Are You Interested in Becoming Village Mayor

Qingya Vegetarian Bistro.

Su Li was busy for half a day, but then she had some free time. These three apprentices were really reliable, so she didn't have to worry too much.

After patrolling the vegetarian bistro once, Su Li had nothing to do and said to Lingdang, "Let's go check out Zhang Mu's herbal medicine shop."

Zhang Mu's herbal medicine shop was not far from the vegetarian bistro. Back then, Zhang Mu followed Su Li's advice and bought the shop at the prime location of Shilipo. It took about the time of burning half an incense stick to walk there.

Lingdang linked arms with Su Li as they left the vegetarian bistro. Lingdang looked around cautiously and said to Su Li, "Qin Sanniang and Zhang Zhuzi aren't here; they probably already left. Master, you can go out without worry."

"Hmm, good that they left," Su Li nodded, though she felt a bit strange. Qin Sanniang and Zhang Zhuzi had come to see her but left without mentioning the matter. That was unlike their usual style.

While they were talking, they arrived at the entrance of Zhang Mu's herbal medicine shop.

The Zhang family’s herbal medicine shop had a large storefront, spacious and bright. The main hall was filled with customers coming to get medicine and consultations. Two elderly doctors were stationed there, while Zhang Mu was busy at the counter collecting money and handing out medicine. The shop was thriving, business booming.

"Brother Zhang Mu, busy, huh!" Su Li smiled as she walked over with Lingdang to greet him.

Zhang Mu looked up and saw Su Li had come. He quickly called a servant to take over his business, then personally came out from behind the counter to greet her with a smile. "Busy big shot, Ah Li, how come you have time to come?"

"Since you opened the shop, I haven’t come to check it out. Today I finally have time to see it. The business looks really good!" Su Li walked around and looked, thinking that Zhang Mu’s business was even better than she had imagined.

"Hehe, business is okay. Come on, let’s go inside and talk," Zhang Mu said quickly, inviting them to the back courtyard’s side room where tea was served.

Su Li asked Zhang Mu about his business, and Zhang Mu spoke fluently, already a mature and experienced businessman.

"Ah Li, I have two branches of this herbal medicine shop in the neighboring city. What you saw in the main hall—doctors taking care of patients and dispensing medicine—is just a small part. Our biggest business now is wholesale supply of medicinal herbs," Zhang Mu poured tea for Su Li and said, "Back when I was a hunter, I knew several families who grew herbs, and we’ve maintained good relations. Some of them have quite large herb businesses. I cooperate with them to sell herbs, collect raw materials from various places, process them into finished products, and ship them around to sell to local shops. Single item profits aren’t much, but our shop’s reputation and quality are good. We make a decent profit through small margins and high volume."

After finishing, Zhang Mu scratched his head and smiled, "Come to think of it, I owe a lot to you, Ah Li, for advising me to buy the shop and house back then. That gave me the initial capital to start the business."

"That’s because Brother Zhang Mu has good vision. When I advised others, they didn’t take it seriously, but you had sharp eyes and acted quickly, so you got rich!" Su Li laughed.

Zhang Mu often recalled how Su Li had guided him back then, which made Su Li feel very comfortable because Zhang Mu never forgot his roots and was a very honest person.

After talking business for a while, Su Li said, "Brother Zhang Mu, the village chief asked me to recommend someone for the position of neighborhood leader. Do you know about it?"

Zhang Mu looked at Su Li. He was very perceptive and smart, knowing Su Li wouldn’t bring it up for no reason, so he nodded, "I know. Cai Wei told me about it."

Su Li looked at Zhang Mu and said, "Brother Zhang Mu, are you interested in becoming the neighborhood leader?"