"Do you think he’ll try to pull a fast one?"
Leaving the prison cell, Song Lianhe was still a little uneasy.
"He won’t."
Song Lianhe tilted her head to look at the man beside her. "Why are you so sure?"
"He may be arrogant and domineering, but he doesn’t lie."
"Sounds like you know him well."
He looked over at her and added, "Besides... you really did scare him."
"Did I?" Song Lianhe looked delighted. "I was afraid my performance wasn’t convincing enough!"
"It was." He nodded, then after a long mont, added, "More than enough. Don’t act like that again."
Song Lianhe watched his retreating back, feeling a little smug. "Don’t worry, I won’t steal your credit!"
’It still took to get the job done!’
In the afternoon, Zhong Shimin led a team and set out.
anwhile, Song Lianhe spent her ti in the vegetable garden. The sweet potato seedlings were highly adaptable, and several had already taken root. The n assigned to care for them were experienced farrs and quickly got the hang of it. From here on out, all they needed was careful tending.
Back in her room, Song Lianhe summoned Da i and Da Tao, the two responsible for producing the "Seven Dragon Balls."
"How is the pill production coming along?"
Da i said, "Witch Doctor... oh, no! Young Madam, as you instructed, we’ve been working with the older and weaker maids and matrons of the estate. We’ve already taught them the production thod."
Da Tao continued, "As you requested, eighty percent are being used to make the black Antipyretic Pills and the white Miasma Pills."
Song Lianhe nodded. "Don’t rush. There must be no mistakes, or people’s lives will be at risk."
The two patted their chests. "You can rest assured! These are for our own families, friends, brothers, and sisters. Everyone knows how serious this is, so we’re all being extrely careful during production!"
"That’s good."
Da Tao then said with so difficulty, "It’s just that so of the dicinal herbs are not only expensive, but also hard to find. We’ve already bought out all the apothecary shops in the city."
"I see..." Song Lianhe mused. Sui Ning City was in the Southwest, after all. Many herbs were grown in the deep mountains of the northeast and were indeed rare here.
"Leave this matter to ."
After the two left, she opened the window, took out a whistle, and blew it once into the air.
Soon, Chun Hua flew in with a flutter of wings.
It landed on the table and strutted around, occasionally glancing about to see what new things had been added to the house, or if there were any new ugly creatures.
"Chun Hua, I have a task for you. Fly to Ling’an and take this letter to Sister Cao."
She rolled up the letter, tucked it into a small bamboo tube, and hung it around its neck. "She has tasty food there. I told her in the letter to let her..."
WHOOSH—
Chun Hua abruptly spread its wings and vanished in a flash.
"...give you so."
Song Lianhe now had every reason to suspect that Chun Hua was a falcon that could understand human speech.
Zhong Shimin returned the next day.
And with him, he brought back Kui Lang’s two hundred fine steeds.
When Kui Lang heard the news, he was stunned speechless for a long mont.
"Wh-what did you say? The horses... they’re all back? Not a single one... is missing?"
Song Lianhe bead. "My friend, you can co with to the city gate and see for yourself right now."
How could Kui Lang not believe it?!
Two days prior, over a dozen goshawks had suddenly appeared in the skies above Sui Ning City.
The city’s common folk might not have known, but traveling rchants like him knew very well—those were the hawks of the Fengming Gang! Every ti a rchant caravan was robbed, this flock of hawks would appear along with the bandits.
These hawks were all trained to attack on command, causing the caravans endless misery.
But who would have thought that the flock would appear only to flee just as quickly?
He only heard later that they had been driven off by a beautiful young woman.
’That must have been Song Lianhe, without a doubt!’
’And the only reason the Fengming Gang’s hawks would be in the city was because sothing must have happened at the Genosa River!’
Kui Lang was a man of the world who never underestimated anyone, and now his admiration for Song Lianhe was boundless.
He imdiately perford a grand salute from the Wu Qi Country toward Song Lianhe. "Thank you, Miss Song, for your righteous intervention!"
"You’re too kind."
Song Lianhe helped him up and, at the sa ti, produced the contract he had signed earlier. "Brother Kui Lang, I have fulfilled my promise. Now, it is your turn."
"Of course!"
Kui Lang was a man of his word, but he also had his own interests in mind. This young woman was so capable and well-connected in Sui Ning City; befriending her would surely bring no harm.
Therefore, he imdiately drafted an agreent himself, selling the horses to Song Lianhe at half price.
Since he was so straightforward, Song Lianhe didn’t want to take advantage of him.
So, she gave him a gift in return.
"This is..."
He looked at the pills nestled on the brocade lining of the small wooden box—seven in total, each a different color—and gazed at her in confusion.
"These are the ’Seven Dragon Balls’ from the dical Clinic in Ling’an City. I didn’t have much else to give you, Brother Kui Lang, so I’m gifting you these pills. The seven colors correspond to different ailnts. I’ve already made a note of it and placed it in the box."
"Ah! So these are the famous ’Seven Dragon Balls’ from Ling’an City?!"
As a traveling rchant, how could Kui Lang not have heard of the famous dical Clinic?
It was just that his trade routes were always in the Southwest region, so he had never passed through Ling’an.
"Hehe, that’s right. If you don’t mind, Brother Kui Lang, please accept them."
"Miss Song! This gift is far too precious for ! Thank you, thank you!"
"Not at all, I should be the one thanking you!"
Song Lianhe gestured, and Da i promptly stacked more than ten boxes on the table. "These are all for you, Brother Kui Lang."
"This... so many? No, no, this is too much... I’ve heard that the price of these ’Seven Dragon Balls’ skyrockets outside of Ling’an City. They are quite expensive. How can I let you go to such an expense, Miss Song?"
Kui Lang was a man of principle and stubbornly refused to accept them.
Seeing how determined he was, Da i couldn’t help but blurt out, "Please, just accept them. The dical Clinic is owned by our Young Madam."
Kui Lang was stunned once again.
He stood frozen on the spot, speechless for a long mont.
"Brother Kui Lang?" Song Lianhe said with a smile, "Please, take these pills without worry. For , they’re just at cost price. They’re not that valuable..."
Before she could finish, Kui Lang suddenly raised his hands and bowed deeply in the formal style of Da Cheng.
"To have t Boss Song is the fortune of my lifeti."
"Oh, my, Brother Kui Lang, you flatter . We’re all friends from now on. If you ever need anything in the future, Brother Kui Lang, please don’t hesitate to find ."
"Thank you."
Kui Lang no longer refused and accepted the Seven Dragon Balls.
"Boss Song, I have an idea, but I’m not sure..."
"Please, speak your mind."
Kui Lang didn’t beat around the bush. He stated frankly that he wanted to do business with Song Lianhe and sell the "Seven Dragon Balls" in Wu Qi Country.
"Of course!" Song Lianhe agreed with a grin, without a mont’s hesitation.
Now it was Kui Lang’s turn to be stunned. He hadn’t been confident before asking. He had heard about the dical Clinic’s "franchise" model, which first required a franchise fee paid in Silver Taels.
But what he wanted was to be the sole distributor for the entire Wu Qi Country. In other words, any other apothecary that wanted the "Seven Dragon Balls" would have to source them from him.
One could imagine that the franchise fee for this would not be small. Given his current situation, he truly couldn’t afford it, but he didn’t want to let such a golden opportunity slip by. So, he had brazenly decided to try his luck.
He never expected Song Lianhe to agree so readily!
After a mont’s hesitation, he pushed the silver notes—the half-price paynt for the horses that Song Lianhe had just given him—back across the table. His tanned face was a mixture of embarrassnt and resignation. "Boss Song, to be perfectly honest, this is everything I have."
Song Lianhe glanced down and smiled. "Deal."
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