Chapter 43: Shunfu Medicine Shop

  Ran's injury was not very serious, and after taking a pill in the morning and applying some medicinal mud to the wound, he had almost recovered by the time they returned to the Shunfu Medicine Shop run by Madame Yue in the afternoon.

  When Yue Yu tore open the temporary bandage made of hemp cloth, she couldn't help but let out a series of astonished gasps. On one hand, she was amazed at how quickly this monster had recovered; on the other hand, she felt a sense of wonder that the medical technology of this century had almost caught up with the military-grade light wound sprays of his previous life. Moreover, what was even more precious was that the side effects of this medicine were so small they could be ignored, which was something that couldn't be compared to in his previous world.

  Due to the need to go out of town to purchase medicine, Yue Zhangshi was not guarding the store. In the main hall, there was only one shopkeeper and several apprentices, as well as an outsider, Yue Bingqian, a 12-year-old child who was sitting seriously at the counter with a solemn face. Looking at this, Yue Yu's belly was full of admiration, followed by a burst of secret laughter.

  Yue Bingqian didn't pay attention to him, and when she saw the two of them come in, she shifted her gaze away, looking delicate and charming. Yue Yu shrugged indifferently and took Ran Li straight to the back hall. It wasn't that he didn't want to get close to this little sister, but seeing her expression, which seemed to reject people from a thousand miles away, he also didn't want to go over and make a fool of himself.

  Just as he lifted the door curtain, Yue Yu's eyes caught a glimpse of Yue Bingqian suddenly standing up with a puffed face, her expression wanting to say something but hesitating. The smile in Yue Yu's heart grew stronger, and he stepped inside without hesitation.

  Their Shunfu Pharmacy was also opened not far from the South City Gate. Due to the high cost of land, both the storefront and the back room were much smaller than the Yue family's pharmacy in the clan. However, possibly due to the smaller scale of business, combined with Yue Zhangshi's innate talent for management, it seemed that compared to the chaotic situation on the side of the clan's pharmacy, they were more organized.

  The first stop was the pharmacy, not the large pharmacy with thousands of medicine cabinets and tens of thousands of drawers that Yue Yu had been to half a year ago, but still had around five or six thousand in total. Every month, Yue Yu would take out a few days to come here to identify medicinal materials. However, today he didn't stay, but instead rushed straight to the back door, arriving at a skywell in the backyard. Here, three large medicine furnaces stood upright.

  As soon as they saw the two of them arrive, several dozen apprentices who were busy here stopped what they were doing and bowed their heads in greeting.

  "Master Yu, we're almost ready here, just waiting for you to arrive and start the kiln!"

  The speaker was a man of about seventy years old, with white hair and beard, who was the same old pharmacist that Yue Zhangshi had invited back last time. His name was Zhuang Song, although he was already very old, his voice was as loud as a bell, and his steps were even more vigorous than those of a young man.

  Yue Yu nodded and signaled the other apprentices to continue working. Then he furrowed his brow, turned around, and looked towards the other side of the attic. He had already faintly heard the sound of knocking coming from that direction when he entered the pharmacy. Now, he saw a large amount of dust swirling in the air above.

  Zhuang Song observed the expression and tone, already knowing what Yue Yu meant. He smiled and explained on the side: "Let Young Master Yue know that Madam had bought those several nearby small courtyards behind us a few days ago, totaling 32 tile-roofed houses, all to be used for medicine production. To be honest, this area is indeed lacking in such places."

  Yue Yu's eyebrows slightly raised, it seems that the thing Yue Zhangshi was discussing a few days ago has already come to fruition. Half a year ago, he had been puzzled as to why Yue Yunjie suddenly changed his attitude. It wasn't until that night when he returned and specifically asked about it that he understood what was going on. His mother's ambition was truly astonishing - Yue Yu had only thought of buying medicine in the city of Yuejia, but Yue Zhangshi planned to build a sales network across the entire Beima yuan. Moreover, at the time, she had already used her maternal family connections to transport some of the medicinal products to Licheng and have them sold through the Zhang pharmacy there. Some smaller cities nearby were also in negotiations.

  In fact, after deducting labor costs and transportation fees, the profit is not much. However, once this network is completed, it will be very meaningful. According to Yue Yu's own estimate, in the eyes of that patriarch, what he values more is not those low-level martial artists they hired, but rather the impact that the Yue Zhangshi sales network will have on the entire regional pharmaceutical industry after it is established.

  Yue Yu came to the pharmacy this time, actually preparing to pass on the completed Buqi Pill recipe to the pharmacists and apprentices here. However, even with the addition of Buqi Pill production, there is no need for expansion. The only explanation is that Yue Zhangshi has reached an agreement with the pharmaceutical merchants in the surrounding cities.

  "What about the ash?" Ruan Li looked up at the smoke-filled sky. He had been with Yue Yu for almost a year and was familiar with the process of medicine production, knowing that during the decoction process, it was most taboo to mix in ash and other impurities.

  Zhuang Song heard this and bowed again: "Don't worry, the two of you. Before we started work today, the mistress had already asked someone to check the weather. Today is a north wind, so the dust from over there won't blow over here."

  Yue Yu felt relieved after hearing this, although it was a bit worrying to look at. However, he also knew that Zhuang Yu, despite not having much talent in medicine, was a straightforward and strict person. If there were any problems, the first one to jump out and stop Yue Zhangshi from working would be this old Zhuang.

  Yue Yu didn't bother to respond and walked into a vacant side room. There were dozens of buckets of thick medicinal liquid that had been simmered early on, and Yue Yu's task was to add them in proportion to the large medicine buckets in the center. Then the rest would be poured into the drain ditch, with some even being dumped whole barrels at a time.

  In this era, there is no patent awareness. To prevent some secret recipes from being imitated, only such stupid methods can be used. Originally, this was his mother's job, but in recent days, Yue Zhangshi has been too busy, and she hasn't learned how to make the Qi-replenishing pills yet, so Yue Yu had to temporarily take over personally.

  After all this is done, people will sort the wooden barrels and carry them out separately as 'mother medicine', which is stored in an ice cellar. In terms of quantity, they only account for a very small part of the medicine, but are crucial to the finished product. Once prepared, it can be used for about five days.

  As Yue Yu walked out of the side room again, the apprentices had already poured some of the mother medicine into a large medicine cauldron filled with various medicinal liquids and began to stir vigorously. Yue Yu walked over and pressed his hand against the cauldron, checking the composition of the medicinal liquids inside, then nodded secretly in approval. This Zhuang Song was indeed someone personally invited by the Yue family, and he was doing his job conscientiously. The proportion of the medicine wasn't off by a single hair, yet it exceeded the lowest standard in his mind by a large margin.

  Next were the last three processes before the medicine was made, but just as the lid of the medicine furnace had just been closed, Yue Yu's ears suddenly moved slightly, and he heard a quarrel coming from in front. He looked at Ruan Li again, only to see that the latter also had an expression of astonishment. The two reacted instantly and rushed towards the shopfront together, but just as they were halfway there, they saw the shopkeeper calling out their names with a look of anxiety, running towards the backyard.

  Yue Yu shook his head secretly, this shopkeeper's ability was not bad, but he didn't have that kind of calm and composed demeanor. However, in this small city, it seemed to be already quite good, and if one asked for too much, they probably wouldn't be able to find anyone. And then, Yue Yu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

  "You said someone is causing trouble in our shop? Ha ha, this is really strange—"

  Yue Yu was indeed surprised, after all, he was the eldest son of the Yue family. In the entire city, except for those powerful people within the clan, only he had the prestige to oppress others. Even if they were martial artists, as long as they weren't members of the Yue family, they would have to be careful and restrained in this city, who would dare to come and cause trouble for him?

  Moreover, since the Zhang family's business expanded, there are now eight martial arts masters sitting in the pharmacy. Ordinary people who want to cause trouble also need to weigh their own strength.

  "Master Yu, this time it's really getting a bit out of hand!"

  Jian Yu Yu was still as carefree and composed as ever, but the shopkeeper looked even more worried. "This time, there are at least three martial artists involved in the trouble, and also the young master of Dan Yun City..."

  When he heard the previous sentence, Yue Yu still didn't show any expression. However, when he heard the two words "Dan Yun City", Yue Yu's face finally gradually became solemn.