Chapter 16: Twists and Turns

After Zhu Ping'an and his brother entered the apothecary, an apprentice immediately came over to greet them. They were not looked down upon despite their simple clothing. The apprentice asked with a smile, "Are you two here for a consultation or to pick up medicine? If it's for a consultation, please bear with us for a moment."

Zhu Pingchuan’s face flushed red. He shook his head repeatedly, stammering, "No, no, we aren't here for a consultation... or to pick up medicine. We are selling..." As he spoke, his voice grew smaller, sounding like a mosquito's buzz, clearly overcome with embarrassment.

"We are selling medicine."

In contrast to Zhu Pingchuan's unease, Zhu Ping'an was composed and uninhibited. Seeing that his brother was too shy to speak, he took over the conversation.

"Selling medicine? We generally don't accept outside goods." The apprentice glanced at the basket on Zhu Pingchuan's back. For safety reasons, apothecaries usually had specialized suppliers for herbs. Most commoners lacked the skills to harvest herbs correctly, which often resulted in the loss of medicinal potency. It was obvious these two brothers were not herb farmers, and since they were just children, the apprentice politely declined for the sake of the shop.

Behind the counter, another apprentice was preparing medicine for a woman and child according to a prescription. He paused mid-task and whispered to the apprentice attending to the Zhu brothers.

Hearing his senior call him, the apprentice apologized to the brothers, "I'm sorry, perhaps you should try somewhere else."

With that, he walked away.

Zhu Pingchuan, already feeling awkward, turned even redder at the rejection and wanted to lead Zhu Ping'an away.

*Is this a bad start?*

However, if even Liu Bei could visit the thatched cottage three times, what harm was there in visiting a few more shops? Zhu Ping'an prepared to leave.

The two apprentices whispered to each other. One of them said sheepishly to the old physician, "Master, all the medicines for this prescription are ready, except for the honeysuckle."

"Missing honeysuckle?" The old physician, who was stroking his beard, paused and turned around. "How can we be missing honeysuckle? Didn't we just receive a batch a few days ago?"

"The shop assistant didn't store it well; water damage affected the stock," the apprentice confessed truthfully.

By this time, Zhu Ping'an had already reached the doorway, but his keen ears caught the conversation between the apprentice and the old physician.

"Zhi-di, where are you going?"

Zhu Pingchuan's voice rang out from the entrance.

Zhu Ping'an broke free, snatched the basket from his brother's hands, and ran toward the old physician with both arms clutching it.

The old physician was apologetically explaining things to the woman, who looked worried, wanting to decoct the medicine for her son as soon as possible.

"Old Divine Physician, I have medicine to sell!" Zhu Ping'an presented the basket before the old physician as if offering a treasure.

"Hey!" The apprentice stepped forward to stop him, fearing the boy might offend a VIP or disturb his master's work.

"Old Divine Physician"—the title struck a chord in the old man's heart. Everyone loved a good title, especially doctors. Because of those words, the old physician decided to take a look at what the child was holding, giving him a chance.

"You have herbs?" The old physician had intended only a casual glance, but as his eyes swept over the contents, they suddenly lit up, and he even accidentally snapped two strands of his beard in his excitement.

"This is excellent. Yes, indeed—harvested at the right time and dried perfectly. This is top-grade." The old physician pushed the apprentice aside, stepped forward, and picked a honeysuckle flower from the basket. He examined it closely, sniffed it, and a smile spread across his weathered face.

Seeing the honeysuckle the old physician had picked, the apprentice fell silent, feeling a sense of shame for almost turning away a "charcoal in the snow" opportunity.

"Little friend, our pharmacy will take this honeysuckle. Erbao, go weigh these. First, finish Lady Liu's prescription, then settle the payment for this little friend at the top-grade rate." The old physician nodded with satisfaction and spoke warmly to Zhu Ping'an, closing the distance with his choice of words. After sending the apprentice to weigh the herbs, he turned back to the lady, "Madam, this is wild honeysuckle. Its medicinal efficacy is more than double that of cultivated honeysuckle. Your son will likely recover a day sooner."

Standing at the doorway, Zhu Pingchuan's mouth hung wide open. He felt as if he were floating in the clouds; the wild flowers his brother had picked haphazardly in the mountains were actually medicine, and people actually bought them.

"Thank you, Old Divine Physician," Zhu Ping'an said, bowing with a charming, innocent grin.

Medicinal herbs were categorized into top, medium, and low grades, with significant price differences. Being bought at the top-grade rate meant the price would be more than double.

One apprentice weighed the herbs while the other packed Lady Liu's medicine, handing it to a waiting maid with whispered instructions on how to use it.

Hearing that her son might recover a day earlier because of this honeysuckle, Lady Liu was overjoyed. As she left, she had her maid give Zhu Ping'an a silver ingot as a reward.

Zhu Pingchuan was completely bewildered. Not only could wild flowers be sold for money, but people even gave rewards.

Zhu Ping'an took the silver ingot, his chubby face beaming so widely his eyes nearly disappeared, and bowed with his pudgy hands.

"Thank you, Madam! Little brother will definitely recover soon!"

As Lady Liu reached the door, she looked back with surprise and whispered something to her maid.

Then, the young maid scurried over, lifting her skirt, and tucked another silver ingot into Zhu Ping'an's hand.

"You have such a sweet mouth, little one! The Madam told me to give this to you. Go buy yourself something delicious when you get home!" The maid said, patting Zhu Ping'an's chubby cheek before running after her mistress.

Holding the two silver ingots in his small hands, Zhu Ping'an's chubby face was grinning like a bulldog.

Zhu Pingchuan was so embarrassed he didn't even want to recognize his brother.

"The honeysuckle weighs two catties, three taels, and four mace in total. Top-grade honeysuckle is 50 wen per catty, medium-grade is 38 wen, and low-grade is 25 wen. At the top-grade rate, the total comes to 117 wen." After weighing it, the apprentice cleared his throat and announced the price loudly.

Zhu Ping'an was quite satisfied with the price. This pharmacy was fair and didn't shortchange them. At home, they had only weighed it as two catties and three taels; despite the full basket, it wasn't actually that heavy, especially once dried.

It seemed this was a trustworthy apothecary.

Zhu Pingchuan was truly shocked by the price, even more so than by the lady's reward.

Like Zhu Shouyi, Zhu Pingchuan was blunt but not foolish. He knew the reward was a mere coincidence, but this "honeysuckle" represented a steady stream of income, especially since there were plenty of such wild flowers in the mountains.

Just thinking about it made his breathing quicken.

The old physician instructed the apprentice to bring a string of copper coins from the counter. In front of both boys, he counted out 120 coins and placed them into the basket at Zhu Ping'an's feet, smiling kindly. "That makes 120 wen. The extra three are a reward for helping me out of that awkward moment just now."

"Thank you, Old Divine Physician! We'll be going then!" Zhu Ping'an waved his chubby hands and bowed politely to say goodbye. He was worried his father would be waiting.

Zhu Pingchuan hugged the basket and pulled Zhu Ping'an's hand toward the door.

They had only taken a few steps when the old physician's voice called out from behind, "Wait."

Hearing this, cold sweat broke out on Zhu Pingchuan's forehead. He thought perhaps the man had changed his mind—after all, who would buy wild flowers at such a high price? It was almost as much as half a month's wages for a laborer. His heart hammered against his ribs.

Zhu Ping'an turned around and asked, "Is there something else, Old Divine Physician?"

"If you find more of this herb in the future, you can bring it directly here once it is properly dried. However, prices will fluctuate, so be prepared for that," the old physician said, stroking his beard. On one hand, he admired Zhu Ping'an's cleverness; on the other, the quality of the honeysuckle was truly excellent. The pharmacy had a high demand for it, as it was a common ingredient in many medicinal and dietary recipes. He had called them back to establish a good relationship.

Hearing this, Zhu Pingchuan breathed a massive sigh of relief. "Yes, yes!" he replied repeatedly.