These days, private pharmacies are rare. The first pharmacy Chu Yu saw was the pharmacy affiliated with the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, located at the entrance of the hospital, easily visible at a glance.
The storefront was small, and the decor was far less luxurious than pharmacies of later generations. The medicine cabinets were filled with all sorts of medicines. Chu Yu parked her bicycle and saw two staff members in white coats cleaning inside. She walked over and politely said:
"Excuse me, how do I get to the Chinese medicine purchasing station?"
Chu Yu is beautiful. When the weather gets hot, her skin becomes even more fair and rosy, with a truly smooth and delicate appearance. Moreover, she has a pleasant voice, is very polite, and speaks fluent and standard Mandarin, which makes people feel good about her.
People these days are all simple and unpretentious, and Chu Yu dressed simply too, but she still seemed out of place in the dilapidated little county town.
Ultimately, it's because her face is so stunning that she would look good even in a burlap sack.
The staff member stared at her blankly for a long time, until Chu Yu asked again, then blushed and said:
"Oh, the Chinese medicine purchasing station, right? Just walk north along this road, cross a bridge, and then walk east for about a kilometer, and you'll get there."
Chu Yu wiped her face and smiled, "Thank you, sister."
"It's nothing, a small matter," the staff member waved his hand repeatedly. After she pushed her bicycle northward, he said to his colleague, "This girl is really beautiful. I've never seen anyone prettier than her in my life."
"That's right, it's a pity she's not an actress. I never expected there to be such a beauty in our Rongtai County."
"Why do you think she went to the Chinese herbal medicine purchasing station?"
“I saw that she was dragging something on the back seat of her car, probably medicinal herbs that her family had bought.”
These days, most of the people who go to the Chinese medicine purchasing station to sell medicinal herbs are elderly people from the countryside; it's rare to see a young girl like Chu Yu.
There were several people pushing bicycles in line at the entrance of the recycling station. When Chu Yu pushed his bicycle in and stood there, he stood out from the crowd, quickly attracting the attention of the old men who kept turning around to look at him.
"Young lady, what are you selling?" the old man standing in front of Chu Yu asked, puffing on his pipe.
Since everyone in the same industry is a competitor, one should always be wary of others. Chu Yu smiled and said, "These are yams grown at home. Sir, what are you selling?"
“I harvested some chrysanthemums at home, dried them, and then brought them here. This stuff doesn’t make much money; it’s just enough to have a little wine and a cigarette.”
Dried chrysanthemums are used to clear heat and detoxify, and are quite common in the market. The purchase price is not very high. Besides, dried chrysanthemums don't weigh much. The old man only brought a burlap sack. How much money could he get for that?
The old man appeared to be dressed in shabby clothes like everyone else, but he had a pipe in his mouth, puffing away incessantly, seemingly unconcerned about the price of tobacco. In his left breast pocket, he also had a pack of cigarettes tucked away, with half of the corner peeking out, where the words "Da Qianmen" could be vaguely seen.
This is interesting. The old man selling dried chrysanthemums smoked both a pipe and cigarettes, and spoke with a seasoned air. Chu Yu didn't even ask him if he could make money, and he just said, "This stuff doesn't make much money," which was like protesting too much.
The people in front of me were all being weighed, and after that they had to sign and get paid. It took twenty minutes before it was the old man's turn.
The old man was shrewd; he carried the sack up and used his body to block Chu Yu from seeing what was inside.
As he was being weighed, a bespectacled staff member glanced at the queue, noticed only a little girl in line, took a sip from his enamel mug, and then waved him over.
"Come on over! I'll close up shop as soon as we finish weighing you; I have a meeting later."
Chu Yu responded and tried to move the sack down, but unfortunately the sack was a bit too tall and she wasn't strong enough. She struggled for a long time but couldn't move it down. Seeing this, the staff member wearing glasses came out to lend a hand.
After all the sacks were moved, Chu Yu was covered in sweat. "Thank you, brother. I'm so grateful for your help."
"It must be hard for a young girl to carry so much stuff."
She was polite and had a sweet tongue, so the staff treated her very well and took the initiative to help her untie the sack. The staff put on gloves, grabbed a handful of luminous sand, and after releasing it, there was no residue on the gloves, indicating that it was dry enough and had not been mixed with water to increase the weight, before dragging the sack onto the scale.
Chu Yu was very nervous, afraid that the other party would not want the Night-Shining Sand. Fortunately, the staff quickly took out the receipt and issued the order, which relieved her.
"Those who have completed their bills, come over here to pay!" the female staff member called out.
Chu Yu went to the counter and stood in line behind the old man from before.
After checking, the female staff member tore off two receipts and placed them on the counter.
"Is this for both of you? Check the weight, and if it's correct, I'll pay!"
The receipts were mixed up by the staff. Chu Yu glanced at the old man's "dried chrysanthemums" on the receipt in front of her, while the old man glanced at her "yam." The two silently accepted the money and walked out of the Chinese medicine station.
The old man didn't laugh out loud until he walked out of the traditional Chinese medicine shop. "I never thought that after living my whole life, I'd be pecked in the eye by a goose today. You little brat, just admit you're selling night-shining sand. I wouldn't even bother accepting that stuff if it were given to me for free. What's there to hide!"
"Aren't you the same?" Chu Yu snorted. "You say you're selling dried chrysanthemums, but you're actually selling single chrysanthemums. You make thirty or forty yuan a small sack."
Danzi is also a Chinese medicinal herb, and its price is much higher than that of dried chrysanthemum. During the planned economy era, resources were scarce, and the purchase price of danzi was always high. It's remarkable that the old man was able to find this way.
The old man laughed heartily, finding the girl quite amusing. "You silly child, you always know how to nitpick at this old man's weaknesses. The fact that you know about selling night-shining sand shows you're clever. Although there's no time limit for collecting night-shining sand, it's mainly done in the summer. Right now, the traditional Chinese medicine stations in the county town are buying a lot, but after summer, they won't buy much anymore. If you want to make money, sell all your night-shining sand while it's in the summer."
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