Zhang Taiping left the school gate and hurriedly took a ride to the medicinal herb store, but he hadn't done anything yet.

The most famous place to purchase medicinal materials in Xi'an is the "Xi'an Wanshou Road Chinese Herbal Medicine Market", which is one of the 17 important professional markets for the operation and circulation of medicinal materials in the country officially approved by the state. There are more than 1,500 fixed and temporary stalls, more than 1,600 varieties of market operations, and a turnover of more than 1.5 million yuan. It is more guaranteed in terms of price and reputation.

It's located in the northernmost part of the city, and it's an hour's drive from Wanshou Road, which is still without traffic jams. So it's good to be there before twelve o'clock. If you don't get it right, you won't be able to finish it today. So Zhang Taiping was a little anxious.

Fortunately, the road was quite smooth, and I didn't encounter the situation that a block was a few hours, and I arrived at the north gate of the medicinal herb market at a little more than eleven o'clock.

Speaking of markets, it is not as crowded and bustling as other markets, but a little deserted. There are not many customers in a store, and some even have no one, only the owner is reading the newspaper or drinking tea. The bosses didn't seem to be in a hurry, and they were still limited, as if this was the normal situation.

Zhang Taiping chose a store that looked ordinary on the outside, but there was a hole on the inside.

The boss is a middle-aged man in his thirties and nearly forty, and when he saw Zhang Taiping walking in, he stepped forward to greet him.

"I don't know what herbs Mr. wants? Our store not only has a complete variety, but also the price is absolutely fair, of course, if the store does not have the medicinal materials, you will also be contacted, that plus there is. ”

"Can you take a look first?"

The gentleman laughed, how could there be no guest to see. Please feel free to take a look. ”

Zhang Taiping browsed the prices of various medicines everywhere in front of the medicine shelves. Only a few samples were emitted in each place, and a plastic sign stood in front of it, indicating the price.

Whenever Zhang Taiping's eyes stayed on that kind of medicinal material for a little more time, the boss would explain in detail and promote this medicinal material.

After turning around, there are two prices for saffron. One is artificially cultivated, only twelve yuan a gram; The other is wild, twenty-eight dollars a gram. The price of wild ones has more than tripled compared to those cultivated in artificiality.

"I'm not here to buy medicine, I'm here to sell medicine." After stopping, Zhang Taiping said.

"Oh, selling medicine? I wonder what kind of medicine Mr. wants to sell? If the quality is good, we will also offer a satisfactory price to Mr. ”

"Saffron, and wild."

If you look at it alone, Zhang Taiping can't tell the difference between artificially cultivated and wild. But through the comparison of the two just now, you can be sure that the saffron here is definitely wild, and the quality is much better than that placed in this store, and it is said to be the best in the wild.

"Can you take it out and have a look at it first?"

Zhang Taiping handed the box containing saffron to the boss.

The owner of the pharmacy took it and opened it, and his eyes lit up at that time, but then he didn't react again, and he couldn't see any expression on his face. If it weren't for Zhang Taiping who kept observing his expression, he really thought he didn't react.

Closing the box, the boss said, "It does look like a wild safflower, but can you let me identify it?" ”

"Please."

"Hehe, let Mr. smile, business is not easy to do these days."

"Understandable."

In recent years, there have been too many counterfeit products, some people have used shredded radish to dye red and pretended to be saffron, and some people have replaced them with red words. It's not for nothing that old-timers have been slapped in the eye because of their self-confidence.

The owner of the pharmacy shook the box first, and after reading it, he picked up a little and put it on the tip of his nose and sniffed it, nodded and put it in the box again. Authentic saffron has a strong floral aroma, while fake or adulterated goods have a faint or even unsmellable taste.

Then he shouted to the back room, "Son, bring me a cup of hot water." ”

In a moment, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy came out with a cup of hot water.

The pharmacy owner took the hot water, looked at Zhang Taiping, seemed to have just reacted, patted his head, and said to the boy.

"Look at my surname, go make a cup of tea for this gentleman."

The pharmacy owner picked up a little saffron and put it in a cup of hot water, and waited to observe. Zhang Taiping watched with a teacup beside him.

True saffron is composed of stamens, which do not break immediately when soaked in water, and the water is light yellow; The fake is the stamens of other flowers or even radishes cut into very fine shreds, and then dyed, after soaking in water, the radish will be broken, the dyed will fade quickly, and the water will turn red or orange-yellow, which is the most effective way to identify.

After a while, the stamens in the cup unfolded, and the water color turned transparent pale yellow.

The pharmacy owner straightened up and said with a sigh of relief.

"Sir, this flower is indeed wild, and of good quality. I wonder what price Mr. wants? ”

"It's better for the boss to give a price, if it's suitable."

The boss smashed his mouth twice, thought for a while, and said, "According to the wild price I sell here, how about twenty-eight yuan a gram?" ”

Zhang Taiping was still thinking, and the boss said again. Let's tell you the truth, this quality of yours can be sold for thirty-one or two here with me, but the small shop also has to make some money, right? ”

In fact, twenty-eight yuan is already a fair price, three yuan higher than his previous estimate, Zhang Taiping thought of it, and was already very satisfied. Bian nodded and agreed to the deal.

The boss asked Zhang Taiping to check the electronic scale, and only after confirming that it was correct did he put the safflower and the wooden box on the electronic scale. After weighing, put the safflower into the prepared plastic box, and weigh the empty wooden box again. After subtraction, there is the weight of saffron.

A total of 1,128 grams, which is about the same weight as Zhang Taiping weighed at home in advance.

The owner of the pharmacy looked at Zhang Taiping's wooden box and said, "Just use 1130 grams, how about you give me the wooden box with you?" It's a bit of a waste to have such a good quality saffron in a plastic box, but it's still comfortable to pack it in a wooden box."

"Okay, just do what the boss says."

A box of fifty yuan, Zhang Taiping did not suffer.

The boss packed the safflower in a wooden box, put it in the back room, and when he came out, he took a stack of money, put it on several machines, counted it twice, and handed it to Zhang Taiping.

"A total of 31,650 yuan, you can order more."

Zhang Taiping carefully clicked again, and after confirming that it was correct, he said, "That's right, it's just right." ”

Packing the money in an envelope and putting it in your arms is actually sending it into space. There's no place safer than in space. In the eyes of outsiders, it was just casually carried in his arms, and strangely it was not raised.

After the transaction was completed, the boss stretched out his hand and shook Zhang Taiping's hand.

"Everyone is happy about this transaction. If there are any medicinal materials in the future, you can consider a small shop first, and the price will not be disadvantaged to Mr. ”

Zhang Taiping nodded in response. "If you can still be lucky enough to collect any medicinal herbs, I will definitely come back to your store."

Before I knew it, an hour had passed, and it was already twelve o'clock in the afternoon when I came out. I found a mutton steamed bun restaurant, and came to a bowl of mutton steamed buns.

With money in your arms, you don't have to be so strapped for spending it, and you don't have to think about whether to eat a good bowl for half a day. As the saying goes, "don't panic when you have food in your hand", and when you have money, you will have the confidence to eat. Although the money is not very much, it is more than 30,000 yuan, so there is no need to worry about money for the time being. As for the future, do you still have no money if you have space?

After eating, Zhang Taiping walked casually on the street. The city is still the same city, but everything is no longer human. In front of him, a familiar but vague phantom was crossed, and in this city, there had been laughter and laughter, and the refreshing smile was like a flower. I also left tears of pain.

It's just that everything has become a thing of the past, and it has gone with the wind. Now is a new beginning, a new life.

The scattered eyes refocused, and some things some people can't completely forget, but they can be hidden deep in their hearts.

There is a flower market called "Xiguang Flowers" on Wanshou Road, not far from where he is now standing. Just get on the bus, it doesn't take a few minutes, get off the bus, and walk a few steps to get there.

Compared with the medicinal herb market, the flower market has a lot more people, not so much rubbing shoulders, but it is also very lively. In the past two years, with the improvement of people's awareness and the deterioration of the air in the urban environment, the love for green flowers and trees bonsai has increased, and there are men, women and children who visit the flower market.

Flowers and trees bonsai do not have an obvious age difference like other things, but no matter how old or young, as long as they like and are interested, they can buy two plants and raise them at home. It can not only regulate people's mood conditions, but also beautify the environment and improve the air.

There are many benefits, so some old ladies and old men no longer get together to play mahjong after retirement, but raise some flowers or other bonsai respectively, and get together to compare and evaluate when they have nothing to do, often a few people can spend an afternoon with a few cups of tea.

Several short streets are all selling flowers, trees, and bonsai. There are many low-rise shops on both sides of the street, and the shops are full of flowers and trees, and customers come in and out, and it seems that business is still good.

There are also many stalls in the open space outside the house, with flowers and trees, and all kinds of small objects. Some people are not called boring, quietly waiting for the guests to come forward; Others shout loudly, greet passing customers warmly, and try to recommend the items on their stalls.

Zhang Taiping looked everywhere, and the prices of flowers and trees on the stalls outside were not too high, and they were several times cheaper than those in the store. The price ranges from a few dollars to tens of thousands, but the quality is not guaranteed. It's not that there aren't good items, good bonsai stumps are there, and it depends on your own ability to choose. If you have an active mind and good eyesight, you can also pick up good things.