Urban Most Awesome Dad

“To purchase medicine, well, based on your understanding of ancient medicine, I will give priority to supplying you with my herbs, and moreover, the price will be ten percent cheaper than what I offer to others.”

Upon hearing the elder’s words, Xu Fan responded with a slight smile, “Are you the owner here?”

The elder replied to Xu Fan, “Indeed, I am the owner of Zhi Shen Tang, my surname is Lin. May I ask, young friend, what medicine do you need?”

Xu Fan glanced over the various herbs on the shelves, which were mostly common herbs with none particularly precious, and thus he said to the elder, “I am looking for some more valuable medicines, do you have any right now?”

Boss Lin responded with a faint smile, a hint of pride in his tone, “Our Zhi Shen Tang is the oldest drugstore in Zhonghai City when it comes to selling herbs, and our variety of herbs is definitely the most complete in Zhonghai City. If you cannot find the herbs you’re looking for here, you won’t be able to find them anywhere else in the entire Zhonghai City.”

Xu Fan, upon hearing this, nodded slowly and asked, “So, what is the oldest ginseng you have here?”

Boss Lin blinked, took a moment to recall, and then answered, “We have as much ginseng under 10 years old as you need. For ginseng between 10 and 50 years old, we have about 200 plants. If needed, we can also order from the Northeast and have them air-shipped in just one day. Ginseng over 50 years old are all considered valuable herbs, and across our store and other branches, we only have a few dozen plants.”

Hearing this, Xu Fan furrowed his brows and asked, “Do you have any ginseng over a hundred years old? Ginseng under a hundred years old is not of much use to me.”

Boss Lin’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise before he said solemnly, “Young friend, are you sure you want ginseng over a hundred years old? These herbs are quite valuable.”

Xu Fan nodded without hesitation, “Yes, I only want the old mountain ginseng over a hundred years old, price is not an issue.”

Boss Lin rose slowly, stroked his silver beard, and said, “Hundred-year-old ginseng, I have only three plants. I was planning to keep them as treasures of the store, but if you want them, I’ll keep one for myself, and the other two I can sell to you.”

Hundred-year-old ginseng is a rare treasure in this world with scarce Spiritual Energy, a lifesaving medicine that money can’t always buy. The elder’s willingness to sell such valuable herbs to Xu Fan showed that the answers Xu Fan had provided to the elder’s earlier queries had made an impression on him.

“Then I thank you, Boss Lin, two plants will do, they will be sufficient for the time being. Additionally, I need other herbs as well, the older the better,” Xu Fan said promptly.

Boss Lin’s eyes brightened as he asked, “What other herbs do you need?”

Xu Fan began to speak slowly, “Lingzhi, Rhodiola, Cordyceps, Polygonatum, He Shou Wu, Dendrobium, Dragon Bone Grass… just like the ginseng, I want all of them to be over a hundred years old.”

Xu Fan listed all the medicinal herbs he needed to the store’s owner. Since this was not the Cultivation World, the herbs Xu Fan mentioned were all producible in the ordinary world.

Even so, the list of procurement that Xu Fan rattled off surprised Boss Lin, who rubbed his temples lightly and said, “Young friend, you’re asking for a significant quantity of premium herbs. Even Zhi Shen Tang cannot gather such a collection of hundred-year-old herbs for you.”

A hint of disappointment crossed Xu Fan’s face, for this was the largest drugstore in Zhu Hai, yet they could not even gather this set of herbs. In a world lacking Spiritual Energy, the path of cultivation was indeed not easy.

Seeing the look of disappointment on Xu Fan’s face, Elder Lin pondered for a moment, then said to Xu Fan, “Young friend, we don’t have the hundred-year-old herbs you mentioned, but we do have some over fifty years old in stock. If you need them, I can call the warehouse to see if we can gather them all for you.”

Xu Fan nodded his head, herbs over fifty years old would suffice for now; after all, these herbs were secondary ingredients, with ginseng being the primary one. If all components were over a hundred years old, Xu Fan was confident in producing elixirs of exceptional quality with double the effects. However, with over fifty-year-old ingredients and Xu Fan’s skills, he could still produce elixirs of good quality.

Thus, Xu Fan said to the elder, “Please call the warehouse and ask about the inventory of the herbs listed here that are over fifty years old, I will take all of them.”

Boss Lin was a bit surprised to hear Xu Fan’s request, but then he understood. Having studied Chinese medicine for decades and still needing Xu Fan’s explanations on areas he could not comprehend himself, it was clear that the young man had considerable expertise in Chinese medicine. Perhaps the purchase of such valuable herbs was meant for a life-saving cause. Without further hesitation, Boss Lin picked up the telephone from the counter, dialed a number, and while connected, he began to inquire and noted down the inventory situation.

Two minutes later, Boss Lin handed Xu Fan a list, “This is the inventory of herbs over fifty years old that we have in stock, all listed here.”

Xu Fan took the list, glanced at it, and finding the quantity barely adequate, he clasped his fists towards Boss Lin and said, “Thank you for your efforts, Boss Lin.”

Boss Lin humbly smiled and said, “It’s a small matter, not worth mentioning. But these herbs are quite valuable, are you sure you want all of them?”

Xu Fan nodded firmly, “I need all these herbs, just have the warehouse bring them over, as long as the price is fair.”

After finishing speaking, Xu Fan looked at the list in his hand again and said to the elder, “Also, besides these valuable herbs, I’d like to purchase another batch of different medicinal herbs.”

Wiping his sweat, Boss Lin said, “This is already all of the valuable herbs stock we have at Zhi Shen Tang, if you ask for more, I really can’t afford it.”

Xu Fan chuckled awkwardly and said, “This time, I need common herbs, just the usual stuff, to use as auxiliary ingredients for preparation and adjustment.”

Relieved, Boss Lin handed a prescription note to Xu Fan along with a pen, saying, “Whatever you need, you can write down; we have ample stock in the drugstore.”

Xu Fan took the pen and briskly wrote down the various auxiliary ingredients he needed on the paper. Watching Xu Fan’s vigorous writing, Boss Lin couldn’t help but admire him; he could tell from Xu Fan’s handwriting, which was forceful and robust, that the man had an imposing, broad-minded, and upright character.

After finishing, Xu Fan passed the paper to Boss Lin, who inspected it carefully, then responded, “Everything on this paper we have in stock, with no issues, we have everything in the warehouse and can give it to you right away.”

“Then please, elder, work out the bill for me,” Lin Fan said, clasping his fists.