Chapter 5 Renxin Hall (This chapter is free)

When we arrived at the intersection at the end of the street, there were a large area of ​​breakfast stalls on one side of the road, and the guys rolled up their sleeves and shouted loudly.

"The freshly baked bun costs three cents each, and three cents each."

"Hot steamed buns, two for three cents."

"Just fried sesame cake, two cents a day."

Although it was just dawn, there were already many pedestrians, and there were endless customers in front of the breakfast stalls, and surrounding shops were also opened one after another.

Fang Ling bought a big bun with interest and put it in his mouth and bit it. Although the face was rough, the hot air and oil poured into his mouth, but it felt an indescribable feeling of happiness. After taking a few bites, only half of the bun was left.

At this moment, he heard a few sobs from his feet. When he looked down, he saw a little white dog squatting at his feet, looking at him dryly, barking from time to time.

Seeing that it was pitiful, Fang Ling threw the bun in his hand to it. The puppy immediately pounced on it, gnawing it happily while wagging its tail at Fang Ling.

Fang Ling watched it finish eating, and then said to the guy: "Brother, your buns are so delicious."

The guy said proudly: "Of course, our family has a ancestral craft, a time-honored brand for decades. The whole imperial city is the most authentic bun."

Fang Ling said, "So you are the young owner of the bun shop?"

"Haha, what a young boss? Brother, you are so proud, just a small business." The guy blushed embarrassedly.

"Brother, since your family is a time-honored brand, do you know which pharmacy shop in the imperial city has a fair price?" Fang Ling asked.

Before the guy could speak, an old man who bought buns next to him said, "That's all right. Of course, it's Renxintang, and it's also a time-honored brand for decades. The old shopkeeper is a kind-hearted person. Sometimes, he can't afford to pay for medical treatment by poor families."

The guy nodded and said, "Yes, my mother got sick last month. She went to Qingdetang and spent a little while to get better. As a result, she went to Renxintang and was cured with ten cents of prescription medicine."

When talking about Renxintang, everyone around him seemed to have a topic of conversation. All they said were the kindness of the old shopkeeper Renxintang. Fang Ling listened carefully, then asked Renxintang's address, and then left.

The Imperial City of Chu is very large, with six main roads, each with several small roads. It is crisscrossed and formed a chessboard-like layout. Although Fang Ling has never been here, he will get lost after hearing Dong Canghai’s talk about the road pattern of the city.

While walking, he asked passers-by to ask about the matter on the medicine shop. Most of them mentioned the name Renxintang. Next, Fang Ling went to several medicine shops along the way to ask about the price of the medicinal materials. After he knew it, he came to East Street where the Renxintang semicolon was located.

Now it is already three o'clock in the sun. The long and wide East Street is already very prosperous. There are many shops on the street, and outside the shops are street stalls, which are very lively.

Not long after, Fang Ling saw Renxintang. This was a medicine shop that occupied two shops. The shop was divided into two parts, half of which were medicine cabinets. A young man who looked like a guy stood in front of the counter and yawned. He obviously hadn't woken up yet. An old doctor sat on the other half, who was taking the pulse of a young man at this time.

There was also a man in his forties outside Renxin Hall. The man was wearing a bright golden brocade robe with a fat head and big ears. He put his hands behind him, his head was high, and he shouted in a duck-like voice: "Shopkeeper Hu, your Renxin Hall sign will not be eaten by insects, so he won't change it to maintain it."

At this time, the curtain in the shop was lifted up, and a middle-aged man in his thirties came out. He frowned and said angrily: "Shopkeeper Yu, is there any insect-eating in our signature brand? You don't bother with it? I advise you to go back to your Qingdetang and stay there."

Manager Yu smiled with a shameless smile: "Who said it doesn't matter to me? When your old fonts are closed, this place is from our Qingdetang. If that brand can still be used, I won't have to buy a new one. Wouldn't it be enough to just inlaid the name of the shop?"

Manager Hu snorted heavily and ignored him. When he saw Fang Ling walking towards the shop, he quickly asked with a smile: "Do you guys see a doctor or get medicine?"

"I'll sell some medicinal materials." Fang Ling smiled slightly. He had also heard the name of Qingdetang along the way. This Qingdetang was a new drug store that only emerged a few years ago, but I don't know what methods were used. However, several drug stores have been merged in a few years, and now it has developed to a large scale. At the end of this street, there is a Qingdetang semicolon. From the tone of this shopkeeper Yu, it seems that he is also eyeing Renxintang.

When he heard Fang Ling claiming to be here to sell medicinal materials, Manager Hu looked at him strangely and looked outside. Although Fang Ling, 16, is older than his peers, he will not be more than 18 or 19 years old. Ordinary medicinal materials merchants should be over 20 years old and dress very decently. Those who dress like Fang Ling in ordinary clothes can easily be mistaken for being a follower.

Manager Yu glanced at Fang Ling with Yu Guang, shook his head and said, "Shopkeeper Hu, your Renxintang is really low-level. What kind of kittens and dogs can sell medicinal materials? Oh, it's really a poor person."

Fang Ling stood calmly at the entrance of the shop, and did not change color at all because of his ridicule.

Manager Hu snorted and said, "Shopkeeper Yu, the reputation of our store is not bothered. The old shopkeeper has already given instructions and treats customers equally. No matter whether the medicine you buy is a penny or an ingot of gold, whether the medicine sells a piece of medicinal materials or does a long-term business, he is a distinguished customer of our store!"

After saying that, he waved to the clerk in the shop and said, "Xiao Si, come and calculate the price for this little brother."

Fang Ling nodded secretly when he heard this. With what Manager Hu said, he decided to do business with Renxintang for a long time.

When he came to the counter and handed over the bag, Xiao Si rubbed his sleepy eyes and slowly opened the bag. However, his eyes suddenly became clear and he was completely sleepy. He saw those ginsengs of not too small at first glance, and the ginseng was not one, with a total of six.

He came to his senses for a while and quickly called out: "Shopkeeper."

Seeing his panicked look, Manager Hu frowned and said with a little dissatisfaction: "Why, don't you understand the price? I said Xiao Si, you have been in the shop for a long time. Haven't you taught me all the medicinal materials and prices?"

"No...no...shopkeeper, come and take a look at these ginseng!" Xiao Si hurriedly denied.

When they heard it was ginseng, not only Manager Hu, but also Manager Yu was attracted. When they saw it, their faces changed slightly.

Both of them thought that what Fang Ling brought was just cheap medicinal materials dug from nearby mountains, so they didn't care much, and no one expected that someone would ginseng in the bag.

It would be fine if it was just ginseng, but these ginsengs were all full of color and had to be more than enough, and obviously had a lot of years, which was a very high-quality product.

In addition to a few high-quality ginseng, other medicinal materials are also relatively expensive.

Seeing the surprised expressions of the three of them, Fang Ling had a long time to know.

When he travels to and from the Imperial Hospital all year round, he is naturally very familiar with medicinal materials. Take ginseng as an example. There are two main requirements to measure the price of this ginseng: grade and year.

Ginseng is divided into: large branches, special ginseng, first ginseng, second ginseng, third ginseng, fourth ginseng and fifth ginseng. Under the fifth ginseng, there are also reed whiskers, ginseng, ginseng leaves, ginseng seeds and ginseng paste.

Every year, ginseng from all over the country is above fourth-class ginseng, 90% sold by the people are fifth-class or below, and the remaining 10% are either third-class ginseng purchased by medicinal materials merchants from various places, or flowing out of the palace or official residences. The number is very small, but the demand among the people is very large. Especially in a prosperous place like the Imperial City, wealthy businessmen gather, and what is lacking is not money, but precious medicinal materials that sometimes cannot be found for money.

Manager Yu quickly came to his senses, changed his contemptuous attitude just now, and squeezed out a kind smile and said, "Little brother, I want all of your medicinal herbs, you can offer a price!"

Manager Hu snorted coldly and said, "Shopkeeper Yu, it may be a little late to grab the business. Little brother, please come in!"

Fang Ling ignored Manager Yu and walked into the inner room with Manager Hu, while the clerk hurriedly brought the bag in.

"I'm a little brat, aren't it just a few high-quality ginseng? I don't know how many lifetimes I have learned about my blessings. I, Yu Tiancheng, don't care." Manager Yu snorted heavily and walked away unwillingly.

After entering the inner room, Manager Hu apologized repeatedly: "Little brother, I'm so sorry for being neglected just now."

"It's okay." Fang Ling smiled slightly. Compared to Manager Yu's arrogance, Manager Hu was naturally more approachable. If the price was as reasonable as people said, then he would naturally choose to trade with Renxintang.

Manager Hu hesitated and said, "Although the origin of this medicinal material should not be asked according to the rules, but little brother, are you doing this business alone?"

Fang Ling smiled faintly and said, "Of course I am not alone, but I must keep the origin of these medicinal materials confidential."

The more Fang Ling was so jealous, the more Mr. Hu believed it, he was convinced. You should know that the ginseng in this small bag was at least third-class. Either the medicinal materials merchants behind the boy had special channels to get it from all over the place, or it was leaked from the palace and the officials' homes. No matter which one it was, the origin would not be revealed to outsiders.

For the medicine shop, the ginseng medicinal materials are not marked with anyone, so naturally they wouldn’t ask so much. After all, these are all hand-made goods. The streets of the imperial city are full of powerful families. The demand for ginseng is very high, especially the best ginseng, which is absolutely not a problem to not be sold at a high price.

Manager Hu was also afraid that he would offend the financial supporter in front of him if he asked more questions, so he laughed and said, "Wait, little brother, I'll go to that piece of paper and give you the price of these medicinal materials."

Fang Ling nodded and savored tea in the inner room. Not long after, Manager Hu handed over the list.
Chapter completed!