Chapter 261 - 248: Push Harder
“Brother Wencheng is correct.” Zhuang Qingning smiled slightly, looking towards the counter: “In this pharmacy, aside from the doctor, are you and Brother Wencheng the only ones?”
If the pharmacy was only run by two apprentices, the event of switching herbal medicines was either done by Zhuang Wencheng, Doctor Ge, or could be potentially done by the other one.
Zhuang Qingning intended to remind Zhuang Wencheng about it.
“Yes, it’s just me and Brother Huzi, the two apprentices.” Zhuang Wencheng nodded.
Zhuang Qingning blinked her eyes, “He seems to have an honest and simple temperament and seems to get along well with Brother Wencheng.”
“Brother Huzi is a good guy.” Zhuang Wencheng grinned, “He came earlier than me and learns faster than me. He takes good care of me, almost like a real brother, I am very grateful to him.”
“That’s good.” Zhuang Qingning smiled with pursed lips, seeing that Zhuang Wencheng seemed to trust him a lot, she did not discuss it further.
After chatting with Zhuang Wencheng for a little while and seeing that the pharmacy was getting busy, Zhuang Qingning stood up: “Brother Wencheng, go and get busy. I just passed by to visit you. I have to go find Uncle Yutian soon. Aunt Wen asked me to bring shoes for Uncle Yutian, I have to deliver them. If I’m late, I’m afraid it will be meal time.”
Going to someone’s house around mealtime may imply wanting a free meal. Although the host may not necessarily be unwelcoming, it is still improper, and most people would mind. To avoid this, it is better to be early.
“Alright, you guys go ahead.” Zhuang Wencheng saw Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui out of the door: “Uncle Yutian’s shop is to the east, turn at the intersection ahead. It’s easy to find.”
“Come find me around lunchtime when the shop is not busy. I will take you out for some good food.”
Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui rarely visited the county town, and they had come to see him. Zhuang Wencheng felt that no matter what the reasons were, he should take good care of the two of them.
“We will see where we end up shopping. If we are too far, we won’t bother coming to see Brother Wencheng.” Zhuang Qingning laughed: “If we come back, we will find Brother Wencheng for lunch.”
“Alright.” An excited Zhuang Wencheng replied, bid farewell to Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui, and afraid that they might get lost, kept pointing towards the direction of Zhuang Yutian’s shop. After seeing Zhuang Qingning indeed headed in the right direction, he returned to the shop with a sigh of relief to attend to the customers and fill the prescriptions.
“Were those two girls just now your younger sisters from your hometown?” Han Hu casually bumped Zhuang Wencheng’s arm and teased him: “But why do I feel that the way you looked at them was quite odd?”
“Not at all.” Blushing immediately as his thoughts were exposed, Zhuang Wencheng denied.
“Oh really? If not, why are you blushing?”
Han Hu snorted, “But honestly, that girl is not bad. She has a good appearance and would make a good match for you. If you don’t seize the opportunity, I’m afraid such a good marriage proposal would never land on your head.”
“So, you need to work harder.”
Work harder, huh.
Zhuang Wencheng blinked, scratched his head, not knowing what to answer. He had no idea what to do next. After a pause, he nodded firmly, “I understand. I will follow Uncle and Brother Huzi diligently to learn medical skills so that in the future, I can stand on my own, and earn more money.”
“You are usually quite simple and straightforward but also clever. What’s with the sudden dumbness?” Han Hu laughed, “They came all the way to the county town, they said they just passed by to see you. But who knows, maybe they specifically came to see you. In such a case, how can you wait for them to come back?”
“Brother Huzi, you mean…”
“Girls are usually shy and may not feel comfortable coming back to see you. You should take the initiative, go find them, and show them around the county town. Doesn’t that show that you are considerate?” Han Hu suggested.
“That makes sense, but…” Zhuang Wencheng looked at the prescriptions on the counter and frowned: “But the medicine has not been prepared yet. It’s not appropriate for me to go out now.”
“Didn’t we say we would send medicine to Mr. Liu’s house before lunch? Just go directly then, and even if you are a bit late when you return, you can always say that the Liu family delayed you. I will be watching the shop, so don’t worry.”
Han Hu seemed very generous, “Even if the Master comes back, he probably won’t say anything.”
The Liu family was one of the wealthiest families in the county town. Because Mr. Liu had overeaten a few days ago, he came to get some medicine to improve his digestion, and it was ordered to be delivered before noon. Initially, Han Hu was to do this task, but now that Han Hu willingly gave up this task so Zhuang Wencheng could be free, he was very grateful for it.
“Thankyou, Brother Huzi.” Zhuang Wencheng grinned.
“What’s the need for thanks among us, wouldn’t that be strange?” Han Hu tilted his head and laughed as well, “Quickly prepare as much as you can now, so you won’t be too busy later when customers come. No matter what the reason, Master will probably be unhappy.”
“Alright.” Zhuang Wencheng immediately agreed, grabbed the prescriptions and scales, and went to prepare the medicine.
Following Zhuang Wencheng’s directions, Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui went to find the shop run by Zhuang Yutian.
“Sister.” Zhuang Qingsui, biting the sesame candy that Zhuang Qingning bought on the way, tilted her head and said, “We came to the county town to have Brother Wencheng help sell our mosquito repellent herbs, didn’t we? Why didn’t sister bring it up when we met Brother Wencheng?”
When this was mentioned, Zhuang Qingning sighed.
“Initially, I thought since Brother Wencheng is an apprentice in this pharmacy, if we recommend our mosquito repellent herbs, it could bring some business to the pharmacy. We can make some money, and so can they. It would be beneficial to both sides, and it could also help Brother Wencheng gain some favor from his master.”
“But it seems we came at a wrong time. Brother Wencheng was just misunderstood and scolded by his master. If we bring up these herbs now, Brother Wencheng, considering our years of friendship, will surely agree and mention it to Doctor Ge. But Doctor Ge already has a grudge against Brother Wencheng due to the earlier incident. At this point, he will definitely think that Brother Wencheng is only concerned about making money and does not care about anything else.”
“Moreover, I heard that Doctor Ge has also prepared some herbal packages. I do not know if it’s as effective as ours but right now, every single action of Brother Wencheng’s could be interpreted by Doctor Ge as him having a hidden agenda against the pharmacy.”
“So I thought about it and realized that it was really not a good time to mention this. So I didn’t.”