kvmb Chapter 496 Finding the Purple Pig Flower
Chapter 496 Finding the Purple Pig Flower
On New Year's Eve, Sanxiu Pharmacy was filled with the sound of firecrackers and the backyard was bustling with laughter. After the reunion dinner, the medicine boys went to the teahouse early to pay New Year's greetings to Master Sanxiu and his apprentice and ask for money for staying up all night. In previous years, the owner Sanxiu would give them some, and this year Si Yao also accepted an apprentice so he had to pay another portion. Everyone was so happy to get an extra portion of money for staying up all night.
Although Caiyi was not a medicine boy, Sanxiu and his apprentice treated her equally and gave her the same amount of money as the medicine boys. Caiyi was very happy, so she took advantage of the teahouse entertainment and sang the folk song her mother taught her when she was a child after Guoying performed a storytelling:
Work at sunrise, live in and rest.
Drill a well and drink, and plow and eat.
Why is Dili to me?
The short twenty-odd words were sung by Caiyi in a thousand voices, and everyone was amazed and intoxicated by it. Sanxiu couldn't help but sigh in her heart when she listened to this simple folk song: the world is peaceful, there is no war, no slaughter, no fleeing from home, and the people are resting and at ease. This is the life that the common people yearn for!
When they were traveling as doctors, Si Yao and Xiao Lu had heard Cai Yi's singing. In the secluded valleys of the mountains, her loud voice was very relaxing and peaceful. Today was the first time they saw her dare to sing in public in the pharmacy, and they were naturally happy that she had regarded this place as her home.
Xiuming couldn't help but smile lovingly as he looked at Caiyi's bright and charming face while she was singing folk songs. She had bright eyes and a beautiful figure, and her tenacity and cheerfulness especially made him admire her even more.
Caiyi's eyes inadvertently met the gentle smile in the master's eyes, and she couldn't help but feel happy.
As it grew darker, Sanxiu was too old to stay up all night with these young people, so he hurriedly gave Xiuming a few words and went back to his room yawning. Si Yao then called his two disciples and Caiyi to his room.
"This is the first year we've become master and apprentice. As your master, I should take care of you. These new clothes are your New Year gifts." Si Yao said as he handed two new cotton robes to Xiaolu and Chenlin respectively. After all, he was a master, and his face had a kind look.
"Thank you, Master!" The two disciples were overjoyed and bowed quickly to express their gratitude.
After the two of them left happily holding the new clothes, Si Yao closed the door and pulled Caiyi to the bed, where a new set of lotus root powder and green rattan clothes was also spread out.
"Sister Si Yao, is this for me?" Seeing that they were all her favorite colors, Caiyi was secretly happy and then turned to Si Yao and asked.
"Let's give it a try." Si Yao nodded and smiled at her.
"You often buy clothes for me, and I have nothing to give you. Now that you're a master, your expenses have increased. Why do you have to spend more money on me?" Although Caiyi was happy, she thought that Sister Si Yao must have spent a lot of money tonight to give her money for staying up all night and giving her new clothes. She had already taken care of her a lot on weekdays, and she didn't expect that she would still be thinking about her today. Caiyi felt unworthy.
"I brought you back home, and I have always treated you as my younger sister. As an elder sister, I should buy new clothes for my younger sister during the New Year. How can it be a waste of money? You usually make soups and embroider a lot of things for me. How can you have nothing good to give me? Besides, don't worry, I am also a doctor in a pharmacy now, and my monthly salary is much higher than yours. These expenses tonight will not break the bank." Si Yao smiled and comforted her.
"Thank you, Sister Si Yao!" These words made Caiyi grateful again, and she immediately hugged Si Yao with tears in her eyes.
"We have known each other for so long, you don't have to say thank you all the time." Si Yao patted her back and said again.
"Is Miss Si Yao here?"
At this moment, there were two knocks outside the door, and then Xin Nu's voice came in. Si Yao turned around and opened the door. Sure enough, she saw Xin Nu holding a food box and bowing to her and smiling:
"Happy New Year, Miss Siyao!"
"Happy New Year! May you have good luck and peace every year." Si Yao had anticipated the appearance of Xin Nu, so when he saw her, he took out the New Year's Eve money he had prepared in advance from his sleeve and handed it to her.
"Thank you Miss Si Yao! I wish you all the best in the new year!" Xin Nu was taken aback at first, then she quickly took the money and bowed again. Then, when she saw Si Yao's eyes turned to the food box in her hand, she said:
"This is the New Year's Eve blessing box that His Highness asked me to send to Miss Si Yao tonight."
"Thank you for the trip, but will you spend the New Year in the villa? Will there be others with you or just you?" Hearing that it was a New Year gift from the prince, Si Yao happily took the food box and asked Xin Nu with concern.
"Don't worry, Miss Si Yao, there are still a few people in the villa, so it's not deserted." Xin Nu nodded in response.
Si Yao felt relieved after hearing that. After Xin Nu left, she couldn't wait to open the food box. Inside were five exquisitely crafted snacks of different colors, as well as a New Year's greeting card. It was Yan Zong's personal New Year's wishes for her, and every word was sincere and affectionate.
"Wow, these snacks are so delicious!" Caiyi had also come to Si Yao and couldn't help but praise when she saw the snacks in the food box.
Si Yao was immersed in her thoughts about Prince Zong. She came back to her senses after hearing Caiyi's words. She left five pieces of snacks for herself and asked her to take them to the tea room to share with everyone.
“Is this the purple dolphin flower?”
In the General's Mansion in Wucheng, in the southern border of Xiyue Kingdom, Shufeng looked at a purple flower frozen by ice in the iron box in front of him in amazement and asked puzzledly.
"General, how dare we damage our reputation when doing business in the underworld? This flower has no leaves or roots, only five purple petals. It blooms above the East China Sea after the beginning of spring. It is mysterious and noble, and its beautiful appearance is hard to come by. It took us ten years of hardship to find it." Standing in front of Yu Shufeng was a thin and elegant middle-aged Confucian scholar with a pair of shrewd and deep eyes.
"I know it's not easy for you to find this flower. Can you give me a price?" Shu Feng listened to the middle-aged scholar's words without saying anything else. He smiled heartily, raised his eyes and asked.
"General Shufeng is straightforward. We won't beat around the bush. The price is eighty thousand taels of silver."
"Eighty thousand taels?" Shu Feng was immediately shocked and angry when he heard it. Although Baiwuyou has always had a good reputation in the martial arts world, they actually asked for eighty thousand taels of silver for this small purple pig flower. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that this group of people were no different from bandits who robbed houses.
"General, you don't know that this purple pig flower is worth ten thousand taels of gold in the world. Today is the first time I do business with you and it happens to be New Year's Eve, so I reluctantly sell it to you for a favor and reduce the price to eighty thousand taels." The middle-aged scholar was not at all panicked when he saw Shufeng was furious. He still put his hands behind his back and smiled bitterly.
"But this is too expensive..." Shufeng curled his lips and sat back.
Previously, the news that a large sum of money would be spent to find the purple pig flower had been spread, and Shu Feng had specifically asked someone about it. The expected price was no more than 50,000 taels of silver, but the current 80,000 taels was far beyond his budget.
"Of course, as merchants we have to understand the buyer's difficulties. This flower is a rare treasure, so its high price is reasonable. If General Shufeng cannot come up with 80,000 taels at once, we can still sign a contract for installment payment, but we will have to charge interest for the installment payment." Seeing that Shufeng was still hesitating, the middle-aged Confucian scholar smiled again.
"Installment? Aren't you afraid that I won't pay you after I take the flower?" The middle-aged Confucian scholar's words shocked Shu Feng again. Wow, he even thought of installment payment. This thing is really scary.
"General Shufeng is a prominent figure in Xiyue Country, so he should keep his word. But if the general cheats, we will have no choice but to take this contract to Shangjing City to ask for the debt from Shu's family. If Shu's family refuses to pay, we will have to sue the government."
Seeing the other party's confident look, Shu Feng understood that everything has its own strengths. He had finally found a rare flower that could save Yan Yu's life, but the price was far beyond his expectations. If he wanted to keep the flower, it seemed he had to sign an installment contract.