Chapter 26: Bulk Purchase

Wang Chunlan adjusted her bamboo basket and tightly held Song Liangzuo’s hand, quietly saying, “There are a lot of people in the county; you mustn’t let go of my hand. If you lose me, you won’t find your way home.”

Song Liangzuo thought to himself, “I’m not a little child. If I do get lost, I can just find a bull cart to take me home. It won’t be hard at all.” But of course, he didn’t voice this opinion—he had to pretend to be the four-year-old child he appeared to be. Instead, he just nodded to indicate he understood.

As mother and son followed the queue into the county through the city gates, they were approached by two armored soldiers collecting entry fees.

Upon seeing Wang Chunlan and her son, one of the soldiers asked, “Where do you come from? Let me see your identification.”

Wang Chunlan pulled two wooden tablets from her sleeve and handed them over. These tablets contained their household information; every family and individual had one. To Song Liangzuo, it felt akin to an ID card from his past life.

He heard his mother say, “We’re from Dayuli Village in Gu’an Town and we’re here to sell herbs.”

The soldier glanced at the bamboo basket on Wang Chunlan’s back, then returned the wooden tablets, saying, “It’s two wen per person—four wens for both of you.”

Song Liangzuo considered himself not even a meter tall yet wouldn’t ask for a discount.

“Okay, okay.” Wang Chunlan quickly paid the four wen and led Song Liangzuo into the city.

As they entered the county, Song Liangzuo found it quite curious. He had not expected to need to pay to enter the city as a villager. It reminded him of paying entrance fees at ancient towns in his previous life.

Once inside the county, he glanced around but quickly lost interest, while his mother appeared both nervous and excited, taking in everything.

“Mom, let me ask for directions,” Song Liangzuo said, still holding her hand, not out of fear of getting lost but to ease her unease.

They walked and paused until they finally arrived in front of Renji Hall after about fifteen minutes.

Wang Chunlan surveyed the three-room shop and looked at the signboard. “This should be the place, Liangzuo. See the three characters on the sign? And this is the only apothecary around here.”

Song Liangzuo recognized the shop’s name from a distance; now that his mother had pointed it out, he nodded, “Yes, that’s it! Let’s go in.”

As soon as they entered, a shop assistant approached them, asking, “Are you here to buy herbs or for a consultation?”

Song Liangzuo stepped forward while still holding onto his mother’s hand, responding, “Neither. We were sent here by the apothecary in Gu’an Town, who mentioned your shop is buying dandelions and other herbal products, so we came.”

“Please wait a moment,” the assistant replied before heading toward the counter.

Taking the opportunity, Song Liangzuo examined the pharmacy. Compared to the one in Gu’an, Renji Hall was larger because of an extra room, giving it a more spacious feel overall.

The main hall featured a bigger herb shelf than Gu’an’s shop, with a consultation room on the left where a doctor was examining a patient and a set of tables on the right for receiving customers.

When the assistant returned, he smiled and said, “You can follow me.”

Unlike the pharmacy in Gu’an, where the owner would check the herbal quality before customers were allowed inside, at Renji Hall, it seemed the assistant was responsible for that.

Wang Chunlan was extremely nervous as she watched the assistant examine their herbs closely.

Song Liangzuo remained unconcerned; he had carefully selected all these herbs himself and was confident in their quality.

After a short while, the assistant confirmed they had six hundred fifty strands of herbs. He then led them back to the front room, where the owner inspected them before asking, “Are you the ones sent by Yaoshi?”

“Ah?!” Wang Chunlan was taken aback, unable to respond immediately.

Yaoshi?

Song Liangzuo mentally repeated the name, raising an eyebrow. So, the apothecary’s name was Yaoshi; that was quite a pleasant name.

He then answered, “Yes! Previously, all the herbs we dug were delivered to Grandfather Yaoshi, but now that he doesn’t need them, he mentioned asking if you might want them.”

While speaking, his mother suddenly scooped him up, elevating his view to eye level with adults for the first time. He could now see the counter clearly.

He continued, “Good news! Grandfather Yaoshi also accepts the herbs we’ve brought, so we came here.”

At this point, he paused, innocently asking, “Grandfather, can we bring you as many herbs as we can find?”

The owner chuckled, “Yes, whatever you bring, we’ll take.”

Song Liangzuo, not wanting to reveal his plans to collect herbs from the village, still spoke in an adorably naive tone, “Grandfather, we have a lot of family! I have my grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters. I can dig up a lot in a day! Will you take them all?”

The owner laughed heartily, “Of course! As long as you have herbs, we’ll take them. You don’t have to worry; Renji Hall isn’t the only one in the area. We have shops in Runiing Prefecture and even in the capital. We’re not only buying these two kinds; we accept any herbs.”

Hearing this, Song Liangzuo’s heart blossomed with joy. He quickly assured the owner, “Thank you, Grandfather! I’ll tell my grandparents when we get back.”

The owner smiled but didn’t say much more. He fiddled with the abacus on the counter, opened a drawer, and said, “Yaoshi told you the price, right? We offer two wens for three stalks. You brought six hundred fifty; that totals four hundred thirty-three wen and three li. Since you traveled such a long way, I’ll round it to four hundred thirty-four wens.”

“Thank you, Grandfather, for giving us this great opportunity to earn money. Four hundred thirty-three wen is fine,” Song Liangzuo replied, held in his mother’s arms, speaking like a little adult.

Before the owner could retrieve the money, a loud voice suddenly cried out from the entrance.

“Doctor Miao! Doctor Miao, are you here? Please take a look at my mother! After taking the last dose of medicine, she’s in severe pain in her chest! She’s almost fainting! Doctor Miao!”