The next day, Li Se went for his usual morning run in the park. He hadn't seen Qiao Weiwei for a while and found himself missing her. After his run, he visited a traditional Chinese medicine shop.
“We don’t have the medicinal ingredients you’re looking for,” Elder Qiu said, shaking his head slightly. Since Huang Shanshan stopped practicing here, the shop had truly become just a seller of herbs, not a place for consultations.
“Elder Qiu, where can I find these ingredients?” Li Se asked. He was about to break through to the third level of Qi Refining, and the herbs required were more precious than before, the previous ones no longer sufficing for his current strength.
“You can try Zhongcao Tang. It’s the largest traditional Chinese medicine shop in Qingyun City. If even they don’t have it, it’ll be very difficult to find what you need in the entire city,” Elder Qiu advised.
“Thank you, Elder Qiu,” Li Se said gratefully and then drove to Zhongcao Tang.
Zhongcao Tang had three floors and occupied a vast area. A plaque at the entrance bore the name Zhongcao Tang.
Inside, an array of traditional Chinese medicines greeted his eyes. Li Se spotted several ingredients he needed and went to the counter, handing over his list. “Please gather all the ingredients on this list for me.”
A middle-aged man in a Zhongcao Tang uniform attended to Li Se. He glanced at the list and said with a smile, “The ingredients you require are quite rare. Gathering them all will cost a substantial amount. Do you have enough funds?”
“Money is not an issue. Just gather them,” Li Se said calmly.
The middle-aged man didn’t rush to assemble the herbs but first calculated the cost. After a few minutes, he presented the bill to Li Se. “It will be approximately 2.7 million.”
Li Se frowned. He was now regularly practicing at the Jishi Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic and had some understanding of the market prices for medicinal herbs. Quoting nearly three million at once seemed outrageously expensive. He had expected the prices here to be higher than elsewhere, but not to this extent.
“This is the price at Zhongcao Tang. If you’re not satisfied, you can try buying elsewhere,” the middle-aged man said with a hint of disdain. “Of course, you likely won’t be able to find the ingredients you need at any other Chinese medicine shop besides ours.”
Li Se frowned. “I run a clinic and have some knowledge of medicinal ingredient prices. For these herbs, even if Zhongcao Tang is more expensive, it shouldn’t be close to three million. It should be around one million at most. The price you’re quoting is far too exaggerated!”
“Buy it or don’t!” the middle-aged man said indifferently. “This is our price at Zhongcao Tang. If you’re not buying, please leave and don’t hinder our business. If you don’t buy, someone else will!”
“You’re clearly trying to extort me!” Li Se said coldly.
The middle-aged man became agitated. “What are you implying? Extort you? With your shabby appearance, why would I extort you? The ingredients you’ve listed are all precious. Only Zhongcao Tang in the entire Qingyun City has them. If you think I’m extorting you, fine, go find our boss. This is the price he set!”
“What’s going on?” At that moment, a well-groomed man walked out.
“Boss, he’s saying Zhongcao Tang is extorting him!” the middle-aged man said with a cold snort.
The man glanced at Li Se and said with a smile, “I am the boss of Zhongcao Tang, Yan Fei. I also practice as a physician here. My father is Yan Luo, and many people call him Yama because my father can snatch people from Yama’s grasp.”
“Are you saying our herbs at Zhongcao Tang are too expensive?”
“That’s right!” Li Se nodded.
Yan Fei looked at the list and smiled. “It’s not that we want to sell them expensively, but the herbs you need are indeed quite rare. These ingredients are also very scarce. I believe only Zhongcao Tang in the entire Qingyun City carries them, so I think this price is very reasonable. If you don’t want to buy, we won’t force you, as there are many people who want these precious herbs, and they are often available at a price but hard to find.”
“But you’re ripping me off. According to market prices, all these ingredients combined should be less than a million. You’re quoting a price close to three million. Is that reasonable?” Li Se thought. While he wasn’t short of money, it didn’t mean he could be treated like a sucker. If it were tens of thousands or even two to three hundred thousand more, he might not have minded, but an increase of nearly two million was excessive and amounted to extortion.
Yan Fei’s smile remained. “That’s not entirely accurate. These herbs might have a market price of less than a million, but as I said, they are scarce. If you need them, you won’t think it’s expensive. If you don’t need them, it’s normal to find them expensive. Zhongcao Tang operates on mutual consent. If you’re unwilling to spend this much money, you can buy them elsewhere. Zhongcao Tang will never force a sale!”
Li Se’s brow furrowed. Zhongcao Tang was the largest traditional Chinese medicine shop in Qingyun City. He was certain they were quoting such a high price precisely because of the ingredients he needed, a clear case of price gouging. Being extorted for no reason made him quite displeased. He had also heard of Yan Fei’s father, Yan Luo. While not as renowned as Xie Yixian, he was quite famous in Qingyun City.
He hadn’t expected him to be such a greedy person.
Sighing softly, Li Se added, “Do you have Purple Leaf Sky Lotus? If you can produce the Purple Leaf Sky Lotus, I’ll accept the three million.”
“Purple Leaf Sky Lotus?” Yan Fei frowned slightly. “That’s an extremely rare ingredient. Even if we have it, it would likely be put up for auction. Of course, if you’re set on it, we can keep an eye out.”
“Are you buying it or not?” the middle-aged man asked impatiently.
“If there’s no Purple Leaf Sky Lotus, then forget it,” Li Se said with a cold huff and turned to leave. Just then, an old man was carried in.
“Doctor, Doctor Yan, please save my father!” a well-dressed man in a suit shouted.
“Let me see!” Yan Fei immediately rushed over and examined the patient. “It seems to be coronary heart disease with angina. Quickly, bring the heart-saving pills!”
“Okay!” the middle-aged man immediately fetched the medicine.
“Stop!”
Just as Yan Fei was about to administer the heart-saving pills, Li Se’s voice rang out, “His internal organs are damaged. Heart-saving pills won’t help. He should have his Jiquan acupoint stimulated. If he experiences palpitations, chest tightness, or difficulty breathing, he can press the Jiquan acupoint with his fingers with appropriate pressure. He will immediately feel numbness and soreness, which will provide relief.”