125 First Visit to Fu Lai Medicine Hall 1

"Fu Lai Medicine Hall?"

"Fu, as in Fortune. And Lai as in arrives, or arrival. It seems to enjoy a rather good reputation, and the people that they have managing the place appear to have a rather sound knowledge of the herbs that they carry and deal in. The Guard contingent usually get their lotions and potions from that place, so you might say that they enjoy ... a somewhat privileged place here."

"Ah! I see,"

The Guard Commander seemed a little more eager to recommend the said Medicine Hall than Qin Feng had expected him to be. For a moment, he wondered if there was some sort of deal that had been made between the man and this Fu Lai Medicine Hall. Then he tossed that idea to the back of his head.

Even if there was, he owed a favor to the man for dealing with those idiot guardsmen of his. Not to mention cutting off the Red Fish Hall's plans at the knees. Besides, he didn't have any idea of what he should do now, now that he had gotten clear of the City Gates. Or where to find this Fu Lai Medicine Hall. Having someone to guide him there would make things a lot easier.

But the Guard Commander waved him towards the street before he could say a word. So Qin Feng had no choice but to leave the City Gate, and look for the Medicine Hall on his own.

Actually, it wasn't any difficult at all, to find out where Fu Lai Medicine Hall was located. Indeed, when he arrived on the street itself, it was clear that the Medicine Hall was one of the few shops along the same that enjoyed an almost continuous stream of customers. Apart from one of the restaurants a few alleyways further up the street, there were any other shopfronts within sight of the Medicine Hall that could compete.

That was, naturally, something that made Qin Feng feel a lot more confident. If this Fu Lai Medicine Hall did not have the Purple Blood Ginger that he was looking for, it didn't seem likely that there was any of that particular herb to be found in the whole of Changqing City at all!

So he made his way towards the shop at once. It was time to see if the medicinal herbs that he had brought along with him could sell as well as he had hoped. Even if he could squeeze a single piece of that Purple Blood Ginger out of the Medicine Hall, it should be enough for him to convince Elder Ming to allow him further access into the Southern Woods, so that he can pick up other materials that could be used to exchange for the same.

The place was filled with all sorts of people. Customers from all walks of life, from rich merchants and noblemen to coarse hunters and simple peasants, could be found within the expansive courtyard. But the latter were quickly pulled aside to the side halls by some astute sales people from the Medicine Hall before they could even begin to approach the inner building where the former groups were headed. And from the scents that came streaming out of the same, Qin Feng guessed that this same building was where the more expensive herbs are stored and sold.

He spent a good bit of time, however, waiting in line. There were more people there than he had expected, and all of them seemed to be quietly waiting, as though they were afraid to even speak too loudly. Apparently, the Medicine Hall had some rules that enforced order thereabouts. So he had no choice but to wait.

One of the same workers from the Medicine Hall fell into step to one side of Qin Feng after a while, and gave him a curt bow. "May I ask what this customer is looking for? Perhaps I could assist in pointing you in the right direction. Fu Lai Medicine Hall is rather complicated, and we would rather not have our customers wasting their time looking for the right place to go."

Qin Feng smiled bleakly at that. It seemed these people dealing in sales were not as well-trained as they should be. Then he remembered that he was in a Medicine Hall, and the fellow before him had already spent a good part of the day surrounded by a variety of medicines and herbs. Little wonder that he could not differentiate the scent that was coming from Qin Feng's puppet.

"I have some rather uncommon herbs on me, and wish to sell them to your Medicine Hall. Or exchange them for some other medicines, if they are available here. Do you know who would ba able to assist me in this?"

"Ah! You wish to sell or exchange the herbs that you have harvested in the wild? May I know what they are called? Or what you think they are called? And where you retrieved them?"

Qin Feng almost frowned when he heard that. What was this idiot talking about? Did this fool really think that he was ignorant of herbs? But he pushed that aside, as he considered the amount of business this Fu Lai Medicine Hall saw daily. If the scene before his eyes was the norm, then it was only to be expected that there were some scoundrels who would try to cheat the Hall now and then.

So he simply sniffed, and threw out the name of one of those herbs that he had harvested from his medicine field. That should be safe enough, and uncommon enough, to make this idiot change the tune that he was playing.

The servant's eyes widened slightly when he heard the name of the herb. And quickly dipped into a bow. A somewhat more respectful attitude was also displayed, when he straightened up again, and smiled at Qin Feng.

"Ah! You are correct when you say that this particular herb would be of interest to our Fu Lai Medicine Hall. Why don't you come this way? I shall bring you to one of the senior appraisers to deal with you and your exchange."

And with that, he dipped into a bow again, and gestured for Qin Feng to follow him.

Qin Feng, in the puppet's body, couldn't be bothered to answer. But stepped after the idiot server all the same. It was time for him to find out if there was any Purple Blood Ginger available in Fu Lai Medicine Hall!

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