Chapter 415 - 349: State-run Pharmacy
Yong'an Village, in the east room of Zhao Jun's home.
Just a moment ago, the room was filled with the aroma of food and joyous family chatter, but now the atmosphere was tense enough to cut with a knife.
This wasn't a case of Wang Meilan being a bully. The key issue was that what Zhao Youcai had just said was not something a father should say.
Startled by Wang Meilan's shout, Zhao Youcai's hand, holding his cup, trembled. He quickly explained, "The Forest Farm has been hosting guests these last few days. I'm the master chef. How could I possibly get away?"
Her good mood ruined, Wang Meilan was now furious. She pointed her chopsticks at Zhao Youcai and yelled, "If you have to host guests, then just say so! What was that nonsense you just spouted?"
"Mom, Mom," Zhao Jun quickly intervened. "Let's just eat. We can go whenever Dad isn't busy."
It was only because Zhao Jun was pleading on his behalf. If it had been anyone else, Wang Meilan might not have been so accommodating. Still, she shot Zhao Youcai a vicious glare before sitting back down to eat.
Zhao Youcai raised his cup and took a drink to calm his nerves, then shot Zhao Jun an appreciative glance for his quick thinking.
Zhao Jun just smiled and went back to his meal. Earlier today, during his conversation with Lin Xiangshun, Zhao Jun had unintentionally learned one of Zhao Youcai's little secrets.
Specifically, that the year before last, Zhao Youcai and Lin Xiangshun had split a little Black Bear's gall.
Zhao Jun had once calculated that the money his father had hidden in his cotton-padded jacket must have been skimmed from selling Bear Gall and Lynx Fur.
As for the money from the little Black Bear's gall he'd found and split with Lin Xiangshun, that was most likely where the funds he used to buy sheep in Yongsheng Village came from.
But even the year before last, a Little Bear's gall could sell for at least four hundred yuan. Split between the two of them, that would be two hundred each.
However, he had heard that Zhao Youcai spent one hundred and twenty yuan on three sheep in Yongsheng Village. So where was the remaining eighty yuan of his private stash?
Zhao Jun poked at the rice in his bowl with his chopsticks, secretly glancing at Zhao Youcai from the corner of his eye. 'Zhao Ergudong,' he thought, 'I dare you to try and bully me again!'
Zhao Youcai, who was in the middle of eating some meat, suddenly felt a chill run down the back of his neck. He subconsciously looked up at Wang Meilan, only to see her putting food onto Little Zhao Na's plate. Zhao Youcai blinked, shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, and felt a sense of panic rising in his heart.
The next day, he was heading to Lingnan to sell the Ginseng. After an early breakfast, Zhao Jun went back to his room to pack.
There wasn't much to pack, really. Just his gun and a few bullets. After all, the memory of running into robbers on the road was still fresh in his mind. Besides, the profits from selling the Ginseng this time wouldn't be small, so he had to be on guard.
Just as Zhao Jun slung the gun over his back, he heard a car horn honking outside. With the gun on his back, he walked out to the main room and said to Wang Meilan, who was washing dishes, "Mom, that bear meat won't last more than a few days. You should divide it up. Give some to my uncle, and give some to Brother Zhang."
Hearing this, Wang Meilan sighed. "Your Brother Zhang's wife has it tough. It's planting season, and with her man laid up, everything has fallen on her shoulders."
Zhao Jun sighed as well. With Zhang Yuanmin laid up right in the middle of the busy farming season, the burden of planting the fields naturally fell entirely on Yang Yufeng's shoulders.
With his gun on his back, Zhao Jun left the house. He went to the cellar, placed the Ginseng Buns one by one into his satchel, and then walked out of the yard.
Yesterday, after Lin Xiangshun had driven the bear meat home, he took the car back with him. Li Baoyu had just gone to his house to pick it up, and it was now parked at the gate of Zhao Jun's home.
Zhao Jun got into the passenger seat, and Li Baoyu started the car.
The car drove out of the village, following the old Preparation Road. After passing the Nanling checkpoint, they reached another Forest Farm.
This one was called the Duck Frame Forest Farm. Past this farm and further east was the Shulan area of Ji Province.
Once they were here, Zhao Jun began giving Li Baoyu directions based on the memories from his past life.
That kid Li Baoyu was truly obedient. He drove exactly as Zhao Jun directed, without once asking how he knew the route. Just like that, they drove all the way to the Lingnan Pharmacy.
Parking the car at the pharmacy entrance, Li Baoyu looked out the window, a little surprised. He quickly asked Zhao Jun, who was about to get out, "Brother, didn't you say we were going to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative?"
"Shouldn't we shop around for the best price? We'll sell to whoever pays the most," Zhao Jun said, handing the gun, which was wrapped in a burlap sack, to Li Baoyu. "You wait in the car for me. Don't move from this spot until I come out."
Just like when he went to the big department store in town, Zhao Jun had once again covered the gun with a burlap sack.
He had to cover it.
What if someone passed by, saw a person sitting in the car holding a gun, right next to a state-owned pharmacy? They would definitely report it to the authorities.
"Alright, you got it!" Li Baoyu replied. He sat in the car, clutching the burlap sack with the gun inside, and scanned his surroundings warily.
Zhao Jun entered the pharmacy and saw it was packed with people. He shifted his satchel to his front and then cast his gaze toward the far left side of the store.
There was a staircase there leading to the second floor.
Zhao Jun walked toward the staircase. He had just started up the steps when someone behind him shouted, "Hey, young comrade, what are you doing?"
Zhao Jun turned his head and saw a uniformed pharmacy employee striding quickly toward him, pointing as he walked.
The two of them were still some distance apart, but the man's shout had drawn the attention of many people nearby.
This was normal. Chinese people love to watch a spectacle.
Zhao Jun didn't say anything. He waited until the employee was close, then said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I'm here to sell Ginseng. Doesn't the second floor buy it?"
"Sell Ginseng?" The employee eyed Zhao Jun suspiciously and asked with a frown, "Why are you selling it at this time of year?"
Zhao Jun didn't put up with his attitude and replied directly, "What kind of question is that? I just dug it up. If I don't sell it now, when should I sell it?"
"Just dug it up..." While the employee was still processing this, he saw Zhao Jun continuing up the stairs and quickly followed.
Zhao Jun glanced back and glared at the guy. If he hadn't been running his mouth, he could have gotten to the second floor without alerting anyone.
The second floor was different from the first. The first floor was one large hall, divided down the middle into a left side for Chinese medicine and a right side for Western medicine.
Each side was lined with counters.
The second floor, however, was made up of individual rooms. Among these rooms, only one had its door open.
Zhao Jun walked over quickly and peered through the doorway. He saw an old man in a tunic suit sitting inside. Behind him was a row of medicine cabinets, and in front of him was a desk with a chessboard on it. To the left and right of the board were two bowls for the game pieces.
The old man was alone in the room, studying a game record by himself. He was so focused that he didn't notice Zhao Jun appear at the door.
Just as Zhao Jun was about to step inside, he heard someone shout from behind, "Did I say you could come up here? Who told you to come up?"
It was that same employee. He had followed him up from downstairs and was now pointing at Zhao Jun and shouting.
At this, the old man in the room also heard the commotion. He frowned and looked up at Zhao Jun.
Zhao Jun spun around and snapped at the employee, "Since when do I need your permission to come to a pharmacy to sell Ginseng?"