Julie first arrived at a big medicine shop called Jishi Hall.
At the entrance, there was a worker doing odd jobs. Julie called out to him and asked him to get the shopkeeper because she had something to sell.
The worker looked at Julie's poor clothes and thought she was probably trying to fool him, so he wanted to brush her off and make her leave quickly.
But when he saw her cold, sharp eyes staring directly at him, he felt a bit scared. Thinking it was just a matter of calling someone, he went inside to get the shopkeeper.
After a while, a doctor who was around forty to fifty years old came out.
When Luo Qingyun came out and saw a teenage girl with three husbands behind her, although they were dressed simply, she didn't judge them by their looks. She had been managing this shop for over ten years and knew well that you couldn't judge people by appearance.
Luo Qingyun immediately noticed Julie and thought to herself that this girl's gaze was full of power, not like a typical countryside woman.
Luo Qingyun spoke kindly, "Are you the one selling herbs? Did you bring them? Let me have a look first, if you don't mind." Even though she doubted the girl could have anything good, she still asked politely.
After all, the customer is always a guest.
Julie didn't care about her attitude. What mattered to her was the price.
If the price was close to what she expected, she would sell it here. But if they tried to trick her because of her clothes, she would go to their competitor.
It was very common for medicine shops to have rivals in any dynasty. It was rare for one to dominate completely.
Before coming, Julie had already asked around and knew that besides Jishi Hall, there was another big medicine shop nearby called Huichun Hall.
Everyone in town knew that the two shops were openly and secretly competing.
Julie pulled out two ginsengs wrapped in a handkerchief. She didn't know the market prices of this era, so she planned to test things out. She took one ginseng that was about twenty years old and one about one hundred years old from her storage space.
She still had some that were hundreds of years old but didn't take them out.
Julie only revealed a small part of the ginseng, but Luo Qingyun immediately grabbed it, looking very excited.
It was ginseng, and from the looks of it, definitely high quality.
Julie gave her a cold stare. Luo Qingyun felt a little embarrassed but didn't let go of the ginseng. She immediately became more polite and invited them to the back room to talk.
Julie looked at her three husbands and then walked ahead leading the way.
She wasn't afraid of anything. No one could take things from her, so she wasn't worried.
From the doctor's excited reaction, it was clear that these ginsengs were very valuable in this era. That was enough for her.
In the back room, Luo Qingyun served them tea and asked a servant to bring some pastries.
Julie herself was immune to poisons, but since she had three men with her, she couldn't let them eat food from others so casually.
Maybe because she had lived in the apocalypse for too long, Julie had become very cautious.
She picked up a piece of pastry and secretly tested it with a silver needle. Seeing that it didn't turn black and was safe to eat, she gave each of her three husbands a piece from the plate she tested.
Bailee, Haven, and Lorrie felt very touched. Their wife cared about them even while outside.
Most women didn't even bother saving face for their husbands when outside. It was common for them to be scolded or beaten in public.
Even though Luo Qingyun was checking the ginseng carefully, she still noticed this scene. She thought to herself that this girl was kind to her husbands and had good character.
But she couldn't help twitching at the thought that such precious ginseng was wrapped in rough cloth — such a waste!
Julie got a little annoyed seeing her stare at the ginseng for so long.
It's just two roots of ginseng — do you need to look at them forever?
Julie gave her a glance, and Luo Qingyun happened to see it. She was startled.
She suddenly realized that these two ginsengs were for pricing, but she had been holding them without mentioning a price.
She laughed awkwardly, feeling a bit ashamed for forgetting her manners.
Quickly smiling, she said, "Miss, sorry to keep you waiting. I got too focused. These two ginsengs are both very good. One is about twenty years old, and the other is over a hundred years old. About the price, you can trust me to be fair. I'll offer two hundred taels for the twenty-year one and one thousand taels for the one-hundred-year one. How about it?"
In the capital, ginseng like this would sell for several times higher because of the huge demand.
Julie could tell that Luo Qingyun was still holding back a bit. Although the price was close to what she expected, she didn't like being treated like an easy target.
"If you don't sincerely want it, I'll just go to Huichun Hall," Julie said coldly. She quickly wrapped up the ginsengs with the handkerchief and was about to put them away.
When Luo Qingyun heard she wanted to go to her rival, she panicked.
"Miss, the price I offered is already high. How about we each make a compromise? Don't rush to Huichun Hall. I know the old woman there — she's stingy and will definitely offer you less. How about this, I'll raise the offer: two hundred eighty taels for the twenty-year ginseng, and one thousand five hundred taels for the hundred-year one. This is really the highest I can go. If you go to the capital, you might get more, but the journey is long and dangerous. Let's build a good relationship. In the future, if you have more herbs or goods like this, bring them to me. I'll always give you the best price."
She held onto Julie's hand tightly, not letting go.
Luo Qingyun thought she had really embarrassed herself today but didn't care about her pride anymore. Letting this girl go to her enemy would feel like cutting flesh from her body.
As for stealing by force — even if they wanted to, Jishi Hall didn't dare. Julie didn't look like someone easy to mess with. Luo Qingyun didn't want today to be her death anniversary.
Julie heard the numbers and knew this was the true bottom line. They wouldn't offer more.
Since Luo Qingyun had treated them politely and didn't look down on them, it was fine to sell it to her.
As long as she got the right amount of money, it didn't matter who she sold it to.
"Alright, deal. You can have them. Besides the silver notes, prepare some loose silver too," she said. It would be easier to use small silver pieces when shopping later.
Luo Qingyun understood and quickly told the accountant to prepare it.
She kept speaking nicely to Julie, saying that if she had more good goods or herbs, she could always bring them here for the highest price.
Julie suddenly thought about her own poisoning. She should have it checked properly, or else how would she explain why she was poisoned but still fine?
"You're a doctor, right? Can you check my health? I feel a bit tired lately," Julie asked.