"Here, here, let me go!"
The thief took out a wallet from his embrace.
Lin Fan took the wallet and returned to the car.
He handed it to the high school girl, "See if any money is missing inside."
The girl quickly checked, "One hundred, two hundred... five hundred, all here! Thank you so much."
She asked for Lin Fan's contact information, wanting to make a friend.
Lin Fan didn't refuse and started chatting with her.
This girl was named Zhao Ying, and she was also from the countryside.
Her grades were pretty good, and the college entrance exam was just around the corner.
If she lost money at this time, her mindset would definitely be affected, and she wouldn't be able to dedicate herself wholeheartedly to the exam.
Perhaps five hundred yuan was nothing to people in the city, but for a rural student, it was definitely a huge sum.
As they chatted, they reached the place where they needed to get off.
"Uncle Lin Fan, I really don't know how to thank you."
"No need to call me Uncle, I'm not much older than you, just call me brother. Go to school first, study hard, and maybe we'll meet again in the future."
They both got off the car and parted ways.
Lin Fan walked along the road, looking around.
He met an elderly woman, and asked with a smile, "Hello, Auntie, is there a Chinese medicine store nearby?"
"There aren't many Chinese medicine stores, but I know there's a TCM clinic up ahead..."
Older people generally trusted Traditional Chinese Medicine, and they had more experience and knew more places. That's why Lin Fan specifically sought out such people to ask for directions.
He soon found out about a Chinese medicine store and hurried to take a taxi there.
It was already twenty minutes later when he arrived.
A large shop appeared before Lin Fan.
The shop spanned over twenty meters, with a large plaque hanging above.
"Wan He Tang."
Three gilded characters were imprinted on the ancient redwood plaque.
The shop was bustling with people, and the scene inside could be seen from outside.
Surrounding the shop were rows of wooden medicine cabinets, and several staff members were attending to customers, all dressed in ancient-style clothing, exuding a classical charm.
"I didn't expect Chinese medicine stores to be able to reach such a large scale."
Lin Fan sighed inwardly. He thought Traditional Chinese Medicine was on the verge of extinction, and this was the era of Western medicine. He didn't expect that besides himself, there were still TCM practitioners surviving.
He tidied his clothes and walked into Wan He Tang.
"Shop assistant, is your manager in?"
Lin Fan casually asked a young man.
"Sir, may I ask what business you have with our manager?" the young man asked back.
"I want to sell herbs."
As a large-scale TCM store, Wan He Tang naturally had many rules and their own strengths.
Most people would look down on Lin Fan, with his tattered clothes, clearly indicating he was a bumpkin from the countryside.
But this young man was different, because he knew that it was precisely the rural people like Lin Fan who were more likely to bring in high-quality medicinal materials.
The young man showed a warm smile, "It's the same if you show me."
Lin Fan nodded and took out a cloth bag, handing it over.
The young man untied the cloth bag and examined it carefully.
"This should be Bai Lin grass, it looks a bit ordinary."
Lin Fan smiled, "Young man, take a closer look."
"This Bai Lin grass is a nettle-type medicinal herb, which can disperse stasis, reduce swelling, detoxify, and heal sores. Its medicinal efficacy is very strong, and it can even counteract many snake venoms. It mainly depends on its stems and leaves. The clearer the stems and leaves, the higher the quality."
The young man was surprised, "You know about these things?"
Lin Fan nodded.
"Eldest disciple brother, come over and take a look!" the young man called back.
A young man walked over, appearing to be about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old.
"What's wrong?"
"Take a look at this Bai Lin grass..."
"Isn't this just ordinary..."
The young man paused, "No! This herb is unusual!"
"Go call the master, I'll take another look!"
His expression became serious.
This Bai Lin grass was clearly vastly different from other Bai Lin grass.
The roots and stems of ordinary Bai Lin grass spread out haphazardly, reaching the length of the stems and leaves.
However, the roots and stems of this Bai Lin grass were shorter than the stems and leaves, making it stand out.
A few minutes later, a white-haired old man walked over.
"What is it that requires me to come and see in person?"
The old man's expression was stern, seemingly displeased.
The young man pointed to the cloth bag on the counter, "Master, this Bai Lin grass is very peculiar. It seems to be the Bai Ling grass recorded in the Hundred Herbs Collection."
The old man lowered his head to look and his eyes immediately widened.
"This... where did you get this from?"
"He brought it."
The young man pointed at Lin Fan.
Lin Fan was confused, not knowing what to say.
"This is Bai Ling grass! No, this isn't that Bai Lin grass! It's that... it's that Bai Ling grass!"
The old man was extremely excited, his speech becoming incoherent.
He stepped out from behind the counter and came before Lin Fan, "Young man, where did you obtain this thing?"
"I cultivated it," Lin Fan replied truthfully.
The old man was shocked, "This kind of medicinal material has been extinct for a long time. How did you cultivate it?"
"Extinct?"
Lin Fan was a little bewildered. He had cultivated it himself!
The old man explained, "Two hundred years ago, the region that produced Bai Ling grass suffered greatly from war. Because the biochemical gas at the time destroyed the environment, this medicinal material disappeared."
Lin Fan waved his hand, "Old sir, I don't know about these things you mentioned. I just cultivated a piece of land, and it's all this stuff. If you're buying, what's the price?"
"Bai Ling grass is very rare, but I don't think many people understand its value. Moreover, it's a type of medicinal material with low consumption, so I can't offer you a very high price."
"I can only offer a conservative price, three hundred yuan per plant, but I'll only buy thirty thousand units per month."
Hearing the old man's words, Lin Fan felt a mix of joy and sorrow.
This price was already very high. He could cultivate a hundred plants on one mu of land, but it was impossible for him to cultivate three mu of land every quarter.
The fact that the old man wouldn't buy the rest was a huge problem!
Lin Fan scratched his head, "Old sir, if you buy a year's worth at once, and then I develop new medicinal materials to sell to you, would that work?"
The old man raised an eyebrow, "You can develop new medicinal materials? What do you do?"
"I'm a farmer, and I occasionally treat people. I'm in Luofeng Village," Lin Fan said with a faint smile.
The old man's expression changed, "You can't be Lin Fan, can you?!"
"Old sir, you know me?"
Lin Fan was surprised. He hadn't expected his reputation to have spread all the way to Yunqing City.
The old man nodded, "Many people have been talking recently about how a very skilled TCM practitioner has emerged from Luofeng Village. I originally thought it was just a rumor, but I didn't expect it to be true!"
Just a few days ago, he had told his disciples that if such a skilled TCM practitioner truly existed, then Western medicine could no longer dominate the world.
He hadn't believed it himself, but today he had met him.
"Hello, my name is Sun Yinglun, and everyone calls me Old Sun."
He excitedly shook Lin Fan's hand and introduced himself.