After Wang An and the other two boarded the bus, there were still several empty seats. However, the bus seats were arranged in two rows on the left and right with an aisle in the middle.
Wang An had Mu Xueli and Wang Li sit side-by-side in the front, while he sat alone across two empty seats in the second-to-last row.
Leaning against the side of the bus with his legs stretched across the two chairs, Wang An closed his eyes.
Actually, this posture was quite comfortable.
However, as the bus started and stopped, the empty seats were quickly filled. Mainly, in this era, there was no such thing as "overcapacity" for buses; they simply packed in as many people as possible. At its most crowded, it was not much different from a modern-day public bus.
Thus, while lying across the seats with his eyes closed, drifting into a half-asleep state, Wang An heard someone speak
"Hello, is this seat taken?"
As the voice sounded, Wang An felt someone lightly tap his thigh a few times.
Realizing someone wanted to sit down, Wang An pulled his legs back and sat properly in the chair.
But after being woken up by this woman, Wang An's sleepiness vanished instantly.
Turning his head, Wang An found that the person sitting next to him was a fairly good-looking young woman. Judging by her dress and appearance, she wasn't a farmer; she looked like the type who worked in an office.
However, the woman looked full of worry, her brow furrowed in a constant frown, as if she were anxious about some major matter.
After a quick glance, Wang An withdrew his gaze and turned to look out the window.
Noticing Wang An's gaze, the woman suddenly took the initiative to strike up a conversation
"Comrade, are you heading to the medicinal materials market in Anguo?"
Wang An turned his head and replied casually
"Yeah, just going to wander around the market."
The woman's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she asked again
"Then are you looking to sell medicinal materials, or are you looking to buy some?"
Wang An's brow furrowed slightly, and a hint of caution arose in his heart. After all, they were strangers; why was she inquiring so specifically?
But on second thought, it didn't seem like a big deal, so Wang An said
"I'm thinking of buying some. Mainly just to see what the prices are like here. If it's suitable, I'll buy; if not, I'll pass."
Having said that, Wang An turned his head back and continued looking at the scenery outside.
Actually, the scenery in the Yi Province region during this era looked quite decent.
Wang An had already turned away, clearly indicating he didn't want to continue the conversation. Wang An was naturally suspicious and didn't want to disclose his itinerary or purpose to a stranger.
Unfortunately, this woman lacked a bit of tact and continued to chatter away
"Comrade, from your accent, it sounds like you're from the Northeast. I remember there's a fairly large medicinal materials market in Ice City in the Northeast. Since you've traveled all this way, is it because the prices of materials over there are very high?"
Wang An turned his face back again, looking at the woman with some surprise, and said indifferently
"Yeah, some materials are a bit expensive."
It had to be said that this woman's way of thinking was quite impressive; she had analyzed so much just from a few short sentences spoken by Wang An.
Most importantly, she kept the conversation centered on medicinal materials, clearly acting with some purpose.
At this point, Wang An's sense of caution grew even stronger.
Just as Wang An finished speaking, he heard the woman say again
"Comrade, what kind of medicinal materials are you looking to buy? Is the quantity large?"
Hearing this, Wang An's brow immediately knitted. If the other party hadn't been a woman, Wang An would have definitely snapped, "What the hell does that have to do with you? Is it any of your business?"
However, because the other party was a woman—and a good-looking one at that—and most importantly, while her questions touched upon things Wang An preferred to keep private, her tone and attitude were impeccable.
Thus, suppressing his annoyance, Wang An said with a smile
"I say, Comrade, why are you asking so much? Do we know each other?"
Although Wang An spoke with a smile, any normal person could hear the coldness within.
The woman was clearly a normal person, so seeing that Wang An was slightly displeased, she immediately explained
"It's like this. Perhaps we could get to know each other. My name is Han Xiaomin. My family runs a medicinal materials business; we even have three shops in the market. I came to BD City this time to ask the large pharmacies and TCM clinics in the city if they could source materials from my family. It's just that business isn't great, and the materials piled up in the warehouse are like mountains..."
After the woman's explanation, Wang An immediately understood that the reason this Han Xiaomin looked so miserable was that her family's materials weren't selling, and the price competition between shops in the market was fierce.
The most frustrating part was that the pharmaceutical merchants her father had collaborated with while he was alive had suddenly stopped sourcing materials from her family.
In short, a massive business had suddenly been thrust upon her, and the accumulated materials in the warehouse represented frozen capital, which left her feeling extremely anxious—nearly worried to death.
After listening, Wang An didn't know if Han Xiaomin's words were true or false, so he remained skeptical.
What puzzled Wang An was that given the scale of the Anguo City medicinal materials market and its massive daily throughput, it was actually quite strange that Han Xiaomin's family materials could be so heavily backed up.
Despite his doubts, Wang An nodded and said
"So, you want me to go take a look at your place, and then you want to sell your materials to me?"
Han Xiaomin nodded and said with a hint of apology
"I just don't know if our warehouse has the materials you need, which is why I asked so presumptuously."
Wang An thought about it, but he still didn't mention the names of the few materials the pharmaceutical factory needed—to be precise, the names of the insect carcasses.
Crucially, given the analytical ability and intelligence Han Xiaomin had displayed, Wang An truly doubted how her family's materials could have become so backed up.
Wang An nodded and said
"Fine, I'll go take a look. If the price is right, I'll source from your family."
Hearing this, Han Xiaomin immediately broke into a happy smile.
Then, she said with a laugh
"Anyone who opens a shop in the wholesale market has an agreement with the railway. Our materials can be transported to various places by train, so you don't have to worry about the logistics."
Wang An wasn't surprised by this, as the wholesale market in Ice City had a similar cooperation with the railway.