Chapter 294 - 291: A New Hundred Arts Inheritance
After taking care of Lu Chengfeng, Yang Shen began planning his trip to the Si Realm.
Traveling to an Exotic Realm required the backing of the government, a major corporation, or a prominent family. Yang Shen’s personal reputation was sufficient, but Changshen Biotechnology’s was not. More importantly, he didn’t want anyone to know his true purpose, which made going through the Deng Family the perfect cover.
His current plan was to go during the winter break, about a month from now, under the guise of investigating an "herb hybridization investment."
His main objective was, of course, to acquire the Dragonification Experiment data from the Great Cloud Marsh, but the investment pretense wasn’t entirely fabricated. If there were legitimate business opportunities, he could also do some business in the Si Realm.
Although the quality of Spirit Plants in the Si Realm was far inferior to those on Cyan Blue due to the low Source Concentration, they still had commercial value as supplementary ingredients or common medicines.
Deng Ming said, "The Si Realm is different from the Noon Realm. Yanhua has been developing it for several hundred years. Those Yanhua Bases are no different from remote county towns back home. As long as you don’t go to a few specific areas, it’s quite safe."
Yang Shen thought, ’And I’m heading straight for one of those "specific areas." ’
"Is there anything I need to watch out for?"
Every Exotic Realm was vastly different, with its own ecosystem, culture, and even laws of heaven and earth.
From his experience in the Noon Realm, Yang Shen fully understood that the dangers of an Exotic Realm didn’t necessarily come from direct confrontations of strength, but more from the "unknown" and the "environment."
Deng Ming spread his hands. "I haven’t been there many times myself. If I had to say something... be careful of the locals."
"The locals? Aren’t the Si Realm People very weak? They can’t even reach the Innate stage?"
Deng Ming nodded. "They are weak, but malice doesn’t distinguish between the strong and the weak. They could poison you, trip you up, deliberately give you wrong directions, or sell you out. It’s all possible."
"In the nearly thousand years since the Si Realm was discovered, only in the last 200 years during the New Yanhua period have the methods been relatively ’gentle.’ Before that... there’s actually a deep-seated resentment. You have to be careful."
Yang Shen nodded.
The opening ceremony concluded smoothly, and onlookers flooded in. Because the pre-opening hype had been more than sufficient and Yang Shen’s reputation around Jiangti was so prominent, countless people waved cash in the air, ready to spend their hard-earned money.
Yanglin’s Pharmacy’s business was divided into two main areas: "Standardized Supplements" and "Custom Prescriptions."
The former were prepared in advance, while the latter required going upstairs for a consultation, where an old master would diagnose the patient through observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking before creating a custom formula.
As for the price, the cheapest standardized Supplements were around 2,000 yuan, while the most expensive custom services could cost tens of thousands a week, depending on the treatment course.
Yang’s Disciples could receive a 15% discount.
The shop gradually became overcrowded, packed with people. The first day’s revenue was expected to be the highest, likely reaching several million.
After all, on Cyan Blue, Supplements were extremely expensive.
Yang Shen felt like there wasn’t even room to stand, and he was constantly being surrounded. He decided to just leave and wait for the final tally later.
Here, the reek of money felt suffocating.
He preferred to count his money in peace and quiet.
————
「That night, at the Yang Residence.」
Tonight was the grand opening of the Great Medicine Workshop, and it was also New Year’s Eve.
The Yang Family had no other plans; they were all holed up, settling accounts and counting cash.
In the inner courtyard, seven or eight people were holding calculators, and the automated voice readouts were endless.
"Plus 2,888."
"Plus 3,450."
"Plus 25,000."
The business of a brick-and-mortar store was all about tangible results you could see and touch, a sound that was especially pleasant to the ear.
"CLEAR! CLEAR! CLEAR!"
Yang Shen heard a dissonant sound and whipped his head around to see Tian Zihan scratching his head in embarrassment.
"Master... My fingers are too thick. I keep pressing the wrong button."
Yang Shen rolled his eyes. "Pressing it once is enough. Any more is bad luck... Forget it. Go do something else. Making you use a calculator is just asking too much of you."
’His fingers are as thick as carrots.’
Tian Zihan could only resign from his post and head to the backyard to plow the fields.
About ten minutes later, Lin Yuebai appeared in the darkness, her face beaming with joy. "Patriarch, it’s calculated! Take a guess at the first day’s total revenue!"
Yang Shen said, "A hundred million!"
Lin Yuebai was speechless.
"You’re no fun. Who guesses like that? There’s no surprise anymore... Our total sales for today were 6.38 million!"
Lin Yuebai presented a small notebook, the records inside crystal clear.
Of that, 1,123 units of "Standardized Supplements" were sold, with an average price per customer of around 3,000 yuan, for a total of 3.4 million in sales.
The remaining three million came from "High-End Service Packages." Forty-two of these were sold, and a few particularly aggressive students who weren’t short on cash directly prepaid 200,000 yuan to experience the "Champion Scholar Flavor Package."
’There really are a lot of rich people at Jiangti.’
’It feels like the school is full of poor slobs, but it’s just that the poor slobs are the loudest.’
The first day of business is always the strongest. In the future, the steady stream of income certainly wouldn’t be several million every day, but this was still a good omen.
The gross profit margin was about 70%. Don’t think that’s high; major pharmaceutical companies could even reach 90%. That’s just how profitable selling Supplements on Cyan Blue was.
Because people couldn’t just chew on raw herbs, the company had a stranglehold on the value-added aspect.
This was also why the Yang Family wanted to expand into the "end-user market" rather than just being satisfied with selling raw herbs.
Of course, expenses like rent, personnel, utilities, and other miscellaneous costs hadn’t been factored in yet, but given the current trend, those were all minor details.
For a brick-and-mortar store that can get up and running—and run well—the extra expenses are always the smaller part of the equation.
How many times did it need to be said? You don’t let the tail wag the dog.
Yang Shen nodded, very satisfied with the day’s earnings.
He had specifically chosen to open on December 31st, just before New Year’s Eve, for a reason. If his calculations were correct, the main quest should be completed as soon as the clock struck midnight tonight.
Including herb sales, the Yang Family’s monthly income had now reached 10 million, and the number of long-term retainers had reached 50.
This meant that tonight, the Yang Family would obtain another "Hundred Skills of Cultivation" inheritance!
"Now that the counting’s done, stop working! Set up the tables, let’s have a late-night snack and wait for the new year!"
...
Late at night, the lively celebration gave way to silence.
Among the Yang Family, those who slept, slept; those who cultivated, cultivated; and those who practiced martial arts, practiced martial arts.
As for Yang Shen, he returned to his room to rest for a bit.
It was already one in the morning. His disciples had come to help with the Great Medicine Workshop’s opening and ended up celebrating New Year’s Eve here, but tomorrow they would all be shooed back to their own homes.
’Have to be filial to both sides, right?’
Yang Shen closed his eyes and opened the system interface in his mind.
Just after midnight, the system had already completed its calculations. The main quest was passed successfully.
"Main Quest: Work hard at business management to enrich the family’s resources. Monthly income must not be less than 1,000 Spirit Stones (1,287/1,000). The number of family retainers must not be less than 50 (56/50)."
"Quest Reward: One random Hundred Skills of Cultivation inheritance (includes basic techniques and Magic)."
Among all the quest rewards, Yang Shen felt that "Inherited Family Treasures" and "Hundred Skills of Cultivation" were the most valuable options.
Each one represented a deepening of his foundation and an increase in wondrous Xuanqi.
The Spirit Plant Inheritance and Array Inheritance had both helped the Yang Family tremendously. The former, in particular, had laid the financial groundwork that led to their current roaring success.
But having developed this far, Yang Shen was no longer so anxious about the quality of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation he might draw. He had the feeling he’d be happy with whatever he got.
Of course, if he had to choose, one of the "Four Great Forbidden Techniques of Cultivation" would be a bit more impactful.
Yang Shen silently chanted "Claim" in his mind.
The next moment, a result that could not be appealed, could not be rescinded, and was supposedly random but utterly inscrutable, had already appeared.
And this time, the "Hundred Arts Inheritance" the Yang Family received was...
"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the ’Spiritual Building’ inheritance. Basic techniques and Magic are included."
A vast stream of information poured into Yang Shen’s mind!
Spiritual Building! It was actually an inheritance related to building and construction?
He definitely hadn’t expected this.
So-called "Spiritual Building" was the sum total of a Cultivator’s architectural skills.
On the Cultivation Side, Sects were mostly located in places with dense Spiritual Qi, deliberately avoiding areas where mortals gathered. They could be found deep in the mountains, on sheer cliffs, or in abysses deep underground.
But Cultivators were still human, after all. With their lofty status and immense Power, how could they be willing to brave the elements like savages?
That’s what you call a Loose Cultivator! A dog’s life is better than that!
To build magnificent, even breathtaking, Sects in these remote and uninhabited places naturally required "construction abilities" that were different from the mundane world. This was how the Spiritual Building Inheritance came to be.
In the Cultivation Realm, Spiritual Building was relatively important but not a prestigious skill. Because it wasn’t good for combat and didn’t help with one’s cultivation level, it was considered drudgery for lower-level cultivators.
A Sect always needed to support some people skilled in "Spiritual Building," but they held no real status.
After all, Cultivation Sects sought the "Great Dao" and "influence," not "productivity."
But then again, wasn’t "Spirit Plant" cultivation also considered "drudgery for lower-level cultivators"?
Sure enough, after Yang Shen’s initial interpretation of the information...
’This "Spiritual Building" is freaking awesome!’
’A single person can erect a building? Productivity is maxed out!’