Chapter 67: The First Step to Getting Rich

After returning home, Chi Nan Yi told her family about the pill business.

"How... how many pills?" Chi Huai Qian looked at his own hands: "Even ten fingers wouldn't be enough to count them!"

Chi Huaijin was home on a few days' break from the academy, and he had not yet had time to hear about everything that had happened during this period.

Chi Huaijin's voice trembled slightly: "One pill is fifty wen (copper cash), two thousand pills is one hundred taels of silver, three medicine halls means three hundred taels. As for White Herb Soup, one thousand pills is fifty taels, so, little sister can earn... three hundred and fifty taels every three days!"

By the end of the calculation, everyone's eyes were wide open, shocked beyond measure.

"Calculated over a year, that's one hundred twenty-seven thousand seven hundred and fifty taels!" Chi Huaijin said in astonishment: "Even robbing silver wouldn't earn it this fast!"

"Little sister, I'm not dreaming, am I!" Chi Zhiqiu rubbed his hands together, and out of sheer excitement, he kept pacing in circles on the ground.

Chi Nan Yi smiled and said: "You can't calculate it like that, there's still the cost of the medicinal ingredients in there!" Even though she used the medicinal ingredients from her space, she still had to put on the appearance of purchasing ingredients from outside. Otherwise, producing such a large quantity of pills couldn't possibly be covered by what little could be gathered from the mountains.

"The cost is half."

"That's still over sixty thousand taels of silver!" Madam Ruan murmured: "Isn't this getting rich?"

"Yes! We're getting rich." Chi Nan Yi smiled and said: "I wanted to discuss it with you a few days ago. Our family's land—I'm thinking of planting medicinal ingredients on all of it starting next year. That way we won't need to buy from outside and can save a large sum on costs."

"Good! We'll listen to you." Wen Zhilan looked at Chi Ting Song: "Father, what do you think?"

"Good, good, good, we'll listen to Yi'er."

Madam Shen smiled and said: "I truly never expected that Yi'er would have such ability."

Chi Nan Yi had not yet said what came next.

This was the profit from just one kind of pill. She could make more than just this one kind. With the other pills added in, they would certainly earn a fortune.

"But with so many pills, making them will surely work someone to death."

Several thousand pills—three days and three nights without sleep might not even be enough to roll them all by hand.

"Rolling them by hand naturally won't do. Wait for me."

With that, Chi Nan Yi ran back to her room. Before long, she came out carrying several boxes in her arms.

"What... what is this?" Chi Huai Qian examined the boxes curiously: "Why are there gaps between the boxes?"

"This is called a pill-rolling board." Chi Nan Yi placed the already-kneaded medicinal strips inside and pushed the board's cover with both hands. In just a few motions, dozens of round pills tumbled out.

"This thing is wonderful! This way, those several thousand pills can be finished in no time at all." Madam Ruan smiled and said: "Leave this work to me! I have nothing to do at home anyway, and I'm bored to death."

"We'll help too." Chi Zhiqiu smiled and said: "These past few days I was just thinking of going to town to find some work and earn a little silver. This way, I'll stay home and help little sister roll pills."

"Me too, me too!" Chi Huai Qian also crowded in: "I have nothing to do either. But this thing called whatever-board—where did you get it?"

"I bought it in town."

"In town? How come I've never seen it?"

Wen Zhilan smiled and said: "You, even when you go to town, your eyes are always fixed on food. Don't I know your little mind?"

"Mother, it's fine if you know it in your heart, why must you say it out loud?" Chi Huai Qian scratched his head: "Your son isn't like that anymore."

At present, the only one in the whole family who had to go to the academy and couldn't join in rolling pills was Chi Huaijin. He frowned and was just about to speak when he heard Chi Nan Yi say: "Second Brother, don't you dare say anything foolish like coming home to roll pills instead of going to the academy."

That single sentence shut Chi Huaijin up completely.

"The whole family can help little sister, only I..."

"If Second Brother can pass the imperial examination as top scholar in the future, I'll be completely satisfied." Chi Nan Yi took out a few pills from her bosom and handed them to him: "I prepared these specially for Second Brother. They can open the mind and brighten the eyes. Take one before studying, and I guarantee you'll get twice the result with half the effort."

Chi Huaijin took the porcelain bottle, his eyes faintly betraying a look of emotion.

On ordinary days, he spent most of his time at the academy and had the least contact with his little sister. He had assumed she wasn't close to him, and had secretly felt sad about it for a long time. He never imagined that his little sister would specially make pills for him. Didn't this mean his little sister was also very close to him?

He gripped the porcelain bottle tightly in his hand and said with resolute conviction: "Little sister, rest assured, Second Brother will definitely earn you a top scholar title!"

Wen Zhilan smiled and tapped Chi Huaijin's head: "You, why don't you first pass as a scholar before talking about that!"

"Your son will go review his books right now. From today onward, I shall be diligent and careful, and will absolutely not let little sister down." With that, he dove headfirst into his room.

The Chi Family members gathered together and began rolling pills, and the whole room was filled with the fragrance of medicinal ingredients.

Everyone watched as she brought out many medicinal strips from her room, and couldn't help wondering—when did this child make all of these?

"Yi'er, did you make these overnight?"

Chi Nan Yi was momentarily at a loss for words. She couldn't very well say she made them in her space.

"I made them when I went to town, at Bai cao tang. I happened to buy some medicinal ingredients from them as well." Because she had recently been treating Prince Li, it was always Yun Tian who came to pick her up, so the Chi Family didn't know what she actually did in town.

"So that's how it is." Wen Zhilan smiled and said: "No wonder you've been coming home a bit later lately."

Chi Nan Yi gave an embarrassed smile. She couldn't very well say that Prince Li was too difficult to attend to.

With the pill-rolling boards, those pills were rolled in no time.

Looking at the pills piled to the brim, one couldn't help but feel a great sense of accomplishment.

Were these pills? They were lumps of gold!

A whole table full of gold and silver lumps!

"Little sister, you can leave this work to us from now on." Ruan Qin smiled and said: "We can finish them in no time. You just go rest in your room."

The reason Ruan Qin was so proactive was mainly because she felt guilty in her heart. Now that the whole family was being supported by little sister, how could they let her work so hard?

"Sister-in-law, we're only busy for this little bit of time. Once the house is built, we can buy some servants, and we'll have them do this work."

Buy servants?

With people attending to their daily needs, wouldn't they have become a great household too?

A life like this—they hadn't even dared to dream of it!

Over the next few days, Chi Nan Yi went to town as usual to treat Mo Junyan.

She just never saw Crown Prince Mo Junheng again.

Chi Nan Yi understood in her heart that even if the Crown Prince had recovered, he wouldn't have the face to show himself again.

She was in excellent spirits, and even when treating Mo Junyan, a trace of a smile lingered at the corners of her eyes.