Chapter 59: Chapter 57 Dongzi
Once in the county, Gu Chengli felt that there was so much to see, even though he had worked in the town before, the county was much more bustling than the town. Small shops lined both sides of the street, with carriages and pedestrians overflowing at the center, and the shouts of vendors outdid each other.
Gu Chengyu compared Qinghe County with Shanhe Town and found the county indeed much more lively, with the county government undoubtedly located at its east. In this dynastyâs cities, it was common to honor the east, followed by the north, where wealthy families lived. The shops and ordinary citizens resided in the west and south respectively. Merchants had low social status in Dayan, yet they were wealthy! Consequently, the poorest were actually the common folk in the south.
However, as a modern person, Gu Chengyu had seen bustling streets; he just felt the ancient towns had more warmth, while modern cities were colder.
With so many shops, it wasnât easy to find Huichun Hall; being unfamiliar with the area, they had to ask for directions. He glanced at Gu Chengli, who was watching the shops and novel things with a timidly curious look, and knew he couldnât rely on his elder brother for this; asking for directions wouldnât work. Then, he looked at Mr. Gu, who, surprisingly, was calm and seemed experienced but was also scanning the area hoping to find the clinic.
"Father, with so many stores, we donât know where Huichun Hall is, better to ask someone," Gu Chengyu suggested.
"Doctor Li said Huichun Hall is on West Street, but this is South Street, so letâs head to West Street, turn left and cross over to take a look. Donât lose sight of the road ahead, and donât act like Xiao Bao!" Mr. Gu noticed Gu Chengli was just absorbed in the sights, even less attentive than a child, and it upset him.
"Father, itâs my first time here in the county! This road in the county is really wide!" Gu Chengli exclaimed.
"Letâs hurry! Carrying such heavy things, youâre not even tired?" Mr. Gu grew slightly out of breath, after all, age was catching up to him; carrying over twenty pounds began to make him weary after a while.
"Brother! Quickly, give Father a hand, he can barely carry it!" Gu Chengyu saw that his father was sweating slightly and urged his brother to help.
"You rascal, this bit of stuff, thereâs nothing your father canât handle. Letâs go!" Mr. Gu was slightly embarrassed by Gu Chengyuâs remark, he wasnât that old!
Gu Chengyu smiled silently, his father was just refusing to admit heâs getting old! Yet, in modern times, it would be his prime, but in ancient times, turning sixty was worthy of celebration, implying the age wasnât young anymore. Watching his father carrying the sack, hunched over, holding his hand through the crowd and separating them to protect him, Gu Chengyu tightened the grip on Mr. Guâs hand; he wasnât grown up yet!
The three finally made their way through South Street and arrived at West Street. The environment was tidier and cleaner on West Street, with many large shops but no stalls set by vendors, indicating its clientele comprised mainly of wealthy individuals. After taking a few steps, they saw the Huichun Hall as the first one on the left, followed by a fabric shop.
Mr. Gu and the others breathed a sigh of relief; the county was indeed enormous, having taken nearly half an hour to reach Huichun Hall from the south.
Huichun Hall had a large storefront, with two double doors, and plenty of people coming and going for medicine and medical consultations inside. Gu Chengyu stood outside, peeking into the shop, seeing three apprentices grabbing medicine for patients at the pharmacy counter, while two or three workers welcomed and sent off visitors. As for the doctors and shopkeeper, they were definitely not visible at the entrance, most likely were inside.
Having arrived, they definitely needed to go in and ask. "Father, letâs sell the wintergreen first inside, itâs quite heavy to carry," Gu Chengyu felt it was still best to directly approach the shopkeeper, since the workers couldnât make decisions.
"Alright, letâs go in!" Mr. Gu composed himself, though canât help feeling anxious seeing such a large clinic.
"Father, should we sell to such a big clinic? Donât know if they even accept it, or take an interest in our things," Gu Chengli was feeling hesitant.
"Brother, we came all the way here, we canât not go in, right? Even if they donât accept it, we should still ask. Father, itâs crowded inside, inconvenient for you to carry things in, let me go ask first, and Iâll call for you later." Gu Chengyu decided to go in first to inquire and probe about pricing, and he dashed into the clinic before his father agreed.
"Huh? Xiao Bao? Come back. Ah, this kid..." Mr. Gu wasnât quick enough to stop him and watched helplessly as Gu Chengyu went into the clinic, fortunately, the clinic door was wide enough to see Xiao Baoâs figure inside, or else he would have chased after him.
As soon as Gu Chengyu entered, a worker came up to him, "Little brother, is your family here for consultation or medication? If itâs medication, do you have a prescription?"
Seeing it was a 14-15 years old young lad asking, Gu Chengyu first wanted to gauge the situation. "Brother, Iâm not here for medication or consultation, just to ask if you buy herbs?"
The young worker heard he was selling herbs and knew the clinic usually didnât buy separately, having specific suppliers. "Little brother, we have designated suppliers for herbs, rarely do we buy like this! What kind of herbs are you selling?"
"Itâs wintergreen we picked from the mountain, all dried out nicely, checked by a doctor," Gu Chengyu didnât mention Doctor Liâs name, unsure if the staff would even know him.
"If itâs wintergreen, then let me ask for you, it happens we are short, our shopkeeper was just grumbling about how difficult it is to find, yet quite in demand."
"Thanks, Brother Dongzi, may I know your name?" The young worker was quite straightforward and warmly helpful.
"My surname is Liang, a few years older than you. If you donât mind, call me Brother Dongzi, itâs my nickname." Dongzi also appreciated the well-mannered, articulate child who didnât look down on them and naturally wanted to help. Their job was merely to welcome and fare-well guests, not even apprentices.
"By the way, whereâs your family with the herbs? Iâll call a junior master to check it out."
"Outside, my father and they are carrying it. Brother Dongzi, I also want to ask if you could inform your shopkeeper?" Gu Chengyu noticed Dongzi planned to find a student, but that wouldnât work as students couldnât make decisions.
"Thatâs challenging, we rarely see Manager Liu, usually Master Zhang at the counter handles things or the two doctors for consultations; the shopkeeper is generally not in the store. Your herbs can be checked by the junior master just the same, even if they canât decide, Master Zhang can." Dongzi found it curious, thinking the herbs werenât plenty enough to bother the shopkeeper.
Gu Chengyu understood that the staff probably lacked the authority to ask the shopkeeper, so it might be better to first see that master, then have him send word, which might be easier. But he also worried they came at an inopportune time, if the shopkeeper wasnât around, it might be a futile trip.