That explained why the apothecary owner had that weird look on his face when Frank asked if he had any Bright Sky Herb. He must be regretting missing out!"Then I'm counting on you!" Frank told the shop hand."You're always welcome—I mean, surely I can get a tip from this, right?" The shop hand smiled, shaking his head.And with that, he whipped out his phone to make the call. "Good morning, Mr. Quaker… I'm Zangi. Yeah, we'd spoken over the phone before—did you forget? I'm the shop hand from that apothecary!""Just cut to the chase!" Mr. Quaker snapped impatiently from the other end.Zangi remained calm, even chuckling. "Right… So you have a Bright Sky Herb, right? We just happened to have a customer who asked for it specifically. Could you perhaps make time to meet him?"Mr. Quaker appeared skeptical. "Are you messing with me?""What are you saying, sir? I may be nobody important, but I won't lie to you!'"Fine! I'm making a reservation for a table for 8 PM at Tandem Hotel.
Like ginseng roots, the value of the Bright Sky Herb was directly proportional to the percentage it was intact.And as the root hairs were basically where the medicinal essence was concentrated, one less meant a major loss in medicinal effect, and with it, its grade.Nonetheless, Mr. Quaker was smiling smugly. "I won't lie—they were affecting its aesthetic, so I trimmed it off!"Frank was unsure if he should laugh or cry.So he recognized the Bright Sky Herb but remained an amateur.Trimming off those root hairs? Talk about being dumb!Frank pointed at Zangi. "Why don't you ask him what happens if you trim the root hairs?"Zangi scowled. "Mr. Quaker, it's the root hairs that decide the herb's value. You're just throwing away money."Mr. Quaker frowned, clearly not expecting that.Frank then said, "If you suspect that we're conspiring with each other, you could ask another specialist. Still, I will make it worth your while—five million for the herb. How about that?"Zangi flin
Mr. Quaker had dark circles under his eyes and was basically dozing off, but he refused to sleep.He wanted to wait until the bank opened, so that he could deposit the money as soon as possible.As with Zangi, the money had basically dropped on his lap.It was amusing to remember that he had inadvertently found the Bright Sky Herb when he was going on a pleasure hike.His family practiced traditional medicine, and while he did not follow in his parents' footsteps, he at least recognized the Bright Sky Herb. That was why he dug it out, intent on getting a good price and living easy for a while.Who knew that although it was expensive, it was not worth its weight in gold.And since it was too expensive, there were not that many keen buyers—even if there were, they would lowball him like the apothecary owner did.On top of that, the Bright Sky Herb was high-maintenance, and he could not afford to let it dry. As such, Mr. Quaker certainly had to work hard, but while he had almost gi
Zangi was rubbing his sleepy eyes and looking innocent, clearly unaware of what had happened. "What are you doing here, Mr. Quaker? Here to get some herbs?""You set me up, brat!" Mr. Quaker seized Zangi by the collar.At the same time, someone nearby egged him on. "Hold your horses, bro! Don't let this get out of hand—we may have cause, but we shouldn't push them too far!""He conned over a mil off me, and you're telling me to calm down?!"Mr. Quaker laughed coldly, dragging Zangi out from behind the counter and bellowing, "Where's your owner? Tell him to get over here!"The other store hands knew that Mr. Quaker was here to cause trouble. As such, they hurried off to get the apothecary owner and refrained from getting on Mr. Quaker's nerves.Soon, the apothecary owner arrived, and seeing a familiar face, he quickly asked, "What brings you here, Mr. Quaker?"Mr. Quaker refused to play nice despite the apothecary owner's cordial greeting and snapped, "Your shop hand tricked me!
Frank sighed. "Tell him he can't have it back. I've already brewed it into medicinal broth for a patient.""Already?!" Zangi was left fidgeting, uneasy.That was his only shot at clearing up this mess, and if things worked out, Mr. Quaker might really put this behind them.He just did not expect Frank to be so impatient that it was almost amusing.And Mr. Quaker was already glowering furiously, noticing the look on Zangi's face. "What, he's already used it?!" Knowing that he was not going to hide something like that from Mr. Quaker, he said, "Why don't you talk to him?"Mr. Quaker promptly took the phone and snapped coolly, "I'm not being cold here, and I understand that you need that herb to save a life. So it doesn't matter if you've used it—just pay me my money's worth."While paying extra for a low-grade herb would make him a sucker—and even hurt his reputation on top of that—Frank simply did not like to argue.Using money to make problems go away was no issue for him, so
"Watch your mouth, brat! Do you think we can't get another buyer?!""Let's face it—we can give you a refund, but can we get our Bright Sky Herb back?!"Seeing that, Mr. Quaker's friends promptly leapt in to 'defend' him."Mr. Quaker, I mean no insult, but aren't you an adult? Can't you decide for yourself?"Zangi simply snorted. "Do you think your friends are really doing this for your sake? What a laugh! You can doubt us, but surely you won't doubt your own family? Just call your grandfather, and everything will be clear!"In fact, Zangi had already smelled a rat—Mr. Quaker did not mean to come here and cause trouble in the first place. He was a greedy pig, but he was not that heinous.If anything, his friends were getting jealous seeing how he managed to make a quick buck, and so, incited him to come and cause trouble!"You think I wouldn't?!" Mr. Quaker retorted, whipping out his phone to threaten Zangi despite feeling doubt.Zangi was certainly not worried when he had just
The apothecary owner laughed in pain. "You should see the look on your face! Hell, it puzzles me that I'm that sentimental."Zangi laughed with him, though he was definitely a lot more pleased—he would do anything as long as he was not fired!Frank entered just then, putting down the fruit basket and other gifts he brought before pulling out a chair to sit. "How are you feeling?""What are you doing here, sir?" Zangi was at once surprised and delighted."I'm involved in this too," Frank said solemnly. "Why wouldn't I be here? Also, where are they? Have they shown their faces since?""They wouldn't dare. They're scared we'd extort them!"Zangi snorted, shaking his head. "But don't worry. I was the go-between, so I have a responsibility to keep you from harm."Frank smiled but said nothing—it was already good enough that Zangi had such sincerity, and he would not really let Zangi rush ahead in this fight. The kid was at worst a little greedy, but he was kind at heart.And witho
Was Frank even human?!He looked plain, but he packed some serious punch, not to mention how quick he was! Even Mike Tyson would be holding both thumbs up to a man like him!"What else were you going to say?" Frank growled just then, seeing that Mr. Quaker was not leaving.He wiped the sweat off his brow, and snapped, "Let's be reasonable! My Bright Sky Herb was definitely high-grade, but you lowballed me! You started this!"Frank smirked. "If you think so, then talk to someone who knows their herbs!"Mr. Quaker frowned. "You think I wouldn't?!""That's your own business, not mine!" Frank snapped. "If you think I swindled you, sue me all you want. You'd lose your pants—I can guarantee that much, if you told the truth, that is!"Frank's outburst actually gave Mr. Quaker pause, as he certainly sounded reasonable.Was it actually possible that he had been tricked?!"Mr. Quaker, if you don't mind, I'll call your grandfather!" Zangi suggested just then. He whipped out his phone and