Chapter 278 Sugar-Fried Chestnuts (2/2)

As they alighted from the horse carriage, they realized that the pharmacy was not as busy as usual because of the New Year’s Festival. After all, who would come to the pharmacy to get medicine during the New Year period?

Things had not changed much since Lin Mengya’s last visit. Only a few more medicine cabinets were added.

The moment they stepped at the house, the fragrance of the herbs made everyone perk up.

Lin Mengya was pleased to see that everything was arranged orderly and neatly inside the pharmacy. From this, she knew she had made the right decision to ask Baiji’s parents here. It was absolutely a wise decision.

There was a newly employed fellow who recognized that Lin Mengya and her company, though plainly dressed, were definitely not any regular people because of the air of elegance they exuberated. He quickly came forward to welcome them with a big smile on his face.

“Honored customers, how can I help you? In Sanjue Hall, we’re equipped with all the best medicine throughout the entire capital city. We prepare prescriptions accurately and we have all the variety you need. Just let me know what you need, and I can immediately prepare it for you. Even if we were to run out of something, we will go and find it for you.”

What this fellow claimed was not at all boastful.

It was because Sanjue Hall indeed had a large network for obtaining herbs. In fact, Sanjue Hall was the only pharmacy with this capacity in the entire capital city.

Lin Mengya’s face broke out with a smile and she looked the fellow up and down.

The fellow was respectful and polite, but not self-deprecating. He was obviously a clever shopkeeper. It appeared that Old Uncle Bai and his wife were good at judging people.

After groaning a little, Lin Mengya finally opened her mouth to speak.

“I’ve come to negotiate a big deal with your boss or boss’s wife. I wonder if it’s convenient for them to come out to see me.”

Given that the first thing Lin Mengya wanted was to see was the boss, the fellow was put into a difficult position.

Nevertheless, he knew how to please a customer. Taking a bow, he said, “Honored customers, we are happy to oblige but my boss has something important to attend to and is unable to meet any customers right now. If it’s something urgent, please leave your address here and when my boss is finished with his business, he will visit you at your mansion. Will this do?”

The fellow’s attitude was sincere and his suggestion thoughtful. Lin Mengya believed he would be able to appease all kinds of customers.

“What a muddle-headed fellow! This lady right in front of you is the owner of Sanjue Hall. All right, so are my mom and dad in the backyard? Go tell them that Master is here to see them.”

Baiji, seeing that the fellow was in a sticky situation, came forward to help him out.

While the fellow did not recognize most of the strange faces, he surely recognized the girl who stepped out.

“So I see Little Sister Baiji is back. Old Uncle Bai and Auntie are in the back. You may go look for them. It’s all my fault for not recognizing the boss sooner.”

Although he was obviously embarrassed, the fellow quickly made a joke out of it and moved on.

This allowed Lin Mengya to see him in a new light and she gave him a last glance before she turned away.

She lifted the curtain on the door and a few of them walked through it and entered the backyard.

The moment they entered the house in the backyard, the fragrance of sugar-fried chestnuts came to them.

Baizhi sniffed hard like an adorable puppy, her eyes widened, then she dashed into the yard.

The joyous smile on her face seemed to indicate that she was feeling more delighted than when she saw her mother.

“Wow! This smells heavenly! Aunt Bai, can I try the chestnuts?”

Baizhi’s mouth was watering by now. Mrs. Bai smiled and nodded. The greedy girl quickly removed the outer covering of a chestnut and popped the remaining yellowish-golden chestnut into her mouth.

“Good heavens! This is the first time I’ve tasted such delicious sugar-fried chestnut. Master, Elder Sister Baiji, Elder Sister Baishao, and Elder Sister Baisu, come over quickly and have a taste of it!”

The entire courtyard of people burst out laughing at the cute, greedy girl.

Lin Mengya looked at the surroundings and realized that although the relatively small courtyard was not comparable to the Liuxin Courtyard in terms of luxury, the whole place was exuberating love and warmth.

This quiet and normal life was what Lin Mengya thought a man’s life should be.

“Just look at this lass. She is obviously very appreciative of what I made. Why, Miss, you’ve come today. You should’ve told me earlier that you’d be coming. Look at how messy this place is.”

Aunt Bai and Lin Mengya were very familiar with each other by now. As she looked at Lin Mengya, a sincere smile appeared on her kindly face.

Old Uncle Bai and she might not be people who were refined, but they were attentive and meticulous. It was apparent that they had made an effort to keep the medicine shop, as well as the girls’ room and the courtyard, neat and tidy.

“You’re back, Elder Sister! Our greetings of peace to you.”

A bunch of children wearing padded cotton coats dashed out from the heated room and surrounded Baiji, jumping and cheering. However, when they spotted Lin Mengya, they followed the instructions of their parents and greeted her fearfully with a bow.

“What was that for? Please rise. This is our first meeting, but I did not bring any trinkets with me. The next time I visit, I’ll bring you some nice snacks and something to play with. How’d you like that?”

Although Mr. and Mrs. Bai were living a better life now in that they were no longer lacking financially, the children were still wearing old coats, which only looked slightly better than what they used to wear in the past.

All three children, consisting of two boys and a girl, were all looking healthy and very adorable.

Lin Mengya squatted so she could be at eye level with them. As she touched their heads, her heart was filled with indescribable joy.

“If you are a Miss, why are you wearing men’s clothes?”

Baiji’s second younger sister, who was the youngest of all the children, had her hair in two braids. Her watery eyes were filled with puzzlement.