Wynn's Apothecary's chief steward, Samuel Collins, was sitting listlessly by the entrance of the herbal shop, fiddling with a seven-holed flute in his hands. In front of him, six lion-mule beast carriages, capable of traveling hundreds of miles a day, were already loaded with goods, ready to depart at his command.

  “Steward Collins.”

  Henry Clark approached with his group and greeted him.

  Samuel Collins squinted his eyes, and upon seeing Henry Clark, a look of impatience flashed in his eyes. He waved his hand as if shooing away a fly and said, “Why are you here again? We do wholesale here. The only reason I sold to you before was because I pitied you. But you just keep coming, don’t you? Go on, buy your stuff somewhere else, and stop bothering me.”

  Henry Clark knew that his predecessor was quite disliked by Samuel Collins. In the past, when he came here to buy herbs, Samuel Collins only agreed to sell to him because he didn’t dare offend the poison demon William Parker. But as the poison demon had been missing for longer and longer, Samuel Collins’s attitude had grown increasingly nasty, and now he was outright trying to turn him away.

  No retail?

  That was the lamest excuse.

  Every day, Wynn's Apothecary had so few retail customers that you could count them on two hands, aside from the wholesale buyers. The real reason he didn’t want to sell to him was because of the constant haggling over price with his predecessor, who always had limited blue silver.

  However.

  This time, he was preparing to refine the Hundred Remedies Elixir, and not only would he not get a single tael of blue silver, he’d have to work himself to the bone. Why should he put up with this nonsense? Besides, bringing people here to buy herbs was actually bringing business to his “Wynn's Apothecary”.

  Henry Clark’s attitude turned cold, and he said indifferently, “I’m not here to buy herbs this time. I brought them here. According to the shop’s rules, every broker who brings in customers gets a five percent commission. I hope you won’t try to renege on that later.”

  The “broker” Henry Clark mentioned!

  They were people active in Hanshan City who brought customers to various businesses. Every year, many adventurers came here, and whether they were selling or buying, most were unfamiliar with the place and needed a broker to guide them and make introductions. Afterward, the broker would not only get a commission from the shop but also tips from the customers.

  Samuel Collins had been in low spirits just now and hadn’t really noticed the people behind Henry Clark. Now, after taking a closer look, the impatience on his face faded like the tide. Having been in business for decades, he had a sharp eye for people. Judging by the attire of those behind Henry Clark, he could tell they were no ordinary folks—either rich or noble.

  “Ah, so we have distinguished guests!”

  Samuel Collins changed his attitude faster than flipping a page, stood up with a beaming smile, and greeted them warmly: “Is this your first time at our Wynn's Apothecary? May I ask what herbs you need? Our Wynn's Apothecary has been open for business for hundreds of years, offering quality goods at fair prices, honest dealings with all. It’s definitely the best herbal shop in Hanshan City.”

  James Bolton was also a shrewd man. He knew that not helping put out the fire earlier had already made Henry Clark unhappy. In order to get Henry Clark to prepare the Hundred Remedies Elixir, he didn’t mind boosting Henry Clark’s status a bit. He said coolly, “The herbs we need are quite rare, and we’ll need a fair amount. But as for exactly which ones to buy, he decides.”

  “Hm?”

  Samuel Collins looked surprised, glancing at Henry Clark and then at James Bolton, before putting on a broad smile and asking, “Brother Clark, so… which herbs do you need?”

  “Stone yellow, blood drop, thousand-needle leaf, purple tea fruit… sixteen kinds in total, three portions of each.” Henry Clark was very familiar with the recipe for the Hundred Remedies Elixir and casually listed the required herbs and spirit fruits.

Chapter 0004: An Unexpected Windfall

  “You’re sure you want these herbs?”

  Samuel Collins stared at Henry Clark in astonishment. As each name came out of Henry Clark’s mouth, his heartbeat quickened, and his eyes began to shine. Especially when he heard “three portions of each” at the end, he almost burst out laughing with joy.

  Fourteen types of herbs, two rare spirit fruits. Among them, six herbs and one spirit fruit were extremely expensive—without at least a hundred taels of blue silver, you could forget about buying even one.

  This was…

  A deal worth several thousand taels of blue silver!

  Samuel Collins now looked at Henry Clark as if he were a walking, golden god of wealth. After enthusiastically ushering everyone into the shop, he called for the assistants to fetch the herbs while grabbing the calculator to tally up the total price.

  A moment later.

  Samuel Collins looked at James Bolton with a beaming smile and said politely, “The total comes to three thousand six hundred and forty-eight taels of blue silver. Since this is your first visit, I’ll take the liberty of rounding it down for you—just three thousand six hundred taels. I hope you’ll continue to support our Wynn's Apothecary in the future.”

  “Mm.”

  James Bolton responded with a hint of arrogance, barely acknowledging him.

  Samuel Collins was overjoyed. The more arrogant James Bolton acted, the more convinced he was that this was someone truly wealthy and important, so his own attitude became even more humble.

  Once all the herbs needed for the Hundred Remedies Elixir were gathered and handed to David Bolton, Samuel Collins was grinning from ear to ear as he asked, “May I ask, will you be paying in blue silver or with banknotes?”

  David Bolton took out a stack of banknotes, pulled out a few and handed them to Samuel Collins, then drew out a hundred-tael note and handed it to Henry Clark, her manner haughty and imposing.

  “Heh heh…”