Two Hundred And Two Taels

"Why didn't you take care of your third brother?" Lu Jiao said quite politely to Xie Lan.

Later, Xie Xiaojuan came over and comforted Lu Jiao, "Third Aunt, don't pay attention to them. Neither of them is a good thing."

She really didn't like those two women. One pretended to be weak all day long, while the other was stupid and ugly and acted as if she was everyone's princess.

Their actions always left Xie Xiaojuan speechless.

"Hmm, let's ignore them," Lu Jiao said, shaking her head. "Anyway, one can't reason with them."

They walked into town, talking the entire way.

"Third Aunt, can I come to visit and have fun with you in the future?" Xie Xiaojuan asked Lu Jiao.

Xie Xiaojuan was a little apprehensive after asking her question. Although the villagers don't say anything about her on her face, they keep a distance from her when she goes out, which makes her afraid to go out now.

Lu Jiao didn't take it seriously because she didn't believe it.

"Sure."

Xie Xiaojuan's eyes lit up, "Well, later-on when I have nothing to do, I will come over to have fun with the Third Aunt."

After their conversation, the two parted ways.Xie Xiaojuan was going to sell eggs and then buy salt, while Lu Jiao was going to sell Ganoderma lucidum in the Medical Hall, so they said their goodbyes and parted ways.

Lu Jiao strolled around a bit in the market area of Qili Town to take a good look at the place. In fact, the town did not seem to be that big, but it had a sizable population.

Because there were many villages near Qili Town, and the people in the villages were not too rich, there were many small vendors in addition to the shops on both sides of the street.

So if you have something at home, you will take it to the town to sell it, which makes the small town bustle with activity, with almost everything for sale.

After some time, Lu Jiao went straight to the Medical Hall without wasting any more time.

In the Medical Hall, there were not many people. Medicinal materials used to be relatively expensive at this time. Most people will not come to buy medicine if it is not necessary for their health. Even if they buy it, its decoction still poses a problem if they can't find anyone in their neighbourhood who has some medical skills. Some people even prefer to believe in superstitions rather than medicine.

A man greeted Lu Jiao enthusiastically as soon as she entered the store.

"What kind of medicinal herbs do you want to buy?"

Lu Jiao glanced at the man and asked, "Is Dr. Zhou here?"

Doctor Zhou is the doctor who treated Xie Yunjin before.

After listening to Lu Jiao's words, the man said with a smile, "Doctor Zhou is old and has returned to his hometown to retire."

In reality, it was because Doctor Zhou accepted cases privately and was caught by the boss, so he was fired, but of course, the man would not tell Lu Jiao this.

He looked at Lu Jiao and said, with a smile, "Does this lady usually seek medical treatment from Doctor Zhou? In fact, our Medical Hall just invited a powerful doctor from Beijing. If the lady needs to see a doctor, she can go to Doctor Qi."

Lu Jiao was not adamant about seeing Dr. Zhou. She had come here to sell Ganoderma lucidum. As for the medicine, the prescription that Dr. Zhou had given before could be used, so she would just follow it.

"I've come here to sell a medicinal herb. I wonder if your Medical Hall will accept this medicinal herb?"

Lu Jiao tilted her body, revealing the basket behind her back, but the man's expression didn't change just because she didn't want to buy any medicine. He still greeted her with a smile.

"I understand. Could the lady please specify what she is going to sell?"

Lu Jiao glanced at the people in the store, and said softly, in a low voice, "Fifty-year-old Ganoderma lucidum."

The man was surprised for a moment, then quickly looked up at Lu Jiao and said, "Madam, wait a moment. I'll go to the back and ask the Manager to come over and talk to Madam."

Fifty-year-old Ganoderma lucidum is extremely rare. It is a one-of-a-kind item, and its price is very high. He can't be the master in this matter.

Lu Jiao waited there, and took this opportunity to take a good look at the shop. The Medical Hall had a well-known medicinal store, which was rather large and had a wide range of medicinal materials.

Lu Jiao remembered that she had wanted to buy Chinese prickly ash and star anise before. According to ancient records, prickly ash and star anise were all medicinal materials in ancient times. She wondered if any of these were available at this store.

She debated going to the counter and looking for it, but she had no idea what it was or if it contained Chinese prickly ash and star anise because all the characters on the cabinet box were written in Traditional Chinese.

[T/N: Today, there are two different written forms of Chinese: Traditional and Simplified. Traditional Chinese is the conventional or orthodox writing system that has been used by the people of China for thousands of years, and Simplified Chinese is the standardised set of characters introduced by the government in mainland China in 1946.]

Although there were not many people in the Medical Hall store, everyone looked at Lu Jiao secretly, who was waiting there with a basket slung over her back. She was too fat. In this era, most people were poor and skinny.

Lu Jiao had a fat body, which was really eye-catching.

However, Lu Jiao's face was calm, and she didn't show any inferiority complex.

The clerk from the Medical Hall came back quickly, "Madam, the Manager is requesting for you to come to the main hall."

Lu Jiao raised her eyebrows in surprise, but she wasn't afraid of the manager's calculations. She was strong, knew medical skills, and had space to shield her, so she didn't have to worry about people trying to trick her.

The Medical Hall had four shops in its front area and a large backyard. There were many herbs in the yard, and some people were making pills. In the main hall in the centre of the building, three people were sitting in front of a round table, talking.

As soon as Lu Jiao came over, the three of them turned around and looked over.

Sitting on one side was a middle-aged man in a long gray coat who had a kind countenance, and beside him were two young people with good looks, one with gentle eyebrows and a three-point smile on his face, which could make people feel close to him even before he uttered a word.

The other one had handsome facial features, cold eyebrows and eyes, and his gestures exuded a noble demeanour, which made people know that this person was extraordinary at a glance.

Lu Jiao didn't speak, but the cold and noble man in the middle said indifferently, "Is it you who wants to sell the fifty-year-old Ganoderma lucidum?"

Lu Jiao nodded, put down the basket from her back, took out the Ganoderma lucidum from the basket, and placed it on the table.

The gentle-faced young man on the side of the table reached out to take the Ganoderma lucidum, and soon he smiled and said to the man beside him,

"Lingfeng, it is indeed a fifty-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, and that too, a top-grade Ganoderma lucidum. This stuff is really rare."

"How much do you plan to charge for it?" Zhao Lingfeng asked, his eyebrows furrowed, while casting an aloof gaze upon Lu Jiao.

Although Lu Jiao didn't know the price of Ganoderma lucidum in this era, she knew that it was obviously not cheap, so she said, "You see, if the price isn't right, I can take it to the county to sell it."

Zhao Lingfeng's eyes darkened. He hadn't expected this country woman to have some scheming, but he didn't mean to cheat her either. Even though good quality fifty-year-old Ganoderma lucidum was rare, he didn't need to cheat her.

"Two hundred taels, that's the most you can get in the county. Of course, if you take it to the prefecture or the capital, it's obviously more."

Lu Jiao considered it and decided that this amount was not bad since she didn't have the time to go to the prefecture or the capital.

"Okay, I'll charge it at two hundred and two taels. I still need to buy some medicinal materials, so let's settle the account after I buy them."

"Manager Li, go entertain," Zhao Lingfeng said, nodding to the middle-aged man on the side.

"Yes, Young Master."

Manager Li got up and followed Lu Jiao out the door. Lu Jiao could hear excited voices coming from behind her as she walked out of the door.

"This Ganoderma lucidum looks really good, and its medicinal effect must be better than usual."

The corners of Lu Jiao's lips curled up. This Ganoderma lucidum was produced by her space. How could it possibly be bad? It has a lot of spiritual energy. She was initially reluctant to sell it, but she didn't need it, and fortunately the price was fair.