The shop assistant shouted, "You can't afford to buy anything, so you're blaming us? You must be someone sent by the shop next door to cause trouble!"
He explained to Yuan Dao, "The herb shop next door is very small, and they don't have many herbs. They usually have no business, so they must be jealous of us."
Zhang Fan said, "The overall color of the real cordyceps is gradient, and its eyes are brown."
When he spoke, the shop assistant tried to stop him, but Zhang Fan skillfully dodged her.
Yuan Dao examined it closely, his eyes widening: "The color is the same, but the eyes are red."
He discovered that half of the cordyceps in the package was fake; it was a case of mixing genuine and counterfeit products.
He grabbed the shop assistant by the collar: "So, you dare to sell me fake medicine!"
The shop assistant, struggling to breathe and flushed, cried out, "It's all a misunderstanding!"
"It's a misunderstanding. I buy over 100,000 yuan worth of medicine every year, and over the years I've spent nearly a million yuan. It turns out it's fake!"
Enraged, Yuan Dao brandished his fists, each punch landing squarely. Still not satisfied, he kicked over all the medicinal herbs in the shop, yelling, "Pay up!"
All the medicinal herbs in the cabinet were poured out, scattering all over the floor with a clatter.
A medicinal herb flew towards Zhang Fan, which he caught casually. Bai Rou'er, hiding behind him, was terrified.
The shop assistant's face was swollen like a pig's head, with two particularly noticeable panda eyes. He cried out in a panic, "Boss, waaaaah, brother-in-law!"
Hearing the commotion, many people stood at the shop entrance to watch, pointing and commenting on the Tongji Herbal Medicine Shop.
After causing such a commotion, the boss finally arrived late.
A fat man with big ears rushed in from outside the shop, wearing a string of Buddhist beads around his neck. He quickly pulled Yuan Dao aside and said, "Old Yuan, calm down."
Yuan Dao grabbed the man's collar, his fist about to strike: "You bastard Du Yu, you actually cheated me out of my money!"
Du Yu looked aggrieved: "Old Yuan, listen to me. I was sick a while ago and have been resting at home. I haven't been able to take care of things at the store."
He pointed at the shop assistant and said, "It must be this traitorous bastard who cheated me behind my back!"
Just as the shop assistant was about to speak, Du Yu kicked him, hitting him squarely in the chest, causing him so much pain that he couldn't speak.
Yuan Dao asked with skepticism, "Is everything you're saying true?"
Du Yu raised his finger and swore: "In all the decades I've run this shop, nothing like this has ever happened before. Don't worry, I will compensate anyone who has been cheated, and for any counterfeit medicine sold in the shop."
"I'll pick out the real ones later and give you a 20% discount."
With the price already 20% off, lower than the market price, Yuan Dao finally let go: "Hurry up."
Du Yu kicked the shop assistant: "Aren't you going to clean up your mess?"
The shop assistant quickly sorted the cordyceps, and Yuan Dao paid for it, glared at the shop assistant, and left.
Du Yu was heartbroken, but had to lose money for the sake of future business.
He glared at Zhang Fan with hatred. He had already heard about what had just happened. If it weren't for this man, he wouldn't have lost so much money.
Zhang Fan observed the exchange of glances between Du Yu and the shop assistant, and the shop assistant called Du Yu "brother-in-law," making it impossible for the owner not to know what was going on in the shop.
Bai Rou'er remembered that she had just bought ginseng, and asked, "Is there anything wrong with my ginseng?"
Zhang Fan: "The ginseng is real, but the age is fake. I just wasted some money."
Zhang Rou'er looked at the shop assistant and said, "Give me my money back."
The shop assistant glanced at the two of them and sneered, "Where's your ginseng? If you can't produce it, you're just trying to scam me!"
Zhang Fan smirked, picked up a piece of tongcao (a type of tongcao), and sniffed it lightly: "This tongcao has been dyed with alum, so it's hard and tastes astringent."
He picked up the he shou wu again: "This piece is made from dried sweet potato, and half of it is fake."
"These are dead branches. You're not trying to pretend they're made of agarwood, are you?"
Du Yu's face grew increasingly grim, and she kicked the shop assistant's backside again: "How many scoundrels have you done behind my back? Hurry up and return the money to them!"
The shop assistant nodded eagerly: "Refund, I'll refund!"
Zhang Fan fiddled with the small, dried-out medicinal herb in his hand: "I want to buy something, you're not going to refuse to sell it to me, are you?"
Du Yu was seething with hatred. Looking at the crowd of onlookers outside, she could only grit her teeth and force a smile: "Sell, of course I'll sell."
He picked out cheap goji berries, red dates, and other items, a large bag costing no more than two hundred yuan: "I'll take these. I bought so many things, you can give me this as a gift, I'll take it back as a decoration."
Du Yu glanced at what Zhang Fan was holding; it wasn't medicinal herbs, just some junk he didn't know where it came from. He ignored it and said coldly, "Goodbye!"
Bai Rou'er: "Boss, if you have any news about Doctor Wu, you must tell me immediately."
Du Yu gritted her teeth; "Fine!"
Bai Rou'er: "I never thought this shop assistant was so heartless. If it weren't for you, I would have been cheated. This shop assistant is the boss's relative. He must have kept her out of face."
Zhang Fan looked at him like he was an idiot; "Don't you think they're in cahoots?"
Bai Rou'er thought for a moment, then her face drained of all color; "It's over, if there's any news about Doctor Wu, the boss definitely won't tell me, then my father will be..."
She didn't dare say the rest, her eyes instantly filling with tears, like a small white flower swaying in the wind and rain, looking pitiful.
A thin man blocked his way: "Young man, could you let me see what you have in your hand?"
He pointed to the shop behind him and said, "My name is Liu Li, and this Xuanji Herbal Medicine Shop is my shop. Don't worry, I won't steal your things."
Xuanji Medicinal Herbs Shop was right next to Tongji Medicinal Herbs Shop. The shop was even smaller, with a couplet on both sides: "May all people in the world be free from illness, what does it matter if the medicine on the shelves gathers dust!"
Since the other party was so frank, Zhang Fan went into the shop and handed over the medicinal herbs he was holding behind everyone's back.
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