Chapter 32 – Discussing a Big Deal

The pharmacy owner carefully inspected the medicinal herbs Su Miaomiao brought in.

Although they were all common herbs, they had been processed well and looked to be of good quality.

“These herbs aren’t bad, but we don’t usually accept medicinal herbs from individuals. Do you have a letter of introduction?” the pharmacy owner asked.

“Yes, I do.” Su Miaomiao replied, pulling out her letter.

After verifying that the letter was legitimate, the pharmacy owner’s attitude softened.

“The quality of your herbs is decent, but they’re all common types, and we’re not lacking in them at the moment. Still, since you came all this way, I’ll give you five yuan and take them all.”

Su Miaomiao looked at the large bag of herbs in front of her. These were the result of several days of hard work with the kids.

And in the end, all they were worth was five yuan.

Naturally, Su Miaomiao felt it was a loss. But if someone from Shimatou Village were here, they’d probably cry tears of joy.

After all, most families couldn’t even save up a few yuan in an entire year. Yet they earned five yuan in under a week of effort.

That meant they could earn 20 yuan in a month.

That’s equivalent to a month’s salary for an adult worker.

So yes, they would definitely cry with joy.

“Alright.” Su Miaomiao didn’t haggle, and directly agreed.

“Alright, I’ll go get the money,” said the pharmacy owner, who appreciated straightforward people like her. He turned and went to the back to fetch five yuan.

“Count it,” he said, handing the money to Su Miaomiao.

She took it and put it away without counting, then casually asked, “By the way, do you buy finished medicine products here?”

“You have finished products too?” The owner raised an eyebrow.

“Our family used to practice medicine. Although we’ve fallen on hard times, we still have some old formulas at home. I’ve picked up a bit through exposure and made a medicinal ointment specifically for treating bruises and trauma. You can take a look.”
As she spoke, Su Miaomiao pulled out a piece of ointment from her pocket and handed it over.

Upon hearing that the ointment was made by Su Miaomiao herself, the pharmacy owner didn’t expect much.

What could such a young girl possibly make that was worth anything?

But as soon as he smelled the fragrance of the ointment, his brow furrowed, and he stared intently at Su Miaomiao.

“This ointment contains… rhubarb, phellodendron, turmeric, angelica… This is the formula for Jin Huang San (Golden Yellow Powder),” he said, looking up at her.

Su Miaomiao nodded.

But the owner frowned. “No, something’s off. There are two extra ingredients—it’s not the standard Jin Huang San formula. What else did you add?”

He stared straight at her.

“I made some modifications to the Jin Huang San recipe. This is our improved version, with more effective results,” Su Miaomiao explained.

“What did you add?” The pharmacy owner grew more anxious.

He could tell the ointment was more effective than the traditional Jin Huang San.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t identify the two extra ingredients.

“That’s a family secret recipe,” Su Miaomiao said with a smile, giving nothing away.

“A secret recipe, huh? No wonder I couldn’t figure it out. But I must say, this ointment looks quite good. Of course, its actual effectiveness still needs to be tested.”
The pharmacy owner stopped pressing her after hearing that.

“I’m giving this ointment to you for free. You can find someone to try it. I’ll be staying in the city for another two days. I’ll come back the day after tomorrow afternoon—if you’re interested, we can sit down and discuss a business deal,” Su Miaomiao offered.

“Alright, I’ll give it a try,” the owner agreed, seeing how easy she was to talk to.

After all, this deal posed no risk of loss for him.

If it worked out, his pharmacy would gain a powerful new medicinal product.

And if it didn’t, well—he got the ointment for free.

“Then I’ll be leaving now,” Su Miaomiao nodded politely to the pharmacy owner and turned to leave.

After that, she didn’t go anywhere else and headed straight back to the guesthouse.

At the same time—

The middle-aged man who met with Su Miaomiao had already returned to the organization.

He handed the envelope to his superior, who confirmed it hadn’t been tampered with and immediately had someone send it to Mò City Industrial University.

In less than half an hour, a reply came back.

The contents of the envelope were authentic.

“Alright, I understand.” The man hung up the phone and finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Director, was it real?” the man in the black hat asked eagerly.

“It was,” Director Ling nodded.

“So it really was… That girl didn’t lie to me. But she didn’t look like someone from our organization. How did that confidential letter end up in her hands?” the black-hat man asked in confusion.

“We still haven’t made contact with the team assigned to deliver the letter. There may have been a mishap along the way. Go find that girl and bring her here to the bureau immediately. And remember—be polite and respectful,” Director Ling instructed after a moment of thought.

“Yes, sir.” The black-hat man quickly turned and left.

---

Su Miaomiao was sitting at the guesthouse desk, writing something. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

She tucked the written pages into her pocket before getting up to open it.

When the door swung open, she saw a somewhat familiar face.

It was the man she’d met at the church earlier that day.

But now, he wasn’t wearing a hat, and the small white flower was gone from his chest. He looked much more approachable.

“Comrade Su, there’s something we’d like your cooperation with. Please come with me,” he said kindly.

“Alright,” Su Miaomiao nodded and stepped out without hesitation.

Her calm and composed reaction surprised the man.

This girl… she’s not even a little nervous?

She didn’t seem fazed by the presence of several people, and she agreed without asking a single question?

But the man quickly reminded himself:

She dared to carry out a secret exchange alone—how could she possibly be timid?

Outside the guesthouse, a sedan was already waiting.

Su Miaomiao raised her eyebrows. She couldn’t afford a car, but she certainly wouldn’t mind enjoying a ride in one.

After getting in the car, Su Miaomiao became even more determined to buy one someday.

The vehicle drove for about twenty minutes before stopping in front of an imposing building.

“Comrade Su, please step out,” the man opened the car door for her.

“Thank you,” Su Miaomiao replied, bowing slightly as she exited.

She followed the man into the building and up the stairs, finally stopping in front of an office.

Su Miaomiao glanced at the sign on the door:

Director’s Office.

A flicker of light flashed in her eyes.

It looked like the man hadn’t lied—this letter really was important.

The man knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a stern voice called from inside.

The man led Su Miaomiao into the room.

As soon as she entered, Su Miaomiao saw a middle-aged man seated behind a desk.

He looked to be in his fifties, dressed in a Zhongshan suit. Just by sitting there, he exuded a commanding presence.

At that moment, his sharp gaze was fixed directly on Su Miaomiao.