Wednesday, December 3, 1346
Since seven days ago, after Altair found alternative medicinal herbs in the 'Evil Dragon Bar' underground market, she increased the production quantity of her 'Special-type Potions'.
At first, she was worried whether she could sell all these extra potions. But within two days, that concern vanished.
Perhaps because the 'effect' of the potions was indeed quite good, now, as soon as Altair's figure appeared on the streets of the North District, people would proactively come forward to inquire and purchase.
No matter how many potions she brought out that day, they would definitely be sold out in less than three hours at most.
During this time, some even suggested that they could pay a high price for her to customize a batch of potions with even better and stronger effects.
But Altair found it troublesome, so she refused the customization on the grounds that her ability was limited and she couldn't make enhanced potions.
Because once she accepted custom potion orders, it meant Altair would have to set up a separate process, prepare a separate set of herbs, and start a separate batch.
Although it was very profitable, Altair didn't sell these potions for the sake of making money.
She made and sold these potions for 'Acting' as a 'Witch', not for Acting as a 'merchant'.
With that spare time, it would be better to brew another large pot of the normal version of the potion. It wasted neither time nor herbs.
Naturally, while production expanded, it also meant that the demand for herbs was expanding. Thus, the frequency of Altair's visits to the 'Evil Dragon Bar' gradually increased, from once every two days at the beginning to once a day now.
Recently, the herbs in the underground trading market of the 'Evil Dragon Bar' had basically been almost drained by Altair.
This wasn't to say that this market's volume was only this much. The main reason was that the New Year was approaching, and most workers were gradually entering their holiday period; even if merchants had herbs, they couldn't be transported in.
During normal times, herb merchants would have long ago transferred goods from various places to send the herbs into Tingen City. After all, when Altair bought herbs, she never bargained; as long as she felt it was appropriate, she would buy.
As for the price of the herbs, to be honest, those merchants wouldn't be'smart' enough to hike the prices just because Altair never bargained.
After all, this was an 'officially' controlled market. If anyone was found arbitrarily hiking market prices, they would certainly be invited to leave.
Once out, it would be very difficult to find another market with protection and 'legality'.
But the merchants wouldn't waste this opportunity to make money either. After several transactions, they gradually figured out Altair's trading habits: as long as they said a few more flattering words and didn't set the price too high, she was willing to trade.
Near noon, after selling today's potions, Altair came to the 'Evil Dragon Bar' market again.
She looked at the middle-aged man in front of her who was currently packing and asked, "Is this your last batch of stock? If I offer a high price, can you transfer a batch of herbs from elsewhere for me?"
"Beautiful lady, you must be joking." The herb merchant lowered his head, and after finishing the packaging of the materials, he looked up and explained to Altair with a smile:
"The New Year is near, and people are busy celebrating the festival. Look at this market; hardly anyone is doing business anymore."
"After finishing this order for you today, I will officially enter my annual leave. Whether I have money or not, I have to go home for the New Year."
"Work won't start again until after January 6th next year."
"It's 5 pounds and 3 sol in total. You only need to pay me 5 pounds."
Hearing this, Altair took out a 5-pound banknote from her pouch, handed it to the herb merchant, and picked up the packed paper bag.
Just as she turned around to leave, she heard the merchant behind her say, "Wait a moment, lady."
By the time she reacted, she saw the herb merchant take out a... 'thing' wrapped in tan kraft paper from somewhere and hand it to Altair, saying, "These are cookies my little daughter made with oats and milk. Please have a taste."
Looking at the'specially' shaped cookies before her, Altair smiled politely and said, "Your daughter is very thoughtful. May I try a piece?"
"Of course." After saying that, the merchant opened the cookie bag completely and held it forward.
Altair casually picked up a cookie, put it to her lips, took a small bite, and began to taste it. As she ate, she thought, "Although the shape of the cookie isn't very good, the baked texture is indeed quite nice—relatively dry and crunchy, with a slight toasted aroma at the edges. The grain flavor is also very sufficient, and after a few more bites, you can sense a slight sweetness."
After finishing the cookie, Altair said candidly, "She is very talented; these cookies are delicious."
"Of course, I have always seen her as my pride. She has always had a great talent in this area." Hearing the praise, the merchant was also very delighted.
After a few words of small talk, Altair took the cookies from the merchant's hand and bid farewell, "Then I will wish you a Happy New Year in advance here."
"Happy New Year." And the merchant, upon hearing this blessing, also took off his hat and bowed.
After leaving the herb stall, Altair looked around at the few remaining stalls. Finding that no one was selling herbs, she left the underground market directly without staying at the 'Evil Dragon Bar'. She hailed a carriage and returned to the Sycamore District Villa.
Skipping lunch, she entered the laboratory, preparing to turn the last batch of herbs for the year into 'Special-type Potions'.
Before going to bed at night, she thought to herself, "After selling this last batch of potions tomorrow, I'll return to Morse Town to prepare for the New Year."