34: Chapter 34: So Aoki

Hearing Mo Shoutian say this, Zhou Chengan asked curiously,

"Brother Shoutian, are you here to sell herbs this time?"

Mo Shoutian smiled slightly.

"Didn't I buy a heavy crossbow from Shopkeeper Qiu last time? I was quite lucky and hunted two large beasts. I also had the villagers pick some herbs recorded in the 'wild herb records', and brought them over for Brother Zhou to take a look."

Hearing this, Zhou Chengan laughed out loud.

"Not bad, you quite have a business mind. Where are the things? I'll go take a look right now."

"Right on the carriage at the entrance."

"Alright."

As he spoke, Zhou Chengan walked out of the pharmacy, with Mo Shoutian following closely behind.

As soon as the two walked out the door, they saw Mo Changlin and the others.

Zhou Chengan glanced at them.

"These brothers of yours all look quite good."

"Brother Zhou, they are all people from Mo Family Village. The herbs are on the carriage behind."

Mo Shoutian hurried a few steps to the side of the carriage led by Mo Changlin, and lifted the grass curtain on top.

Zhou Chengan took a look.

"These must weigh two or three hundred catties, right?"

"Yeah, a total of two hundred and ninety-five catties."

Zhou Chengan nodded, picked up a handful of herbs to smell their medicinal scent first, then reached out to pinch them to determine the degree of dryness, and finally nodded with satisfaction.

"These herbs are processed well."

"They were all processed according to the methods in the 'wild herb records'."

"Yeah, truly not bad."

After finishing, Zhou Chengan turned around and shouted toward the inside of Zhou Family Pharmacy:

"A few people, come out."

Hearing the shout, four or five clerks in the pharmacy quickly ran out.

"You guys unload these herbs and sort them to be weighed."

Mo Shoutian took out the dozen or so purple Red Vine roots placed separately aside and handed them to Zhou Chengan.

"Brother Zhou, these are a bit different from the Red Vine recorded in the 'wild herb records'."

Zhou Chengan took the Red Vine, looked at it carefully, and smelled it under his nose.

"That copy of the 'wild herb records' I gave you indeed doesn't record this kind."

"Red Vines actually have male and female variants; this kind with purple rhizomes is the male Red Vine, and its medicinal efficacy is much stronger than the red-rhizomed ones."

Mo Shoutian smiled after hearing this.

"I thought the villagers picked the wrong ones."

"They didn't pick wrongly."

"There are tens of thousands of herb names in this world; the 'wild herb records' I gave you only records a few hundred common herbs."

Zhou Chengan handed the Red Vine to the clerk beside him.

"Let them sort and weigh them here, the two of us brothers will go inside to drink some tea."

Afterward, Zhou Chengan brought Mo Shoutian back into the pharmacy and personally brewed a pot of tea for him.

After taking a sip of tea, Mo Shoutian said:

"Brother Zhou, I'm thinking of opening a pharmacy in Qingshi Town to collect more herbs for Brother Zhou and incidentally make some money. What does Brother Zhou think of this idea?"

Zhou Chengan took a sip of tea.

"Why wouldn't that work?"

"No matter how many these herbs are, they are not considered much to our Zhou Family. When the Immortals of the Qingmu Sect refine Medicinal Pills once, the consumption of various herbs alone amounts to dozens of catties."

Mo Shoutian was somewhat surprised.

"Immortals can also refine Medicinal Pills?"

"Of course they can."

"However, I haven't seen with my own eyes how they specifically refine them; I've only heard the head of the family mention it."

Mo Shoutian looked around and asked in a lowered voice:

"Brother Zhou, can you tell this brother about it in detail?"

Zhou Chengan smiled.

"The head of our Zhou Family is an Outer Sect Disciple of the Qingmu Sect. Over the years, the Zhou Family has mainly collected various herbs for the Qingmu Sect."

"The reason my injuries healed so quickly is also because the head of the family gave me a Medicinal Pill."

Hearing this, Mo Shoutian thought for a moment and asked again:

"I often see those Immortals flying back and forth in the sky, and I've always been a bit curious. Can Brother Zhou talk about this Qingmu Sect?"

Zhou Chengan thought for a moment.

"I don't know much about the Qingmu Sect either; most of what I know is what I heard from the head of the family."

"However, the Qingmu Sect should be the largest Immortal cultivation Sect within a radius of a thousand miles."

Mo Shoutian asked again:

"Brother Zhou, I heard that when Immortals trade with each other, they all use something called a Spirit Stone. Is that so?"

"Yeah, that is indeed the case."

"I am mainly responsible for purchasing herbs. Our Zhou Family also has a shop in the east of the city called the Zhou Family Medicinal Pill Shop, and the Medicinal Pills sold inside are mainly sold to those cultivating Immortals."

Hearing this, Mo Shoutian nodded and did not continue asking further.

Just at this moment, a clerk walked in from outside the shop.

"Manager Zhou, the herbs have been sorted and weighed. Among them, fourteen catties were damp and broken, and have already been picked out. The remaining are two hundred and seventeen catties of common herbs, fifty-three catties of rare herbs, eleven catties of boutique herbs, and seventeen stalks of male Red Vines."

Zhou Chengan nodded and turned to look at Mo Shoutian.

"Brother Shoutian, the prices of the herbs are like this."

"Common herbs are five hundred wen per catty, rare herbs are eight hundred wen per catty, and boutique herbs are one tael of silver per catty."

When mentioning the male Red Vine, Zhou Chengan paused slightly.

"As for this male Red Vine, it is two taels of silver per stalk. How does Brother Shoutian find this?"

Mo Shoutian nodded.

"Just follow the prices Brother Zhou stated."

"Brother Shoutian is straightforward."

Zhou Chengan turned his head and asked the clerk:

"How much is the total?"

"Manager Zhou, the total is one hundred and ninety-five taels and nine hundred wen."

"Yeah, go get the silver for Brother Shoutian."

The clerk acknowledged, and turned to go to the counter.

Mo Shoutian asked at this time:

"Brother Zhou, how are these herbs divided into common, rare, and boutique?"

Zhou Chengan thought for a moment.

"How about this, I'll have the clerk get you two more copies of the 'wild herb records' and have them mark them out for you. How does that sound?"

Mo Shoutian nodded happily.

"Then I'll trouble Brother Zhou."

Zhou Chengan then called two clerks over and asked them to mark it for Mo Shoutian.

Half an hour later, Mo Shoutian walked out of Zhou Family Pharmacy, with Zhou Chengan following all the way to the entrance to see him off.

"Brother Shoutian, are you planning to let your older brother owe this meal of wine indefinitely?"

"Brother Zhou, next time I will definitely accompany you to drink a few cups properly. This time this brother truly has other matters."

"Alright, since it's like this, I won't force it."

"Regarding your matter of opening a pharmacy in Qingshi Town, if there is anything you need Brother Zhou's help with, feel free to come find me."

Mo Shoutian cupped his hands.

"If there is any place needing help, this brother will definitely come find Brother Zhou."

After speaking, Mo Shoutian led a few people away from Zhou Family Pharmacy.

At this time, the sky was already turning slightly dark.

"Uncle Changlin, it's getting dark, let's find an inn to stay first."

Mo Changlin nodded, and just as he was about to speak, Mo Qingshi chimed in first:

"Uncle Shoutian, Dad, let's find a slightly better place to stay."

Mo Changlin glared at his son.

"Do you know what it means not to flaunt one's wealth?"

After speaking, he looked at Mo Shoutian again.

"Earlier when we came out from Shopkeeper Qiu's place, I saw an inn nearby that wasn't bad. Most of the people staying inside are those delivering goods to Dasheng Cargo Firm."

Mo Shoutian thought for a moment and nodded.

He happened to be going to look for Qiu Wansheng tonight, so staying closer would also be more convenient.

"Uncle Changlin, I'll listen to you; we'll go to the inn you mentioned."

By the time the few of them rushed to the inn, the sky had completely darkened.

The inn's price wasn't expensive; five people opened a shared brick-bed room, ordered six or seven dishes, plus the innkeeper helping to look after the two horses, altogether spending a little over one tael of silver.

Because they were carrying over seven hundred taels of silver with them, none of them drank any wine.

After finishing dinner, Mo Shoutian went to Dasheng Cargo Firm alone.

As for Mo Changlin, he arranged shifts for the remaining few people so that four of them would take turns sleeping at night to prevent any issues with the silver.