That explained why the apothecary owner had that weird look on his face when Frank asked if he had any Bright Sky Herb. He must be regretting missing out!
"Then I'm counting on you!" Frank told the shop hand.
"You're always welcome—I mean, surely I can get a tip from this, right?"
The shop hand smiled, shaking his head.
And with that, he whipped out his phone to make the call. "Good morning, Mr. Quaker… I'm Zangi. Yeah, we'd spoken over the phone before—did you forget? I'm the shop hand from that apothecary!"
"Just cut to the chase!" Mr. Quaker snapped impatiently from the other end.
Zangi remained calm, even chuckling. "Right… So you have a Bright Sky Herb, right? We just happened to have a customer who asked for it specifically. Could you perhaps make time to meet him?"
Mr. Quaker appeared skeptical. "Are you messing with me?"
"What are you saying, sir? I may be nobody important, but I won't lie to you!'
"Fine! I'm making a reservation for a table for 8 PM at Tandem Hotel. See you there!"
Zangi then hung up and relayed Mr. Quaker's arrangement to Frank, who whipped out his phone. "Thanks so much!"
Zangi quickly stopped him from wiring a tip, however. "No, sir—trust matters most when it comes to business. Won't I have to pay you back if your meeting with Mr. Quaker falls through? And you look like an honest man who won't bilk, so my tip can wait until after you seal the deal."
Frank nodded, surprised that Zangi was such an honest shop hand.
He was certainly fine with that, since it at least proved he was not being deceived.
Still, as they both waited that same evening at Tandem Hotel, Zangi was standing restlessly by the door.
"Damn that man," he muttered to himself. "Doesn't he have a sense of time? He said 8 PM, but he's still nowhere to be seen!"
"Well, I won't lie." Mr. Quaker shrugged. "There really aren't many Bright Sky Herbs out there. So be prepared, because this is going to cost you."
Frank nodded, already prepared for it. "Name your price!"
"Wait, why don't you check the goods first?"
Mr. Quaker put his bag on the table and unzipped it, taking out a box and opening it.
The Bright Sky Herb within resembled a ginseng root, and while it appeared to have cuts and wrinkles, it was not rotting in the box. It was most likely watered, as it appeared as fresh as it was just dug out!
"What do you think, sir?" Mr. Quaker asked.
"The scent is pure and rosy, and the size is just right. It's definitely good, but…"
Frank then pointed at the base of the Bright Sky Herb. "A few root hairs are missing. Is this an accident, or something else?"
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