Chapter 623
Fu Shaoping stood behind the counter, veins protruding from his thick arms, and was using a jade knife to slice the entire block of "Thousand-Year Cold Marrow" into thin slices. Every time he cut, cold air would emanate, causing the monks in the front row to marvel.
"Old Fu, do you have any stock of 'Ice Heart Pills'?" A bearded physical cultivator squeezed to the front, his voice so loud that it shook the medicine cabinet.
"The last three bottles!" Fu Shaoping pointed back without even raising his head, "Xiao Qi, get the medicine for this fellow Taoist!"
Lin Xiaoqi responded, tiptoed, and nimbly jumped onto the top shelf of the medicine shelf. He had improved his skills a lot in the past six months, and his body became more and more flexible, moving around the crowded store like a fish.
Nangong Wan sat quietly in the inner hall, holding a pen in her bare hands, marking on an account book. In front of her stood several wealthy customers in luxurious clothes, all of whom were deacons sent by various sects to make purchases.
"Fairy Nangong," a white-haired old woman said respectfully, "I am here on the orders of the headmaster to order a hundred bottles of 'Qingxin Pills'. I wonder if you can get them?"
Nangong Wan shook her head gently: "Sorry, this month's quota is full." She tapped her fingertips on the abacus, "If you are not in a hurry, you can reserve next month's quota first."
Upon hearing this, the old woman quickly took out a bulging bag of spirit stones and said, "This is the deposit!"
There was a sudden commotion outside the shop. It turned out that a young cultivator had taken the "Qi Gathering Pill" he had just bought and had broken through a small realm on the spot. He was excitedly showing his skyrocketing spiritual power to the crowd.
"The elixirs from Lingdan Pavilion are indeed worthy of their reputation!" The monk's face flushed and his voice trembled.
This shout didn't matter, the people in line immediately squeezed forward a few more points. Lin Xiaoqi was busy maintaining order: "Everyone, don't worry! Everyone has a share! Ouch, who stepped on my foot!"
Seeing this, Fu Shaoping laughed and suddenly took out a large wine jar from under the counter: "The first ten customers today will receive a glass of 'Lingshen Wine' to help the medicine work!"
At this moment, cheers suddenly broke out at the front of the team.
At noon, Lin Xiaoqi was so tired that he collapsed directly on the pile of medicinal materials. He was just about to take a breath when he suddenly heard a muffled "boom" coming from the alchemy room in the backyard - another furnace of elixirs was ready.
"Xiao Qi! Don't be lazy!" Fu Shaoping's roar shook the beams of the house, "Go and put the new 'Foundation Building Pill' on the shelf!"
Nangong Wan appeared beside him at some point and handed him a cup of steaming medicinal tea: "Drink slowly, don't burn yourself."
Lin Xiaoqi held the teacup, looked at the bustling crowd in the shop, and suddenly smiled foolishly: "Master, should we consider opening a branch?"
Fu Shaoping wiped the ash off his beard, his eyes flashed: "What's the hurry? Finish this batch of orders first!"
As the sun sets, lanterns in the market place light up one after another. The door of the Spiritual Pill Pavilion has not been closed for a long time - there are still a few guests who have come from afar begging for an exception, hoping to sell a few more bottles of pills.
Nangong Wan sighed softly and took out a small jade box from her sleeve: "Here are a few 'Ning Shen Pills' that I have kept privately. If you don't mind, please give them to me."
The monks felt as if they had found a treasure and left with many thanks.
Lin Xiaoqi locked the door and suddenly found that the threshold was piled with gifts - spiritual fruits, brocade, and even a few letters smelling of perfumed powder.
"Tsk," Fu Shaoping kicked the gifts, "Remember to put them all in the warehouse tomorrow."
The night wind blew by, and the copper bells on the eaves swayed gently. The tired but satisfied figures of the three people gradually lengthened under the moonlight.
The market town was still bustling, but there were no longer long queues in front of Lingdan Pavilion.
Fu Shaoping sat behind the counter, holding a newly refined "Xuanyuan Pill" in his hand, frowning slightly. He looked up at Nangong Wan and said in a deep voice: "If this continues, I'm afraid we will be dragged down by the orders."
Nangong Wan nodded gently, and ran his fingertips across the account book: "Last month, we received 300 orders, and the time it took us to make the pills was less than three hours."
Lin Xiaoqi was walking towards the backyard with a bunch of herbs in his arms. Hearing this, he paused: "Master, do you mean... that we should close the store?"
"Close the store?" Fu Shaoping snorted, "Not really." He stood up, walked to the door, tore off the wooden sign that said "honesty to all children and the elderly", turned it over, and carved four words on it again -
Nangong Wan raised the corners of her lips slightly and waved her hand. Several bronze lamps in the store suddenly lit up, illuminating the dozen or so bottles of elixirs left on the medicine shelf, each of which was glowing with a lustrous luster.
"From today on," she said in a cold voice, "Spiritual Pill Pavilion will only sell ten orders per day, and each order is limited to one bottle."
Lin Xiaoqi's eyes widened: "Then...what about those old customers?"
Fu Shaoping grinned: "Buy it if you want!"
-
The next day, the market town.
As soon as the door of Lingdan Pavilion opened, several regular customers rushed in impatiently.
"Master Fu! The same old rules, ten bottles of 'Qi Gathering Pills'!" A monk in brocade clothes took out a bag of spirit stones.
Fu Shaoping didn't even raise his eyelids: "Only one bottle is sold today."
"What?!" The monk's face changed, "I booked it three months in advance!"
Nangong Wan walked forward slowly, tapped the counter with his fingertips, and an invisible restriction appeared: "The rules are set. If you don't want to wait, you can go to another place."
The monk's face flushed, and he was about to explode, but he saw Lin Xiaoqi smiling and handing him a cup of spiritual tea: "Don't worry, senior, the quality of the 'Qi Gathering Pill' that Master has just refined is even better than before. One bottle is equivalent to the medicinal power of three bottles in the past!"
The monk took the pill doubtfully, but as soon as he opened the cork, a strong medicinal fragrance filled the air, which actually caused the spiritual power in his body to circulate on its own!
"This..." He looked at Fu Shaoping in shock, "There are nine Danwen?!"
Fu Shaoping snorted and laughed: "Now you know why the sale is restricted?"
-
Half a month later, Lingdan Pavilion's reputation rose instead of falling.
Ten bottles of elixir were sold out almost immediately after the store opened. Some monks even waited outside the store for days in advance just to get a bottle.
Fu Shaoping and Nangong Wan finally had more time to practice.
In the alchemy room in the backyard, the furnace was full of fire. Fu Shaoping sat cross-legged, with spiritual energy surging around him. It was obvious that his cultivation had improved. Nangong Wan was quietly regulating his breathing, with a wisp of alchemy fire wrapped around his fingertips, and was deducing a new alchemy formula.
Lin Xiaoqi ran in with a bunch of spiritual herbs in his arms, and said excitedly, "Master! Today, someone is offering three times the price to buy the 'Foundation Building Pill'!"
Fu Shaoping didn't even open his eyes: "Let him wait."
Nangong Wan smiled slightly: "Xiao Qi, it's time for you to practice meditation. Can you do your homework today?"
Lin Xiaoqi scratched his head and smiled: "I'll go right away!"
As the sun sets, the door of Lingdan Pavilion slowly closes.
No more piles of orders, no more overwhelming busyness.
Fu Shaoping carried a pot of wine, sat on a stone bench in the backyard, looked at the sunset in the sky, and suddenly smiled and said, "That's more like it."
Nangong Wan hummed softly, brushed his fingertips across a freshly picked spiritual herb, and raised his lips slightly. Lin Xiaoqi squatted beside the herb garden, carefully watering the spiritual herbs, muttering: "What kind of pill should I refine tomorrow..."
The night breeze blew gently, and the copper bells on the eaves of the Dan Pavilion swayed slightly, making crisp sounds.
This time, they finally found their own rhythm.
Fu Shaoping stood in front of the counter, tapping his fingers on the table, frowning slightly: "Xiao Qi, go post the job opening notice."
Lin Xiaoqi was squatting beside the medicine cabinet sorting the spiritual herbs. Hearing this, he looked up and said, "Master, are you really going to recruit people?"
"Nonsense!" Fu Shaoping snorted, "You're always so clumsy, and Wan girl wants to make pills and settle accounts at the same time. If this continues, the three of us will be exhausted."
Nangong Wan looked up from the account book, tapped his fingertips, and a piece of plain white rice paper floated onto the counter: "Write it clearly, don't attract any bad people."
-
"Lingdan Pavilion is looking for a clerk. The monthly salary is 20 Lingshi, and food and accommodation are provided. Requirements: quick hands and feet, able to withstand the fire of the elixir, and know more than 300 kinds of spiritual medicines..."
A tall and thin young man carrying a medicine basket on his back stopped, read the notice carefully, turned around and walked towards the Lingdan Pavilion.
-
Inside Lingdan Pavilion
"Name?" Fu Shaoping asked while crossing his legs.
"Junior Zhao Han." The young man bowed respectfully, "I have been an apprentice in Baicaotang for three years."
Nangong Wan calmly used a spirit-testing technique to confirm that the other party had no cultivation skills: "Why did you leave Baicaotang?"
Zhao Han smiled bitterly: "The shopkeeper complains that I always confuse 'fire spirit grass' and 'flame heart grass'..."
"Ha!" Fu Shaoping suddenly slammed the table, "I can't tell the difference between these two kinds of grass! Xiaoqi, go and get the two baskets of herbs from the west wall!"
Lin Xiaoqi swiftly brought two medicine baskets. Zhao Han took a look and squatted down, quickly picking through the herbs with his fingers: "This basket is the Fire Spirit Grass, with thicker veins; this basket is the Flame Heart Grass, with red lines at the root."
Nangong Wan and Fu Shaoping exchanged glances.
"You will start work at noon tomorrow." Fu Shaoping threw a wooden sign over, "Live in the backyard wing and eat with us. Remember -" He suddenly lowered his voice, "You are not allowed to enter the alchemy room on the second floor. The pills in the warehouse are counted three times a day."
Zhao Han took the wooden sign solemnly: "Don't worry, Boss."
three days later
"Old Zhao! Bring in the newly arrived 'Ice Crystal Flower'!" Lin Xiaoqi shouted at the top of his voice at the door.
Zhao Han ran over from the backyard, carrying three large medicine boxes steadily on his shoulders. In the past three days, he had memorized the locations of more than 800 kinds of medicinal materials in the store, and even Nangong Wan began to ask him to help when preparing medicine.
Fu Shaoping leaned against the counter and drank. He watched Zhao Han sorting the herbs neatly and suddenly said, "Boy, do you want to learn some real skills?"
Zhao Han paused and said, "The boss is saying..."
"I'll teach you some tricks to identify medicines." Fu Shaoping shook the wine pot, "It doesn't count as apprenticeship, just consider it as a benefit for your fellow apprentice."
Nangong Wan made a note in the account book and said softly, "He has a good talent."
Lin Xiaoqi jumped over and hooked Zhao Han's neck: "Old Zhao, learn it so you can help me with the work!"
The copper bells on the eaves rang softly in the wind, and the sunlight filtered through the window lattices, casting mottled shadows on the four busy figures.
In the early morning, dew was still condensed on the bluestone road in the market town, and the door panels of Lingdan Pavilion had been removed.
Zhao Han swept the fallen leaves in front of the door with a broom, his movements were neat. He had just hung up the wooden sign "Today's Special" when he heard a muffled "bang" from the backyard - Fu Shaoping was trying out a new recipe again.
"Old Zhao!" Lin Xiaoqi rushed down from the alchemy room on the second floor, holding three or four medicine jars in his arms, "Help me take them! Sister Nangong's newly prepared 'Qingxin Powder' needs to be bottled while it's hot!"
Zhao Han quickly put down the broom and just as he took the medicine jar, he heard Nangong Wan's cold voice from behind the counter: "Xiao Qi, you haven't checked yesterday's accounts yet."
Lin Xiaoqi stuck out his tongue and ran into the warehouse.
-
"Master Fu! Do you still have the 'Qi-nourishing Pills' from last time?" A monk in brocade clothes asked loudly as he walked in.
Fu Shaoping came out from the backyard, his beard still covered with ash: "What's the hurry? The new furnace has just been filled with elixirs." He turned around and shouted upstairs, "An girl! On the top shelf of elixir cabinet number three!"
Nangong Wan waved her hand lightly, and a jade medicine bottle flew into the air and landed steadily on the counter.
Zhao Han was stunned. In the past half month, he had long been accustomed to the extraordinary methods of his bosses, but he still couldn't help but marvel every time he saw them.
"What are you standing there for?" Fu Shaoping kicked the counter, "Go and get the jar of 'Spiritual Ginseng Wine' from the cellar. This Taoist friend is a regular customer."
-
There were four dishes and a soup on the stone table in the backyard. Lin Xiaoqi wolfed down the food, leaving shadows with his chopsticks.
"Eat slowly." Nangong Wan served him a bowl of soup, "I still have to deliver the 'Foundation Building Pill' in the afternoon."
Fu Shaoping took a sip of wine and suddenly stared at Zhao Han: "Boy, do you recognize what this is?" He took out a purple-red herb from his sleeve.
Zhao Han looked at it carefully: "Purple Blood Vine? No, there are golden lines on the veins. Could it be a mutation?"
"Golden Thread Purple Blood Vine!" Lin Xiaoqi interrupted vaguely with rice in his mouth, "Master snatched it in the secret realm last month. No, I found it!"
Nangong Wan gently put down his chopsticks: "I will teach you how to deal with this elixir this afternoon."
-
"Boss! Boss!" A young monk rushed into the store in a panic, "My brother got hot all over after taking the 'Break Barrier Pill'."
Fu Shaoping's face changed, he grabbed the medicine box and walked out: "Lead the way! Wan girl, get two bottles of 'Cold Jade'!"
Nangong Wan quickly prepared the medicine package and handed it to Zhao Han: "You stay in the store. If a customer comes to ask for the 'antidote pill', tell them that it is not for sale today."
It was not until sunset that Fu Shaoping came back, exhausted, with ice on his beard: "It's okay, that kid added a 'fire ganoderma' himself."
Lin Xiaoqi came over to gossip: "Master, how much did you charge for the consultation?"
Fu Shaoping slapped him on the back of the head and said, "Why would you charge me for saving a life? But..." He took out a storage bag from his arms, "They stuffed thirty kilograms of 'Xuanbingsha' into my pocket as a thank you gift."
-
Lingdan Pavilion at night
After Zhao Han carefully counted the warehouse, he found Nangong Wan standing alone in the courtyard looking at the moon.
"Boss, do you need me to make you a pot of soothing tea?"
Nangong Wan shook her head slightly: "Today is the full moon day, suitable for refining the 'Moonlight Pill'." She suddenly looked at Zhao Han, "Do you want to learn how to make medicine?"
Zhao Han's heart skipped a beat: "Can I learn it?"
"Starting tomorrow, learn the properties of ten kinds of medicine every day." Nangong Wan turned and walked towards the alchemy room, the moonlight flowing on her skirt, "First, memorize the first volume of the Compendium of Materia Medica."
From the second floor came Fu Shaoping's rough singing voice, accompanied by the humming sound of the alchemy furnace. Lin Xiaoqi could be heard stealing a midnight snack in the kitchen.
Zhao Han touched the pharmacopoeia that Nangong Wan had just given him, and suddenly felt that this was probably the luckiest thing in his life. (End of this chapter)