Reincarnation and Rebirth

"girl?"

"Oh, waiter, I'm not here to get medicine. I went up the mountain to collect some medicinal herbs and wanted to ask if you would buy them?"

The waiter's expression did not change because of Su Wan'er's words. He smiled as always and said, "Miss, I can't make that decision. Why don't you come in first and I'll go and call the manager over? But, miss, our pharmacy has a special place for planting, so the requirements for medicinal herbs are quite high. The manager is kind-hearted and thinks he can help the people if he can."

Su Wan'er nodded. Judging from the waiter's attitude, the owner of this place wasn't a bad person. He had his own medicinal herb base, but he still accepted medicinal herbs from the villagers, just to help them. He was a good person, and she had just stumbled upon the right place by chance.

Over there, a long line of people were waiting to see a doctor. Su Wan'er was curious; this man, who looked only a few years older than her, was really skilled in medicine. So she stood there and watched quietly.

Zhu Zeyang wasn't unaware of Su Wan'er's gaze. He frowned slightly; this woman was quite bold.

"Doctor, I've been experiencing chest pain lately, and sometimes I can't breathe properly." As he spoke, the man coughed incessantly, as if he were about to cough up his internal organs.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zeyang carefully examined the man's eyes and tongue, then placed his fair fingers on the man's wrist. After a moment, he smiled and said, "It's nothing serious, nothing to worry about." As he spoke, Zhu Zeyang picked up a pen and wrote down a prescription. "Go get the medicine according to this prescription, and you'll be fine after taking a few doses."

The man thanked her repeatedly and took the prescription to get the medicine. Seeing this, Su Wan'er sighed inwardly. In this day and age, it was so easy to swindle money from ordinary people. Even Su Wan'er, a layman, could see that the man's condition was clearly acute bronchitis. In ancient times, this disease could be fatal if not treated properly, yet the doctor just dismissed him like that.

Su Wan'er was beginning to hesitate, wondering whether she should sell such good medicinal herbs to this pharmacy.

Just then, the waiter came over and informed Su Wan'er that the manager wanted to see her. "Never mind, I'll see," Su Wan'er replied.

Su Wan'er followed the waiter to the back room and met the kind manager.

"Young lady, the shop assistant said you have medicinal herbs to sell. Could you please show them to me? By the way, my surname is Zhu."

"Oh, Manager Zhu, I just happened to see it while chopping wood on the mountain, so I thought I'd try my luck here."

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhu had already made up his mind that the young girl must have randomly found some Panax notoginseng or dandelion in the mountains. Oh well, people are having a hard time these days. If there's nothing wrong with the medicinal herbs, then he might as well take them. The young master always says that we should treat the people kindly.

However, when Su Wan'er took out the Black Spirit Ginseng, not only was Manager Zhu stunned, but even Su Wan'er herself found it unbelievable. Was this still the palm-sized Black Spirit Ginseng that she had picked back then?

The black ginseng resembled a matsutake mushroom, its color jet black and glossy, with concentric rings of patterns on its surface. Its roots were fine and dense, spreading like a spiderweb, its overall shape like a blooming black lotus, mysterious and beautiful. Most importantly, it was three times its original size.

This must be thanks to the space.

"Miss... young lady, this, you, you really want to sell it?" The shopkeeper stammered.

Su Wan'er came to her senses and said, "Manager Zhu, my surname is Su."

"Alright, Miss Su, this ginseng is quite rare, you..."

"Shopkeeper, this is just an ordinary medicinal herb to me, but if you put it in your pharmacy, it could save many lives."

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhu smiled and said, "Alright, Miss Su, let me tell you the truth: if you take this ginseng to the prefectural city to sell, you might get a higher price than we do here."

Su Wan'er knew this, of course, but she didn't have that much time. It was already difficult enough for her to come out today.

"Shopkeeper, give me a price. If it's reasonable, I'll sell it."

"Alright, since Miss Su is so straightforward, I won't be coy either. How about two thousand taels?"

Su Wan'er's expression remained unchanged, but her mind was in turmoil. Was this Black Spirit Ginseng really that valuable?

Seeing that Su Wan'er remained silent, Manager Zhu assumed that the price was too low. He gritted his teeth and said, "Miss Su, two thousand five hundred taels is already the highest price. These medicinal herbs still need to be processed, and even if you take them to the prefectural city to sell, you can only get three thousand taels at most. What do you think, Miss Su?"

"make a deal."

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhu breathed a sigh of relief and was about to prepare the silver notes when Su Wan'er quickly asked, "Manager Zhu, could you please provide cash?"

"Oh, what? Miss Su, two thousand five hundred taels of silver is no small amount. Besides, it's not safe for a young girl like you to carry it."

"It's okay, I'm very strong."

Manager Zhu stopped talking. Since it was someone else's request, he would simply fulfill it.

"Please wait a moment, young lady. I need to send someone to the bank to collect the money."

"About how long?" Su Wan'er didn't have much time. If Madam Chen went back and found that she was missing, it would inevitably cause trouble again.

Seeing that she was in a hurry, Manager Zhu said, "Not long, the money shop is right next door, please wait a moment, young lady."

After Manager Zhu left, Su Wan'er was about to return to the main hall when she accidentally bumped into someone.

"sorry Sorry."

"It was my fault, I'm sorry."

Su Wan'er looked up and exclaimed, "Huh? Is that the quack doctor from before?" Her expression immediately turned sour, and she walked out with a blank face.

Zhu Zeyang looked completely bewildered and grabbed the waiter who had led Su Wan'er in, asking, "Is that young lady here for a medical consultation?"

"Young Master, that young lady is here to sell medicinal herbs."

People often come to the shop to buy medicinal herbs, and Zhu Zeyang is used to it. He said to the shop assistant, "The man I just examined has a lung disease. Be careful when you dispense the medicine and replace those herbs with higher-quality ones."

The shop assistant was used to the young master's actions; every year, he would personally pay out of his own pocket to provide free medicine to poor people who couldn't afford medical care, or simply upgrade the medicinal herbs.

Su Wan'er had excellent hearing. Upon hearing the man's words, she smiled. So he wasn't a quack doctor after all; he was just saying that because he was worried the man would give up treatment due to the expense. She had misunderstood him; thankfully, she hadn't been blinded by her own limited perspective.

Manager Zhu didn't keep her waiting long; he returned shortly with his men carrying a large wooden box.

Su Wan'er was sweating profusely. She was such an idiot; she'd forgotten that 2500 taels was equivalent to nearly 160 jin in modern terms. How could a girl in her early teens possibly carry that? (In this era, one jin was equivalent to 16 taels; hence the saying "half a jin equals eight taels.")

"Miss Su, where are your family members? Or do you have a car? Do you need us to load your things into the car?"

"Oh, shopkeeper, may I borrow your shop's cart for a while? I can pay the rental fee. My family is waiting for me at the city gate. I'll deliver it there and return it right away."

Manager Zhu laughed and said, "Don't mention renting, young lady, just take it and use it." There was a small cart behind the pharmacy, which was usually used to transport medicinal herbs.

"Thank you."

Zhu Zeyang watched Su Wan'er's departing figure, lost in thought...

Su Wan'er pushed the cart out of the city, found a secluded spot, and put the box into her spatial storage. This Manager Zhu was quite a nice person; of the 2500 taels, half were ten-tael silver ingots, the rest were one- and five-tael ingots, and there were also 100-tael loose silver pieces. Hmm, it was really convenient for her.

Little did she know that after she left, Zhu Zeyang looked at the black ginseng with a sorrowful expression.

"Young Master, are you thinking of the Master?"

"If only my father could hold on a little longer, with this Wuling Ginseng, his illness could be cured."

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhu's face also showed a trace of sorrow. "Young Master, please accept my condolences. Don't worry the old master."

"Ah, I know. Have you heard anything from Grandfather lately?"

"Yes, yes, yes. I just went to the bank to withdraw silver. There was a letter in the old master's handwriting there, which was about to be delivered when I ran into it."

"Okay." Zhu Zeyang took the letter and went to his room in the backyard.

Manager Zhu sighed and walked forward.

"Oh, Uncle Lin, you've arrived."

If Su Wan'er were here, she would have noticed that the person standing opposite Manager Zhu was none other than Grandpa Lin from the village, Lin Nanxing.

"Manager Zhu, I've gathered some medicinal herbs and brought them over."

"Alright, alright, Xiao Peng, take the items to the backyard, weigh them, and settle the bill."

Lin Nanxing glanced at the consultation table next to him. "Is the young master not here?"

"Yes, the old master sent a letter. The young master is in the backyard. Uncle Lin, would you like me to go in and inform him?"

Lin Nanxing waved his hand, "No, I'll come see him again next time." After saying that, he left the pharmacy.