First meeting
It was the height of summer, and the heat outside was scorching. People were walking in groups of three or four under the shady trees along Baima Street in Liangdu City, going out to buy things. Street vendors set up stalls selling food, snacks, or seasonal fruits and vegetables, fanning themselves with fans and advertising their wares.
Walk ten miles along Baima Street and you will reach the Liangdu Pharmacy, which is very famous in the city. However, in recent years, due to the high temperature and humidity in Pingzhou in summer, pests and diseases have occurred frequently. People often come here to buy herbal medicines to drive out insects and pests in the fields for their livelihood needs.
However, the anthelmintic sold at Liangdu Pharmacy was not as effective as the "arsenic seed mixture" specially developed by the newly opened Xu's Pharmacy, and both companies also sold other common medicines.
After making this comparison, going to Xu's Pharmacy not only allows one to buy the new anti-parasitic formula, but also common medicines, which is convenient and saves time. Therefore, as soon as Xu's Pharmacy opened, it surpassed Liangdu Pharmacy, which had been open for many years.
In addition, Pingzhou's crops had been struggling in recent years due to pests. Liangdu's economy was in decline, worse than in previous years. With Xu's pharmacy taking over, Liangdu's pharmacy lost many of its regular customers, leaving the store with a backlog of goods and gradually struggling to make ends meet.
Early that morning, Uncle Xu of Liangdu Pharmacy opened the door as usual, but saw his eldest daughter walking in from outside.
Jiang Nian had just come out of the experimental field at home early in the morning and wanted to go to his own pharmacy to look for insecticides and sterilizers when he saw Xu Bo opening the door.
She came to the pharmacy today just to add some more formulas for making pesticides. Jiang Nian only brought a basket from her own warehouse and didn't even let the maid who usually followed her come with her, just for convenience.
Although there were not many people on the street at the moment, Jiang Nian was the daughter of the drug store after all, so Xu Bolin stepped forward to invite her in, fearing that something might go wrong.
"Miss, what do you want from the pharmacy so early?"
Seeing that Uncle Xu wanted to go to the warehouse to help her pack, Jiang Nian, who never liked to trouble others, spoke out to stop him.
"Uncle Xu, you're busy. I'll just find some herbs to take back. No need to bother."
She turned and smiled calmly at Xu Bo, then turned and went into the warehouse to look for the astragalus she wanted to use to make the insect repellent.
The medicinal materials in the medicine store warehouse are classified according to the four properties. Astragalus is warm in nature, and the cabinet where it is placed is very conspicuous. Jiang Nian saw it at a glance.
After weighing the required amount of astragalus, she wrapped it in reed paper and put it in her bag. She was just about to look for the hay she had used to wrap the offerings when her eyes glanced at the cabinet above and she turned around to see Uncle Xu who wanted to come and help.
"How can I help you, miss?"
Xu Boluo happened to come, and Jiang Nian's eyes lit up and he stepped forward to ask.
"Uncle Xu, do you remember that during the previous sacrifice, I asked you to leave the yellow grass for wrapping the offerings? I need it."
Hearing Jiang Nian's words, Xu Bo was slightly stunned, then walked to the backyard: "I asked the waiter to put it in the corner of the yard earlier. I will help you get it out."
"Sorry to bother Uncle Xu."
Jiang Nian thanked him politely and lowered his eyes to look at the square cloth bag containing the astragalus that had just been arranged in his backpack.
Uncle Xu is the acting shopkeeper hired by my father. He is considered an old hand in the shop and does everything himself. Jiang Nian is very confident in his way of doing things.
The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and the cicadas in the nearby trees were chirping tirelessly. More people were coming out of the drugstore to buy things, and the street became a little more lively than before.
The freshness of herbs and the earthy smell of roots in the warehouse mixed together and entangled, floating over Jiang Nian's nose. Her eyes fell on the fine, swaying sunlight falling from the window eaves onto the wooden cabinet. The light reflected in her pupils flickered with the sunlight on the cabinet, and her thoughts couldn't help but recall the experience of first arriving in this era a few days ago.
As a modern chemist, she lost her life in an accidental rear-end collision on the highway while leaving a lecture. The scene before her death suddenly turned into an ancient and elegant boudoir, and her position changed from the back seat of the car where she should have been sitting to the edge of the bed.
It was quiet all around, with only the birdsong outside and the bright light coming through the bast paper on the mullioned windows bringing Jiang Nian back to his senses. He stood up and walked around, looking around at this strange and seemingly out-of-touch modern house.
Because he was unfamiliar with the place, Jiang Nian did not plan to leave the house. Instead, he first searched for clues in the house and then determined where he was.
She walked around the room until she saw the diamond-shaped bronze mirror on the dressing table against the wall. She looked into the blurry mirror and saw her own pretty and well-behaved face, which was much younger than her own. Only then did Jiang Nian realize that—
It feels like I have really traveled to a strange era different from my own.
Thinking of this, her mind was suddenly filled with complicated words.
The change in reality came so suddenly that before she could calm herself down, someone knocked on the wooden door behind her that had just been closed.
Jiang Nian turned his head, a strange look flashed in his eyes, and then he spoke.
"Enter."
The visitor was a little girl. When she saw Jiang Nian standing in front of the dressing table with a normal expression and no sign of illness on her face, she was dazed for a moment and then became extremely happy. She hurriedly walked up and held Jiang Nian's hand.
"Miss, you're finally awake!... You've been in a slump since returning from Master Li's place the day before yesterday. You dismissed everyone and told them no one was allowed to disturb you. You didn't even have dinner. You didn't come out until the next day. Guizhi was so worried that she knocked on the door and found you unconscious..."
Jiang Nian listened to what the other party said and made a judgment. She should be the daughter of a certain family, and the person who was talking to her now should be the maid she was supposed to have.
"Later, I called in the imperial physician, who said that you, young lady, were overly worried and fell into a long sleep. It will take some time for you to recover."
Guizhi's eyes turned red, and then she quickly remembered something.
"Miss, wait a minute. Guizhi will ask the kitchen to heat up the food now."
After that, she turned around and walked out. Jiang Nian wanted to call out to stop her, but he didn't fully understand everything yet. He was afraid that any rash action would make Guizhi hesitate, so he just let her go.
She went.
Jiang Nian rubbed his legs, which were still a little numb from having just stood up, pulled out the dressing stool in front of the dressing table and sat down.
Analyzing from the current clues, she must have dealt with a young man named Li before, and was unhappy about something. Then she became ill due to her worries and fell into a deep sleep.
From this point of view, Mr. Li must be the young lady's original lover.
But now she is in control, and he has no memory of this young lady in his mind. In order to reduce trouble, it is better to break off ties with Mr. Li as soon as possible.
After all, being able to make someone so worried about him that they become ill doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing. Besides, in this world, there should also be the things she pursued in modern times...
Jiang Nian's well-behaved and calm face showed a look of determination. He had already made a rough plan in his mind. When he saw Guizhi coming with the dishes, he asked naturally.
"Has my father come to visit me these days after learning about my situation?"
Guizhi shook her head and said.
"My lady, no... Previously, my lady said that nothing about her relationship with Master Li could be told to the master. Later, when Guizhi came back and saw that my lady looked unhappy, she only called the imperial physician and did not dare to report it to the master, fearing that something might go wrong and arouse his suspicion."
Jiang Nian's mind became deeper, and he curled his lips and smiled at Guizhi.
"It's okay. After going through such a heartbreaking pain, I've decided not to meet Mr. Li again. I want to help my family with some things."
She paused, then asked, "What has father been busy with lately?"
According to the Chinese medicine name of the maid, Guizhi, if I am not mistaken, my current identity should be the daughter of a medicinal material merchant.
The room is decorated in an exquisite and elegant manner, so it should not belong to a small family.
Guizhi was stunned for a moment, then said happily, "Really? Previously, the master never liked the young lady being with Master Li, but now that the young lady has changed her mind, the master will definitely be happy! But the master has gone out for something, and I don't know when he will be back."
Jiang Nian looked at Guizhi's extremely happy face and sighed with a smile.
It would be better to say that this little girl is really simple, and her thoughts are all shown on her face.
In such an era, there is still such innocence and carefreeness, and it seems that this family is harmonious.
I had thought that if there were any other problems, I would be able to deal with them as they came. Now I can feel a little more at ease.
During the days when his father was away, Jiang Nian resolved Mr. Li's issue and then inquired about the status of the family's main pharmacy.
Because the insecticide prescriptions sold by Xu's Pharmacy next door were faster and better than those sold by Liangdu Pharmacy, and the prices at Liangdu Pharmacy were higher than usual due to its reputation as a time-honored brand, and the sales directions of the two pharmacies were the same, as a result, fewer people bought the goods from Liangdu Pharmacy, the warehouse was stockpiled, and the economic situation went downhill.
Looking at the deficit shown on the account book he got from the steward, Jiang Nian frowned slightly.
If it was because of the problem with the anthelmintic, the economy would not have gone into decline, but the prices at his own pharmacy were indeed higher. Adding the two together, it actually showed how good Xu's pharmacy was.
Thinking of this, Jiang Nian sighed and returned the account book to the steward.
"When will father come back?"
The steward bowed and said respectfully, "My lady, the master will probably be two days away from returning home."
Jiang Nian nodded, and without saying anything more, he went straight back to his room to think about how to discuss with his father the countermeasures to the family's declining financial situation.
Although the point where I traveled to does not belong to any dynasty in history, the business families are willing to let men and women in the family take over the family business without any special distinction.
This is a good thing for Jiang Nian.
The courtyard was long, and by the time she reached her room, Guizhi had already ground the ink.
"Miss, do you want to write something to the master?"
Recently, the young lady seems to be very concerned about the master's itinerary. She must have something to ask for. Now she asks him to grind ink. Perhaps she wants to send a message to the master?
Guizhi thought to herself, but saw Jiang Nian shaking his head.
"I want to write about something else, Guizhi, please leave first."
After hearing Jiang Nian's words, Guizhi knew that her young lady had something to do, so she didn't ask any more questions and quietly walked out of the room.
The moon was dim at night, and the candlelight on the table flickered, casting a shadow of Jiang Nian on the ground, writing a plan at the desk.
It was quiet outside the window. With the last stroke of my hand, the plan I had been thinking about for the entire afternoon was finally written.
Judging from the few days he has lived here, Miss Jiang, the former owner of the pharmacy, should have come to help take over the family business during this period, but Miss Jiang admired Mr. Li so much that she had no interest in her own family. Father Jiang was angry about this several times, but thinking that his daughter was the apple of his eye, he sighed and let her go.
But the current Jiang Nian is no longer the original Miss Jiang after all, so naturally she has no feelings for the original relationship, and now she only wants to rebuild her family business.
She put her pen down on Yueshan Mountain and lowered her eyes to look over the few lines of plan she had already written.
Then he calmly put away the rice paper and waited for his father to return.
......
The sound of Xu Bo's footsteps coming out of the backyard with three bales of hay interrupted Jiang Nian's thoughts.
He lifted the hay up and called out to the waiter who had just arrived at the store from the warehouse door, then smiled at Jiang Nian and said,
"Miss, this hay is heavy. Let me help you carry it back. Or should we put it on the experimental field as usual?"
After his father returned, Jiang Nian confessed his plan to develop pesticides. Although his father was skeptical, he was persuaded by Jiang Nian and allocated a piece of land from the household to Jiang Nian for experimental verification.
Jiang Nian came back to his senses and nodded obediently to Xu Bo.
"Then I'll trouble you, Uncle Xu."
Having lived in this dynasty for two months now, Jiang Nian is already familiar with Pingzhou where he lives, and he also knows that this dynasty is called Huan.
Some time ago, the imperial court sent officials to the capital of Liang to deal with the pest and disease disaster that occurred in Pingzhou last year.
Now the experimental fields planted by myself are almost showing mosquito repellent effects.
Jiang Nian had a soft smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with sadness.
The results from this experimental field must not only convince my father, but also enhance the reputation of my own pharmacy and be convincing.
Then we have to make another move.
She suppressed the emotion in her eyes and walked out of the Liangdu Pharmacy with Xu Bo.
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