At Huichun Hall, Zhu Er skillfully gathered and packed the medicinal ingredients Xiang Yang needed. The weight was full, the quality excellent. After taking the payment, he thanked Xiang Yang with delight written all over his face.
As both a clerk and an apprentice, he received monthly wages, but the value and quantity of medicinal materials handled by each apprentice were also tallied, with a certain commission awarded. It was not much, but better than nothing.
For someone like Xiang Yang, a single visit meant more than twenty taels. As the apprentice handling the medicine for such a major customer, Zhu Er earned more from the commission alone than he did in a month. How could he not be happy?
"Zhu Er, find an opportunity to come out later. I'll be waiting for you at the teahouse across the street. There's something I want to ask you."
After leaving the tavern, Xiang Yang went straight to Huichun Hall to buy medicine. Of course, that was only incidental. His deeper purpose was to ask this young apprentice before him for a small favor.
Hearing Xiang Yang's words, Zhu Er harbored no suspicions and hurriedly nodded. He still hoped to keep this major customer, so naturally he was easy to talk to. Besides, he did not think a mere apprentice like himself possessed anything worth coveting.
Time trickled by. Xiang Yang sat alone at a window-side table on the teahouse's second floor. Beside his hand was a pot of lightly brewed tea, fragrant and warm on the tongue, excellent for nourishing the spleen and stomach.
About half an hour later, Zhu Er finally arrived. Dressed in coarse cloth, he walked softly and looked furtive and sneaky. In truth, after years of serving as a servant and apprentice, he had merely grown somewhat