Versatile Sword Cultivator

Chapter 103 – Spending money like water

Although it was a bit expensive, Lin Jichen still decided to go for it.

Thus, Lin Jichen selected three NPC alchemy masters.

Two of them were of the first grade, and one was of the second grade.

At this early stage of the game, elixirs made by first and second-grade alchemy masters were more than sufficient.

Higher-grade elixirs could wait until later.

The three alchemy masters had their tasks: two were responsible for refining vitality and mana elixirs.

The remaining one was to focus entirely on refining aphrodisiac elixirs!

However, Lin Jichen felt that one person might not be enough, given how well aphrodisiac elixirs sold. He feared one person wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand.

After searching around and not finding any more alchemy masters specializing in aphrodisiac elixirs, Lin Jichen had to temporarily give up.

He then created a small account on the Tale of Immortal forum and posted a recruitment notice, offering generous terms to attract more alchemy masters.

He didn't use his main account to avoid attracting any ill-intentioned individuals.

Not long after, the three NPCs arrived, two men and one woman.

Among them, one man and one woman were at the Qi Refining stage, while the remaining man was surprisingly at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

However, he looked pale and thin, with deep eye bags, and walked unsteadily with a wine jug at his waist, lacking the physique of a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator.

When he arrived, his spirits lifted, and he couldn't stop glancing at the Autumn Moon Pavilion next door.

After entering, the three introduced themselves to Lin Jichen, who was the shopkeeper.

The slightly chubby one was named Mu Pengyi, the female alchemy master was called Jiang Ying, and the remaining one, who needed no further introduction, was Ning Kuan.

Ning Kuan was a specialist in aphrodisiac elixirs, whom Lin Jichen had specifically invited.

Mu Pengyi and Jiang Ying were quite straightforward and honest, expressing their readiness to start work immediately upon receiving their expected salaries.

However, Ning Kuan had a condition for Lin Jichen.

"I have only one condition: I only work during the day. My evenings are my own."

Lin Jichen found this NPC rather interesting and asked, "Do you have something to do at night?"

Ning Kuan, being quite frank, pointed at the Autumn Moon Pavilion across the street and gave a roguish smile.

"My evenings are reserved for them."

The two women in the shop blushed and spat in disdain at Ning Kuan.

Lin Jichen, the boss, was both amused and exasperated. He had finally found an expert in aphrodisiac elixirs, only to discover that this guy was indeed an expert—one who practiced what he preached!

No wonder his Foundation Establishment Realm physique looked so withered; one might think he had been drained by a female ghost.

However, Lin Jichen noticed that although Ning Kuan was lecherous, he seemed only interested in fallen women. He looked at Xiaocui and Jiang Ying with normal, uninterested eyes.

He only had eyes for the Autumn Moon Pavilion, sipping from his wine jug with a look of self-satisfaction.

"Under the willow, the moonlight dances; beneath the peach blossoms, the songs end."

"In this life, I live for pleasure. I hope the shopkeeper can understand."

Jiang Ying couldn't stand it anymore and retorted, "If you're so indulgent, why are you here?"

Ning Kuan sighed and gave a wry smile, "I don't want to be here either, but my pockets are empty. The women there only want to accompany my money pouch. I have no choice."

Everyone was speechless.

Lin Jichen thought for a moment and finally agreed to Ning Kuan's condition, allowing him to work only during the day.

However, the prerequisite was that the quantity and quality of the elixirs could not be compromised.

Ning Kuan readily agreed.

The three stayed at the pharmacy, and Lin Jichen went to the herb shop to buy ten thousand Spirit Stones worth of herbs for them to start refining.

Once the Corpse Poison Potions were nearly sold out, he would begin selling these new products.

Besides the pharmacy, Lin Jichen also planned to start preparing for a weapon shop and an auction house.

These two shops, in terms of location and size, far surpassed the Autumn Moon Pavilion.

By then, Spirit Stones would flow into Lin Jichen's pockets like snowflakes.

Just thinking about it made him excited.

But he needed to secure a supply of goods. Without equipment, there was no point in opening an equipment shop.

Lin Jichen had quite a few high-quality pieces of equipment, such as the Xuezhao Blade, Shadow Blade, and Crimson Cloud Sword. Any of these would be top-tier equipment at the moment.

Selling them would undoubtedly cause a sensation across the server.

But he couldn't just have a few pieces of equipment; he needed a substantial quantity of ordinary equipment as well.

Lin Jichen hired many blacksmiths, ranging from first to fifth grade, totaling over twenty. Just their monthly salaries cost him several thousand Spirit Stones.

He bought a large amount of materials for forging, spending tens of thousands more, and his pocket instantly deflated.

However, Lin Jichen wasn't worried. Once the shops opened, these Spirit Stones would be earned back quickly, and they would multiply.

After spending the money, Lin Jichen had all the blacksmiths start forging weapons immediately.

They needed weapons for every profession, from weapons to armor.

Most of them could only forge ordinary-grade equipment.

Only two fifth-grade blacksmiths could forge Spirit Grade equipment, but even they had a failure rate and weren't very fast.

But that didn't matter.

At this early stage of the game, most players only had ordinary-grade equipment. Spirit Grade equipment was only for a select few.

Even if there were many Spirit Grade items, the average player couldn't afford them.

Currently, in the Tale of Immortal player market, ordinary-grade equipment was still the best-selling, without a doubt.

With everything arranged, Lin Jichen prepared to return to his sect to discuss agency matters.

Both the Alchemy Sect and the Blacksmith Sect could be approached for agency, ensuring a sufficient supply of products for the grand opening.

Before that, he checked the time; it was almost noon, time for lunch.

Since there were no urgent tasks, Lin Jichen decided to fill his stomach and enjoy some food.

The gaming pod couldn't fully replenish his energy after a long day.

He sent a message to Ren Lan, asking her to come out for lunch in about twenty minutes, and then logged out of the game.

He went to the kitchen to make a simple lunch.

His cooking was average but edible, though it was nowhere near as good as Gu Qiuxue's.

He still remembered Gu Qiuxue's cooking, which was even better than a chef's.

Thinking about it made Lin Jichen miss his beautiful cousin.

In a little while, Gu Qiuxue would be coming over.

Then he could enjoy his cousin's cooking and see his beautiful and virtuous cousin every day.

The thought made Lin Jichen a bit excited.

These days, whenever Lin Jichen logged out of the game, he would take some time to chat with Gu Qiuxue, asking about her resignation and when she could come.

Gu Qiuxue also wanted to come as soon as possible, but she needed at least half a month to resign and leave the Capital City due to work handovers at the hospital.

Without Zhang Guangwei around, she felt much more relaxed, with no annoying flies to bother her. Her work was smooth, and her life was pleasant, but she still longed to fly to Jiangling.

"I'm out, let's eat! I haven't tasted your cooking yet, Little Lin. Let this judge give you a score."

Ren Lan came out of her room, naturally grabbing bowls and chopsticks and even serving Lin Jichen a bowl of rice.

The two sat at the dining table, ready to eat.

Ren Lan looked at the dishes and complained, "Oh my, it's all vegetarian. No meat?"

"You want meat?"

"Yes."

"Alright." Lin Jichen cleared his throat and said, "At this moment, Lord Ximen pushed open Jinlian's door, ready to..."

Ren Lan: "Lin Jichen, shut up!"