After leaving Lianxianglou, Jiang Yuwei wanted to go to Huichuntang on North Street to buy some more medicinal bath packs for Ning Huaizhi. It seemed that his legs were regaining some feeling after soaking in medicinal baths every day.
Jiang Yuwei felt that every time she helped him up, he could muster some strength on his own, but he was still far from being able to stand up.
As Jiang Yuwei walked towards Huichuntang, she was thinking about how to heal Ning Huaizhi's leg as quickly as possible, completely unaware of the two men who had been following her since she left Lianxianglou.
Jiang Yuwei arrived at Huichuntang quickly. The staff there all recognized her and hurriedly led her to the inner courtyard.
Jiang Yuwei smiled as soon as she saw Doctor Lin:
"Doctor, the medicated bath pack I bought for my husband a while ago was really effective. I'd like to buy more to take back with me today."
Upon hearing this, Dr. Lin frowned and said:
“I’ve said it before, just soaking in this medicinal bath won’t work. To completely cure your husband’s leg, you must find that thousand-year-old wild ginseng. Don’t waste your money.”
Jiang Yuwei smiled and took the gastrodia elata she had dug up on the mountain from her basket:
"Dr. Lin, there's no need to worry about me. I can afford the cost of this medicinal bath. My husband has been soaking in it every day, and his legs feel better. Today, I'd like to ask Dr. Lin to take a look at the Gastrodia elata."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Jiang Yuwei, Dr. Lin could only shake his head helplessly and say:
"Well, you decide what to do yourself. I'll take a look at this Gastrodia elata."
Jiang Yuwei quickly took one and handed it to Doctor Lin. Doctor Lin took the Gastrodia elata and exclaimed with delight:
"This is a good thing, it must be at least several decades old. Alright, alright, are you willing to sell this Gastrodia elata?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded, saying:
"Of course we'll sell it. How about you take a look at this one?"
Dr. Lin took it, examined it carefully, and smiled:
"This is older, probably a hundred years old. These are all good things, I'll take as many as you have!"
Jiang Yuwei pushed a pile of gastrodia elata in front of Doctor Lin and smiled:
"This is all I have right now. I trust Dr. Lin's character, so I brought it directly to your Huichuntang pharmacy to sell. Just name your price. If the price is right, I won't need to go to any other pharmacy today."
Dr. Lin examined each patient one by one, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"I can give you two hundred taels of silver for these."
Jiang Yuwei knew that Gastrodia elata was a valuable medicinal herb, but she was genuinely shocked when Doctor Lin asked for two hundred taels of silver. It seemed that digging for medicinal herbs was indeed profitable, more than she could earn by setting up a stall and selling her herbs.
Jiang Yuwei steadied herself and forced a smile, maintaining her composure:
"Alright, then I won't ask around anymore. I'll just sell them all to Doctor Lin. I'll bring any good medicinal herbs I find to Doctor Lin in the future."
Doctor Lin was very satisfied with what Jiang Yuwei said, so he instructed his servant to take Jiang Yuwei to the accounting office to collect the silver notes.
Jiang Yuwei accepted the silver notes and bought a 20-day supply of medicinal bath packs before leaving Huichuntang, intending to go to the carpenter's shop on West Street to pick up furniture.
Jiang Yuwei was thinking of finding an empty alley to go into and store all the herbal bath packs in her space, as carrying all these big and small bags was really troublesome.
However, as soon as Jiang Yuwei entered the alley, she sensed that someone had followed her in. She quickly and alertly took out the chili water she had prepared earlier from her bosom, opened the lid, and prepared it at any time.
Jiang Yuwei quickened her pace, and then heard the people behind her hurrying up to catch up. Turning her head, she saw two lewd-looking men grinning at her with large, yellow teeth.
"Little girl, you walk pretty fast."
"That's right, it's been really tough for us two brothers."
"Come here, let us have some fun, and we'll spare you."
Jiang Yuwei was on edge, her eyes fixed on the two of them, and she asked loudly:
"What...what do you want to do?"
One of the short men, with a pockmarked face, stepped forward and laughed:
“It’s no use shouting. This is a dead end. Nobody ever comes through here. Today, you’d better just obediently submit to us two brothers, and I’ll spare your life.”
Seeing that she couldn't reason with the two, Jiang Yuwei quickly surveyed the surrounding terrain. Taking advantage of their momentary lapse in vigilance, she rushed forward and splashed the highly concentrated pepper spray in her hand directly into their faces.
The two were startled by Jiang Yuwei's sudden action. Before they could react, chili water was splashed into their eyes.
"Ouch! What is that? It hurts so much!"
"My eyes! You damned woman!"
Taking advantage of the moment when the two were covering their eyes and wailing, Jiang Yuwei quickly ran out of the alley between them. Just as she emerged, she bumped into the constable patrolling the street. Jiang Yuwei hurriedly stopped him and called out:
"Quick, there are two bad guys inside, they're following me!"
The head constable didn't hesitate after hearing Jiang Yuwei's words. He gestured to the constable beside him, and the two drew their broadswords and quickly walked into the alley. Jiang Yuwei, meanwhile, leaned against the wall and squatted at the alley entrance, panting heavily.
"I didn't expect that life here would be so uneasy. Luckily, I had some things on me after what happened with Zhang Laizi last time, otherwise, I would have been in grave danger again today."
Jiang Yuwei was clutching her chest, still shaken, when she saw the constable bring out the two thieves, who were tied up with ropes.
The two bound men saw Jiang Yuwei squatting at the alley entrance and spat at her:
"Pah, you damned woman, you've ruined my life!"
"You wait, even if you don't take the money, I'll still kill you!"
Seeing that the two men were still so arrogant even after being arrested, the head constable kicked them in the leg and shouted:
"Behave yourselves and come with me to the yamen!"
Upon hearing the man's words, which implied someone had paid them to follow her and frame her, Jiang Yuwei disregarded her lingering fear and stood up, speaking to the head constable:
"Thank you for saving my life today, Constable. These two are really dangerous. I want to go with you to the government office to sue them for committing violence in the street. You heard what they said just now, and I am really worried."
A constable stepped forward and said:
“Officer Huang, I think this lady is right. These two are not good people. They have been in and out several times before, and every time they are released, they start doing evil again.”
Officer Huang nodded and said to Jiang Yuwei:
"Then you shall follow me."
The two bound men, upon hearing Jiang Yuwei say she would go to the government office to sue them, hurriedly begged for mercy:
"No, no, no, I was just kidding you."
"That's right, that's right, we didn't hurt you at all, it's you who made it so we can't even open our eyes now."
"That's right, my eyes still hurt a lot. If you want to sue us, we'll sue you for damaging our eyes too."
Huang, the head constable, was so exasperated by the two arguing that he struck each of them on the head with a palm strike.
"Shut up! If you make another sound, I'll sew your mouths shut!"
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