#wss366 06/19 #shake
#FanFiction #TheApothecaryDiaries
*** Pearl Farming ***
Maomao ran her fingers over the gourd’s surface. It felt normal, smooth, slightly irregular, with a mild grain.
She looked up at the man, one of Meimei’s clients, who stood with three broad-shouldered women. They made the room look small. Behind them stood Madam and a few courtesans. Their delicate looks and midday drowsiness stood in sharp contrast to the newcomers, women who worked with their bodies, but in a completely different fashion.
Usually, there was trouble when women showed up at Verdigris House, especially if accompanied by a husband. There had been none today. This was business. Madam was doing a "favor" for a client and had pressed Mao with her special talents into service.
“May I shake it?” Mao asked.
“Yes, of course.” The man sounded nervous. Mao could smell his sweat from where she sat. Meimei said he played a good game of Go but was otherwise innocuous. He didn’t look like the head of the Pearl Divers Guild.
Mao shook the gourd. Rather than the sound of seeds, something more substantial rattled inside.
“And if I prove it’s a scam, I keep the pearls?” she asked, avoiding Madam’s gaze lest she lose her reward.
“Correct,” the little man’s tone lacked decision; he was too meek. He looked like the perfect target for a con. Mao considered asking for more but decided to avoid Madam boxing her ears for impertinence. Why was Madam the only one who could be greedy?
She glanced down at the fragments of another gourd lying on the table, mixed with inferior-quality pearls. Once ground, they would be fine for medicine, so she didn’t mind.
“And he said that unless you paid him, he’d sell the seeds to farmers and ruin your business?” Mao probed. It seemed a rather roundabout way to make money. Why not just grow the gourds yourself?
The man nodded.
She gave the gourd another shake, then ran her fingers across its skin. It felt right… Ah, there it was. One section felt different. Too smooth. She carefully explored and defined the area. It was circular, about the size of her thumb tip.
Turning away, she gathered a few things and mixed an acidic solution, stronger than vinegar but only slightly. Nothing that would cause a burn, but enough to dissolve a cheap varnish.
“It’s okay if I damage this slightly?” she asked.
The man glanced back at a woman with powerful lungs. She was probably his wife and the actual head of the Divers Guild. The woman made an imperceptible nod.
Mao didn’t wait for the man to speak. She had her answer.
She warmed her solution and gently rubbed the gourd’s surface. When satisfied, she dried the gourd and heated the questionable portion using a candle.
As expected, that section browned faster than the rest.
She showed it to the people watching. “It’s a fake. They’re trying to shake you down.”
The man’s wife looked grim. Mao was glad she wasn’t the conman.
#microfiction #NMPrompts #NMV366 #薬屋のひとりごと @yon #Anime #Fantasy #Mystery
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