Chapter 103, Part 9
boom.
Rumble.
After the sweltering heat of June and early July, torrential rains that had been brewing for days finally poured down.
The sweltering heat of Shuzhou City was instantly extinguished by the rain, and even the residual heat on the stone slabs dissipated rapidly.
The cool and comfortable breeze finally allowed the city's residents to slow down their pace.
Even laborers who had worked hard all day, or government officials and city guards who had been running around all day, could stroll through the streets and alleys with ease and comfort.
However, under the heavy rain, many artisans who make a living find it hard to smile.
After all, no one would watch someone break a boulder on their chest in the pouring rain.
Outside the East Market on Wudong Street, there is the Jishi Pharmacy.
The pharmacy, which had been reviving business through Baicaotang tea, was now packed with people.
The vast majority of them were not sick, but rather craftsmen from the East Market.
There were burly men skilled in farming, acrobatic performers, and fortune tellers who predicted marriage and future prospects.
They gathered in twos and threes inside the pharmacy, partly to escape the rain and partly to have a cup of tea.
Although they work hard every day and don't earn much, they can still afford a cup of Wangji tea for two coins.
"I don't know what formula Baicaotang uses, but this tea tastes like tea but not quite. One cup is refreshing and cool."
"Even at the height of the sun, it keeps you cool for half a day."
A man dressed in a linen short-sleeved shirt and shorts held a porcelain bottle in his hand, taking small sips of the drink, clearly reluctant to finish it all at once.
Beside him, a fortune teller carrying a cloth bag labeled "Marriage and Future Prospects" shook his head and said:
"Would you let someone else know about your cash cow?"
"I just wanted to express my feelings."
"Why are you worrying about those things? Someone who can't even earn fifty coins a day, why would you care about a place like Baicaotang, where gold and silver can be hauled in by cart?"
"A cart carrying money? Bai Cao Tang's tea drinks are that profitable?"
"That's inevitable. Not just Baicaotang, but take this Jishi Pharmacy for example. Before, the pharmacy's business was practically nonexistent. Look at it now..."
Before he could finish speaking, Liu Quan, who had long disliked these craftsmen, slammed his abacus shut. "If you're going to drink tea, then drink tea. What's with all the nonsense?"
The fortune teller paused, glanced at him, but wasn't annoyed. Instead, he looked at Chen Yi, who was sitting next to the doctor not far away, and said:
"Manager Chen, your accountant is quite fierce."
Liu Quan's eyes widened, but mindful of Chen Yi's presence, he swallowed back the words he wanted to say: "Manager, look at them..."
Chen Yi was watching the new doctor administer acupuncture when he heard this. He turned around, looked at the doctor, and said with a smile:
"There's nothing that can't be said to others, and besides, Jishi Pharmacy's business only started to flourish again thanks to Baicaotang."
Liu Quan reluctantly shut his mouth, looked down at the ledger, and started tapping away on the abacus.
The fortune teller chuckled and said, "As expected of a famous talent in our Shu Prefecture, his words are so pleasant to hear."
Chen Yi shook his head and said, "Whether you study or not, the principle is the same."
"However, since Jishi Pharmacy has been so helpful to you today, we hope that you will continue to support us if it becomes less successful in the future."
Upon hearing this, these artisans, who were naturally adept at reading people's expressions, nodded in agreement.
The fortune teller was also a man of principle, and immediately gave Chen Yi a free divination.
"Shopkeeper, I see that your complexion is rosy and healthy, like auspicious purple clouds coming from the east. You are sure to become very rich and powerful in the future."
Chen Yi looked at him, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and said with a smile, "Whether I am rich or not is another matter. If you don't see a doctor to check your pulse soon, I'm afraid you don't have many days left to live."
"Forehead……"
The fortune teller's expression was not good. "Is the shopkeeper cursing me?"
Chen Yi didn't answer, but gestured for him to sit down. "If what I said is wrong, I'll give you a bottle of Divine Ox Tea."
The people inside the pharmacy immediately started to jeer.
The fortune teller was quite straightforward: a bottle of Divine Ox Tea, which sold for thirty coins in the pharmacy, could be bought for one hundred coins in the brothel alley south of the city.
Even if he doesn't drink it, he can sell it and it will be enough for him to eat and drink for half a month.
The fortune teller sat down.
Chen Yi asked the newly arrived lame doctor, Ma Liangcai, to take his pulse.
Ma Liangcai obediently extended three fingers and placed them on the fortune teller's wrist, intently examining them.
He paused for a moment, taking a breath.
Then he squeezed it a little harder to feel where the deep pulse was.
After three breaths, Ma Liangcai suddenly sighed, "The shopkeeper is right, your illness has reached a critical stage."
The fortune teller looked at him suspiciously. "Are you sure?"
He was not old, only forty years old, in the prime of his life.
I travel all over the country and have never noticed anything wrong with my body.
At this moment, I naturally don't believe it.
"I'm asking you, do you usually not drink cold drinks?"
"It seems so..."
Feeling cold in rainy weather?
"hold head high."
"besides……"
As Ma Liangcai asked a few questions, details he hadn't noticed before came true one by one, and the fortune teller's face turned ashen: "I... is there any hope for me?"
"have."
Before Ma Liangcai could speak, Chen Yi took a bottle of Divine Ox Tea from the side and stuffed it into his hand, saying with a smile:
"One bottle of Shenniu Tea a day will cure your ailments. Today, this bottle is free for you."
The fortune teller looked at the tea in his hand, then at him, then at Ma Liangcai who was suppressing a laugh, and after a long while, he finally realized: "Hey, you, the shopkeeper!"
"Ha ha……"
Immediately, bursts of laughter filled the Jishi Pharmacy.
"Manager Chen, what you're saying sounds so convincing. I thought Old Ji really didn't have many days left to live, and I was even thinking about how to collect his body."
"Haha... Old Ji usually cheats this person and that person, but I never expected to be cheated by Manager Chen today."
The fortune teller, Old Ji, shook his head with a wry smile. "Excuse me for being nosy, Manager Chen, but let's not scare people like that next time."
Chen Yi smiled, chatted and laughed with the people around him for a few moments, then instructed Liu Quan and the others to take good care of the pharmacy before heading home at Shenshi (3-5 PM) as usual.
The artisans smiled and said goodbye, finding him quite amusing.
Once outside, Chen Yi glanced at Linglan Pavilion and saw the manager, Qian Kuan, greet him with a forced smile. He simply nodded and headed towards the carriage driven by Ge Laosan.
Qian Kuan watched him disappear into the rain, his gaze sweeping over the boisterous Jishi Pharmacy, his expression growing increasingly grim.
This could really revive the Xiao family's pharmacy?
Baicaotang!
Although Chen Yi on the other side did not witness Qian Kuan's actions, he had noticed something during his time at Jishi Pharmacy.
For example, Qian Kuan, despite his seemingly busy social life, paid close attention to Jishi Pharmacy.
For example, the daily comings and goings of Jishi Pharmacy, and the calculation of the pharmacy's income.
And the way Qian Kuan looked at him every time.
After acquiring martial arts skills, Chen Yi naturally became aware of some of these things.
In addition to the snippets of conversation he overheard, he was finally able to confirm that Linglanxuan was indeed targeting the Xiao family's pharmacy.
It wasn't obvious before, but recently, after the Xiao family's pharmacy business improved, the people in Linglan Pavilion have become somewhat restless.
Some words were spoken less carefully.
As Chen Yi looked at the torrential rain outside the carriage, a white chess piece appeared in his mind on the chessboard.
Ten of the Ten Heavenly Origin.
He then placed the white piece named "Bai Cao Tang" on "Nine of Eleven".
—With the rise of Baicaotang, it's bound to attract some people.
...
As night fell, the torrential rain continued.
In the rain, the area west of the city, near the West Market, was mostly the residences of high-ranking officials and nobles of Shu Prefecture.
Unlike the northern part of the city where the Marquis of Dingyuan lived, the residences around the West Market had a maximum of only three courtyards.
These regulations are not something these wealthy gentry can circumvent.
At this moment, in a courtyard house not far from Baicaotang, the main hall of the central courtyard was brightly lit.
Outside the gate, dozens of guards dressed in straw raincoats and with long knives hanging at their waists stood guard.
A faint bang came from inside the door.
"Given such circumstances, how has the Xiao Family Pharmacy managed to survive? What have you all been doing all this time?"
"Young master, we...we did everything we asked of you—the physicians, the medicines, the treatments—all according to your instructions..."
"Then how do you explain today's outcome?"
“Young master, it’s not that we haven’t tried our best, but the Xiao family’s medicine hall only regained its strength thanks to the Hundred Herbs Hall.”
"Baicaotang?"
A cold, clear voice rang out.
"Is it that Baicaotang, which is famous in the brothels of the south of the city?"
"Exactly."
A moment of silence.
"What is their relationship with the Xiao family?"
"Wang Ji, the manager of Baicaotang, was originally the manager of Xiao Family's Jishi Pharmacy, which is the same pharmacy where Xiao Family's son-in-law now works."
"After Wang Ji left Jishi Pharmacy, he started Baicaotang with others. It is said that there is a boss behind him, but we have not been able to find out who it is."
The cool voice spoke up: "Boss? Heh, there should be such a person, otherwise how would a shopkeeper obtain the tea recipe?"
"Fifth brother, have you been to Baicaotang?"
"Reporting to the young master, I went there at noon today, but only one manager came out of the Hundred Herbs Hall. I did not see Wang Ji."
Snap!
The porcelain bottle shattered.
The already cold voice grew even colder, and through gritted teeth, it uttered, "Truly courting death!"
"Third brother, inform the members of the Illusionary Sound Sect and tell them to burn down the Hundred Herbs Hall!"
Another person hesitated and said, "Young Master, the people from the Illusionary Sound Sect are still being tracked by the government and the Xiao family's punishment hall. If they show themselves now, I'm afraid..."
"Afraid? My Liu family has spent so much money supporting them precisely for this moment. Otherwise, what use are they?"
"And where is 'Knife Maniac' now? If he hasn't left Shu Prefecture yet, let's have him take action as well."
"Reporting to the young master, it is said that 'Knife Maniac' has now gone to the Mountain Clan."
The cold voice paused, "What's he doing going to the mountain tribe? There's no one there to let him test his sword."
"Xiao Jinghong..."
The cool voice paused for a moment, then laughed.
"Very well, 'Knife Maniac' is indeed arrogant enough to provoke that crazy woman Xiao Jinghong. Can his knife withstand Xiao Jinghong's spear?"
“Young master, Black Fang tried to persuade him before, but he wouldn’t listen.”
Upon hearing this, the main hall fell silent.
In the flickering candlelight, a handsome young man with delicate features, dressed in purple brocade robes and standing upright spoke:
"Then let's ignore him for now."
"First, notify the people of the Illusionary Sound Sect to deal with the Hundred Herbs Hall, and at the same time, find out who is behind it and kill them."
"In addition, I also need to get the recipes for those tea drinks."
As soon as the words fell, the five figures around them responded in unison. Then, one of them spoke up:
"Young Master, what should we do if the Xiao family finds out?"
The young man stood up and snorted coldly, "There are always people to hold the line!"
Before long, the courtyard fell silent, and the people in the main hall dispersed.
In the dim light, a dark figure quietly emerged and, using the rain as cover, darted toward another residence.
"If the Liu family makes another move, it will inevitably attract the attention of the Xiao family's punishment hall."
"It's time to get that one moving too..."
(End of this chapter)
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