Chapter Thirty Wild Medicinal Herbs

  Wen Fei, who had inexplicably escaped disaster, returned home to find that his Taoist robe had somehow torn open a slit, and he couldn't help but curse: "What a crappy Taoist robe, this kind of crappy quality still dares to cost 150..."

  Not noticing the stab-proof clothing he was wearing, he made a great contribution. It was also that the smelting technology of the Northern Song Dynasty was not good enough, the knife blade was sharp, but it was too brittle, and with a bit more force, it would directly break off.

  Modern

  This is not Wenfei's home, but a rented house in the countryside. It's just a small courtyard, and the rent isn't expensive, it's quite suitable for renting. As Wenfei's business gradually expanded, going in and out of the neighborhood became less convenient. Moreover, this way is also good to fool Zhang Yu that dead fat man, so he won't always hear Wenfei say go to the countryside but never actually go.

  This house is not the kind of small villa commonly seen in rural areas now, but an old-fashioned two-room flat-roofed cement house. The whole family has gone out to work, and this house is quiet and undisturbed.

  Wen Fei pushed a wooden cart, suddenly appearing out of thin air. Fortunately, this was in a locked house, otherwise if someone saw it, they might have been scared to death.

  This time Wen Fei really bought back a lot of medicinal herbs, all of which were things like ginseng and astragalus, totaling two or three hundred catties. It was enough to exhaust the physically inactive young master. After panting heavily for half a day, he didn't even bother with the medicinal herbs, but instead sat on a stool, still panting heavily.

  "So that's it! I was just wondering, how could there be such a bustling market in a broken place like the Mule and Horse Market, which is not connected to any village or store. It turns out that it's actually a place for trade with the Tibetan and Qiang ethnic groups!"

  Wen Fei had always found it strange that the donkey market was in such a desolate place, with no villages for tens of miles around. He didn't know why those common people would run so far to attend the fair. Now he knew that this place was mainly used for transactions with the Fan Department.

  The Great Song prohibited private transactions between civilians and barbarians, but those barbarians couldn't leave the tea leaves, fabrics and other things of the Great Song. Ordinary people also hoped to buy some livestock from the barbarians, both sides had their own needs. Thus, there was this mule market that avoided the imperial court's private transactions.

  When Wen Fei started to go, it was not a good time. Those tribes had always lived by the water and grass. In winter, those tribes all migrated to other places, but now that the weather is getting warmer, they are starting to migrate back. The donkey and horse market is truly bustling, and the real big business has just begun!

  Wen Fei's eyes flashed with excitement, he had already inquired clearly that it wouldn't be long before the day of exchange with the Fan Department arrived. At that time, not only would many big Fan Departments come, but also many large merchants from inland would come to exchange. From summer to autumn, this was the truly bustling day of the Mule and Horse Market!

  No car, it's not very convenient to return to the city. In recent years, the rural roads have been repaired quite well, and there are cement roads everywhere, which is still flat. If you buy a car, that would be great. Wen Fei pondered with his own family situation, whether he should also buy a car, no need for a good car, just a pickup truck would do. It's also convenient to pull goods.

  Carrying a bag of medicinal herbs as samples, squeezed in the rural-urban operating black taxi, swaying back and forth for several hours, it was not easy to get back to the city. The wind this year is getting stronger and stronger.

  All the way to Baohe Hall, Ye Lao Daifu was at the door using a small stove to decoct medicine. Seeing Wen Fei, he said: "Young man, you look much better now. The medicine you asked me to help with last time is ready. I've been wondering why you haven't come to pick it up yet!"

  Wen Fei smiled and said: "Nowadays, don't all medicines require a doctor's prescription? I give you the prescription, can't you just grab the medicine with confidence?"

  Ye Lao Daifu waved his hand with a majestic air, saying: "Cut the nonsense, I've seen dozens of years of illness. What Chinese medicine prescription can't be discerned as good or bad? Hmm, what's that in your hand?"

  Wen Fei took out the medicinal herbs from his bag and showed them to Ye Lao Daifu. These were not particularly rare or expensive medicinal herbs, but Ye Lao Daifu's expression changed as he looked at them, and he asked: "Where did you get such excellent medicinal herbs? I haven't seen anything this good in over a decade, they look like they're all wild-grown."

  Wen Fei smiled and said, "Isn't there a difference between wild medicinal herbs and cultivated ones?"

  "Nonsense, the pork raised in rural households is edible. Can its taste be compared to that of pigs fed with feed in pig farms? Nowadays, these planted medicinal materials are not effective enough. Last time, an old friend told me that even if the dosage of Fuzi was increased by a double, it wouldn't kill anyone..."

  Ye Lao Daifu was quite talkative, but suddenly let slip a remark that made him look somewhat embarrassed. After all, not many people know about this kind of thing. Nowadays, Chinese herbal medicine is getting weaker and weaker due to soil quality, planting methods, etc., so ancient prescriptions often need to be increased in dosage to achieve the same effect. If someone who doesn't understand this spreads it around, it's a medical accident waiting to happen.

  Wen Fei didn't catch the implication in Old Master Ye's words, and instead asked mysteriously: "So how much are these things worth per kilogram?"

  "It also depends on the quality of the white and small strips, but your ginseng looks like it's wild, with branches and all... probably around 180 yuan per kilogram. What, do you have goods in hand? Sour jujube kernel is around 50 yuan, I can give you a higher price." When it comes to business, this Old Master Ye seems to be not just a chatty old man, but has become shrewd.

  After calculating, the medicinal materials he collected himself cost about 0.1 yuan per catty. He now understands that a copper coin in the Northern Song Dynasty is equivalent to about 2-3 jiao in modern times in terms of purchasing power, not around 1 yuan as he initially imagined. Calculating this way, his purchase price was only around 2-3 yuan per catty, and selling it would be profitable no matter what.

  It's better to bring back the copper coins and sell them as antiques, which is more valuable. However, Wen Fei didn't want to keep selling Northern Song Dynasty copper coins anymore because scarcity makes things precious. Selling too many would not only make others suspicious but also impact the ancient coin market, causing prices to drop, which isn't good either.

  "That's settled then!" Wen Fei was overjoyed: "I still have 200-300 catties on hand, if you want to leave I can supply you for a long time."

  Having agreed on the price, this time he made another 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. With a packet of gold sand in his arms, Wen Fei's mood became cheerful. He went directly to Zhang Yu's store.

  Zhang Yu's business was lukewarm, and most of the things sold in his store were artworks that he sold to those who followed the trend, taking them back as decorations. It was just like buying discounted brand-name products online, although you knew very well in your heart that they were actually high-quality counterfeits!