The Traditional Medicine Market in the Town

“So what if you know her? I got the business first, so why are you trying to steal it from me? Don’t you know about first come, first served? Do you even understand how to do business?”

“I know this woman. Can’t I just give my friend a heads-up?”

“Hmph! Who knows how you know her? Maybe you just glanced at her, and she doesn’t even know you. You’re just trying to steal my business!”

Chen Anquan chuckled. He did know Zhao Xuan, though their acquaintance was brief, it was still something. Was it wrong to warn her?

“You!” The uncle was furious, pointing his finger at Chen Anquan.

His face flushed and neck thickening, he marched over to Chen Anquan’s stall, sneering at the half-meter-wide setup. “Kid, you don’t know a thing, yet you’re here selling herbal medicine. Aren’t you afraid your medicine might poison someone to death?”

“Uncle, that’s not right. We’re all here doing business. How can you judge without knowing the facts?”

“Get lost!”

The uncle grabbed for the red cloth covering Chen Anquan’s stall, intending to yank it away.

But at that moment, Chen Anquan extended his arm and gripped the uncle’s wrist tightly.

The uncle was stunned, clearly not expecting Chen Anquan to resist.

He tried to pull the red cloth away, but no matter how he swung his arm, he couldn’t break free from Chen Anquan’s grasp.

“Let go!” the uncle shouted in exasperation. He reached out with his other hand, grabbed a bag of herbal medicine, and swung it at Chen Anquan’s head.

Seeing this, Chen Anquan raised his other arm to protect his temple, as the uncle brought down the medicine bag. “You’re stealing my business!”

“Damn busybody! I’ll beat you to death!” The uncle’s face was grim as he swung the bag hard.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, the uncle cried out in pain.

Because, before the bag could hit Chen Anquan’s head, it was blocked by Chen Anquan’s arm.

The uncle felt as though his arm had crashed into an iron pipe, the pain was intense.

“Let go of my medicine!” Chen Anquan twisted around, snatching the bag back. “Uncle, you were the one who started this! I’m calling the police!”

“Well, now you want to call the police? Just you wait!” The uncle was clearly frightened at the mention of police, letting go and glaring at Chen Anquan. “Kid, I’m from Donghe Village. Half the bosses in this town are from our village. Just wait and see how I deal with you!”

---

“I’ll be waiting,” Chen Anquan replied, unwilling to back down. These days, he minded the law, knowing he couldn’t just use force, otherwise he wouldn’t have let the troublemaker off so easily.

The uncle, realizing he couldn’t win, gave up and returned to his stall, casting sidelong glances at Chen Anquan as he scrolled through short videos on his phone.

Chen Anquan set his medicine bag back on the stall and resumed his horse stance, scanning the other stalls around him.

The nearby merchants watching the scene smiled, enjoying the spectacle.

People always love a bit of drama.

Chen Anquan withdrew his gaze. He’d been at the market for over half an hour, and aside from Zhao Xuan’s brief visit, no one else had come by.

Clearly, business for herbal medicine stalls here wasn’t great.

It seemed necessary to contact his acquaintances at the hospital.

Chen Anquan had worked at the County People’s Hospital for some time and was on good terms with the pharmacy director.

The director often came to Chen Anquan’s department for treatment due to a bad back, and with Chen Anquan being the best rehabilitation technician, they’d become friendly.

Near noon, hunger struck, and Chen Anquan ordered a boxed meal.

After a whole morning of observation, he’d had fewer than three customers, all elderly folks seeking traditional remedies.

At this rate, how could business survive?

He pulled out his phone and dialed Duan Caimao.

Soon, the other party answered, “Anquan, what’s up?”

“Director Duan, I heard you have a friend who runs a pharmaceutical factory. I was wondering if he needs herbal medicine?”

“Oh, Anquan, you’re not getting into wholesale herbal medicine, are you?”

“Not really. I just dug up some herbs myself, over a hundred pounds. All genuine local medicinal plants. Would he be interested?”

“He would! My friend often complains the Yicheng herbal market is too small and he has to source materials from other places. I’ll call him for you right now!”

“Thank you, Director Duan.”

“Come on, no need for thanks. I’ll get back to you soon!”

---

The uncle, still playing on his phone nearby, overheard Chen Anquan’s conversation and sneered, muttering under his breath, “He knows nothing. Those herbs of his are just weeds. If they don’t poison anyone, it’ll be a miracle.”

After hanging up, Chen Anquan continued his horse stance. His hearing had improved greatly since his training, and he caught the uncle’s complaints clearly, but he couldn’t be bothered to explain.

Soon, Duan Caimao called back, saying his friend had agreed to buy, as long as the goods were genuine.

About half an hour later, a middle-aged man arrived at Chen Anquan’s stall, surveying the herbal stalls before calling out loudly, “Which one of you is Chen Anquan?”

“That’s me,” Chen Anquan replied, waving.

The man approached. “Hello, I’m Duan’s friend. Call me Kuang Quan. I happened to be in town, so I came to check out your herbs.”

Kuang Quan appeared easy-going, dressed in casual clothes, not at all like a pharmaceutical factory owner.

While Chen Anquan sized him up, Kuang Quan was sizing up Chen Anquan.

Suddenly, Kuang Quan’s face showed surprise. “Dr. Chen, are you always holding a horse stance?”

“Yes. I practice martial arts and train whenever I can.”

“Amazing! Such a solid horse stance. You must be a real practitioner.”

“Boss Kuang, are you a martial artist too?”

Kuang Quan laughed heartily, seeing that Chen Anquan had spotted his own background. “Ah, just some footwork, nothing special.”

Recognizing Kuang Quan as a fellow martial artist, Chen Anquan felt an immediate sense of rapport.

“I’d appreciate it if you could take a look at my herbal materials.”

As Chen Anquan brought up business, Kuang Quan’s smile faded, and he crouched down, adopting a serious expression.

Jokes aside, work required proper attitude—especially in this line where quality and authenticity of herbs were judged by eye and touch. It demanded utmost care.