Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 56 Selling Herbs

During this month or so, Zhou Ye also made more than a dozen trips back and forth to his small home in the mountains, transporting a large amount of goods to the county town.

Among the items were over 1000 jin of charcoal, which they planned to keep at home and sell gradually. There were also over 4000 jin of salted fish and meat, which had already been sold in smaller quantities at the mountain market. Additionally, there was a large quantity of common herbs, which were also sold at the mountain market. The more valuable herbs, however, remained with them.

Of course, there was also honey and the like. Zhou Ye went to the Flower Valley several more times and obtained a lot of honey, selling dozens of jars in total.

It must be said that the price of honey was surprisingly good. Therefore, including the other items that had already been sold, Zhou Ye now had five 100-tael silver notes.

Besides, of the more than 200 taels of silver and copper coins from the three thieves, only 100 taels were used to buy the two martial arts books; the rest remained untouched.

Even more encouraging is that, with the sale of salted fish and meat in smaller quantities, over 800 jin (approximately 400 kg) of salt has finally been used up in our small family farm. Although the salted fish and meat were made previously, tell me, has any salt been used up?

Upon waking up in the morning, Zhou Ye decided not to go to the martial arts gym today and take a rare day off.

That's the good thing about Fenglei Martial Arts School; nobody really cares. You can go if you want, and it doesn't matter if you don't. As long as your monthly tuition arrives, you're a good disciple of the school.

That said, once you have the panel, what difference does it make where you grind? Going to the martial arts gym isn't really that meaningful. For example, Zhou Ye hasn't been there more than a few times in the past month or so.

He practiced basic shield techniques in the courtyard for an hour and a half. Afterwards, he fed the bamboo rats, pheasants, and wild ducks. To ensure the martial arts school's meat supply, Zhou Ye had all the bamboo rats and live poultry brought over, enough to last at least one or two months.

The newly built nests take up almost half the yard, significantly reducing my living space. The house seems a bit small now; we really need to move to a bigger house!

Entering the room, Zhou Ye opened the cabinet and grabbed a handful of copper coins from the pile, stuffing them all into his pocket. He then walked out of the courtyard, greeting the neighbors he encountered along the way. Strolling leisurely, he soon arrived at the teahouse at the street corner after leaving the alley.

The reason for doing this is to integrate more thoroughly.

Furthermore, teahouses are also good places for exchanging information. Through the previous rebellion, Zhou Ye discovered a major weakness—his complete lack of knowledge about certain matters. This made him easily put himself in a passive position.

Therefore, Zhou Ye made a decision to visit the teahouse several times a month, even if it was just a waste of time.

Upon entering the teahouse, a waiter led Zhou Ye to an empty table.

"Brother Ye, what kind of tea would you like to order?" the waiter asked politely.

"A four-piece set of tea, fruit, and snacks, as usual. Plus a plate of fried peanuts. Go to Old Yu's and buy some potstickers. That's enough for three people; I have a big appetite. I haven't had breakfast yet." As he spoke, Zhou Ye tossed over two large coins. "Here's some extra for you."

"Alright! Thanks for the reward, Brother Ye!"

And so, Zhou Ye whiled away the entire morning chatting with the people at the next table and listening to some music. Around noon, he ordered a large bowl of mutton noodles at the teahouse, paid, and left.

There didn't seem to be any particularly important news today. Just a lot of gossip and small talk. Like, whose wife is cheating on her husband? Whose dog had six puppies? Whose child went to work as an apprentice at a fur shop…

However, there seems to be some noteworthy news – grain prices have risen again, reaching 15 qian per jin. Many grain shops have begun limiting purchases, prohibiting each household from buying too much each day.

In any case, it won't have a significant impact on the county seat. At least it won't have much impact on Zhouye.

After returning home, Zhou Ye organized the valuable herbs. He had already found a good pharmacy; it was a long-established brand with a consistently excellent reputation.

Furthermore, Zhou Ye also had a favorable impression of that pharmacy. Perhaps it was fate, stemming from the time in the small town when they were part of a convoy that bought medicinal herbs.

By now, Zhou Ye was quite familiar with the prices of medicinal herbs. Therefore, he knew that the caravan hadn't cheated him before, and the purchase price they offered was quite fair.

Before long, Zhou Ye carried a shoulder pole and arrived near the dock in the outer city, entering a Wang's Pharmacy.

Putting down his carrying pole and taking off his face shield, Zhou Ye proactively asked a man dressed as a shopkeeper, "Excuse me, do you buy herbs here?"

"What herbs? We might not accept the ones we have in excess in our warehouse. But I can recommend a few other pharmacies to you?"

Zhou Ye opened a bag, revealing a crack, inside which were the pair of large deer antlers. These herbs must be very expensive, so it was impossible to display them openly in the shop.

Sure enough, the shopkeeper was taken aback at first, then delighted: "Honorable guest, please come with me, let's talk in the back. This business must be quite large, I'd also like to invite our young master to come and take a look."

After being seated in the back hall, a young man with a haggard face soon arrived. Upon seeing Zhou Ye, he quickly bowed and said, "I apologize for keeping you waiting, esteemed guest. My name is Wang Zhengyu, the young master of a small business. May I ask, sir...?"

"Everyone outside calls me Xiao Tian. Young master, you're too kind."

Zhou Ye used the pseudonym "Xiao Tian." It wasn't "Xiao Tian from the basketball club," nor was it "Little Sweetie." He started out as a farmer, so he decided to call himself Xiao Tian!

Using aliases is quite common for high-value transactions like this. Wang Zhengyu didn't seem to mind either: "...Mr. Xiaotian..."

"No! No, no! Just call me Xiaotian. 'Sir' is too formal." Being addressed like that gave Zhou Ye a chill down his spine; why did it feel like he was being addressed with a foot basin?

"Alright. Brother Xiaotian, what herbs did you bring? May I take a look? If the price of the smaller ones doesn't satisfy you, you can take them with you."

"Sure. Go see for yourself!"

"..."

More than an hour later, the people in the pharmacy had carefully examined the batch of herbs. Seeing the delighted expressions on Wang Zhengyu and the others' faces, Zhou Ye knew that they were very satisfied with the herbs.

"Brother Xiaotian, I'll give you a quote now. See if it suits your taste." Wang Zhengyu cleared his throat. "Those deer antlers are 65 taels. Grinding them into powder for medicine would be too wasteful. I'll find a wealthy family to sell them as heirlooms; the price will be higher then. As for those three..."

In the end, after adding all the herbs together, Wang Zhengyu rounded it up to a whole number, and the final price was 235 taels.

After a quick mental calculation, Zhou Ye decided the price was about right and nodded. Wang Zhengyu and the shopkeeper immediately smiled…