Chapter 11 Selling Drugs

"Umm, yes." Gu Shiba Niang paused and tidied up her hair that was hanging down.

"Crush it before selling it?" Cao Shi couldn't understand it.

Gu Shiba Niang felt a little embarrassed. She looked at the already fluffy Yuanzhi roots in front of her. It was not exactly that, but she had seen the masters in the pharmacy doing it this way in her previous life, so she just did it on a whim...

"Yes, it sells better this way..." she could only answer this way, feeling uneasy in her heart. Hopefully, it would sell better. With that, she picked up the Yuanzhi roots and slowly extracted the wooden core.

The night was getting thicker, and Cao Shi gradually couldn't see her movements clearly, only hearing the rhythmic sound of the wooden core being thrown onto the ground.

"This is called Yuanzhi tube..." Gu Shiba Niang piled up the extracted wooden cores to one side. "These can be used to make Yuanzhi meat..." Then she started to crush the fine Yuanzhi roots. The more she did, the more skilled she became, and after half a day, she didn't feel tired at all.

"Let me do it, your hands must be sore." Cao Shi put down her needle and thread, took Gu Shiba Niang's pestle, and imitated her, "Like this, right?"

Three days later, Gu Shiba Niang had collected over five pounds of Yuanzhi. More accurately, she had processed over five pounds of Yuanzhi tube, as well as three pounds of lower-quality Yuanzhi meat and two pounds of Yuanzhi sticks.

"Shiba Niang, can you carry this? I'll carry it for you..." Cao Shi held some firewood and looked worriedly at Gu Shiba Niang carrying a wooden basket.

Her small and frail shoulders were a bit wobbly under the weight.

"I can carry it." Gu Shiba Niang bit her lip, steadied herself, and swayed out of the door, "Mother, let's go quickly. Let's find a good spot at the Wa Market station..."

In early summer, the day broke early, and by the time the mother and daughter arrived at the Wa Market, there were already quite a few people, and the cries of vendors were becoming more and more frequent.

This small county's market was small and chaotic, with dirt and grime all over the ground. Gu Shiba Niang had never been to such a place before, but she didn't hesitate at all and stepped into a good spot even through the muddy water.

"Mother, over here." She put down the basket and shook her sore arms before taking the firewood from Cao Shi.

Before the mother and daughter could settle in, a large foot kicked over, and the wooden basket overturned, scattering the bundles of Yuanzhi.

"What are you doing?" Gu Shiba Niang was shocked and angry and couldn't help but shout.

"Get lost! Who let you occupy my spot!" A short, strong man brandished a butcher's knife and shouted.

"We were here first..." Gu Shiba Niang wanted to argue, but was pulled down by Cao Shi.

"Sorry, we'll leave right away..." Cao Shi said, bowing her head and picking up the scattered Yuanzhi.

"Phew." After seeing her submission, the short and sturdy man didn't say anything more and set up his stall.

The mother and daughter left there and only stopped when they reached the innermost part. Gu Shiba Niang looked at the good spots with a bitter smile. No wonder her mother's firewood never sold.

"Shiba Niang, are you tired? Sit on the firewood and rest a bit..." Cao Shi stroked her daughter's shoulder.

Gu Shiba Niang shook her head, and instead, she pushed Cao Shi onto the firewood pile, "Mother, you sit."

The mother and daughter continued like this until noon, but they still hadn't sold any firewood. There were people who came to inquire, but Cao Shi shook her head and refused when they mentioned the price.

"Mother?" Gu Shiba Niang was a bit puzzled. In her opinion, this firewood could be sold for a few coins, and they needed the money.

Cao Shi smiled wryly and quietly pointed to several other firewood sellers, "The price of this firewood has been fixed. If we sell it for less..."

If they sold it for less, it would disrupt the entire market price of firewood, and they would definitely be in trouble with the other firewood sellers. This rule wasn't unfamiliar to Gu Shiba Niang, but she hadn't expected that even a small bundle of firewood had a fixed price.

She also smiled wryly.

"Young lady, what's this in your basket?" Someone pointed to the medicinal herbs in her basket.

Seeing a customer coming, Gu Shiba Niang was very happy and quickly replied, "Yuanzhi."

After all, it was her first time, and she felt a bit nervous. She stammered as she continued, "Customer, this... this Yuanzhi... yellow in color, thick stems, and thick inner part..."

"Yuanzhi? Medicinal herb, huh." The person made an understanding sound and walked away with a knowing smile.

It turned out that they were just curious. Gu Shiba Niang sighed. That day passed, and still, none of the firewood or medicinal herbs were sold.

"Shiba Niang, don't worry, take it slow." Cao Shi looked at her somewhat dejected daughter and smiled, trying to comfort her, but she also sighed inwardly.

Gu Shiba Niang smiled at her, nodded, and walked to the mouth of the alley. There, a girl selling tofu was cracking melon seeds. She quickly greeted her when she saw her.

"Shiba Niang, wait a moment," she greeted her and then remembered something, ran into the store, and quickly came out with two eggs, handing them to Gu Shiba Niang, "Here, take these."

"Your sister-in-law gave birth?" Gu Shiba Niang immediately understood, and asked with a smile.

Tofu Flower giggled, "Yes, just yesterday. It's a boy!" Then, with a secretive tone, she added, "My mother is treating my sister-in-law like a treasure now..." She finished speaking and covered her mouth, laughing.

"Congratulations, congratulations," Cao Shi also joined in with her congratulations after hearing that.

Tofu Flower thanked them with a smile and pulled Gu Shiba Niang over, asking curiously, "Hey, how did you know that Auntie Zhou wasn't at home yesterday? Luckily, I remembered your words and went to invite Auntie Wang, otherwise..." She patted her chest with a frightened look on her face.

Last time, Tofu Flower's sister-in-law almost lost her life because the midwife was delayed, and her mother scolded half of the street, which left a deep impression on Gu Shiba Niang.

When she heard Tofu Flower's question, she couldn't help but smile, but didn't say anything. She couldn't say that she heard it from your mother, could she?

"The learned know a lot, but does everyone who reads also know how to calculate fortunes?" Douhua chuckled and asked, glancing at the wooden basket at her feet. "What's this?"

"Herbs, Yuanzhi," Gu Shiba Niang replied somewhat dejectedly.

"You went to sell herbs?" Douhua asked.

Gu Shiba Niang nodded, then sighed, "No one bought them."

Douhua chuckled and pointed across the street, "Did you go to the market to sell them? Who would go to the market to buy herbs when they're sick? You should go to the pharmacy and ask."

Following her gesture, Gu Shiba Niang looked across the street to see a storefront with a sign for a pharmacy. Even though it was dark, there were still people coming in and out.

The pharmacy...

Gu Shiba Niang bit her lip, feeling hesitant. Normally, pharmacies dealt with medicine shops, and medicine shops dealt with herb retailers. As someone who only sold loose herbs, she should probably be dealing with herb retailers at most. She feared that the pharmacy might not want her herbs directly.

"Go and give it a try, what's there to be afraid of?" Douhua noticed her hesitation and smiled, showing a hint of pity in her eyes. This was originally a daughter of a high-ranking official, but now she had to resort to selling herbs to make a living. It was normal for her to feel embarrassed.

"Come on, I'll go with you." Thinking this, Douhua put down the melon seeds in her hand and called out to the man inside the shop, "Second Brother, I'm going out for a bit."

"It's already dark, where are you running off to?" a male voice responded from inside, and a young man in his twenties came out, greeting Gu Shiba Niang and Cao Shi with a smile.

"Go on, go on," Douhua said, helping her to carry the wooden basket.

"Mother, I'll go and ask," Gu Shiba Niang said to Cao Shi.

Cao Shi nodded, smiled, and reassured her, "It's okay, no rush." Then she went back inside the house.

"Douhua, let me carry it," Gu Shiba Niang caught up with Douhua, who had already walked out, and said.

"I'll do it, I'll do it. Your body is too delicate, unlike me who's used to doing rough work..." Douhua laughed and pushed away her hand, already approaching the pharmacy as she spoke.

Gu Shiba Niang looked up and saw the three characters "Qianjin Tang" on the signboard. She rarely went out at that time, and had been living on this street for so long that the only person she was familiar with was Douhua. She vaguely remembered a nearby pharmacy where she and her father often bought medicine, but she had never been there herself.

"They're all neighbors, don't be afraid," Douhua reassured her with a smile as she led the way into the pharmacy.