The next morning Wen Zixin was woken up with Cheng coming down the stairs and hurriedly got dressed. When he moved into the store Cheng was waiting for him.
“Mr. Wen I’m glad to see you’re up and about. I’ll show you how to open up the store and then you’ll mind the counter while I’m out. You know how to mix medicines so just consult the scroll under the counter for the prices should any customers show up while I’m gone.”
Cheng, handing a key to Wen Zixin, then walked him through the opening procedure. First, they unlocked the storefront and then grabbed a board saying open crammed between the counter and the herb cubbies. It fitted into a slot next to the door on the outside. Afterwards, Cheng left Wen Zixin alone in the store. Looking under the counter he found some cleaning rags, the scroll Cheng mentioned, the instruments for making medicine, and a small box containing a handful of copper coins. The box appeared to be where the money was kept and according to the scroll most of the transactions would be in copper. The scroll had prices for individual herbs and a formula for medicine cost based on the herbs used. Bringing out a cleaning rag, he left it on the counter and quickly went to grab a bucket of water. Then came his first morning of work. He spent most of the time using some water and the cleaning rag to maintain the store. At various times a customer or two would come in looking for either some herbs or medicine. While he was grabbing the herbs or making the medicine, they would have a pleasant if empty conversation with Wen Zixin. To make sure he didn’t mess up he always consulted the scroll to insure he charged the right amount. The cost never came up to more than 30 coppers. After the customer left, he would clean the instruments as needed. Cheng came back around noon and did a quick inspection of the store. When he got the money box, he checked the money with the herb stock before taking most of the money and pocketing it. After that he gave Wen Zixin a nod before leaving again. Then came Wen Zixin’s first evening of work. It was pretty much a copy of the morning only with more customers. As the sunlight coming into the shop was turning red, Cheng came back.
“Mr. Wen you seem to have done a good job, why don’t you go get some dinner while I mind the store.”
Nodding his head, Wen Zixin headed out. He decided to just head to the “Herb Garden” Inn for dinner. Once there he found a seat and paid the waitress for his dinner and when he finished, he asked a passing waitress to talk to Madam Chen. A few moments later Madam Chen arrived at Wen Zixin’s table.
“Mr. Wen, you wished to speak to me?”
“Yes, Madam Chen, I was hoping that you could recommend a nearby store that could clean clothes for me.”
Madam Chen took a moment to think before replying.
“There is one place a street over that charges ten copper per basket of clothes. It’s called ‘Sing Lee Laundry’ and to get there you just need to take a right out the door, exit the street, and turn left onto the next stree. It’ll be two doors down on the left and after you drop of your clothes you can pick them up the next day.”
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She paused for a moment to cast a worried glance at Wen Zixin before continuing.
“That is the best deal in this area of the city, but with what old man Cheng is paying you, you might have to think of an alternative solution.”
“Thank you for your concern Madam Chen, but I’ll be fine.”
So saying Wen Zixin gave her a slight smile and a bow before leaving. Deciding to get more familiar with the area he headed to “Sing Lee Laundry”. When he got there, he noted the sign outside confirming the price and that it looked neat and tidy. Satisfied that it wasn’t too far he headed back to Cheng’s. When he got to the store Cheng was closing for the night.
“Mr. Wen, here is your pay for the day. Don’t bother opening up the store tomorrow I'll have a list of herbs I want you to gather instead. It’ll be longer than last time since the other days’ list was only a test. I’ll have the list along with the gate pass here on the counter for when you leave in the morning.”
“I understand Shopkeeper Cheng.”
With that Wen Zixin went to his room in the back. Looking over his belongings he saw that he still only had the clothing set, he bought another two sets and a basket from the Mortal Items Menu. Putting his new clothes in the wardrobe, he threw his used clothes in the basket and hid it under his bed. Thinking about it he decided to use the laundry place a couple of times a week and just eat dinner at the “Herb Garden” every night. He wasn’t earning enough copper from Cheng for that but with the xp he was getting from harvesting and making medicine he would still be able to stay in the black. As he was doing that Cheng walked by his door and headed upstairs. Wen Zixin made sure the doors between him and the store’s front door were open, and then went to bed. When morning came, he was again woken up by Cheng coming down the stairs. Getting dressed he went to the backroom to grab the supplies for herb gathering and headed into the store. As he got there Cheng was putting a scroll and the gate pass on the counter. Picking them up and storing them in the satchel with the other supplies, Wen Zixin nodded to Cheng before leaving. Following the path Cheng took the other day, Wen Zixin looked over the list of herbs. It was indeed longer than the last list and would probably take most if not the whole day to find everything. Stopping at the gate to show the pass he quickly headed out to the forest. With his new Hunter’s Instincts Skill, he was able to find an herb much sooner, however he found that it had recently been harvested so left it alone. His Herbology Skill was very clear on not harvesting from any herb that hadn’t had a chance to regrow to maintain the plant and future harvests. As the day continued, he avoided any animals and people he could while harvesting the needed herbs as he found them. It was late afternoon by the time he finished and headed back to the city. When he got back to the store Cheng gave him some instructions.
“Mr. Wen, you're back and you made good time. Leave the herbs here, put away the supplies, and then start storing the herbs into their cubbies. While you’re putting away the herbs I’ll be away for a bit.”
Wen Zixin unpacked the herbs from the satchel onto the counter and returned the supplies to the backroom. When he got back to the store front Cheng left him to it and walked out the store. Wen Zixin watched the store for a couple of hours and when Cheng came back, we went to the “Herb Garden” Inn for dinner. When he got back, he closed up the shop and went to bed.