Although the market was huge, Huo Yao surprisingly could not find the medicine she wanted. It simply did not make sense.
Huo Yao rubbed her forehead and continued heading deeper into the market. Soon, a shop called Imperial Medicine Store caught her attention.
Although the shop did not look very big from the outside, there was an antique flavor to its décor, and it had the most unusual shop front in the street.
Once Huo Yao entered, the light scent of sandalwood wafted into her nose, and a look of surprise finally emerged on her face.
The incense was not stifling, sour, or pungent. Instead, it had a refreshing and elegant scent and was of much higher quality than those average incense.
Huo Yao raised her head to look around. The shop had a simple display. Wooden carvings and antiques were displayed in the shop’s window. Behind the counter, there was an entire wall of small cabinets with the medicine name pasted on each one of them. A bead curtain hung over the doorway leading to the inner room.
The bead curtain was lifted from inside, and a middle-aged man came walking out. When he saw Huo Yao, he was caught by surprise. He glanced behind before closing its wooden door. He turned to say politely to Huo Yao, “Sorry, the shop is about to close.”
Huo Yao could tell that the middle-aged man was trying to get her to leave, so she got to the point and asked him. “Do you have 100 year old tortoiseshell, five flavor concentrate, formasan gum, and dragon bone?”
A look of surprise emerged on the man’s face when he heard the names of the herbs.
These were rare Chinese medicines that came at a steep price. All of them were excellent for calming nerves, promoting rest, and conditioning of organs.
Anyone with pharmacology knowledge would not randomly use them in their prescription. If they were not used in the right proportion, they would be rendered ineffective and cause huge side effects.
So people rarely purchased them even though they were precious and effective.
Since the young lady did not appear like a professional Chinese medicine physician, he assumed she must be buying them for someone else.
The man narrowed his eyes. He could tell Huo Yao was a genuine customer, so he replied politely. “Other than the 100 year old tortoiseshell, I have all the rest, but they are low in stock. How much do you need?”
Despite Huo Yao’s slight disappointment, she had at least made some headway. She replied with a smile. “300 grams each of the five flavor concentrates and formasan gum and 250 grams of dragon bone.
The man nodded and said, “Yes, I do have that much stock.”
He took out a calculator and said, “These medicines cost $3,20,000 in total.”
They were reasonably priced, so Huo Yao took out her phone and asked him. “Do you accept online bank transfers?”
“Yes, we do,” replied the man. He went behind the counter to retrieve a card with the bank account number printed on it and handed it to Huo Yao.
Huo Yao only took a glance at the card. In less than two minutes, the man’s phone quickly rang.
He retrieved his phone for a look to see a notification for an incoming bank transfer of $3,20,000. He could not help raising his head to look at Huo Yao in shock.
Did the young lady not merely take a glance at the card number?
Her memory was fantastic!
It was such a long string of numbers!
Huo Yao saw the look of surprise on the shop owner’s face. She frowned and said, “Sir?”
The man gathered his thoughts, and hurriedly replied. “Pardon me. I’ll pack your medicine right away.”
“Mhm.”
Huo Yao put her phone back in the pocket. She watched as the shop owner packed the medicine and asked him. “Sir, do you know where I can buy old Indian sandalwood?”
Since the man was well trained in pharmacology. His hand froze when he heard Huo Yao’s question.
