Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

Gu Jin'an is not the sort who is ignorant of worldly affairs, and upon hearing this said: "Even so, this price is too low. The costs for the carriage and horses alone on the way here exceed this amount."

The medicinal materials of Xuanhu Fang either come from Central State or Linhe Prefecture, and just the costs for the carriage and horses on the way consume quite a bit of Silver Coin.

"Uncle Mu Tong, we're in business, so there's no reason for Xuanhu Fang to operate at a loss," Gu Jin'an stated.

Mu Tong chuckled and replied: "You don't need to worry, the price I'm offering you is the pharmacy's wholesale price. Just pay the Silver Coin and take the seeds away. Such a bargain is only for this time; you won't encounter such good deals in the future."

This batch of Mingya Grass seeds came with the carriage and horses of Boss Min and Aunt Wu, and since it didn't require transport fees, it could be offered at such a cheap price. But Doctor Wu did not speak much of Aunt Wu's matters, therefore Mu Tong also refrained from detailing.

After listening, Gu Jinli did not decline but smiled and said: "Then we'll take advantage of this deal. Thank you, Uncle Mu Tong, thank you Grandpa Wu."

After speaking, she took out one and a half taels of Silver and handed it to Mu Tong.

...Truly such a bargain she felt embarrassed to hand over the Silver.

Mu Tong accepted it and had the attendant move ten bags of seeds onto the cart, then turned to Gu Jinli and said: "The transaction for the seeds is settled. White rod daisy and red back vine are not in season right now and can't be planted. I'll help you buy the seedlings next spring."

"Alright, thank you Uncle Mu Tong." After thanking Mu Tong, Gu Jinli said to Doctor Wu: "Grandpa Wu, let's go inside and discuss the matter of the mosquito incense."

Doctor Wu nodded and led them to the rear courtyard.

In the rear courtyard, besides Boss Min, there were two servants, a man and a woman. The two stood quietly far away on the corridor, and upon hearing their footsteps, they didn't lift their heads to glance over, as if they were two wooden figures posing elegantly.

Seeing Gu Jinli return, Boss Min drank a cup of lake tea and asked her: "How is it, are you satisfied with the Mingya Grass seeds? Young lady, I've offered you this favor, so when we discuss the mosquito incense business later, you can't make too outrageous a demand."

Although Mingya Grass seeds are not valuable, they are difficult for outsiders to purchase because farmers only sell the Mingya Grass, not the seeds—these one thousand catties of seeds are quite a substantial gift.

Gu Jinli smiled and said: "Boss Min, I have already repaid your favor, as for the mosquito incense..."

Rather than saying Boss Min did her a favor, it would be more accurate to say he was repaying a favor to her.

While the mosquito incense was not expensive, it was a new product. If Boss Min's pharmacy didn't gain benefits from the mosquito incense, Boss Min would not have taken the initiative to discuss the business with her.

Elder Wu looked at Boss Min and laughed heartily: "See, I told you this girl knows how not to suffer a loss. You still want to set a trap for her, not realizing that you've already fallen into the pit she dug for you."

The consignment of mosquito incense was the trap she dug for the pharmacy.

Xiao Yu knew that there was a big pharmacy backing Xuanhu Fang, but she did not inquire further. Instead, she used the method of mosquito incense consignment, making the pharmacy's Dong Family come to her.

Business that comes proactively to her is more to her advantage.

Boss Min said with a stern face: "Young lady, you can't conduct business like this; you need to be more tactful. With your harsh approach, you can't expect to gain any favors."

Gu Jinli was unafraid and countered: "It's okay to be tactful in other businesses, but for medicinal materials, if I'm too smooth with you, aren't you afraid?"

Boss Min was startled; indeed, the medicinal material business values honesty the most. If the other party is too smooth, their pharmacy wouldn't dare to do business with her no matter how brave they are.

Doctor Wu laughed loudly again upon seeing this.

Gu Jinli glanced at Doctor Wu; in the span of this short moment, he had already laughed twice. It seemed that Doctor Wu was quite fond of Boss Min's grandson. However, Gu Jinli didn't know why Doctor Wu didn't live with his grandson, but instead came to Qingfu Town alone to practice medicine.

"Grandpa Wu, if you keep laughing, I'm going to raise the prices on Xuanhu Fang's medicinal herbs," Boss Min threatened in jest.

Doctor Wu burst into laughter again: "You cheeky boy, you've got some nerve. Go ahead, raise them if you like. Worst comes to worst, I can have Xiao Yu jack up the price of her mosquito incense. Her family's mosquito incense is consigned at Xuanhu Fang, and the higher it sells for, the more Xuanhu Fang earns."

"Grandpa Wu, I'm your own flesh and blood grandson, yet you're actually not helping me," Boss Min complained on purpose.

Aunt Wu watched from the side, a touch of relief and emotion flashing in her eyes, which returned to calmness in a blink, but Gu Jinli still caught it.

...Gu Jinli didn't know what Aunt Wu's occupation was, but she was capable of concealing her real emotions in an instant. If it was not a skill honed over many years, it wouldn't be possible to hide them so quickly and naturally.

Boss Min's smile faded as he said to Gu Jinli: "Young lady, I've heard that you can make Convenient Medicine as well, and this is a wonderful thing. How about this: you sell the recipe for mosquito incense and Convenient Medicine to our pharmacy, and I can offer you 50,000 taels of silver to buy them outright, or I can give you a 50% profit share, and our pharmacy will do business together with you."

Gu Jinli shook her head, however: "Not selling. These methods are not up for grabs."

Boss Min frowned, "Young lady, this price is already very high, one shouldn't be too greedy. You should be aware, if it weren't for Grandpa Wu vouching for you, our pharmacy wouldn't dare to do business in medicinal herbs with you."

A young girl who had fled from famine, with no complete three generations in her family and no large clan to back her up, would find others hesitant to engage in business with her—not just in healing medicinal herbs, but even in selling simple foodstuffs.

Therefore, it was quite an honor for him to come and negotiate this deal with her, truly a face-giving gesture to Grandpa Wu.

To demonstrate his sincerity, Boss Min added: "Our pharmacy is Yuanzi Pharmacy, and while it is not the largest in Great Chu, it is the oldest surviving pharmacy renowned for its integrity. Should you cooperate with us, your mosquito incense and Convenient Medicine could quickly become famous throughout Great Chu."

In the pharmacy business, it does not matter who is the largest, but who has been around the longest. The older your business's reputation, the more renowned you become and the more the public trusts you.

Gu Jinli was startled by his words; she had guessed that there was a significant pharmacy backing Xuanhu Fang, but she hadn't expected it to be the longest-standing Yuanzi Pharmacy.

She stood up, and with respect, gave Boss Min a bow: "My apologies."

Seeing her sincerity, Boss Min felt relieved. This young lady knew how to observe the rules, he gestured for her to sit down and continued, "Now that you know I'm the boss of Yuanzi Pharmacy, you should agree to my terms now, right?"

Gu Jinli shook her head: "No."

Her refusal was straightforward and decisive, which really caught Boss Min off-guard: "You really want to offend me, young lady?"

Gu Jinli smiled, "I wouldn't dare. I won't offend Boss Min, because you have a pharmacy, and I don't."

She wanted to grow and sell medicinal herbs and make Convenient Medicine. Without the support of a large pharmacy, it wouldn't be feasible, so she wouldn't offend Boss Min but rather seek to get along with him.

However...

"Boss Min, as good as Yuanzi Pharmacy is, it's risky to put all one's eggs in one basket. Remember, the world is fickle."

Aunt Wu, hearing her words, looked towards Gu Jinli, her calm eyes filled with currents, sizing her up.