Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

Dr. Gu stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and briefly explained his purpose.

Doctor Wang made no attempt to refuse, simply nodding and saying gently, "Since Brother Gu is also a doctor, let's take a look at the medicinal herbs first. Please bring out the herbs, and I will examine them one by one."

The families quickly took the medicinal herbs out of their baskets.

Bundles of Rehmannia glutinosa, Scutellaria baicalensis, Bupleurum chinense, and Plantago asiatica were stacked on the blue brick floor in front of the pharmacy. Although their quality varied, they were all neatly arranged.

Doctor Wang squatted down, picked up a piece of Rehmannia glutinosa, examined it from all angles, then brought it to his nose to smell it. He put it down, picked up a bundle of Scutellaria baicalensis, shook it, nodded, and then shook his head slightly.

"Gentlemen, to be frank," Doctor Wang straightened up, patted the crumbs off his hands, and spoke sincerely, "the medicinal herbs haven't been processed long enough; they're not dry enough. The medicinal properties are still there, but the appearance is lacking. These Rehmannia, Scutellaria, and Bupleurum are the most common herbs, used in large quantities, but their prices are transparent. Because yours aren't dry enough, I have to charge you two coins less per pound than the market price. As for Plantain and Dandelion, these things are everywhere in the mountains and aren't worth much; they're just extras."

As he spoke, he listed the prices of each medicinal herb: Rehmannia glutinosa, which was of decent quality, cost 18 coins per catty; Scutellaria baicalensis cost 15 coins; Bupleurum chinense cost 12 coins; and Plantain and Taraxacum mongolicum were all given a total price of 30 coins without being weighed by catty.

This price is more than half the price quoted by the shopkeeper at Yongchuntang. Although it is indeed two coins lower than the market price, they made it very clear.

The families felt reassured and nodded in agreement; no one raised any objections.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Doctor Wang beckoned over two apprentices, one with a scale and the other with a ledger, and they began weighing and recording each item one by one. The apprentices were quick and efficient; after weighing, they would make a note in the ledger and read it aloud so the seller could hear it clearly, without any discrepancies.

When it was Jiang Xing's turn, she took out her family's medicinal herbs one by one from her basket.

Her medicinal herbs are different from others; she digs them all herself.

Doctor Gu glanced at her from the side and raised an eyebrow slightly. This girl is lucky to have found so many good medicinal herbs.

Doctor Wang took the Panax notoginseng from Jiang Xing, examining it closely for a while, his expression gradually becoming serious. He glanced at Jiang Xing, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment as if assessing something, then put the herbs down and said to the apprentice, "These are individually marked; they're of good quality, priced at market value."

The apprentice responded and started a new line in the book.

Jiang Xing nodded slightly. She knew the value of her medicinal herbs and there was no need for formalities.

Finally, she carefully took out a damp cloth bag from the bottom of the basket, placed it on the counter, and opened it layer by layer. Inside the bag were three Dendrobium officinale plants, with thick rhizomes, distinct nodes, and a faint bluish-brown sheen on their skin—they were of excellent quality.

Doctor Wang's gaze fell on the three dendrobium plants, his eyes widening slightly. He reached out and picked one up, holding it in his palm, examining it from root to stem, from node to bark, turning it over and over for a while. He then brought it to his nose to smell it before gently putting it down, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of admiration: "Wild, old stock, such rare quality. It's not easy to find dendrobiums like this at this time of year."

He looked at Jiang Xing and quoted a price: "Five taels of silver per plant. Three plants, fifteen taels."

There was a moment of silence in the front hall.

When the amount of fifteen taels of silver was announced, the reactions of the families varied. Doctor Gu, on the other hand, had an expression that suggested he had expected it, and his lips twitched slightly.

Hu's eyes widened instantly. Standing next to Chen Junsheng, still holding the basket of unsold straw sandals, she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the three dendrobium plants and Jiang Xing's face several times.

Fifteen taels of silver—her family's pile of straw hats, straw sandals, and medicinal herbs together only sold for less than five hundred coins. Jiang Xingguang's three medicinal herbs were worth more than her family's earnings from dozens of trips.

"Jiang girl is really capable," Madam Hu finally couldn't help but say, her tone tinged with a hint of sourness, "Why didn't you take your aunt with you to dig up such good medicinal herbs?"

Jiang Xing was receiving the silver from Doctor Wang when he heard this, so he looked up and narrowed his eyes slightly.

She looked at Hu Shi, a gentle smile curving her lips, and said in a soft, gentle tone, "Okay, I'll take you with me next time. But these dendrobium orchids are naturally guarded by snakes and insects. Getting bitten by one can be fatal, so you'd better be careful and not get bitten."

The expression on Hu's face froze instantly.

She remembered the bulging snake bag in the yard yesterday, filled with countless writhing snakes hissing and flicking their tongues.

Her face paled, her lips trembled, and then she forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, saying awkwardly, "Auntie was just joking, just joking... Auntie doesn't have that ability, Jiang girl, you go by yourself."

Jiang Xing chuckled softly, averted his gaze, and stopped looking at her.

The silver was in his hands—fifteen taels of gleaming silver. Doctor Wang had his apprentice weigh it with a scale, and then counted it again in front of him; not a single coin was missing. Jiang Xing put the silver into his pocket, but didn't rush to leave.

She looked up at Dr. Wang and asked again, "Dr. Wang, do you take in snakes here?"

Doctor Wang was having his apprentice clean up the scattered medicinal herb fragments on the counter when he heard this. He turned around, his expression turning serious: "What snake?"

"We caught some snakes, including black-banded rat snakes, rat snakes, red-banded snakes, five-step snakes, and mountain snakes." Jiang Xing pointed to the two cloth bags by the foot of the stone in the yard. "They've all been sorted; venomous snakes are venomous, and non-venomous snakes are non-venomous."

Doctor Wang's expression turned serious. He had practiced medicine for decades and had seen many herb gatherers, but very few had ever caught a mountain wind, and this was the first time he had ever seen a woman who dared to catch a mountain wind.

"Bring it to the backyard." Doctor Wang turned and walked towards the backyard.

Jiang Xing waved to Shi Tou, who quickly picked up the two snake bags and followed her. The two passed through the front hall and followed Doctor Wang into the backyard.

The backyard of Renxintang was not large, with an old locust tree growing there. Several bamboo sieves were placed under the tree, where medicinal herbs were being dried. Empty medicine jars and old earthenware urns were piled up in the corner of the yard, which was clean and tidy, unlike the crowded front hall.

Doctor Wang had his apprentice bring over a large scale and then spread an oilcloth on the ground before letting Jiang Xing place the bag on the oilcloth.

Jiang Xing first opened the bag of non-venomous snakes and showed the snakes inside to Doctor Wang. Each snake was about the thickness of a thumb, the longest being nearly three feet long and the shortest being a little over two feet long.

Doctor Wang squatted down, picked up a black-tailed snake, examined it, and then touched its scales. He nodded, "It looks good, the right size for medicinal use."

Jiang Xing opened the cloth bag containing the venomous snakes again. The five-step snake and the mountain wind snake had been separately placed in two cloth bags. When she poured them out, Doctor Wang's expression changed visibly.

Jiang Xing picked up Guo Shanfeng and held the snake by its head, showing Doctor Wang the scales seven inches below its head: "This one is alive. If you're buying a whole live snake, would the price be higher?"

Doctor Wang stared at the thick mountain wind in her hand, remained silent for a long while, and then slowly nodded. Jiang Xing was the first person to dare to stand in front of him empty-handed, carrying a live mountain wind.

"Girl," Doctor Wang couldn't help but ask, "did you catch this mountain wind all by yourself?"

Jiang Xing put the mountain wind back into the cloth bag and casually replied, "More or less."

He had the apprentice weigh the snakes one by one. The non-venomous snakes weighed a total of twenty-seven jin. The five-step snake and the mountain wind snake weighed a total of twelve jin.

Doctor Wang took the ledger and wrote down the prices as he went: "Non-venomous snakes, three hundred coins per catty. This is the price the pharmacy has been paying for all year round, and it hasn't changed for many years. Five-step snakes and mountain snakes, six hundred coins per catty. They are of good quality and worth the price."

The apprentice was busy clicking the beads on his abacus, and finally announced a number: "Master, the non-venomous snake weighs 27 catties, 8 taels and 1 mace of silver. The five-step snake and the mountain wind snake weigh 12 catties, 7 taels and 2 mace of silver. The total is 15 taels and 3 mace."

Stone squatted to the side. When he heard the number, his mouth slowly opened, his eyes widened, and he seemed to be frozen in place, not moving for a long time.

Fifteen taels of silver—he was just a kid, a boy who had been herding cattle and cutting grass in his hometown in the north since he was a child. He barely touched a few copper coins all year round. What did fifteen taels of silver mean to him? He couldn't even begin to calculate it.

Jiang Xing took the silver from Doctor Wang, counted the amount, turned around and saw Shi Tou still squatting on the ground with a dreamlike expression on his face, and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

She walked over and patted his head: "What's wrong? Are you stunned?"

Shi Tou snapped out of his daze, looked up at her, his lips moved, and his voice trembled: "Sister Jiang, is...is this real? Fifteen taels?"

"Really." Jiang Xing nodded, weighed the bag of silver in his hand, took out a few pieces of loose silver, and handed them to Shi Tou. "You got a share of these snakes too. You helped me catch the non-venomous snakes, and I caught the mountain wind snakes by myself, so that doesn't count. But we both caught the five-step snakes and the non-venomous snakes. Based on our efforts, I'll take the lion's share of the fifteen taels of silver, and you should get six taels."

Shi Tou lowered his head and looked at the few pieces of silver in Jiang Xing's palm. The silver was dazzlingly white in the afternoon sun, and it weighed heavily in Jiang Xing's hand, waiting for him to take it.