The Best Herb Gatherer in Zhejiang
Ryeon realized that the old man was referring to Yak Yeo-cheong's grandfather, who had passed away half a year ago, and shook her head.
The old man looked at her and Danmok Hyeon-u with an even more puzzled expression, glanced back at their shabby old house, and said, “All the herbs in this house are dug up by that young one from earlier, but is it really true...?”
Just then, the girl who had finished packaging the platycodon roots came rushing out. Yak Yeo-cheong, clutching the thickly wrapped—if a bit messily—roots to her chest, looked at them with sparkling eyes.
“Here it is!”
“Good grief...”
The old man let out a hollow laugh at Yeo-cheong's appearance, clucking his tongue as he pulled the girl over and pressed down firmly on the top of her head.
“She's still so young and wild like a monkey, running around like that... She messes things up plenty, but when it comes to digging herbs, just as you said, young lady, she takes pride in being the best in Zhejiang Province.”
The girl's squirming slowed as she clutched the platycodon roots to her chest. Ryeon, who had been pursing her lips in concentration on his words, nodded vigorously.
“We'll make an exclusive supply deal with the Danmok family. Yeo-cheong—no, the herbs dug by our little herb master here. We'll set the price at eighty percent of retail.”
“R-Really...?”
“Just keep the quality consistent.”
“Even though I dug them myself?”
The girl swallowed hard, pointing at herself as she asked Ryeon again. The herbs they'd traded for a year before her grandfather passed had all been dug by her, but once he was gone, the herb shops that had dealt with them steadily cut off ties as if it had never happened. They said they couldn't buy herbs dug by a mere child at that price. They couldn't trust a kid.
At least Cheonun Herb Shop, where they had a close connection, would buy her herbs at a bargain price. They said the quality wasn't great since a child had gathered them, but they were doing it out of past favors and pity for their hardship.
Yeo-cheong took pride in the herbs she dug, but she had no choice. Without that pittance, she couldn't support her frail, elderly grandmother and herself. In that time, her unshakeable faith in herself had rotted away like the pillar of an abandoned house. Now, when someone said they trusted her and would buy, she was so shocked she had to ask again.
Ryeon nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Oh! Can you also gather specific herbs if we request them?”
Yeo-cheong, still unable to believe it, looked back and forth between her grandmother and Ryeon with trembling eyes.
“Wh-Why would you... trust me?”
“You said you dug those platycodon roots yourself, right? And those too.”
She pointed to the drying herbs. It was a bizarre situation where the buyer trusted her and wanted to purchase, but the seller was questioning it instead.
“Even though I really dug them?”
“Mm.”
Ryeon fell silent for a moment, then leaned in close to whisper to the girl.
“Doesn't look like your grandma dug those, does it...?”
In an instant, Yeo-cheong's face flushed bright red as she struggled to hold back her laughter. Barely suppressing her giggles, she quickly bowed deeply to Ryeon.
“I-I'm Yak Yeo-cheong! I won't let you down, miss!”
* * *
Ryeon asked Yeo-cheong to gather a few specific herbs and wrapped up the meeting. She was thinking that one young herb gatherer alone would have limits on supplying high-quality platycodon roots, so beyond selling the platycodon syrup at the pharmacy, they'd need other ventures to make money.
“Is it because that kid's so pitiful?”
At Danmok Hyeon-u's sly question, Ryeon looked up in surprise.
“Pardon? No. Her herbs really are the best.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“I see... Maybe I should've just brought that little herb gatherer back to the family estate.”
Ever since Ryeon made the Qinglian Water, Danmok Hyeon-u never doubted or worried about her decisions on pharmacy matters. As he stroked his chin and muttered, Danmok Seong flinched and lifted her chin.
“We're still poor, aren't we? What if we keep bringing in strays like that?”
“Ah, no. We're not that poor anymore...”
Danmok Hyeon-u, who could stand tall against his sister Danmok Hyeon-yo, trailed off, unable to be firm even with his niece. Ryeon caught the look in Seong's eyes and nearly burst out laughing, but quickly approached her to change the subject. They could discuss the family's situation gradually.
“Seong-ah, look at this. I'm going to make some medicine with what we bought today to give to Aunt, want to help?”
“Wh-What...? Me too?”
“Yeah. Don't you want to?”
“...It's not that I hate it. But Mother says martial artists don't go into the kitchen.”
Danmok Seong spoke in a stiff voice. Ryeon just smiled, unperturbed.
“Pfft, what's that matter? And this is making it in the pharmacy, so it's not the kitchen.”
“Still, that time should be for training...”
Seong trailed off, glancing at Ryeon before sighing with an “Aigoo.” It was as if she were doing Ryeon a favor.
“Fine, no helping it. I'll make it with you. You might cause a disaster alone.”
“Thanks!”
As Ryeon chatted amiably with Danmok Seong, she suddenly felt eyes on her from behind. At that moment, Danmok Hyeon-u had already scarfed down a Bingdangho skewer in one bite, tossed the stick aside, and was pulling his nieces close.
“Aigoo. Hangzhou is so vast, yet feels so small. To run into each other like this again.”
Danmok Hyeon-u muttered. From a distance, a boy wrapped in luxurious silk robes embroidered with golden threads approached with an extremely awkward expression. Danmok Seong, quick on the uptake, recognized him immediately and widened her eyes.
Geum Jongha, unable to hide his awkwardness but approaching anyway, cleared his throat a few times before striding forward, clasping his hands, and cupping them in greeting.
“Greetings to the master of the Danmok family pharmacy!”
“Hm.”
Danmok Hyeon-u nodded slightly only after noting the clear embarrassment on the faces of Geum Jongha's attendants and guards.
“What brings young master Geum here?”
“I was just passing by and saw my friend's face, so I came to pay respects.”
“Friend?”
“Friend?”
Ryeon and Danmok Hyeon-u spoke at the same time. Geum Jongha seemed to take it as a response to his greeting. He shuffled closer to Ryeon, still hesitant.
“Miss Ryeon! It's... been a while.”
Ryeon briefly wondered if their duel a few weeks ago—where they'd staked family pride and he'd been thoroughly beaten before slinking away—was all a dream.
“Friend...?”
“Y-Yeah! After reading what you wrote, I trained hard and had a breakthrough. We've exchanged knowledge, so now we're f-friends, right?”
“Usually, 'friends' is for when both sides exchange equally...”
At Ryeon's words, Geum Jongha's face fell, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He was clearly thinking of their secret second spar.
“Yeah, that counts as friends, sure.”
Only after Ryeon belatedly agreed did Geum Jongha straighten up, laughing “Wahaha” and putting on a mature expression.
“If we spar again, it won't be as easy as before!”
“Y-Young master...”
Ryeon gave a pitying look to Geum Jongha's attendant. That duel had caused such a fuss between their families—how must the retainers feel seeing their heir stir it up again? Their blood must run cold.
“Even my father saw what you wrote and got way stronger!”
“Young master!”
The servant behind Geum Jongha nearly whimpered. The family head's strength was a key asset to the clan—blabbing about it on the street like this...
Ryeon shook her head.
“Don't say that in front of others.”
“Wh-Why...?”
Geum Jongha immediately lowered his voice. His father's achievements weren't shameful—they were something to boast about. Why hide it? But after that harsh defeat, he lacked the confidence to defy Ryeon's “don't.”
Ryeon gave up explaining.
“Anyway... Our grandfather got stronger too. He had a breakthrough just the other day at breakfast.”
The news of Danmok Cheon-gi's major realization had already spread through Hangzhou, but Ryeon mentioned it again anyway. At least this way, no one could call him cowardly if something happened later.
“Yeah, I heard about that... Congratulations—pass it on.”
Geum Jongha hadn't whined about losing due to carelessness, nor cried with swollen eyes after getting pummeled everywhere. He had a surprisingly mature side. Misinterpreting Ryeon's gaze, he puffed out his chest.
“B-But if we grab swords, my father would be the strongest in Zhejiang!”
Ryeon considered saying that needing such hypotheticals proved he wasn't the strongest, but held back. She didn't want to tease a child for bragging about his parents.
But trouble brewed from an unexpected source.