Upon arriving at the government office, Jin Shanyao found the clerk in charge of the examinations, confirmed the examination location and session arrangements, and then turned to walk towards the clinic.
The sun had already set, and colorful lanterns hung outside the shops, illuminating the streets in a dreamlike way.
Meng Anci was preoccupied with other things and couldn't muster any interest.
Holding the deer antler and carrying a small shoulder bag, Meng Anzhi kept glancing at the signboard, "Auntie, Hall of Saving the World."
Jin Shanyao followed her gaze and saw the clinic she had visited last time. She remembered the shopkeeper's eyes. She had heard that they had a stable supply of goods, but she wondered if they could sell them.
She pulled a book from her pocket and flipped through a couple of pages quickly.
When Meng Anci saw his aunt trying to imitate her, he was speechless.
"Come on, let's go in and take a look," Jin Shanyao confidently, stuffing the book into her bosom and striding into Hall of Saving the World. The two little ones were apprehensive.
Meng Anzhi, in particular, blushed as soon as she entered the room this time after being criticized last time.
The waiter greeted him with a smile, but his expression instantly turned cold upon seeing the Jin Shanyao.
He blocked Jin Shanyao's path, saying unhappily, "You're asking about prices again. I got scolded last time. Get out of here..."
With Jin Shanyao pushed the people aside and walked inside with her head held high and chest out.
The waiter chased after him, saying, "Why can't you understand me? I told you to go."
Jin Shanyao softly. The book said that the most important thing in doing business is to have a thick skin. Compared to her, none of these humans had a thicker skin than her.
Jin Shanyao didn't even look at him. She took a few steps to the shopkeeper and knocked on the table.
The shopkeeper looked up and, seeing it was Jin Shanyao, glared at the waiter with displeasure. "Is there something you need, young lady?"
The shopkeeper sighed and left after speaking to him, knowing he was about to get scolded again. Why was life so hard for a working man?
Jin Shanyao what she considered a perfect smile. "I have a batch of herbs and deer antlers. I wonder if you'd be interested?"
The shopkeeper closed the ledger, rubbing his temples. "We have a stable source of goods; we can't buy from outsiders."
With a knowing look on her face, Jin Shanyao said confidently, just as she had read in the book, "The herbs you get are all ordinary, but mine are top-quality."
Which herbal medicine seller doesn't claim their herbs are top-quality? The shopkeeper was used to it. "Miss, I'm very sorry, we don't accept herbs of unknown origin."
Seeing his decisive refusal, Jin Shanyao pulled the deer antler from Meng Anzhi's arms and slapped it on the table, then opened the astragalus root for him to see.
"We are from the Anzhi Hall in Willow and Poplar County. Using the same herbs and deer antler, ours are more effective and work faster."
A strong medicinal aroma wafted over, and upon closer inspection, the shopkeeper recognized it as top-grade astragalus.
He couldn't resist breaking it open, bringing it to his nose to smell it, and discovered it was a four-year-old astragalus root, the finest of the finest.
He caught a glimpse of the deer antler out of the corner of his eye and froze on the spot. He quickly put down the astragalus root and went to examine the deer antler.
"Okay, okay..." the shopkeeper said "okay" several times in a row.
When he looked up again, his face was beaming with joy. He was even more polite to Jin Shanyao and said excitedly, "Where are the medicinal herbs? Take me there quickly!"
"No rush," Jin Shanyao, spreading all the samples on the counter. The shopkeeper went from being shocked to being amazed, not because he had never seen these medicinal herbs before.
It was the year that made this batch of medicinal herbs so remarkable; each herb was just right, neither too young nor too old, it was the best year.
Gathering and harvesting herbs are all skilled jobs, but I never expected the little girl to be so capable.
The shopkeeper rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "Miss, I'll take all of these goods. Name your price."
Jin Shanyao mentally calculated the price difference between the county town and the prefectural city. "Shopkeeper, give me a price."
The shopkeeper stared at the batch of medicine in deep thought for a long time. He felt bad about paying too much, but he was afraid of losing the goods if he paid too little.
With a determined look, he said, "Deer antler is twenty taels per catty, astragalus is two taels per catty, astragalus is three taels per catty, and Solomon's seal is cheaper at one tael per catty..."
Normal drug prices, but not the prices of premium drugs.
Jin Shanyao slightly raised her eyelids and chuckled, "The shopkeeper isn't being honest; he's only offering the price for ordinary medicinal herbs. I'd better go look elsewhere."
Upon hearing this, he quickly pressed the sample down with his body. "Ouch... I say, you girl, why are you still so impatient? In business, there has to be give and take, right?"
Why don't you try to negotiate a price?
Jin Shanyao stunned. So that's how business was negotiated! Turns out she'd been making one-off deals all along! She'd lost a fortune...
She feigned composure and asked, "How much do you want?"
"This..." In negotiations, whoever reveals their bottom line first loses. The shopkeeper was naturally unwilling to speak, but Jin Shanyao determined to leave, he realized that she was about to leave.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Each will increase by 100 coins."
Jin Shanyao out to collect the sample, but the shopkeeper exclaimed, "Is raising it by 500 coins enough? We can't raise it any higher, or we won't make any money."
"This medicine isn't for the emperor; there's no way we could make such a huge profit from it."
Jin Shanyao quickly calculated in her mind, "Alright, we'll do it your way. I'll bring the herbs over tomorrow evening."
"Alright... May I ask your name, young lady, and where you live? Shall I send a carriage to fetch you?"
Jin Shanyao her hand, "No need, just a truckload of goods." After saying that, she put away the samples, took the two children, and left the shop. The shopkeeper called over the shop assistant.
"Go follow her, find out where she lives, and keep an eye on this shipment. Don't let anyone steal it."
The waiter, receiving the order, quickly walked towards the Jin Shanyao. Meng Anci's ears twitched. "Auntie, someone's following us."
Jin Shanyao and said, "It's alright, let them follow."
Back at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Meng Anci started reading. Jin Shanyao tried to help him relax, saying that being too tense wasn't a good thing, but her attempts to persuade him were ineffective.
Sigh... The kids are getting older and starting to disobey!
The next day...
Meng Anci got up early, but when he arrived at the examination hall, he was still a step later than everyone else.
A huge crowd of people, young and old, gathered outside the examination hall. Some even brought their entire families. Students were already queuing up at the gate of the examination hall.
Meng Anci tightened his grip on the basket, glancing uneasily at Jin Shanyao.
Uh... Jin Shanyao hadn't expected so many people to be taking the imperial examination. She knelt down to comfort them, "If you're scared, just hold onto the necklace. Your aunt is always here."
Meng Anci vaguely felt the necklace getting hot. He was about to take it out to take a look when Jin Shanyao it down.
She leaned close to Meng Anci's ear and whispered, "This one's gold, be careful others don't get jealous."
Meng Anci nervously looked around, and only when he saw that no one was watching him did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief. Holding the ginkgo leaf in his hand, his heart calmed down.
Dong... The sound of a gong begins.
As everyone looked over, they saw the gates of the examination hall slowly opening, and students of all heights lining up to enter.
Meng Anci glanced at his aunt and sister, and said seriously, "I'm going in."
"Okay, go ahead, we'll wait for you outside."
Jin Shanyao watched as he stood in the line, a tiny figure carrying a book basket, walking alone forward.
It was as if from that moment on, he had a path of his own, a path that no one else could walk for him.
Su Wenqian stood in front of the government office and saw Jin Shanyao from afar, so he wanted to go and greet him.
But he felt weak all over and couldn't muster any energy. He thought that the prefectural examination would last for three days, so he could go say hello after it was over.
The procession gradually shortened, and with the final gong sound, the gates of the examination hall slowly closed, leaving all the relatives who had come to see them off outside, unable to approach.