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It was the beginning of summer in April, when the fragrance of pagoda tree flowers filled the air.

Doctor Li was teaching his grandson how to recognize herbs at their pharmacy when Jiang Sanlang walked in, carrying a basket on his back.

Jiang Sanlang bowed to Doctor Li, “Elder Li, I’ve baked some more Auricularia mushrooms, would you like to take a look and see if you can buy any?”

Upon hearing this, Doctor Li’s face brightened and he stroked his beard, “Let’s have a look.”

Jiang Sanlang placed his basket on the counter and opened the hemp cloth covering it.

The basket was full of vibrant golden mushrooms, each resembling a small yellow embroidered ball, they were a feast for the eyes.

Surprised, Doctor Li looked up at Jiang Sanlang, “Where on earth did you find so many Auricularia mushrooms?”

Jiang Sanlang scratched his head, embarrassed, “They are not found, they were grown by us.”

“No wonder.” Doctor Li exclaimed, “No wonder they’re all uniform in size and pure in color.”

He picked up a mushroom and felt it. It was dry and when squeezed it, the mushroom made a cracking sound as if it would shatter into pieces any minute.

“You’ve put in quite some work, Sanlang.” Doctor Li smiled, “The quality is good, if stored properly, it won’t spoil for a year.”

After taking another glimpse at the mushrooms in the basket, he muttered,

“We’ll need to find something to seal them up.”

He turned to his grandson and instructed him to fetch two bamboo baskets to store the mushrooms.

The mushrooms shouldn’t be subjected to pressure to prevent them from breaking.

His grandson dashed off towards the back hall.

Doctor Li took out his scales and began weighing the mushrooms.

“Three catties in total.” Doctor Li said, “Based on a rate of ten coins per catty, I owe you thirty coins. Sanlang, would you like the payment in copper or silver ingots?”

Although Jiang Sanlang already knew how much money his mushrooms would fetch, he still felt dizzy when he heard the sum again.

Good heavens, thirty coins, it equates to thirty thousand copper coins, it would require a big basket to hold this amount.

However, they still had a substantial amount of copper at home, more than enough for their expenses for half a year. It would be more convenient to take the silver ingots for easier storage.

“Silver ingots, I’d prefer silver ingots, they’re easy to carry.” He replied with a grin.

Doctor Li laughed too, ordering his grandson to place the mushrooms, while he went to the backyard to fetch the silver.

This time he brought out six silver ingots, each weighing five taels, and displayed them shiningly before Jiang Sanlang.

This was the first time Jiang Sanlang had seen so many silver ingots. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he stashed each of them in his waist pouch.

After slinging on his now empty basket, he asked, “Old Uncle Li, I have some more mushrooms at home, do you still need more?”

On hearing the words, Doctor Li was taken aback, “What? You have more?”

“Yeah, we planted quite a lot. The ones I brought today only account for forty percent.” Jiang Sanlang replied.

It was now Doctor Li’s turn to scratch his head.

In embarrassment, he said, “To tell you the truth, Sanlang, I can only store as much. After all, the main consumption of these mushrooms is in the autumn and winter seasons.

At present, I can only purchase this many. If you have any more, I don’t have the available cash for payment. You can try selling it to the larger pharmacy in the county town.”

Jiang Sanlang paused, and then bowed to Doctor Li, “Understood. Thank you, Old Uncle Li for your advice.”

When he returned home, Jiang Sanlang was in low spirits.

Although he had earned another thirty taels of silver, the majority of the mushrooms still remained unsold.

Besides, his elder brothers were eagerly anticipating the opportunity to grow mushrooms with him in order to get rich. But now Doctor Li was not buying anymore. If they couldn’t sell the mushrooms, his brothers would be sorely disappointed.

Noticing her husband’s somber expression, Chunniang quickly inquired,

“What’s wrong?”

Jiang Sanlang relayed Doctor Li’s words, sighing, “Doctor Li’s pharmacy can’t buy any more Auricularia mushrooms, it appears I will have to make a trip to the county tomorrow instead.”

Upon hearing, his daughter Yingbao immediately lit up, and promptly raised her hand, “Dad, I want to go too! I want to go to the county town!”

Jiang Sanlang looked at his eager little daughter and couldn’t help but laugh, “What for?”

“To sell the Auricularia mushrooms, can you take me, Dad?” Yingbao sweetly pleaded, tugging at her father’s sleeve.

“All right, all right. I’ll take you.”

Jiang Sanlang picked up his daughter, and said to his wife, “I am going to the front yard to discuss with my brothers. Let’s see if they are available tomorrow.

It’s safer for us brothers to travel together.”

If they could successfully sell the mushrooms in the county town, a considerable sum of silver would be coming in. If they encountered bandits on their way home, it would not bode well, so it was necessary to travel with several adult men.

Moreover, if they were planning to involve their brothers in growing mushrooms, they needed to find a merchant who could commit to steady purchases. Otherwise, all their collective efforts would be in vain.

“That’s a good idea, you should go.”

Chunniang looked worriedly at her little daughter, “But…are you really taking

Bao with you? The road is not safe.”

Before her father could answer, Yingbao preemptively responded insisting, “I want to go! Dad has already agreed to take Baobao.”

Chunniang glared at her little daughter, “Naughty girl, don’t you care about your baby brother?”

“I want a brother, when Baobao comes back from the county town, I will bring something tasty for my brother and for Mother.”

Her baby brothers were seven months old now, they could have some food to chew and grind their teeth. She planned to buy milk cakes from the best pastry shop in the county town for her baby brothers.

Chunniang:…

Jiang Sanlang laughed, “Just let her go. When the time comes, we’ll also bring along Dacheng to carry Bao.”

Yingbao’s eyes squinted in a happy smile as she nodded her head repeatedly,

“Mother, don’t worry, Baobao won’t be wild. Baobao will be helpful.”

Not knowing what else to say, Chunniang poked her daughter’s forehead, “You had better behave then. No running around. The county town is dangerous, with bad people who steal children, particularly babies like you.”

“Uh-huh, Baobao won’t run around.”

The next day, Jiang Sanlang borrowed a cart from the village head’s family. Carrying two baskets of Auricularia mushrooms, he and his three brothers set off for the county town.

Of course, Yingbao and her eldest cousin, Brother Jiang Cheng were also aboard the cart.

They started at dawn, and with intermittent stops along the way, they reached the city gates only by noon.

The guards required them to pay a five-coin transport tax before letting them in.

Once they entered the city, they drove around aimlessly in their cart, mainly in search of a pharmacy that would buy their mushrooms.

Having lived in the county town for several years in her previous life, Yingbao was very familiar with the layout of the town.

She directed her father to drive the cart, turning right and left, and eventually entering a bustling street.

The street was lined with various shops, colorful flags fluttered and various people were coming and going in great numbers.

Yingbao pointed at a shop, “Dad, that’s a pharmacy over there.”

In her previous life, she and her brother had visited this pharmacy and purchased medicine. The doctor was skilled and the shopkeeper was trustworthy.

But she didn’t know if it was still the same now, just like her past life.

Jiang Sanlang looked up and saw that it indeed was a pharmacy.

“Jiukang Pharmacy.”

The name alone suggested that it was an old, established pharmacy.

“Elder brothers, let’s go have a look.”

Jiang Sanlang invited his two older brothers, “We should take one basket of mushrooms first, leaving the rest in the cart. I’ll leave Dacheng to watch the cart.’

Jiang Dage and Jiang Erlang agreed. They jumped off the cart and tidied up their clothes, wiping off the dust from their shoes, before following their younger brother into the Jiukang Pharmacy.

Yingbao was held by her father-in-law, her eyes rolling around incessantly.

From the looks of it, Jiukang Pharmacy seemed small, with fewer medicinal cabinets than she remembered.

But the Jiukang Pharmacy she remembered was from more than ten years into the future, you couldn’t compare the two.

Upon entering the shop, Jiang Sanlang handed his daughter to Erlang while proceeding to approach a young pharmacy attendant who was preparing the herbs, “Excuse me, is your shopkeeper available?”