The Scam (Part One)

Uncle Si laughed heartily after hearing Su Ziyang's story, and Fairy Li also covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Hey, you little rascal. What's that girl making noise over there? Dating someone?"

My fourth uncle is a free man, and also very Eight Trigrams.

"Yes. I'm in a relationship."

Men should marry when they come of age, and women should marry when they come of age. Su Ziyang had nothing to hide.

Fairy Li covered her mouth and chuckled, then fell silent.

"Sure. Bring her home to visit sometime. Where's the girl?"

Fourth Uncle wanted to say a few words to Fairy Li, but Fairy Li covered her mouth and chuckled silently. Su Ziyang had no choice but to say that Fairy Li was busy and not around.

"Oh, he's not nearby. May I ask you something?"

Su Ziyang thought his fourth uncle would ask him questions such as how old he was and where he was from.

As a result, Fourth Uncle surprised everyone by asking Su Ziyang, "Are you asleep?"

Su Ziyang had just taken a sip of water when he spat it out.

"What are you saying to the child? You're so indecent! Why don't you teach Ziyang something better?"

Before Su Ziyang could even speak, he heard his fourth aunt's voice on the other end of the phone, followed by a clattering sound. Needless to say, his fourth aunt was definitely unleashing her fury, and his fourth uncle was sure to get a beating again.

"Alright, good luck! Nephew, I'm hanging up now. Your fourth aunt is really fond of me, so I'll talk to you later!"

After the call ended, Fairy Li covered her mouth and laughed uncontrollably.

Hahahaha. How can your uncle be so funny?

"Getting old and frivolous, let's eat."

Su Ziyang quickly changed the subject, afraid that Fairy Li would be angry again about her fourth uncle's question.

"Hey, I've discovered you're quite the storyteller. I never noticed this talent before. That story you just told, you didn't make it up, did you? Was it real?"

Fairy Li didn't continue the conversation from before, and changed the subject to ask about something else.

"Really. I read it in a book before!"

"That's interesting."

Knowing that Su Ziyang could tell stories, Fairy Li started using Su Ziyang as a sleep aid.

In the evening, Fairy Li, dressed in her underwear, hugged Su Ziyang and insisted that he tell Su Ziyang a story to lull her to sleep.

Fairy Li rubbed her soft flesh against Su Ziyang, making Su Ziyang feel like he was on fire. He had no mind to tell stories anymore.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! Tell me one, tell me one! Tweet me, hurry up and tell me!"

Fairy Li hugged Su Ziyang and kissed him.

Su Ziyang took a deep breath and then came up with a story:

This story is still related to traditional Chinese medicine, but not entirely; it's more about swindlers.

There's an old saying, "Either rob the road or sell medicine."

This means that selling herbs is a very profitable business; all the pharmacies are very profitable, and the owners are all very wealthy.

On this day, a man with a large entourage and lavish clothes arrived at the largest pharmacy in the city. Judging from his demeanor, he was either very rich or very powerful.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper quickly came out from behind the counter to greet him, "Are you buying medicine or seeing a doctor?"

The man shook his fan, glanced around the pharmacy, and instead of answering the shopkeeper's question, asked, "I heard your pharmacy has the most complete selection of medicines!"

"Of course, we wouldn't dare say our medicine selection is the most comprehensive in the world, but it's definitely the most comprehensive in this city."

In order to retain this high-ranking official, the shopkeeper boasted about himself with great pride.

"Oh!" The man was not pleased by the shopkeeper's boasting; he simply nodded indifferently and continued to look around the pharmacy, fanning himself with his fan.

"Sir, what would you like? Just tell me, and I'll have the clerk at the counter get it for you!"

The shopkeeper quickly followed the man's steps and asked.

"I'm afraid you don't have the medicine I'm looking for. Never mind, I'm leaving!"

The man closed his fan and turned to leave.

The shopkeeper, seeing that this was a wealthy man, couldn't let him go so easily. He quickly blocked the man's path again. "Sir, you didn't say what it was. How do you know we don't have it? If you really don't have it, we can help you get it from elsewhere."

The man glanced at the shopkeeper and said softly, "I need human fingernails. Do you have any?"

The shopkeeper laughed upon hearing this, "Hey, what's so rare about it? We may not have dragon liver and phoenix gall, but we certainly do have human fingernails."

This person's fingernail, also called "human nail" or "tendon nail," is indeed a traditional Chinese medicine with many effects, including clearing heat and detoxifying, removing necrotic tissue and promoting tissue regeneration, cooling the blood and stopping bleeding, and promoting urination.

"Do you have it?" the man asked excitedly.

The shopkeeper proudly took out a box from behind the counter, and inside was indeed a box of human fingernails.

Upon seeing the fingernails in the shopkeeper's box, the man's previously beaming face instantly changed. "Am I saying you're stupid, or am I? Why would I use fingernails like that? I could just find someone to make a whole bunch."

"Hey! Sir, I've brought out the nail polish as agreed, why are you swearing at me? Isn't this my nail polish?"

The shopkeeper was a little unhappy; what he had brought out was clearly human fingernails.

"The fingernail I need must be the one on my little finger, and it must be three inches long, and it must be a single, solid piece. Yours, broken pieces, won't do. To be honest, my elderly mother is ill, and we've consulted a renowned doctor, but they're missing this one crucial ingredient. I've already searched several pharmacies, but none of them have it. Since you don't have it either, I'll be leaving!"

Seeing the man about to leave, the shopkeeper's eyes darted around and he stopped him again. After being stopped twice, the man's attendant became somewhat displeased and reached out to hit the shopkeeper.

The man dismissed his attendants and asked the shopkeeper if there was anything else.

"Excuse me, sir, how much are you willing to pay for these nails?"

Upon hearing the shopkeeper's question, the man turned and walked away, saying, "What business is it of yours how much money I pay? You didn't pay, why are you asking so many questions!"

Seeing the man's attitude, the shopkeeper quickly stopped him again. "Sir, I know your mother is sick and has a fever. Please calm down. Tell me how much you're willing to pay, and I'll try to find out for you. After all, this is a pharmacy, and we see many people coming and going; maybe we can find a good deal for you."

"You're going to keep it? When will you receive it? If you don't receive it in eight or ten years, I'll just wait here for you for eight or ten years?"

The man glared, and his attendant shoved the shopkeeper twice. "Get lost, don't delay our master's business."

"Hey, how about this? You tell me a time, and I'll get it for you within that time. If I don't receive it, then you can yell at me, okay?"

The man frowned upon hearing the innkeeper's words, but after listening, he thought it made sense, "What you're saying makes some sense. I'll stay at your largest inn for fifteen days, so I'll wait for you for fifteen days."

After the man finished speaking, he tried to leave again, but the shopkeeper stopped him once more. "What is it now?"

You haven't said how much you'll charge yet.

The shopkeeper asked with an embarrassed smile.

"One thousand taels of silver!"