Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity
Chapter 61 - 57 Dongzi

Chapter 61: Chapter 57 Dongzi

Once in the county, Gu Chengli felt that there was so much to see, even though he had worked in the town before, the county was much more bustling than the town. Small shops lined both sides of the street, with carriages and pedestrians overflowing at the center, and the shouts of vendors outdid each other.

Gu Chengyu compared Qinghe County with Shanhe Town and found the county indeed much more lively, with the county government undoubtedly located at its east. In this dynasty’s cities, it was common to honor the east, followed by the north, where wealthy families lived. The shops and ordinary citizens resided in the west and south respectively. Merchants had low social status in Dayan, yet they were wealthy! Consequently, the poorest were actually the common folk in the south.

However, as a modern person, Gu Chengyu had seen bustling streets; he just felt the ancient towns had more warmth, while modern cities were colder.

With so many shops, it wasn’t easy to find Huichun Hall; being unfamiliar with the area, they had to ask for directions. He glanced at Gu Chengli, who was watching the shops and novel things with a timidly curious look, and knew he couldn’t rely on his elder brother for this; asking for directions wouldn’t work. Then, he looked at Mr. Gu, who, surprisingly, was calm and seemed experienced but was also scanning the area hoping to find the clinic.

"Father, with so many stores, we don’t know where Huichun Hall is, better to ask someone," Gu Chengyu suggested.

"Doctor Li said Huichun Hall is on West Street, but this is South Street, so let’s head to West Street, turn left and cross over to take a look. Don’t lose sight of the road ahead, and don’t act like Xiao Bao!" Mr. Gu noticed Gu Chengli was just absorbed in the sights, even less attentive than a child, and it upset him.

"Father, it’s my first time here in the county! This road in the county is really wide!" Gu Chengli exclaimed.

"Let’s hurry! Carrying such heavy things, you’re not even tired?" Mr. Gu grew slightly out of breath, after all, age was catching up to him; carrying over twenty pounds began to make him weary after a while.

"Brother! Quickly, give Father a hand, he can barely carry it!" Gu Chengyu saw that his father was sweating slightly and urged his brother to help.

"You rascal, this bit of stuff, there’s nothing your father can’t handle. Let’s go!" Mr. Gu was slightly embarrassed by Gu Chengyu’s remark, he wasn’t that old!

Gu Chengyu smiled silently, his father was just refusing to admit he’s getting old! Yet, in modern times, it would be his prime, but in ancient times, turning sixty was worthy of celebration, implying the age wasn’t young anymore. Watching his father carrying the sack, hunched over, holding his hand through the crowd and separating them to protect him, Gu Chengyu tightened the grip on Mr. Gu’s hand; he wasn’t grown up yet!

The three finally made their way through South Street and arrived at West Street. The environment was tidier and cleaner on West Street, with many large shops but no stalls set by vendors, indicating its clientele comprised mainly of wealthy individuals. After taking a few steps, they saw the Huichun Hall as the first one on the left, followed by a fabric shop.

Mr. Gu and the others breathed a sigh of relief; the county was indeed enormous, having taken nearly half an hour to reach Huichun Hall from the south.

Huichun Hall had a large storefront, with two double doors, and plenty of people coming and going for medicine and medical consultations inside. Gu Chengyu stood outside, peeking into the shop, seeing three apprentices grabbing medicine for patients at the pharmacy counter, while two or three workers welcomed and sent off visitors. As for the doctors and shopkeeper, they were definitely not visible at the entrance, most likely were inside.

Having arrived, they definitely needed to go in and ask. "Father, let’s sell the wintergreen first inside, it’s quite heavy to carry," Gu Chengyu felt it was still best to directly approach the shopkeeper, since the workers couldn’t make decisions.

"Alright, let’s go in!" Mr. Gu composed himself, though can’t help feeling anxious seeing such a large clinic.

"Father, should we sell to such a big clinic? Don’t know if they even accept it, or take an interest in our things," Gu Chengli was feeling hesitant.

"Brother, we came all the way here, we can’t not go in, right? Even if they don’t accept it, we should still ask. Father, it’s crowded inside, inconvenient for you to carry things in, let me go ask first, and I’ll call for you later." Gu Chengyu decided to go in first to inquire and probe about pricing, and he dashed into the clinic before his father agreed.

"Huh? Xiao Bao? Come back. Ah, this kid..." Mr. Gu wasn’t quick enough to stop him and watched helplessly as Gu Chengyu went into the clinic, fortunately, the clinic door was wide enough to see Xiao Bao’s figure inside, or else he would have chased after him.

As soon as Gu Chengyu entered, a worker came up to him, "Little brother, is your family here for consultation or medication? If it’s medication, do you have a prescription?"

Seeing it was a 14-15 years old young lad asking, Gu Chengyu first wanted to gauge the situation. "Brother, I’m not here for medication or consultation, just to ask if you buy herbs?"

The young worker heard he was selling herbs and knew the clinic usually didn’t buy separately, having specific suppliers. "Little brother, we have designated suppliers for herbs, rarely do we buy like this! What kind of herbs are you selling?"

"It’s wintergreen we picked from the mountain, all dried out nicely, checked by a doctor," Gu Chengyu didn’t mention Doctor Li’s name, unsure if the staff would even know him.

"If it’s wintergreen, then let me ask for you, it happens we are short, our shopkeeper was just grumbling about how difficult it is to find, yet quite in demand."

"Thanks, Brother Dongzi, may I know your name?" The young worker was quite straightforward and warmly helpful.

"My surname is Liang, a few years older than you. If you don’t mind, call me Brother Dongzi, it’s my nickname." Dongzi also appreciated the well-mannered, articulate child who didn’t look down on them and naturally wanted to help. Their job was merely to welcome and fare-well guests, not even apprentices.

"By the way, where’s your family with the herbs? I’ll call a junior master to check it out."

"Outside, my father and they are carrying it. Brother Dongzi, I also want to ask if you could inform your shopkeeper?" Gu Chengyu noticed Dongzi planned to find a student, but that wouldn’t work as students couldn’t make decisions.

"That’s challenging, we rarely see Manager Liu, usually Master Zhang at the counter handles things or the two doctors for consultations; the shopkeeper is generally not in the store. Your herbs can be checked by the junior master just the same, even if they can’t decide, Master Zhang can." Dongzi found it curious, thinking the herbs weren’t plenty enough to bother the shopkeeper.

Gu Chengyu understood that the staff probably lacked the authority to ask the shopkeeper, so it might be better to first see that master, then have him send word, which might be easier. But he also worried they came at an inopportune time, if the shopkeeper wasn’t around, it might be a futile trip.