CHAPTER 621: CHAPTER 621: REQUESTING MEDICINE

Carrying a knife?

As soon as this was mentioned, the onlookers on the outer layer quickly stepped back, fearing that they would be mistakenly chopped.

Xiao Ji was very responsible and shielded Gu Jinli from the crowd, then helped her make her way through: "Young Master, come quickly!"

It was as if he was cordially inviting her to enjoy the scene.

Gu Jinli walked over and observed the group of men. They were indeed tall and burly, with knives on their waist, but they didn’t look like bad guys.

The lead man said: "Brother, my surname is Mao. I’m not here to cause trouble but to ask for medicine. It’s odd, this pharmacy, they refuse to sell to us no matter what. They also say that the current pills are not for sale and are meant for a free trial. Only those who are ill can get the medicine, healthy folks cannot, and there’s a limit to how many you can have - no more than two bottles at a time."

Mu Tong asked: "Are you here to buy Wind Cold Relief Pills and Wind Cold Cough Relief Pills? Have you taken them before?"

"Exactly," Uncle Mao said. "We have tried them, and the effect is very good, they are convenient to take, suitable for us bodyguards."

Gu Jinli’s eyes lit up as she heard this: "You are Escort Masters?"

Uncle Mao nodded: "Indeed, and you are?"

"The one who can provide you with the pills," Gu Jinli said. "Uncles, please come inside and let’s talk. Standing at the entrance gives others the impression that you’re here to fight, they can’t wait to see the excitement."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Mao looked around at the nearby people and realized why they were misunderstood. He quickly gave Mu Tong a cupped-hand salute: "Brother, no offense taken, we were just too anxious."

With that, he led the remaining five brothers into Xuanhu Fang.

Doctor Du and the two doctors from Xuanhu Fang heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing this. It was good news that no fight broke out.

Yanzi took Mu Tong and the others to the backyard of Xuanhu Fang, and after sitting down, Yanzi explained the situation to them.

Mu Tong looked at Uncle Mao and asked: "Yanzi has already explained the situation very clearly to you, why do you still insist on forcibly buying the medicine?"

Uncle Mao replied: "We are Escort Masters, and our escort agency is in the county town. Tomorrow before dawn, we need to set off on an escort trip to Central State. The journey is long and the weather is cold; several of our brothers have caught a chill. As bodyguards, we’re used to roughing it outdoors, and even if we carry medicinal herbs, it’s not easy to decoct them on the road. Having found your pills to be effective, we wished to procure them, only to discover you were not selling."

It was unheard of to not be able to buy something with money.

Mu Tong said: "This is our new Convenient Medicine, but it has only been out for less than two months. We are currently in a trial period, which is why we’re limiting sales to allow more people access to the medicine."

He added: "It’s also because we’re worried about potential issues with the new pills, so we dare not sell too many."

Uncle Mao, a rough man, said bluntly after listening: "There’s no problem, we’ve all tried them and they can cure illnesses. Brother, please sell the pills to us. We are bodyguards, and if we don’t have medicine to take on the road, people could die."

You can chew dry food, but how can you chew on raw medicinal herbs?

Gu Jinli said: "Since Uncle Mao is willing, then we will sell the pills to you."

Escort Masters will become the biggest customers of Convenient Medicine, and their travels far and wide can spread the fame of the medicine even further.

Seeing Gu Jinli agreeing, and considering that there hadn’t been any problem throughout the trial period, Mu Tong did not stop her.

Gu Jinli asked: "How many bottles do you want to buy? Let’s make it clear, this medicine is more expensive than decocted soups."

Convenient Medicine includes labor costs, so naturally, it won’t come cheap.

Uncle Mao and the others clearly didn’t mind this; what they wanted was precisely this kind of medicine which did not require decoction and could be taken at any moment: "We’re not afraid of the high price, as long as it saves lives. We would like one hundred bottles."

One hundred bottles, that’s not a small number, yet Gu Jinli still went ahead and sold it.

"One case just happens to hold a hundred bottles, take them," Gu Jinli said. "You can keep the wax seals on the bottles. Later on, you can bring them to the pharmacy to exchange for cash or Convenient Medicine."

Wax can be reused, so it’s best to recycle it if possible, which is also how Yuanzi Pharmacy operates.

Uncle Mao and the others were very happy after listening, and upon seeing the pills, a man who had just started to run a fever took one immediately. After sitting for half an hour in Xuanhu Fang and sweating, his fever went down, and he laughed, "The medicine is good; the heat is gone."

Uncle Mao was also very pleased: "Success, the money was well spent. Gu Family’s daughter, thank you."

Uncle Mao and the others were eager to get going and didn’t stay long, they paid for the pills after seeing the effects and left.

After delivering the goods to Xuanhu Fang, Gu Jinli took Xiao Ji to Yanfu Building. By noon, Gu Dashan and Mrs. Cui arrived.

Mrs. Cui’s face was still rosy; it seemed they had made a good appointment.

"Dad, Mom, come and eat. After we eat, let’s go home."

Mrs. Cui, thinking of Gu Jinxiu and the others, saw all the delicious food and proposed, "Why don’t we take it back to eat? That way, your sister and Third Aunt can enjoy it too."

Gu Jinli, who had already started eating, replied, "No need, we’ll just bring a tableful back home later."

Mrs. Cui shook her head: "Although we have some silver nowadays, we should not be extravagant with money. We have to save some, otherwise, when the time comes that we need it, there will be tears."

Gu Jinli nodded: "Mother is right, I’m saving the silver."

Not just saving, but also buying manors in various places across Great Chu, stashing away some silver, in case they needed to escape on the way when Great Chu falls.

After dining, Gu Jinli and his company picked up the items and rode the mule cart home.

Brother Cheng’s birthday falls on the ninth day of the twelfth month.

In the morning, Brother Cheng put on new clothes made by Gu Jinxiu and enjoyed red eggs, longevity noodles, two kinds of crystal cakes, fried meatballs, and other favorites, which delighted him immensely.

However, Brother Cheng’s birthday was not celebrated in a grand manner, only his family and Elder Qin had a meal together; it’s not good for a child’s birthday to be too extravagant.

Unexpectedly, Lady Xia herself came to give Brother Cheng a birthday gift. Master Xia didn’t come, probably afraid of upsetting Gu Jinli.

Lady Xia showed a lot of respect for Mrs. Cui, and when she saw Mrs. Cui, she performed a courtesy, which startled Mrs. Cui, who hastily said, "Madam, please don’t do this, I’m just a peasant woman, I cannot accept such a gesture."

As she tried to reciprocate the gesture, Lady Xia supported her: "The mother of Brother Cheng, please do not behave like this."

The one who could not afford to accept such a gesture was her.

Lady Xia did not dare to stay with Mrs. Cui for too long. After putting down Brother Cheng’s birthday gift, she went to see Gu Jinxiu.

The moment she saw Gu Jinxiu, she was shocked... The resemblance was striking, even more than Gu Jinli, no wonder Master Hu was so certain.

"Lady Xia, greetings," Gu Jinxiu saluted Lady Xia who, upon recovering from her surprise, swiftly dodged the gesture and came forward to hold her hand, exclaiming, "So you are Sister Xiu, truly gentle and elegant, you have the demeanor of a noble lady."

Even though she was raised in a farm household, she naturally possessed a gentle and noble aura, befitting a descendant of the Country Pillar Minister, with Fengyi.

She then turned to the embroidery frame beside her and praised, "Is this stitchwork yours? It’s really beautiful, I heard it was sold to Huaiyu Embroidery Shop?"

Gu Jinxiu, warned by Gu Jinli not to get too close to Lady Xia, remembered and replied with a slight smile, "It was just sold to an ordinary embroidery shop, to earn some silver."

She did not elaborate on her dealings with Huaiyu Embroidery Shop.

Lady Xia found many topics to discuss with Gu Jinxiu, but noticed the girl was very reserved, not showing much familiarity with her, which saddened her.

She sighed, thinking about the purpose of her visit, and stood up, saying, "I will go check on Xiao Yu at the pharmaceutical workshop and come back later."

"Sure, take your time," Gu Jinxiu said to Zhu Chahua, "Cha Hua, show Lady Xia to the pharmaceutical workshop to find Xiao Yu."

"Okay," Zhu Chahua complied and led Lady Xia and her servant away to the pharmaceutical workshop.

Gu Jinli saw redness in Lady Xia’s eyes when he met her, indicating she must have cried.