My Co-renting Lady Boss
Chapter 67 - 0067: Encountering a Thief While Buying Poison

Chapter 67: Chapter 0067: Encountering a Thief While Buying Poison

Most of the goods in this kind of herbal medicine shop are mainly for nourishing the body and strengthening yang, but as for Poisons, not even a shadow could be seen. Just when Tang Ming was about to give up, he suddenly noticed some dried centipede and scorpion-like things in a glass jar in the corner.

These items were highly toxic and rarely sold in the store, only purchased by a few customers who needed them for brewing medicinal wine, so they didn’t sell much all year round.

Upon closer inspection of the labels, Tang Ming saw that dried centipedes were fifty yuan per liang, while Dried Scorpions were one hundred per liang. He didn’t have much money to begin with, and after some careful calculations, he realized that this would spend all the money he had made last night, immediately feeling a pang of distress.

"Boss, how much for these?"

Tang Ming turned and loudly asked the group of sales clerks.

The clerks were all on commission, and seeing that Tang Ming was only buying common Chinese herbs with little profit, none of them wanted to come over, all busy introducing health supplements to other customers.

Those items were the high-ticket ones, and encountering a big customer could mean selling several tens of thousands of yuan worth of goods at once, earning a hefty commission.

The old man saw that no one was coming over and had to approach himself, smiling as he spoke, "Sir, are you looking to buy some to brew medicinal wine?"

"Something like that," Tang Ming replied, too lazy to explain, and asked,

"Can I get a discount if I buy more?"

"The prices are already the lowest. Our shop has the most affordable prices on this street, which is why we attract so many customers. Moreover, our shop guarantees that for any fake product, we compensate ten times the value, ensuring that you don’t take a pointless trip or buy counterfeits."

The old man was clearly experienced in doing business and said briskly, "My centipedes and scorpions are top-notch for brewing medicinal wine, very effective for bruises and rheumatism. Once you buy some and try it out, you’ll know that my goods are genuine."

The old man pulled over a bag from the side and asked, "How many liang do you want?"

"Liang? Let’s start with ten jin."

Tang Ming calculated the money in his pocket and could only afford the cheaper dried centipedes.

"Ah?"

The old man paused for a moment, then said with a bitter smile,

"You’re not joking with me, are you?"

"Why would I joke?"

Tang Ming pulled out a stack of bills from his pocket and said, "Do I look like I’m joking?"

The old man couldn’t figure out why Tang Ming was buying so much. Brewing medicinal wine didn’t require that much, and said, "We don’t have ten jin in our store, only a little over one jin of dried centipedes and just over half a jin of Dried Scorpions. These things don’t sell well, so we don’t stock much of them."

"Fine, I’ll take whatever you have."

Tang Ming thought that since this shop didn’t have enough, he would have to visit a few more.

After paying the bill and walking out of the herbal medicine shop with a plastic bag, Tang Ming grimaced and muttered to himself in pain,

"Damn expensive. Back abroad, even the more poisonous Black Widow spiders were easy to catch, and they couldn’t sell for much. I never thought that here at home, even centipedes and scorpions could fetch such high prices."

Tang Ming visited two more shops and similarly accumulated another two jin. These dried goods like centipedes and scorpions were scarcely found in the stores, some having only half a jin. Since there were not many buyers, the stores would not have much of this stock.

As he walked out of the shop, he didn’t notice that behind him, a girl around eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a duckbill hat, was quietly following him.

"Buying so many poisonous scorpions and centipedes, he must be up to no good. Might as well take care of him too."

After mumbling to herself, the girl quickly followed Tang Ming.

Just as Tang Ming was about to turn into a corner, the girl suddenly quickened her pace and collided with him.

Tang Ming, who was looking around to see if there were any other pharmacies and had let his guard down, was taken by surprise by the collision, almost losing his balance. The plastic bag he was carrying fell to the ground. He looked down and saw a girl standing beside him, which immediately dampened his anger, but he still bent down and said discontentedly, "What’s the matter with you?"

"I’m sorry, I’m in a hurry and wasn’t watching where I was going, really sorry about that."

The girl apologized profusely and even bent down to help Tang Ming pick up the dried centipedes and scorpions that had fallen on the ground.

After Tang Ming had gathered his things, he tried to get a good look at the girl’s face, but her duckbill cap was pulled down low, and her long black hair covered her cheeks, blocking any clear view of her face. All he could make out was a delicate girl with very fair skin, probably around eighteen or nineteen.

"I’m in a rush, I have to go."

The girl said urgently while nodding apologetically toward Tang Ming.

Turned around to leave, her face devoid of the apologetic and embarrassed expressions from a moment ago. Instead, she wore a smug look—a fool had taken the bait once again, but it was their own fault; none of them were good people.

But suddenly, she felt her small arm being grasped firmly, making it impossible for her to walk away.

Turning her head, the person holding her arm was none other than Tang Ming with a bag full of poisons and a mischievous grin, exuding satisfaction.

The girl struggled a few times but couldn’t free her arm from Tang Ming’s grip, and urgently said, "What do you think you’re doing?"

With a grip on the girl’s arm, Tang Ming sneered,

"At such a young age, why learn anything but how to be a thief?"

"Which eye of yours saw that I was a thief? Let go, or I’ll scream harassment."

The girl’s face flushed. This was the first time in the past month that someone had seen through her, and how could such an ordinary-looking guy like him have noticed her?

"I’ll let you go, just return my things."

Tang Ming let go of her arm, spreading his hands with a smile.

"Hmph, give them back, then give them back."

The girl feigned raising her arm, and in the moment Tang Ming was caught off guard, she darted into the alley like a nimble kitten.

When Tang Ming looked into the alley, the girl thief was nowhere to be seen. He exclaimed in frustration, "Next time I see you, I’ll deal with you properly."

In actuality, Tang Ming could have pursued and caught up with her, but he was carrying a bunch of poisons and was anxious to get home for his cultivation practice. He didn’t have the time to waste on her nonsense, and he didn’t have much money left anyway.

While Tang Ming was pursuing the girl thief, an old woman with a walking stick approached from the other end of the alley. Her steps were shaky, as if a gust of wind might knock her over.

As Tang Ming approached, the old woman suddenly fell to the ground. However, to Tang Ming’s eyes, her movements looked all too theatrical.

"Young man, come help me up."

The old woman on the ground gestured towards Tang Ming.

"Granny, for someone with such a robust constitution, can’t you get up by yourself?"

Tang Ming stood still, smiling as he spoke.

"If I could get up, that would be great. The ground is so cold, young man, please come help me."

The old woman muttered with trembling hands.

Tang Ming knew she was pretending and that if he went to help her, a few prearranged actors would most likely pop out from somewhere nearby.