Chapter 14: Catch the Thief! My Money Bag is Gone!

Sheng Wanqiu's sharp eyes spotted a pharmacy, so she planned to go over and take a look.

"Then you go ahead. I'll go check out the grain and oil shop up ahead. Don't run off; come find me once you're done." Granny Sheng felt very at ease with her granddaughter. Although this girl could be quite formidable when she went a bit wild, she was very decisive in her actions, so Granny Sheng let her be.

Thus, the grandmother and granddaughter agreed on a meeting place and went their separate ways.

As soon as Sheng Wanqiu entered the pharmacy, she caught a whiff of a refreshing scent mixed with medicinal herbs. She immediately felt a sensation as if she were about to attain enlightenment and become an immortal; the scent of these herbs was quite pleasant.

"Hello, young man. I wanted to ask, how do you all purchase ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms here?"

"Do you look at the age? Or the size?"

Sheng Wanqiu saw a young attendant who looked to be grinding medicine and politely stepped forward to inquire.

"We don't buy medicine here. We have our own specialized channels; we don't buy from outsiders!" The attendant raised his head and sized Sheng Wanqiu up from head to toe, his tone very cold.

This was the so-called "respecting the silk before the person." Sheng Wanqiu looked down at her dress; it was indeed a bit old, with some parts becoming frayed.

The eyes of these shop assistants were incredibly sharp. Knowing she was just asking casually and certainly had nothing in her hands, he rejected her immediately.

Saying they didn't buy outside herbs was simply because he looked down on her and didn't want to bother with her.

*If this place doesn't want me, there are plenty of other places,* Sheng Wanqiu thought. She decisively exited the pharmacy and switched to the one next door.

The two pharmacies were very close to each other, but this one, in terms of both its decor and its signboard, exuded a sense of dilapidation. It seemed business wasn't doing very well.

As Sheng Wanqiu walked in, she saw a white-bearded old man dozing off behind the counter. She stepped forward and tapped on the counter, only then causing the white-bearded old man to open his eyes.

"Little girl, are you here to pick up a prescription? Or for a consultation?" The white-bearded man smiled very kindly. With his white hair and white beard, combined with his overall aura, he had that air of a transcendent immortal.

"Hello, Elder. I want to buy some medicinal herb seeds. Do you have any here?" Sheng Wanqiu beamed, looking at the white-bearded old man with a smile.

"What kind of seeds do you want? I don't have many. Tell me, and I'll see if I can find them for you?" The white-bearded old man did not refuse.

"I want both ginseng and lingzhi. Give me whichever is more expensive," Sheng Wanqiu said with certainty.

She was desperate to make money right now to improve her life, so naturally, she would plant whatever was most valuable.

"You little girl, do you actually intend to go home and plant ginseng?"

"Isn't that just nonsense? These things are all wild; I've never seen anyone grow them themselves," the white-bearded old man scolded lightly.

"Elder, are you going to sell them or not? If you aren't, I'm leaving!"

"I just want to try. How can I know if I don't experiment? Don't you agree?"

Finally, through Sheng Wanqiu's persistence, she successfully bought ten ginseng seeds. There were no others, but she managed to get a packet of carrot seeds and a packet of watermelon seeds.

It was mainly because the white-bearded old man only had ten ginseng seeds; otherwise, Sheng Wanqiu would certainly have bought more.

Those ten seeds cost her one or two taels of silver; it hurt her heart to pay it.

She planned to plant them one by one. When the time came, she would say she dug them up from the mountains; otherwise, it would be hard to explain if she suddenly produced ten ginseng roots.

She skipped happily toward their agreed meeting place, thinking her grandmother would likely be waiting for her there.

"Stop that thief! My money pouch is gone!" A young man who looked like a scholar suddenly shouted loudly.

"Heavens! My money pouch is gone too!" A middle-aged auntie also cried out in shock, clutching her empty pocket.

Immediately after, cries rose one after another from the bustling street. Sheng Wanqiu did a rough count—good heavens, the money pouches of over a dozen people had been stolen, and they had all been taken without anyone noticing. Could the "Saint of Thieves" have returned to the world?

That shouldn't be possible; she hadn't heard of such a person around here!

This thief's skills were quite high; to steal from so many people without a single person noticing—this was a master!

"Wanqiu! Grandma's money pouch is gone!"

As soon as Sheng Wanqiu met up with Granny Sheng, she saw her with a wailing face, feeling extremely vexed that she had been too preoccupied with looking at things to notice the safety of her money pouch.

"What? Grandma, your money is gone too? I was coming from over there and heard many people saying their money pouches were stolen—there were over a dozen!"

"I can't believe your money pouch is gone too. Think carefully: while the pouch was still there, did you encounter anyone? When did you realize it was gone?"

"Grandma, don't get agitated. Think slowly; maybe we can still find it!"

Sheng Wanqiu comforted her. She saw that the old lady was almost in tears; if she didn't say something to soothe her, she was truly afraid the elderly woman wouldn't be able to handle it.

"The money pouch was still there when I came out after buying salt. There were three taels of silver inside! That was all my hard-earned savings from living frugally!"

"That damn thief deserves to die a horrible death!"

"What a sin! My silver!" The more Granny Sheng thought about it, the angrier she got, wishing she could eat the thief alive.

"Grandma, think carefully if anything felt off. For example, did someone bump into you or jostle you?"

Sheng Wanqiu believed the thief's skills wouldn't be so supernatural; they must have struck when someone was distracted.

"Yes, yes, yes! When I was leaving the shop, someone bumped into me from behind and even apologized to me."

Prompted by her granddaughter, Granny Sheng immediately remembered the detail she had overlooked, and she hurriedly grabbed Sheng Wanqiu's sleeve.

"Grandma, can you remember what kind of clothes that person was wearing? Or was there anything memorable about their face? Also, was there anything special about their body?"

"Yes, he looked to be about twenty years old, with a mole on his eyebrow. I forgot what color his clothes were, though."

"But on the heels of his boots, there was a leaf-shaped embroidery pattern."

Why did Granny Sheng remember the shoes? It was because after the person bowed to apologize, he had hurried away in a rush. When he lifted his foot, he nearly tripped, and Granny Sheng saw him kick a stone on the ground as he steadied himself; that was when she noticed the shoes on his feet.

Granny Sheng grabbed Sheng Wanqiu's hand and drew the leaf shape in her palm.

"Grandma, it's still early. Go wait for me by the ox cart at the city gate first. I'll be back soon."

"Give me half an hour; I should be able to find the person who stole your money pouch."

"In half an hour, whether I find the thief or not, I will come to find you by the ox cart at the city gate."

Granny Sheng wanted to say more, but was choked back by Sheng Wanqiu's determined gaze.

This granddaughter had been a person with her own ideas since childhood. Aside from being a bit muddled regarding the matter of the Bai family boy, she did well in everything else—brave, bold, and capable, much better than her two younger brothers.

(End of Chapter)