Chapter 705: Hustle and bustle (1/2)
GDK 705: Hustle and bustle
Han Shuo was startled that a rowdy crowd had gathered in front of his shop all so suddenly. It took him no time to realize what these people were there for. He came down from the gymnasium cheerfully and opened the front door of his Celestial Pearl Pharmacy that had been shut for some time.
Han Shuo could recognize many characters from among those gathered in front of the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy, namely, Carmelita whose skin had become whiter, Andre who was wearing a big smile, Jiya who had previously purchased a bottle of Pill of Tranquility, Donna and a few youngsters from the Lavers Family.
However, Han Shuo did not recognize the majority of the people there. Each and every one of them sinned the most gorgeous garments. There were young, old, and all ages in between. They were chatting with each other as they blocked up the front door of Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. There were also a few gods who were obviously if meager status surrounding those people. Many of them chanted, “Open up! Open the door!”
“Damnit, why are so many people suddenly gathered here?!” Jiya, standing among the crowd, grumbled in a low voice.
“We did not want the news to disperse but Carmelita caught too much attention. Everyone in the City of Shadows knows how she used to look. The sudden transformation to her skin was simply the greatest advertisement possible for Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. Besides, she raved about this pharmacy to everyone she saw. You can't expect this place not to be packed with people.” Beth the upper-class woman standing beside Jiya also felt rather disappointed when she realized her plans to monopolize the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy likely wouldn’t work.
After opening the front doors, Han Shuo swept his eyes across the crowd and asked a question he already knew the answer to. “Hello, people. How can I help you?”
Carmelita jumped, stepped on the heads of a few others and landed right before Han Shuo before she said excitedly, “Rascal, look at me! Notice anything different?” Those people that were stepped on groaned but tactfully shut their mouths right after seeing it was Carmelita.
“What is there to see? I long knew that the medicine will work,” Han Shuo replied smilingly.
“Bryan, make a few more bottles of those medicines for me. Make sure you hurry!” Carmelita smiled mischievously and immediately demanded from Han Shuo with no reservations.
“Here are five bottles. I got these ready for you long ago,” Han Shuo carefully withdrew five small bottles and handed them to Carmelita before the crowd. He could not be more delighted about Carmelita’s publicly endorsing and promoting his pharmacy.
Carmelita stuck out her hand and grabbed the bottles, stowing them away like treasure. She carefreely patted on Han Shuo’s shoulder and said, “Thanks, Bryan. You are truly an unimaginably amazing fella!”
“Bryan, name a price for those medicines. I will pay you later,” Andre gently shouted from among the crowd. His voice wasn’t too loud but was enough to overcome the clamorous noise and for everyone to hear it.
Andre was standing by himself not too far away. Those people standing around him maintained a distance from him. After they heard Andre speak, the originally clamorous crowd suddenly turned quiet.
Andre was the person in charge of the finances of the House of Sainte and he indirectly controlled the economy of the City of Shadows. As most businesses required Andre’s nod of approval to be able to prosper, in addition to the fact that his strength was extraordinary, Andre held an extremely high status in the City of Shadows.
Given his identity, for fear that their voices might block Andre’s and therefore make him unhappy, it was only natural that the crowd would turn silent. For most businessmen in the City of Shadows, Andre was a figure even more important than Wallace, the City Lord.
“These medicines are meant to be given out. They are not for sale and cannot be bought. It is a gift from me to my friend, so don’t pay me for it!” Han Shuo put on a bright smile and refused to be reimbursed.
Andre was stunned for a bit but he did not force Han Shuo to accept his money. He nodded, smiled and said, “Well then, erm, I will buy every medicine that is for sale in your shop at any price you quote. Will that do?”
“How will that do? We have waited here for so long, how could you buy everything just like that!”
“You can’t just buy everything! That is not fair to us!!!”
“Have you ever heard of first come first serve? We have been standing here for ages, you can’t just cut the queue and buy everything!”
The crowd yet again became clamorous and nearly every person there was protesting. It appeared that Han Shuo’s medicines were indeed the subject of much temptation, so much so that it gave these people the courage to loudly object to the proposal of the powerful Andre.
Andre did not foresee that his suggestion would invite the unanimous opposition of everyone gathered. He stared blankly for a moment before he forced a smile and said, “Bryan, you decide.”
Han Shuo nodded. While forcefully repressing the ecstasy in his heart, he announced, “Since everyone has been so supportive and waited so patiently, of course I cannot let any of you leave empty-handed. Alright, how about this, everyone is limited to three bottles regardless of your identity or status. This will ensure that everyone will get to enjoy the benefits of my medicines!”
“Yay! Hurray!” those among the crowd who knew that their status was not prestigious enough cheered loudly. Beth from the Kinson Family who was about to put forward her suggestion sighed helplessly. She said to the disgruntled Jiya beside her, “There’s nothing we can do now. It appears that he won’t be dividing the medicines by families.”
“We are so unlucky. We were the first to get here but that scoundrel just so happened to have his doors closed. Otherwise, all those medicines would belong to the House of Kinson now,” Jiya said in a dissatisfied manner before saying regretfully, “If I had known earlier, I would have at least brought over a group of our divine guards. Then we could take advantage of the per head quota.”
“Alright, alright, stop grumbling. What’s important now is that this talent remains here. As long as he stays in the city, there will be an unending supply of his medicines. What we should do now is to be more attentive to him.”
“You are right,” Jiya nodded at her mother’s words. When she looked carefully at Han Shuo who was standing among the crowd, she suddenly and somehow felt that Han Shuo had become much more pleasing to the eye. Previously she found Han Shuo to be arrogant and vain. But after learning about the miraculousness of Han Shuo’s medicines, she convinced herself that it was only natural that a person of such extraordinary talent would be a little eccentric in temperament and personality.
“Form a line and enter one by one. Every person can buy a maximum of three bottles. Please carefully read the function and price marked on the medicine bottles. Make sure to choose the medicine most suitable for yourself!” Han Shuo’s cordial voice repeatedly sounded at the front door of the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy.
The crowd that gathered in front of the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy suddenly started to cram and push, forcing others aside to get to the front of the queue. They wanted to be the first to enter the pharmacy and get medicines most suitable for themselves before they ran out.
ThumpThumpThump…
Some of the weaker members of the crowd were thrown flying from the line. Several oligarchs from influential family clans most impolitely came to stand in front of Han Shuo. They all stared at Han Shuo urbanely as though asking Han Shuo to begin the sale.
“Ermm….” Han Shuo’s face went blank for a moment. He originally wanted to berate them but couldn’t do so after seeing the amiable smiles on the faces of those experts of large family clans. He leaned sideways for the first few to enter and then casually shouted, “Miss Carmelita, please help me with keeping the crowd in order!”
“No problem!”
“Just a small pharmaceutical shop. What is so terrific about it? Look at that vile fella’s complacent face! Pfft,” Cage, standing behind the crowd, sneered.
Donna, however, was rather stunned and her mind was suddenly thrown into chaos. Initially planning to condemn Han Shuo for his actions, Donna suddenly became clueless as to what she should do.
Of the first few people who entered the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy, although they were not the patriarchs of those large family clans, they were nonetheless prestigious characters in the City of Shadows. Just like Andre, those people were powerful and highly regarded in their respective families. From how they had behaved so far, Donna believed that those people would not hesitate to side against her House of Lavers in order to establish a good relationship with Han Shuo.
If that wasn’t enough, the infamous Carmelita was present among the crowd. Han Shuo was able to improve and possibly even cure the disease that had troubled Carmelita for many years. After observing her behavior for a while, Donna even started to suspect that if she were to condemn Han Shuo right then, Carmelita might side with Han Shuo instead of her!
On top of all that, after hearing the comments from those around her as well as Carmelita’s promotional words, Donna too thought that the medicines inside Han Shuo’s shop could be beneficial to the House of Lavers. If she were to become hostile towards Han Shuo, then the House of Lavers would likely miss out.