CHAPTER 340: CHAPTER 73: PLUM RICE BALL – SISTERLY BOND

Just past midnight, "Plum Rice Ball" herbal wholesale shop had already closed its doors, with a faint light seeping out from under the door, indicating that there were still people inside.

The medicinal herbs in the store were illuminated by bright incandescent lights, emitting a natural herbal fragrance that dispelled any remaining drowsiness in those who smelled it. At this time, the two people standing in the medicine shop were also very serious, with their attention completely focused on a fake ginseng plant.

"Pharmacist, you really have given me two big surprises this time," Mei Nian was still dressed as she was during the day’s classes, holding the so-called Five hundred-year-old mountain ginseng in her hand.

"It’s really embarrassing for the proprietress. I’ve gotten old and failed to see through such a clumsy trick, almost causing a significant loss to the shop," just by appearance, Huang Yaoshi was old enough to be Mei Nian’s grandfather, yet he was bowing his head in her presence, standing respectfully with his arms close to his body, eyes fixed on the ground, not daring to be the least bit offensive.

"You’re mistaken, I’m not scolding you; I’m sincerely commending you," Mei Nian said as she deftly turned and sat on the counter of the drugstore.

The Mei sisters from the Mei Family, Mei Xiang was cool on the outside but warm on the inside, while Mei Nian was just the opposite, having a hot exterior but cold interior; always polite to others, yet what she truly thought inside and what her next steps would be, were unknown.

"What does the proprietress mean?" Huang Yaoshi was well-informed about the affairs of the Mei Family. From his grandfather’s generation, he had been a loyal servant of the Mei Family. Although China had long liberated and the concept of family servants had ceased to exist, Huang Yaoshi still adhered to the customs of his grandfather’s generation, remaining utterly loyal to the Mei Family.

"Let’s talk about this ginseng first. It’s not wrong to say it’s counterfeit; however, the forger really put in great effort. I believe the person who came ’to sell ginseng’ that day was no ordinary individual, actually able to fabricate a ginseng that even you could be deceived by. Pharmacist, do you know? Ever since Mei Xiang left, it has been a long time since anyone has come looking for trouble with the Mei Family," Mei Nian said, and as she spoke, she broke the ginseng in half, exposing its ugly dry root.

After Huang Yaoshi was deceived, within a few days, several other medicine stores also reported incidents of being duped by counterfeit ginseng. Piecing together various bits of information, the person using the ginseng to swindle was not the same individual – sometimes a man, sometimes a woman, according to descriptions it seemed to be different people each time.

In the entire incident, the losses suffered by the various medicine shops varied greatly, with the most severe loss being one of the old-brand medicine stores in the city.

"Plum Rice Ball" was lucky, just having a scare and not actually suffering real losses. Because of this, Huang Yaoshi’s reputation in the industry subtly rose a notch.

Huang Yaoshi fell silent, bowing his head and giving another glance at the ginseng root.

The proprietress was angry. Ever since the elder sister left the Mei Family for her husband’s family, every time the elder sister was brought up, the proprietress would get angry. Huang Yaoshi was younger than the two young ladies of the Mei Family; what he knew about the elder sister and the proprietress, he heard from his grandfather.

The sisters who fed on the same nutrients through their umbilical cords in the womb had a good relationship before adulthood. It was so close that wherever Mei Xiang went, Mei Nian would surely appear by her side.

If Mei Xiang loved to eat sesame candies, then Mei Nian would love to eat sesame candies, if Mei Xiang cut her hair short, then Mei Nian would change her hairstyle in a moment.

The well-established "Plum Rice Ball" herbal wholesale shop was also founded on a whim of Miss Mei Xiang. The sign hanging on the shop’s door also drew many customers’ laughter.

The story behind it is mostly unknown now, as most of those who knew have passed away. Plum Rice Ball was the signature dish of the earlier generation’s matriarch of the Mei Family, that is, the mother of the two sisters.

Over a hundred years ago, when the Mei sisters were not yet skilled in their cultivation, they carried their mother’s rice balls with them during their adventures. Although the Mei Family was a Cultivation Family, after so many years in the world, they couldn’t avoid taking on some of the secular feudal thinking, favoring males over females, and they were not particularly concerned for the Mei sisters; there were never any elders accompanying them on their adventures.

During one cultivation journey, the Mei sisters got lost in the wilderness and were trapped in an old forest. For five days and nights, they survived solely on one remaining Plum Rice Ball.

When the Mei Family elders found them, Mei Nian still had a mouthful of the rice ball she hadn’t swallowed, while in Mei Xiang’s mouth was only a plum pit that had long been stripped of its flesh.