Chapter 9

The young man who spoke up was none other than Jiang Mengzhen, who had been ‘asked to leave’ by Hao Cheng from her own house.

He still had injuries, and taking this ginseng could indeed help him recover.

However, Hao Cheng remembered clearly that when she picked him up, he didn’t have any money on him, so where would he get six hundred taels of silver to buy her ginseng?

Just as she was about to speak, the shop assistant from the pharmacy behind her looked displeased. “This ginseng is supposed to be sold to us first.”

If no one else wanted it, she might have waited a while, expecting Hao Cheng to come back and lower the price. After all, there was only one pharmacy in town that could afford five hundred taels of ginseng. But now that someone suddenly came out to compete with them, she naturally fell behind.

Before she could speak again, Hao Cheng stared at the man who had disrupted the situation and said, “If the young master wants to buy this ginseng for six hundred taels of silver, that’s fine, but can I see the money first? I’m used to a deal where I receive payment before delivering the goods.”

Originally, she was waiting for the shop assistant to stop her. If she didn’t, she could always go a bit further to the town and surely find a suitable buyer.

However, she was willing to earn a little less money, considering that she still wanted to settle down here. She estimated that she would inevitably have to do business at this pharmacy in the future, so she was willing to give the shop a small profit.

If this man really had money and could buy the ginseng from her, that would be fine. But if he was just here to cause trouble, she wouldn’t let him off so easily.

The shop assistant also noticed that the man’s clothes were very plain, but when he walked in, his temperament was extraordinary. The owner had already taught them that they should never judge people solely by their appearance. However, since they were talking about selling ginseng, she remained silent and stood in front of the medicine cabinet to watch the show.

Jiang Mengzhen rummaged through the small cloth bag Hao Cheng had given him and took out a handful of gold leaves. “Here, take twelve gold leaves. You can exchange them for six hundred taels of silver at the bank.”

During the Jin Kingdom, one tael of gold could be exchanged for ten taels of silver, but these finely crafted gold leaves with specific patterns were worth more. One leaf could be worth up to five taels of gold.

Hao Cheng saw his gaze and was slightly surprised. She was very clear about what she had put in the small cloth bag for him. There were only some dry rations, a water pouch, and a clean handkerchief. Where did he get so much money from?

She had obviously forgotten that when Jiang Mengzhen fell down, he was still wearing clothes. To be cautious when traveling, he had sewn pockets lined with gold and silver into the sleeves of his clothes. Since silver bills could easily be ruined by water, he had placed a handful of gold leaves in his pockets, probably thirty to forty pieces, worth nearly two thousand taels of silver.

When she gave him the bundle, she included the clothes. He had originally thought that Hao Cheng had driven him out because she saw the opportunity for profit. However, when he turned over the clothes, he found that the money and belongings were still there, and the pockets were sewn well, with not a single gold leaf missing.

It was only then that he was sure Hao Cheng was a good person and an ideal candidate to shelter him temporarily. After Hao Cheng left, he also inquired about the town she came from.

As for the matter of the gold leaves, it was not appropriate to ask about it in front of others. Since this man was willing to pay six hundred taels, she naturally agreed. “In that case…”

Before Hao Cheng could speak, the owner of the pharmacy said, “In that case, this lady will sell this ginseng to our pharmacy. We’ll offer six hundred and ten taels of silver, paid in silver bills plus ten taels of silver in cash. In business, we must adhere to certain principles. After all, you negotiated with us first.”

She had just seen the ginseng, and it was only worth seven hundred taels of silver at most. The pharmacy also needed to make money. After all, this ginseng was brought to them by this woman, and they didn’t spend any effort on it, yet there was a profit margin of ninety taels or even higher.

She naturally wanted to make this money, but now that sincerity was being offered, it depended on whether Hao Cheng was willing to give face to the pharmacy.

Jiang Mengzhen wanted to say something more, but Hao Cheng turned around and took out the ginseng wrapped in the red cloth, placing it on the counter in front of her. “Since the owner is so sincere, I’ll naturally sell the ginseng to the pharmacy.”

The deal was done in a hurry, and once Hao Cheng took the money, she left.

The owner of the pharmacy smiled and said, “We’ll sell this ginseng to the young master for fifteen gold of leaves. Would the young master buy it?”

She noticed the dark fabric around the young master’s waist and abdomen, indicating that he was injured and needed the ginseng for recovery. Fifteen gold leaves amounted to seven hundred taels, which wasn’t a high price.

Jiang Mengzhen glanced at her and then left without a word.

After both the seller and the buyer left, the shop assistant on the side couldn’t help but comment, “You’re obviously overcharging him. He definitely won’t take it. Why bother asking?”

The owner moved the abacus beads and said, “You don’t understand. If he really needs it, he’ll pay even eight hundred taels. Even if he doesn’t want it, we have to make a gesture to him. He delayed our business, causing us to earn less money.”

The shop assistant suddenly realized, looking like he learned something. On the other side, Jiang Mengzhen chased after Hao Cheng in a hurry, jogging to catch up while holding his abdomen.

Hao Cheng was originally in a hurry to leave because she still had many things she wanted to purchase with the money. At least she wanted to go to the courtyard she had previously set her eyes on and buy the house from the real estate agent.

But this person followed so closely, making it awkward for her to conduct business in front of him. So, in a secluded corner, she suddenly stopped and turned around sharply. “Why are you following me?”

She stopped for another reason. The man still had injuries, and walking so quickly might reopen his wounds. After all, she had saved his life, and seeing him not taking care of himself made her annoyed. After all, she had wasted a lot of effort on him.

Jiang Mengzhen stood in front of her and said, “I just wanted to ask if you could accommodate me for a while. I’ll pay for lodging and meals. It won’t be long, and I won’t be using up all those gold leaves. I’ll leave them all to you as a reward.”

Adding one more person wouldn’t cost much, but those gold leaves were not a small amount of money.

For a moment, Hao Cheng felt tempted. However, she had neither power nor influence, and she was most afraid of getting into big trouble. Even if she had money but no life to spend it, it wouldn’t be of much use to her.

She asked, “Since you have money, you can easily find a place to stay. With so much money, you can stay at the best inn in town for a few years. Why bother living with me?”

Jiang Mengzhen was sincere in his attitude and handed Hao Cheng a good person card: “I don’t have any identification with me to contact my family. It will take some time. Moreover, I am alone and inevitably inconvenienced outside. Since the benefactor is a good person, I naturally trust you.”

She seemed so kind and honest? But this person was clearly very wary of her from the beginning. Hao Cheng hesitated and threw another difficult question at Jiang Mengzhen, “How do you plan to explain your identity?”

“Follow what the benefactor said earlier. I’m a distant cousin who came to seek refuge and was robbed by bandits on the way.” Seeking refuge as relatives and making it clear that they wouldn’t be staying in the same place would naturally reduce the amount of gossip.

However, in Hao Cheng’s home, she was the only one, and she hadn’t married yet. If it was in a place where no one knew them, they could pretend to be siblings, but in this Xinghua Village, there would inevitably be gossip. So, she had more concerns.

She wasn’t very satisfied with Jiang Mengzhen’s proposed solution, and she wasn’t greedy for his money either. However, she didn’t like to keep idle people: “You’d better find someone else. With so much money, you can surely find satisfactory protection.”

“I’m very useful!” Jiang Mengzhen hurriedly said. He liked to be around smart people because they wouldn’t bring him trouble. But now that this person was clever, he wasn’t as easy to deceive as he had thought.

Hao Cheng raised an eyebrow. “What can you do?” He couldn’t cook, and it seemed like he wasn’t good at household chores either.

With injuries on his body, she would have to take care of him. Taking in such a person would be like having to serve a young master. She wasn’t used to being served by others, but she also wasn’t the type to endure serving others. Why should she bring trouble upon herself?

Jiang Mengzhen took a step forward and said, “I helped the benefactor sell an extra one hundred and ten taels of silver just now. Does that count as being useful? As for not being good at miscellaneous tasks, I can spend money to hire a few capable maids and servants for the benefactor.” If he hadn’t intervened just now, Hao Cheng would have only been able to sell the ginseng for five hundred taels.

Hao Cheng remained silent for a while, neither agreeing nor refusing. She didn’t even look at the house anymore. Jiang Mengzhen followed behind her, and they returned to her house together. However, before entering the courtyard gate, Hao Cheng blocked Jiang Mengzhen’s way in and locked the gate. She looked at him expressionlessly, then turned and walked into the inner room.

Jiang Mengzhen stood at the gate with the small bundle, looking pitifully at her back, but Hao Cheng clearly wasn’t soft-hearted enough to turn back even once.