Chapter 180: License Checked While Driving on the Road
For the next two days, Chu Luo didn’t go anywhere. She just wrote down the formulas for beauty products at home.
After she finished writing the formulas, she received an invitation from the President of the Metaphysics Society, Jin Hui.
Jin Hui told her over the phone, “There’s a seminar for our Metaphysics Society in the next two days. It will be held in the western temple of the city. At that time, there will be masters from all over the country coming to partic.i.p.ate. Master Chu, are you interested in taking a look?”
Chu Luo was also very interested in the metaphysics of this world, so she agreed.
The two of them talked about where they would meet up tomorrow and hung up.
After hanging up the phone, Chu Luo took the beauty formulas and carried her backpack, intending to go out and buy the herbs she needed.
She had walked to the door when Wu Yiyao called her.
Wu Yiyao had been alone at home these past few days. She was a little bored and wanted to call Chu Luo over to accompany her.
Chu Luo told her where she was going.
Wu Yiyao asked, “Little Chu, can I go with you?”
Chu Luo went to the largest herb market in the capital. It didn’t matter if she brought Wu Yiyao along, so she drove the car Li Yan had prepared for her to pick Wu Yiyao up.
Wu Yiyao was a little surprised that Chu Luo knew how to drive. “So Little Chu knows how to drive.”
“Of course.” Chu Luo smiled at her with a proud expression.
This made Wu Yiyao unable to help but laugh, but she still asked, “When did Little Chu learn to drive?”
“When I went to the US.”
“…”
Chu Luo tilted her head and glanced at the suddenly silent Wu Yiyao, wondering if she was afraid.
Wu Yiyao didn’t show any fear and only asked, “Little Chu, do you have a driver’s license?”
“…”
This time, it was Chu Luo’s turn to be silent.
Seeing her silence, Wu Yiyao laughed. “It’s possible that we won’t be able to make it out of this street.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the street guard stopped them.
“Can’t be that unlucky,” Chu Luo muttered.
Wu Yiyao smiled and said, “You’re a famous person now. Everyone is paying attention to you. After seeing you, it’s normal for them to want to confirm if it’s you.”
“…”
Amid Chu Luo’s speechlessness, the duty officer knocked on the window gla.s.s.
Chu Luo lowered the window gla.s.s and immediately revealed that amiable face. “h.e.l.lo. Please show your credentials.”
Under Wu Yiyao’s nervous gaze, Chu Luo calmly reached into her bag and took out her driver’s license.
After the guard on duty finished looking at the driver’s license, he returned it to her and immediately suggested with a smile, “Chu Luo, you’ve had your driver’s license for only a short while. The road ahead is a little congested. If you want to go to the city center, you can take a detour around XX Road and XX Road.”
“Thank you, Uncle Policeman.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Uncle Policeman, my sister wants to go to the herb market to buy some tonics. May I know what route to take?”
“Then take the YY Road and the ZZ Road. The traffic on those two roads is relatively light at this time.”
“Okay. Thank you, Uncle Policeman.”
Chu Luo rolled up the window after saying that. Before Wu Yiyao’s bright gaze, she winked and drove the car out.
The duty officer looked at the car that drove away and sighed. “Good results, good looks, and good manners. Such a child is indeed worthy of being a famous daughter of the country. If only my girl was half as good as her.”
After the car had driven for a while, Wu Yiyao took Chu Luo’s driver’s license from the side and flipped through it for a while. She asked in disbelief, “Little Chu, did you just conjure up a driver’s license?”
“Yeah.”
“So you don’t have to get a driver’s license anymore?”
“Pfft… Sister Wu, you’re thinking too much. This driver’s license can’t withstand the test.”
“…” Wu Yiyao: “Alright.”
Chu Luo continued to drive, wondering if she could get her driver’s license before school started.
The herb market was located north of the city and close to the outer ring. It occupied more than 1,000 acres and was one of the largest and most complete herb markets in the empire.
Chu Luo parked the car and walked into the market with Wu Yiyao.
As it was the hottest time of July, there weren’t many people in the herb market at 3 PM.
Wu Yiyao had been frail since she was young and had taken a lot of Chinese and Western medicine. As she walked, she looked at the mountains of herbs and said to Chu Luo:
“Previously, when I was abroad, many herbs needed to be sent from China. At that time, I thought that herbs were supposed to be very expensive. I didn’t expect the herbs here to be so cheap.”
“It’s not that the herbs are cheap, but they have to be categorized. What we’re seeing now are all common herbs. Many of them are high-yield, thus cheap.”
“What medicinal herbs are more expensive?”
“Wild ones and those that are rarer.”
“Like wild ginseng and lingzhi?”
“Right.”
Their conversation happened to enter the ears of an ordinary-looking shop owner who was probably only 1.7 meters tall. However, his eyes were sparkling. It was obvious that he was a shrewd and calculative shop owner.
The shop owner immediately walked out and stopped the two of them. “Misses, what herbs do you want to buy? I have them all.”
“Oh?” Chu Luo stopped and asked, “Then tell me what medicinal herbs you have here.”
The shop owner actually named more than a hundred kinds of herbs in one go.
Wu Yiyao was stunned.
When Chu Luo heard this, she narrowed her eyes and said, “Boss, are you trying to scam us? When XX and XX herb are put together, they will produce a powerful poison and will also destroy the medicinal properties of other medicines. Usually, those who know this wouldn’t sell these two medicines at the same time. You reported them without blinking. You must have been memorizing the list of medicinal herbs a lot, right?”
Even though Chu Luo and Wu Yiyao were wearing masks, they were still very attractive. In just a short while, many people had gathered around them.
When those people heard Chu Luo’s words, they quickly took out their phones to investigate. They found that what Chu Luo had said was true. Everyone started pointing at the shop owner.
The shop owner was a little angry at being pointed at, so he straightened his neck and said, “What nonsense are you spouting? What does a young lady like you know? If you want to buy herbs, then buy them. If not, then leave.”
“How can you be like this? You were the one who stopped us just now…” Wu Yiyao was a little angry and wanted to argue with the shop owner.
Chu Luo pulled Wu Yiyao back. “Sister, why are you arguing with him? It’s obvious that this kind of shop owner likes to cheat people. We won’t buy from his shop.”
Once the two of them had left, the surrounding people continued to point at the shop owner. Someone even said that he wanted to expose his shop.
The shop owner flew into a rage out of humiliation and chased them away.
After the crowd had dispersed, the boss’s anger had yet to subside. He walked in, took out his phone, and made a call.
When the call got through, the shop owner said, “F*ck! Just now, two women came to my place to find trouble and scared away all my customers. Get someone to teach them a lesson… They’re wearing masks, a white dress, and a green t-s.h.i.+rt.”
…
Chu Luo and Wu Yiyao continued walking forward.
There were stalls and shops in this market.
Chu Luo looked at them for a while before entering a huge shop with Wu Yiyao.
There were still customers in the shop, and the staff was entertaining them. The owner of the shop was a gentle man in his thirties who was wearing a Tang suit. At this moment, he was sitting behind the counter and typing on his computer.
When the two of them entered, the shop owner didn’t even look up. “Guests, take your time. If you see something that catches your eye, you can call me.”
Wu Yiyao looked at the owner and said to Chu Luo in a low voice, “This boss is too casual. Isn’t he worried that the guests will leave directly if no one entertains them?”
“That means the boss is confident.”
“Eh?”
“You can accidentally buy fake or half-fake medicinal herbs if you aren’t careful. Only those with confidence won’t worry about those who know their stuff leaving.”
Chu Luo didn’t lower her voice on purpose. When the shop owner heard this, he finally looked up.
“What do you need to buy, Misses?”
Chu Luo walked to the counter and asked, “I don’t want many herbs for now, but there are many kinds I want. I wonder if Boss has these herbs here?”
After saying that, she took out a dozen sheets from her backpack and handed them to him.
The shop owner took the list and looked at it carefully for a while. After reading it, he looked at her in surprise. “There are two herbs you’re looking for that are especially rare. If you want them, I can reserve them here, but you have to pay the deposit first.”
“I can pay the deposit, but Boss, you have to ensure the quality of the herbs.”
“Don’t worry, Miss. Since I can open a shop so big, it’s impossible for my herbs to be subpar.”
“Alright. You can give me whatever you have in your shop today. I’ll reserve the rest.”
“Alright, wait for a while. I’ll go to the warehouse to gather the herbs.”
After saying that, the shop owner stood up, took her order, and turned to go behind the shutter door.
After the shop owner entered, Wu Yiyao approached Chu Luo and asked softly, “Little Chu, what list is that? Why do you need so many herbs?”
Chu Luo whispered to her, “For beauty products.”
Wu Yiyao immediately understood and didn’t ask further.
While the two of them were waiting for the owner, Chu Luo’s phone suddenly rang.
It was from Tang Zhiyun.
Tang Zhiyun went to make an internal engine for a company today. Thinking that he hadn’t seen Chu Luo in a few days, he called her and asked her what she was going to do next.
Chu Luo told him, “I’m buying herbs in the herb market in the north of the city. I have something to do next.”
Tang Zhiyun said with a smile, “What a coincidence. I am also in the north of the city. You are in the biggest herb market, right? Have you bought a lot of herbs? Let me help you with that.”
It was a waste not to use free labor. Chu Luo said readily, “Come over.”
After hanging up the phone, the two of them waited for more than ten minutes before the shop owner brought out all the herbs Chu Luo wanted in a bag.
“How much do these herbs cost?” Chu Luo took out her wallet.
The shop owner didn’t calculate the money. Instead, he smiled and asked, “There’s no hurry. I heard from Miss that you only want this much for now. Will you want more in the future?”
Chu Luo didn’t expect the shop owner to be so observant and didn’t hide anything. “Yes, I’ll confirm if your herbs can make what I need first.”
“Miss, can you tell me how much you want if you still need it?”
“There’s definitely not enough herbs in your shop.”
The shop owner laughed. “Alright, take these herbs as a gift to you, Miss. You can go back and try them. If the medicinal effects are to your liking, you’re welcome to come and buy them again. If they’re not to your liking, you can go to other shops.”
After saying that, he took out a name card from the drawer of the counter and pa.s.sed it to her. “This is my name card. My name is Chen Xuan… I have a medicinal herb library outside the city. I can supply as much as you want.”
Chu Luo took the name card and nodded at him.