12dz Chapter 11: Shops
Chapter 11: Shops
After Lu Sui made great contributions to the mine, he was rewarded by the Zhao family and transferred away from the dangerous mine to this Hundred Herbs Garden.
The Hundred Herbs Garden is the Zhao family's medicinal herb garden, where dozens of different medicinal herbs are planted.
To refine elixirs, one must first understand the herbs, including their medicinal properties, characteristics, and suitable growing period.
Lu Sui stood beside a field of medicinal herbs, chanting incantations and making hand seals. He joined two fingers together and shot out a beam of golden light. In an instant, a white mist rose into the air above the medicinal herb field and quickly gathered into clouds.
A light drizzle fell.
After watering the medicinal herbs, Lu Sui sat down to the side and took out the "Compendium of Materia Medica" tucked into his waistband to read it carefully.
Just as he was engrossed in watching, a vermilion shuttle flew in from afar.
Standing on it was a female cultivator, dressed in white with a jade belt around her waist, with delicate features and a faint smile on her lips.
"Lu Sui." Her voice was melodious and sweet, like the first cry of a fledgling bird.
Lu Sui looked up and saw a familiar face. He quickly stood up, bowed, and said:
"Miss Zhao."
The woman before them was named Zhao Nanxu, the fourth young lady of the Zhao family. She had the cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Refining and was quite knowledgeable in alchemy and talisman making. Moreover, she was respectful to scholars and was well-received by the Zhao family's retainers.
Zhao Nanxu nodded slightly, her gaze falling on Lu Sui's hand holding the book, a hint of satisfaction in her eyes, and she slowly spoke:
"Someone wants to see you. Come with me."
"Someone wants to see me? Who could it be?"
Lu Sui frowned slightly, pondered for a while, but had no answer.
So he jumped onto the flying shuttle, stood in a corner, and kept a certain distance from Zhao Nanxu.
This gesture pleased Zhao Nanxu, and she slightly tugged at the corner of her lips before pursing them again, and then took the initiative to mention it:
"How's your reading of 'The Compendium of Materia Medica' going?"
Lu Sui was somewhat surprised, but still answered honestly:
"I've memorized most of it."
Zhao Nanxu nodded slightly: "The medicine exam will begin in half a month. Are you confident?"
The Medicine Examination is a selection mechanism used by the Zhao family for their retainers. It is held every three years, and those who pass the examination can truly get involved in alchemy.
"I'm fairly confident," Lu Sui said with a self-assured smile.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Nanxu said no more.
The shuttle sped towards a courtyard, where the Zhao family received guests.
While Lu Sui was still in mid-air, he saw a person sitting in the courtyard. The face was familiar; it was Li Wu.
He was overjoyed. He hadn't seen Li Wu for a long time since he came to the Zhao family, and he really missed him.
"Go."
Lu Sui cupped his hands in greeting, then jumped down from a height of three zhang and landed in the courtyard.
"Brother Li Wu!"
"Brother Lu Sui."
The two engaged in a lively conversation, recounting their experiences over the past period.
Then, Lu Sui inquired about the important matter:
"Brother Li Wu, what brings you to the Zhao family? Have you also become a retainer of the Zhao family?"
Li Wu smiled and waved his hand, explaining:
"I wish to discuss a business deal with the Zhao family."
"What kind of business?"
"Borrow a shop from the Zhao family."
Lu Sui immediately understood, and nodded repeatedly:
"Your beast-repelling powder is quite popular now; you could definitely open a shop with it."
"How is the situation?"
Li Wu blew on the warm spirit wine and shook his head slightly:
"The Zhao family has not yet seen me."
He arrived here yesterday, and after explaining his purpose, the Zhao family told him to wait quietly.
Upon hearing this, Lu Sui pondered for a moment before speaking:
"The Zhao family probably wants you to be eager to see them so they can lower your price."
Li Wu nodded. He had naturally noticed this, so he chose to come and see Lu Sui first.
This is a test of patience; whoever gets impatient first will be at a disadvantage in the negotiations.
"Let's not talk about that, let's drink!"
…………
a few days later.
Li Wu, who had been eating and drinking for free at the Zhao family's house, finally met the Zhao family members.
The person he was discussing things with was Zhao Qianyuan.
This relieved Li Wuzhong slightly; conversations would be much smoother if the person was an acquaintance.
Seeing Li Wu leisurely drinking and admiring the fish in the courtyard, Zhao Qianyuan smiled helplessly:
"Fellow Daoist Li is quite patient."
Li Wu smiled calmly: "This place is much better than my courtyard in the market."
Taking the opportunity, Zhao Qianyuan said, "If Fellow Daoist Li is willing, he may stay here for a long time."
"Then there's no need."
Li Wu stopped, thinking to himself:
"Wow, how come I didn't know this person was so good at finding opportunities?"
He dared not continue the small talk and steered the conversation back to the main topic:
"I'd like to rent one of the Zhao family's shops. Is that possible?"
Zhao Qianyuan took a sip of the spiritual wine and slowly said:
"Of course, but my family wants 30% of the shop's profits."
"impossible."
Li Wu refused without hesitation.
He's already given Ning Que 30% of the profits; if he gives the Zhao family another 30%, his gains will be too low.
"At most 10%."
"Two and a half percent!"
"One-tenth."
"Twenty percent."
"Take 15 percent, that's my bottom line. If the Zhao family isn't willing, then I'll have to look for other powerful families," Li Wu said solemnly.
Zhao Qianyuan was silent for a moment. After he bought the Beast-Driving Powder, the alchemists in his clan had analyzed it, but they found that most of the ingredients were not available to them, and could not be found in Chishan either.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have met with Li Wu today.
"Can."
"However, we will choose the shop location."
"Can."
Li Wu didn't care where the shop was located, and he didn't believe the Zhao family would really give him a corner.
After all, the Zhao family has a 15% profit margin.
…………
After the matter of the shops in Pukou Market was settled, Li Wu did not linger and took his leave.
"Next, we'll go to Jianxiawu, have a chat with the Qi family, and then bring back the first batch of animal bones and medicinal herbs from Ning Que."
Returning to Jianxiawu.
Li Wu first went to the inner city to find Qi Yu.
However, to Li Wu's surprise, the person looking after the shop was not Qi Yu, but a middle-aged man who bore a resemblance to Qi Yu.
It must be one of their elders.
Li Wu entered the shop, and the middle-aged man looked up and called out:
"Fellow Daoist, do you need the essence blood of demonic beasts?"
Li Wu cupped his hands in greeting and said:
"Fellow Daoist, is Qi Yu not in the shop?"
The middle-aged man stared at Li Wu's face for a moment, then muttered:
"Hmm, very handsome..."
"So you're Li Wu, the one Qi Yu mentioned who wanted to use my shop to sell spiritual items?"
"It is indeed me," Li Wu nodded.
Qi Yang nodded slightly and asked:
"I'm lending you my shop, but what will I get in return?"
"All spiritual items will be sold under the Qi family's name, and your family will receive 20% of the profits."
Li Wu didn't know much about the Yue Kingdom and didn't want to easily expose his reputation to those powerful families and immortal sects.
"A 20% profit margin is a bit low," Qi Yang said, squinting.
"How about 30%?"
"Can."
After thinking for a moment, Li Wu nodded in agreement.
There was no other choice for him besides the Qi family.
Afterwards, the two discussed their respective matters.
After everything was settled, Li Wu left Jianxiawu.
After obtaining a batch of materials from Ning Que, he returned to his small courtyard in Pukoufang Market.
He then summoned He Yu and several others.
Li Wu sat on a stone chair, pointed to several large boxes in the open space in the courtyard, and said:
"These are the raw materials for grinding the beast-repelling powder. You can grind them here for the next few days."
In the following days, Li Wu meditated and cultivated in the house.
As for He Yu and the others, they would grind ink in the courtyard during the day and go home in the evening.
Next, we waited for the Zhao family's notification.