Chapter 15 - Small Business

Li Lang ran to the auto-analyzer upon hearing Ruby's report regarding the completion of the analysis on the Recovery Pill. He skimmed through the pages of reports, which were much more detailed than what he received when analyzing any of the previous materials.The first section went over the effects of the pill, which, as its name implied, helped the user recover from their wounds. It worked on all sorts of physical injuries by speeding up the natural recovery process exponentially.The page with the materials was almost entirely labeled with either alphanumerical gibberish or question marks. Many new compounds were assigned temporary codenames while the database was still missing numerous materials."Good, very good! Now we just need to analyze all the herbs, too!"Li Lang could tell the analyzer did its job well. Once it gained the information on the raw materials, it should be able to analyze its creation method. It may take a few trials and errors to fine-tune it, but this was a process Li Lang had done thousands of times before!He excitedly placed one of the herbs he had recently gathered into the auto-analyzer, only to find the new timer showing 75 hours.Glancing back at the small pile of herbs he had, he began to wonder if he had enough money to last that long. He had only brought a small portion of each herb into the artifact space, but there were still almost a dozen different types.I'd have to get lucky to figure out the recipe within a month. I'll need to come up with a way to start making some money in the meantime or else I'll have to sell some of the herbs, but if I do, it won't be so easy to attain them again…Faced with this new reality, Li Lang quickly finished another round of cultivation and set off for the commercial street to explore new ideas.The streets were bustling with people as always, as the stalls and street vendors hawked their wares. Seeing how busy some of the stalls were, he almost ran over to ask if they were hiring, but quickly gave up on the idea.He doubted anyone would hire a young child like him, so he believed it was better to come up with some small business instead.He walked down the street as he browsed through what the street vendors sold for inspiration. Most of them simply had their wares laid out on their blanket. The range of what was sold varied widely from common household items to antique silverware.It was a given that almost all stalls were operated by adults, but Li Lang would occasionally see some children help out, albeit in a supporting role. The only job he saw a child do alone was selling flowers or hawking traveler's biscuits and drinks.Boy Scouts jobs…I doubt I could make much doing those jobs, but it may be better than nothing.Just as Li Lang closed his eyes in deliberation, he suddenly felt something bumping into him, pushing his small body helplessly aside."Watch it!" An angry voice rang out.Li Lang turned to find the man staring down at him, but his companion quickly ushered him to keep moving."Hey, we're in a hurry. Let's go buy something to drink real quick before leaving the city.""Hmph, dumb kid. Yeah, let's go. Too bad we can't drink alcohol before the job. It would've been so refreshing in this heat."Li Lang let out a sigh once the two men disappeared and swiftly got moving as well. He didn't manage to take a few steps before he abruptly came to a stop.Wait, that's it! I can sell that!"Ahem…"Li Lang turned to find another person glaring daggers at him for suddenly stopping in the middle of the road, and he quickly apologized and made his way to the market. He went to inquire about the prices of several stalls selling foodstuffs and seasonings. He only bit the bullet to buy all the materials he needed when he recognized a mineral labeled indigestion medicine from a stall. He grinned when he found the key ingredient to his plans.The majority of the time wasn't spent on haggling or finding the things he needed, but confirming what each ingredient was. Thankfully, this world had all the ingredients on his shopping list, with no need to search for alternatives.He returned to his inn with a full haul, where he was greeted by the middle-aged innkeeper."Went shopping, I see. Need any help with that?""No thanks, but do you have a small barrel or something I could borrow to store liquids?""Hmm…there should be a few empty water kegs out back by the well. Feel free to use those.""Thanks!"Li Lang quickly retrieved everything he needed and neatly laid them out on the floor of his room. The bulkiest items were the barrel and a bamboo pole.He got to work and prepared the ingredients, particularly in processing the nahcolite mineral he bought into baking soda. Li Lang smiled happily as he crushed the minerals before beginning the leaching process. He had recalled pleasant memories of having done this before for a school project.He found he wasn't tired even after hours of work. He could feel that his power and stamina had improved. It was all thanks to the breakthrough that empowered him physically.He then waited a few days for his baking soda to crystallize and dry.When he was done, he combined his new baking soda with vinegar to cause a reaction that released carbon dioxide gas. He had the bamboo pole set up to act as a tube for the gas to inject the gas into the soft drink he had made in the meantime.Once he was done, he immediately dipped a finger into the new drink he concocted and gave it a taste test.That's….pretty…bad. Well, I can't really compare it to the stuff I'm used to. Maybe the people of this world will find it enjoyable?Li Lang swiftly slapped himself and shook the lazy thought of selling what he produced on his first try. He was taught that if he was going to do something, he better do it right. While it wasn't possible to perfectly replicate what he had in his old world, he should at least attempt to do the best he could.With his new business plan in mind, Li Lang got to work and added the development of his new product to his usual routine. After eating, cultivating, sleeping, and developing his product for a few days, he finally arrived at a recipe that resembled what he knew.The most difficult part was getting the carbonation process correct, but he fine-tuned the process without wasting valuable ingredients by performing his tests in Ruby's artifact space.Afterward, he needed to test how to store it and found small bamboo containers worked best. The only thing he hadn't done was to find someone to taste it for him. He didn't know anyone, nor had he any money to hire a helper. He was also confident in his own creation, as well,On a regular afternoon, Li Lang set off from the inn, carrying a basket full of the little bamboo containers. He boldly strove onto the main street around the area where other kids hawked their wares and joined them."Refreshing spring water for sale! Five coppers only!""Traveling biscuits for sale! Cheap, cheap!""Anyone thirsty? Refreshing drinks for sale!" Li Lang copied his seniors and yelled out.He only had to navigate through the crowd for ten minutes before a rough-looking man with an eye patch gestured for him to come over with his finger."How much?""Ten coppers.""What? That much? Why is it so expensive for water?""It's not water, sir. This is a new refreshing drink that you have to try.""No need."The man made himself scarce, but then a group of three young men approached the young hawker as they overheard the conversation. There was a lanky man with a slumped back, a young and well-dressed teenager who carried himself with a hint of arrogance, and a bulky man who stoically followed behind."Did you hear that, Young Master? This brat is charging ten whole coppers for his so-called 'refreshing drink'. I bet it's just water he mixed with some grass or something!" The lanky man sneered at Li Lang before turning back to his companion, sounding like the textbook sycophant."Oh? I think he mixed rice water in it instead. Chou Tang, why don't we find out? It is only ten copper coins, after all."The young master said before he flicked open his fan and started fanning himself. Without bothering to look at Li Lang, he spoke as if he was giving out a command."Boy, give us one."The young master then threw down a handful of coins onto the ground as he swiftly snatched a bottle from Li Lang. He was just about to down the drink when he hesitated at the last moment."This is drinkable right?""Brat, you better be honest. If this gives Young Master Peng a stomachache or anything, you won't get out of this unscathed!" The lanky attendant, Chou Tang, added."Yes, it is a new drink called soda."Young Master Peng glanced at the bamboo container in suspicion as he tried to sniff out its contents. Having found no issues and could only hear some air escaping from the container. He curiously brought the container up to eye level for inspection.After giving the drink another sniff and finding no issues, he took a sip.He could instantly feel an army of tiny bubbles invading his mouth before they gently burst on his tongue. There was even a faint taste of sweetness, and he quickly took a larger sip this time. He could feel some fizziness as he swallowed the drink, leaving behind a pleasant, invigorating sensation that lingered."Kid, this is really good! What is it called again?""Soda, sir.""Good, good. Give me another five of these sodas, then."Li Lang had wanted to recreate the soft drinks of his world, but due to not knowing the exact recipes and the high price of sugar, he had to settle for a much inferior version of soda, or so he thought.For the inhabitants of this world, this was an entirely new drink they had never experienced before. In fact, they rarely even drank sweet substances cold, so this was a novel and memorable experience for the young master who had tried it for the first time.It went without saying Li Lang's first customer wasn't the only one who found his sodas enticing. After others had seen the young master buying more after giving it a try, others were spurred into action, and they quickly sold out.With his stocks depleted, Li Lang scrambled back to the market to prepare for the increased demand when word would inevitably spread.Now that should take care of my lodging expenses. If only I could speed up the auto-analyzer with money too…