Walking on Air
Everyone present was a pharmaceutical merchant, and Zhao Hu wasn't the only one.
The medicine merchants were ecstatic. "It really is a thousand-year-old ginseng! Wow, I've finally seen something like this!"
"Manager Zheng, please don't leave today. Let's have a proper discussion about purchasing goods."
"Yes, yes, the quality of your medicinal herbs is excellent, but could you possibly lower the price a bit more?"
Zheng Yuanbao looked at them and said:
"That's the right attitude for doing business! Come on, let's sit down and talk it over. The price is negotiable."
I'm new to Upper Capital and afraid of being taken advantage of, but what kind of goods don't I have?
Let me show you the treasure I have in my hand.
Zheng Yuanbao carefully spread out the medicinal herbs in his basket, one by one.
Wild Poria cocos, wild Cistanche deserticola, old mountain Polygonatum sibiricum, Atractylodes lancea, natural bezoar, Dangmenzi, rhinoceros horn, dragon's blood...
The quality of these medicinal herbs is excellent.
The herbal medicine merchants looked at Zheng Yuanbao and asked, "So, are we going to pay in full?"
Zheng Yuanbao laughed heartily and said, "This is the first time we've made friends, how can we possibly pay in full? How about we split it 50/50?"
Upon hearing this, the people thought it sounded quite good. After agreeing on a price, everyone signed the contract.
Zheng Yuanbao carefully put away the contracts and said, "I will have all the medicinal herbs ready by tomorrow."
Everyone stared at him blankly and asked, "Are you sure it's tomorrow?"
Zheng Yuanbao looked at them and said, "That's right! Didn't I tell you? My pharmacy is very close to here."
Zhao Hu looked at him and said, "Then take us to your pharmacy so we can see what it's like!"
In fact, Zhao Hu was also tempted. Although he hadn't signed a contract, he knew that Zheng Yuanbao's goods were of high quality.
Just kidding, these are all top-of-the-line items.
If this herbal medicine merchant is real, then he can make a lot of money this year.
Zheng Yuanbao looked at them and said, "Come on, come on, I'll take you to my herbal medicine shop, but it's not in the bustling city."
"As long as it's not in a busy area, it's fine as long as there's a shop nearby."
Soon, Zheng Yuanbao led them to a particularly large pharmacy.
The United Hearts Hall."Zheng Yuanbao looked at them and said:
"Come inside and take a look! My pharmacy has a pretty complete selection of medicinal herbs."
Actually, the medicinal herbs you need are all in the warehouse; this pharmacy only has a portion of them.
They walked into the pharmacy and were immediately dumbfounded.
This pharmacy has a large storefront, and the interior is even more spacious and impressive.
Rows of tall medicine cabinets stood against the four walls, each with its own small wooden drawer, and each drawer had a label indicating the categories of medicinal herbs.
The medicine cabinet was more than two people tall. When the clerk needed to retrieve the medicine, he would bring a wooden ladder, open the drawers, grab the medicine, and weigh it. His movements were practiced and efficient.
The room was filled with a faint aroma of medicine, and the medicine cabinets stretched as far as the eye could see, looking exceptionally neat and impressive.
Wow! When did such a big pharmacy open here? How come I didn't know?
"That's true, we don't come here often, this is really grand."
"The medicinal herbs here are quite comprehensive; they have all kinds."
Zheng Yuanbao looked at the waiter inside and said, "Make tea."
Soon, a waiter brewed the tea and brought it over. After taking a sip, they said, "Excellent tea! This must be Golden Melon Tribute Tea?"
"My goodness! The shopkeeper is so generous, serving us this kind of tea!"
"I also got to drink the royal tribute, hahaha... It tastes so good!"
Zheng Yuanbao blushed slightly at the praise. "Wow! The royal tribute is indeed excellent, but it's also incredibly rare."
This is all thanks to his good master; these tributes were all taken from the palace.
Zhou Wanwan has now explicitly forbidden herself from taking things from ordinary people's homes.
But things were different in the palace. The Old Scholar Tree and the Old Ancestor would often enter the palace to inquire about news.
Once inside, they would occasionally smuggle things out of there.
Zhou Wanwan especially likes to drink tea, which makes things much easier for the Old Ancestor.
This time, Zheng Yuanbao took some out to decorate the storefront.
He chuckled and said, "You all seem to enjoy this tea, right? How about we try something different, and bring out the small dragon ball tea as well?"
These people almost blew up.
What is Xiaolongtuan?
Some say, "Gold is plentiful, but tea is unattainable; even high-ranking officials struggle to get a share."
What does this mean?
Even the prime minister couldn't get a drink, but they got one today.
Everyone's gaze towards Zheng Yuanbao changed, filled with admiration, fervor, and awe.
Zheng Yuanbao waved his hand and said, "This was also brought by the elders in my family. I get along well with everyone, so I'm sharing it."
Zhou Wanwan was in the inner room, sipping tea as she said, "Tsk tsk tsk... I must say, your Zheng Yuanbao is really putting on a good act these days."
Zheng Xing'an chuckled softly. Zheng Yuanbao was her younger brother, so she was naturally happy.
Zheng Xing'an said, "He learned it from you."
Zheng Yuanbao completely fooled those medicinal herb merchants.
Zhao Hu, naturally, couldn't resist either. He laughed and said, "Young man, you've got quite a background! I wonder if you have someone backing you?"
Zheng Yuanbao sighed and said:
"Boss Zhao still doesn't believe me. Actually, it doesn't matter whether he believes me or not. I'm very familiar with those academicians from the Imperial Medical Academy."
Academician Zhao drinks with me all the time, Academician Li even treated me to dinner yesterday, and oh yes, Academician Wang sent me a letter yesterday.
Zheng Yuanbao directly took out Academician Wang's post.
Zhao Hu glanced at him, his eyes filled with shock. "I didn't expect you to have such a powerful background, young man. I've offended you greatly before."
Zheng Yuanbao shook his head and said, "What's this about offending anyone? We're all in this area, and I still need you guys to make a living!"
Zhao Hu nodded repeatedly and said:
"However, if I were to buy goods, it would be a lot."
Since this is our first collaboration, I'm a little hesitant. How about this: I'll pay 20% of the purchase price upfront. What do you think?
"Thirty percent, that's all the sincerity I can offer," Zheng Yuanbao said, looking at him.
Zhao Hu nodded and said, "Alright, thirty percent, thirty percent. This time I want ten thousand taels of silver worth of medicinal herbs."
The two quickly reached an agreement, with 10,000 taels of silver, which meant an initial deposit of 3,000 taels.
This is still manageable for Zhao Hu.
Zhou Wanwan, listening from the back room, laughed and said, "The fish has taken the bait."
Zheng Xing'an frowned and said, "We're only after his 3,000 taels?"
Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said, "This is just the first step. Just you wait!"
Zhao Hu's medicinal herbs arrived quickly. Upon hearing this, someone in the capital approached Zhao Hu directly, saying, "I heard you've acquired a batch of good medicinal herbs; I'd like to see them."
As a result, after inspecting the goods, the foreign merchant placed an order immediately, and Zhao Hu made a profit of 10,000 taels of silver in the process.
He was completely ecstatic.
It only took a day.
Next, he continued to cooperate, and this time, he became bolder and directly invested 50,000 taels.
Others followed suit, and the foreign merchant consumed all of their medicinal herbs.
These people were absolutely ecstatic. "Wow! Just who is this foreign merchant? He's buying medicinal herbs at double the price! Hahahaha..."
"That foreign merchant even made a contract with us, saying he intends to continue buying!"
"I'm about to strike it rich! Yesterday I made 50,000 taels, and today I've made 100,000 taels in one go!"