Unexpectedly, the Medicinal Herbs Sold Well

The armies mobilized, vowing to distinguish themselves and build careers of merit. Among the people of the three cities, all were deeply worried except those of Sunset City, where no unrest had yet arisen.

By then, Ye Fan had also arrived outside Sunset City. He found a deserted corner and appeared out of thin air.

After straightening his clothes, Ye Fan headed for the city gate.

Checks on those passing through remained strict. The gate was heavily guarded, and on the walls, soldiers stood with bows in hand, their nerves taut. Patrols also made their rounds without pause.

Ye Fan joined the line of people entering the city. Behind him, he heard villagers carrying shoulder poles talking among themselves.

"I heard the Wu Kingdom has already fought its way into Wuling City. I wonder if it's true?"

"No, Commander Cao led the city garrison in a desperate resistance and wiped out tens of thousands of Wu soldiers. I heard the Wu emperor seems to have sent reinforcements again."

"That's right. I heard our commander in Sunset City has taken reinforcements over there too."

"No, Commander Zha's men are already the second wave of reinforcements. I heard the bodies at Wuling City's gate are piled higher than a mountain!"

Hearing the news, Ye Fan had no way to tell whether it was true. He only knew that Commander Zha probably was no longer in Sunset City. The last time he had slipped over in secret, he had seen no one at the commander's residence.

Ye Fan soon reached the checkpoint with the crowd. Since he carried no packages, he passed inspection quickly.

Once inside the city, Ye Fan had no idea where to sell medicinal herbs, but he knew he could only try a pharmacy.

Looking at the shops around him, Ye Fan went up to ask.

"Pharmacies? There are several on Second Street. Are you looking to get a prescription filled, young man? If you are, I reckon you've made the trip for nothing." A shop assistant had said this after Ye Fan asked him about pharmacies.

"Hm? May I ask why you say I've made the trip for nothing?"

"You know Yan Fengxiao of the Wu Kingdom has led troops to attack our Wuling City, right? All the medicinal herbs in the city that could be used were shipped to the front. It'll be some time before herbs from neighboring cities reach Sunset City."

"Thank you for telling me!" Ye Fan thanked him and bowed.

"Since the city is so short of medicinal herbs, why not bring in some seedlings to cultivate? That would solve the city's shortage and help the village cover its living expenses."

Following the directions the young man had given him, Ye Fan came to Second Street. There were a few fewer pedestrians here, and at a glance he saw about three pharmacies: Bronze Man Hall Pharmacy, Ten Thousand Treasures Passage Pharmacy, and Treasure Hall Pharmacy. Ye Fan looked them over. Treasure Hall Pharmacy was somewhat larger, so he climbed the steps and went inside.

"Ah, young man, are you feeling unwell?" a pharmacy assistant asked when he saw someone enter.

"Excuse me, is the pharmacist here?" Ye Fan asked, cupping his hands.

"May I ask what you need him for? I can go let him know."

"Oh, you see, I'm from a small village outside Sunset City. Our village harvested a large quantity of medicinal herbs this year. Would you be interested in buying them?" Seeing that the young man was frank enough and showed none of the arrogance of someone looking down on others, Ye Fan spoke up.

"Oh, I see. Please wait a moment, young man. I'll go fetch our pharmacist!"

With that, the assistant lifted the curtain and entered the back room.

Ye Fan stole a look around the shop. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he reached into his robes and secretly took several medicinal herbs from his Inner World, two of each kind. Once he had them in hand, he looked around again before taking them out of his robes.

"Which young man wishes to sell medicinal herbs?" A middle-aged man with a goatee came out of the back room.

"Sir Pharmacist, that would be me. These are samples. Please take a look!"

"Oh, freshly picked?" Seeing that the herbs in Ye Fan's hands were so fresh and green they seemed ready to drip, with droplets of water still clinging to them, he asked the question.

"Uh, yes. They were picked just today and kept fresh in a box all the way here."

The pharmacist took the herbs and first gave them a sniff. "Mm, such a strong medicinal fragrance. They're quite old." He then placed them on a tray, examined them closely, and picked them apart one by one for a look. The medicinal fruits were plump, the leaves thick, and their fragrance filled the air. These were first-rate goods. The pharmacist concealed his surprise and stole a glance at Ye Fan. Had these really been grown in a small village?

He examined them closely several more times, sniffing them again and again.

"May I ask your esteemed name, young man?" the pharmacist finally asked.

"I wouldn't dare claim such a title. You can call me Ye Fan, sir."

"Young friend Ye, were these medicinal herbs really grown in your village?" the pharmacist asked directly.

"Yes, sir. They really were grown in the village. It's an obscure village in the mountains, and to make a living, we can only grow a few medicinal herbs." Ye Fan began talking nonsense.

"How many herbs of this quality does your village have?"

It looks like the pharmacist has taken a fancy to these herbs. There's hope.

"About six mu of medicinal fields are planted entirely with herbs like these. Their quality is guaranteed to be the same. If it isn't, you may deal with me as you please, sir." After some thought, Ye Fan decided to understate the amount.

"Six mu of medicinal fields. That isn't a great deal, but if they're all of this quality, it will do. Young friend Ye Fan, when can we make the exchange?"

"If the price is right, I can have the herbs delivered in a little while. But there's one thing: I'll need you to pay a deposit first. The herbs are just outside the city. I'll have them here within half a shichen."

"A deposit first? That isn't the custom in this trade. Still, you seem honest enough to me, so I'll make an exception this once."

"Assistant, assistant, come here. Bring young friend Ye five taels of silver," the pharmacist called toward the back room.

Hearing him, the assistant brought out the silver and handed it to Ye Fan.

"May I ask your esteemed name, sir?" Ye Fan asked, cupping his fists in salute.

"Hehe, you may call me Pharmacist Bai, young friend!" Pharmacist Bai returned the salute.

"All right, Pharmacist Bai. See you in half a shichen." Ye Fan quietly withdrew from the pharmacy.

"Pharmacist Bai, you trust that man just like that?" the pharmacy assistant asked, looking puzzled.

"Hehe, take a look at these herbs. What do you think of their quality?" Pharmacist Bai patted the tray.

"They're certainly top quality. I just don't know whether all six mu of medicinal fields have goods like these."

"These are first-rate, top-grade goods. Since coming to Sunset City, I've never seen herbs of this quality. Even in the Medicine Emperor Sect, they're a rare sight," Pharmacist Bai said, stroking the Qian Ginseng.

"Could a mountain village grow something of this quality? Haven't we been swindled? Pharmacist Bai, should we send an assistant to follow him?"

"No matter. Wherever his herbs come from, as long as the quality is high, I'll buy them all."

"Wait here for him for half a shichen. I'll go to the back room first."

After leaving Treasure Hall, Ye Fan hurriedly found a deserted spot and slipped into his Inner World.

He drifted all the way outside the city, found a place where no one was around, and appeared in a flash.

This place will do. It's fairly safe!

Ye Fan walked toward the city gate. On his way in, he seemed to have seen a group of people with wheelbarrows waiting for employers. Many villagers from around Sunset City did this kind of work, transporting goods for employers and earning a commission. Of course, it was manual labor, and the pay wasn't much.

When Ye Fan reached the gate, the group was still there. It seemed not many people had hired them.

"Brothers, I have a pile of things that need to be delivered to Treasure Hall in Sunset City. Do you have time right now?"

"Little brother, that's what we do. If someone hires us, we have time. Haha! What do you need transported, and how many wheelbarrows will it take?"

"The goods are under that big tree up ahead, not far from here. They're all freshly picked medicinal herbs. I reckon it'll take all of you to move them."

"Medicinal herbs? All right, little brother, but we need to settle the price first. It isn't far, so how about ten copper coins per cart? We guarantee your goods will arrive safely. Will that do?" A dark-faced man quoted the price.

"You have ten carts in all. How about I give you one tael of silver?" Ye Fan offered ten times the price outright.

"Are you serious, young man?" The group was plainly startled by his generosity.

"If you don't believe me, I can pay you first!" Ye Fan said, looking at the astonished villagers.

"We believe you, we believe you! Lead the way, young man. We'll take payment once the goods are safely delivered." As though afraid he might change his mind, they hurriedly asked Ye Fan to lead the way.

"Here's the thing: you'll have to wait a little longer. They're still bringing the goods over. I'll go get everything ready first, and then you can come."

"All right, go get things ready first. We'll wait here. Just call us when you're done!" People in their line of work met all sorts, and there might be things their employers didn't want others to see, so none of them grew suspicious.

"Brothers, I'll go on ahead!"

Ye Fan turned and left, returning to the spot he had picked earlier. After making sure once more that no one was around, he quietly opened his Inner World. With a thought, he tossed out half the medicinal herbs, scattering them in a pile.

Ye Fan walked to a spot where the men could see him, waved, and shouted to them.

Hearing his call, the men immediately pushed their wheelbarrows over.

Seeing the herbs scattered across the ground, they wasted no words and bent down to start loading them.

They filled all ten carts, piling each one high. Once the loading was done, Ye Fan walked in front to lead them. At the city gate, another inspection was unavoidable. Fortunately, they all passed through without trouble.

"Assistant, assistant, please ask Pharmacist Bai to come out and inspect the goods!" They soon reached Second Street, and Ye Fan called toward the entrance.

"Hehe, young friend, you're earlier than we agreed." Hearing Ye Fan's voice from the back room, Pharmacist Bai came out himself without waiting for the assistant to inform him.

"The villagers were all waiting at the city gate, so we hurried them over as soon as the carts were loaded," Ye Fan lied through his teeth.

Pharmacist Bai went up to a cart and picked up an herb. It was indeed first-rate, top-grade quality. He strolled over to the second cart and only spoke after inspecting four or five carts in succession. "Good. The quality really is the same as the samples. Young friend Ye, I'll take them all. Assistant, call some people to help unload."

"Right away!" The assistant ran to the rear courtyard. Before long, he came back out with three or five people who were clearly pharmacy assistants.

The pharmacy assistants and the men with the carts carried the herbs into the rear courtyard together.

It didn't take long to unload all the herbs. Ye Fan found the dark-faced man and held out two taels of silver.

"Young man, this is too much." Rather than immediately reaching for the silver, the dark-faced man asked in puzzlement.

"Brother, just take it. I'm bound to trouble you and the others again when I bring goods into the city. Consider the extra a deposit," Ye Fan told him.

"In that case, thank you for your generosity. My name is Qi Dazhu, and I'm from Heling Village. I look for employers here at Sunset City's gate all year round. If you need me, just call." The dark-faced man introduced himself to Ye Fan.

"All right, Brother Qi, I'll remember. I'm Ye Fan. I'm sure I'll be troubling you again." Ye Fan cupped his fists to the man.

"Brother Ye, in that case, we won't take up any more of your time. Whenever you have goods to transport, just come find me, Qi Dazhu. Until we meet again." Qi Dazhu cupped his fists, and the other men did the same.

Ye Fan stood watching them leave. Only when they were out of sight did he withdraw his gaze.

"Young friend Ye, please come to the back room so we can settle the account!" Pharmacist Bai gestured for him to enter.

"After you, Pharmacist Bai!" Ye Fan returned the gesture.

They came to the back room, where the medicinal fragrance was strong. Though there were not many medicinal herbs in the storeroom, the scent had seeped in over the years and lingered.

"Young friend Ye, I just counted them. There are ten cartloads of medicinal herbs in all. How about thirty taels per cart?" Pharmacist Bai asked tentatively.

Thirty taels? He can actually pay that much? Pharmacist Bai's words gave Ye Fan a start. By that reckoning, he had earned three hundred taels today.

"Pharmacist Bai, you can set the price. I have no objection." Ye Fan answered that way mainly because he didn't know what this batch of herbs was worth. He felt it was pretty good to earn so much at once!

"All right, then."

"Assistant, fetch another three hundred taels for young friend Ye," Pharmacist Bai called toward the door.

"Right away! Three hundred taels from the accounts office."

"Young friend Ye, if you harvest any more medicinal herbs in the future, please be sure to bring them to Treasure Hall. I'll take as many as you have!" Pharmacist Bai said to Ye Fan.

"Rest assured, Pharmacist Bai. This transaction has been very pleasant. When we harvest next year, I'll certainly come to you again." Ye Fan responded politely.

At that moment, the accounts clerk came into the back room carrying three hundred taels in a large black cloth bundle. He handed it to Ye Fan. "Please check it, Mr. Ye."

Ye Fan picked up the hefty bundle. "Pharmacist Bai, that concludes our transaction. I need to hurry back, or I won't get home even by nightfall."

"In that case, I won't keep you, young friend Ye. Remember to come back to Treasure Hall when you harvest more herbs."

"Rest assured, Pharmacist Bai."

Ye Fan left Treasure Hall carrying the hefty bundle. After making sure no one was following him, he turned a corner and slipped into his Inner World.