Let's go back to the inn first and think about how to get the one thousand taels of medicinal materials.
Zhao Chuan made up his mind and raised his feet to leave the door of the drug store.
At this time, Wang Decai, the shopkeeper of the medicine shop, was sending two guests out. When he saw Zhao Chuan, he hurriedly said hello.
"Oh, come on! I was just going to find you!" Wang Decai was very happy to see Zhao Chuan.
Wang Decai greeted Zhao Chuan, and then hurriedly told the two guests that this was my big client, and he happened to meet him. Come in and have a chat.
When the two guests heard this, they hurriedly bowed their hands and said polite words.
The two guests were short and lean, with dark complexions. They were obviously not locals, and both looked to be in their thirties.
Wang Decai whispered in Zhao Chuan's ear, saying that it was a coincidence that these two were medicinal material dealers from the South China Sea, whom he had met when he was doing business in the south. They dealt with all the best medicinal materials.
Zhao Chuan was pulled into the store by Wang Decai. After sitting down in the waiting area, Zhao Chuan found that there was another customer sitting in the back.
This is a man who looks to be in his fifties. Logically speaking, people of this age should be considered among the elderly, but this man is very energetic and has a pair of shining eyes that does not look like those of this age group.
Wang Decai introduced Zhao Chuan that this was his friend and he came over to chat. The old man actually stood up and performed the martial artist's fist-cup salute.
The old man didn't seem to want to stay any longer, and when he saw another person coming in, he even wanted to leave, but Wang Decai kept comforting him in a low voice.
Zhao Chuan had just recovered his spiritual energy and was extremely sharp. He heard Wang Decai whispering, "Don't rush, don't rush, you can't lose the letter. Don't worry, keep it with me. I will find it for you." Then he forced the old man to Sit down in the chair.
They were all polite, and after sitting down, Wang Decai called his wife to come out and make tea.
Wang Decai's wife agreed and soon came out generously to bring several cups of brewed tea to the guests.
"Shopkeeper Wang, is this tea the Wangqing Shui from Jueqing Valley mentioned last time?" Zhao Chuan was in a slightly complicated mood. He was dragged into the shop and he didn't really want to come. He deliberately didn't open any of the pots.
"Oh! That tea is so rare, it's gone long ago! This is the Chuanxin tea brought by these two guests from the South China Sea Island. You're in luck, I just opened the bag and brewed it for you." Wang Decai said seriously .
Heart-piercing tea? How to pierce the heart? This king got rich and talked nonsense.
Zhao Chuan secretly scolded Wang Decai for being such a flashy character. When drinking tea, he always wants to taste something unique, just like frying a plate of bean sprouts and hoping to taste beef.
Seeing Zhao Chuan pouting, the older of the two southern medicine dealers smiled slightly and said that this tea was called Chuanxin tea for a reason.
The older of the two guests said that this Chuanxin tea had a history.
What kind of origin?
The guest said that when the Hu people were in rebellion, the current little emperor fled south to the southwest coast, sleeping rough and having little food and water.
After finally settling down on several isolated islands by the sea, the locals had to bear the food and accommodation for the little emperor to take temporary refuge.
Accommodation is okay, but food is a problem, because the southwest coast is mostly a land of barren mountains, rivers and islands, which does not produce rice and other refined crops. The usual staple food is seafood with some fruits.
The little emperor was not used to eating seafood, disliked the fishy smell, and couldn't eat enough fruits, so he could only be semi-starved all day long.
But under such circumstances, the little emperor still wanted to drink tea.
This tea is for digestion. If you drink this when you are not full after eating, wouldn't it make your intestines clean?
But people don't care, saying they are used to it, insisting on drinking tea, saying they can't sleep without tea.
Of course, the royal family is very particular. It is said that there is morning tea in the morning, afternoon tea in the afternoon, and evening tea in the evening.
The entourage had no choice but to find a solution among the locals.
The locals say so. There is a very special tree on the local island called the heart tree, and its leaves can be made into tea. Because some local people usually make soup from the leaves to relieve fatigue.
"So this tea is made from the leaves of this tree. It's called Chuanxin tea. There are not many products, and it's a royal tribute!" said the older guest.
Zhao Chuan nodded when he heard the words and said that there was such an allusion. After saying that, he lowered his head and took a small sip. His face immediately showed pain, which was simply unbearable. "This, this, this is bitter and astringent, what kind of tea is this? Really?" It tastes worse than coptis!"
The younger one burst out laughing and said hurriedly, "Don't spit, don't spit, swallow it, swallow it! You'll feel it after two sips, it's true!"
Zhao Chuan reluctantly swallowed, but felt no different.
Seeing the two guests looking expectantly and staring at him with serious expressions, Zhao Chuan took two more sips. Each time he swallowed with difficulty, the expression on his face was as painful as constipation.
Apart from being bitter, it is just bitter. It is just an enhanced version of coptis. I am a doctor, and my sense of smell and taste are better than ordinary people. Besides, I have now recovered my spiritual energy cultivation, and my various perceptions are even more acute.
Seeing that Zhao Chuan never expressed any special feelings, the two guests were a little disappointed. He quickly lowered his head and tasted it, saying that the taste was very authentic. The little emperor has always praised this tea.
Zhao Chuan smacked his lips. He really couldn't understand what was different about this tea. It was just bitter. Why was this extremely bitter tea so favored by the little emperor? Maybe it was in line with his bitter escape life?
In order to cover up his embarrassment, Zhao Chuan planned to ask the two guests to talk about how to make the Chuanxin tea and what the Chuanxin tree looked like.
"Tea trees are generally short shrubs, no more than one or two feet tall. How tall is this heart-piercing tree?" Zhao Chuan asked. As a doctor, Zhao Chuan is no stranger to Chinese herbal medicine, and some tea trees can also be used as medicine.
The guest was very happy to hear that Zhao Chuan was still interested in this tea, even though he knew about the tea tree.
As a merchant of medicinal herbs, it is of course a happy thing for the merchant to have someone interested in the product, even though it is just tea brought by the merchant.
"This kind of tea tree can grow up to ten feet long!" the older guest said, his words a little proud.
Ten feet tall? Zhao Chuan was a little surprised. Such a tall tree was rarely seen in the north, or had never been seen at all.
"How thick is this tree?" Zhao Chuan asked.
"It's not too rough. Most of them can be hugged by an adult, but a few require two people to hug them."
"Hey, I seem to be feeling it. There is a sweet taste in my mouth. My whole body is relaxed, as if my pores are opening, and I feel like after taking a bath... What is the usual price of this tea?" Zhao Chuan smacked his lips and thought about it.
The two guests were overjoyed and saw Zhao Chuan asking about the price.
"Tell me about the appearance and leaves of this tree, and how to make tea." Zhao Chuan seemed to be interested in this tea.
The older guest said that this kind of tree has a very special appearance, with only one main trunk and no side branches.
"There is only one main trunk and no side branches? Isn't this just a flagpole? Where do the leaves grow?" Zhao Chuan shook his head after hearing this, with an expression of disbelief.
"So I said this kind of tree has a very special appearance!" The guest laughed, saying that the lack of side branches does not affect the tree's leaves. Its leaves are directly on the main trunk.
"Isn't this just a palm tree?" Zhao Chuan disagreed. He had seen palm trees before, and there were several planted in the back garden of the Zhao Mansion.
"No, no, no, there are many kinds of trees with only main trunks and no side branches. In addition to the palm trees you mentioned, there are also coconut trees, plantain trees, banana trees, etc. There are many, but the leaves of these trees are very big, some are as big as It can be spread on the bed to sleep on. The leaves of the tea tree I'm talking about are needle-shaped, thinner than a little finger, and one or two feet long."
It’s really strange! After hearing this, Zhao Chuan closed his eyes and pictured the appearance of this tree in his mind, which was very interesting.
A bright tree trunk, tall and straight, covered with needle-like thorns, like a hedgehog.
"The leaves look like pine leaves. They shouldn't grow in the south. Shouldn't the hot and humid islands on the southern coast only have trees with broad leaves?" Zhao Chuan asked.
The guests shook their heads and couldn't explain clearly. They only knew that it was said by the elders that this tree existed a long time ago, saying that it was planted by an alien immortal.
"It seems that there were gods on the island before?" Zhao Chuan said with a smile, "Then how can you make tea from such leaves?"
The older guest said that he should cut off the leaves, take out the meat inside, roast it, dry it and cut it into small pieces. It's just that the outer skin of the leaves is very hard, as strong as copper and iron, so the locals also call it iron bark tree.
Because only the leaves and the heart of the tree are soft, the royal family later gave it the name Chuanxin tree.
Because the outer skin of the leaves is very hard, as strong as copper and iron, it is very laborious to cut the leaves. One person cannot remove a few leaves in a day, and many axes are often broken. Therefore, the price of tea is not low. Usually A pound sells for at least ten taels of silver.
What a good thing.
Zhao Chuan smiled and said that he would definitely go to the island to see this kind of tree if he had the chance.
After talking about the tea tree, Wang Decai saw that the time was almost up, so he said to Zhao Chuan that he had something to discuss with you, please listen to me explain in detail.
Wang Decai said that because I used to go to the south to buy medicinal materials, I had a lot of dealings with them and had a good relationship with them. It's just that after my father passed away recently, I only stayed in the shop and had less contact with them, the southern medicine dealers. So these businessmen came here, and by chance they met you again today.
Zhao Chuan raised his hand and saluted, "Nice to meet you!"
Merchants from the south returned the favor.
Wang Decai continued, "When this customer was chatting with me, I learned that the medicines you, the buyer, buy are all high-quality and precious medicinal materials. You sell them quickly and at a very satisfactory price." The total price of my first transaction with you was more than one thousand taels, and you didn't even frown and even gave me a tip. Oh, it's such a joy to do business with you.
Wang Decai Luo Liba praised a lot of nice things, and Zhao Chuan cursed in his heart: Your uncle, what is clean and refreshing, what is refreshing, if not because I want to use medicinal materials to make elixirs in a hurry, and I urgently need to recover my martial arts skills. , who would be so foolish as to let you kill a wolf with a big tail?
"So, this merchant from the south also wants to make friends with you. No, I said it would take three days to prepare the medicinal materials you asked for, but I don't need them now. It's a coincidence, because this customer has them We have them all, and we can prepare them for you today! When the customer returns to Jiangzhou Pier to pick up the goods, we can deliver the goods in advance in the afternoon!"
Wang Decai couldn't restrain his excitement and was beaming with joy.
The two southern merchants said yes, yes. They just wanted to go to the dock to pick up the goods for you when they left the store. By chance, the shopkeeper saw you and pulled you in to drink tea and chat until now...
After hearing this, Zhao Chuan secretly complained, because his martial arts skills suddenly recovered and he no longer needed these medicinal materials for alchemy. He had thought about finding some excuse to return the goods before. Even if he was really a bad person and insisted on returning the goods, this I can't return the order because the goods have already arrived.
But I didn’t really want to return it. Transactions are about integrity and the spirit of contract. Come as soon as the goods come. I've already given you a deposit, and if you still have this thousand taels of silver left, think of a way to collect it in advance.
Alas, another annoying thing. Zhao Chuan sighed in his heart.
Zhao Chuan was displeased, but he couldn't show it on his face, so he turned around and looked around the drug store, gossiping about how well-organized the drug store was.
Wang Decai was naturally happy and spoke modestly to Ying He.
Zhao Chuan suddenly saw the waiter from the inn standing not far outside the store door, raising his hand to signal him to come out.
