Fan Jin drove the oxcart, and the two arrived at Renjitang, the largest pharmacy in the prefectural city.
Unlike the men in the village who only buy things, they also sell things.
Fan Jin had previously come to sell He Shou Wu, but fearing the shopkeeper would recognize him, he didn't go in. Instead, he sent Ding Heli in alone to negotiate the price—he was a professional herb seller, and Renjitang's shopkeeper certainly couldn't fool him.
After recognizing Ding Heli, the pharmacy clerk scurried into the inner room to call for the shopkeeper.
A moment later, Manager Qin came out with a smile, "Brother Ding, it's been quite a while since you've been here. What good stuff do you have this time?"
Ding Heli pointed to the items displayed on the floor of the main hall and said with a smile, "We couldn't get out due to the heavy rain a few days ago. As soon as the rain stopped, we went up the mountain and found these items. We thought of sending them to you even before the floodwaters had completely receded."
These things weren't easy to come by these days, so you can't try to lower the price.
"I wouldn't lower the price for anyone else, not for Brother Ding!" Manager Qin waved his hand and squatted down to look at the things at Ding Heli's feet.
Three bundles of things, resembling withered branches and tree roots, were tightly bound with straw. They had been simply brushed clean to facilitate preservation and prevented them from becoming too heavy with mud.
"These are fresh yams! Rare indeed, extremely rare!"
Yam has not very obvious medicinal effects, but it is good because it can be used to make many kinds of desserts. As a daily health supplement, it is most loved by the masters, ladies and young ladies of wealthy families.
Fresh yams are even rarer, firstly because they are scarce in the wild, and secondly because few people know about them.
Renjitang had a special supply to wealthy families. Whenever they obtained good, fresh medicinal herbs, they would send them to their homes first for them to choose from.
Manager Qin hesitated before setting the price: "In the past, this quality would have sold for 150 or 160 coins per catty without any problem, but today I can only offer 110 coins per catty. I hope Brother Ding understands."
"These medicinal herbs are not like grains, especially medicinal food ingredients. One pound of them can buy more than ten pounds of rice or wheat flour."
Fresh things can't be stored, and after the flood, I don't know if those gentlemen and ladies have cut back on spending.
If we cut back on spending and stop buying these medicinal dishes, we won't be able to sell them and will have to process them into dried yam ourselves. Although we won't lose everything, we will still be taking a risk.
Ding and Li had made preparations before their arrival.
The two families agreed that they would sell it for more than 90 coins, and if it was too low, they would make it into yam chips.
Shopkeeper Qin was telling the truth; the 110 coins he offered were already beyond his bottom line, so he nodded in agreement without saying much more.
Seeing that Ding Heli agreed, Manager Qin reached out and opened the burlap sack next to him, revealing snow-white and clean yam slices of excellent quality.
He made no attempt to hide his praise: "These yam slices look really appealing! Brother Ding's skill in processing medicinal herbs is unmatched; even our pharmacy can't compare!"
Ding Heli cupped his hands in humility and said modestly, "Not at all."
Looking at the very appealing yam slices, Manager Qin gritted his teeth and asked, "How about 400 and 20 coins per pound for the yam slices?"
If Guangning Prefecture really can't sell them, he'll transport these high-quality dried yams to the main store.
Upon learning that this was based on the usual price, not the price offered after the flood, Ding Heli gratefully replied, "Alright."
The pharmacy clerk waiting nearby quickly weighed the item and quoted a price.
Fresh yams cost 110 coins per catty, and I brought 30 catties with me, which weighed 3 liang and 3 qian.
The dried yam filled more than half a sack. The dried yam wasn't weighed, and the sack weighed less than forty catties, which was sixteen taels and one mace.
The Ding family splits the profits among the prepared medicinal herbs, with 30% going to each ingredient. Yam is easy to prepare, and the Ding family was initially unwilling to take 30%. However, Shuiqing and Fan Jin said that there are easy and difficult things, and since it was agreed upon, they would take 30% regardless of whether it was easy or difficult.
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