Chapter 363 - 240: King Landu, Domineering
Chapter 363: Chapter 240: King Landu, Domineering
Amid the clamor, a portly, middle-aged man in dark blue brocade robes backed out of the Hundred Herbs Hall.
He was flanked by two young servants; one held an umbrella for him, while the other supported him to keep him from falling.
In contrast, Wang Ji had shed his usual welcoming smile, now waving his hand with a displeased expression, as if shooing him out the door.
"Boss Jia, the contract was signed, and I’ve already sent the silver coins to your estate. Now you’re telling me the goods are gone, breaking the contract without any intention of compensating for the loss. Are you trying to bully Hundred Herbs Hall because we’re a small establishment?"
"Shopkeeper Wang, you can’t put it like that. I... I also didn’t expect the medicinal herbs to be burned up by a fire as soon as they arrived at the East Market Warehouse."
"Whoever burned your herbs is who you should go after. All Hundred Herbs Hall wants is for the transaction to be completed!"
"Shopkeeper Wang, you... you’re asking for the impossible."
"It was a group of barbarian slaves who burned down that grain store two nights ago. Even if the Government Office captures them, they won’t be able to compensate for my losses."
"If you don’t agree, you’ll... you’ll be driving my Jia’s Medicine Shop into the ground."
"Then do you have any idea how important that batch of herbs was to my Hundred Herbs Hall? Your loss is a loss, but ours isn’t?"
After speaking in a cold voice, Wang Ji caught sight of Chen Yi and the others across the street, and his expression immediately turned a little unnatural.
Just as he was about to greet them, he saw Chen Yi shake his head slightly. He then saw Chen Yi give him a meaningful look—invite Boss Jia back inside to continue the discussion.
’Invite him?’
Wang Ji understood the gesture and gave a wry smile to himself.
’I’ve already thrown all civility out the window and said things that can’t be taken back. How am I supposed to invite him back in now?’
But he had no choice. The boss had spoken, and he had to obey.
Then, the still-scowling Wang Ji instantly put on a smiling face.
"However, business is business, and being accommodating to others is being accommodating to oneself. I’ve just thought it over, and I agree that I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard."
The middle-aged man froze, staring at him blankly. The conciliatory words he had just prepared got stuck in his throat. "You... you’re..."
Before he could finish, Wang Ji strode forward, grabbed him by the arm, and started pulling him back into Hundred Herbs Hall.
As they walked, he said with a smile, "I was angry just now and said some harsh things. I hope you can forgive me, Boss Jia."
"Shopkeeper Wang, you... you’re truly... Ah, it was I, Old Jia, who wronged you this time."
"It was an accident. Neither of us wanted this to happen, right?"
"Come, let’s go back inside and continue our discussion. We’ll see if we can minimize the losses for both our businesses..."
The sudden reversal not only stunned the onlookers who had stopped to watch, but also left the guards of Hundred Herbs Hall completely baffled.
"What’s wrong with the Shopkeeper? Just a moment ago, he was telling us to act according to the situation."
"I don’t get it."
"Maybe he just had a change of heart?"
Clearly, none of the people around could understand the reason for Wang Ji’s sudden change.
But they mostly understood that Hundred Herbs Hall’s business was about to be affected—with the ordered herbs unexpectedly burned, everyone from patients getting prescriptions filled to customers coming for the tea drinks would feel the impact.
"Let’s go, let’s go! Everything else can wait, but we can’t run out of the tea drinks."
"I’ve got four wives at home! Without that Divine Bull Tea to restore my vigor, how am I supposed to handle it?"
"My wives need a bottle of Beauty Tea every few days, and I have to keep some Old Platinum Tea in stock for the elders in the family..."
For a moment, business at Hundred Herbs Hall actually became even more brisk.
Even more people were now flocking to the shop.
Seeing this, Chen Yunfan glanced at Chen Yi and asked thoughtfully:
"Are the effects of Hundred Herbs Hall’s tea drinks really that good?"
Chen Yi smiled and nodded. "They are indeed quite good. I had the chance to drink some before, through my cooperation with Hundred Herbs Hall."
As the one who had developed the recipes himself, he was naturally well aware of their effects.
While they couldn’t cure all illnesses, they certainly had the effect of strengthening the body and prolonging life.
This was because he added a special medicinal catalyst to every serving of tea—one that could draw Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into the body to harmonize yin and yang.
For this reason, Chen Yi had specifically instructed Wang Ji to personally add that ingredient just before the tea was served.
As long as Wang Ji kept his mouth shut, it wouldn’t matter if the recipe was lost; no one could replicate the effects of the Hundred Herbs Hall’s teas.
Cui Qingwu overheard their conversation and asked, "I heard that the owner of Hundred Herbs Hall created all those tea drinks?"
Xiao Wan’er replied hesitantly, "I suppose so. I’ve never asked Boss Chen Yu about it specifically."
Cui Qingwu hummed in acknowledgment and asked no more questions, pulling her into the restaurant.
At this, Chen Yi looked at Chen Yunfan and said with a smile, "Brother, I’m going to make a trip to Hundred Herbs Hall. I’ll be back in a bit."
Chen Yunfan had long suspected that he was the so-called Boss Chen Yu.
So when he heard Chen Yi say this, he secretly rolled his eyes, turned without a word, and led Chun Ying into the Yunqing Building.
’The bond between us really has faded. This guy... he’s still hiding things so deep.’
’And to think I wasted all that sadness on him for marrying into the Xiao Family.’
So he decided that while he could let everything else go, his determination to give Chen Yi a good beating would not change.
Chen Yi, of course, had no idea what Chen Yunfan was thinking. After they were a good distance away, he calmly headed for Hundred Herbs Hall.
He bypassed the slightly crowded main hall and, cupping his hands in a fist, smiled at Zhang Dabao, who was standing guard outside the inner hall.
"Excuse me, please announce that Chen Yi of the Xiao Family Medicine Hall has come to visit Shopkeeper Wang."
Zhang Dabao bowed impassively and said, "Please wait a moment, Mr. Qingzhou."
After speaking, he scrambled upstairs and then quickly came clattering back down.
"Mr. Qingzhou, this way, please. The Shopkeeper is waiting for you upstairs."
Chen Yi gestured for him to continue standing guard, then calmly walked up to the second floor.
At that moment, Wang Ji was already waiting at the top of the stairs with the boss surnamed Jia. When they saw him coming up, both men bowed slightly and greeted him with a smile:
"Mr. Qingzhou."
"Jia Yuzhi of Jia’s Medicine Shop, an honor to meet you, Mr. Qingzhou."
Chen Yi smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, then said, "It would be more familiar if you both called me Shopkeeper Chen."