Chapter 56

Ryeon shook her head when she realized that the inspiration the old man was talking about, who died half a year ago, was Yaqing's grandfather.

The old man looked even more puzzled as he gazed at Ryeon and Dan Muxianwu, then turned to look at the old, shabby house and said,

"This house's herbs are all dug up by that young one just now, but is it really true...?"

Just then, the girl who had finished packaging the bellflower roots came running out. Despite the mess, Yaqing, who was holding the thickly wrapped bellflower roots, looked at them with shining eyes.

"Here they are!"

"Indeed..."

The old man let out a hollow laugh and clicked his tongue, then pulled the girl over and pressed down on the top of her head.

"You're still very young and run around like a monkey, but even though you mess things up... when it comes to digging up herbs, I'm proud to say that you're the best in Zhejiang Province, as the lady said."

The girl's movements, which had been wriggling while holding the bellflower roots, gradually slowed down.

Ryeon, who had been concentrating on the story with her lips pursed, nodded heartily.

"I'll supply them exclusively to the Danmu family. The herbs that Yaqing... no, Miss Yao digs. The price will be 80% of the retail price."

"R-really?"

"Only if you maintain the quality."

"Really the ones I dig?"

The girl swallowed hard, pointed at herself, and asked Ryeon.

The herbs she had been trading since a year before her grandfather's death were all dug by her, but after he passed away, the herb shops that had been trading with them stopped as if nothing had happened.

They said they couldn't buy the herbs she dug as a child at that price. They couldn't trust a child.

Only the Qingyun Herb Shop, which had a close relationship with them, bought her herbs at a low price.

They said the quality wasn't good because a child dug them, but they bought them out of consideration for their past relationship and her difficult circumstances.

Yaqing was proud of the herbs she dug, but she had no choice. If she didn't get those few coins, she couldn't support her old and sick grandmother and herself.

During this time, the belief in herself, which she thought would never waver, had rotted away like the wooden pillars of the dilapidated house. She was so surprised when someone appeared to buy them that she even asked in return.

Ryeon nodded matter-of-factly.

"Ah, can you also dig and supply any herbs I request separately?"

Yaqing, still not believing, looked back and forth between her grandmother and Ryeon with trembling eyes.

"Um, how can you trust me?"

"You said you dug the bellflower yourself, right? And those too."

She pointed to the herbs that were being dried. It was a strange situation where the buyer was willing to trust and buy, but the seller suddenly asked.

"Even though I really dug them?"

"Hmm."

Ryeon fell silent for a moment, then approached the girl and whispered in her ear.

"Your grandmother didn't dig them, did she...?"

Instantly, Yaqing's face turned bright red as she tried to suppress her laughter. After barely containing her laughter, Yaqing quickly bowed before Ryeon.

"I, I am Yaqing! I will never disappoint you, Miss!"

* * *

Ryeon asked Yaqing to gather a few herbs and concluded their meeting.

Thinking that one young herb gatherer would have limits in supplying high-quality bellflower roots, she considered that the pharmacy needed to do other business to make money.

"Is it because you feel sorry for her?"

When Dan Muxianwu asked stealthily, Ryeon was surprised and lifted her head.

"Huh? No, it's really because the herbs she digs are the best."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I see... Should I have just brought that herb gatherer to the family estate?"

Since Ryeon made the Qinglian Pill, Dan Muxianwu no longer doubted or felt anxious about anything related to the pharmacy.

When he stroked his chin and muttered, Danmu Cheng flinched and straightened up.

"We're still poor, right? What if we just bring anyone in?"

"No, no. We're not that poor anymore..."

Dan Muxianwu, who could speak firmly to his sister but not to his nephew, trailed off.

Ryeon, seeing through Danmu Cheng's eyes, almost burst out laughing but quickly approached her and changed the subject. She could talk about the family's situation later.

"Cheng, look at this. I'm going to make medicine with what I bought today and give it to Aunt. Do you want to help me make it?"

"What...? Me too?"

"Yes. Don't you want to?"

"...I don't mind, but Mother said martial artists don't enter the kitchen."

Danmu Cheng said in a stiff voice. Ryeon laughed without caring.

"Oh, what's the big deal? And we're making it in the pharmacy, not the kitchen."

"Still, I should be practicing at that time..."

Danmu Cheng said, then glanced at Ryeon and sighed. It was as if she was saying she would watch over her.

"Can't help it. I'll help you make it. You might get into trouble if you do it alone."

"Thank you!"

As Ryeon was chatting with Danmu Cheng, she suddenly felt a gaze from behind.

At that moment, Dan Muxianwu had already swallowed a Bingtanghao and thrown away the stick, pulling his nephews over.

"Ah, Hangzhou is so wide, yet so narrow. Here we meet again."

Dan Muxianwu muttered. A boy in a luxurious silk robe with golden embroidery was approaching them with a very awkward expression.

Danmu Cheng, who had a quick eye, immediately recognized who the person was and stared at him.

Jin Zongha, who couldn't hide his awkward expression but approached anyway, cleared his throat a few times and then strode over, clasping his hands in a bow.

"Greetings, Master of the Danmu Family Pharmacy!"

"Hmm."

Dan Muxianwu nodded slightly after confirming the obvious confusion on the faces of the servants and bodyguards who came with Jin Zongha.

"What brings you here, Master Jin?"

"I was passing by and came to greet an old friend."

"Friend?"

"Friend?"

Ryeon and Dan Muxianwu spoke simultaneously. Jin Zongha seemed to take it as a response to his greeting.

Jin Zongha, despite being nervous, approached Ryeon.

"Miss Ryeon! O... It's been a while."

Ryeon thought for a moment if the duel they had a few weeks ago, where he was thoroughly defeated, was just a dream.

"Friend...?"

"Y-Yes! I trained hard after reading what you wrote and gained enlightenment. Since we've learned from each other, aren't we... friends now?"

"Usually, that's when both sides exchange knowledge..."

Ryeon's words made Jin Zongha's expression immediately cloud over, and his shoulders drooped as if he had lost all energy.

He was clearly thinking about the second duel they had in secret.

"Okay, if that's the case, we're friends, friends."

When Ryeon finally agreed, Jin Zongha quickly straightened his shoulders and laughed, trying to look mature.

"If we duel again, it won't be as easy as before!"

"Y-Young Master..."

Ryeon looked at the attendant who came with Jin Zongha with a sympathetic expression.

Because of that duel, there was a big fuss between the two families. How must the attendants feel seeing their family heir acting like this? Their blood must be boiling.

"My father also became much stronger after reading what you wrote!"

"Y-Young Master!"

The servant standing behind Jin Zongha was almost in tears.

The strength of the family head, who leads a family, is a crucial asset for the family. To be talking about it on the street...

Ryeon shook her head.

"Don't say such things in front of others."

"Eh? ...Why?"

Jin Zongha immediately lowered his voice and asked.

It wasn't a shameful thing to talk about his father's achievements; it was something to be proud of. Why should he hide it?

But after being thoroughly defeated once, Jin Zongha didn't have the confidence to do what Ryeon told him not to. Ryeon gave up on explaining.

"No, well... my grandfather also became stronger. He gained enlightenment while having breakfast a few days ago."

The fact that Dan Tianji had gained a great enlightenment was already widely known in Hangzhou, but Ryeon still deliberately mentioned it again.

At least this way, if anything happened in the future, no one would call her cowardly or anything.

"Yes, I've heard that... Please convey my congratulations."

Jin Zongha, who didn't throw a tantrum after losing and didn't cry with swollen eyes after being beaten up by Ryeon, had a surprisingly mature side.

Thinking that Ryeon was looking at him differently, Jin Zongha straightened his back.

"Still, if we fight, my father will be the best in Zhejiang Province!"

Ryeon almost said that the need for such a premise itself was proof that he wasn't the strongest, but she held back.

She didn't want to mock a child for being proud of their parents.

However, the incident happened elsewhere.