Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

Elder Doctor Wu settled down under the corridor with a pot of warm tea and said, "Starting a pharmaceutical workshop is a serious endeavour. You are young, and even if you are somewhat clever, without reliable and capable helpers, it would be difficult to get the workshop going. Each of the folks from Brother Mu Tong has been carefully chosen by me, each with their own skills to assist you. And since I also have a stake in the pharmaceutical workshop, I must ensure it flourishes."

Then there's another thing...

Elder Doctor Wu looked at Gu Jinli and said, "If your Aunt Wu and Brother Min are unlucky, they may have to depend on my share of the profits to live by in the future. While I'm still alive, if I can leave them some inheritance, I should."

Gu Jinli noticed Elder Doctor Wu voluntarily mentioning Aunt Wu and Boss Min. With a probing look in her eyes, she asked Elder Wu, "Grandpa Wu..."

Elder Doctor Wu waved his hand, interrupting her, "I know what you want to ask, and I also know you're full of doubts. But what we value about you is that you know what matters to inquire about and what not to. Our contract is well drafted, even if those two run into trouble, it won't affect you. At most, it would just make my life harder."

Moreover...

"The issue with your Aunt Wu and Brother Min isn't that serious. It's just that I'm old and overthink things, fearing that they won't have any security in the future. That's why I want to ensure they have a safety net."

To put Gu Jinli's mind at ease, Elder Doctor Wu added, "The matter with your Aunt Wu and Brother Min was settled twenty years ago. The worst that could happen now is their wealth might be depleted. As for their lives, they should be without concern."

It would just mean enduring some major hardships.

"Your Aunt Wu had bad luck with her husband dying early. She has had to shoulder many burdens by herself, and I couldn't help her much, only trying my best not to add to her troubles."

"Your Brother Min didn't originally bear the Min surname. He only changed his surname after becoming the head of Yuanzi Pharmacy. Now, he has no connection with his father's side anymore."

Brother Yan was just fortunate to be born later and not included in the Jade Scroll; if he had been, things might be different.

"Yuanzi Pharmacy isn't owned by the Min Family. It was established by Pharmacist Yuan during the middle period of the Liang Dynasty. From the Liang Dynasty to the former dynasty, and now to Great Chu, it has been operating for several hundred years. Pharmacist Yuan had no children but two disciples, a man and a woman. The male disciple became the head of Yuanzi Pharmacy. Since then, the head of Yuanzi Pharmacy has been selected from its disciples."

"I was fellow disciples with the last head of Yuanzi Pharmacy. He inherited the pharmacy and eventually handed the leadership to Brother Yan."

Elder Doctor Wu, in a calm tone, outlined the situations concerning Aunt Wu, the Dong Family, Yuanzi Pharmacy, and his own affairs: "That's as much as I can tell you. You should be somewhat relieved now."

Elder Doctor Wu knew that since they were to collaborate, he could not keep Gu Jinli in the dark about everything, hence he shared these details.

Gu Jinli understood that this was Elder Doctor Wu's sincerity and nodded, saying, "I understand now."

Elder Doctor Wu smiled and pointed at the closed small door, "Open the door."

He then raised his voice and called out to the outside: "Mu Tong, Xiao Liu, come on in, and bring Dashan with you."

Their conversation was not for others to hear, so Gu Dashan had been waiting in the front shop all this time.

"Eh!" Uncle Xiao Liu's resonant voice came through. Gu Jinli went to open the door, and Uncle Xiao Liu walked in with Uncle Mu Tong and a few others including Mai Dong, followed by Gu Dashan entering the backyard.

As soon as Gu Dashan entered, he looked at Gu Jinli and asked, "Has the merchandise been delivered? Everything went smoothly, I hope?"

Gu Jinli smiled and said, "No problems at all. Aunt Wu checked the goods and has accepted them. They took twenty bottles, and the remaining thirty bottles have been left at Xuanhu Fang on consignment. Once they are sold, our family will give Xuanhu Fang forty percent of the profits."

She has already signed a contract with Xuanhu Fang, and in the future, any medicine she makes can be sold there if she wishes, with forty percent of the profits going to Xuanhu Fang.

Gu Dashan, after hearing this, smiled and said, "That's good."

The medicinal materials given by Aunt Wu were very precious, and he was worried that if Gu Jinli messed up the scar removal ointment and it wasn't accepted, it would be bad.

Doctor Wu pointed to the chair beside him and said, "Dashan, come over and sit."

After Gu Dashan sat down, Doctor Wu asked him again, "Did Xiao Yu tell you that she wants to partner with me to open a pharmaceutical workshop?"

"Yes, she did, she told us right when she got home that night... We have agreed, it's just that we are afraid she is too young and might not do well, potentially dragging Elder Wu down." Gu Dashan was somewhat uneasy. His second daughter was becoming more and more capable, and he was still not quite used to it. He said to Elder Wu, "You have been very considerate. Please kindly visit the pharmaceutical workshop often in the future. Although she's a young girl who has learned some medical skills, she can't compare to Elder Wu, so she will need your guidance."

After glancing at Gu Jinli, Doctor Wu smiled and said, "Rest assured, your second daughter's medical skills are quite good."

Last year, before the New Year, when this girl came to sell her herbs, he had been worried about her medical skills, thinking that her curing a few people of their colds on the road was just luck. Now he sees that the girl was hiding her capabilities, and her medical skills are much better than he had thought.

Though Doctor Wu wondered where Gu Jinli had learned her medical skills, he didn't ask. As long as she didn't cause harm to anyone, it was fine.

He had lived a whole lifetime and understood very well that sometimes it was necessary to feign ignorance.

Doctor Wu pointed to Mu Tong and the others and said, "Come and meet your new master."

Mu Tong and the six others came over, knelt down with a thud, and said to Gu Jinli, "We pay our respects to our new master."

Then they turned to Gu Dashan and said, "We pay our respects to Old Master."

After speaking, they kowtowed three loud times to Gu Jinli and Gu Dashan.

Gu Dashan was so startled that he stood up, wanting to help Mu Tong and the others to their feet, but having done business for more than half a year, he restrained himself and asked Doctor Wu, "What's going on here? Aren't Brother Mu Tong and the others from Xuanhu Fang?"

With a smile, Doctor Wu said, "They were, but now that we're about to open a pharmaceutical workshop, these fellows all understand herbal medicine. I'm assigning them to Xiao Yu to help out in the workshop. This way you can feel at ease, and so can this old man."

After hearing this, Gu Dashan was very happy and said, "Thank you, Doctor Wu. With Brother Mu Tong and the others there, I can feel at ease."

Due to Gu Jinli opening a pharmaceutical workshop, he and Mrs. Cui hadn't been sleeping well for the past few days, always preoccupied with the matter and fearing that Xiao Yu might mess up the pharmaceutical workshop.

Doctor Wu smiled and said, "The pharmaceutical workshop also has a share for this old man, so no need for thanks. Today, you can take Mu Tong and the others back with you. Also, Xuanhu Fang has a mule cart that's not in use. If you want it, bring fifty taels of silver, and I will sell it to your family."

Gu Dashan exclaimed in surprise, "Are you serious?"

Doctor Wu nodded, "One of my relatives has come around this time and left me two unused mule carts. I'm thinking of selling one."

Gu Jinli was very eager, "Dad, let's buy it. Our family really needs a mule cart."

"Let's buy it, we'll buy it right now," Gu Dashan quickly took out a fifty tael silver note and gave it to Doctor Wu.