“Housemaster Zhao, I was just about to express my interest to purchase when you interjected. I never expressed that I wasn’t interested either! I don’t think it was right for you to barge in.” Bai Ji wasn’t going to back off either. Jimin Hall and Baicao Hall, one was a up and coming in the herbal field and the one has been around for over 100 years; naturally, their competitions could be observed all over. This could make the difference between the life and death of Jimin Hall, he couldn’t give up!
Just when the conflict between the two was escalating and things were looking like they were about to get ugly, a weak voice sounded, “Um… there’s no need to fight. We haven’t even discussed the prices yet. What is the point of fighting now?”
“You name the price. I am taking this basket!” The old and young men said simultaneously again.
“Ugh… actually, I still have two more baskets at the inn. Their qualities were about the same as these. I will sell them to the both of you, so let’s settle this amicably and no more flighting, okay?” Gu Ye hadn’t expected anyone to recognize her master’s work at this little herbal market, and more than one of them no less.
She wiped away the proverbial sweat and secretly glad that she didn’t showcase the basket made by her master; otherwise, the two just might get into a fist fight over it! Oh boy, the reputation of the sage apothecary was no joke!
As soon as they’ve heard that she has two more baskets of the same quality, the escalating conflict between the two dissipated immediately and they started chitchatting about random topics, as though the two person who were just staring each other down like cocks in a fighting ring were someone else. Gu Ye couldn’t help but be amazed by how quickly the two could change their tones.
Three baskets of herbs were split evenly between Housemaster Zhao and Bai Ji after some discussion between the two of them. Then came time to discuss the pricing. Gu Ye cleared her throat and said to her two big customers, “Truth be told, I don’t know the processed herb market very well. Why don’t… why don’t you quote me a price? I trust that with Jimin Hall and Baicao Hall’s reputation, you wouldn’t try to take advantage of a little girl like me.”
Gu Xiao, who had been standing behind Gu Ye and watching everything going on this entire time, lowered his head and took a look at his granddaughter; somehow, he felt that she was grinning from ear to ear like a little fox. Hasn’t she already figured out the going prices of process herbs as she walked down the street?
If this little girl truly has anything to do with the sage apothecary, then they’d need to play to her good side. Housemaster Zhao was the first to speak, “The quality of these medicinal herbs is quite good. What say I pay you the same price as high-quality processed herb. What do you think?”
Gu Ye turned and look at the little handsome boy in azure. Her guts told her that he wouldn’t try to take advantage of her.
Bai Ji nodded and said, “Your technique has reached the level of an apothecary, but not yet to that of a master apothecary. Housemaster Zhao’s assessment is fair.”
Housemaster Zhao continued to butter her up, “Young Miss, don’t worry! Baicao Hall is known for being fair to everyone. We will have a lot of opportunities to work together in the future. I would not do anything that could harm our reputation.”
Finally, the three baskets of herbs old for 56 taels, which well exceeded Gu Ye’s expectation. Most of the herbs that she had processed were very common-seen ones, even haung jing, the most expensive in the bunch, only fetched 80 wen / jin. The high price that her herbs fetched attributed only partly to the quality of her work, but also partly because of her master.
When Housemaster Zhao asked about her whereabouts, she chose not to disclose it. She didn’t want her family to be visited by strangers all the time, and she trusted that her master shared the same point of view as her.
Bai Ji switched to a different approach. Pointing at the middle-age shopkeeper, he said to Gu Ye, “Young Miss, if you have herbs for sale in the future, just visit Shopkeeper Fang at Jimin Hall. He will offer you a fair price for them.”