Poor but talented scholar

Chapter 30 Selling Medicine

As darkness fell, swarms of mosquitoes buzzed under the trees in the corner of the yard.

Lu Chuan did not let the whole family rest immediately. Instead, he took out several pieces of coarse linen from the kitchen and cut them into strips of cloth of appropriate width.

"Father, Mother, the sap from these herbs is stinging our flesh. We need to wrap our hands up tightly."

As Lu Chuan spoke, he patiently taught Xiaoman and her parents how to wrap their fingers with strips of cloth.

Seeing her son's serious expression, Lu's mother, Chen, was still a little worried, but she still helped Lu Shouye wrap his hands up like a rice dumpling.

"Chuan'er, can this really be exchanged for rice?" Mother Lu lowered her voice and subconsciously glanced at the gate of the courtyard, afraid that the neighbors would hear.

"Yes, and it's much more expensive than rice."

Lu Chuan took an old palm brush used for scrubbing pots and handed it to Lu Shouye, saying, "Dad, our Pinellia ternata needs to be washed until it's as white as a peeled hard-boiled egg before the pharmacy will give us a high price."

"Remember, when you're washing, be careful not to get water in your eyes."

Lu Shouye took the palm brush, his face appearing particularly stern in the dim light of the oil lamp.

He stared at the greasy white tubers in the pot and said in a deep voice:

"Xiaoman, listen carefully. Take your brother to the backyard to dry the grass, and be very careful. This herb is very poisonous, especially the sap. If it gets in your eyes or mouth, it will rot your tongue."

"You're in charge of handing out water, and don't you dare touch anything else, understand? Make sure you keep a close eye on your brother and don't let him get a drop."

"I know, Dad. I'll just watch, I won't touch it with a single finger!" Xiaoman puffed out her little chest, her eyes full of spirit.

Lu Chuan responded gently to his father, "Dad, I'll be careful. I'll keep an eye on the quality from the side."

The family gathered in the narrow backyard, by the light of the moon and the dim lamplight.

Lu Shouye had a strong grip, and the palm brush moved quickly back and forth on the surface of the Pinellia ternata, dispersing the dirt and revealing the ivory-like texture inside.

Lu's mother was in charge of rinsing the pinellia tubers with water, and each cleaned pinellia tuber was neatly stacked in a clean winnowing basket.

Xiaoman deftly carried the washed pinellia to a cool, well-ventilated place and spread them out. Lu Chuan sat to the side, occasionally picking out a few that were too small or had already rotted.

The dozen or so winnowing baskets were quickly filled, just waiting for the morning sun to carry away the moisture.

Because Pinellia ternata cannot be directly exposed to the scorching sun, otherwise its medicinal properties will dissipate and its skin will crack, Lu Chuan specifically instructed his mother to place the bamboo tray in a well-ventilated, shady place.

The family worked until late into the night. Looking at the vast expanse of white stuff, Lu Shouye lowered his voice, his tone tinged with unease: "Chuan'er, this stuff... there's plenty of it on the hill behind our village. If it can really be exchanged for money, I'm afraid the whole village will follow suit in a couple of days."

Lu Chuan held a round, raw pinellia tuber in his hand.

"Father, don't worry. The hardest thing to overcome in this world is not a mountain, but the prejudice in people's hearts."

"In their eyes, this is a deadly poisonous weed. Even if they see us transporting it to town, they'll just assume we're doing free work at the pharmacy or trying to earn some extra money."

The next day, it was dawn.

The distant mountains were still shrouded in a bluish-purple mist when Lu Chuan got up. He was going to take this batch of medicinal herbs to the town.

Lu's mother, Chen, got up early and baked some pancakes and cooked a bowl of hot wild vegetable soup.

"Chuan'er, drink some soup." Madam Chen looked at her son with heartache.

Lu Chuan took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

At this time, Lu Shouye had already borrowed a wheelbarrow from a member of the clan. The wheelbarrow was covered with several layers of thick dry straw, and underneath it were several baskets of washed Pinellia ternata.

"Chuan'er, let's go. Let's get out of the village quickly before the villagers go to work in the fields." Lu Shouye rubbed his hands together.

The father and son pushed the cart and quietly left Liutang Village before the morning dew had dried.

Along the way, Lu Shouye pushed the cart, but Lu Chuan could feel that every time he encountered a passing villager, his body would subconsciously tense up.

When we arrived in town, the market had just opened.

Lu Chuan led his father directly into a secluded alley and finally stopped at the back door of Ji'antang Pharmacy.

This pharmacy was where he used to get medicine for his father.

"Knock knock knock".

Lu Chuan gently knocked on the door, his rhythm steady.

A moment later, a pharmacy clerk yawned and pushed open the door, looking at the mud-covered father and son with some impatience.

"Who is it? It's so early in the morning, not even time to collect the medicine yet."

The waiter was taken aback at first, then rubbed his eyes and said, "Hey, it's you?"

Lu Chuan nodded slightly: "Young man, I'm not here to get medicine today, but to discuss a business deal. Please ask Manager Lin to come out and tell him that I, Lu Chuan from Liutang Village, have brought some raw Pinellia ternata and would like him to take a look."

"Raw Pinellia?" A hint of surprise flashed in the waiter's eyes.

This stuff is a delicate commodity; it's difficult to harvest and contains toxins, so pharmacies are always short of stock.

He took another look at Lu Chuan and saw that although the young man was wearing patched clothes, his eyes and brows were cold and stern.

"Alright, you wait here, I'll go to the back and fetch the manager." The waiter replied and turned to quickly go into the inner room.

Not long after, a series of hurried footsteps approached, and a middle-aged man with a mustache and wearing a silk robe came out.

This man was none other than Manager Lin of Ji'an Hall. Upon hearing that there was medicine, he quickened his pace.

"Young master of the Lu family, I heard from the shopkeeper that you have some raw Pinellia ternata?" Manager Lin walked to the front of the cart, his gaze sweeping directly over the layer of dried straw.

Lu Chuan didn't speak, but steadily lifted a corner of the straw.

In that instant, both Manager Lin and the shop assistant instinctively held their breath.

The pinellia in the basket was washed until it was snow-white and crystal clear, with a round and smooth skin like a basket of peeled pigeon eggs.

Manager Lin's casual expression instantly turned serious. He bent down, grabbed a handful of herbs, rubbed them between his fingers, and then brought them close to his nose to sniff.

"Excellent goods!" Shopkeeper Lin exclaimed, looking up at Lu Chuan. "The quality is even better than those herbs sent by the farmers who supply us year-round. Not only are they uniformly sized, but even the roots and bits of bark have been cleaned thoroughly. You must have put a lot of effort into this!"

Lu Chuan said, "In order to keep these for resale, we naturally have to be careful. Manager Lin, what do you think of this batch of goods? Do they meet your standards?"

Shopkeeper Lin chuckled, a shrewd glint in his eyes typical of a merchant: "It may look nice, but raw Pinellia ternata is riskier than processed Pinellia ternata. Since you're a regular customer, I'll give you sixteen coins a pound, how about that?"

Upon hearing the word "sixteen coins," Lu Shouye, who was standing to the side, suddenly trembled.

Sixteen coins! This basketful is equivalent to what he could earn by toiling in the fields for almost half a month!

Lu Chuan shook his head.

"Manager Lin, let's speak frankly."

The aged Pinellia ternata in your shop has lost 30% of its medicinal properties, yet you still have to sell it for forty coins. My batch, on the other hand, was freshly picked and rushed out overnight; its medicinal properties are at their peak. Sixteen coins… I'm afraid you can't buy this quality of exclusive stock.”