Chapter 507: We’ll be cooperating long-term (2/2)
“Hungry?” Han Yunxi asked considerately.
How could I be not hungry? Mu Chaoran was almost faint from starvation, but Han Yunxi’s smile was like a living nightmare. “Esteemed wangfei, if there’s anything to say, we can have a nice proper talk. I’m begging you, let’s…let’s not get physical here.”
“Xu Donglin, bring him some plain rice congee. There’s only energy for talks when one’s full!”
After starving for so long, the stomach would only be able to digest plain foods like congee. Han Yunxi was quite kind. She and Long Feiye settled to sit down at a tea table and wait. Mu Chaoran’s heart sank back in his chest after facing a general amnesty. As long as they don’t get physical, we can talk about anything! He contented himself with eating his porridge. Han Yunxi assumed that he’d be gulping down mouthfuls like a starving tiger, but the man was still capable of eating slowly and steadily after two days and nights of starvation!
When Xu Donglin offered Mu Chaoran a second bowl, he actually refused it and said, “Another bowl after two hours, please.”
Han Yunxi had to admit that this man really cherished his life! But alright, they could talk now.
“How many types of low-grade premium medicinal ingredients does your Mu Clan have?” Han Yunxi came straight to the point.
Mu Chaoran was extremely flabbergasted. “Esteemed wangfei, why are…”
“Just asking casually,” Han Yunxi grinned as she played with a leaf in her hands.
Seeing this, Mu Chaoran lost all of his curiosity and replied, “Of all ingredient types, low-grade premium ingredients make up the majority count. The main categories number 270 varieties or more with five to six finer subdivisions.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a leaf flew over to slice past Mu Chaoran’s hands, leaving a thin trail of blood. Scared out of his wits, he quickly changed his tone. “The Mu Clan has 300 types of low-grade premium ingredients, 30 of which are exclusive to the Mu Clan. Neither the Xie nor Wang Clans are capable to growing those 30 types, and each one has 10 further subtypes below them.”
Ever since Han Yunxi had determined to get low-grade premium medicinal ingredients, Long Feiye had asked Wang Gong about them. Though the head of the Wang Clan wasn’t clear on the details, he did know the Mu Clan had seed types exclusive to their clan. Mu Chaoran was simply seeking trouble with his blatant lies!
Han Yunxi only pretended that nothing had happened and smiled. “And the prices?”
Mu Chaoran was pleasantly surprised by the query. “Esteemed wangfei, do you need them? As long as this one can return to the Mu Clan, I’ll have a bunch delivered over right away to esteemed wangfei’s satisfaction!”
Mu Chaoran’s pig-headed brain had failed to connect the dots between Han Yunxi’s request and Pill Fiend Pharmacy. Of course, one couldn’t blame him. Pill Fiend Pharmacy was supposed to be a high-class, rare ingredient shop. Why would it want any low-grade goods?
“How could I take something for nothing? Just name a cheaper price. How’s this? You make a list of prices for each type, and this wangfei will send people to buy them if I need it,” Han Yunxi said politely.
Mu Chaoran drew his own conclusions from the request. He figured that since Tianning was so chaotic now, war was probably imminent. In that case, medicinal ingredients would definitely grow scarce in the face of injured victims. Han Yunxi and Long Feiye would probably bid for medicine then. High-grade ingredients might be too expensive, but they’d definitely be able to afford large amounts of low grade goods. Most likely, Han Yunxi seized the chance to capture me just so she could haggle down the prices!
Because of that, Mu Chaoran gave her a list of extremely low prices that matched the original purchase price paid by the Mu Clan. There wasn’t a single ounce of profit in the costs. Han Yunxi looked at the list in satisfaction, which greatly comforted Mu Chaoran. As long as they can let me go, I don’t care if I make less of a profit—or even none at all.
“Esteemed wangfei, if there’s nothing else, then…shall this one bid his leave?” Mu Chaoran asked timidly. “The earlier this one can return to the Mu Clan, the faster I can help esteemed wangfei stock up a supply of goods.”
“There’s no rush, we’ll be cooperating long-term. In any case, your father will arrive in two more days, so you can leave with him then,” Han Yunxi smiled.
Mu Chaoran gave a start, a little at a loss. That’s a lot to take in! What ‘cooperating long-term?’ Father’s even coming personally?
Two days later, it wasn’t Mu Yingdong who showed up, but Wang Clan’s second old master, Wang Zhongyang,1 Xie Clan’s eldest young master Xie Hongming,2 and the Mu Clan’s Shopkeeper Zhou. Both representatives from the Wang and Xie Clans were people involved in the black market drug trade, while Shopkeeper Zhou was just a servant. His Highness Duke of Qin and esteemed wangfei kept the Wang and Xie Clan representative, but told Shopkeeper Zhou to go back.
His Highness Duke of Qin was furious. “Either you send the relevant party here or have the clan head himself show up. What can a mere shopkeeper have to discuss with your lordship?”
Esteemed wangfei was quite kind in comparison. “Eldest Young Master Mu is already at Pill Fiend Pharmacy, so there’s no need for the Mu Clan to send anyone else.”
Mu Yingdong had hidden himself in an inn but now found he had no room to advance or retreat. In the end, he could only show up in person and become the only clan head to show up amongst the three great clans of Medicine City. It really was a depressing fact.
Now that all of the representatives had arrived, how would the business talks go? And how would the ignoble Mu Chaoran react when he finally saw his father?
1. Wang Zhongyang (王仲阳) –zhong means “middle, second amongst brothers, intermediate,” yang means “sun.”
2. Xie Hongming (谢鸿鸣) – Xie is a surname that means “to thank, to decline, to apologize, to wither (of flowers, leaves, etc.), Hong is “great, large, eastern bean goose” and Ming is “the cry (of birds, animals, insects)”