cooperation."
Anna has become quite capable of handling matters on her own these days, and was surprised when she heard this: "Miss, these are considered business secrets of our cooperation. Do we have to publish them all in the newspaper?"
"Yes," Alice said, "First, I don't have that much time to communicate with all the partners one by one, so clear and understandable terms of cooperation are important; second, other businesses may worry about revealing their business agreements, but ours is basically unique and no one can imitate it. Third, such information itself is also a form of publicity. The more people know, the louder our reputation will be." It's just like when she opened a Tzu Chi pharmacy in the church, the only requirement was that the clergy make an introduction to the ladies who go to donate to charity.
London is always full of new things to say, but the excitement surrounding the Awakening Balm had long since faded, overshadowed by other events and rarely mentioned. In the eyes of the city's upper class, Alice's pharmacy hadn't stocked its shelves with new products in ages, and unlike other pharmacies, it lacked the extensive assortment of products. Naturally, it was forgotten, and its traffic dwindled. These days, sales have gradually shifted from relying on the ladies of London's upper class to relying primarily on those outside the city who caught wind of the Awakening Balm a little later. And of these people, only a minority would make the trip to London specifically for the fashionable drug.
The public still remembers her as a concocter of Chinese smelling salts, a kindhearted woman who made medicine specifically for her mother and specialized in treating headaches for the ladies, but she wasn't a serious doctor. Naturally, she also had to make early plans to expand her sales channels.
Alice is busy with the pharmacy business she built, and "Messenger" John is busy saving his master who seems to be a little bit wrong.
"John, what news do you bring this time? Don't tell me my foolish son hasn't come to his senses yet?" The old Countess of Camden sipped her sweetened English tea, swallowed her dessert, and then spoke slowly. She called her son a fool, but she didn't think he could be so foolish after being manipulated by that young lady. She was hoping for good news.
"Hmm..." John made an ambiguous sound, not knowing how to evaluate her son in front of his husband's mother.
Noticing that the situation did not seem to be as expected, the old countess frowned and said, "Just say it."
John then described in detail his recent observations of his husband's erratic attitude and moods regarding Miss Alice. He concluded, "He seems to have no idea what he wants. He always does things that are incomprehensible."
"I'm so worried about the gentleman. Miss Alice is such a good person, I don't think he'll drive her away." John said with a worried tone, "After coming back from the wedding the other day, it was obvious that they haven't reconciled yet. Madam, please give our gentleman some advice. If he misses Miss Alice, he might really have to pray to God and remain a celibate in the church for the rest of his life."
"What can I do?" The old lady glared at the outspoken servant, but she was also furious with her son. "I have a trick for him to follow. Before, I let him get close to the young lady, as if I was forcing him to get married. He finally found someone who was willing to get close to him, but he didn't live up to the expectations."
Suddenly remembering something, she called her maid to get two tickets.
"This is the theater box ticket. Take it back for your husband." The old countess signaled the maid to hand it directly to John.
He took the ticket, but still had doubts in his mouth: "Will this work? Will the gentleman ask Miss Alice out?"
"Do I have to teach him?" Old Countess of Camden said dissatisfiedly, "Let's try our best."
Before leaving, John suddenly remembered that his husband had a rabbit and mentioned it casually. The old lady didn't take it seriously: "What's there to tell me about a rabbit? Ed, really, why would he raise a rabbit? He doesn't even have a wife yet, and a rabbit can't become a wife."
"Here's your ticket, sir." John immediately gave the ticket to his husband as soon as he returned to the rectory.
He looked up, still expressionless, but the message in his eyes was clear enough: "Where did this come from?"
"My mother gave it to me." Before John could reply, he understood the reason behind it. "Sometimes I wonder if it's a waste of your talent to have you as my valet. I should probably write you a letter of recommendation right away so you can show your talents on the mail coach."
"Sir..." Although he knew that his master was affected by the recent situation and would occasionally say some poisonous words, he hadn't heard it for a long time. It was quite scary to hear it suddenly.
Seeing that the gentleman didn't answer, he cautiously said, "Anyway, I've already got it back. It would be a shame if you didn't go. I heard that this play is very popular and tickets are hard to get. Even if Miss Alice wanted to see it, she wouldn't be able to get such a good seat."
"She wants to go see?" The man looked up at him.
"Ah, how would I know that?" She noticed her husband's increasingly hostile gaze and quickly explained, "I just heard that the young ladies seemed to like watching it, especially Miss Alice, who loves the excitement."
He looked like a thief returning stolen goods. While looking at his husband's expression, he put the ticket on his husband's desk in slow motion, and then ran away as if afraid of being caught.
The man lowered his head and held the box tickets before him. They were for a medium-sized box that seated six. Although only two tickets were given, his mother must have reserved the entire box, not letting anyone else into it. This was truly the best seat for the viewing experience, reserved only for the nobility.
He put down the ink-soaked paper in his hand and continued reading.
Soon, his slender fingers picked up the box ticket again. Seeing the show time written on it was the day after tomorrow at 8 pm, the man frowned. His mother gave him the ticket and would never go again. This ticket to a popular show would be completely wasted.
"Since we've decided to return to being friends, it's normal to ask friends to go to the theater, right?" he murmured.
Looking at the theater tickets the man handed to her, Alice was a little surprised: Could it be that after she left, his dull head finally came to his senses?
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Rabbit: Yes, it’s me you’re after, and it’s me you long for. Hold your head high and be proud!
Adrian: I covet a marriage, yet I also despicably want to suck nutrients from the lady. I am despicable. I may not love her enough, but I want to use her love to seek a family. Painful face...
Rabbit shakes: Wake up, it’s me who wants to suck you, it’s me who wants to use you.
Adrian, a self-deceiving player whose inferences are all correct but whose conclusions are all roundabout, now makes his next decision...
John: It still depends on me!
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