Jing Li was so exhausted from playing the night before that he couldn't get up the next day.
It would have been fine if he didn't want to get up, but he insisted on sleeping in Qin Zhao's arms, frowning impatiently whenever he moved.
This forced Qin Zhao to stay in bed with him.
It was already late. Qin Zhao gently rubbed the furry head in his arms and asked in a low voice: "Can't you pay it back?"
"Sleepy… "
The young man bathed in the morning sunshine, his long, curled eyelashes trembling slightly, and he frowned and hid in Qin Zhao's arms: "Sleep a little longer."
Wake up failed.
Qin Zhao sighed helplessly.
But this time they didn't lie there for long, as someone knocked on the door: "Master Qin, Jing Li, are you guys up?"
It's Ayi's voice.
Ah Yi is a very traditional Shuang'er, who has always been very particular about etiquette and knows how to avoid taboos. Even though they live in the same house now, he rarely sets foot in this side yard.
If he came to knock on the door, it must be something important.
Qin Zhao could roughly guess why he came here. Even though he was reluctant, he could only put the soft little boy in his arms down, put on his coat and went to open the door.
"He's still asleep." Qin Zhao opened the door and said in a low voice.
Ayi nodded, and retreated to the courtyard with Qin Zhao, then said, "Mr. Qin, someone is looking for you outside, and has been waiting for half an hour."
Qin Zhao nodded: "I see. Tell them for me. I'll be there soon. Let them report back."
Ayi opened his eyes wide in surprise: "You knew..."
Qin Zhao: “I know.”
I came to see him specially on New Year's Day when the pharmacy was closed. There couldn't be anyone else.
Ayi wanted to ask a few more questions, but then he remembered what Grandpa Xue once taught him, that one should not be too curious about other people's affairs, so he gave up the idea of asking questions.
After seeing Ayi off, Qin Zhao returned to the house and found Jing Li had already woken up.
He turned over while holding the quilt, and a piece of white and smooth arm stretched out and rested on the soft dark quilt.
"Is Ayi looking for you for something?" His voice was filled with deep sleepiness, and he looked a little stuffy because most of his face was buried in the quilt.
"Yeah." Qin Zhao peeled the man out of the quilt and said softly, "Someone is looking for me."
Jing Li opened his eyes: "Who is it?"
Today is the first day of the new year, and most of the shops on the street are closed, so naturally there won’t be people who want to order medicinal materials. And if they are acquaintances in the village, they won’t come to the county town on the first day of the new year.
Who else could it be
Qin Zhao said calmly: "The government."
"County magistrate?" Hearing these two words, Jing Li suddenly became nervous. He threw back the quilt, stood up, and knelt on the bed. "What does that dog official want you to do now? Isn't it about the cold-removing pill?"
Qin Zhao had made great contributions to flood control before, and the county magistrate, in return, found the herbs needed to prepare the antidote for him, and the matter was settled at that time. Now it is not the flood season, and this small county town does not even have many snows in winter, so it must have nothing to do with the flood.
Since it wasn't a flood, the only thing that could attract the attention of the higher-ups was Qin Zhao's cold-relieving pills.
The Quhan Pill has been making a lot of noise in the county recently. Although it is a bit high-profile, it is just selling medicine after all. It is not illegal, right? ?
"Don't worry." Qin Zhao comforted him, "I guessed that he would come to me sooner or later. Even if he doesn't come today, I will go to the government to look for him."
Jing Li: "What do you mean?"
"Put on some clothes first, be careful not to catch a cold." Qin Zhao took the clothes and put them on Jing Li, then helped him tie the laces slowly, and then he mocked softly, "If you ignore the way to make money, you are not a dog official."
Jing Liming came over and asked: "He's eyeing the Quhan Pill?"
"Yes." Qin Zhao said, "When he agreed to help us find medicine earlier, I felt that he was a little too generous. Recently, I gradually figured out the reason."
The medicinal herbs that Mr. Xue wanted were extremely rare and expensive. Moreover, they asked for three or four months' supply at a time. If these herbs were bought on the market, their value would be no less than a thousand strings of cash.
But when they made this request, the county magistrate agreed without hesitation.
This is not consistent with the corrupt official's greedy nature.
The only possible explanation is...
Jing Li: "Is there collusion between the county government and the pharmaceutical merchants?"
"Yes." Qin Zhao said, "The government controls most of the county's sources of medicinal materials, and medical merchants are dependent on the government. Whether that dependence is voluntary or forced, at least the county government can easily obtain low-priced medicinal materials and make a profit from it."
Jing Li sighed, "I thought they were so generous, but it turns out they just rely on squeezing the people's blood and sweat."
Qin Zhao sighed: "There's nothing we can do about it."
The emperor is far away, and the county where they are is under the jurisdiction of Jiangling Prefecture, which is a thousand miles away from the capital.
The higher-ups can’t and won’t take care of this matter.
Jing Li asked: "Does the dog official want to do the same to us? If so..."
"Don't worry, we have the upper hand in this matter." Qin Zhao smiled faintly, "Otherwise he wouldn't have chosen a day when the pharmacy is closed and sent someone to secretly invite me."
Jingli blinked in confusion.
His confused look was particularly adorable. Qin Zhao lowered his head and kissed him on the lips, explaining, "Because he's afraid of being seen."
No matter how the officials and merchants colluded in private, the county magistrate had to maintain his reputation in the hearts of the people and could not have too close dealings with the merchants in public. However, the medicine shop was crowded with people on weekdays, so he did not dare to come to find anyone.
As for why they have the advantage, it is naturally because now only Qin Zhao has the recipe for the cold-relieving pill.
The county magistrate wanted to profit from it, so he did not dare to provoke him easily.
When Qin Zhao and Jing Li arrived at the outer courtyard, they saw several men in ordinary clothes standing in the yard.
Ayi had obviously never seen such a scene before and didn't dare to leave. He huddled in a corner of the courtyard, sorting herbs in fear.
Seeing Qin Zhao and the others coming out, he immediately stood up and ran over as if he had seen a savior: "Master Qin, I have conveyed your words, but they... these officials refused to leave..."
The county magistrate would not come in person if he wanted to see someone, so when Qin Zhao heard that someone was looking for him, he concluded that he must have sent a few officials to invite him. Qin Zhao originally wanted Ayi to tell the officials to go back first and report, and he would come later, but he didn't expect these people to be cautious and wait until now.
Qin Zhao said in a gentle voice: "It's okay, you guys go back to the inner courtyard first, I'll take care of this."
Jing Li pulled Qin Zhao's sleeve, and Qin Zhao patted his hand soothingly: "Don't worry, go."
The two young men walked away with heavy hearts, and Qin Zhao stepped forward: "My dear officials, please wait."
The men seemed a little impatient waiting, but when they saw Qin Zhao coming, they were still polite to him: "We came too early, it doesn't matter if we wait a little longer. My master wants to invite Mr. Qin to his house for a chat, please come with us."
Qin Zhao nodded: "Okay."
The men did not take Qin Zhao to the government office, but went in another direction and came to a secluded house.
Most likely it is the residence of the county magistrate.
The county magistrate informed the doorman in advance, and Qin Zhao was led directly into the study without any questioning. This study was much larger than the one in the county government office, and this house was several times larger than Ayi's house. If you didn't tell me, you might think it was the house of a wealthy family.
The study was scented with a light scent of sandalwood. Behind the desk stood a row of bookshelves filled with a dazzling array of books, all brand new, and I'm afraid they had hardly ever been flipped through.
Qin Zhao withdrew his gaze and sighed imperceptibly.
Soon, the door opened.
Qin Zhao bowed to the visitor and said, "Greetings, County Magistrate."
The county magistrate looked fatter than he was six months ago. When he saw Qin Zhao, he immediately laughed cheerfully and said, "Mr. Qin, you don't have to be so polite. We were able to deal with the flood earlier thanks to your help. After solving that problem, the county received a lot of rewards."
Qin Zhao lowered his eyes and did not answer.
The county magistrate sat down behind the desk and said, "Sir, please don't be so reserved. Please take a seat. I came here to chat with you. I heard that you are now working as a doctor in a pharmacy?"
Qin Zhao: "I'm just helping the owner of the medicine shop look after the shop."
"I see." The county magistrate pondered for a moment, then said, "Wouldn't it be a shame for you to have such a small pharmacy to bury your talent? I know the owners of several medical clinics in the city. Would you like me to introduce them to you?"
"Thank you for your kindness, sir." Qin Zhao said, "But I came to the county town only for the county exam, and went to that shop just to find a place to stay, so there is no need to trouble you, sir."
"County exam?" The county magistrate was startled, then smiled bitterly, "Oh, yes, it seems to be true."
He stroked his beard, seemingly in deep thought.
Qin Zhao was too lazy to argue with him, so he said, "Your Excellency, just say what you want to say."
"Mr. Qin is a straightforward person, so I won't beat around the bush." The county magistrate said, "I heard that Mr. Qin recently developed a new medicine called Quhan Dan, and is selling it in the city?"
Qin Zhao: “Yes.”
The county magistrate said, "Mr. Qin, you know that the sale of such large quantities of drugs requires my approval."
“I’ve never heard of such a rule.”
The county magistrate smiled and said, "Mr. Qin is new here, so it's okay if he doesn't know the rules. But the sale of this Quhan Pill..."
Qin Zhao interrupted, "I was just about to discuss this matter with you, sir."
County Magistrate: “What are you discussing?”
"We discussed selling medicine together." Qin Zhao explained, "I developed this cold-relieving pill accidentally, hoping to help students like me who are preparing for the imperial examination. I didn't expect that the medicine would be so well received, but I had to prepare for the imperial examination and couldn't afford to supply so many pills, which caused the medicine to be in short supply. I heard that outside the pharmacy, the price of this pill has increased several times."
The county magistrate's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he asked, "So you want to seek my cooperation?"
Qin Zhao nodded: "That's right."
Qin Zhao's attitude was exactly what the county magistrate wanted. The county magistrate could hardly suppress the joy on his face and asked anxiously: "Tell me, how do you want to cooperate?"
In fact, he had this idea since Qin Zhao made the prescription. Therefore, even if the county magistrate did not come to see him today, he would still pay a visit.
To be honest, the profit of Quhan Dan is not low now.
When they initially priced each package at 18 wen, Jing Li thought that the price was too low. However, after Qin Zhao further improved the prescription and A Yi got a discount for ordering the herbs in bulk, the net profit of each package of medicine has now reached about 10 wen.
In total, the net profit for each pill is a little over a penny.
The drug store now produces about fifty bags a day, with a daily net profit of at least five hundred coins.
But this is not a long-term solution after all.
Not to mention whether the body can endure this, Qin Zhao and Jing Li will leave here after the imperial examination is over, so will the medicine not be sold
It is definitely impossible.
Even if he didn't do it for money, the medicine was effective, cheap, and really benefited the people, so Qin Zhao was unwilling to give up. But Ayi still had a shop to look after, so he couldn't keep bothering him.
Therefore, they had to find another way out.
The best option is to take action against the county magistrate.
Qin Zhao talked in detail with the county magistrate for two full hours. When he left the county magistrate's mansion, the sun was already high in the sky and snowflakes were even beginning to fall.
On the morning of the first day of the new year, Qin Zhaoxian was kept in bed by Jing Li for a long time. Before he had time to eat anything, he was brought to the county magistrate again. Only then did he realize that he was starving.
But unfortunately, there were only a few shops open on the street today, and Qin Zhao walked all the way but couldn't find any food.
In desperation, he had to brave the wind and snow and quickly return to Ayi's house.
In addition to the pharmacy, the house also had a side door on the nearby street for entry and exit. Qin Zhaogang knocked on the door and someone immediately opened it.
"You're back!" Jing Li showed a happy expression and pulled him into the house. "Come in quickly, we've been waiting for you!"
Qin Zhao: "What?"
Jing Li didn't answer. He directly pulled the man into the main house, let him sit down to warm up, and then turned around and left the house.
A moment later, he and Ayi came back with several plates of hot dumplings.
Xue Ren laughed cheerfully beside him: "These two little guys have been busy all morning, and they didn't let me eat any of them. They insisted on waiting for you to come back before cooking dumplings."
Jing Li's hands and body were all covered with flour. Hearing this, he touched his nose embarrassedly, and the tip of his nose was immediately covered with some white powder.
Qin Zhao noticed that the dumplings on the plate were of different shapes.
Some were well-wrapped, round and plump, with thin skin and lots of meat. Others were crooked, with the skin even broken in a few places, and the meat stuffing had long since fallen out.
… You can tell at a glance which ones are made by his little fish.
"What's this?" Qin Zhao asked, pointing at a plate of long, slightly flat dumplings.
Jing Li whispered, "It's fish-shaped dumplings."
Qin Zhao: “…”
After Jing Li finished speaking, he even felt guilty.
This was clearly what Ayi taught him, but he could not make fish-shaped dumplings as beautiful as Ayi's. Instead, they looked more like flattened buns.
Qin Zhao was absolutely right, his craftsmanship was indeed hard to describe.
But Qin Zhao said: "It's well wrapped, very cute."
After saying that, he took the initiative to pick up a relatively intact dumpling and ate it.
The dumplings had just come out of the pot, but they were not hot at all. When I bit into them, the warm soup flowed down my mouth into my esophagus, eliminating my hunger and coldness.
Jing Li was still nervously asking, "Can I eat it?"
Qin Zhao chewed slowly and swallowed the dumpling, then smiled and said, "Yes, it's delicious. Sit down."
Everyone then felt relieved and sat down at the table.
Outside, snowflakes fell in the yard and quickly melted away. Inside, the white mist rising from the dumplings disappeared amid the laughter of the crowd.
Qin Zhao used his fingertips to rub off the flour on Jing Li's nose. Jing Li glanced at the two people opposite him, and when they were not paying attention, he kissed Qin Zhao's fingertips.
"You've worked hard today." Jing Li asked in a low voice, "Did the talk go well?"
Qin Zhao said calmly: "Well, it went smoothly."
"I asked the county magistrate to choose between buying out our prescription or cooperating with us to sell the pills, and he chose the former."
"Three hundred taels, I sold the recipe for the cold-removing pill."
Jing Li paused, and the dumpling he had just picked up fell to the ground with a plop.