I attained immortality through meditation in the Great Qian Dynasty.

"Alright! Alright! Doctor, take it, take as much as you want!"

Accountant Sun didn't think much of it.

"Stop right there!"

Liu San blocked Zhao Zi'an's path.

"I thought it was some kind of treasure, but it's just a piece of broken grass?"

"Hey kid, you've been putting on airs for ages, just trying to sneak away?"

"Let me tell you, even if this is just a piece of tattered grass from the outhouse, it still belongs to Jishetang! Once you enter this courtyard, every stitch and thread belongs to the Su family!"

"It's not something you, an outsider, can just take as you please!"

"lay down!"

Accountant Sun's face darkened.

Liu San is so disrespectful, he's completely broken ties with Doctor Zhao.

If this gets back to the shopkeeper, he won't be happy either.

"Brother Liu, Brother Liu! What are you doing?!"

"Dr. Zhao is just taking a herb back to study its medicinal properties; it's nothing serious. Don't get so worked up!"

Liu San shook off Sun the accountant's hand.

"Outsiders can just touch things in the storeroom? Accountant Sun, I think you're getting more and more senile as you get older!"

"That's the rule! Today, let alone some outsider like him, even if the county magistrate came and tried to take a single blade of grass from me, Liu San, without any explanation, he'd have to ask my weapon for permission!"

Liu San didn't care about that blade of grass.

What he cares about is face!

Who calls the shots in this backyard?

"Liu San!"

Sun the accountant's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"Show me some respect!"

This sudden change left Liu San completely bewildered.

He had known Accountant Sun for so many years, and the old man had always been a smiling Buddha who made money through kindness.

"Do you really think that Doctor Zhao is just a patron doctor we invited to practice medicine?"

Liu San's pupils contracted slightly.

What does that mean?

Accountant Sun gave a cold laugh.

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly!"

"This is Zhao Zi'an, Young Master Zhao! From today onwards, he is the new owner of Jishetang!"

Dong... Dongjia?

This kid who hasn't even grown his first hair yet?

Is he the owner of Jishetang?

How could that be! Doesn't Jishetang belong to Manager Su alone?

"Manager Su is kind-hearted. Recognizing Young Master Zhao's profound medical skills and promising future, he specially allocated 30% of his own shares to Young Master Zhao!"

"That's what Accountant Sun said."

"The manager just explained this to me in the inner room this morning! It's all in writing, the contract is even drafted, we're just waiting for Young Master Zhao to have time to sign it!"

"Liu San, the person you're stopping isn't an outsider; it's the second-in-command of Jishetang, who owns 30% of the shares!"

"From now on, when you meet him, you must treat him with utmost respect and address him as 'Master Zhao'!"

Liu San was stunned.

This kid is actually my boss?

But what did he just do?

Having offended the new owner who owns 30% of the shares, can Manager Su still protect him?

Liu San's legs went weak, and he knelt down straight down.

"Master..."

"I was blind and didn't recognize your worth! I'm a complete idiot! You're so magnanimous, please just ignore me and let me go!"

Zhao Zian disliked this kind of scene.

But they also understood that establishing authority was necessary.

Especially for a seasoned opportunist like Liu San, who bullies the weak and fears the strong, and who treats people differently based on their status.

If we don't beat him into submission and fear him today...

Who knows how many unsavory things will happen in the backyard of Jishetang in the future.

Get up.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhao! Thank you, Mr. Zhao!"

Liu San nodded and bowed.

"I don't like to make things difficult for people."

"But, Liu San..."

Zhao Zian then changed the subject.

"Our Jishetang business emphasizes honesty and fair pricing, treating everyone, young and old, fairly. From now on, you need to be more discerning and quick in your work."

Liu San's back was soaked with cold sweat.

"Yes! Yes! I understand! I will definitely be more careful and discreet from now on! I will never dare to be negligent in the slightest again!"

Zhao Zian walked to the sack.

"Is this the good stuff you were talking about, the stuff you found in the prefectural city?"

"Yes, Master Zhao! That's right! I only managed to get this batch of goods through an old connection in the medicinal herb shops in the prefectural city! Look at this batch of Polygonatum, how big they are, they're definitely aged! And this batch of Angelica sinensis, so oily and fragrant, absolutely top-grade!"

Zhao Zian shook his head.

"These aren't exactly high-quality goods."

Liu San was stunned.

"Master Zhao..."

"What do you mean by that?"

Accountant Sun was also somewhat surprised.

"Master, although Liu San is a scoundrel, he is indeed quite skilled at procuring medicinal herbs. I have also inspected this batch of goods, and the quality is indeed excellent."

Zhao Zian held up the Huangjing (a type of medicinal herb) to Liu San.

"You're saying it's old enough?"

"Yes...yes!"

"The year might not be wrong."

Zhao Zian then changed the subject.

"But the preparation method was a complete mess."

He used his fingernail to scrape out the mud and sand from the texture of the Solomon's Seal.

"Look here, the mud and sand are still embedded in the patterns, it wasn't cleaned properly at all. And look at the color, the outside is burnt yellow, but the inside is uneven in color. This is a typical case of overheating during processing, in pursuit of speed, high temperature was used for rapid drying, resulting in a dry outside and a damp inside."

Everyone took a closer look.

Inside the cracked Solomon's Seal, one can still see obvious moisture and a tender, raw core.

"This kind of stuff has lost at least 30% of its medicinal properties. It's all show and no substance. Not only will it be of no benefit to the patient, but it may also damage their spleen yang because the internal dampness hasn't been eliminated. Manager Liu, is this the top-grade medicine you're so proud of?"

Liu San opened his mouth.

He wasn't completely oblivious to these details, but he felt they were insignificant.

The supplier offered generous rebates during the procurement process.

He turned a blind eye.

But to his utter surprise, the young man in front of him could see everything clearly with just a glance and a sniff!

Is this...is this even human?

Zhao Zian walked to the next sack, which contained the oily angelica root that Liu San had boasted about.

He grabbed a handful at random.

"You said it's oily and has a strong aroma?"

He spread a handful of angelica root in his palm for everyone to see.

"The harvesting season is wrong. The best quality angelica should be harvested after the first frost, when the roots and stems are plump and the medicinal properties are more concentrated."

"As for this batch, you can see the traces left on the leaves. It's obvious that it was dug up before the autumnal equinox, and the roots and stems are thin and weak."

"To make it look oily, it's probably been fumigated with sulfur, isn't it?"

"Is this medicinal herb being used to treat illness, or is it being used to poison someone?"

"And this too."

Zhao Zian walked up to the licorice root, pulled out a stalk, and handed it to Liu San.

"You can't tell there's a poisonous plant mixed in with the licorice?"

Upon closer inspection, Liu San noticed that the licorice root in Zhao Zi'an's hand did indeed have an extra ring of fine purple lines at the root node compared to normal licorice.

Those were the seedlings and roots of the poisonous herb *Gnaphalium affine*.

Liu San felt dizzy and disoriented.

It’s over.

It's all over.

Zhao Zian continued.

"These medicinal materials are of insufficient quality, poorly processed, and mixed together. If we were to use them to prescribe medicine for patients, it would tarnish the century-old reputation of Jishetang."