Zhang Wenyuan left the school gate and hurriedly took a taxi to the medicinal herb shop. He had not done his official business yet.
The most famous place to purchase medicinal herbs in Xi'an was the Xi'an Wanshou Road Chinese Medicinal Herbs Market. It was one of the 17 important professional markets for the circulation of medicinal herbs in the country officially approved by the state. There are more than 1500 fixed and temporary stalls, more than 1600 varieties of market business, and a daily turnover of more than 1.5 million yuan. The price and reputation were guaranteed.
This was the northernmost part of the city, and it was at least an hour's drive away from Wanshou Road. This was under the condition that there was no traffic jam. Therefore, it was good to be there before midnight. If things went wrong, they might not be able to finish today's matters. Therefore, Zhang Wenyuan was a little anxious.
Fortunately, the journey was quite smooth. They did not encounter a situation where they were stuck in a traffic jam for a few hours. They arrived at the north gate of the medicinal herb market at a little past eleven o'clock.
It was the market. It was not as crowded and bustling as other markets. Instead, it was a little deserted. There were only a few shops, and some of them were empty. Only the boss was reading the newspaper or drinking tea. These bosses didn't seem to be in a hurry. They were still in a limited state, as if this was a normal situation.
Zhang Wenyuan chose a shop that looked ordinary on the outside but had a different world inside.
The boss was a middle-aged man in his thirties. When he saw Zhang Wenyuan walk in, he went forward to greet him.
"May I know what kind of medicinal herbs do you want? Not only does our store have a complete range of herbs, but the prices are also absolutely fair. Of course, if there are herbs that we don't have, we will also contact you to find those that have them.”
"Can I take a look first?"
"Teacher smiled. How can you not let others see it? Please take a look."
Zhang Wenyuan stood in front of the medicine rack and browsed through the prices of various medicines. There were only a few samples in each place, and there was a plastic sign in front of it with the price clearly marked on it.
Every time Zhang Wenyuan's gaze lingered on that medicinal herb for a little longer, the boss would explain in detail how to promote this medicinal herb.
After going around, there were actually two prices for the crocus. One was artificially planted and only cost twelve yuan per gram; The other type was wild and cost 28 yuan per gram. The price of wild ones was more than twice that of man-made ones.
"I'm not here to buy medicine. I'm here to sell medicine.”After stopping, Zhang Wenyuan said.
"Oh, selling medicine? What kind of medicine does Sir want to sell? If the quality is good, our shop will give you a satisfactory price.”
"Saffron, and it's wild.”
If he looked at it alone, Zhang Wenyuan would not be able to tell whether it was artificially planted or wild. However, through the comparison between the two, he could confirm that the crocus here was definitely wild, and the quality was much better than the ones displayed in this shop. It was the best among the wild.
"Can I take it out and take a look first?"
Zhang Wenyuan handed the box containing the crocus to the boss.
The pharmacy owner opened it and his eyes lit up. However, he did not have any reaction after that. There was no expression on his face. If Zhang Wenyuan had not been observing his expression, he would have thought that he did not have any reaction.
"It does look like a wild red flower, but can I identify it again?" the owner said after closing the box.”
"Go ahead."
"Hehe, I'm sorry to make a fool of myself in front of you. Business is not good these days.”
"Understandable."
There were too many counterfeit products these days. Some people used shredded radish to dye red and pretended to be crocus, while others used red words to replace it. It wasn't like there weren't old seniors who were beaten in the eye because of their confidence.
The pharmacy owner shook the box first. After looking at it, he picked up a little and sniffed it. He nodded and put it back into the box. The authentic crocus had a very strong floral fragrance, while the fake or adulterated ones had a very faint or even imperceptible smell.
Then he called out to the back room,"Son, bring a cup of hot water over."”
A moment later, a 13 or 14-year-old boy came out with a cup of hot water.
The pharmacy owner took the hot water and looked at Zhang Taiping. He seemed to have reacted and patted his head.
"Look at my memory. Go make a cup of tea for this gentleman.”
The owner of the pharmacy picked up some crocus and put it into a hot water cup, then waited to observe. Zhang Wenyuan held a teacup and watched from the side.
The real crocus was made up of flower pistils. It wouldn't break immediately after soaking in water, and the water was light yellow. Fake goods were made from the flowers of other flowers or even radish cut into very thin threads and then dyed. After soaking in water, the radish would shatter, the dye would quickly fade, and the water would turn red or orange. This was the most effective way to identify them.
After a while, the flower in the cup unfolded, and the water color turned transparent and pale yellow.
The pharmacy owner straightened his back and heaved a sigh of relief.
"Sir, this flower is indeed wild, and the quality is not bad. What price do you want?"
"Boss, give me a price.”
The boss smacked his lips and thought for a while before saying,"How about 28 RMB per gram at the wild price I sell here?”
Zhang Wenyuan was still thinking when the boss said again. "To be honest, with your quality, I can sell you for 31 or 32 yuan, but this shop needs to earn some money, right?”
Actually, 28 yuan was already a fair price. It was three yuan higher than his previous estimate. Zhang Wenyuan was already very satisfied when he thought about it. He nodded and agreed to the deal.
The boss asked Zhang Wenyuan to check the electronic scale. After confirming that there was no mistake, he placed the red flower and the wooden box on the electronic scale. After weighing it, he put the red flowers into the prepared plastic box and weighed the empty wooden box again. Subtracting it was the weight of the crocus.
A total of 1128 grams, which was about the same weight as Zhang Wenyuan's at home.
The pharmacy owner looked at Zhang Wenyuan's wooden box and said,""Let's use 1130 grams. How about you give me the wooden box as well? It's a bit of a waste to use a plastic box to store such a good quality crocus. It's better to use a wooden box to make people look comfortable."
"Alright, we'll do as the boss says."
Zhang Wenyuan wasn't at a loss for 50 yuan per box.
The boss packed the red flowers in a wooden box and placed them in the back room. When he came out, he brought a stack of money. He counted it twice on the counting machine and handed it to Zhang Wenyuan.
"A total of 31650 dollars.”
Zhang Wenyuan checked it carefully again. After confirming that there was no mistake, he said,"That's right, just nice."
He put the money in an envelope and put it in his pocket. In fact, he was sending it into the small world. There was no place safer than the small world. In the eyes of outsiders, it was just casually placed in his arms. The strange thing was that it did not bulge.
After the transaction, the boss reached out and shook hands with Zhang Wenyuan.
"Everyone is happy with this trade. In the future, if you have any more medicinal herbs, you can consider the store first. The price will not be unfair to you.”
Zhang Wenyuan nodded. "If I'm lucky enough to pick some herbs, I'll definitely come back to your shop.”
Unknowingly, an hour had passed, and it was already noon when he came out. He found a mutton and bread soup restaurant and ordered a bowl of extra mutton and bread soup.
With money in his pocket, he didn't have to be so tight on spending. He didn't have to think about whether to eat a bowl of good food for a long time. As the saying went," There is no need to panic when there is food in your hand." With money, you will have confidence when you eat. Although it wasn't a lot of money, it was still more than 30,000 yuan. He didn't have to worry about money for the time being. As for the future, would he have to worry about not having enough money to own a small world?
After eating, Zhang Su casually walked on the streets. The city was still the same, but everything had changed. Layers of familiar but blurry images flashed past his eyes. In this city, there were cheers and laughter, and there was a heart-wrenching smile. They also shed tears of pain.
However, everything had already become a thing of the past, gone with the wind. Now was a new beginning, a new life.
His unfocused eyes refocused. Some people could not completely forget some things, but they could hide them deep in their hearts.
There was a flower market called Xiguang Flower Market on Wanshou Road, not far from where he was standing. It only took a few minutes to get on a random bus. After getting off the bus, he walked a few steps and arrived.
Compared to the medicinal herbs market, the flower market was much more crowded. It was not crowded, but it was still very lively. In the past two years, with the improvement of people's awareness and the deterioration of the urban environment, the love for green flowers, trees, and bonsai increased day by day. There were men, women, and children visiting the flower market.
Flowers, trees, and potted plants were not like other things that had obvious age differences. Regardless of age, as long as one liked it or was interested, they could buy two plants to raise at home. Not only could it improve one's mood, but it could also improve the environment and air quality.
There were many benefits, so some old ladies and old men no longer gathered together to play mahjong after retirement. Instead, they each raised some flowers or other bonsai. When they had nothing to do, they would gather together to compare and comment. Often, a few cups of tea would be enough for a few people to spend the afternoon.
The few short streets were all selling flowers, trees, and bonsai. There were low shops on both sides of the street. There were flowers and trees inside and outside the shops. People went in and out. It seemed that business was good.
There were also many stalls in the open space outside the house. There were flowers, trees, and all kinds of small items. Some people didn't say they weren't impatient and waited quietly for others to come forward. Some people were loudly hawking, enthusiastically greeting people passing by, trying their best to recommend the items on their stalls.
Zhang Wenyuan looked around. Generally, the flowers, trees, and bonsai on the street stalls were not too expensive. They were several times cheaper than those in the shop. The price ranged from a few yuan to tens of thousands, but the quality was not guaranteed. It was not that there were no good items. There were plenty of good bonsai tree stumps. It depended on one's own ability to choose. If one's mind was active and one's eyesight was good, one could also pick up good things.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。