Chapter 381: A Spring Dream (Part 1)

“Don’t hire any more people for now. The machines require fewer workers, and it’s hard to arrange things if you hire too many casual laborers,” Liu San said. “But feel free to hire a few more skilled shop assistants and pharmacists from the pharmacy—the Medical Bureau can use them.”

Liu San instructed him not to hire anyone else for the time being. It wouldn’t be too late to expand the workforce according to demand after the factory was completed.

In reality, Wu De had already spoken to him about this, telling him to keep a tight rein on the personnel at the Chinese medicine factory. The workers at Runshitang were a mix of people recruited by the transmigrator group and those hired by Runshitang itself from Guangdong. The composition was complex and difficult to manage. Wu De hoped that Liu San would reclaim control over personnel as soon as possible. In the future, the workers for the pharmaceutical factory were to be uniformly allocated from the refugees in the quarantine camps.

“Worthy brother is right,” Yang Shixiang said. He hadn’t realized the intricacies involved. He was clueless about how to organize machine production and followed everything Liu San said to the letter. “From now on, I’ll have to entrust all matters concerning the factory to you, brother.”

Liu San readily agreed and then brought up the matter of Runshitang opening new branches. After Li Mei became the Deputy Minister of Commerce and the Director of the Cooperative, she immediately took a great interest in Chinese patent medicine, this highly profitable flagship product. She held several coordination meetings with the Ministry of Health to discuss expanding drug sales. The Foreign Intelligence Bureau also hoped to add new overseas posts.

A pharmacy wasn’t like a luxury goods store; it was something everyone needed. Opening one anywhere wouldn’t attract much attention, making Runshitang a suitable front.

Yang Shixiang didn’t know the underlying reasons, but he was also a very ambitious man. After some mental calculation, he shook his head repeatedly. “It’s better not to open branches for now.”

He went on to explain his reasoning: “Opening branches involves personnel. Here, the only person I have who is both capable and trustworthy is Liu Benshan. The others don’t have the skills to be managers. Besides, the Runshitang name has no reputation in Guangdong. Pharmacies rely on being old, established brands. The older they are, the more patients and doctors trust them.”

“I have an idea,” Liu San said. “What did Runshitang rely on to get back on its feet?”

“Of course, it was your two formulas, worthy brother.”

“Exactly. That’s what they call ‘one fresh trick to conquer the world.’ If we were selling raw herbs and decoction pieces, then of course, an old brand name is better. But as long as we have a few special pills, powders, and potions, we won’t have to worry about customers not coming. We don’t even have to sell the decoction pieces.”

Yang Shixiang was taken aback. Could it still be called a pharmacy if it didn’t sell decoction pieces? But he was a merchant, after all. A moment’s thought and he understood: if they only sold patent medicines instead of decoction pieces, the medicines could be produced directly in Lin’gao and shipped out. The shops wouldn’t need to stock large quantities of raw herbs, hire many pharmacists to prepare them, or require large premises for storage and processing. All they would need was a counter, a few clerks to sell the medicine, and a mature, reliable manager. It would save a huge amount in costs.

It was a brilliant idea. Yang Shixiang thought for a moment, then shook his head again. “Unfortunately, we don’t have that many patent medicines to sell.”

“Once we have the factory, will we still be afraid of having no medicine?” Liu San said confidently. In fact, the idea he and Li Mei had was a chain of pharmacies similar to Watsons.

The two discussed how to open these pharmacies, the sources of the patent medicine formulas, and so on. After settling on a rough plan, Yang Shixiang inquired when the Australians were planning to “distribute the women.”

“To be honest with you, brother, I have several secret formulas here for nourishing yin and strengthening yang,” Yang Shixiang said. “Master Wang used them and said they were excellent!” With that, he stood up, opened a cabinet behind him, and took out some jars and pots.

“This is medicinal wine, and this is a restorative paste,” Yang Shixiang said, pointing to the jars on the table. “They are all prepared according to family recipes.” He pointed to one of the jars. “This is the one Master Wang took. It’s very effective.”

“He’s a middle-aged widower. Of course he’d need this after taking a concubine,” Liu San laughed. “How big could this business be? It’s fine if we don’t do it.” The problem for these five hundred men right now was a lack of outlet, not a need for restoration after overexertion. Besides, the transmigrators were almost all young and strong. Taking this would probably just make them overly ‘heated’.

“I am willing to offer all these restorative medicines as a contribution,” Yang Shixiang said.

Liu San was taken aback. This was no small gift. Although the restorative pastes had a lot of gimmicks, they also required genuine, expensive medicinal ingredients. And you didn’t just take one dose; you had to consume at least one or two courses, which would add up to a considerable expense.

“I can’t accept this.” Liu San refused without hesitation. Every medicine has its side effects. There were many in the transmigrator group who were critical of Chinese medicine. If there were any adverse reactions, it would become a pretext for attack, affecting his cooperative relationship with Runshitang.

But he couldn’t say this directly. He thought for a moment and said, “I appreciate your kind intentions, big brother, but most of our men are young and strong. It’s a bit too early for them to be taking this.”

“Worthy brother, do not worry,” Yang Shixiang said. “There are absolutely no harsh drugs in it, only gentle tonics.”

“I really can’t, I really can’t,” Liu San refused firmly. Seeing his sworn brother’s earnest attitude, he had to remind him, “Big brother, a restorative paste is still a medicine. Since it’s a medicine, it’s not ordinary food…”

Yang Shixiang was a clever man and immediately understood the underlying meaning. My brother is indeed thoughtful! he thought to himself and nodded.

“If someone needs it, I will naturally have them come and buy it,” Liu San said. “That would be more appropriate.”

“Brother is indeed the thoughtful one.”

The dinner lasted late into the night, and the two discussed many more matters. By the end, Liu San was seventy to eighty percent drunk, his face flushed red. Yang Shixiang had a maid bring a soup of sour bamboo shoots and chive sprouts, with twenty duck meat wontons added to it. It was both sobering and filling. Liu San ate heartily and felt that life at his sworn brother’s home was much better than in the dormitories.

Seeing that he was quite drunk, Yang Shixiang called a maid to help him to the inner room to rest. Liu San was still somewhat sober. He first took off his pistol holster and placed it on the inside of the bed, then lay down and let the maid undress him. He fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

He slept until the middle of the night, when he suddenly woke up feeling an unbearable stuffiness in his chest. He was drenched in sweat, his shirt collar soaked, and his mouth and tongue were exceptionally dry.

Liu San licked his dry lips, opened his eyes, and swallowed. The dryness in his mouth felt even more intense. The room was bright; moonlight streamed through the paper windows, casting a hazy glow. For a moment, he almost forgot where he was. He paused for a bit before remembering he was in the courtyard of Yang Shixiang’s outer study.

He quickly felt for his pistol. He relaxed only when he confirmed both the gun and ammunition were there. In the future, I should probably leave the pistol in the dormitory. The county town had an infantry company, police, and special commissioners; it was no different from a Green Zone. Carrying a gun around was just asking for trouble.

The thirst was unbearable, so he got up to pour himself a glass of water. There was a tea set on the table by the window. By the moonlight, he got out of bed and walked to the table. The moonlight outside was so bright that one could almost read by it under the window.

However, although there was a tea set, there was no tea. The teapot and cups were all empty and cool to the touch. Liu San sat back down on the edge of the bed, somewhat disappointed. He suddenly remembered that the Ming Dynasty didn’t have thermos flasks. To drink tea, one had to boil water and brew it on the spot. At best, a refined household would have a tea room with water kept boiling at all times.

But the thirst after being drunk was unbearable, and he desperately needed water. Liu San didn’t know if there was anyone else in the courtyard. Just as he was at a loss, he heard the door curtain rustle, and the candlelight in the room flickered—a woman walked in holding a candlestick.

“Master, why didn’t you call for me to pour tea?”

She spoke in Cantonese, a dialect Liu San could understand. He knew she was probably a maid or someone similar. “It’s no matter,” he said.

“If you don’t call for me, then I am of no use, am I?” The woman’s voice was clear and crisp. As she spoke, she placed the candlestick on the table. Liu San couldn’t help but stare. The newcomer was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, dressed in a blue cotton skirt and jacket with a vest over it. Her hair was in a double-bun style. She had delicate features, but also exuded the charm of a mature woman.

Liu San was secretly puzzled. A woman of twenty-seven or twenty-eight still wearing a young girl’s hairstyle? And the coquettish charm in her every move was not something an innocent maiden would possess.

Moreover, he didn’t recognize her. Yang Shixiang’s household didn’t have many servants, and he had met almost all of them. He didn’t remember such a woman.

He asked alertly, “Miss, where are you from?”

“I have recently come to serve in this household,” the woman said gracefully. “My name is Xuan Chun, and I am from Zhangzhou.”

“You’re from Fujian, so how do you speak fluent Cantonese?”

“I am a native of Guangdong. My former master was from Zhangzhou.” As she spoke, she brought in a small copper kettle from the outer room and began to brew tea with the teapot and cups.

“No need to brew tea. I’m just thirsty. A mouthful of warm water will do.”

Xuan Chun didn’t answer. After busying herself for a moment, she brought over a teacup. “Third Master, please have some tea.”

“Third Master?” Liu San was puzzled, then suddenly realized she was addressing him. As Yang Shixiang’s sworn brother, even Yang’s wife had to call him “Uncle.” Of course, this maid would call him “Master.”

The outside of the teacup was warm, neither cold nor hot. The tea itself was fragrant, refreshing, and sweet. Liu San raised his hand to wipe the tea from the corner of his mouth, and Xuan Chun handed him a handkerchief to wipe his lips. Liu San thought to himself, “No wonder the people at the overseas stations are so happy they forget to return home. This kind of service is so much better than living in a collective dormitory and eating in a public canteen.”

Xuan Chun tidied up the tea set and kettle, then felt his bedding. Liu San had fallen asleep right after drinking, and the bedding was stained with sweat and wine. She turned and left, returning a moment later with fresh bedding. She removed the used bedding from the bed and began to remake it.

“This is freshly washed and sun-dried, very clean bedding,” Xuan Chun said.

“No need, no need.” Liu San was a little embarrassed. This was too extravagant. The bedding in the study was already clean. He hadn’t vomited, there were only some wine stains and he had sweated a lot.

Xuan Chun knelt on the edge of the bed to make it for him, adding a sheet over the mattress and tucking it in, a rather troublesome task. Xuan Chun stuck out her round, full buttocks, moving from east to west, and Liu San’s eyes couldn’t help but follow her movements.