Paradise

Lin Bao went out to sleep outside for the first time. He was a little excited for a while, rolled around on the bed, couldn't fall asleep, touched the pillow for a while, and patted the quilt for a while. He just felt that it was much better than the quilt at home.

"Brother Zhou, this bed is so soft, it's so comfortable to lie on. No wonder it's so expensive to stay for one night."

"There is something better than this. When we have money in the future, we will also make such quilts." Zhou Ze said.

"That's a good thing." Lin Baole said.

"Okay, go to sleep early, let's go to Fucheng tomorrow." Zhou Ze said.

"Yeah." Lin Bao came up tired, and quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep. Zhou Ze saw that he was asleep, blew out the candles in the room, and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, the three of them woke up and washed up briefly. The waiter came up with two breakfasts. It turned out that the inn provided breakfast, but it was very simple. Two steamed buns, a bowl of millet porridge and a plate of pickles are one serving. The amount of breakfast is not much.

Zhou Ze and the others booked two rooms, and there were two breakfasts, and asked the waiter to bring breakfast into one room.

After the second brother finished setting the food on the table, Zhou Ze asked Brother Lin Yu to eat first. Zhou Ze stopped the second brother who was going out, gave him ten cents, and asked him where to buy the blood-blood grass. The second elder brother is a native of Fucheng. Although he looks young, he is quite familiar with the situation in Fucheng. He knows everything. He told him everything Zhou Ze wanted to know, and finally said,

"Guest officer, if you can trust me, I'll go to the Baocaotang in the south of the city. Although that one doesn't look as grand as the other medicine halls, the price it offers is definitely the highest, and it's not deceitful."

"Hearing what you said, aren't the prices offered by these medicine halls the same?"

"Guest officer, your question is on point. On the surface, the purchase price of this herb is the same, but I heard that there is a difference in the age of the herb. The higher the age, the higher the price. The cheap ones sell for less, and the age of this herb is generally uncertain, so it depends on whether the medicine hall is honest or not."

"Second brother, seeing how young you are, how do you know so much?"

The second brother scratched his head in embarrassment, "My cousin is an apprentice in Baocaotang, and I also heard from him."

Zhou Ze showed a clear expression, "Oh, I see, you are introducing business to your cousin."

The second brother blushed immediately, "What I said is true. Baocaotang really gave the best price. If you don't believe me, you can ask the price from house to house. In the end, Baocaotang will definitely offer the highest price."

Zhou Ze smiled, "Okay, I believe what you said, the second brother, what is your surname, if you are free later, can you take us to the Baocaotang, this is our first time entering Fucheng, and we are not very familiar with Fucheng, of course I won’t let you run errands in vain, this is twenty Wen, and the younger brother will use it to buy a bowl of tea.”

The second brother cheerfully took the copper plate, "My surname is Yang, and I have a single name, Dong. You can just call me Dongzi. You guys eat first, and after you eat, go to the counter to find me. I still need to talk to the shopkeeper." Say hello before I can take you there."

"Well, then it's settled, we'll look for you later." Zhou Ze said.

Yang Dong responded with a smile, turned around and continued working.

Zhou Ze sent the waiter away and returned to the house. Lin Yu and his brothers had already had breakfast, leaving him with two steamed buns and a plate of side dishes.

After Zhou Ze had breakfast, he took Limonium on his back and took Brother Lin Yu to the counter to find Yang Dong.

Yang Dong was scrubbing and scrubbing at the counter, when he saw Zhou Ze and the others coming, his eyes lit up, he put down his work, and walked over, "I have greeted the shopkeeper, is the guest officer going to Baocaotang now?"

Zhou Ze nodded.

"Well, let's go now." Yang Dong led the way, talking about some things in Fucheng while walking. Zhou Ze would ask someone who was interested, and learned a lot of things along the way. .

After walking for less than half an hour, Yang Dong took them to the door of a medicine hall. The medicine hall had just opened, and there were two workers cleaning outside the door. Yang Dong recognized one of them and ran forward. , shouted "cousin!"

The man looked eighteen or nineteen years old and was sweeping the floor with a broom. Hearing this, he looked up and saw Yang Dong. Wang Cheng's eyes showed joy, "Dongzi, why are you here?"

Yang Dong pulled him, Wang Cheng, and said in a low voice, "I've brought you business," he glanced at Zhou Ze and the others, "These guest officials are here to sell blood-blood grass. Didn't it mean that it's becoming more and more difficult for your pharmacy to collect blood-blood grass, so I brought you people."

After Yang Dong finished talking with Wang Cheng, he dragged him to see Zhou Ze, "He is my cousin, Wang Cheng, who has been an apprentice here for two years."

"You guys came a bit early, the door just opened, and my master hasn't come yet." Wang Chengdao, "But you can sit with me in the medicine hall for a while, my master will be here soon."

Wang Cheng politely greeted Zhou Ze and the others to bring them into the medicine hall, but Yang Dong left the inn because there was still something to do.

This Baohetang may not be very large in Fucheng, but it is much larger than the Xiancaotang in the county. There are seven or eight apprentices who are similar to Wang Cheng busy in the main hall. When they were taken to the side hall, they were poured a bowl of tea for each of them. Not to mention anything else, the attitude of hospitality was much better than that of the fairy grass hall.

Fearing that they would be bored waiting, Wang Cheng didn't do anything else, just chatted with them here.

Zhou Ze chatted with him for a few words, and slowly brought the topic to Limonium Limonium. He asked about the usefulness of Limonium Limonium, "Brother Wang Cheng, people know that Limonium Limonium can replenish blood and heal wounds, but do you know that it can also nourish blood?" Are there any other benefits?"

While speaking, Zhou Ze took out a piece of broken silver from his sleeve and quietly handed it to Wang Cheng.

Wang Cheng took the broken silver, weighed it in his hand, guessed it was more than one or two, he was overjoyed, and said in a low voice, "Why doesn't the guest officer know?" After looking around and no one noticed him, he continued, " This blood-enriching herb nourishes blood and heals wounds, but it has an external effect, and it will be effective if eaten directly, but more importantly, it has an internal effect. It needs to be refined into a elixir with other medicinal materials to exert the best effect. I am also here It took two years as an apprentice to know."

"Then who are these pills sold to? Do you sell them here?" Zhou Ze continued to ask.

"Of course it is sold to those who practice martial arts. I heard from them that people who practice martial arts will be more powerful if they eat something that can increase internal strength. The price is also very expensive...”

This Wang Cheng doesn't know too many things, he only knows a general idea. In fact, all the apprentices in the Baohe Hall know what he knows, and those who practice martial arts also know it. It's not a secret, but these things are just It is spread in a specific circle, and people who have no contact with this circle are generally not too curious about it. After all, not everyone learns martial arts and practice martial arts, and those who know do not deliberately spread it. Over time, ordinary people do not know some things.

After getting some things he wanted to know, Zhou Ze had some confidence in his heart, unpacked the burden, and asked Wang Cheng to help him find out the year when he brought these blood-blood herbs.

Wang Chengxue hasn't been around for a long time, so he can only make a rough estimate, "Your blood herb is not bad, I think it's at least three or five years old, otherwise it won't grow so many leaves, it's just not very well preserved, you see Some of the leaves are wilted, and the blood-blood herb will be effective only when it is fresh, you can’t wrap it with cloth, it’s airtight, and it’s easy to cover it up.”

"Then do you know what to use to preserve it?"

"It's best to store Limonium Limonium in a special jade box. Our Baocaotang uses jade boxes to store it. It will be fine for a month or two. If you want to buy it, you can go to the jade shop on the other side of us. Selling, but the price is a bit expensive, 20 taels of silver for a box."

Wang Cheng and Zhou Ze talked again, and when the second innkeeper of his master Baocaotang came, he took them to the main hall.

"Master, you are here. These guest officials are here to sell Limonium. I have seen more than a dozen of them. They are at least three or five years old. Take a look." Wang Chengdao said attentively.

The second shopkeeper has been worrying for the past few days, because these days, he has received less and less Limonium. His boss has trained him several times for this. Unexpectedly, he was dozing off, and someone brought a pillow. Solved his urgent need.

The second shopkeeper nodded, "Here, let me have a look."

Wang Cheng respectfully took the bundle brought by Zhou Ze to the counter and opened it. Seeing so many Limonium Limonium, the second shopkeeper's eyes lit up. Lian, the others are well preserved. Looking at the age of this Limonium, there are actually two more than ten years old. The second shopkeeper was overjoyed, and couldn't help nodding. What about blood-blood grass, if you send this blood-blood grass up, maybe you can get a reward.

After the inspection, the second shopkeeper said to Zhou Ze with a smile, "I have seen the Limonium that you brought, and I bought two plants that are more than ten years old at a price of 30 taels. The other years are mostly five or six years old." Yes, some leaves are a little wilted, and the price is a compromise. I bought them at a price of 15 taels. You have a total of thirteen limoniums. In total," the second shopkeeper fiddled with the abacus beads, "a total of 220. Five taels."

After the second shopkeeper finished speaking, he shouted to Wang Cheng, "Wang Cheng went to the warehouse to fetch 230 taels of silver."

The second shopkeeper handed a bag of silver to Zhou Ze, and said, "The extra silver is counted as the hard-earned money on the way of the guest officer. I hope that the guest officer will dig up blood-blood grass in the future and come to my medicine hall. Don't worry about the price. I am a boy in the medicine hall." No cheating, I won’t give you less.”

Zhou Ze took the silver with a smile, and after confirming that the amount was not bad at all, he was polite, and then left the Baohe Hall with the two brothers Lin Yu.