Rebirth of the High Gate Mistress

Chapter 323 Human Suffering

The snow had passed and the sky was sunny. Jingshu went to the front hall to take care of everything in the house in the first half of the day. In the second half of the day, she took Ziyun Danzhu out of the house and went to the medicine shop.

Jingshu's drugstore named Cangji has barely made any money in the six months since it opened. Moreover, since the typhoid fever epidemic, Jingshu has lowered the price of medicines. Not only has she not made any money in the past two months, but she has also paid for them. Quite a few.

Jingshu was busy with work, and most of the business in the drug store was left to Ziyun. Ziyun and Jingshu were sitting in the car together. While she was looking at the account book in her hand, she couldn't help but feel distressed and said: "This month has been full We put in a thousand taels of silver. We opened this shop with the intention of making money. Unexpectedly, we lost so much even though we didn't make any money. If we continue like this, we will suffer heavy losses."

Hearing this, Jingshu took the account book, looked at it, and replied: "How can you make money so easily in business? When next spring comes, I will also follow my sister-in-law's example and convert those grain fields into medicine gardens. We will produce and sell them ourselves." , this can greatly reduce the cost of medicinal materials. The shop has just opened now, so it is better to accumulate some reputation."

As the master and servant were talking, the carriage and horses arrived in front of Cangji Pharmacy. Danzhu helped Jingshu get out of the carriage, and the three of them entered the pharmacy. They saw all the old, young, women and children in the store, bustling with people coming to buy medicine. The shop was crowded with people, because there were too many people buying medicines, and the order was already chaotic. There were old people with gray hair and stooped backs, and many women holding sick children in the crowd. They were willing to squeeze in. Those who were snatching medicine were all poor people, and the whole shop was very noisy. The shopkeeper and several waiters were extremely busy making inquiries and prescribing medicine.

Ziyun saw the crowd and was worried about bumping into his wife, so he quickly protected Jingshu upstairs. After a while, Danzhu brought the shopkeeper to see Jingshu. Shopkeeper Wang saw Jingshu and apologized hurriedly: "This floor I was so busy that I didn’t notice Madam coming here, it’s really rude.”

Jingshu replied that it was okay, and asked shopkeeper Wang: "Are there still many people with typhoid fever in the city today?"

Shopkeeper Wang replied: "This winter is cold, and the number of people suffering from this disease is only increasing. Our medicinal materials for treating typhoid fever are 30 to 40% cheaper than others, so the poor people are flocking to us. We are all here." It is sold at cost price. It is really unprofitable to continue like this. Madam, look at it."

Jingshu understood Shopkeeper Wang's worries and replied: "I know this well, but our pharmacy has just started, and it can't compare with those already famous drugstores."

After hearing this, shopkeeper Wang sighed: "The doctor is kind-hearted. Madam wants to use this to win over people's hearts and create a reputation. It's not wrong, but the pharmacy has indeed lost a lot of money in the past two months."

Jingshu just started a medicine shop business, and she really wanted to make money. When she heard that there was a typhoid fever in the city, she bought medicinal materials at a reduced price, and she really wanted to build a reputation for the medicine shop so that she could make profits in the future. Jingshu was born into an official family. Since marrying into the palace as the most noble matron of the family, she has come into contact with people who are either rich or noble, and she has lived a life full of splendid things. Where can she see such things on ordinary days? The world is miserable. She came to the shop today and saw with her own eyes the scene of poor people in tattered clothes rushing to buy medicine. A subtle change occurred in Jingshu's heart unconsciously.

Jingshu now really wants to do some good deeds for these poor people. She doesn't care about whether she makes money or not.

Seeing the misery of these poor people, Jing Shu felt heavy in her heart. She sighed and said, "Let's just lose it. I want to help the people get through this typhoid fever."

As she spoke, she winked at Ziyun. Ziyun understood and took out the banknote from his sleeve pocket and handed it to shopkeeper Wang.

Jingshu then told shopkeeper Wang: "If there are patients who are too poor to afford money, just give them the medicinal materials on credit and pay them back when there is money in the future."

Shopkeeper Wang saw Jingshu's kindness and said with emotion: "Now that we have been hit by disasters for many years, and the Holy Emperor has built a lot of construction projects for the princess, the people are living in misery. If these medicinal materials are given out on credit, I am afraid that very few of them will be able to repay them."

How could Jingshu not know this truth, but she really couldn't bear to watch those poor people die of illness, so she could just do her meager part by running this medicine shop. Jing Shu left the banknotes for circulation and made clear explanations to shopkeeper Wang, and then left the pharmacy with two maids. Just as they were about to get in the car, they saw several officials from a distance forcibly escorting three or five young men out of the city. go in the direction.

The eighth princess Qingyuan was crazy and crazy, and the marriage has not been settled to this day. Emperor Ming took pity on his beloved daughter. In the past few years, he spared no effort in building construction projects for the eighth princess, building one after another extremely luxurious palaces for the princess to have fun and enjoy.

There have been natural disasters year after year, and Emperor Ming was so ignorant of the sufferings of the people, that the life of the common people was simply miserable.

"In the middle of winter, we still have to catch young men to build some kind of palace. There really is no way for the poor to survive." Ziyun, who also came from a poor background, looked at the young men in thin clothes and crying and being escorted by officials, and she was moved by the scene. Feeling sad in my heart, I couldn't help but sigh in a low voice.

 “That’s right.” Danzhu also echoed with a grimace.

Nowadays, the imperial party struggle has reached a fever pitch. Talking about the affairs of the court in the street will lead to trouble. Jing Shu looked deeply at the two girls, and Ziyun Danzhu immediately understood. They closed their mouths tightly, and the three of them boarded the carriage and headed towards the palace.

The carriage drove into the alley, and happened to be on top of the oncoming Yiliang float. The float was extremely gorgeous, and its body was wrapped with flower branches and ribbons, like a large colorful flower ball. It was followed by a horse on horseback. There were three or two dandy boys from wealthy families who were drunk and obsessed with all sorts of things.

The women who ride on such floats are all the oirans or top names in the Qin Tower and Chu Hall.

The alley is narrow and cannot allow two carriages to pass through at the same time. When the turtle slave driving the float saw that it was an official carriage, he immediately shouted and turned the carriage to make way.

The carriage suddenly turned around, causing a jolt. The woman in the carriage didn't understand why. She frowned slightly and asked, "Why did you turn back for no reason?"

Turtle slave replied: "Girl, in front of you is the carriage of the Duke of Zhenguo."

When the woman in the car heard the words "Zhenguo Gongfu", her expression suddenly changed. She raised her hand to lift the car curtain and looked out.

Jingshu went out this time and saw all the suffering in the world, which made her feel depressed. She sat in the car and looked out aimlessly, and happened to catch a pair of deep eyes staring directly at her.

The woman in the float was none other than the dancing girl Cai Ling who was kicked out by Mrs. Zhang Chao and moved to Beijing.

 (End of this chapter)