The second piece of good news came during the final days of July: the profit share from Hundred Herbs Hall for the Xiao Family Medicine Hall had arrived.

A total of 33,000 silver’s worth of tea drinks were sold. After deducting costs and applying the fifty-percent profit share, the Xiao Family earned a profit of 14,000 silver.

Wang Ji said that when Xiao Wan’er saw the silver notes, she was stunned for a moment and asked with a strange expression if the calculations were wrong.

Apparently, she wasn’t surprised by the amount of money, but by how incredibly low the cost of the tea drinks was.

Chen Yi, however, thought nothing of it.

If not for his fear of scaring Xiao Wan’er and the Xiao Family, that cost could have been slashed by another four thousand-some silver coins.

That’s right. For over thirty thousand silver’s worth of tea drinks sold, the production cost was less than one thousand silver.

Five hundred and thirty-two silver, to be exact.

The rest was the cost of hiring workers, building a warehouse, and transportation, which hardly cost anything at all.

Forget Xiao Wan’er—even Wang Ji found it hard to believe after calculating Hundred Herbs Hall’s profit for the month.

The profit was exactly thirty thousand silver.

And this was just the revenue from one Hundred Herbs Hall and the five Xiao Family Medicine Halls, all within the single prefecture of Shu State.

If he were to follow Chen Yi’s previous plan and open branches of Hundred Herbs Hall all over Shu State, or even throughout the Nine States and Three Prefectures of the Great Wei Dynasty, the daily profit would be...

The moment Wang Ji considered that possibility, his eyes turned red.

Without needing any orders from Chen Yi, he decided to expand Hundred Herbs Hall into the neighboring prefectures and counties next month.

Chen Yi didn’t try to stop him, only reminding him to be mindful of his own safety.

He wasn’t worried about the recipe, however.

Even if someone managed to decipher it, they would still be a step behind Hundred Herbs Hall and the Xiao Family Medicine Hall, which had the first-mover advantage.

At worst, he could just develop a few more tea drink recipes, enhance their medicinal effects, and improve the flavor.

He could also continue using a distribution system, winning over the local Noble Families and gentry to grow Hundred Herbs Hall.

In short, he had plenty of ways to handle commercial competition.

The last piece of good news was that Xiao Jinghong had sent a letter back, saying that the surveying for the Mutual Market was finished and construction was about to begin.

The tentative start date was the first day of the eighth month.

Once the foundation for the Mutual Market was firmly laid, Xiao Jinghong would head back, aiming to return before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

It was also thanks to this occasion that Chen Yi saw Xiao Wan’er for the first time in four days.

It was a moderately good piece of news, all things considered. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

At least the two of them were finally speaking to each other, weren’t they?

Besides all this, it wasn’t as if Chen Yi had been a complete shut-in these past few days.

While he had to avoid the endless stream of wives, young ladies, and high-status scholars who came to call on him, he also found time to follow up on some juicy bits of gossip and gain a few Opportunities.

Though they were all Yellow Level intelligence, the Opportunities were minor, and the rewards were low-grade Fist Techniques and Palm Techniques, but it was better than nothing.

Most crucially, that night, Chen Yi’s Cultivation broke through again, reaching the Upper Seventh Grade.

’Now that I’ve reached the Middle Three Grades, I’m considered a second-rate expert in the Jianghu.’

’If one of my Martial Arts reaches the Great Success stage, it’s like having one foot among the ranks of first-rate experts.’

Just like "Sword Madman" Liu Lang.

His Cultivation is only at the Fifth Grade Realm, but his Saber Dao has reached Great Success, making him a notable figure in the Jianghu.

If he broke through to the Upper Three Grades Realm, he would be considered a top-tier existence even among first-rate experts.

If his Saber Dao were to break through again, he could be called a "regional hegemon," a name that would command great renown.

「Nearing the Zi hour.」

Chen Yi rose and walked to the window, gazing at the dimly lit Spring Lotus Garden as the night wind picked up. "Ah, it’s going to rain."

Gazing at the scene, his expression remained calm, but thoughts began to stir within him.

’The Hidden Guard’s plot to sow discord between the Xiao and Liu Families failed.’

’Xiao Dongchen definitely won’t let this go. And Ge the Third... hmm... After he went to Yanhua Lane that day to buy that girl’s freedom, he moved out of the Xiao Mansion.’

’He must be busy plotting that business these days.’

After a moment of thought, Chen Yi made a decision—he would take the opportunity of going to the academy to teach tomorrow to also make a trip to Hundred Herbs Hall.

’Liu Lang’s injuries have healed. It’s time to ask him about his progress.’

’And then there’s...’

Before he could finish the thought, a light appeared before his eyes—

[Daily Intelligence · Earth-level Lower Grade: At 10:15 PM, in a tailor shop in the West Market, Hidden Guards are plotting an important matter. A great Opportunity may be obtained.]