Elder Fu opened the bottle of medicinal liquid, and a thick medicinal fragrance rushed at him, revitalizing his spirit instantly.
He had been involved with Chinese medicine for decades and had never smelled such a unique fragrance before; he was somewhat surprised.
"Fine, but only one drop, I still need to make money," Chen Yuan said casually, waving his hand.
Zhang Bojun's mouth twitched at his comment—what good is one drop? This was Elder Fu from Lingnan Province, a simple hint from him could be unimaginable on one's medical journey.
Elder Fu, hearing he could only have one drop, was startled initially; he had never encountered such a restriction while tasting medicine, feeling a hint of dissatisfaction. How precious could this medicinal liquid be?
He was thinking of helping out but did not expect such stinginess.
Smiling, he shook his head, dipped his fingertip into the liquid, and tasted it.
Just as Zhang Bojun perked up his ears to hear Elder Fu's comments, he saw Elder Fu's face change dramatically, his expression turning excited as he asked,
"This medicine...this medicinal liquid..."
"Who refined this medicinal liquid?" Elder Fu, with trembling hands, grabbed Chen Yuan, his expression fervent.
"I refined it," Chen Yuan said indifferently.
Upon hearing this, Elder Fu's excited expression paused for a moment, then he asked, "How did you come by the refining formula?"
"Everyone has their secrets, don't they?" Chen Yuan replied with a serene smile.
"That's true...that's true, it was too nosy of me," Elder Fu said with a resigned smile, but the shock in his heart was almost uncontrollable.
He was quite old and naturally had some minor health issues and defects.
However, after taking the medicine just now, he suddenly felt his whole body relax, as if he had become over a decade younger.
That there could be such miraculous spiritual medicine in the world...
Without much thought, Elder Fu asked, "I wonder if you'd be interested in coming to Jishi Hall to work as a pharmacist?"
Zhang Bojun, hearing Elder Fu invite the young man before him to become a pharmacist at Jishi Hall, was incredulous.
After all, Jishi Hall was renowned throughout Lingnan Province. Though not large in numbers, each member was incredibly skilled; even a random pharmacist or doctor from there could become a hospital director elsewhere.
Even for graduates from the top medical schools in the country, securing an internship there was exceedingly difficult; he remembered a nephew who couldn't get in even with pulled strings.
What was most surprising was that the youngest pharmacist there was a middle-aged man over forty, with most between their fifties and sixties. Now, Elder Fu was personally inviting this young man, who looked to be barely eighteen or nineteen, to be a pharmacist?
How could he not be astonished?
But comparing oneself with others is infuriating—why hadn't such an opportunity fallen into his own lap?
As Zhang Bojun was feeling envious, Chen Yuan suddenly spoke up:
"I'll pass on being a pharmacist, I have other matters to attend to," Chen Yuan said, turning to leave, thinking to himself that as the Guangcheng Venerable, mixing and dispensing medicines for ordinary people was out of the question—ridiculous.
"Hmm, then come to Tianbei Road tomorrow... Ah?"
"Aren't you coming?" Elder Fu almost didn't react in time, his mouth hanging open.
Zhang Bojun nearly stumbled; damn, this guy actually didn't want to go?
Hearing Chen Yuan decline, Elder Fu's heart immediately tensed; if this medicinal liquid was indeed refined by Chen Yuan, then he had discovered a peerless treasure. Even extracting other precious ingredients couldn't achieve such an effect.
Moreover, it seemed Chen Yuan had many secrets, possibly related to medicinal refinement, which could be incredible.
"My dear nephew, think it over, won't you? If you came, you wouldn't have to sell medicines here anymore. Although it wouldn't make you rich, you would have a secure livelihood, and the job doesn't involve much—just handle some ingredients, and also..."
"Handle ingredients? You have ingredients?" Upon hearing about the ingredients, Chen Yuan suddenly became interested; after all, what he needed most now were medicines for alchemy.
"Well, Jishi Hall has most of the ingredients available in the market, and some that aren't, they have those too; you could go there and see for yourself," Elder Fu said calmly.
"Okay, I'll go tomorrow." Chen Yuan nodded lightly.
Elder Fu's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, and he hurriedly gave Chen Yuan the address.
Zhang Bojun had a thought and after their conversation ended, he approached respectfully and asked, "Mr. Chen, I wonder if you could sell me your medicine, I'm willing to pay fifty thousand for a bottle."
He knew that Elder Fu had invited Chen Yuan to Jishi Hall because of that bottle of medicine. Although he didn't know the specific effects, he was sure that buying it couldn't be a mistake.
Chen Yuan was about to agree since he had come to make money anyway. It didn't matter who he sold it to, and he was comfortable with the price.
"Fifty thousand? Zhang, have you lost your mind?" Before Chen Yuan could even speak, Elder Fu pointed at Zhang Bojun and shouted.
Zhang Bojun was initially stunned, thinking the medicine wasn't worth that much, but then he only heard Elder Fu yelling,
"Why don't you just rob someone? Selling that medicine for fifty thousand? Sell it to me instead."
"Dear nephew, don't listen to him. I'll buy it for five hundred thousand. What do you say?"
After hearing this, Zhang Bojun was somewhat flabbergasted—five hundred thousand for a bottle of medicine?
Seeing Elder Fu's excited face, he quickly realized that he had indeed offered too little. He should have started higher.
Even a person like Elder Fu was excited about his medicine. How could it not be valuable?
"Alright then." Chen Yuan remained calm as water, though inside he had not expected Elder Fu to be such a connoisseur.
When Elder Fu heard Chen Yuan's agreement, he quickly pulled out a bank card and handed it to Chen Yuan, holding two bottles of Body Refinement liquid in his hands, his face brimming with excitement and joy.
Then, after exchanging a few courteous words with Elder Fu, Chen Yuan rose to leave, leaving Zhang Bojun behind with a face full of regret.
...
Chen Yuan had just walked out the door and reached the corner when a beautiful woman suddenly rushed out from his right and bumped into him.
The woman cried out in pain and instantly fell to the ground, while Chen Yuan remained unmoved.
"Don't you have eyes? On such a wide road, why did you have to bump into me!" the woman complained in pain after touching the sore spot, accusing Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan found it somewhat amusing—clearly, she was the one who had bumped into him, but now it was his fault?
He observed the woman sitting on the ground—delicate features, fair skin.
Seeing this, Chen Yuan crossed his arms and laughed.
"I certainly have eyes, and my vision is quite good, too."
"What do you mean?" The woman looked puzzled at Chen Yuan, who had an 'ill-intentioned' expression on his face.
"What do you think?" Chen Yuan replied with a light smile.
Upon hearing this, the woman realized the awkwardness of her falling posture. Her cheeks turned red, and she hurriedly covered herself.
She pointed at Chen Yuan, her face both shy and angry, "You… what are you looking at!"
"Isn't this just proving that I do have eyes?" Chen Yuan said in a mocking tone.
The woman quickly got up and yelled indignantly, "Humph, shameless!"
"Humph! If it wasn't for the fact that I still have things to do today, I'd definitely not let you get away with this!" The woman gave the young man a fierce glare with her sparkling almond eyes, waved her fair little fist, and ran off towards the market, visibly annoyed.
Chen Yuan touched his nose, feeling somewhat baffled. Someone had bumped into him, and although he was just kindly checking if she was injured, he was mistaken for a 'bad guy.'
"The morals of society have indeed declined," Chen Yuan said coolly, glancing at the woman's retreating figure. He shook his head in disbelief, then twirled the bank card in his hand and tucked it into his pocket.
"I might as well check out Jishi Hall tomorrow."
...