Poor but talented scholar

Chapter 31 Making Money

Shopkeeper Lin's smile froze: "How much do you want?"

"Thirty coins." Lu Chuan doubled the price.

"Thirty coins?" Manager Lin gasped, and even the shop assistant next to him stared in astonishment. "Young Brother Lu, your appetite is too big. That price could buy something that's been processed."

"Processed Pinellia ternata, with the addition of alum, has its medicinal properties diminished. In cases of severe illness requiring urgent treatment, we still need this fresh, fresh product."

Lu Chuan looked directly into Manager Lin's eyes with certainty, "Thirty coins, that's for more than just this basket of medicine."

"From now on, as long as Ji'antang can afford the price, the Pinellia ternata from Lujia Village will be supplied to Ji'antang first."

"If you don't want it, the 'Bai Cao Tang' restaurant across the street would probably be very willing to offer this price."

Manager Lin fell silent.

Looking at the boy in front of him, he felt a sense of absurdity: This was no ordinary teenage farm boy; he seemed like a seasoned adult.

A moment later, Manager Lin burst into laughter and patted Lu Chuan on the shoulder heavily.

"Well done, young man of the Lu family! Well done, 'exclusive item'! Just for your audacity, I, Ji'an Hall, will take thirty coins."

"Someone, bring the scales on!"

When dozens of heavy strings of copper coins were neatly stacked into a cloth bag and handed to Lu Shouye, this honest and simple man trembled all over.

"Chuan'er...we...we really made money?" Lu Shouye's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were red.

"Father, this is just the beginning."

Lu Chuan helped Lu Shouye place the heavy cloth bag steadily in the inner compartment of the wheelbarrow, and then covered it tightly with several layers of dry straw.

Manager Lin stood at the back door of the pharmacy, watching the father and son busy at work, the look of admiration in his eyes lingering for a long time.

"Mr. Lu, take care." Manager Lin specially instructed, "If the next batch of goods is still of this quality, just send it over. Ji'an Hall will take as many as it has."

Lu Chuan turned around and politely bowed.

The father and son pushed the wheelbarrow slowly out of the alley.

As soon as he entered the main street, Lu Shouye's steps became somewhat disordered.

"More than two thousand coins... Chuan'er, a whole two thousand coins!" Lu Shouye lowered his voice, which trembled violently. "Our two acres of land, after a year of hard work, after deducting grain tax and living expenses, we barely have a few hundred coins left. This basket of herbs is equivalent to several years' worth of our family's harvest?"

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 1110 ...

"Dad, making a living from the land is the most basic thing, but if you want to turn your life around, you have to use your brain." Lu Chuan walked beside his father, his eyes sweeping over the well-decorated shops on both sides of the street.

Lu Shouye listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion.

"Come on, Dad, let's go to the market."

Lu Shouye was taken aback, then subconsciously clenched his purse: "We're going to the market again? Save your money, we'll use it to pay your tuition for next semester and buy you some books..."

"The tuition fee is already paid." Lu Chuan ignored his father and led him directly to the busiest East Market.

The market was bustling with activity, filled with shouts and calls.

Lu Chuan first took his father to the butcher shop.

Looking at the red and white, glistening pork on the cutting board, Lu Shouye subconsciously swallowed, but still shrank back a little.

"Boss, give me three catties of top-quality pork belly, and two big pork bones." Lu Chuan spoke decisively, casually pulling out several dozen coins and handing them over.

"Alright! You're really efficient, young man!" The butcher chopped down the meat, revealing a thick, tempting piece.

Lu Shouye looked at the white, fat belly and felt a pang of heartache, but Lu Chuan's next move made him widen his eyes even more.

Lu Chuan then went to the general store and bought some salt, two catties of clear cooking oil, and even a small jar of brown sugar that only landlords could afford.

"This...this is too expensive, Chuan'er, be careful with the money." Lu Shouye wrung his hands anxiously from the side.

But Lu Chuan simply replied calmly:

"Father, Mother and Xiaoman are in poor health. Now that we've made money, we should help them recover. Besides, there are plenty of medicinal herbs in the mountains."

Lu Shouye opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything to refuse, though his eyes reddened even more.

Lu Chuan stopped in his tracks as he passed a clothing store.

He looked at Lu Shouye's patched-up short jacket, its original color no longer discernible, and then thought of his mother Chen's faded apron.

He went inside and picked out two bolts of sturdy dark blue cotton cloth, and also specially chose a piece of peach-colored fine cloth for Xiaoman.

"I'll use this to make a new dress for Xiaoman, and the rest will be used to buy you and Mom a couple of changes of clothes." Lu Chuan paid the money readily.

When these things were piled high on the wheelbarrow and covered with straw, Lu Shouye suddenly felt that the originally heavy wheelbarrow was now so light that it felt like it was about to fly.

On the way back to the village, Lu Chuan deliberately made his father take a longer route.

Instead of taking the main road, they chose a wild path overgrown with bushes.

"Dad, when we return to the village, hide the meat at the bottom of the basket and put the cloth under the old clothes."

"If the neighbors ask, just say I earned a few coins by copying books for the teacher in town, and used the money to buy some meat bones for the family to have a treat," Lu Chuan instructed as he walked.

Lu Shouye had also come to his senses by this time, and nodded heavily: "Father knows, wealth attracts trouble, and there are many people in our village with sharp eyes. If they find out that we've made a lot of money selling herbs, there won't be any peace and quiet in this back mountain."

"Our family will take the first bite of the lucrative deal. After a while, when we're more financially secure, we'll help the rest of the village. That way, people won't say we're hoarding the profits."

Lu Chuan already had a plan in mind. Relying solely on wild harvesting would eventually deplete the supply of Pinellia ternata, leading to unstable production and making prices subject to external control.

He planned to use the money as funding to try artificial cultivation in the abandoned wetlands behind the mountain.

Once we control that area, that barren mountain will become an inexhaustible treasure trove for the village.

When the father and son returned home, the sun was already setting.

The little sister was squatting at the door, eagerly waiting. As soon as she saw the wheelbarrow, she swooped over like a little sparrow: "Brother! Father! You're finally back!"

Chen also hurriedly came out of the kitchen, rubbing her hands on her apron.

Lu Chuan gave him a wink, and Lu Shouye immediately closed the courtyard gate tightly and bolted it shut.

"Old woman, look!"

Lu Shouye lifted the dry straw, and the large chunks of pork, the white salt, the brand-new cloth, and the bag of copper coins that hadn't been spent yet, jingling and rattling, instantly came into the mother and daughter's view.

"Ah!" Xiaoman exclaimed in surprise, covering her mouth and staring wide-eyed.

Chen's legs went weak and she almost sat down on the ground. Her hands trembled as she touched the delicate piece of pork belly.

He looked at Lu Chuan, and tears streamed down his face.

"Did you really make money selling herbs?"

"Mom, our family's life will only get better from now on." Lu Chuan walked over and gently patted his mother's shoulder.