[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl":3,"chapter-the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-91":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Great Jin's Most Iron Rice Bowl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1896865,2531,"Chapter 91: The Human Race Fruit","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-91",91,"\u003Cp>On the eighteenth day of the second month, the shop sign was completed, and amidst a burst of firecrackers, the Shennong Hall Pharmacy officially opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the shop were only Hua Changxi, A-Niu, and Pucao, along with a green cow peeking its head in from the back door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the shop's location was rather remote, apart from nearby neighbors who came over upon hearing the firecrackers to take a look, no one else arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the street where not even a sparrow alighted, Pucao and A-Niu exchanged bewildered glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing not a single customer in the shop, Pucao grew worried and looked at Hua Changxi: \"Changxi, should I go out and drum up some business?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi shook her head: \"No need; I never intended to handle retail sales anyway. If people come to sell medicine in the future, you sell it; if no one comes to buy, it doesn't matter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pucao asked: \"But like this, can we actually make money?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi replied: \"We can; rest assured, someone will come soon enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An hour later, Yu Gui arrived with Wan Xiaozhou and Li Meng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the desolate shop, Yu Gui smiled: \"Sister, this is your first day of business; why didn't you invite more people? That would have generated more buzz.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi glanced at him; did she not want to invite people? The problem was, she didn't know any medicine merchants or peddlers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Yu, if you know any medicine merchants, please introduce them to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Gui gave an embarrassed smile: \"I'm merely a warehouse steward, so I don't know many people. However, once I meet some in the future, I will definitely introduce them to you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi smiled: \"That would be excellent; if you truly bring me a major client, I will give you a discount.\" Saying this, she led him to the medicine counter where Pucao stood and introduced them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Yu, this is the pharmacy's steward; whenever I am absent, she handles all transactions in the shop. As you know, I still have duties in the Corvée Hall and cannot stay here constantly. In the future, if you come to purchase medicine and I am not around, you can deal directly with her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pucao, this is Steward Yu Gui, our shop's first major client.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pucao hurriedly offered her greetings and promised to serve Yu Gui well in the future, then nodded toward Li Meng and Wang Xiaozhou standing behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Gui accepted with a smile, looking at Hua Changxi with emotion: \"Sister, I truly never expected Eunuch Jia to let you take over Eunuch Lu's duties; when I heard the news, I thought everyone was joking.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi had no desire to elaborate on the matter and dismissed it vaguely: \"It is all due to Eunuch Jia's favor.\" Pointing to the pills displayed behind the counter, she added, \"Brother Yu, the martial artist pills openly sold in this pharmacy range only from Grade One to Grade Five.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But since we are insiders, I also have Grade Six, Seven, and Eight pills available for you. How many pills do you intend to purchase this time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing that even Grade Six and Seven pills were available, Yu Gui was internally shaken; he immediately pulled ten thousand taels of silver from his robe: \"Sister, I am about to break through to Grade Five, so I wish to purchase a large quantity of Grade Five pills, along with some Grade Six, Seven, and Eight pills.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi accepted the silver and smiled: \"It seems Brother Yu has earned quite a bit of silver recently.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Gui chuckled: \"All thanks to Sister's support.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi handed the silver to Pucao, allowing her and Yu Gui to handle the entire transaction while she merely observed from the side. Seeing that Pucao managed everything well, she did not intervene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After purchasing the pills, Yu Gui chatted with Hua Changxi for a while longer before departing with Wang Xiaozhou and Li Meng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the three had left, Hua Changxi turned to Pucao and A-Niu: \"Now you can rest easy; our pharmacy will certainly operate for a long, long time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that a single customer had purchased ten thousand taels' worth of pills completely reassured Pucao and A-Niu; previously, when Hua Changxi mentioned taking a wholesale approach, they had been somewhat worried, but now those worries had vanished entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterwards, Hua Changxi watched Pucao properly record the accounts, and seeing there was nothing else to do in the shop, she prepared to return to the Medical Bureau.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having left the pharmacy and walked only a short distance, she saw people fighting in a restaurant on the street, smashing tables, chairs, and benches to smithereens, while the shopkeeper stood aside, so anxious he was nearly in tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Witnessing this scene, Hua Changxi paused to think, then turned back to the pharmacy, where she set up a first-tier defensive formation in both the shop and the rear courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Daoist Elder Jiang's storage ring contained the \"Introduction to the Four Arts,\" which simply explained how to refine pills, craft talismans, forge artifacts, and set up formations; low-grade formations were easy to learn, requiring only following the steps outlined in the book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterwards, Hua Changxi gave Pucao some spirit stones, informed her of the formation's focal points, and instructed her to replenish the spirit stones regularly to maintain the defensive formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Yu Gui took the pills and returned to the Medical Bureau first; upon arrival, he immediately sought out Eunuch Yu and presented him with the Grade Eight pills he required.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had indeed earned some silver from selling pills, but producing ten thousand taels at once was beyond his means; the silver had been provided by Eunuch Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eunuch Yu accepted the pills: \"How is the pharmacy's business?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Gui shook his head: \"Very quiet; today being the opening day, I was likely the only customer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eunuch Yu fell silent for a moment: \"Find an opportunity to introduce Merchant Zhuo to Hua Changxi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Gui looked at Eunuch Yu in surprise; ever since the Embroidered Uniform Guard searched the Corvée Hall half a month ago, he had distinctly sensed a shift in his godfather's attitude toward Hua Changxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, when Hua Changxi returned from the Medicine Manor, even upon learning she was favored by a Grandmaster, his godfather had made no move; yet today, usually stingy as he was, he had actually given him ten thousand taels of silver to support Hua Changxi's business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now he wanted to introduce Merchant Zhuo to her...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eunuch Yu sighed: \"Your father was wrong; when cooperating with Hua Changxi to refine pills earlier, I should not have been so greedy.\" Looking at Yu Gui, he continued, \"Fortunately, you still have some rapport with her; in the future, you must maintain good relations with her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Yu Gui's confused expression, clearly unable to comprehend why he was doing this, Eunuch Yu had to speak plainly: \"Do you know how many people in the Corvée Hall would have died on the day the Embroidered Uniform Guard searched it if Hua Changxi had not stepped forward?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the Embroidered Uniform Guard, not only were the corvée laborers trembling with fear, but even stewards with some background like Eunuch Yu were terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Lu Zi was the best proof; it was said he died the very second day after being thrown into the Imperial Prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Someone above has set their sights on the Medical Bureau; since it was difficult to plant people in the front Nine Streets, they turned their schemes toward the Corvée Hall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eunuch Sun of the First Division lacked any background and was the first to be eliminated.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eunuch Zhao of the Second Division and Eunuch Jia of the Third Division had some connections within the palace, allowing them to barely hold onto their positions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"During this period, the Corvée Hall has been rife with undercurrents; sinister plots targeting Eunuch Zhao and Eunuch Jia have come one after another.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The two barely managed to withstand them, only for the theft of medicine to occur, with the thieves leaving traces that led the Embroidered Uniform Guard straight to the Corvée Hall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If Hua Changxi had not stepped forward to force out Leng Xiangru, the entire Corvée Hall would surely have undergone a massive purge; even this warehouse section would have been implicated.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to Eunuch Yu's analysis, Yu Gui's face was filled with lingering fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Embroidered Uniform Guard handled cases without regard for evidence; since the thieves' final traces appeared in the Corvée Hall, according to their methods, everyone in the Corvée Hall was a suspect, and as suspects, they had the authority to arrest them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and thrown into the Imperial Prison was tantamount to a death sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eunuch Yu looked at Yu Gui: \"The Embroidered Uniform Guard do not even respect high court officials, yet they did not touch Hua Changxi, even though she fought against them; do you know why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Gui scratched his head: \"Sister Changxi doesn't have any background either.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eunuch Yu stated directly: \"Because she is a cultivator.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the events of that day at the Sixth Bureau had been sealed by Eunuch Jia's order, he had expended tremendous effort, sacrificing even his dignity, before Eunuch Jia finally relented and spoke to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Water droplets suspending in midair to form water arrows was a cultivator's technique, yet Hua Changxi had blocked it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did this signify?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It signified that Hua Changxi was also a cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cultivators...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it not been for the earth-shattering battle that erupted at Mount Wuzhi last September, he would not have discovered for who knows how long that above martial artists, there exist even more powerful cultivators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before that, only the imperial family and some top-tier nobles knew of the existence of cultivators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over these past few months, he had exhausted every connection available to him, probing from many angles, yet managed to learn only a sliver of information about cultivators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He never expected that a true cultivator was right beside him all along.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regrettably, he had already offended her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eunuch Yu was now so consumed by regret that his intestines had turned green; over the past half-month, he had investigated the Hua family's background once again, and upon doing so, made a startling discovery: the Hua family actually had a daughter who was a direct disciple of the Sect Master of Taisu Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did he understand why Eunuch Jia could still remain safe and sound within the Laborer Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eunuch Jia is truly blessed; without Hua Changxi, the first to die in the theft of pills would have been him. Even if he hadn't perished in the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Imperial Prison, those eyeing his position would have killed him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now, only a mere Xiao Luzi has died; ultimately, his life remains intact, the Third Bureau is still under his control, and his foundation has not been damaged.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Gui truly had not anticipated so many complications lurking beneath the surface, but what he most wanted to know at this moment was: \"Godfather, what exactly is a cultivator?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being poorly informed, even though the disturbances at Mount Wuzhi were massive and he had heard some rumors, he had not taken them seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eunuch Yu looked at Yu Gui, his tone unusually gentle: \"Even I, your father, am not clear on the matter; if you wish to know, go ask Hua Changxi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Gui was uncertain whether Hua Changxi would tell him: \"Then your son will try to interact more with Sister Changxi in the days ahead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eunuch Yu broke into a smile of approval for a teachable child: \"Gui'er, if you can pry information about cultivators from Hua Changxi's mouth, I will give you half of the fortune I have accumulated over these years.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Yu Gui couldn't help but swallow hard; he knew well that Eunuch Yu loved hoarding silver, so half of his fortune—just how much silver would that be?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding Yu Gui's reaction, Eunuch Yu said nothing; ever since he learned that even Grandmasters faced cultivators like fish awaiting slaughter on a cutting board, he had become desperate to become a cultivator himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, he could only rely on Yu Gui to mend relations with Hua Changxi as much as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After returning to the Medical Bureau, Hua Changxi first made rounds through the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Divisions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because her stick was somewhat thick while her carrots genuinely cared for the laborers, after she took over Eunuch Lu's position, surprisingly, no one caused any trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard had not come to cause trouble again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, whether the Embroidered Uniform Guard had negotiated with Eunuch Jia, she did not know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking about this matter, Hua Changxi returned to her courtyard and took out the box of pills that Manager Leng had tried to frame her with; inside lay three Rebirth Pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rebirth Pill—the name signifies shedding the mortal coil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When combined with Wood Spirit Pills, Fire Spirit Pills, Water Spirit Pills, Earth Spirit Pills, and Metal Spirit Pills, Rebirth Pills can forge spiritual meridians; what Ten-Niang gave to the family was three Rebirth Pills and three Wood Spirit Pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Things capable of forging spiritual meridians are naturally extremely scarce; refining Rebirth Pills requires a type of innate spiritual fruit—the Human Seed Fruit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Human Seed Fruit is not like the Creation Fruit, which is struck down by heavenly thunder the moment it appears, growing and thriving is still exceedingly difficult, as it must undergo a heavenly tribulation once every hundred years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fruits do not grow in large numbers either; only one fruit ripens every hundred years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that these Rebirth Pills were refined by the Medical Bureau sufficiently proves that the imperial family controls Human Seed Fruit trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, now that spiritual energy is recovering, and the spiritual fruits beneath the stone cliffs of Sanya Medicine Valley as well as those on Mount Wuzhi are growing at light speed, Hua Changxi speculated that the imperial family should have accumulated a stockpile of Human Seed Fruits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the three roughly refined Rebirth Pills, Hua Changxi felt some disdain; Rebirth Pills of such quality would not forge spiritual meridians of high grade upon consumption, so she directly stored them back into the Shennong Cauldron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shop had stocked up on a batch of pills sufficient for sale for some time; now, she needed to begin refining spiritual pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Grade One Pill Refiner (Top-Grade Pills): Pills Refined 2267 Furnaces \u002F 2267]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that advancing to Grade Two Pill Refiner still required refining over seven thousand more furnaces of pills, Hua Changxi took a deep breath, began taking out the necessary spiritual plants, herbs, and fruits from the Shennong Cauldron, and then immersed herself in pill refining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the middle-left section of First Street of the Medical Bureau stood a nine-story pavilion, upon which hung prominently the three gilded characters 'Medical Bureau'.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Peng, a Assistant Regional Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard visiting the Medical Bureau for the first time, stood before the pavilion and said to Gu Qiming, the Director of the Medical Bureau, beside him: \"Was this pavilion not built in the correct location?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qiming smiled: \"When this pavilion was originally constructed, the official in charge intended to build it right in the center of First Street, but as soon as construction began, strange incidents occurred frequently.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Peng's face showed curiosity: \"What kind of strange incidents?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qiming replied: \"Whenever a pavilion was built in the very center, no matter how solidly constructed, it would inevitably collapse the next day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That truly is a strange occurrence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Peng glanced at the pavilion, then continued walking forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the right of the pavilion was a T-intersection that pierced through Nine Streets, leading straight to the plaza behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Behind Nine Streets are the Laborer Hall and the Apprentice Hall?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterwards, neither spoke further; Gu Qiming led Ding Peng to his own office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Peng's visit this time concerned the incident of stolen pills on Second Street half a month ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten Rebirth Pills had been lost; the Embroidered Uniform Guard, using spirit-detecting devices, recovered four from the Apprentice Hall, and adding the three found in the Sixth Division of the Laborer Hall, a total of seven had been retrieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leng Xianggu is a member of the Asura Sect.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Gu Qiming took a wooden box from a cabinet on his desk and handed it to Ding Peng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Peng opened it to find a Wood Spirit Pill inside: \"What do you mean by this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qiming said: \"Let us close the case on this; Leng Xiangru took the remaining three pills, so do not pursue the investigation further.\" This Wood Spirit Pill was remuneration for Ding Peng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Peng's eyes flickered, and he smiled: \"I heard from Yin Jianxiong that a cultivator is hidden within the Laborer Hall; are you not curious about her origins?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qiming smiled: \"I imagine the Embroidered Uniform Guard has already thoroughly investigated her origins.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, given the Embroidered Uniform Guard's style of handling cases, they would have already come to arrest Hua Changxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Peng fell silent: \"...Do you suppose the remaining three Rebirth Pills might be in Hua Changxi's possession?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qiming replied: \"Probably not; if she had taken the Rebirth Pills, she would likely not dare to confront your Embroidered Uniform Guard directly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Peng fell silent again; after a moment, he added: \"Shouldn't there be results soon from the Mount Kunlun side?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qiming paused briefly: \"As long as no high-grade cultivator suddenly emerges like at Mount Wuzhi, results should come quickly; barring unexpected developments, the palace will likely choose to cooperate with Taisu Palace.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Ding Peng gazed at the pill box in his hand for a while, then finally stored it away in the storage bag at his waist.\u003C\u002Fp>",3005,"2026-06-12T02:51:22.172Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","391897729ec96a191d7d190bbfd178b6cbbdb320d39e1cdc75b3deb3691bb8fb","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-92","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-90",558,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-cover.jpg"]