Chapter 259 - 257: Yanglin’s Pharmacy

Early in the morning, a large table was once again set up in the inner courtyard of the Yang Family. Recently, due to the cultivation of the Sun Wheel Body Refining Technique, the Yang Residence had become home to over a dozen people long-term.

Their sense of unity had reached the point where they seemed to have forgotten they had any other home.

Their capacity for devouring food had skyrocketed. As they were all Martial Artists, their total consumption was comparable to that of a small pig farm.

Tao Ying was nearly overwhelmed, but thankfully, Zhao Mengmeng awakened her inner domestic goddess. She was constantly cooking and helping in the kitchen, taking Yang Shen’s place.

She had a surprising amount of culinary talent and worked very efficiently with Tao Ying.

The others set the table and cleaned up. In short, no one was allowed to be idle.

The Yang Residence was huge. The chores were endless—truly, absolutely endless!

Meanwhile, in a corner of the front courtyard, inside a private room fragrant with the scent of herbs, Yang Shen was listening to Lin Yuebai report on the accounts from while he was away.

Lin Yuebai had also participated in the Blood Contract ceremony, tying her completely to the Yang Family’s fortunes. Yang Shen had asked for her opinion beforehand, and the porcelain-like girl had agreed entirely of her own free will.

Her mind was now completely preoccupied with plans for Yanglin’s Pharmacy. Her salary with the Yang Family was high, room and board were covered, the benefits were constantly improving, and the family’s prospects were becoming broader by the day.

She had status when she went out and the chance for promotion when she came home.

’Anyone who left would be a complete idiot.’

Lin Yuebai leaned on a corner of the table, rising onto her tiptoes as she explained to Yang Shen the recent changes in the medicinal herb business.

"Patriarch, the medicinal herb processing workshop has been up and running for a while. Since we focus on high-value, premium herbs, our operation isn’t that large. We currently have six employees."

"Three of them are skilled workers we recruited from the industry. The other three came from the list you provided."

Yang Shen nodded and looked at the three names.

Yang Cheng, Yang Xiuqi, Yang Chengjun...

Interestingly, the list Yang Shen had provided was split evenly between men and women, but after Yuan Rui had a headhunter reach out, all the recruits turned out to be male.

’Women under twenty-three are probably more wary about accepting a job that requires them to move to a different province or city,’ he mused.

These three were distant relatives of the Yang Family, "unboxed" from the Ancestral Lineage Spiritual Record, all with clearly defined talents.

Even the closest among them was a distant relation with whom the family had lost contact, and the most remote was separated by ten generations.

Among them, Yang Cheng and Yang Xiuqi both possessed "Medical Talent," while Yang Chengjun’s was "Horizontal Training."

However, having talent and *demonstrating* that talent were two entirely different matters.

The first two were ordinary people, graduates of a liberal arts junior college. The third had attended a Martial High School but failed the entrance exams and couldn’t continue his education.

He was also saddled with over a hundred thousand in loans; he’d clearly gone down the wrong path.

Yang Shen offered these three no special treatment, just an attractive salary that was slightly above market rate—after all, they were moving across provinces for the job.

Beyond that, he didn’t even tell them about their connection to the Yang Family.

But since three people with the surname Yang had been hired at the same time by the "Jianghuai Yang Family," they were probably starting to wonder.

"Let’s evaluate them for now. No need for special treatment. If their character is poor, you can fire them directly. There will be more people like them in the future, and we’ll handle them all the same way."

Lin Yuebai giggled. "You got it~"

’Working for the Patriarch has turned me into a junior manager.’

’Back in Jinshui District, that landlady even told me to go find some sugar daddy.’

’Am I that kind of person?’

’Of course not! It’s all been through my own hard work!’

"Da— uh, I mean, Patriarch, our medicinal herb business is on the right track. But the output of Qi Gathering Vines is starting to exceed the demand in the surrounding area. If we keep selling the raw herbs, the price will get driven down... Do you think we can start planning for a pharmacy?"

She leaned forward and flipped her little handwritten notebook to a page completely filled with supplement formulas she had prepared.

Lin Yuebai always carried a unique scent, a subtle and pleasant fragrance somewhere between flowers and herbs.

Yang Shen sniffed the air. ’Actually, the perfume Lin Yuebai wears could be sold as its own product. It’s quite refined.’

He glanced at the formulas she’d compiled. They were quite comprehensive. Lin Yuebai’s pharmaceutical knowledge was clearly profound; she had even noted modifications to the standard formulas to suit different constitutions.

This was more than enough to be the foundation of a pharmacy.

"Alright. Let’s start with selecting a location."

Before Yang Shen left, the Spirit Plant business was bringing in about 6 million a month. After his departure, that number dropped slightly because he wasn’t using the Withering and Flourishing Curse as frequently. However, the income from his best-selling book and video course helped make up the difference.

The system had already tallied the results for its task: monthly income was 6.23 million.

As for expenses, they weren’t actually that high. The prorated maintenance, utilities, and general upkeep for Cangwu Garden came to a few tens of thousands. The operating costs for Yang’s Disciples were around 50,000, and the supplements for the clan’s core members cost over 300,000.

The total didn’t exceed 500,000.

The remaining 5.5 million was basically profit. For a clan in a rapid growth phase, there was no need to hoard cash; they should be reinvesting to open up new streams of revenue.

His status and opportunities were different now. Back when Yang Shen was struggling in Jinshui District, he might have been the Patriarch, but his main job was simply to increase his own strength.

As for managing the clan?

Well... there wasn’t much of a clan to manage back then. Giving his younger siblings a few extra pork ribs counted as an investment in the future.

But now, the list of things he needed to arrange was growing longer and longer.

Fortunately, the number of capable people he could rely on was also growing.

"You understand the traditional pharmacy business model better than I do. But when it comes to modern commerce... you might not be sharp enough. If you run into problems, you can discuss them with Yuan Rui. He’s quick-witted and has a lot of people working for him now."

Hearing the Patriarch say she might not be sharp enough, Lin Yuebai immediately pouted. ’I’m plenty smart!’ she thought.

A clever idea immediately popped into her head. "Patriarch, what if we open the first shop near Jiangti?!"

Yang Shen paused. "Near Jiangti?"

"That’s right! Jiangti is full of Martial Arts University students, so the demand for supplements is already huge. Besides, I heard from Yuan Rui that the Patriarch is very famous at the university and even has quite a few Named Disciples."

Yang Shen asked, "You want to make money off them?"

’Claw back the fifty thousand he gave them?’

’What a genius!’

"No, I’ll even give them a discount! The most important thing for a traditional pharmacy is its reputation. As long as they come to our shop and their results at the university improve, we’ll never have to worry about a lack of customers!"

Yang Shen considered this and realized she had a point. Not only were they all benefiting from the "Martial Arts Gate" buff, but the "unity and camaraderie" program Yuan Rui had set up was also enough to make the Named Disciples outperform their peers in the rankings.

Therefore, Yang’s Disciples would naturally grow stronger and stronger, providing an obvious advertising effect.

Jianghuai was a huge place. Rather than opening in a completely unfamiliar area, starting near Jiangti would be more manageable.

The growth of the clan’s power and finances had to be interlinked like this, creating a virtuous cycle.

He had originally planned to just call it "Lin’s Pharmacy," since the name didn’t affect ownership. But if they were going to leverage his reputation at Jiangti, adding "Yang" to the name was a good idea.

From a marketing perspective, having a bit of a gimmick would make the name more memorable.

On Cyan Blue, selling medicine was an incredibly profitable business... Once the pharmacy was established, the clan’s main quest line would be well underway.

After all, the system’s requirements included not only "monthly income" but also a certain number of "long-term employees."

"What about staffing?"

"We can recruit regular staff directly and train a core team ourselves. Then we can hire some experienced senior pharmacists. For the grand opening, I can even invite some leading figures in the pharmaceutical world to make an appearance. After that, we can get a few fancy-looking certifications! Something like ’Member of the Jianghuai Pharmaceutical Association.’"

"Don’t worry, I have connections for all of this."

Yang Shen nodded. Lin Yuebai was truly a girl full of hidden talents.

The more you invested in her, the more she had to offer.

Lin Yuebai fiddled with the ends of her hair, looking a little bashful. "So, Patriarch... can I invest? I’ve saved up a few tens of thousands..."

The pharmacy would require an initial investment of at least three to five million. Her savings were just a drop in the bucket, but she had been extremely frugal to save even that much.

Her salary was quite high now, but not enough time had passed. Or perhaps, it was simply that the Yang Family was growing too fast.

But Yang Shen proposed a plan that delighted her even more.

"You can invest your savings, whatever the amount is. In addition, I’ll give you a twenty percent stake for your technical expertise. How does that sound?"

Lin Yuebai was so happy she could have flown. "Really?! Patriarch, do you really mean it?!"

Yang Shen nodded. "Your resources and knowledge are worth that much. You’ll also effectively be the store manager and chief technical officer. Of course, this is limited to this single store, not Changshen Biotechnology, and the shares can’t be sold on the open market—only traded internally."

’I should follow Director Liang’s example. There’s no shame in making money, but when you’re bringing someone into a deal, you have to be clear about the terms.’

’When someone is worth the price, you pay it.’

’And you don’t wait until they grow resentful and have to beg for it. You give it to them upfront, before they’re even ready for it.’

’That’s how Director Liang won him over back then. Yang Shen hadn’t even mentioned it, and Director Liang had already arranged his cut.’

’That’s how you get more and more people begging you to help them realize their own value.’

Lin Yuebai hugged Yang Shen’s arm, hopping with joy. "Patriarch! You’re the best!"

"Ahem!"

A sound came from the doorway. It was Xu Bamboo, who had entered at some point without them noticing.

"Um... it’s time to eat. Everyone’s waiting for you two."

Lin Yuebai wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. "Matriarch, we’ve finished. We’re coming right now."

Zhuzi froze on the spot.

"What did you just call me?"

"Matriarch~"

Xu Bamboo’s cheeks instantly flushed. She turned and walked away without looking back. "What nonsense are you talking about... Just hurry up. Everyone’s getting impatient."

She was clearly flustered. As an Innate Martial Artist, her footing became so unsteady that she tripped on the doorsill.

She didn’t fall, though.

The doorsill shattered...

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