Chapter 541 - 314: Deserves to Die!

With silver—and a whopping two million taels of it at that—Chen Yi naturally wouldn’t hide it at the bottom of a chest to gather dust.

It had to be spent.

Calculating the time, more than half a month had passed since Yan Sea and the others went to Guangyuan to investigate the situation. It was time to take the first Step in expanding Hundred Herbs Hall.

The Marquis’s Mansion, with its two-hundred-year legacy, was living so frugally that it was truly unbearable to watch. Even if not for himself, for the sake of the Xiao Family which was bleeding money like a sieve, expanding Hundred Herbs Hall was imperative. He couldn’t let the Xiao Family worry about silver anymore. It would be a joke.

After giving his instructions, Chen Yi took out one hundred silver notes from his robes, each worth ten thousand taels, and placed them on the table.

"Five hundred thousand taels of this will make up for the money spent buying grain a few days ago. The silver coins Xue Duanyun and the others made from selling grain will also be entered into Hundred Herbs Hall’s accounts.

"As for the remaining five hundred thousand taels..."

Tapping on the silver notes, Chen Yi looked at Wang Ji and said, "The Xinglin Hall incident this time has reminded me. We can’t rely entirely on those merchants for raw medicinal materials. It’s best if we open up our own channels."

Wang Ji lowered his head. "You are right, my Lord."

"Although Old Jia had bad luck over there, in the end, it’s still because we couldn’t find another alternative," Chen Yi continued. "Running into a wealthy and overbearing entity like Xinglin Hall that monopolizes all medicinal materials, Hundred Herbs Hall’s business will inevitably be affected."

Wang Ji looked up and glanced at the silver notes on the table, his eyes burning with desire. "Rest assured, my Lord. With this silver, I will forge a path even if I have to wade through fire and water. I will absolutely not let Hundred Herbs Hall experience another shortage of medicinal materials."

Chen Yi nodded noncommittally. "Tomorrow, when you go to the Xiao Family, ask the Eldest Miss to step forward and negotiate with the Mountain Race.

"The medicinal materials from Wumeng Mountain will be given away regardless of whether it’s to others or to us. Remember to let them save face; it doesn’t matter if we spend a bit more silver."

That being said, the medicinal herbs the Mountain Race harvested from Wumeng Mountain every month were limited. If they gave them to Hundred Herbs Hall, they couldn’t give them to other merchants. Those merchants who had dealt with the Mountain Race for so many years to secure their channels would naturally be unwilling to have them snatched away.

Even if the Xiao Family stepped forward and the Mountain Race couldn’t refuse, it would still damage their reputation and old friendships, especially for conservative people like the Mountain Race. Therefore, Chen Yi was willing to spend more silver. It would preserve the Mountain Race’s dignity, prevent the Xiao Family from owing a favor, and gag those merchants.

It was killing three birds with one stone.

A short while later, Chen Yi stood up and was about to leave when he caught sight of Zhang Dabao and Liu Lang. After some thought, he instructed, "You all have worked hard this time. Later, Wang Ji will distribute some silver to everyone as a reward."

Wang Ji, having just put away the silver notes, looked at Zhang Dabao and Liu Lang upon hearing this. "My Lord, how much... would be appropriate?"

"One hundred silver coins for every participant, an extra hundred for those with outstanding performance, and an extra three hundred for Dabao, Liu Lang, and the others."

"Understood."

Liu Lang and Zhang Dabao bowed joyfully in thanks. Chen Yi nodded, then slipped out of the Quiet Chamber and headed back to the Xiao Family.

After he left, Wang Ji muttered, his heart aching for the money, "Those who don’t manage the household don’t know the cost of firewood and rice. Who gives out silver as rewards like this?"

Liu Lang glared at him in displeasure. "Shopkeeper, the few of us risked our necks this time, and you’re already heartbroken over a hundred-odd taels of silver?"

"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. Please don’t take offense, Guard Liu."

"I’d reckon you wouldn’t."

Zhang Dabao looked at the awkwardly smiling Wang Ji and then at the unhappy Liu Lang, stepping in to smooth things over. "Brother Liu, let’s go too. We still need to make some preparations for the tasks the Lord assigned."

Liu Lang immediately stood up and walked out. "See you later, Shopkeeper."

Zhang Dabao smiled at Wang Ji and turned to follow him out.

Watching them walk away, Wang Ji first lightly slapped his own mouth and muttered something about how it wasn’t his money anyway. Then, he took out the stack of silver notes and started counting, looking exactly like a miser.

Stepping outside Hundred Herbs Hall, Chen Yi listened to the conversation behind him and shook his head with a smile.

Wang Ji was too short-sighted; otherwise, he wouldn’t have engaged in crooked practices at Jishi Medicine Hall. Even though he had become the Shopkeeper of Hundred Herbs Hall and broadened his horizons a bit, some bad habits were still hard to change, such as being stingy with his subordinates. Fortunately, Wang Ji was obedient, efficient, and fully dedicated to Hundred Herbs Hall, so he was somewhat useful. Otherwise, Chen Yi absolutely wouldn’t have let him take the helm in expanding Hundred Herbs Hall.

He sighed, "Good talents are hard to come by."

Wang Ji and Ma Liangcai, these two latecomers, could barely keep up for now. Their future would depend on their own fortunes. In contrast, Liu Lang, Zhang Dabao, the disciples of the Celestial Sect, and most importantly, Yuan Liu’er, had promising futures.

"Grow up quickly, all of you. It’s truly ridiculous that I can’t even be a hands-off boss..." he mumbled to himself.

Moving like a phantom, Chen Yi slipped into an adjacent alleyway and disappeared into the night.

A short while later, he arrived on Chuansi Street. Just as he was about to head into a nearby residence to remove his disguise, he caught a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

Fang Hongxiu.

However, at this moment, Fang Hongxiu looked slightly anxious and stern. Leading a few Imprisonment Officers, she was hurrying from west to east. It seemed something had happened.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Yi snapped his fingers and asked with a hint of a smile, "Hundred Households Fang, where are you rushing to in such a hurry?"

Fang Hongxiu paused at the sound. Turning her head, she spotted Chen Yi’s figure, a hint of surprise flashing across her stern eyes.

"Dragon Tiger?"

Over the past few days, the name of "Dragon Tiger" Liu Wu had resounded throughout Shu State, so Fang Hongxiu was naturally aware of it. Furthermore, she had personally led her people to Puyin Temple and brought Du Cang’s corpse back to the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office.

Seeing Liu Wu appear at this moment, her expression became somewhat complicated. First, Liu Wu had evolved from "Dragon Spear" to "Dragon Tiger," his strength even greater than before. Second, the person Liu Wu had saved was the Eldest Miss of the Xiao Family. Even if he wasn’t part of the Xiao family, he was someone connected to them.