Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Ye Yu Bin, the Pharmacy Owner
Fu Chen An nodded to show he understood. They agreed he would come back at noon for the answer, and he started to take his leave.
Then his eyes snagged on the instant noodles stacked on the shelf. He paused mid-step. “You gave me two cases before. They were excellent. How do you sell these?”
Xiao Ying Chun took one look and nearly laughed. [Those seasoning packets are basically chemical temptation. How could an ancient man resist?]
“If you like them, I can give you two more cases.” She tapped the stack. “If you want to buy, it’s five taels of silver for ten cases.”
These were the oversized cases—twenty-four bags per case. Even her wholesale cost was close to sixty yuan each.
A five-tael silver ingot was worth about six thousand yuan. She was only making a nine-times markup. Conscience-level pricing.
Fu Chen An didn’t blink. He simply produced a ten-tael silver ingot and handed it over.
Xiao Ying Chun’s eyelid twitched. “…I don’t have twenty cases on hand. I’ll transfer stock over later. Take two cases now—consider them a gift.”
A ten-tael ingot could only sell for about ten thousand yuan. The margin didn’t even reach nine times. She was practically taking a loss.
Fu Chen An didn’t argue. He hoisted the two cases against his chest and turned to go, but Xiao Ying Chun stopped him and shoved two big bags into his arms.
Starch sausages.
“For this, tear off the wrapper, then toss the sausage into the noodles and eat it together,” she said. “It’s good. Try it.”
Fu Chen An nodded, then his gaze drifted down to the lower shelf, settling on the er guo tou liquor.
“The strong liquor you gifted me last time,” he said, “the soldiers all praised the taste. But Physician Niu kept it to clean wounds and wouldn’t let anyone drink it.”
He hesitated, then added, “The soldiers won a victory. They want to celebrate with wine. Could you sell me more?”
“Sure.” Xiao Ying Chun answered as cleanly as a knife through paper. Once you made one deal, the second came easier. They agreed he would return at noon to haul away liquor and noodles, and only then did Fu Chen An finally step out through the back door—reluctant in a way he didn’t bother to hide.
Back at the camp, Physician Niu was already waiting at the tent entrance. The moment he saw Fu Chen An returning with boxes, he surged forward, eyes shining. “More instant noodles? What’s that?”
“Miss Xiao said it’s a starch sausage,” Fu Chen An replied. “Peel it, and you can eat it directly.”
“Is it good?” Physician Niu blurted—then caught himself at once. “I mean… I’ll test for poison first.”
He seized the noodles and sausages like sacred offerings, grabbed a bowl and chopsticks, and began his solemn “poison test.”
As the scent of instant noodles spread, heads snapped around. Hungry eyes tracked every movement. More than one man swallowed hard, lips going shiny with traitorous drool.
They were painfully jealous of Physician Niu’s “duty.”
After Fu Chen An left, Xiao Ying Chun stood there for several stunned seconds. Then, as if waking from a spell, she gathered the jewelry into its casket and locked it in the safe.
More than twenty years. This was the first time a man had given her gold and gemstones.
Just for that, she was going to see this business through to the end.
Out the door.
Breakfast.
She went to the rice-noodle shop she frequented. A line curled outside; inside was packed shoulder to shoulder, steam hanging low under the awning.
She found the man she’d come for in the crush—Ye Yu Bin, the boss of Springtime Pharmacy.
It was still early, the kind of morning where the sky hadn’t decided whether to brighten. Yet beside Ye Yu Bin’s bowl sat an iced beer. He slurped noodles, then took a calm sip, unhurried.
Xiao Ying Chun checked the bottle. Still more than half left. Relief loosened something in her chest.
Before long, she carried her own bowl over and sat across from him. “Uncle Ye, eating breakfast?”
Ye Yu Bin glanced up. “Xiao Girl. I heard you landed a big deal.”
Xiao Ying Chun grinned and didn’t deny it.
That was village life. Yesterday’s news became everyone’s breakfast conversation.
She watched Ye Yu Bin finish his beer, watched his noodles dwindle. When he got up to leave, she shoveled down the last few bites of her own bowl and hurried after him.
“Uncle Ye, I want to ask you something.”
He gave her a knowing smile. “I knew it. If you didn’t need something, you wouldn’t come hovering around me, girl.”
Xiao Ying Chun laughed awkwardly. “I was little back then. I didn’t know better.”
He was talking about when she was a kid.
One morning, she’d woken early and found Ye Yu Bin passed out beside the convenience store, vomit streaked down his face.
She’d thought he was dead. She’d screamed and cried until her father came running.
Her father had carried Ye Yu Bin to the hospital for a stomach wash and an IV, saving his life.
After that, whenever Xiao Ying Chun saw him, she’d always detoured wide, keeping her distance.
Ye Yu Bin shuffled up to his shop in flip-flops, braced the rolling shutter with his foot, and twisted the lock open with a key. He lifted the door, dragged out a plastic stool, and set it down for her.
Only then did he ask, “So. What is it?”
Xiao Ying Chun gave him a sweet, careful smile. “I have a friend who wants to buy some medicine. The quantity is large, so they asked me to check with you—what do we do in that case?”
Ye Yu Bin asked casually, “How large?”
She pulled out a list and handed it over.
The moment he read it, his eyes widened. “This much? What are they using it for?”
Xiao Ying Chun forced a laugh. “A big company is doing outdoor training. I heard it’s intense, so they want to stock medicine in advance. I don’t understand the details. As long as it’s cash on delivery, it’s fine…”
Ye Yu Bin’s expression shifted. “So the big deal you did earlier—that was also for this company?”
Xiao Ying Chun nodded.
Ye Yu Bin hesitated, then tried to steer her gently. “Xiao Girl, you need to find out what this company really does. Don’t let it be some pyramid scheme. If something happens, you’ll get dragged into it.”
His voice softened. “I know life hasn’t been easy since your parents passed. If you’re truly short on money… Uncle Ye still has over a hundred thousand. You can take it for now.”
He actually reached for his phone, thumb hovering like he meant to transfer it on the spot.
Warmth flashed through Xiao Ying Chun’s chest. She stopped him fast. “Uncle Ye, I know you’re looking out for me, but I don’t need money.”
She steadied her voice and fed him the rest. “The buyer is the company’s purchasing lead. They’ve got around ten thousand people doing the event. They could’ve contacted a pharmaceutical supplier directly, but they’re close to me, so they wanted to let me earn a little too…”
After a long back-and-forth, Ye Yu Bin finally put his phone away and agreed to supply.
He studied the list again, slower this time.
All common medicines—anti-inflammatories, wound care. And at that volume, for ten thousand people, it wasn’t unbelievable.
For once, Ye Yu Bin looked genuinely serious. He thought it through, then nodded. “I can order these for you. Fastest will still be three days. Can you wait that long?”
“Yes,” Xiao Ying Chun said at once. “That works.”
Only then did Ye Yu Bin exhale, rubbing the back of his neck. “If it were anyone else, I’d sell it without a second thought. But you’re different.”
Xiao Ying Chun understood what he meant. She smiled, grateful. “Thank you for worrying about me, Uncle Ye.”
He snorted. “Girl, if I didn’t help you, you’d just find another channel, wouldn’t you?”
Her smile turned even sweeter.
Ye Yu Bin’s tone sharpened. “Overpaying isn’t the real risk. If you buy fake medicine and someone dies, you might end up in jail.”
Xiao Ying Chun nodded so fast it was almost comical. [Yes, yes, yes. If you’re willing to help, everything you say is right.]
Fake medicine was out of the question. She’d only buy real drugs from legitimate shops.
As for someone dying…
People died in war. That was war.
How could that possibly be pinned on her?