Chapter 292: Chapter 292

The government official stopped the carriage by the roadside, and everyone walked into the shop.

It was noon, and the weather was hot, so there were no customers in the drugstore.

Two clerks were dozing off on their chairs.

The shopkeeper was sitting behind the counter, propping up his head with his hand, also napping.

Li Lixing walked over with his hands behind his back, strutting confidently. He cleared his throat lightly, "Shopkeeper?"

The shopkeeper heard a child’s voice and impatiently lifted his eyelids, "What’s the matter?" He also stretched lazily.

But upon seeing the government official behind Li Lixing, his sleepiness vanished instantly, and he was full of energy, smiling as he walked over from behind the counter. He respectfully cupped his hands towards the government official and said, "Officer? What can I do for you?"

"I have no instructions; our young master has instructions. You ask him," the government official said, pointing at Li Lixing.

The shopkeeper looked at Li Lixing again.

Li Lixing had red lips and white teeth, wearing a fine light blue silk shirt, with a jade pendant hanging from his belt, and holding a folding fan.

This appearance was like a young master from a wealthy family.

He had heard that the County Magistrate’s son was only about ten years old, and this young boy was traveling with a government official. Could it be the County Magistrate’s son?

The shopkeeper respectfully saluted Li Lixing, "May I ask, young master, are you the young master from the County Magistrate’s family?"

Li Lixing nodded, "Oh, you recognize me?"

The shopkeeper thought to himself, how would I recognize you, kid? I recognize the government official standing behind you!

This government officer’s uniform, who in this county doesn’t recognize it?

Who dares not to recognize it?

"Of course I do." The shopkeeper smiled, "In this city, who doesn’t recognize Lord County Magistrate and young master Li?" Get full chapters from 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝙣𝙚𝙩

Li Lixing was very pleased with his answer and pointed to Li Yuzhu, "Oh right, this is my friend. She has something she wants to consign here for sale, is that okay?"

The shopkeeper blinked, "Consign for sale? What do you mean by consigning for sale?" He didn’t want to incur a loss.

Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu put their packages on the table.

Li Yuzhu opened the two packages and said, "These are mosquito repellent tablets made from special herbs, more effective than the usual ones on the market. Just one piece in a room the size of a square zhang will kill almost all the mosquitoes. Light one near you, and no mosquitoes will come close day or night. These bottles contain medicine pills, with the name of the medicine written on the bottles, and there are corresponding instructions detailing the symptoms they treat."

The shopkeeper frowned and stroked his beard, "You just say, how do you want to consign for sale? I’m just doing a small business here and can’t handle too troublesome transactions."

Li Lixing looked at Li Yuzhu.

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "Of course we won’t let you lose money; I want to do long-term business with you." She explained the consignment method, "I will place my items here for sale. Just give me a portion of the deposit, and when the items are sold out, we will settle the money later."

The shopkeeper glanced at the goods, "What if they don’t sell? I’ve never sold these kinds of things here, who knows if they will sell well?"

"I’ll check the stock every month. If they really don’t sell, I’ll take them back and exchange them for better-selling items," Li Yuzhu said.

The shopkeeper was still hesitant, and Li Lixing said, "Hey, what’s up with you? Don’t you trust my friend? You don’t trust my dad? If you have doubts, go to the government office to find him. My friend is also my mom’s lifesaver, just mention her name, and my dad will come immediately."

Li Yuzhu said, "These mosquito repellent tablets have been bought by several servants from Lord County Magistrate’s mansion. I just sold over a thousand coins’ worth."

"These mosquito repellent tablets don’t look impressive; can they really sell for over a thousand coins?" The shopkeeper doubted.

Li Yuzhu said, "They can. After I return to Lord County Magistrate’s mansion, I will tell the buyers that I have placed the goods here. Once they run out, they will come here to buy more. You just continue selling them at the price I sold them for."

"Tell me, how much can I earn from selling these mosquito repellent tablets?" the shopkeeper asked, stroking his beard again.

Li Yuzhu said, "There are ten pieces in each box. Each box sells for fifty coins at retail. I will give you each box at thirty-five coins, so you can earn fifteen coins per box."

Earning fifteen coins per box, this income couldn’t be considered either too high or too low. The shopkeeper hesitated.

Li Lixing spoke up again, "Hey, if they don’t sell, we’ll take them back, and you won’t lose a penny. Are you still unwilling?"

The shopkeeper, taken aback by him, quickly smiled and said, "No, no, no, I’m willing. I was just calculating how much deposit I should give you. I don’t have much money on hand, so I can’t take too much."

Li Yuzhu said, "I have two hundred and eighty boxes in total. The cost price is nine thousand eight hundred coins. You can give me half of it as a deposit, five taels will do. I’ll come back in a month. If you’ve sold more by then, you can pay me the remaining money. If they haven’t sold, I will take back the goods and refund you."

The shopkeeper thought, this seems reasonable, "Let’s write a receipt to avoid any forgetfulness."

Li Yuzhu said, "Agreed."

Having a receipt made it easier to manage, and the shopkeeper agreed.

After settling the price of the mosquito repellent tablets, Li Yuzhu mentioned the price of the medicine pills.

These medicine pills are not prescription medication; they include calming medicine for insomnia, medication to replenish energy and blood for women after menstruation, and medicine for curing inflammation.

Li Yuzhu also talked about the price and deposit for these.

The shopkeeper looked at the medicine pills with no interest at all because his shop already sold these kinds of medicine.

But Li Lixing urged him to accept the goods again, and he didn’t dare to offend Li Lixing, so he had to agree.

Anyway, if they don’t sell, they can be returned.

In the end, after some discussion, the shopkeeper agreed to a deposit of ten taels of silver.

Li Yuzhu and Li Xing’an followed the government official back to collect items, while Li Lixing and Mu Yuanxiu waited in the pharmacy.

On their way to pick up the items, Li Xing’an said somewhat uncertainly, "Third sister, these medicine pills of yours are quite common. Can they really sell?"

Li Yuzhu smiled slightly, "They may look common, but the formula is different. Once used, people will say my stuff is good."

Li Xing’an chuckled, "True, our third sister truly is amazing."

Li Yuzhu laughed, "I’m not that amazing."

As they chatted, the carriage arrived at the County Magistrate Mansion.

Li Yuzhu went into the inner quarters and pulled out two boxes from under the bed.

The boxes were large and heavy, so Li Xing’an and the government official each carried one.

They delivered the items to the pharmacy, and after the shopkeeper inspected the goods, he gave the ten taels deposit.

Li Yuzhu wrote out a receipt, with Li Lixing as the third-party witness.

After both parties signed and sealed it, the transaction was completed.

After they left, the pharmacy attendant finally dared to come forward and said, "Shopkeeper, you really accepted their goods? These things look nothing special. This mosquito repellent, and it’s so expensive, fifty coins a box, five coins a pack, does anyone buy it?"

Another attendant also said, "I’m worried, shopkeeper, that ten taels deposit was spent on a pile of useless goods, essentially thrown away."

The two of them kept talking, making the shopkeeper more annoyed.

"Didn’t you see the County Magistrate’s son bringing people here? Do you dare not accept the goods?" the shopkeeper scolded at them.

The two attendants snapped back to reality and finally stopped talking, "Ah, shopkeeper, what if it’s a loss?"

The shopkeeper was annoyed, "Can’t you just shut up?"

The two looked at each other and kept quiet.

But they were worried about the shopkeeper’s ten taels of silver.

This could be a big loss.

As soon as Li Yuzhu returned to the County Magistrate Mansion, Aunt Tian came looking again, "Miss Li, where is your mosquito repellent? A relative from my maiden family said to bring two boxes for them, as their master took a fancy to it."

Li Yuzhu smiled, "Aunt Tian, I’ve placed all those mosquito repellent at Cai’s Pharmacy."

Aunt Tian asked in confusion, "Why did you place the girl’s items in an outside pharmacy?"

Li Yuzhu explained, "After curing the lady’s illness, I have to leave, and everyone won’t be able to buy my mosquito repellent, right? Placing them in the pharmacy on consignment, everyone can buy them anytime. Rest assured, Aunt Tian, the price hasn’t changed, it’s the same as before."

Aunt Tian laughed, "Right, the girl doesn’t have time to live in the county every day."

Li Yuzhu gave an address, and Aunt Tian headed to the pharmacy.

When she returned, she held two packs of mosquito repellent.

Li Yuzhu asked her if the price was the same, Aunt Tian laughed, "Just the same as before."

Meanwhile, at Cai’s Pharmacy, after Li Yuzhu and the others left, Manager Cai stared at the pile of goods, uncertain if they could sell, when a middle-aged woman entered.

As soon as she entered the shop, she asked for two boxes of mosquito repellent, specifically requesting the type delivered by Miss Li from the County Magistrate Mansion.

Manager Cai regained confidence, "Yes, yes, yes, one hundred coins for two large boxes."

"I know, it’s fifty coins a box." Aunt Tian counted the money and handed it to the shopkeeper before leaving with the items.

Manager Cai pulled her aside to ask, "Madam, how many of these mosquito repellents have you bought before?"

"Ah, I bought it once, but I’ve bought quite a few for others. This is also for a neighbor. Miss Li’s mosquito repellent is very effective." Aunt Tian said.

The shopkeeper was secretly amazed, was it really so effective?

He opened a pack to try it out, and wouldn’t you know it, the mosquitoes that used to frequently bite him under the counter were nowhere to be found.

He sat behind the counter for half a day and wasn’t bitten by mosquitoes at all.

Even the attendants said there were noticeably fewer mosquitoes.

With his own mosquito repellent burning, whenever someone came to buy medicine, he’d promote these mosquito repellents.

Some complained about the price, wanting to buy but deterred by the cost.

Those with money didn’t care about the price at all and immediately bought two boxes.

In less than half a day, the shopkeeper sold five boxes of mosquito repellent.

The shopkeeper’s initial worries gradually dissipated; it seemed this Miss Li’s goods were not fake.