Chapter 14: Jifang Pharmacy

Chapter 14: Jifang Pharmacy

Qin Chi took the portrait, opened it for a glance, and then tucked it into his sleeve.

The portrait of Song Jin had been drawn by Qin Chi himself.

He was wary of anyone who appeared by his side so suddenly, so he had drawn a likeness of Song Jin that very day and ordered his subordinates to investigate.

The reason they were able to find out so quickly was twofold: first, Qin Chi had the portrait; second, Song Jin had not changed her name when she arrived at the Qin family.

A young lady of a noble house rarely had her given name known to outsiders before marriage, and after marriage, she would either take her husband’s surname or be referred to only by her maiden surname.

The shopkeeper added, "Not long after the Song family met with disaster, some people began buying up Song-brand medicinal herbs in large quantities. I also had people purchase some as a reserve, though the price was five times the market rate."

Qin Chi understood the implications immediately.

After the fall of the Song house, the medicinal herbs on the market were becoming scarcer with every use. Someone had clearly spotted a business opportunity in this.

It seemed he was not the only one who did not believe the Song family’s herbs were fraudulent.

For a hundred years, the Song family had kept to their own small plot of land, showing no intention of expanding. Every year, the herb merchants and doctors who partnered with them were old acquaintances who knew them inside and out.

Qin Chi had once sent men to approach the Song family, hoping to purchase a batch of herbs, but the Song family had politely declined, saying the herbs were already spoken for and they had no surplus, suggesting instead that they purchase from the merchants who partnered with them.

The excuse was the same every year.

Later, Qin Chi realized that the Song family simply did not do business with people they didn't know.

The charges against the Song family were related to military supplies in the Northwest. As far as Qin Chi knew, the Song family’s herb supply was fixed annually and could not meet the military's demands.

Qin Chi finished reading the investigation report.

Having only investigated for a day or two, much of it was superficial, but Qin Chi could still see the irregularities.

The house was raided that very night, and not only was the entire Song clan seized, but the prisoners were also escorted to the capital overnight.

Since when had the government’s efficiency been so high?

"Young Master, there is another interesting matter. Would you like to hear it? It has something to do with the Song family." The shopkeeper hesitated before speaking.

Qin Chi said, "Speak!"

"The day after you returned to Qinjiagou, someone sought out Old Huo, offering five thousand taels for the whereabouts of the Song family. Old Huo saw that you were in Qinjiagou and wouldn't need him for a while, so he wanted to make a quick fortune and took the job privately, but he failed..."

The convoy escorting the Song family did not head north to the capital; instead, they traveled south overnight.

The people disappeared once they reached Tunxi.

Old Huo was feeling frustrated that he hadn't completed the private job.

Qin Chi asked, "Who was it that approached Old Huo?"

"It was someone from Jifang Pharmacy. As far as I know, they were the dowry servants of the eldest Miss Song’s mother."

As soon as the shopkeeper said this, Qin Chi immediately thought that Song Jin might know something.

The charges against the Song family were, in all likelihood, a frame-up.

Qin Chi ordered, "Send word to the Northwest. Investigate who was responsible for the faulty herbs supplied to the Northwest military and who framed the Song family. Also, have Old Huo continue investigating the whereabouts of the Song family."

After a pause, Qin Chi commanded, "Arrange for someone to investigate the Prefect of Huizhou. I want to know who he met with before the Song family’s incident."

"Yes, Young Master."

The shopkeeper took his leave.

...

On the other side.

Song Jin arrived at Jifang Pharmacy on East Street.

Jifang Pharmacy had no resident doctor; they only sold finished medicines or filled prescriptions for people.

Commoners often brought their prescriptions here to be filled. It was two or three wen cheaper than other pharmacies.

The wealthy didn't care about a few wen.

But the poor did.

To avoid offending their peers, the shopkeeper would explain to customers that the lower price was because they didn't have to pay for a doctor’s consultation.

With this explanation, other pharmacies couldn't accuse Jifang of disrupting the market price.

Besides, since Jifang Pharmacy didn't hire a resident doctor, they couldn't steal their business.

Song Jin stepped into the pharmacy.

There were no customers in the shop.

A woman in her early forties, the shopkeeper, was clicking away on an abacus to balance the accounts. She looked up when someone entered, then froze.

Song Jin was wearing a *mili* (a veil hat).

Her face was not clearly visible, but the woman felt the person’s posture and temperament were familiar.

"Auntie Ling," Song Jin said.

The woman stood up abruptly. "Yo... Young Miss?"

She quickly hurried around the counter and closed the shop door.

Song Jin lifted her veil.

Jin Ling, the shopkeeper, stepped forward with tears in her eyes and hugged Song Jin. "Young Miss, when I heard the Song residence had met with disaster, I was terrified. Thank goodness you sent a letter of safety. But why didn't you let us inquire?"

"The Song family’s enemies are not simple. No matter how many people go, it would be in vain."

The letter had been sent by Song Jin through Old Man Qin.

In her previous life, Song Jin had been immersed in grief and had not contacted Jin Ling and the others in time.

They had gone to the magistrate’s office to inquire and were targeted instead; one died and one was severely injured.

The one severely injured was Yin Long’s husband.

And the one who died was Jin Ling’s only son.

Jin Ling and Yin Long were the head maids of Song Jin’s mother and had grown up with her.

When Song Jin was one year old, her mother passed away from illness.

The two of them had then cared for Song Jin with great devotion.

When Song Jin was eleven, she followed her father to collect herbs from mountain folk. Upon returning home, she had a sudden inspiration to use her private savings to open a pharmacy and collect many herbs for her father.

To open a shop, one needed people they could trust, and Song Jin thought of Jin Ling and Yin Long.

The two had served her mother for half their lives and raised Song Jin, and they were getting older, so Song Jin asked her father to show grace and return their manumission papers. Her father had returned the papers for their husbands and children as well.

He made no demands, only asking that they serve Song Jin well in the future.

Song Kuan had done this to teach his daughter a lesson.

He wanted to teach her that when showing kindness to others, one must do so in a way that truly touches their hearts.

For Jin Ling and Yin Long, their obsession with regaining their status as commoners was not as great as their concern for their children’s future.

The world outside was not easy to navigate.

Neither family had roots, and it was not easy to make a living in Huizhou Prefecture.

When Song Jin eventually sought them out to help look after the shop, they would surely be grateful and do their utmost.

Of course, Song Kuan dared to do this because he didn't fear betrayal from either family.

His daughter was still young, and a life that was too smooth was not entirely a good thing; only a child who had experienced setbacks would grow up quickly.

Song Jin used her private savings to open the pharmacy and even copied out the medical books and herb-growing tips from the family collection for Jin Ling and Yin Long.

As the center of politics, economy, and culture in Huizhou, She County was where the Song family had operated for a hundred years.

Song Jin naturally wouldn't steal her own family’s business, so she ultimately chose the smallest county, Yi County, to open the shop.

Because Song Jin was young, Jin Ling had signed the lease contract, which was why the small pharmacy had slipped through the cracks when the house was raided.

The original intention of Jifang Pharmacy was not to sell medicine, but to collect herbs and develop herb farmers.

When they encountered poor people who couldn't afford medicine, Jin Ling and the others would teach them to identify herbs to sell for money. Only after observing those who were honest and loyal would they recruit them as herb farmers and teach them how to cultivate herbs.

The seeds were provided by the pharmacy.

Before planting, a contract would be signed, and the harvest could only be sold to Jifang Pharmacy at the normal market price.

The shop had been open for six years in total.

The first year, they lost quite a bit of silver.

But the losses decreased year by year, and last year, they had finally started to turn a profit.

Song Jin knew that the pharmacy would become more profitable every year. The biggest reason was that Jifang Pharmacy had spent years cultivating a group of herb farmers.

In the future, there would be a stable source of medicinal herbs.

Song Jin, having just achieved success, had wanted to show off to her father this year, but who would have thought the Song family would suddenly meet with disaster!

After Jin Ling finished crying, she asked, "Young Miss, where are you hiding now? Would you like to stay at our place first?"

"I am married..."

Song Jin had come here to tell Jin Ling and the others that she was living in Qinjiagou and had married under a hidden identity. "Auntie Ling, please tell Auntie Long that I am very safe now. Also, the person I asked you to help me contact..."

"That person replied, saying that Master Song and the others disappeared in Tunxi."

"As I thought..."

They hadn't gone to the capital in her previous life!

She never imagined they had gone south instead?!

Tunxi?

The great wharf of Tunxi!

In an instant, grief surged into Song Jin’s heart like a tidal wave.

In her previous life, she had spent over a decade without finding a single clue.

So, the key was here all along.

Huizhou Prefecture’s trade was flourishing, and the Tunxi wharf saw countless ships coming and going every day. To secretly transport a group of people away would be like a stream flowing into the sea.

There was no trace to follow.

Could she still find her family in this life?

Song Jin could only pray that not much time had passed and that there would still be tracks to follow. "Auntie Ling, help me contact that person. I want to talk to him myself."

Jin Ling wanted to persuade Song Jin otherwise.

But then, thinking of her own position, she could only nod in agreement.

(End of chapter)