“So you’re a young brother from the mountains.”
The old shopkeeper did not press him further. He was a businessman, not a man of the jianghu; it would be improper to keep asking.
“This chuanshanlong is indeed old, and rarely seen on the market. I wonder how much you’d like to sell it for, young brother?”
Li Qiuchen smiled. “My buddy brought me here. Along the way, all he did was praise you as a kind and righteous elder, a rare good man on this street. So I’ll trust him this once. You name the price, sir. I won’t bargain.”
Beside him, Hu Hai’er’s face was full of excitement.
This brother was giving him so much face.
The old shopkeeper wore a smile, but inwardly he cursed to himself. Today, he had run into a slippery little loach.
Chuanshanlong was a very common medicinal herb, and not expensive. But chuanshanlong this old was indeed hard to find on the market.
It was an excellent ingredient for brewing medicinal wine.
Of course, it was not used to restore a man’s virility, but to relax the tendons and invigorate the blood, chiefly to treat bruises and injuries from falls or blows.
As the saying went, a poor man could study, but martial arts required wealth. Martial practitioners who were not short on money would buy up such herbs in large quantities over the long term.
The medicine was good medicine, but the old shopkeeper’s thoughts were not on this chuanshanlong.
When mountain folk came down from the mountains, they would not carry only this one thing out.
Don’t be fooled by this boy’s young age. Perhaps he was merely a scout, with his father and elder brothers waiting outside.
Who knew how many genuine treasures they had on hand?
At this thought, the old shopkeeper coughed and said, “Young brother, as you can see, this shop of mine does not usually deal in such things. But since you’ve said you came specifically for my sake, I must certainly accept this favor.”
“As it happens, I have a young grandson at home practicing martial arts, and he needs fine medicinal herbs to brew medicinal wine. If your chuanshanlong were put on the market, it should normally sell for around ten taels. This old man will offer fifteen taels for it. What do you think?”
Fifteen taels?
Hu Hai’er’s eyes went straight when he heard it.
He had never seen so much money in his life.
If you found any random restaurant in town and stuffed yourself with a good meal, a few hundred copper coins would be the limit.
If I had fifteen taels of silver, why would I still be driving a cart? I’d go home and take a wife!
“Deal!”
Li Qiuchen waved his hand. “If you say fifteen taels, then fifteen taels it is. I won’t argue with you. Since you just said your young grandson practices martial arts, then forgive me for asking one more question—do you take other medicinal herbs?”
The old shopkeeper smiled. “Of course. As long as they are herbs of sufficient age, you can bring them all to me. The standard will be the same as today: no matter the market price, I’ll add fifty percent for you.”
“However, young brother, please don’t go outside and speak carelessly about this. If the bosses out there find out, they’ll complain that I’m disrupting the market and affecting their business.”
“I understand! Don’t worry, sir!”
What was there not to understand?
Outside was the wholesale price; here was the retail price.
On the surface, the old shopkeeper ran a funeral-goods business. Even if he bought medicinal herbs, he was doing it in his personal capacity.
For his own family’s use. He only wanted the good stuff. He was not competing with you for business.
Only then could many troubles be avoided.
Li Qiuchen had brought quite a few medicinal herbs with him this time. Chuanshanlong was one of the main medicines he needed when cultivating his body-tempering art. He had others as well, but he was not in a hurry to sell them.
Fifteen taels of silver was already eye-catching enough.
Any more, and it would easily invite trouble.
Better to be cautious.
Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, stability was the best plan.
After leaving the shop, Li Qiuchen asked Hu Hai’er in a low voice, “According to the rules, how much should I give you?”
Hu Hai’er scratched the back of his head. “I dunno?”
You damn… Forget it. The old shopkeeper was not a proper shopkeeper, he himself was not a proper mountain seller, and Hu Hai’er was not a proper middleman either.
This deal had been muddled through from start to finish.
Li Qiuchen slung an arm around Hu Hai’er’s shoulders and smiled. “Tell me the truth. If you made money, how would you want to spend it?”
Hu Hai’er grinned foolishly. “I just want to buy Erni’er something tasty.”
“Your wife?”
“N-no.”
“Someone else’s wife?”
“No!”
“From your hometown? An unmarried girl?”
“Mm.”
“Are your families well matched?”
“Her dad’s a pig butcher.”
“A butcher, huh? Then her family must have a whole lot of money, right?”
Hu Hai’er nodded and said nothing.
“You and Erni’er are close. Do your dad and her dad know?”
“They know. Her dad looks down on my family for being poor and says ugly things. My dad’s temper is stubborn too, and he looks down on her dad.”
Understanding dawned in Li Qiuchen’s heart. He pulled Hu Hai’er to the side and lowered his voice. “Brother Hai’er, I can tell you’re someone with brains. Have you ever thought about how much money you’d have to save, and how long it would take, if you really want to marry this girl? Can Erni’er wait for you until then?”
Hu Hai’er went completely dumb. He stood there dazed for a long while, then squatted down and hugged his head, starting to worry.
Li Qiuchen squatted beside him and said quietly, “The reason I’m asking you this is because last night, when you watched us gamble, your eyes were burning with envy. When you came looking for me today, at first I thought you wanted to make a little money to go have some fun.”
“No, no!”
Hu Hai’er hurriedly shook his head. “Don’t talk nonsense. I was just squatting there watching the commotion. If I really dared to gamble, my dad would beat me to death!”
“That’s true. Who would’ve thought you were doing it to take a wife?”
“Then what?”
Li Qiuchen smiled. “If you wanted to gamble, I’d give you two hundred copper coins and let you gamble however you liked.”
Hu Hai’er waved his hands again and again. “Not gambling, not gambling. I was just watching.”
“If you want to marry a wife, I’ll give you five taels.”
“Huh?”
Hu Hai’er froze, then quickly shook his head. “That won’t do. That’s too much. There’s no such rule. If my dad found out, he’d beat me to death.”
“Of course I’m not giving it to you now. That would be harming you. That’s why I asked you how much it would take to marry Erni’er. Would twenty taels be enough?”
“Enough! More than enough!”
“Then that’s fine.”
Li Qiuchen took a string of copper coins from his clothes and tossed it into Hu Hai’er’s hand. “I’ll give you this first. Keep some for yourself, and hand the rest to your dad when you go back. Tell your dad the truth—say you earned it from me. As for the rest, I’ll hold it for you. The two of us brothers will use this money as capital and start a little business in Qingshitai. What do you think?”
Hu Hai’er stared blankly at Li Qiuchen, then gritted his teeth and nodded. “I think it’ll work!”
The two of them were squatting at the doorway talking when they saw a household servant running over in a panic. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted, “Third Great-Uncle! Hurry back home and take a look! The Old Master’s been possessed by a ghost! He’s hacking people up at home right now!”
Not only were Li Qiuchen and Hu Hai’er utterly bewildered when they heard this, even the old shopkeeper was stunned.
“What damned nonsense are you spouting!”
What did he mean, possessed by a ghost and hacking people up at home? Was that something a person should say?
After he reacted, the old shopkeeper grew even more flustered. “If he’s possessed by a ghost, go find a master to perform rites! Why come looking for me? I sell incense and candles. How would I have the ability to catch ghosts?”
“Haven’t all the masters been arrested by the authorities? First Madam told me to come find you, said we should try anything in a desperate situation…”
“That’s still not how you try things! Go find Granny Liu!”
“Which Granny Liu?”
“The one from Liu Gousheng’s family… Forget it, I’ll go.”
The old shopkeeper hurriedly ran out the door. Lowering his head, he saw the two children squatting at the shop entrance, and an idea immediately came to him.
“You two, come with me!”