Upon hearing this, the attendant immediately rummaged through the basket next to Jian Xiu, saying, “Hiss, you have some plantain grass here, right? I’ll take it, the quality looks good.”

When Jian Xiu heard the attendant, her fondness for Renhe Hall increased significantly.

She then took off her large back basket and pointed to the muntjac inside. “What about this one? Do you accept this here?”

Following Jian Xiu’s pointing direction, the attendant immediately spotted the muntjac.

His eyes widened, looking even larger than copper bells.

“Miss, wait a moment, I’ll call over our shopkeeper Qin.”

Saying that, he hurriedly ran toward the backyard.

In shops like Renhe Hall, the regular herbal material manager wouldn’t usually handle such things.

Only for special items, when the attendant couldn’t make the decision, would the shopkeeper come to take charge.

Not long after, the attendant rushed back to Jian Xiu, smiling, and said, “Miss, our shopkeeper has asked you to bring the plantain grass and the muntjac to the backyard for a discussion. He’s a bit busy at the moment, so don’t mind him.”

“No problem, no problem,” Jian Xiu responded quickly.

Of course, she wouldn’t mind.

The plantain grass was her most stable source of income; she couldn’t afford to be picky.

As for the muntjac, it was just an additional item, and it would likely be a one-time thing.

In the backyard.

When Jian Xiu entered, she was greeted by shelves upon shelves of herbs.

Several layers of wooden shelves were drying herbs, and a middle-aged man in his forties was continuously flipping through them.

When he saw Jian Xiu enter, he immediately stopped what he was doing and walked toward her with a smiling face.

From the shopkeeper’s appearance, Jian Xiu had a good feeling about him—he didn’t seem like a harsh person.

They say one’s appearance reflects their heart, and since the strange event that had happened to her, Jian Xiu had begun to believe in such things.

“Miss, you’re here to sell plantain grass and a muntjac?”

“Yes, Shopkeeper Qin, please take a look and see if you’re satisfied,” Jian Xiu said with a smile.

She had noticed earlier in the front yard that the attendant had mentioned the shopkeeper’s name was Qin.

So now, she naturally addressed him as “Shopkeeper Qin,” hoping to leave a good impression.

Sure enough, upon hearing her address, Shopkeeper Qin’s smile widened.

He lowered his head and rummaged through the plantain grass in Jian Xiu’s basket, revealing a satisfied expression.

“Your plantain grass is indeed good; it’s clean and free of weeds, and most importantly, it’s dried well. Let’s do this: I’ll give you an extra coin today, sixteen coins per jin. If the quality remains the same in the future, I’ll offer the same price. How about it?”

“Great! Shopkeeper Qin is indeed generous,” Jian Xiu said excitedly.

She had initially thought that the shopkeeper might try to bargain with her, but she didn’t expect to meet such a kind and honest person.

It seemed like her luck was really good today.

Then, it was time to weigh the herbs.

Although there was a lot of plantain grass, it was dry, so it didn’t weigh as much as it looked.

“Miss, take a look. This is a total of one hundred twenty-four jin. At sixteen coins per jin, that comes to one tael and nine hundred eighty-four coins. Does that sound right?”

“Yes, yes, that’s correct.”

“As for the muntjac, may I ask how you plan to sell it?” Shopkeeper Qin asked, smiling.

Upon hearing this, Jian Xiu fell silent.

Judging by Shopkeeper Qin’s reaction, it was clear that muntjac was a very valuable item in a herb shop like Renhe Hall.

If that was the case, the muntjac should be worth a lot of money.

But considering the possibility of a long-term cooperation, Jian Xiu didn’t want to ask for too high of a price.

After thinking for a while, Jian Xiu turned the question back to Shopkeeper Qin.

“I see you’re a generous person, Shopkeeper Qin. How about you offer a price first, and if I’m satisfied, the muntjac will naturally be yours.”

Jian Xiu was well aware that the muntjac had a lot of valuable parts.

Before coming here, Zhang Zixuan had reminded her several times.

But Shopkeeper Qin appeared to be a trustworthy person.

Indeed, before Jian Xiu could even finish thinking, she heard Shopkeeper Qin’s voice.

“The most valuable part of this muntjac is its musk. This one seems quite large, so the musk should be substantial. It should be worth eight to ten taels. As for me, Qin Xuancheng, I opened this shop to do business, not to exploit people. I’ll offer the highest price of ten taels. As for the hide, there’s a wound, so it’s not in perfect condition, but I’ll still give two taels. As for the bones and meat, I’ll pay the market price of thirty coins per jin. What do you think, Miss?”

Upon hearing Shopkeeper Qin’s words, Jian Xiu was stunned.

According to his calculation, her muntjac could be sold for more than ten taels?

She had originally thought it would be worth about five or six taels, but now she realized it could fetch much more—what a pleasant surprise!

“Is there a problem? Miss, are you not satisfied?” Seeing Jian Xiu’s silence, Shopkeeper Qin grew anxious.

A rare item like this wouldn’t come by easily, and he certainly didn’t want to miss it. Especially the musk, which was a precious material in the herbal trade, a rare find.

Hearing Shopkeeper Qin’s words, Jian Xiu snapped back to reality.

Before she could speak, Shopkeeper Qin added, “How about this: I’ll add five hundred coins for the hide. Is that acceptable? Any higher, and I can’t do it.”

“Deal. I’ll go with Shopkeeper Qin’s offer.”

After the weighing, the muntjac came to ninety-two jin. At thirty coins per jin, that amounted to two taels and seven hundred sixty coins.

Adding the musk and hide, the muntjac was worth almost fifteen taels.

When Jian Xiu received the silver, she still felt like she was in a daze.

She never imagined the muntjac could be worth so much.

It seemed that she would need to go deeper into the mountains more often.

After receiving the silver, Jian Xiu couldn’t resist stopping by “Moxiang Pavilion” on her way out.

However, upon seeing the prices inside, she finally understood why normal families couldn’t afford to support a scholar.

Just for a single roll of Xuan paper, the cost was four hundred coins.

A single roll was a hundred sheets, and for an ordinary family, four hundred coins was a huge sum.

Thinking about it, ordinary families really couldn’t afford to support a scholar.

However, these were essential items for the academy, so with a deep breath, Jian Xiu still bought a roll.

“Attendant, what about the four treasures of the study?”

“Miss, the one you’re looking at is quite expensive, over five taels of silver. There are other options over there, not sure if you’ll like them?”