Chapter 84: Apprenticing at Xingren Tang

The workshop's leadership consists of one head and two deputies; the head is Big Senior Brother Lu Qiang, who oversees the overall situation, and the two deputies are both veteran Strength Apprentices.

Xu Ying is one of them, while the other comes from a farming family outside the city and is a die-hard loyalist of Zhong Shaoying.

This arrangement serves the purpose of checks and balances; the two factions do not get along, which eliminates the possibility of collusion.

The two groups each control half of the medicine-refining process; if their relationship were as thick as honey, the Big Senior Brother would be unable to sleep.

After Zhou You joined the workshop, he followed Zhong Shaoying directly.

For the first few days, Xu Ying taught him how to process medicinal materials hand-in-hand, without holding anything back.

Zhou You learned quickly, was nimble with his hands, and progressed rapidly, which earned him much praise from Xu Ying.

How could he not be fast? He spent a large amount of Experience Points to upgrade and strengthen himself.

In three to five days, Zhou You gained a new "Medicine Refining" skill, and its level had already risen to lv4.

Just as he was pondering how to get some medicinal materials to practice with, one day, Xu Ying called him to go out on official business.

"We are going to Xingren Tang to purchase a batch of raw materials."

Besides being used for cultivation, Tiger Bone Wine also has excellent therapeutic effects for bruises and external injuries, making it one of the martial arts hall's important sources of income.

Therefore, the daily consumption is huge, and the raw material inventory has recently hit rock bottom.

Zhou You followed Xu Ying to visit Xingren Tang to discuss the purchase of medicinal materials.

At Xingren Tang, Hua Youxing was at home today; she had just seen a few patients and was weighing some pieces of tuckahoe.

"Young Master Hua, I have come to order medicinal materials again."

After Hua Youxing saw Xu Ying, she smiled politely, "Serve tea."

Xu Ying introduced Zhou You to her, "My Junior Brother Zhou You; he will surely be coming here often in the future."

"Oh, a young talent."

"I heard your martial arts hall has two young talents who returned victorious after wiping out a group of bandits in Waishan."

Hua Youxing asked softly, "Is the Zhou You among them the same person as you, or..."

"Young Master Hua, this Junior Brother Zhou is indeed one of the two heroes who wiped out that group of bandits!"

Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall also has channels to build momentum, promoting the incident where Zhou You and his companion wiped out the hunters as the slaughter of bandits.

That group of hunters did not have much of a reputation, so the promotional effect did not spread beyond their circle.

Ordinary people like to exaggerate when listening to stories, often claiming tens of thousands of deaths, so a mere 100-plus people was just a small brawl.

Only insiders know that what Zhou You and Li Hao did was no small matter.

"Impressive!"

Hua Youxing smiled faintly and said politely, "Drink your tea!"

Xu Ying, who came to stock up this time, directly provided the order list, settled on the specific prices, and calculated the total payment for this batch of medicinal materials.

He then stood up to take his leave and returned to the martial arts hall.

Zhou You found an excuse to stay behind to handle his own affairs.

"I want to buy 20 jars of Tiger Bone Wine this time."

20 jars of Tiger Bone Wine total 100 taels of silver.

Hua Youxing said in surprise, "Why would you need so much?"

"Purchasing on behalf of someone else."

Zhou You was concise and comprehensive; these two simple words dispelled the other party's doubts.

With this 100-tael deal finalized, Hua Youxing was in a good mood and her attitude toward Zhou You became much warmer.

"By the way, I have a list here that enumerates some medicinal materials and their quantities."

This list contains over 20 types of medicinal materials; only 30 percent of them are ingredients for the Heart-Protecting Pill, while the rest are there to confuse the issue.

Since he dared to take it out for the other party to see, he was not afraid of leaks.

Sure enough...

After Hua Youxing finished looking at the medicinal materials on the list, she shook her head; the materials were too miscellaneous, and with her medical foundation, she could not tell what they were for at all.

Especially since there were three types of snake venom with different toxicities; mixing them together might be lethal. "Forgive my bluntness, these materials are not hard to gather, and the price is not expensive, but I do not know what you are using them for?"

Zhou You exhaled, "I am still purchasing them for someone else."

Hmm? Hua Youxing looked Zhou You up and down; she believed him, because as a mere martial arts hall Apprentice, even with his Jinli Level, it would be impossible for him to shell out such a large sum of money.

20 jars of Tiger Bone Wine total 100 taels, and the medicinal materials on the list add up to over 1,500 taels at a discounted price.

The cost of this purchase would be 2,000 to 3,000 taels in total.

"Every medicine has its poison; these materials are not easy to harmonize, especially the several types of snake venom—the slightest mistake would be a death warrant."

Hua Youxing's nostrils twitched, and she beamed.

She smelled a faint scent of medicinal materials on Zhou You; connecting the cause and effect, everything was explained.

Zhou You came to purchase with Xu Ying, so he was clearly working in the martial arts hall's medicine-refining workshop and had gotten to know a fellow disciple.

That fellow disciple found it inconvenient to show his face and entrusted him to purchase the Tiger Bone Wine and medicinal materials on his behalf.

The workshop is the place where the martial arts hall produces its unique Secret Medicine; there must be Apprentices doing private work to earn some extra money.

Since that is the case...

"The shop has stock of Tiger Bone Wine, so you can take it with you this time."

"Most of the materials on the list are available, but a few in short supply will need some days to be gathered."

Hua Youxing valued this business highly; after all, it was a big deal worth 2,000 to 3,000 taels.

Xingren Tang has an annual turnover of hundreds of thousands of taels, and when broken down into individual transactions, deals of this scale account for less than one-tenth.

Every deal completed proves her ability and brings her closer to inheriting the Xingren Tang signboard.

She is a strong-willed woman; while other young ladies were busy with perfume and powder, she was busy studying medicine and helping her father manage the internal and external affairs of the medicine hall.

Father Doctor Hua had no son, and even though she was the most outstanding person in the family, people viciously cursed her behind her back for having "no heir."

Relatives kept saying "marrying off a daughter is like splashing water," and ever since she was a child, they had been urging Doctor Hua to "adopt" or "take an heir."

Hua Youxing had high aspirations; she wanted to guard her father's family business, and even if she took a husband into the family, she would not hand over Xingren Tang to distant relatives.

Whether in medical skill or doing business, she was absolutely not inferior to any man.

"Fine, it's settled."

Zhou You pointed at Du He, "I didn't bring money when I came out today; come back with me later to collect the silver."

The payment for the goods, over 2,000 taels, weighed several hundred catties, and one could not just carry it around on one's back.

Hua Youxing was also straightforward, "We are old customers; you can take the Tiger Bone Wine back with you first."

After finalizing the deal, the two chatted for a while, and Zhou You proposed that he would like to tour the medicine hall.

Hua Youxing readily agreed.

"Xingren Tang is an old brand; our raw materials are solid and our preparation is meticulous. We are the only one of our kind in Gongliang City."

Hua Youxing introduced her family's medicine hall, full of pride and self-satisfaction.

The warehouse for storing medicinal herbs, rows of neat medicine cabinets, and the young assistants processing herbs on an assembly line. "Experience Points -60, Crafting Medicine v4→5."

Zhou You specifically took a few looks at the assembly line for processing medicine and "fleeced" a wave of benefits.

The true Secret Medicine would not be shown to him; what was laid out in the open were all daily medications for minor ailments like headaches and fevers.

Even so, the techniques of the medicine hall assistants benefited Zhou You greatly, raising his skill by one level.

"Junior Brother Zhou, have you taken a fancy to Doctor Hua's daughter?"

After returning to the martial arts hall, Xu Ying suddenly asked this question, seemingly very curious as to why he wanted to stay at Xingren Tang.

Zhou You gave a start and shook his head, "No!"

"You spent so long with her, you must have chatted a lot, right?"

Xu Ying enthusiastically encouraged him, "If you really have the ability to be with her, even if you are taken in as a son-in-law, you are destined to prosper."

"Given my family situation, it is absolutely impossible for me to be taken in as a son-in-law."

Zhou You said decisively.

(End of this chapter)