Chapter Thirty-One: Selling Medicine at the Apothecary

After examining the goods, Sister Zhen looked up and smiled. “Aunt An, your embroidery is both swift and exquisite. I’m always most at ease entrusting you with these tasks. This time, the commission for the screen came in so close to the New Year, and needles aren’t supposed to be used during the first month. I was worried you wouldn’t finish in time.”

“I worked as fast as I could and managed to finish, so I didn’t delay your business,” Madam Luo replied as she took out the completed design and handed it over.

Sister Zhen carefully put away the pattern, counted out four taels of silver for Madam Luo—about four hundred copper coins—and took out a bundle from the cabinet. She untied it for Madam Luo to see and said with a smile, “Here are twenty pieces of fabric for pillow embroidery. The designs are included. Have them done by the sixth day of the fourth month.”

Madam Luo first tucked away the silver, counted the pieces of fabric in the bundle, and then tied it up again. As Sister Zhen handed her silk threads, she continued, “The Li family’s young lady in the city is getting married. She needs forty-eight outfits for the four seasons, plus all sorts of embroidered items. It’s urgent and they’re paying well. These past days, I’ve been so busy my head is spinning.”

Madam Luo smiled. “Only you, Sister Zhen, could handle such a commission. No one else could manage that embroidery.”

Sister Zhen’s face showed a hint of pride, but she sighed, “The other embroiderers’ skills can’t compare to yours. I don’t feel at ease giving the work to them. It’s a pity you can’t take on this work, or else I wouldn’t have to tire myself out.”

Madam Luo’s smile was tinged with bitterness.

Seeing this, Sister Zhen lightly tapped her own mouth. “Look at me, why am I bringing this up for no reason? Aunt An, don’t take it to heart. Here’s a bundle of fabric scraps; take them with you.”

“Thank you, Sister Zhen. I’ll be going now,” Madam Luo said, accepting the bundle of scraps, then took An Yi by the hand and left.

Once outside, An Yi asked quietly, “Mother, why can’t you embroider Miss Li’s wedding clothes?”

A trace of sorrow crossed Madam Luo’s face and she sighed. “I’m not what they call a ‘woman of complete fortune.’ How could I embroider a bride’s wedding clothes?”

An Yi’s brow furrowed in confusion. A woman of complete fortune?

It was only after An Yi understood what that meant that she realized why her mother was excluded. A woman of complete fortune is one whose parents are both alive, whose parents-in-law are both well, and who has both sons and daughters.

“Mother, daughters of wealthy families are difficult to please. It’s just as well you don’t have to do it,” An Yi consoled her.

Madam Luo smiled at that.

Seeing her mother’s mood improve, An Yi breathed a sigh of relief. As they walked on, she looked around curiously, but being small and short, the crowds blocked her view and she couldn’t see the shop signs along the street.

“Xier, what are you looking for?” Madam Luo bent down to ask.

“I’m looking for a pharmacy,” An Yi replied.

Madam Luo couldn’t help but chuckle. “You really plan to sell medicine?”

“I want to earn money to buy a house and let you enjoy life,” An Yi said earnestly.

These words warmed Madam Luo’s heart more than honey. Since they would pass a pharmacy on the way to the academy, it wouldn’t take up too much time, so she agreed, “Alright, I’ll take you.”

The two of them quickly found a pharmacy. A large gourd hung above the door. As they entered, An Yi glanced up at the sign: Ji Huai Hall.

The shop was spacious and clean, with a faint medicinal fragrance in the air. To the left was a counter, behind which stood a wall of apothecary drawers. A middle-aged man stood behind the counter, weighing medicine on a small brass scale.

Seeing that Madam Luo didn’t intend to speak, An Yi squeezed the cloth bag in her hand, stepped forward, and called out clearly, “Shopkeeper, do you buy medicinal herbs here?”

The man looked down to see a neat and pretty little girl with her hair tied in a small topknot with a red ribbon, her deep, dark eyes meeting his with poise. He took a liking to her and smiled. “I do buy medicinal herbs. What have you brought to sell?”

“Please take a look. Would you buy these two herbs?” An Yi held the bag up.

The shopkeeper took it, opened it, and saw some dried water-pennywort. He picked one, pinched it, then brought it to his nose to sniff. Examining the leaves and roots, he found them well cleaned and intact, with no major damage. The other was dried grass from beside the well.

“Little girl, you say these are medicinal herbs. Do you know their names?” He glanced at Madam Luo, noting her simple peasant attire and supposing she knew little about herbs, so he decided to test An Yi.

“I do,” An Yi said, pointing. “That is wellside grass, and the other is water-pennywort.”

The shopkeeper nodded slightly. “And how do you know these are medicinal?”

An Yi blinked. “My elder brother told me.”

“Is your brother a doctor?”

“My brother studies at the academy.”

The shopkeeper chuckled in understanding. “Well, I buy both kinds of herbs. How much do you have?”

“I only brought this much today. If you’d like more, I can bring extra next time,” An Yi replied with a smile.

“Good. Next time bring more, but make sure they’re as clean and undamaged as these.” The shopkeeper smiled. Pharmacies bought herbs from gatherers; they rarely went to the mountains themselves. As long as the herbs were well prepared, they would generally buy them.

“You can count on it—they’ll be just as neatly prepared,” An Yi promised. “Shopkeeper, how much can you pay for these?”

The man didn’t dither. He poured out the herbs, weighed them, then took out thirty-six copper coins from a drawer and handed them to An Yi along with the two cloth bags. He asked kindly, “Little girl, what’s your surname?”

“My surname is An. May I ask your surname, Shopkeeper?” An Yi put the coins into her purse and smiled.

“What a clever child. My surname is Chen—just call me Uncle Chen from now on,” he said with a laugh.

“Thank you, Uncle Chen.” An Yi thanked him sincerely, then added, “May I ask one more thing—do you buy shepherd’s purse and centella?”

Uncle Chen looked at her with some surprise, reassessing her before he smiled. “You’re quite knowledgeable about herbs. We do buy shepherd’s purse and centella as well. If you have other herbs, bring them all.”

“Very well. I’ll rely on your guidance in the future,” An Yi said, curtsying a little awkwardly before returning to Madam Luo and handing her the purse.

Madam Luo was in a daze, not expecting that her daughter’s wild herbs could actually be sold for money.

An Yi glanced at her mother, eyes curved in a soft smile, then took her hand and led her out of the pharmacy. “Mother, mother, wake up.”

Madam Luo returned to her senses. “Xier, how much did you get for those herbs?”

“Thirty-six copper coins.” An Yi took five coins from the purse and handed the rest to her mother. “Mother, I’d like to give these five coins to my brother.”

“Alright, it’s your money—you decide,” Madam Luo said with a smile.

“Let’s go find my brother,” An Yi said happily. Though thirty-six coins wasn’t much, having such a smooth start made her optimistic for the future.

When they reached the gate of the academy, Madam Luo handed a coin to the gatekeeper and asked him to call An Kang out.

——— Author’s note ———

Note: According to the principles of gathering Chinese medicinal herbs, plants like wellside grass, water-pennywort, and centella, which can be harvested throughout the year, are best picked at their peak. The heroine gathers them in spring in order to earn money, which doesn’t significantly affect their medicinal properties.