At the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, three people sat on a kang (a heated brick bed) and divided up silver notes.
Jin Shanyao her head, muttering, "Buy grass seeds, buy saplings, hire people to plant trees."
"Auntie, are those talismans you have real?"
Meng Anci was small in stature but bold in spirit, yet he had never cheated anyone without reason. Looking at the stack of silver notes in front of him, his conscience was unusually touched.
"Of course," Jin Shanyao the silver notes and estimating which pile to put more in and which to put less in. "I learned it from Taishang Laojun's book; he even praised me for my talent."
"Wow... Taishang Laojun himself..."
Meng Anci as if his conscience had been plunged into an ice cave, and for some reason, he felt like crying. He quickly lowered his head to hide his embarrassment.
My aunt doesn't even pretend anymore; she's even brought up Taishang Laojun ). Before, when people called her a charlatan, she wouldn't believe it.
Meng Anci a deep breath, his chest aching. His aunt had even dared to deceive the family of the prefect in order to earn money to support his studies.
Despite his unbridled behavior, he worried that his aunt would be exposed.
He has such a weak mentality; he doesn't deserve to be his aunt's son.
With a smack, Meng Anci threw his fragile conscience, which had just climbed ashore, back into the abyss. He didn't need such useless things.
Recalling the expression on his aunt's face when she was swindling him, Meng Anci carefully summarized.
When you're trying to scam someone, your eyes should be clear and sincere, and you should try to see things from their perspective with a smile.
Be sweet-talking but ruthless. I'm not afraid of your lack of ability, I'm afraid of you showing weakness!
So-called fraud is all about being bold, meticulous, and confident!
He understood...
Seeing that Meng Anci's eyes were not right, Meng Anzhi slapped him on the back of the head.
"What are you thinking? So many people couldn't cure Lord Su, but Auntie cured him. That's real skill."
"If my aunt says the talisman is real, then it's real; if it's fake, then it's real."
Meng Anci looked at Meng Anzhi with admiration, "No wonder you're my sister, you're just more perceptive than me."
Uh... Jin Shanyao looked up blankly, "My talisman is real!"
The two little cubs exchanged a glance, then nodded vigorously. "Auntie, we believe you. Your talisman is real."
No, your expressions don't suggest you believe me.
"My talisman is really real!"
The little cub nodded emphatically, its eyes filled with you. No explanation needed, we believe you.
Forget it, it doesn't make sense anymore.
Jin Shanyao away the silver notes and took a moment to reminisce about her lost confidant.
I wonder when I'll meet someone who appreciates me so much again.
She pulled over the blankets and spread them out, then covered the two little ones with them before crawling in herself.
The two little ones crouched close to Jin Shanyao, secretly slipped their hands under her blankets, and each held one of her hands, laughing out loud.
With Jin Shanyao, she asked, "What do you want to plant on the mountain?"
"Grow ginseng," Meng Anzhi said first.
Meng Anci thought for a moment, "We'll plant whatever the prefecture city lacks." The two little ones have a limited perspective; the biggest place they've ever been is Qingzhou Prefecture.
Jin Shanyao murmured, "Tomorrow we'll go buy herb seeds. Oh, by the way, Anzhi, the prescription you wrote today was correct."
Upon hearing this, Meng Anzhi finally felt relieved.
My aunt said that treating patients is a matter of conscience, and you can't betray the other person's trust, because once that's lost, it can never be found again.
The three of them, one adult and two children, drifted off to sleep after exchanging only a few words.
Jin Shanyao felt a burning sensation in her abdomen, and the Merit she had accumulated from not moving for so long had increased. She tightened her grip on the two little ones' hands, thinking that she needed to do more good deeds.
Little did he know that he had been targeted by a rat in the gutter, who was plotting how to drain her dry.
A thick plume of smoke swept across the official road between Qingzhou Prefecture and Willow and Poplar County, disappearing into the distance before passersby could even see it clearly.
On the oxcart, the two little ones clung tightly to the cloth bag, oblivious to the view, seeing only the swaying ox tail and the dust all around them.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci dared not open their mouths, afraid their hearts would jump out of their chests.
The dead cow should open its eyes wide, lest it crash headfirst into a tree, or its whole family will be wiped out.
Finally, after the car wheels were spinning and smoking, I arrived home safely!
Meng Anci loosened the cloth bag, quickly rolled over and got out of the car, but before he could even reach the corner, he vomited, followed by Meng Anzhi's vomiting.
After a long while, he had nothing left to vomit.
Meng Anci wiped his mouth with his sleeve, walked up to the old ox, and patted its belly.
"It's a shame he's not going to escort goods..." With that, his legs went weak as he walked into the courtyard.
Meng Anzhi patted the old ox on the back, "It's a waste of its talent..."
The old ox, emboldened by the praise from its two young masters, mooed at Dahuang and Xiaoli.
If its master hadn't limited its speed, it could have run even faster.
Xiaoli rolled her eyes. "Silly cow!"
"Master... is back."
Qing He happily came out to greet them and opened the door wide.
"Master, Shopkeeper Qin has been looking for me several times while you've been away."
Jin Shanyao onto the oxcart, lifted the top cloth bag, and asked, "What did Qin Baitang say?"
Qing He took it and said as she walked towards the storeroom, "It's always the same few questions over and over again: what's on the oxcart?"
She placed the bags on the platform, turned around, and continued unloading the truck. "They also asked if the herbs we recently collected were for our own use or for sale. If they were for sale, they insisted on coming first, and the price was negotiable."
She reached for the cloth bag, but her hand was suddenly empty as Lu Chi snatched it away. Lu Chi then grabbed another one and carried it into the storeroom.
Qing He complained, shifting the bag, "He kept asking me things I can't talk about. He even asked me what I was having for dinner. I could talk to him all day."
Jin Shanyao and said, "There's nothing to hide. We'll all know eventually when we do the medicinal herb business together, so there's no need to keep it a secret."
Qing He smiled and said, "I dare not speak without the master's permission." She vaguely felt that Jin Shanyao was extraordinary; being able to grow vegetables in winter was an incredible skill.
The master is willing to stay in this small county town and not go out; he might just be a big shot.
Jin Shanyao, not seeing Qing Yang. "Where's your sister?"
"He went to buy groceries, he should be back by now," he said, then picked up the medicinal herb seeds and headed towards the warehouse.
Lu Chi unloaded the oxcart. "Was the trip to the prefectural city smooth? Did you encounter any trouble?"
"No, Hall of Saving the World was quite agreeable; they accepted all the medicinal herbs we brought."
Lu Chi asked suspiciously, "Didn't you try to lower the price?"
"It went down, but then it went back up."
Jin Shanyao picked up the broom under the window and swept her clothes twice. Qing He walked out of the storeroom, took the broom from her, and went behind her to sweep while asking questions.
Was Hall of Saving the World the highest bidder?
"I don't know, I didn't go anywhere else."
Qing He paused in sweeping her clothes, then exclaimed, "Master, you haven't been scammed, have you? You should compare prices from several vendors."
Qing He was anxious; they had dug those out shovel by shovel.
Upon hearing this, Lu Chi frowned, regretting that he hadn't given prior instructions.
Jin Shanyao and said, "Don't worry, you won't lose money. The price is two and a half times higher than in the county town."
After saying that, she gave Qing He a mysterious smile, "I have a special skill: no matter who stands next to me, I can tell the speed of their heartbeat. If they lie and their rhythm is off, I'll know immediately."
Qing He's eyes widened in shock, and she leaned closer to her, whispering, "Master, can you hear my heartbeat?"
Lu Chi, "Are you stupid?"
"Hey, you're so smart, you're so smart. Go and clean up the stables," Qing He rolled her eyes, then turned to ask more questions, only to find that her master had already gone back inside.
She glared angrily at Lu Chi, "Get to work."
Jin Shanyao put the remaining silver notes into the wooden box. Recalling Qing He's expression, she shook her head with a smile. Last time she went to the prefectural city, she thoroughly investigated all the medical clinics.
She knew everything: which sellers adulterated their medicinal herbs, which maliciously lowered prices, which preferred to pay late, where their goods came from, how much profit they made, and who their backers were.
They were heading in the same direction as Hall of Saving the World in the prefectural city, so naturally the goods were sold to them.
Everyone was concerned about Meng Anci's examination results, but he was too young to be pressed for details, so they just casually mentioned it.