Five taels and three mace

"Oh! Quite a lot here."

Seeing the dried centipedes in the burlap sack, each bundle tied neatly with fine thread, Zhao Cai remarked on them before reaching in to take out a bundle for a closer look.

"Golden claws, red heads, black backs. Genuine Clear Radiance Golden-Clawed Heavenly Dragons."

"Excellent length and size, very few missing claws, bodies mostly intact, dried just right. Good quality, and they all look like fresh stock, too. Very nice indeed."

As both the owner and manager of the medicine shop, Zhao Cai could assess medicinal ingredients with practiced ease. He nodded repeatedly as he examined the Golden-Clawed Heavenly Dragons in his hand.

Zhao Er had caught these Golden-Clawed Heavenly Dragons on the outskirts of the Clear Radiance Mountains and processed and stored them properly. In both size and quality, they were considerably better than those available elsewhere and fully deserved Zhao Cai's praise.

Zhao Cai inspected them carefully. After setting down the small bundle in his hand, he pulled the sack open and checked the ones at the bottom. Only after confirming that the quality was consistent did he ask:

"Young man, how many do you have altogether?"

"Ten to a bundle, fifty bundles in all."

His mother, Zhang Xuan'e, had carefully bundled and counted them, checking the count over and over. There could be no mistake.

"Mm. This probably isn't your first time selling them, so I won't waste your time with empty talk. Whichever medicine shop you sell these Golden-Clawed Heavenly Dragons to in this county town, the most they'll offer is ten copper coins apiece."

Zhao Cai first explained the going rate. Seeing that Zhao Er had no objection, he considered for a moment before continuing:

"But naturally, our relationship is different, and there's Little Tiger to consider, too. How about this... I'll give you five taels and three mace for the lot. What do you say?"

"Deal!"

A smile appeared on Zhao Er's face at Zhao Cai's offer, and he immediately nodded his agreement.

He knew the prices, of course. This was hardly his first trip to the county town to sell dried centipedes. Medicine shops generally priced these Golden-Clawed Heavenly Dragons according to quality, usually offering five to nine copper coins each. His were of exceptional quality, and he brought a substantial quantity each time, which was how he managed to get ten copper coins apiece.

Zhao Cai's offer was now the highest he could get, so naturally, he was willing to sell to him.

"Haha, you're a decisive young man! Next time you come, as long as the quality is the same, our Hundred Herbs Hall will buy them at this price again."

Zhao Cai was delighted by Zhao Er's ready agreement. Of course, the important thing was ensuring that Zhao Er continued selling to him.

A quarter of an hour later, with his newly earned five taels and three mace of silver tucked inside his clothes, Zhao Er said goodbye to Tiger and left the Hundred Herbs Hall.

Zhao Cai escorted Zhao Er all the way to the door.

Tiger and his father watched Zhao Er's departing figure, their eyes filled with envy.

They knew that Zhao Er earned money catching Golden-Clawed Heavenly Dragons, but they had never imagined it was this profitable. Selling that single sack had earned him as much as their whole family made in a year.

"Uncle, won't you lose money by giving him an extra three mace of silver?"

Once Zhao Er had left, Tiger could not help asking Zhao Cai.

To him, three mace of silver was already a huge sum, yet his uncle had added it to the price so casually.

It was not that he was jealous of Zhao Er's earnings or had any other ulterior motive. He had simply realized that his future would depend entirely on his second uncle, so he had begun instinctively looking out for his interests.

"We won't lose money. These Golden-Clawed Heavenly Dragons are an important supplementary ingredient in making Bone-Tempering Powder. Once we transport them to the Clear Source Sect's purchasing station in the prefectural city, we can sell them for fifteen copper coins each.

"And that's the current price. After the eleventh month, when Golden Dragons stop appearing, we can sell them for twenty-five copper coins."

Zhao Cai looked at Zhao Xiaohu and cheerfully explained the medicine shop's business. Of course, he was only discussing the most ordinary medicinal ingredients.

"They sell for that much? Then..."

Hearing that his second uncle could resell them for fifteen or even twenty-five copper coins, Zhao Xiaohu, who had just been worried about the shop losing money, immediately began thinking of Zhao Er instead. It seemed to him that his uncle's offer had been a little low.

"You think I offered too little? But you need to understand that hiring martial artists to escort the ingredients to the prefectural seat costs money. Running a medicine shop costs money. Securing a quota from the merchant guild to supply the Clear Source Sect costs money. Those are all expenses."

After saying this, Zhao Cai saw that Zhao Xiaohu still looked somewhat bewildered and did not explain further.

"You'll gradually understand these things later. Right now, what you need to do most is focus on cultivating. Tonight, I'll teach you the Ginseng Spirit Art. Spend the next few days getting familiar with the technique, then start taking laxatives. After that, you'll only be able to eat angelica and astragalus."

"Yes! I'll work hard at cultivating. I won't let you down, Second Uncle!"

After leaving the medicine shop, Zhao Er headed toward the residential area on South Street. When he passed a pastry shop, however, he hesitated for a while before buying some pastries.

"Ugh... daylight robbery. Three mace of silver for this little bit."

Looking at the pastries wrapped in oiled paper, Zhao Er could not help feeling an ache in his teeth.

He could hardly visit his eldest brother empty-handed, especially since he was going to ask for a favor this time. Though buying the pastries pained him a little, he did not regret it.

His eldest brother, Zhao Da, had been carefully nurtured by their father, Zhao Dazhu. Back then, their father had emptied the family's savings and even taken on considerable debt to send him to school to learn to read and write.

Zhao Da had been diligent and eager to learn, with a particular talent for arithmetic. After he completed his studies, his teacher recommended him for a position in the county town as the Ning Family's bookkeeper.

The Ning Family was unremarkable in the county town, but it was still a fallen Lineage. It operated several smithies there, mainly making various metal implements, most of them farming tools.

After Zhao Da had worked as the Ning Family's bookkeeper for two years, his upright character, honest disposition, and reasonably handsome looks caught the eye of the Ning Family's young lady. The two soon married.

For a farmer's son like Zhao Da to marry the Ning Family's young lady was undoubtedly to perch on a higher branch, even if the Ning Family was only a small, fallen Lineage in the county town. Though he had not formally married into her family, it was not far from it. Moreover, as soon as the two married, the Ning Family helped the Zhao family pay off its old debts.

Zhao Dazhu therefore understood that his eldest son probably had difficulties of his own and would never go to the county town to trouble Zhao Da without good reason.

That did not affect the bond between the brothers, however. When Zhao Da first heard that Zhao Er was catching Golden-Clawed Heavenly Dragons on the outskirts of the mountains, he rushed home to persuade him not to take such risks.

When persuasion failed, he even found him a manual for the Poison Sand Palm so that Zhao Er could train his arms and at least toughen the skin of his palms, while also using the Heavenly Dragons' venom to cultivate.

Thus, Zhao Er had bought these pastries partly to preserve his eldest brother's dignity. At the very least, he could not let the Ning Family think that the Zhao family only came calling to fawn over the powerful, leaving Zhao Da embarrassed.

Country folk were like that. Whenever guests came from the city, they always served their best food. It was not simply a matter of clinging desperately to appearances, but a long-standing wisdom of survival and an understanding of human relationships.