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6.83% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 22: Chapter Twenty Two - I earn my first silver

Chapter 22: Chapter Twenty Two - I earn my first silver

According to the diaries, Apothecaries are both simple chemists and doctors, administering basic medicines and first aid. Indeed the shelves in the shop had many jade bottles containing pills upon them as well as dried herbs and potions. There were also simple cauldrons for sale as well as other items that Leon did not recognise.

A little bell rang at the door as they entered the shop, announcing their presence.

Mr Clawse was a man dressed in dark hemp robes, with long, blue-black hair and a rather long nose. He was tall, his height being on par with Jin Li. Leon had to look up to view his face.

"Mr Clawse," Mino greeted. "I brought customers. Mam asks if you would treat 'em well." He bowed then indicated that he would wait outside for them.

"H-h-hi," Leon greeted and bowed belatedly. Clawse looked at the student before him, examining him from top to toe.

"Well, what is it you wish to sell?" He asked, his tone slightly wane. A few students, who happened to be educated on the mountains but came from this town, visited him frequently. He doubted this youth's wares would differ much in quality from their products. Did students of the outer school all think him as a charity?

"Oh," Leon replied and began to place numerous bottles upon the counter. As Clawse expected, these were One Heart Pills and of very average quality. The only surprising fact, perhaps, was that the quality did not differ whatsoever amongst the pills… until… "Ah, I p-packed these b-by m-mistake," Leon murmured aloud and reached for the Jade bottle, but Clawse stopped him, placing his bony, long fingers over Leon's pale hand.

"May I see?" He enquired. Leon removed his hold and Clawse examined the pure coloured pills within the bottle. He frowned, he had thought that these were also One Heart Pills, but they seemed quite different. He unplugged the bottle. The fragrance was that of the basic healing pill as he expected, but it was cleaner and fresher. There were five in the bottle. "I will be honest with you," Clawse said. "I have much stock on One Heart Pills such as these." He indicated the average quality pills. "I sell them cheaply, in fact were you to buy the ingredients, it is unlikely there is any profit in them after refining."

"Oh," Leon wasn't aware of their worth. Leo had not visited any town since he had left his village, enjoying too much his experiments to leave school.

"If you were to provide higher quality ones, I would consider purchasing them. However, I am interested in these," Clawse shook the bottle slightly. "I'm curious to know why these One Heart Pills are so different."

"Um…" Leon wasn't sure how to explain it.

"Trade secret," Jin Li said suddenly, realising that the boy would willingly give away the recipe if asked. His eyes narrowed, if the boy could produce a pill of this ilk, perhaps he was not lying about the Blood pill he had used to heal him. There was more to this boy than met the eye. Ha, consider yourself fortunate, he thought. Until I am able to leave for home, this Lord has decided to protect you from unscrupulous men and women.

Leon looked at Jin Li with a slight frown, before realising that the man was right. He should hide the method for now. If others were to find out that he had a better recipe for the pill, he might be targeted. So he nodded in agreement with Jin Li.

"B-b-but, th-they are o-only slightly b-better than average," Leon tried to explain, after all the ingredients he used were not any different. "Th-the imp-purities are m-much less a-and s-side effects gr-greatly r-reduced. E-effect-tiveness n-not changed."

"How much less impurities?" Clawse asked.

"50%" Leon managed to answer clearly.

"You used sunclover," this was a statement rather than a question and Leon nodded his head in agreement. The sunclover leaves were chopped up with the silver nettle leaves to brew the tea, but many alchemists knew this and the impurities usually only reduced by 20%. "And the side effects?"

"H-h-haven't t-totally tested," Leon admitted, "b-but tightening of th-the m-m-Meridens 70% l-less."

Clawse eyes widened. "If that's all true, then a non-practioner could take these several times a week instead of no more than twice and a Cultivator could take one a day… not that they should need to, of course." He looked at Leon with calculating eyes. "Do you have more of these?" Leon shook his head. "Any other improved pills that you are willing to let go of?" Leon thought about it for a moment, before reluctantly taking out his remaining two Blood pills. Clawse took in the scent of these pills which again produced a more potent and fragrant scent than their counterparts. "You are full of surprises."

Jin Li had to agree with him. This had to have been the same as the pill he had partaken. Admittedly, he was not an expert in pills, but he had taken them before to improve his cultivation and heal wounds. None had quite the clear and untainted scent as these.

Clawse asked several questions about these two pills and calmly allowed Leon, who was struggling with his stutter again, to answer fully. Once satisfied, he named his prices. "An ordinary One Heart Pill I purchase for 30 brass, sell for 50, with a 10% increase should the pill be of good quality. However for these five pills, I will offer you 1 silver for all five. And 2 silvers each for the Blood Pills. That is a total of 5 silver."

"What do you normally pay for average Blood Pills?" Jin Li asked.

"About 500 brass coins for each," Clawse replied. "Internal wounds are, after all, harder to treat than external ones and if one does not wish to purchase a One Heart Pill, one can easily wrap a light wound and let it heal naturally at no cost." Jin Li agreed with this. Although natural healing left scars, scratches and light wounds were not so urgent that pills were absolutely necessary. "If you have more pills in the future, I will be willing to purchase them and we can discuss prices then."

Leon thanked him and sold him all seven pills, happy to pocket the 5 silver, even though he could not be totally certain of its value. Again, Leo really hadn't cared about the price of things once three meals were fed to him a day, a roof over his head and lots of herbs to play were provided by the school. They left the Apothecary and Leon thanked Jin Li for his help. Jin Li gently slapped the back of his head. "Don't be so open next time," Jin Li told him. "You will end up fodder for beasts." Leon rubbed the back of his head, tears unbidden in his eyes, but he offered Jin Li a watery smile, knowing the man was right.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Ebonsolaris Ebonsolaris

1000 brass to 1 silver

Chapter 23: Chapter Twenty Three - And I spend my first silver

"Where d'ya wish t'go next?" Mino asked as they came back out onto the street. Leon's plan for this visit was to purchase kitchen pots to cook in. He also could do with new pottery, seeing as he had to share his eating bowl with Jin Li at the moment. Jin Li had only one destination in mind at first.

"This Lord wishes to go to the Transport Portals."

Mino tilted his head staring at the man as if he had grown two heads. "You won' find a portal here," he said finally. "Those sor' of things is in the city." Jin Li deflated slightly, before regaining his proud posture and suggesting a different place to go.

"A clothing store," Jin Li decided.

"Hmm?" Mino was startled by the turnabout. "Ah, wha' kind?" It was Jin Li's turn to glare at him. What did he mean what kind? Surely there was only one kind, a place that could provide him with quality garments that suited his taste and were tailored to his body, of course.

"What is this?" Jin Li pointed in disdain as he saw the very plain, one size fits all robes on display.

"Clothes," Mino replied, giving him a similar expression as Leon was also. Leon had been checking the workmanship of the clothes rather than the style. As long as it was well made and he could wear it frequently without needing to replace it, that was enough for him. He'd never been one for fashion, usually sticking to cheap, but hard wearing jeans and plain T-shirts.

The seamstress came over and chatted to Leon, who became so comfortable in her presence, his stutter lessened considerably. This irritated Jin Li for some reason, almost as much as the boring outer robes he was examining.

"So plain!" He complained and touched the garment in Leon's hold, surprised by how rough it was. "What sort of material is this?"

"Hemp," the woman told him. "All of the clothes here be made of hemp. ''Tis hard wearin' and cheap. If you be wantin' silk, you be wantin' to go to where the rich folk shop. Nought like that here."

"Ah, s-silk is too expensive f-for me," Leon said with a slight chuckle. His small laugh gave Jin Li pause, but he dismissed whatever was going through his mind instead he contemplating trying to wear this awful stuff. Leon began to negotiate a price with the woman, though it was a half-hearted barter. The woman did not seem to wish to take advantage of the boy, so the price was fair. "And f-for him." Leon added to the order.

"Forget me," Jin Li interrupted him. He refused to wear it.

"Y-you n-need it too!" Leon argued. "Or d-d-do you wish t-to w-walk around the w-woods n-naked when I w-w-wash your clothes?" The woman's eyebrows rose upward upon her forehead as she stared at one man then the other. She blinked a few times as they bickered and thought; well, well!

"I have somethin' that might suit your taste," she murmured, before slipping into her back room. She retrieved a long, dark blue robe with simple patterns embroidered about the hem. "It's still hemp, it was mean' for a wedding, but the groom.. well it was called off anyhow." The three men looked at the robe and glanced at each other with varying expressions. "He ain't dead! And the bride found 'erself another fella, so…" please don't look at it as if it is cursed!

"Alright," Leon agreed. In the end, he spent a couple hundred brass shy of 2 silver in the store, making sure that he had a full set of robes for himself and new inner garments for Jin Li along with the embroidered robe. The man might protest, but that was over the issue with the cloth rather than the fact money was being spent on him.

Leon spent just over a silver purchasing a cooking pot, kettle, cups, a plate and bowl for Jin Li and a pestle and mortar (he currently pounded herbs and seeds between a flat stone and a rock)in a shop selling random housewares. He noticed a metal tripod, to place over a fire and stand a cooking pot on it and realised he already had one in the chest. He had wondered for a while what it was for! Before he could leave, Jin Li began to barter for a large tub, just big enough for a grown man to sit in and take a cramped bath. He had to part with another two silvers as the man never wished to bathe in cold lake water again.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Ebonsolaris Ebonsolaris

Sorry it’s late. I thought I had published this Tuesday, but it didn’t happen apparently. So two chapters will be posted.

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