Volume 1 Chapter 13

  Xia Ting leaned her head slightly and gently lifted a corner of the window curtain, only to see people coming and going on the street, bustling with activity.

  Before long, the carriage stopped in front of a fairly large pharmacy.

  Xia Ting lifted her Luo skirt with her left hand and rested her right hand on the evening jade, helping her down from the carriage. Only after her feet touched the ground did she raise her head to take in the famous Hui Chun Tang of Kyoto.

  It is said that this pharmacy sells only the finest medicinal materials, and almost all of the high-ranking officials in Kyoto get their medicine here.

  The pharmacy in front of me looks both elegant and majestic, indeed worthy of being the best in all of Kyoto.

  Xia Ting walked into the inner courtyard with a steady pace, and Wan Yu closely followed behind her.

  As soon as I stepped into the pharmacy, I smelled a strong medicinal fragrance.

  Xia Ting took a deep breath, savoring the familiar scent. In her past life, her parents had passed away early, and it was her grandfather who had raised her single-handedly.

  She has been learning and growing up in this medicinal atmosphere since she was a child. Her grandfather is a famous old Chinese doctor, who loves her very much. In memory, he always teaches himself to recognize medicine, grasp medicine, decoct medicine and acupuncture with great patience.

  Because she inherited her grandfather's medical skills, in college she chose a major in pharmacology and nutrition that her grandfather was not very familiar with.

  She felt that since she had already studied traditional Chinese medicine, then she should do it to the best of her ability.

  Unfortunately, her grandfather passed away when she was sixteen. All he left behind was a large inheritance and a house full of medical books.

  At this time, the attendant inside hurriedly came forward and asked with a respectful attitude, "I don't know if the young lady wants to see a doctor or get medicine?"

  The appearance of her companion interrupted Xia Ting's reminiscence. She glanced at him and smiled lightly, saying they had come to pick herbs.

  Past events are like smoke, Grandfather must have hoped she could live happily.

  "Miss, this way, please." The waiter heard and respectfully led the way beside her.

  Xia Ting and her companions followed the shopkeeper to the medicine cabinet, where they saw an old man with white hair neatly arranging the medicines in the drawers.

  The fellow stepped forward and called out, "Old Chen, this young lady wants to grab some medicine."

  Chen Bo hastily stopped the work in his hands, looked up at Xia Ting with a smile, and asked kindly, "I don't know which medicine the young lady wants to pick? Is there a prescription?"

  Xia Ting nodded with a smile, still showing respect for ordinary elderly people, especially those who understood medicine. As for the one in Xia's house, she chose to ignore it.

  Xia Ting nodded slightly and signaled to Wan Yu, who took out the prescription and handed it to the old man, saying softly, "Trouble Chen Bo to help me get a few doses of medicine according to this prescription."

  Chen Bo took the prescription from Wan Yu, and when he heard Xia Ting's polite words, he was taken aback for a moment, looking unusually surprised. "Miss is being too polite, please wait for a moment."

  It's not that he can't be blamed for being overly surprised, after all, someone who can come to the Spring Hall to fetch medicine is definitely not an ordinary citizen. Just look at this young lady's attire and demeanor, a discerning person can tell at a glance that she's a noblewoman from a good family.

  He had been in this Chun Tang for over a decade, and had seen many spoiled and arrogant young ladies from wealthy families, but he had never met an official's daughter who was as gentle and kind as her.

  In less than a moment's time, Chen Bo, with his nimble hands and feet, had gathered all the herbs.

  Xia Tingjian saw him grabbing medicine, steady, accurate, and not at all like a man over sixty. Thinking about it, if he could be arranged to grab medicine for those dignitaries, he must have some real skills.

  After taking the medicine and paying the silver, Xia Ting brought Wan Yu away from the pharmacy.

  As she walked out of the pharmacy, Wan Yu carried a few packets of medicine and said, "This medicine is really expensive. Just these few packets cost 10 taels of silver." To think that her monthly allowance was only one tael of silver, if it were up to her, who knows how long she would have to cut back on food and drink to afford this medicine?

  Xia Ting smiled lightly and said, "Since this is a place where rich people in Kyoto buy medicine, it's not cheap." Moreover, she had carefully examined them earlier, and these medicines were indeed top-notch, so they were worth the price.

  As they arrived at the carriage, Wan Yu said, "Miss, it seems that it's still early. Why don't we find a place to have lunch? You rushed out this morning and didn't even have time for breakfast, just snacking on some fruit along the way."

  Xia Ting thought for a moment and only then did she realize that she was indeed feeling a little hungry after being reminded by Wan Yu.

  The medicine is ready now, why not take a detour to try the dishes at Kyoto's best wine house.

  It won't be long before her shop and wine house open, she needs to have a bottom line in mind first.

  Before long, Xia Ting was in the elegant room of "Drunken Fragrance Pavilion", listening to the waiter reporting dish names one after another without even taking a breath. He couldn't help but feel: These ancient waiters are really something else, this menu is like it's printed on their brains or something, they just rattle it off as soon as they open their mouths.

  Summer listened intently and waved her hand to interrupt the little waiter who was about to introduce more dishes. "What's your signature dish? Just bring it up, and brew me another pot of good tea."

  The little waiter hastily smiled and replied "Alright, miss, please wait a moment." He took several steps back and exited the door to deliver dishes to the kitchen.

  This Drunken Fragrance Pavilion is indeed a place that only high-ranking officials and nobles can afford, and everywhere Xia Tingjing sees after entering is decorated with luxury and grandeur.

  When she first came in, she also saw many young masters dressed in luxurious clothes, sitting together in twos and threes, chatting and laughing. There were also some famous ladies from noble families sitting in the wine house, but most of them were accompanied by their family members, and some were with their close friends.

  Like Xia Tingning, who came to dine alone with a maid, she was still the first. Facing other people's curious eyes, she didn't flinch and directly told the waiter that she wanted a private room. As for what others thought, why should she care?

  Just as Xia Ting was carefully examining the decorations in the room, the door opened and the little waiter who had just reported the names of the dishes so smoothly came in with a low bow and a smile, carrying dish after dish. He went back and forth several times, filling the entire round table to the brim.

  Xia Ting gave him a few taels of loose silver as a reward, and the waiter immediately smiled and bowed down.

  Looking at the dishes that filled the entire table, Xia Ting couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The signature dishes of this Drunken Fragrance Pavilion were indeed numerous, with over twenty dishes counted, and she wondered if they thought she was a fish to be slaughtered.

  As soon as the dishes were all on the table, Wan Yu automatically walked over to Xia Ting's side and began serving her.

  She had tasted over a dozen dishes, and Xia Ting felt that the texture was still pretty good. It was just lacking in seasonings, and the cooking methods were somewhat monotonous, which made the dishes less impressive. However, this also gave her even more confidence in the restaurant she was about to open.

  "Miss, have some more of this, these aren't cheap you know." Wan Yu muttered to herself as she continuously served Xia Ting dishes.

  Xia Ting looked at her silly appearance and couldn't help but laugh, gently putting down his chopsticks and saying "Don't bother anymore, I'm already full."

  "There are still so many dishes left, what should we do?" Wan Yu looked very hesitant.

  "Never mind, let Xiao Er come over and pack these dishes. We'll take them away and settle the bill at the same time." Xia Ting said as she picked up her teacup and took a light sip.

  Wan Yu nodded to show she understood, went outside the door to call over a waiter to settle the bill, and also instructed him to pack up the dishes on the table, as they wanted to take them back.

  Out of the room, Xia Ting was thinking about whether she should buy something else for her brother to bring back.

  Since coming to the Xia Fu, his younger brother was no longer as carefree as he was in Yixing City. His cheap father managed everything every day, forbidding this and that at will.

  Xia Ting was lost in thought when a young servant at the foot of the stairs bowed and scraped to welcome a woman who walked up.

  The woman wore a large red skirt, with a pair of hands full of gold and silver bangles. As she walked, they jingled loudly, and behind her were four maidservants attending to her.

  Xia Ting also just glanced at her and then withdrew his gaze. This unrelated person has never been paid much attention to by him.

  But unexpectedly, the woman walked towards her with a series of tinkling sounds.