Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

The morning light bloomed softly, and the mist was hazy.

The market outside Qingmu Town gradually became lively, with people constantly emerging from the misty air.

Some carried bamboo baskets on their backs, others toted shoulder poles with baskets, and still others led mules, carrying packages of all sizes.

The vendors each found a spot to set up their stalls, displaying various herbs and mountain goods, waiting for customers to arrive.

Unknowingly, wealthy townsfolk, local merchants, and traveling traders also appeared in the market, strolling around empty-handed.

In an instant, the market became very lively, with shouts and bargaining sounds rising and falling, extremely noisy.

Although Qingmu Town was just a small town, it was one of the main distribution centers for medicinal materials in Changle Prefecture, so the commercial atmosphere here was very strong, with medicine dealers and mountain goods merchants gathering here.

As long as there were good goods, there was no worry about not being able to sell them.

Therefore, the villagers from the surrounding villages and the hunters and herb gatherers from various places would travel through mountains and rivers to come to the market as long as they had goods in hand.

Every morning until noon, the market outside Qingmu Town was very lively.

"Yo ~ Brother Qiu, it's been a while since we've seen you at the market."

Qiu Zhen came to a corner of the market with a bamboo basket on his back, and as soon as he found a small open space, several herb gatherers greeted him.

"I've been a bit busy recently, and I rarely go up the mountain to gather herbs."

As he spoke, Qiu Zhen took out a piece of linen from his basket and spread out the various herbs he had prepared on it.

Before long, it was completely covered.

"Brother Qiu, your harvest is not bad, ah. You say you rarely go up the mountain. If you went up the mountain every day, wouldn't you get rich?"

"What do you know? He goes to the deep mountains and old forests to gather herbs, so the harvest is naturally rich. If you were bolder, you could also get rich."

"Forget it, forget it, I have old people above me and young children below me, so I can't take risks. I can't compare to you young people who have the drive."

"Hahahaha ~"

Seeing everyone joking, Qiu Zhen just smiled and did not participate in the discussion of the "gains and losses of going to the mountains for herbs" issue.

They were all adults, and their feet were on their own legs, so the opinions of others were not important.

"Young man, are these medicinal materials all authentic mountain goods?"

While everyone was talking, a middle-aged man came to Qiu Zhen's stall.

This person's attire was quite exquisite, wearing a black cloak with an open front and large, symmetrical sleeves. The body and edges of the garment were decorated with exquisite patterns, auspicious clouds, and white cranes in flight. He wore cloud-patterned shoes and a tight belt around his waist, looking very impressive. He was also followed by two servants, and at a glance, one could tell he was from a wealthy family.

A big customer had arrived.

Qiu Zhen was delighted in his heart, but on his face, he nodded calmly:

"That's right, these medicinal materials were all gathered by me from the deep mountains and old forests. They were not cultivated in medicinal fields or on medicinal mountains, so the customer can rest assured."

Around Qingmu Town, besides the grain fields, the most common were medicinal fields. The medicinal material planting industry was extremely developed, continuously producing a large number of medicinal materials.

The official mountain forests around Qingmu Town regularly sowed medicinal herb seeds, which, in a sense, could also be considered a giant medicinal field or medicinal mountain.

Under normal circumstances, medicinal materials planted in medicinal fields would deplete the soil's fertility over time, and their medicinal effects would not be as good as those of naturally wild plants in the mountains.

The "authentic goods" in the mouths of medicinal material merchants and mountain goods vendors specifically referred to wild medicinal materials from the deep mountains and old forests.

"Hmm ~"

The middle-aged man nodded noncommittally, casually glancing around, and said somewhat unexpectedly:

"Young man, everyone else is selling raw herbs, so why do you insist on preparing your good, authentic goods yourself? Could it be that you want to use inferior goods to pass off as good?"

Qiu Zhen was about to explain, but an herb gatherer next to him spoke first.

"This master, you don't know, Brother Qiu is a master of preparation from our Medicine King Valley. The medicinal materials he prepares are praised by merchants everywhere. You came early this time. If you had come later, these medicinal materials would have been bought up."

The middle-aged man was a little surprised and couldn't help but look at Qiu Zhen again.

"Cough cough ~"

Qiu Zhen coughed and explained:

"Customer, don't misunderstand. I am just an apprentice in a pharmacy, and I dare not call myself a master of preparation."

"Whether there is skill or not can be known with one look."

The middle-aged man became interested after hearing everyone's conversation.

Immediately, he squatted down and picked up a few slices of licorice, carefully tasting them.

After observing for a while, he nodded.

"The craftsmanship is indeed good."

Then, he picked up a few slices of Atractylodes macrocephala.

"Eh, this Atractylodes macrocephala..."

At first, the middle-aged man was a little careless and his comments were quite lofty, but after taking the "Atractylodes macrocephala slices" and carefully observing them, sniffing them, his expression changed slightly:

"Young man, is your preparation method soil-fried Atractylodes macrocephala?"

Qiu Zhen nodded: "That's right!"

"No!"

The middle-aged man shook his head: "The warm and dry air of your Atractylodes macrocephala is too mild. It doesn't even look like soil-fried Atractylodes macrocephala."

Qiu Zhen smiled and did not speak.

The middle-aged man was stunned, and then realized, laughing dumbly:

"I've made a fool of myself, young man. Your preparation skills are indeed extraordinary. Not bad, not bad. I'll take these medicinal materials. How many copper coins?"

"These medicinal materials are worth about 650 Wen on the market."

Qiu Zhen was very candid when talking about the market price of medicinal materials, but after speaking, he changed the subject and continued:

"I'll sell them for 800 Wen."

"Not expensive, they're worth the price."

The middle-aged man was very straightforward and agreed immediately.

"By the way, I don't know what to call you, young man."

"My surname is Qiu, my given name is Zhen, Qiu Zhen."

"Seeking truth and being practical, a good name."

As he spoke, the servant behind the middle-aged man paid the money and took the goods. The whole transaction process was surprisingly fast.

After the other party left, Qiu Zhen came back to his senses and realized that his goods were sold out.

"What a generous outsider!"

Qiu Zhen commented, then happily carried the bamboo basket on his back and went into the city, heading straight to a weapon shop in the city to buy bows and arrows.

Since it was his first time dabbling in archery, there was no need to buy any precious or strong bows, so he didn't have to put too much thought into it.

A bow cost 1500 Wen, and an arrow cost 70 Wen. He wanted ten arrows.

In total, it cost more than two strings of coins.

The 800 Wen that Qiu Zhen had just earned from selling medicinal materials had disappeared before it could even warm up, and he had to pay out more than one string of coins.

Fortunately, he still had a dozen taels of savings, so he wasn't short of small money.

After buying the bows and arrows, Qiu Zhen didn't stop and hurried to the pharmacy to work.

After returning to the backyard of the pharmacy, Qiu Zhen found a place to put his things and went straight to the open space in the courtyard.

As soon as he arrived at the open space in the courtyard, he was surprised to find that

It was a bit lively today.

Not only were the apprentices from the backyard gathered, but even the apprentices from the front yard clinic had come to the backyard, densely packed, making it very lively.

"Brother Zhen, why are you so late today? Did something happen on the way?"

Zhao Dou and Shen Liang saw Qiu Zhen from afar and hurried over.

"I went to the market to sell medicinal materials."

Qiu Zhen replied, then looked around at the crowded and lively courtyard, feeling a little curious:

"Big Head, Thin Monkey, what day is it today? Why is it so lively?"

"Brother Zhen, don't you know?"

Seeing Qiu Zhen looking confused, Zhao Dou immediately explained:

"Today, Apothecary An is going to select apprentices in our pharmacy to assist him. He is a big shot from Medicine King Valley. If you follow him and learn something, you will benefit for a lifetime."

"Brother Zhen, we only found out today, but how could you not know?"

Thin Monkey Shen Liang looked astonished, full of incomprehension:

"Shopkeeper Liu said that he would select the apprentice with the best preparation skills to send to Apothecary An. Your skills are recognized as the best. Could it be that Steward Kang didn't inform you in advance?"

After speaking, Zhao Dou also frowned slightly:

"Everyone else was informed in advance."

Qiu Zhen's heart sank when he heard this, and he immediately understood what had happened.

"God damn it!"