Great Qian Calendar, Year 808.
First day of June.
The weather was clear, with gentle winds and bright sunshine.
It had been four days since Yang Dingtian's shop opened, and now Wild Dog and Er Ma had already mastered the various procedures of the shop.
The shop had also gotten on track over the past two days, not as busy as the first two days.
During the day, Wild Dog and Er Ma took turns selling medicine and grinding herbs inside.
Zhou Chen came by every afternoon to mix the prepared herbal powders into semi-finished products according to ratio.
They're considered semi-finished because they hadn't been made into pills yet.
Zhou Chen was now too lazy to handle it himself.
He only made the core parts, while the grinding of the herbs in the beginning and the final pressing and drying of the semi-finished products into pills were done by Wild Dog and Er Ma.
Within four days, after considering material costs, labor, and other expenses, the net profit was two hundred eighty-six taels and four qian.
"Making seventy taels on average per day, I get sixty percent, which is forty-two taels."
Zhou Chen was quite satisfied, even though it might decline later, it wouldn't drop too much.
Yang Dingtian was a consumable item.
Besides, once you've experienced the top, who would want to go back to the mundane?
In other words, this thing could become addictive and indispensable.
Zhou Chen's regular customers would keep growing until reaching the limit of Qinghe City, so during this process, Zhou Chen's daily income might even grow.
Zhou Chen took out two hundred fifty taels of silver from the account.
The majority of this silver had always been with Zhou Chen, as he wasn't comfortable leaving it at the shop.
He would take the day's earnings home with him every day.
After withdrawing these two hundred fifty taels, they were no longer on the books, with one hundred fifty being his, which he could truly pocket.
One hundred taels belonged to Zhang Long.
In the afternoon.
Zhou Chen met Zhang Long at the shop, giving him the ledger and one hundred taels of silver:
"Brother Long, this is last month's earnings, totaling two hundred eighty-six taels and four qian, with thirty-six taels and four qian kept for contingencies, and the remaining is our profit!"
"Brother Long gets forty percent, exactly one hundred taels!"
Zhang Long accepted the silver without ceremony, didn't look at the ledger, and laughed:
"Don't I trust you?"
"Just four days since opening, and you've earned this much, that's impressive!"
"It's all thanks to Brother Long's support; otherwise, opening the shop smoothly wouldn't have been so easy!"
Zhou Chen smiled humbly.
With this shop now, his pocket was finally getting ample. After all, his cultivation relied heavily on enhancement points.
And in four days, Zhou Chen's strength increased rapidly.
During these four days, Zhou Chen gained about five thousand Wind and Moon Points because he wasn't idling during the daytime; he and Ji Fengxia were working hard in the Wind and Moon Treasure Mirror.
However, this also meant that even with his loose robe, he seemed a bit protruding in the front.
This left many people marveling at Zhou Chen's extraordinary talent, terrifying indeed.
This news only boosted Yang Dingtian's sales, as countless people admired him, hoping to become like Zhou Chen.
All of Zhou Chen's Wind and Moon Points from the past few days were added to Yi Arrow Skill, causing his cultivation to skyrocket, advancing to Body Refining Fourth Layer Bone Refining Realm.
His tendon refining was complete, tendons like dragons, bones like refined steel, with a surge in physical defenses, blood and energy, and strength exceeding fifty thousand jin.
Someone like Zhang Long could easily be dealt with single-handedly.
"Let's go, today you must come to my place, and we brothers shall have a good drink!"
Zhang Long was in high spirits.
One hundred taels wasn't much to him, but that was just four days' profit.
If the earnings continue like this, wouldn't it be more than seven hundred taels a month?
That's a considerable income.
Not to mention the silver, Zhou Chen's skills are quite evident!
"Alright!"
Zhou Chen agreed readily, instructing Wild Dog to inform Qin Hongyu, then left with Zhang Long.
Wild Dog and Er Ma had made quite a few taels of silver these past few days and worshipped Zhou Chen immensely, full of enthusiasm, completing everything Zhou Chen entrusted to them meticulously.
They also found a tutor in their free time to learn reading and writing.
Shortly after, Zhou Chen followed Zhang Long to the front of a luxurious mansion.
Zhang Long raised his hand and knocked on the door, which was opened by a servant.
Upon seeing Zhang Long, the servant promptly nodded and bowed, then loudly announced:
"The master is back!"
Zhang Long ignored the servant, showing Zhou Chen in with a gesture:
"Please, come in!"
"After you, Brother Long!"
Following Zhang Long into the manor, Zhou Chen saw a group of lovely, elegant women coming up at a brisk pace.
The first to catch his eye was a gorgeous woman in red, graceful and voluptuously enchanting, swaying her waist like a snake, exuding an alluring charm.
The woman couldn't see her own toes without lowering her head, a true beauty in the mortal realm.
This woman was a peerless beauty among them.
Moreover, her figure and demeanor were equally impressive, tall with a mature charm, truly a top-notch beauty, most beloved by scoundrels.
"Greetings to sister-in-law!"
Zhou Chen cupped his fists courteously, as his keen sense of smell detected a strong scent of milk, indicating Zhang Long had recently become a father.
The gorgeous woman in red was taken aback, then smiled sweetly, hurriedly saying:
"Master Zhou, you jest, I am not the sister-in-law, just the master's maid, Hongxiu!"
Zhou Chen: "..."
Since Hongxiu has given Zhang Long a child, even if she's not the main wife, she should at least be considered a concubine.
It's not wrong for him to call her sister-in-law.
"Ah, Xiao Chen, I don't have a main wife in my residence, and I haven't planned on marrying!"
Zhang Long smiled, looking at Zhou Chen:
"In my view, getting married is too troublesome. Isn't it easier to just find a servant-girl when needed?"
"In fact, many martial artists don't like getting married, do you know why?"
Zhou Chen was startled, thought for a moment, and cautiously asked:
"Is it because they are afraid of getting dragged down?"
"Exactly!"
Zhang Long nodded: "A wife has status and will probably manage you if you marry. Even if she doesn't, you'd still invest a lot of emotions and energy."
"Moreover, your enemies might use your wife to threaten you, which becomes your weak spot. And when escaping, she becomes a burden!"
"If you have no feelings for your wife, and can discard her while fleeing, then why marry? If you want a woman, isn't it better to directly buy a servant-girl?"
"Servant-girls come at your call, won't argue with you, they'll only serve you wholeheartedly, please you, and during an escape, you don't have to care about them, nor worry about your enemies using them to threaten you!"
"Brother Long, you're right!"
Zhou Chen nodded, feeling that being alone means freedom, able to do whatever he wants, without someone nagging.
As for venting desires, finding some beautiful servant-girls is more satisfying than marrying a wife, right?
Servant-girls come at your call, do whatever you ask, anytime, anywhere.
They won't frustrate you, they'll only bring you joy.
After all, if they do frustrate, the servant-girl might lose her life.
This is a world without human rights.
Life often is really as insignificant as grass.
The beautiful woman in red, Hongxiu, stood by serving elegantly, her smile unchanged, as if she had not heard what Zhang Long just said.
At this moment.
The singing and laughter from behind also gathered around, Zhou Chen glanced around, there were about ten, all equally beauties.
Their ages varied roughly between eighteen and twenty-seven or eight.
Some were gentle and graceful, like noble ladies.
Some were playful and lively, agile and cute.
Some were cold and tall, full of a dominant aura.
Some were charming, voluptuous and curvy.
"Brother Long really knows how to enjoy life!"
Looking at this group of beauties each with their own uniqueness, Zhou Chen was shaken inside, this is the true paradise of tenderness.
"Prepare the dishes and wine, bring out my treasured wine, today I want to get drunk with Brother Chen!"
Zhang Long patted Zhou Chen's shoulder, leading him to the hall.
Hongxiu and four or five other beautiful servant-girls followed behind, while others went to prepare the dishes and wine.
Arriving at the luxurious hall carpeted in fur, Zhang Long gestured with his hand, smiling:
"Brother Chen, please sit, make yourself at home in elder brother's house!"
"Thank you, Brother Long!"
Zhou Chen nodded with a smile.
"Brother Chen previously mentioned, when women lower their heads, not seeing their toes, they are the ultimate beauties!"
Zhang Long's gaze swept over the full-figured and alluring servant-girls, instructing:
"Hongxiu, Cui Zhu, both of you take good care of Brother Chen!"
"Yes, Master!"
Hongxiu and Cui Zhu brought a breeze of fragrance as they came to Zhou Chen's side, kneeling down on either side, their ample figures pressing up against Zhou Chen's arms.
"Brother Long, how is this appropriate?"
Zhou Chen hurriedly declined, having heard in his previous life about ancient officials and nobles using concubines to entertain guests, using servant-girls was nothing in comparison.
But he had smelled the milky scent on Hongxiu, she might have already given Zhang Long a child.
"Brother Chen, are you still shy? I heard you had quite the fun at Snow Moon Square!"
Zhang Long teased.
"That's different..."
Zhou Chen couldn't help but ask the question in his heart: "Brother Long, doesn't Sister Hongxiu need to take care of the child later?"
Zhang Long, Hongxiu, Cui Zhu, and others were all taken aback.
"Hahaha!"
Zhang Long quickly regained his senses, couldn't help holding his belly, laughing:
"Oh, I see, you misunderstood!"
"Hongxiu hasn't had a child, I think you might have smelled something on her, actually, it's just from taking a special pill!"
Zhou Chen was dumbstruck, today really opened his eyes.
Never thought Zhang Long liked this kind of thing.
Even using special medicine.
Truly knows how to play.
"Poverty limits my imagination!"
Zhou Chen suddenly understood why farmers thought the emperor used a golden hoe to farm.
"Brother Chen, did you think I did this just for fun?"
Zhang Long looked at Zhou Chen, speaking earnestly:
"As the saying goes, 'put on your best effort,' this implies that feeding raises strength!"
"So many martial artists keep a few wet nurses at home, and naturally, medicines that can produce milk have emerged!"
"Tonight you should try it!"
...