It is nearing eight o'clock in the evening.
The lights in Xigou City have dimmed.
Walking down the desolate street, Chen Yun sees that, besides a few places of entertainment where lights are always on, most others are dark.
Ding, ding.
The sound of beating drums is heard coming from the alleyway, gradually getting closer.
The curfew is approaching soon, and Chen Yun is preparing to quicken his pace to find a pharmacy and then head back to the Taoist sect as quickly as possible.
Two beaters walked towards him.
The slightly plump beater on the left scolded, "What kind of person are you?"
At night when it's quiet, the beaters who are on patrol have great power. If they find suspicious people on the streets, they have the authority to directly take them back to the magistrate's office for interrogation.
Chen Yun was well aware of this, so he proactively made a bow and said, "Uncle Officer, I am Chen Yun, a worker at the Taoist temple. I have been delayed in finding a pharmacy going down the mountain today. I hope you will understand."
"Oh, from the door of the Bell God."
"Young man, I have paid my respects."
Zhong Li Quan is well-known in the vicinity of Mount Zongshan.
The two beaters, upon hearing that Chen Yun was from the Daoist sect, immediately became courteous.
The taller beater on the right took the initiative to point the way, "Chen young man, there's a Ma's Pharmacy to your left up ahead. Remember to take your medicine and hurry back to the temple, as it's not very peaceful in Xigou City lately."
Chen Yun didn't give it much thought either, simply thanked the beater and continued on his way.
The sound of the beaters chatting comes from behind.
"Alas, there's some kind of demon around here. Several people have died recently."
"The good news is that the Taoist sects on Mount Zhongshan have instructed people to search for the demon's tracks. Once found, we should be able to eliminate it in one go..."
The voice of the beater gradually faded away.
However, Chen Yun couldn't help feeling a stir in his heart.
Demons?
One must be more careful.
Although I have the Zhong Que ancestral tablet, it may not necessarily protect my safety if I encounter powerful demons.
Chen Yun was very cautious, not wanting to lose his life over it.
Turning the corner at the entrance of the alley, the signboard of Ma's Pharmacy across the street was clearly visible.
Chen Yun walked across the cobblestone street and arrived at the entrance of the pharmacy.
There were two door couplets on the sides:
May there be no suffering in the world.
Rather than let medicines gather dust on the shelf.
The horizontal scroll reads: "Peace in the world."
Crossing the threshold, Chen Yun saw an elderly man of sixty and a young man sorting out herbs; it was evident they were preparing to close for the day.
However, what was surprising was that the elderly man saw Chen Yun and immediately stopped what he was doing, asking him courteously, "Young man, are you here to see a doctor? Or do you want to pick up some medicine?"
Chen Yun walked up to the counter and said, "Pick up some medicine."
The old man asked, "Do you have a prescription?"
Chen Yun replied, "Rhubarb, yam - each six jin; gooseberry, lycium fruit, wild soybean - each three jin; water chestnut skin - two jin; lingzhi - one and a half jin. The lingzhi should be first-class. Please package thirty packets for me."
The old man was rather surprised and said, "This formula is quite similar to the Sheng Jing Tang. However, Sheng Jing Tang doesn't require the use of lingzhi. Sheng Jing Tang is originally a herbal formula that replenishes essence and qi. With the addition of lingzhi, the medicine's nature is too strong. Young man, who gave you this formula? In my opinion, this formula is not suitable. Let me take your pulse for you. If there is indeed a stubborn disease plaguing you, I will prescribe a suitable formula for you."
Chen Yun, knowing his own business well, waved his hand and said, "I'm just bringing medicine for someone else. There's no need to examine. I'll follow the instructions they gave me for picking up the medicine. Thank you, doctor."
The old man didn't want to argue anymore, so he turned to the young man and said, "Zhi Rong, follow the prescription and prepare the medicine."
The young man replied, "Alright, Grandfather."
After a short wait, the medicine was ready.
Finally, the old man pulled out a scale and calculated, "It costs a total of 322 liang."
Chen Yun was shocked, "So expensive?"
He had previously calculated the price of lingzhi, which was about 250 liang of silver for 150 grams. He thought that the other herbs should be relatively inexpensive, so he initially thought that 260 liang of silver would be enough.
Who would have thought that the old man's price was more than 60 liang of silver.
This made Chen Yun think he had run into a black shop.
Fortunately, the old man explained in time, "First-class lingzhi is 1,000 liang of silver per jin. Lycium fruit is divided into four grades: Chao Yu, Gong Guo, Da Dong, and Kui Yuan. The Chao Yu and Gong Guo are enjoyed by the palace, and I don't have them in my pharmacy. The Da Dong is scarce and currently out of stock, so I'm using the lowest grade Kui Yuan for you. Fortunately, it's the Kui Yuan that makes it only 80 liang per jin; otherwise, the Da Dong is even more expensive. The rest of the herbs aren't very expensive; together they add up to 10 liang. Why don't you calculate and see if this amount is correct?"
Lycium fruit is 80 liang per jin?
Because the price of lycium fruit in modern times is not high, Chen Yun subconsciously thought it was not expensive in ancient times either.
Upon hearing the old man's explanation, Chen Yun immediately remembered that lycium fruit was one of the precious medicinal herbs in ancient times.
A hundred and twenty liang of silver isn't really expensive.
He used four and three quarters jin, which indeed cost an extra sixty liang of silver.
Confident of the price, Chen Yun indeed took out a gold ingot.
He paid with 32 liang of gold, leaving him with only 3 liang of gold in his pocket.
Adding up the remaining 6.5 liang of gold, he had a total of only 9.5 liang of gold, which wasn't enough to buy even one red snow persimmon fruit.
It seems that he'll have to wait until tomorrow when Mr. Wu sends someone to pick up the soap and settle the payment, then he can buy the red snow lychee fruit from Cai Jujin.
Thinking about it, Chen Yun left the pharmacy with the medicine.
As he walked outside the pharmacy, he was still subconsciously reflecting, "This cultivation is all about money. No wonder ancient cultivators emphasized the four characters of method, companion, wealth, and environment."
Luckily, the ingredients for the Sheng Jing Soup were almost ready.
Overall, Chen Yun was still very happy inside.
Stick the jia ma feng, and go back to the mountain all the way.
During the journey, he did not encounter the "demon" that the two beaters mentioned.
Chen Yun took a bath and went to bed early.
……
A new day arrives.
Chen Yun was no different from usual.
He first got up to practice kung fu and then had breakfast.
Perhaps it was the combination of the Five Elements Fist with the method of breathing and exhalation that consumed more of Chen Yun's after-Heaven essence.
After finishing his exercises, Chen Yun felt the hunger in his stomach again, and he quickly finished two or three bowls of thin rice and three or four steamed buns.
In the morning, he studied working in the medicine garden.
At noon, Chen Yun had just finished his lunch.
He was just about to rest for a bit before heading to the Hall of Formation to help with the work.
Suddenly, Master Tang came over and told Chen Yun that someone was looking for him outside the mountain gate.
Chen Yun thought it was Mr. Wu sending someone to pick up the goods, so he hurried out.
Outside the mountain gate.
Chen Yun looked at the pretty girl in a light green dress of fifteen or sixteen years old standing in front of him and felt familiar, but he couldn't remember for a moment.
The girl in the green dress was not polite at all; she pulled at his shirt collar immediately, saying, "Pay back the money!"
Oh!
It came to his mind.
He remembered; he had picked her pocket before.
At that time, there were two jin of gold inside, which he had divided with Lin Chen, Zhang Qian, and Li Feng.
Chen Yun had already thought about it before; if he encountered another girl, he would definitely return this money.
Now that she had really come to him, there was no reason not to return the money.
As for how this girl had come to find him, it was nothing strange.
Several days ago, when Chen Yun was walking down the mountain with Lin Chen, Zhang Qian, and Li Feng, he was wearing a Daoist robe. If someone had the intention to inquire, they could easily know that they were from the Passing of the Dao School in Jingyang Cave on Zhongshan Mountain.
The only thing that surprised Chen Yun was that the girl had come to find him nearly twenty days later, which seemed a bit too long.
He reached into his breast and took out the pouch, then pulled out the small jade bead and a piece of jin weighing one and a half liang. "Excuse me, miss, I accidentally lost three jade beads. I'll compensate you with another piece of jin weighing one and a half liang. I really feel sorry."
"I just want the jade beads!" The girl in the green dress was quite spirited, and her voice had gradually grown louder. "If you don't return my jade beads to me, I will go to your temple elders today and accuse you of deceiving me out of my money!"
Damn it!
Do you have to be so fierce?
I've already paid you back the money.
Chen Yun was still thinking about formally entering the transmission hall, afraid that the girl's shouts would be heard by Wang Laozhi and Zheng Wensun, and he would be considered a freeloader.
He hastily stopped the girl and said, "I'll pay for the jade beads!"
The girl in the green dress reached out, "Give it to me."
Chen Yun explained, "I don't have the jade beads right now..."
The girl in the green dress was not happy anymore and shouted again, "The elders of your temple come out and take a look! Someone is trying to cheat here..."
Chen Yun was startled by her shout and quickly reached out to cover her mouth, speaking quickly, "Miss, don't shout! Don't shout! Can you listen to me finish my words?"
The girl in the green dress struggled a few times, but couldn't break free from Chen Yun's hand. Eventually, she had to nod reluctantly.
Chen Yun finally let go of her hand and said, "I'll melt down the scattered gold for you to make jade beads tonight, and you can come back tomorrow, right?"
"You think I have nothing to do, running up and down the mountain for thirty or fifty miles in a day?" The girl in the green dress glared. "I'll give you an address, and you must deliver it by tonight, or I'll report to the officials and have you arrested!"
Chen Yun, who was already at a disadvantage, felt that there was something suspicious about the girl's losing money and coming to find him. He always felt like it was intentionally arranged, so he had no choice but to admit defeat and said, "Alright, I'll deliver the jade beads to you tomorrow before I finish my work."
The girl in the green dress finally let him go.
She gave Chen Yun the address.
At the end, as the girl in the green dress turned to leave, she spat at him and said, "Loathsome fellow!"
Hearing this, Chen Yun rolled his eyes repeatedly and thought in his heart, "If you hadn't shouted, would I have been in a hurry to cover your mouth?"
Just now, I bid farewell to the girl in the green dress.
Chen Yun was about to turn back.
Unexpectedly, three or five people came along the mountain path.
The leader riding an ass was Fang the Officer.
This time they were here to pick up the goods, and Chen Yun stopped in his footsteps to wait.
A minute later, Fang the Officer and Wu Lü, Wu Yóu, and several household guards came forward.
"Master Chen."
"Master Chen."
"Fang the Officer, good day."
Both parties exchanged greetings.
Chen Yun told them to wait outside the mountain gate, and he would go inside to get the soap himself.
Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly remembered something and turned his head to ask the crowd, "Oh, by the way, Fang the Officer, did you see a girl in a green dress on your way here?"
Fang the Officer was taken aback, "No, there's hardly any human habitation here. When we came, there was no one around."
Indeed!
There's something fishy about that woman!
There's only one path to the Transmission Temple, so if that woman wasn't causing any trouble, Fang the Officer and the others should have definitely encountered her. It's impossible for them to say they didn't see anyone.
Although Chen Yun didn't know what problems the green-skirted girl had, he could judge from what had just happened that she definitely had something else in mind.
He didn't say anything else.
He went inside to retrieve the remaining two hundred bars of soap and handed them over to Fang the Officer and the others.
Fang the Officer also asked Wu Lü to pay the money.
After that, they chatted politely a bit more and then Fang the Officer left with his people.
Gained another seventy liang of gold!
Chen Yun was quite happy, finally, he had enough money to buy red snow lychee fruits.
……
In the afternoon, in the Hall of Formation.
Because she thought of cultivating carefully and giving the red snow lychee fruits to Chen Yun, Cai Rujin had already arrived at the house early.
Even though she knew that Chen Yun could make a lot of money by making soap, Cai Rujin felt that selling things needed time, and Chen Yun couldn't quickly come up with 100 taels of silver to buy the lychee fruits.
Resultantly, he hadn't been sitting for long.
Chen Yun then walked straight to the counter and placed three large gold ingots down.
Cai Rujin was taken aback, "Young Master Chen, what is this…"
" Brother Cai," Chen Yun bowed and greeted at the same time, "Here are thirty liang of gold. I want to buy three red snow lychee fruits from you."
"Ah?" Cai Rujin said with a slight surprise, "How did you manage to earn thirty liang of gold in such a short time?"
Chen Yun was afraid that the other party might misunderstand that he cheated, so he told the truth: "The gold is from selling soap."
"I know it's from selling soap," Cai Rujin said in confusion, "But what I mean is, how did you sell so much soap in such a short time to make so much money?"
Chen Yun suddenly understood and said, "Oh, I sold all the soap to a large family."
Cai Rujin was still somewhat puzzled, "I heard that you made two or three hundred bars of soap, and no matter how much a large family likes this, they couldn't possibly buy hundreds at once."
Chen Yun explained in detail, "Ordinary wealthy households may not need two or three hundred bars of soap for their own use, but many wealthy households have shops. As long as they understand the value of the soap, they are naturally willing to spend a lot of money on it."
This time, Cai Rujin understood.
Indeed, the scented soap is even being pursued by high officials and nobles.
There's no shortage of demand for soap that works better. Anyone with a bit of business acumen knows how much profit can be made from buying those soaps.
As long as you find a wealthy family with a shop, you can sell it all at once.
Cai Rujin had never done business before, and in his fixed mindset, he always thought that goods should be sold one by one to maximize profits. He really didn't expect to find the "total distributor" strategy.
After realizing this, his gaze at Chen Yun became even more peculiar. He thought to himself, This kid not only has exceptional talent and is skilled in the peculiar and unusual, but also has a flexible business mind.
Talent!
The more Cai Rujin looked at Chen Yun, the more satisfied he became. His previous resentment towards Lin Chen for being expelled from the mountain had been completely erased in the light of his fondness for talent.
He waved his sleeve, and three bright red lychee fruits, as if bleeding, appeared on the long table in front of him.
Cai Rujin said, "Take it away."
Chen Yun was overjoyed and carefully put away the red snow lychee fruits.
He was about to say a few thanks.
Cai Rujin then pointed to the ingots of gold, "Also take the ingots of gold back."
Chen Yun was startled, "Are these not the money to buy the red snow lychee fruits?"
Cai Rujin smiled and made up an excuse, "The saying that one red snow lychee fruit costs a hundred liang of silver is just a test for you. Now that you've passed the test, I naturally won't take your money."
Indeed, it wasn't a test.
He had given Chen Yun a hard time because Lin Chen was expelled from the mountain.
It's just that Chen Yun really made so much money with his personal wisdom. Otherwise, if Wang Laozhi and Zheng Wensun knew that he was cheating the workers with their money, they would certainly curse him as if he were a dog.
To tell the truth, what Chen Yun has been doing these days has made Cai Rujin, who had previously viewed people through colored glasses, very impressed.
He really didn't expect Chen Yun to be so capable; in just a few days, he had invented soap and earned three hundred liang of silver.
Cai Rujin secretly praised Chen Yun for his wisdom.
Chen Yun was unaware of his inner thoughts. Seeing that he had obtained the red snow lychee fruits without spending a single cent, he felt extremely happy in his heart.
He thanked repeatedly.
The required medicinal materials are finally gathered!
The refined spirit soup can be brewed tonight, and it is hoped to make the "Lian Gu Hua Jing"!
